cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Metastatic Conditioning of Myeloid Cells at a Subcutaneous Synthetic Niche Reflects Disease Progression and Predicts Therapeutic Outcomes

Monitoring metastatic events in distal tissues is challenged by their sporadic occurrence in obscure and inaccessible locations within these vital organs. A synthetic biomaterial scaffold can function as a synthetic metastatic niche to reveal the nature of these distal sites. These implanted scaffolds promote tissue ingrowth, which upon cancer initiation is transformed into a metastatic niche that captures aggressive circulating tumor cells. We hypothesized that immune cell phenotypes at synthetic niches reflect the immunosuppressive conditioning within a host that contributes to metastatic cell recruitment and can identify disease progression and response to therapy. We analyzed the expression of 632 immune-centric genes in tissue biopsied from implants at weekly intervals following inoculation. Specific immune populations within implants were then analyzed by single-cell RNA-seq. Dynamic gene expression profiles in innate cells, such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells, suggest the development of an immunosuppressive microenvironment. These dynamics in immune phenotypes at implants was analogous to that in the diseased lung and had distinct dynamics compared with blood leukocytes. Following a therapeutic excision of the primary tumor, longitudinal tracking of immune phenotypes at the implant in individual mice showed an initial response to therapy, which over time differentiated recurrence versus survival. Collectively, the microenvironment at the synthetic niche acts as a sentinel by reflecting both progression and regression of disease. SIGNIFICANCE: Immune dynamics at biomaterial implants, functioning as a synthetic metastatic niche, provides unique information that correlates with disease progression. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/80/3/602/F1.large.jpg.See related commentary by Wolf and Elisseeff, p. 377.
Multi-component Multiphase Porous Flow

An axiomatic foundation for models of multi-component multiphase porous flow appearing ubiquitously in the engineering literature is developed. This unifies and extends various disparate and empirical formulations appearing in the literature. Constitutive restrictions are derived from an appropriate statement of the second law of thermodynamics, and the corresponding dissipation inequalities establish stability of solutions. The convexity properties and variational structure of these models are elucidated.
Virtue and Moral Imagination

Aristotle is not a reductionist with respect to the explanation of human behavior. You are a substance; your form is your soul. A certain mental event is to a certain physical event as form is to matter, and accordingly admits of both physiological and psychological descriptions and explanations. The psychological description, which is of primary importance to us, has to do with characteristically human activity. Aristotle extends a version of essence from substances to events to acts, particularly those of ethical significance. Something akin to moral imagination in Werhane’s sense allows the person of good character to perceive such acts correctly by identifying the salient facts of the case that help identify the mean between the vicious extremes, though we have reason to doubt that every ethically significant action has a single essence. To acquire moral imagination and other aspects of virtue is natural for a human being, according to Aristotle. A human being’s characteristic excellence or virtue (arete) involves a high degree of rationality and sociability and produces the deepest sort of happiness (eudaimonia) as one comes to learn how to be, and enjoy being, a good friend and a good citizen. One learns to be virtuous in a good community, but Aristotle has little to say about a virtuous person in a bad community.
Book Review: Gaslight Lawyers

A book review of Richard H. Underwood's Gaslight Lawyers: Criminal Trials & Exploits in Gilded Age New York.
The History and Evolution of the Fantasy Sport Voice: An Oral Account of the Major Aspects Forming the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association

The growth of the fantasy sport industry has been nothing short of extraordinary. With estimates of 500,000 in the mid-1990s, to a current North American consumer estimate of 59.3 million, the indu...
Racial Resentment, Electoral Loss, and Satisfaction with Democracy Among Whites in the United States: 2004–2016

Satisfaction with democracy is a critical supporting element of any democratic process, though a robust literature demonstrates that such satisfaction is contingent on numerous personal preferences and situational contexts. Perhaps most disconcerting, satisfaction is highly correlated with electoral (mis)fortune—winner or loser status. We theorize that this connection is moderated by a fundamental group orientation in American politics: racial resentment. Satisfaction with democracy should increase among white electoral losers as racial resentment increases when Republican candidates win and decrease as racial resentment strengthens when Democratic candidates win. In both scenarios, the connection between electoral (mis)fortune and satisfaction are moderated by a perception of whether the political system under the incoming president will be (unfairly) working better for others—black Americans—who are perceived to be less deserving of benefits. We find support for this argument using ANES presidential election data from 2004–2016. These results are robust to examination of only validated votes, panel data support the causal direction our theory posits, and we find that racial resentment uniquely moderates this relationship compared to related potential moderators, like ideological self-identification and racial stereotypes. More than petulance in the face of loss, (dis)satisfaction with democracy is a product of group orientations.
Joint Fundraising Committees in U.S. Senate Campaigns The Role of McCutcheon v. FEC

We examine the use of JFCs by U.S. Senate candidates before and after the McCutcheon decision to determine how Senate candidates use these committees and to discover any changes in the use of JFCs and the amounts raised by Senate candidates. We develop a typology of Senate JFCs based the membership of the JFCs and on how the proceeds of the JFC are distributed. This preliminary analysis reveals different types of JFCs, and some modest changes after the McCutcheon decision. We do not find, however, that in the U.S. Senate context, JFCs are significant players that led to an explosion of additional contributions by wealthy donors. Our analysis has made clear that as one digs deeper into the activities of individual JFCs, a much more complex picture emerges of their utility for candidates.
Genetic regulatory hierarchy in Caulobacter development.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the Caulobacter regulatory cascade that controls flagellar morphogenesis and then compares the observed mechanisms to those that appear in other prokaryotic developmental systems. It also focuses on the freshwater Caulobacter crescentus, which is the best known species of the group. Caulobacters are dimorphic, Gram-negative bacteria which are found in fresh water, salt water, and soils. Caulobacters are well adapted to survival under the conditions of limited nutrients. The stalked cell attaches to the surfaces using the holdfast at the end of the stalk, whereas the motile cell (swarmer) can undergo chemotaxis, swimming toward a more favorable location. The chapter concludes that, ecologically, Caulobacter exploits two survival strategies each generation: one cell remains and one swims away.
Fetal Intelligent Navigation Echocardiography (FINE): a novel method for rapid, simple, and automatic examination of the fetal heart.

Objective To describe a novel method (Fetal Intelligent Navigation Echocardiography (FINE)) for visualization of standard fetal echocardiography views from volume datasets obtained with spatiotemporal image correlation (STIC) and application of ‘intelligent navigation’ technology. Methods We developed a method to: 1) demonstrate nine cardiac diagnostic planes; and 2) spontaneously navigate the anatomy surrounding each of the nine cardiac diagnostic planes (Virtual Intelligent Sonographer Assistance (VIS-Assistance)). The method consists of marking seven anatomical structures of the fetal heart. The following echocardiography views are then automatically generated: 1) four chamber; 2) five chamber; 3) left ventricular outflow tract; 4) short-axis view of great vessels/right ventricular outflow tract; 5) three vessels and trachea; 6) abdomen/stomach; 7) ductal arch; 8) aortic arch; and 9) superior and inferior vena cava. The FINE method was tested in a separate set of 50 STIC volumes of normal hearts (18.6–37.2 weeks of gestation), and visualization rates for fetal echocardiography views using diagnostic planes and/or VIS-Assistance were calculated. To examine the feasibility of identifying abnormal cardiac anatomy, we tested the method in four cases with proven congenital heart defects (coarctation of aorta, tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of great vessels and pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum). Results In normal cases, the FINE method was able to generate nine fetal echocardiography views using: 1) diagnostic planes in 78–100% of cases; 2) VISAssistance in 98–100% of cases; and 3) a combination of diagnostic planes and/or VIS-Assistance in 98–100%
Load balancing for dynamic real-time systems

Some classes of realhtime systems function in environments, which cannot be modeled with static approaches. In such environments, the arrival rates of events which drive transient computations may be unknown. Also, periodic computations may be required to process varying numbers of data elements per period, but the number of data elements to be processed in an arbitrary period cannot be known at the time of system engineering, nor can an upper bound be determined for the number of data items; thus, a worst case execution time cannot be obtained for such periodics. This paper presents middleware services that support such dynamic realhtime systems through load balancing. The middleware services have been implemented and employed for (1) the DynBench dynamic realhtime benchmark suite and (2) an experimental Navy system. Experimental results show the effectiveness of our load balancing techniques for consistently delivering realhtime qualityhofhservice, even in highly dynamic environments.
Does Immigration, Particularly Increases in Latinos, Affect African American Wages, Unemployment and Incarceration Rates?

This paper evaluates the impact of immigration on African American wages, unemployment, employment and incarceration rates using a relatively large cross-sectional data-set of 900 cities. An endemic problem potentially plaguing the cross-sectional metro approach to immigration has been endogeneity. Does increased immigration to a city lead to improved economic outcomes, or does a city's improving labor market attract immigrant inflows? The paper focuses on resolving the endogeneity concerns through a variety of controls, statistical methods and tests. Overall, results strongly support one-way causation from increased immigration including Latinos to higher African American wages and lower poverty. Rising immigration including from Latin America is not responsible for higher Black incarceration rates.
Immunoglobulin G Receptors of Intestinal Brush Borders from Neonatal Rats

Intestinal absorptive cells of the neonatal rat display on their brush border membranes receptors for immunoglobulin G (IgG) which function in selective transfer of maternal IgG. Our Scatchard analysis of [125I]IgG binding to isolated brush borders has corroborated the presence of two classes of specific binding sites (KA1 = 2.4 X 10(7) M-1 and KA2 = 3.7 X 10(5) M-1) and the increase in overall binding with decreased buffer concentration, as shown by Wallace & Rees 1980. However, our Scatchard analysis of binding at different buffer concentrations indicates that the only significant effect of lowered buffer concentration is to increase the number of low-affinity sites. Neither the number nor the affinity of the high-affinity sites is affected. Furthermore, brush borders from rats at 21 days have only the low-affinity sites and at this age the selective transfer of IgG has ceased. Morphological experiments with tracers for both light and electron microscopy suggest that the high-affinity sites correspond to the specific IgG receptors on the apical membrane. The majority of the low-affinity sites are found within the terminal web and are likely not to be involved in selective transport of IgG.
Sodium and Potassium Determinations by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy

The concentration of specific minerals in foods can be determined by a variety of methods. The aim of this lab is to acquaint you with the use of atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) for that purpose. The specific type of AES will be inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES).
MiR-107 is reduced in Alzheimer's disease brain neocortex: validation study

MiR-107 is a microRNA (miRNA) that has been shown to have decreased expression in the temporal cortical gray matter of humans early in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here we study a new group of well-characterized brain samples (N=19). MiR-107 expression was assessed, normalized to other miRNAs. Quantitative AD histopathology was performed on adjacent tissue. Statistical regression analyses were performed comparing neuritic plaque (NP) and neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) counts. Correlation was observed between decreased miR-107 expression and NP counts (P<0.05), and NFT counts (P<0.02). Among these samples adjusted miR-107 and BACE1 mRNA levels tend to be correlated negatively as detected with qPCR (trend with regression P<0.07). In sum, miR-107 expression tended to be lower relative to other miRNAs as AD progresses.
Abstract 56: Prognosis of Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction by Hospital Discharge Diagnosis

Background: Research on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in medical claims largely focuses on hospitalizations where AMI is the primary discharge diagnosis (dx). Limited data are available on AMIs occurring as a secondary dx during hospitalization. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that mortality following AMI is higher when the primary dx is not AMI. Methods: We examined REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study participants with definite or probable AMIs adjudicated using published guidelines. Participants were categorized by hospital discharge dx from the discharge summary: primary dx, secondary dx, or no dx of AMI. All-cause and cardiovascular mortality after AMI, detected though active follow-up and the National Death Index, were compared using Kaplan-Meier curves with log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for sociodemographics, medical history, and characteristics of the AMI (clinical evidence of ischemia, peak troponin, and heart failure during hospitalization). Results: Of 877 participants with AMI, 37% had AMI as primary dx, 12% had AMI as a secondary dx, and 51% had no dx of AMI. All-cause mortality (n = 284) was higher among participants with AMI as a secondary dx or without a dx of AMI than among participants with AMI as primary dx, but cardiovascular mortality (n = 150) was similar across groups ( Figure ). Compared to participants with AMI as primary dx, adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause mortality were 1.03 (95% CI 0.68-1.57) and 1.17 (95% CI 0.84-1.62) and for cardiovascular mortality were 0.79 (95% CI 0.46-1.37) and 0.91 (95% CI 0.60-1.38) for participants with AMI as a secondary dx and without a dx of AMI, respectively. Conclusions: Studies of AMI based on primary discharge dx likely under count the number of AMIs and exclude a population with similar prognosis in terms of all-cause and CVD mortality, once clinical differences considered. Further study into the characteristics, in-hospital and post-discharge management of these patients may be warranted.
Students' Development of Strategies for Turn and Angle Measure.

We studied a group of fourth grade students identified by their classroom teachers as having ‘above average ability’ in mathematics who were participating in ‘pull-out’ enrichment sessions. We sought to test, using observational and microgenetic methods, hypotheses regarding students' measurement strategies that have been generated post hoc by other research teams. These above-average mathematics students did not show initial difficulties with turn commands previously reported in mixed populations. They created strategies to accurately determine the correct direction of turn and to estimate the amount of turn. They did follow a similar developmental order as students in previous work: They synthesized and integrated two schemes, turn as body movement and turn as number. Analyses extending this work revealed a process of psychological curtailment in which students gradually replace full rotations of their bodies with smaller rotations of an arm, hand, or finger.
Some Aspects of Type-IV Continuum Radiation on Decimeter Wavelengths

The flare associated continuum bursts of Type IV in the 500–1000 Mc/s range in general consist of a smooth continuum with different variabilities superimposed upon it (Kundu and Spencer, 1963). These variabilities can take various forms. They are often short-duration fast-drift bursts which appear to be different in nature from the high frequency components of meter-wave bursts of Type III. The intense fast-drift elements which are the most dominant radiation in some dm-λ continuum events are sometimes so blended together as to make the continuum radiation appear to be composed of a succession of fast-drift bursts of fine structure. Even in such events, the smooth background continuum appears clearly whenever the superimposing fast-drift elements are weak or absent (Figure la). Occasionally the fast-drift elements occur in the form of “sprays” (Figure lb). Sometimes drifting patches occur over short periods in course of the continuum event. The individual patches, usually of duration less than 1/2 minute, often drift at the rate of several Mc/s per sec from low to high frequencies over bandwidths of the order of 200–400 Mc/s in the 500–1000 Mc/s range (Figure 1c). In addition, intermediate-drift bursts are occasionally superimposed upon the continuum (Young et al. 1961); these are short duration (< 1 sec at one frequency) bursts drifting from high to low frequencies at rates of about 30 Mc/s per second. Often the superimposing variabilities are so mixed-drifting patches, fine-structure bursts, or a combination of both-as to make the continuum event appear rather complex. However, in the later stages of such events, the continuum becomes very smooth with practically no variabilities superimposed upon it. Because of the superimposing variabilities, the dm-λ Type IV appears more variable than the corresponding cm-λ and meter-λ Type IV.
Singularities of solutions of semilinear wave equations

It is well known that the interaction of waves governed by nonlinear equations is more complicated than the simple superposition law valid in the linear case. This talk described some recent results, mostly joint work with M. Reed, concerning the interaction and propagation of singularities of solutions to semilinear hyperbolic equations. The critical question is how do singularities, propagating as waves, interact when they collide. The phenomenon, observed in simple examples and described in a variety of theorems,is that such interactions lead to the creation of new singularities. Both quantative and quantitative results are available. The interested reader is directed to the introductions of [5] and [6] for a more detailed description and as a guide to other research in the area. We append an, admittedly incomplete, bibliography (see [6] for a more complete version)
Gastrointestinal circulation and motor function

The sections in this article are: 1 History 2 Microvascular Anatomy 3 Anatomical and Methodological Considerations 4 Effects of Motility on Blood Flow in Small Intestine 4.1 Rhythmic Contractions 4.2 Tonic Contractions 4.3 Blood Flow Distribution Within Gut Wall 4.4 Summary 5 Effects of Chemicals and Nerves on Blood Flow and Motility in Small Intestine 5.1 Cholinergics 5.2 Nerves 5.3 Bradykinin 5.4 Serotonin 5.5 Other Vasoactive Drugs and Gastrointestinal Hormones 5.6 Ions and Hypertonicity 5.7 Hypercapnia and Hypoxemia 5.8 Intestinal Wall Tension and Blood Flow 5.9 Blood Flow Distribution Within Gut Wall 5.10 Summary 6 Motility and Blood Flow in Colon and Stomach 6.1 Colon 6.2 Stomach 6.3 Summary 7 Effects of Intestinal Luminal Distension 7.1 Effect on total Blood Flow 7.2 Effect on Compartmental Blood Flow, Oxygen Consumption, Capillary Filtration Coefficient, and Lymph Flow 7.3 Summary 8 Effects of Blood Flow and Hypoxia on Motor Function
Capital City Tourism: Online Destination Image of Washington, DC

National capital cities symbolize the image and prestige of a nation. Different from general urban tourism, “capital city tourism” is an emerging topic in tourism research. Being both a capital and a destination, capital cities possess a unique image that is favourable in tourism promotion. This study explores the destination image of national capital cities through qualitative content analysis of travel-related websites on Washington, DC. Six analytical themes are identified: History, Wealth, Power, Diversity, Ideal, and Patriotism. Findings suggest that national capital cities incorporate political messages in its destination image, promoting not only the city itself as a destination but also national pride and identity.
Drought- and ABA-Induced Changes in Polypeptide and mRNA Accumulation in Tomato Leaves

Drought stress triggers abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis resulting in ABA accumulation. The ABA-deficient tomato mutant, flacca (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv Ailsa Craig), does not synthesize ABA in response to drought stress. This mutant has been used to distinguish polypeptides and in vitro translation products that are synthesized during drought stress in response to elevated ABA levels from those that are induced directly by altered water relations. A set of polypeptides and in vitro translation products was synthesized during drought stress in the wild type. These polypeptides and in vitro translation products were synthesized to a lesser extent in the drought-stressed ABA-deficient mutant. Treatment of flacca with ABA resulted in the synthesis of the drought-stress-induced polypeptides and in vitro translation products. These results support the hypothesis that many of the polypeptides that are synthesized during drought are regulated by alterations in ABA concentration. Similarly, the mRNA population was altered by ABA during drought stress.
Acculturative stress and Latino depression: the mediating role of behavioral and cognitive resources.

Although research has found that acculturative stress is significantly associated with adverse psychological adjustment among Latinos, the mechanism by which this relationship exists is not clearly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of behavioral and cognitive resources – active coping and self-efficacy, respectively – as mediators of the relationship between acculturative stress and depression among a sample of Latina/o adults (N = 469). Multiple mediator analysis indicated active coping partially mediated the relationship between acculturative stress and depression symptom severity. The indirect relationship of acculturative stress to depression symptom severity through self-efficacy was not significant. The results suggest that acculturative stress directly relates to Latino psychological adjustment, and lower behavioral active coping partially accounts for this relationship. Results are discussed in the context of culturally-based stress and coping models, wherein the relationship between stressors and subsequent psychological adjustment is influenced by the degree of fit between stressor demands and individuals’ resources. Implications for treatment and theory are discussed.
Metrics of predation: perils of predator-prey ratios

We developed an original modeling approach using program Stella® to investigate the usefulness of predator–prey ratios (PPRs) for interpreting top-down and bottom-up forcing on moose Alces alces. We included density-dependent feedbacks for the moose population, allowed K to vary based on amount and quality of available forage for moose, integrated effects of compensatory mortality, and added time lags in wolves Canis lupus tracking the moose population. Modeling scenarios we developed included bottom-up and top-down regulation as predetermined outcomes. We then evaluated whether PPRs would reflect the various combinations of trajectories of predator and prey populations under top-down versus bottom-up regulation. The resulting patterns of PPRs were impossible to disentangle from one another, and did not provide reliable insights into whether top-down or bottom-forcing occurred, especially over short time spans where critical decisions related to management of moose and wolves might be necessary. Only under top-down regulation did PPRs reflect the degree of predation experienced by moose, but in that instance, knowledge of top-down regulation must be known a priori to correctly interpret PPRs. Potential problems with interpreting PPRs include their double-variable nature, which resulted in the failure to reflect patterns of increase and decrease for predators and prey. We suggest that confidence intervals for PPRs be calculated from a binomial, similar to that proposed for sex and age ratios, which should help discourage the inappropriate use of this metric. We caution that the temptation to use PPRs often is irresistible, but their reliability is highly questionable. We provide an alternative method to using PPRs or other predation metrics for determining whether top-down or bottom-up forcing is occurring by adopting an approach based on the physical condition and life-history characteristics of prey.
Multiplet effects on the widths of photoelectron peaks

The Auger-transition rate is determined for multiplets formed by coupling $s$ or $p$ holes to partially filled $d$ shells. The Auger transitions considered are $s\ensuremath{-}pd$, $s\ensuremath{-}{d}^{2}$, $p\ensuremath{-}sd$, and $p\ensuremath{-}{d}^{2}$. A sum rule for Auger transitions involving two electrons from a partially filled shell is obtained. Transition rates are evaluated for atoms with ${(3d)}^{n}$ and ${(4d)}^{n}$ configurations. It is shown for elements with almost filled $4d$ shells that the ${N}_{1}$ and ${N}_{2,3}$ decay rates are large, leading to widths on the order of 10 eV. For the $^{5}S$ and $^{7}S$ multiplets created by adding a $3s$ hole to an ion with a ${(d)}^{5}^{6}S$ ground-state configuration the calculated widths are significantly different, in contrast to the experimental observation of approximately equality of widths. It is shown that inclusion of configuration interaction with the continuum enhances the disagreement between calculation and experiment. However, including configuration interaction with discrete states removes the disagreement between calculation and experiment.
Genetically engineered murine pancreatic cancer models approximate immunophenotypic properties of human patients

Meeting abstracts Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) has a prominent stroma which includes collagen, lymphoid, myeloid, and stellate cells. Adequate preclinical models are needed to advance immunotherapy for PDA. Indeed many xenograft models poorly mimic the morphology, stroma, and phenotype of
Microwave-enhanced reaction rates for nanoparticle synthesis

Microwave reactor methodologies are unique in their ability to be scaled-up without suffering thermal gradient effects, providing a potentially industrially important improvement in nanocrystal synthetic methodology over convective methods. Synthesis of high-quality, near monodispersity nanoscale InGaP, InP, and CdSe have been prepared via direct microwave heating of the molecular precursors rather than convective heating of the solvent. Microwave dielectric heating not only enhances the rate of formation, it also enhances the material quality and size distributions. The reaction rates are influenced by the microwave field and by additives. The final quality of the microwave-generated materials depends on the reactant choice, the applied power, the reaction time, and temperature. CdSe nanocrystals prepared in the presence of a strong microwave absorber exhibit sharp excitonic features and a QY of 68% for microwave-grown materials. InGaP and InP are rapidly formed at 280 °C in minutes, yielding clean react...
Simple shelter-style environmental enrichment alters behavior in mice

Environmental enrichment aims to improve the well-being of laboratory animals and provides an opportunity to improve experimental reliability and validity. Animals raised in more stimulating environments have improved learning and memory as well as more complex brain architecture. However, the effects of environmental enrichment on motor performance, anxiety and emotional development have been poorly studied. Moreover, most investigators studying the effects of enrichment provide extremely large and complex housing conditions to maximize the likelihood of finding effects. These situations are difficult to replicate across animal facilities and are not operationally practical. In this experiment, we investigated how simple, inexpensive disposable shelterstyle enrichment items alter behavior in C57Bl/6 and 129S6 mice. Breeding pairs were established in the presence of a Ketchum “Refuge”, Shepherd Shack “Dome”, or no enrichment. Offspring were assessed neurobehaviorally, either just after weaning (pre-adolescent, P22–P25), or as young adults (P60–P90). Major strain differences were observed in open field activity, elevated maze exploration, and Y-maze activity levels. The presence of the Refuge and/or Dome enrichment shelters significantly altered motor activity, coordination and some measures of anxiety. Mice housed in the presence of shelters were also less dominant than control mice in a tube test assay. Our experiments provide a detailed analysis of the effects of inexpensive and practical methods of housing enrichment on biobehavioral phenotypes in these two commonly used strains of laboratory mice, and suggest that the effects of these shelters on mouse neurobiology and behavior need to be rigorously analyzed before being adopted within vivariums.
Recursive hashing functions for n-grams

Many indexing, retrieval, and comparison methods are based on counting or cataloguing n-grams in streams of symbols. The fastest method of implementing such operations is through the use of hash tables. Rapid hashing of consecutive n-grams is best done using a recursive hash function, in which the hash value of the current n-gram is drived from the hash value of its predecessor. This article generalizes recursive hash functions found in the literature and proposes new methods offering superior performance. Experimental results demonstrate substantial speed improvement over conventional approaches, while retaining near-ideal hash value distribution.
Some factors in the measurement of the suspending power of aqueous detergent/fabric systems

The variability associated with the usual methods for measuring the suspending power of aqueous detergent solutions used to remove soil from textile fibers is pointed out, and a modified method, using multiple washes with very low concentrations of soil, is proposed. Two commonly used artificial soils are compared. Micronex, a typical fine particle carbon black, appears to give data in reasonable accord with practical experience while Aquadag, a suspension of graphite particles, tends to magnify some effects and therefore is more useful for specific tests. Aquadag is found to be highly dispersed in dilute aqueous suspension while Micronex (as well as other carbon blacks) forms relatively large aggregates in water. These aggregates are partially dispersed by vigorous agitation in a Waring Blendor but are more completely dispersed by rotation in the Launder-Ometer in the presence of fabric, yarn, or fiber of cotton or other textile material. The influence of hard water and of other inorganic salts on suspending power data is discussed. The need for careful selection of type of soil and fabric and for careful interpretation of data is stressed.
Prevalence, correlates, and sexually transmitted infection risk related to coitus interruptus among African-American adolescents.

Coitus interruptus or withdrawal that involves the male partner "pulling out" before ejaculation has received relatively little research attention particularly in adolescents. The limited data that exist suggest that it is practiced among adolescents yet its prevalence remains unclear. In a research trial developed to test the efficacy of a sexually transmitted infection (STI)/HIV prevention program among black adolescents we were surprised to see extensive use of withdrawal (60% prevalence). Because black adolescents are disproportionately affected by the intersecting epidemics of HIV and other STIs the practice of withdrawal may pose a particular risk practice for this population. Therefore we examined 3 questions: (1) what are the correlates of withdrawal use among black adolescents (2) how widespread is the combined use of withdrawal and condoms and (3) what is the contribution of withdrawal to STI acquisition? (excerpt)
Biomechanical comparison of cannulated small bone screws: A brief follow-up study

The compressive forces generated by the ASIF and Herbert small bone cannulated screws were measured in the laboratory with the use of simulated bones and a custom-designed load washer as a means of quantifying their fixation capabilities. Comparative data were also generated for the Herbert scaphoid bone screw and the ASIF 4 mm cancellous screw. The cannulated Herbert bone screw and the ASIF 4 mm cancellous screw were found to have nearly identical compression capabilities. Both generated compression forces approximately five times those of the Herbert scaphoid bone screw. The ASIF small cannulated screw demonstrated a compressive capacity 21/2 times that of the Herbert screw.
Regressions of Length and Width to Predict Arthropod Biomass in the Hawaiian Islands

Biologists in many fields use published regression equations to predict biomass from simple linear body measurements. Power functions are used with arthropods, facilitating biomass estimation of a sample when destructive techniques are not feasible. Resulting predictive coefficients vary widely depending on region and taxa. There are no published biomass regressions for oceanic island fauna, despite the widely accepted conclusion that their arthropod assemblages are unusual in composition. I present a suite of general and taxonomically and morphologically restricted regression equations developed for arthropods in the Hawaiian Islands. General regression equations were highly significant when only length was used to predict biomass, but fits were usually improved by including body width. In regressing restricted sets of taxa, the addition of width did little to improve the fit of the functions. Thus, the choice of regression equations involves a trade-off in taxonomic resolution: precise biomass estimates will come either from (1) low taxonomic resolution measured for both length and width, or (2) high taxonomic resolution measured only for body length. These equations have a high predictive capacity for a broad range of arthropod taxa common in the Hawaiian Islands and, in the absence of locally developed equations, the arthropods of other oceanic islands.
Behavioral effects of stimulation by UHF radio fields.

20 male albino rats were used as Ss in determining behavioral effects of ultra high frequency radiation. Experimental Ss were exposed to low intensity (50,000 mV), low frequency (300 mc to 920 mc) UHF radio waves for 47 consecutive days. Radiated rats were more active than non-radiated rats during the early part of the experiment, but became less active as the days of radiation increased. The UHF group was more emotional than the non-UHF group and showed a gradual increase in the latency of recovery from electroshock convulsion. No differences were found for weight, audiogenic seizures, and water consumption. Results suggest that (a) some time is required for UHF to have a consistent effect on behavior, and (b) the effects on behavior may be non-thermal and related to neurophysiological substrates.
Remarks on Christopher Hill's Thought and World

One of Christopher Hill's aims in his new book is to bring about what he calls a "marriage of heaven and hell."1 Hill proposes a way of joining together ideas about the concept of truth that are often seen to be in irreconcilable conflict: deflationism and the correspondence theory.2 Hill's proposal, I want to suggest, is one that correspondence theorists can happily accept. It is the deflationists that are likely to resist it. But I do not see in this any argument against Hill's elegant proposal. Hill's proposal works, essentially, by assigning separate domains to the conflicting parties: there are two notions of truth, and one is to be allotted to the correspondence theorists and the other to the deflationists.3 Both notions pertain to propositions or in Hill's preferred terminology, which I shall follow, thoughts. Thoughts, as Hill conceives of them, are objects of attitudes such as belief and desire. More specifically, they are logically structured entities and have concepts as their fundamental constituents. Both notions of truth have thoughts as their domain of application, but the two carve out this domain in different ways. The notion allotted to the correspondence theorist call it "correspondence truth" or "truthc" may be defined as follows:
Children's Emotion Recognition from Spontaneous Speech Using a Reduced Set of Acoustic and Linguistic Features

The aim of this article is to classify chil- dren's affective states in a real-life non-prototypical emo- tion recognition scenario. The framework is the same as that proposed in the Interspeech 2009 Emotion Chal- lenge. We used a large set of acoustic features and five linguistic parameters based on the concept of emotional salience. Features were extracted from the spontaneous speech recordings of the FAU Aibo Corpus and their transcriptions. We used a wrapper method to reduce the acoustic set of features from 384 to 28 elements and feature-level fusion to merge them with the set of linguistic parameters. We studied three classification approaches: a Na¨ ive-Bayes classifier, a support vector machine and a logistic model tree. Results show that the linguistic features improve the performances of the classifiers that use only acoustic datasets. Addition- ally, merging the linguistic features with the reduced acoustic set is more effective than working with the full dataset. The best classifier performance is achieved with the logistic model tree and the reduced set of acoustic and linguistic features, which improves the per- formance obtained with the full dataset by 4.15% ab- solute (10.14% relative) and improves the performance of the Na¨ ive-Bayes classifier by 9.91% absolute (28.18% relative). For the same conditions proposed in the Emo- tion Challenge, this simple scheme slightly improves a much more complex structure involving seven classifiers and a larger number of features.
Synchronized Switching Mechanism for the Linear Induction Accelerators

Feasibility study for the introduction of the saturable resistor as switching device in the network of linear induction accelerators is presented. The new accelerator can provide charging as well as accelerating beam current time duration in the order of ? sec which is desired in the utilization of heavy ion beam for inertial fusion research.
Can string theory overcome deep problems in quantum gravity

Abstract Studies of the consequences of requiring a reconciliation of quantum mechanics and general relativity have led to a number of distasteful allegations. These include claims that pure quantum states evolve into mixed states and that wormhole contributions to the euclidean path integral render the parameters of particle physics stochastic. My point of view is that a sensible reconciliation requires replacing general relativity by string theory, and it should provide more satisfying answers to these problems. One possibility is that it provides many different types of “quantum hair”, perhaps enough to account for all the entropy associated with black holes. Some possible sources of quantum hair in string theory are considered.
Correlations between the kinetics of zinc electrodeposition and the fractal properties of the deposits

We present an experimental study of the electrodeposition of zinc in a thin-layer, three-electrode, electrochemical cell. We show that as the steady-state current-potential behavior approaches mass-transfer-limited kinetics, the fractal dimension of the morphology of the deposit converges to the diffusion-limited-aggregation value of frac53;. We also show that the kinetic parameters that are obtained in the thin-layer electrochemical cell, which was constructed to induce two-dimensional growth that can be conveniently analyzed and compared with computer simulations, agree with those obtained in the traditional three-dimensional configuration.
Computer analysis of EEG activity in dementia of the Alzheimer's type and Huntington's disease

Abstract Computer analysis of the EEG was obtained in the course of evaluation of 35 patients with Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type (DAT) and Huntington's disease (HD), and compared to 20 age-matched normal controls. On-line computer analysis of the EEG consisted of: 1) compressed spectral array (CSA) displays (2–6 channels); 2) relative frequency power (4 bands) and 3) an averaged frequency power function {[alpha/alpha + theta power (μV 2 )] × 100 = % EEG Power function}. Frequency power reflected increased theta, and reduced alpha components, in patient groups. Significant correlation was obtained between % EEG Power function, and clinical stage of dementia. This function correctly identified 17/25 DAT, and 7/10 HD patients, and gave additional quantification to the primary EEG.
Very large radio surveys of the sky

Recent advances in electronics and computing have made possible a new generation of large radio surveys of the sky that yield an order-of-magnitude higher sensitivity and positional accuracy. Combined with the unique properties of the radio universe, these quantitative improvements open up qualitatively different and exciting new scientific applications of radio surveys.
Transpiration and cavitation in a synthetic tree

Abstract Transpiration of water at 5.6 μg/s through a bio-inspired hydrogel-microchannel synthetic tree is reported. Cavitation events in the synthetic tree induced by puncture, convective heating in air, and mechanical impact are imaged using a high speed camera at 16,326 pictures per second. Vapor bubbles generated from cavitation events propagate through the microchannels at speeds between 0.4 and 60 m/s depending on the inducement mode, demonstrating the need for cavitation protection features in synthetic trees. Partial cavitation protection is conferred to the synthetic tree by a parallel microchannel design.
Diamond Ultramicroelectrode Chemical Sensing Arrays

Diamond ultramicroelectrode arrays (D-UMEAs) have been fabricated and evaluated experimentally for chemical sensing. D-UMEAs were found to demonstrate higher current density per unit active area than planar diamond macroelectrode and glassy carbon electrode. D-UMEAs could address new operating envelopes in electrochemical detection, and provide stable sensor electrodes for bio and extreme environments.
The Experiences of Mexican Americans Receiving Professional Nursing Care: An Ethnonursing Study:

The focus of this study was to discover the experiences of Mexican Americans receiving professional nursing care. The purpose of this study was to explore the care experiences, views, patterns, and meanings of Mexican Americans who have received professional nursing care. The need for this study arises from nursing's lack of knowledge regarding the experiences and cultural values of Mexican Americans receiving professional nursing care and how these values influence the health and/or well being of Mexican Americans.
Incorporating global information in feature-based multimodal image registration

A multimodal image registration framework based on searching the best matched keypoints and the incorporation of global information is proposed. It comprises two key elements: keypoint detection and an iterative process. Keypoints are detected from both the reference and test images. For each test keypoint, a number of reference keypoints are chosen as mapping candidates. A triplet of keypoint mappings determine an affine transformation that is evaluated using a similarity metric between the reference image and the transformed test image by the determined transformation. An iterative process is conducted on triplets of keypoint mappings, keeping track of the best matched reference keypoint. Random sample consensus and mutual information are applied to eliminate outlier keypoint mappings. The similarity metric is defined to be the number of overlapped edge pixels over the entire images, allowing for global information to be incorporated in the evaluation of triplets of mappings. The performance of the framework is investigated with keypoints extracted by scale invariant feature transform and partial intensity invariant feature descriptor. Experimental results show that the proposed framework can provide more accurate registration than existing methods.
Geometry of the half-symmetric image

Herzberger defined the half-symmetric image as the image formed when the manifold of diapoints degenerates into a curve on the meridian plane. The caustic associated with the half-symmetric image is here analyzed in terms of the W and the C± functions discussed in an earlier paper. It is shown that two cases are obtained. In one, an aberration pattern is produced which resembles coma. In the other, an object point is imaged as a curve on the meridian plane and thus resembles astigmatism. However, true coma and true astigmatism both belong to the more general deformation error in which the diapont manifold covers a region of the meridian plane.
Two decades and a Category 5 hurricane later … tracking homeless substance abusers in New Orleans

This paper outlines the qualitative methods utilised in a long-term follow-up study of a non-traditional population: homeless substance abusers in New Orleans. The purpose of this research project was to identify possible desistance variables in the lives of homeless substance abusers and estimate their effects on various life outcomes. By way of phone, mail and in-person interviews, this research examines the life course of a sample of New Orleans homeless substance abusers from the time they entered into treatment (1991) until the present and observes the quality of their social bonds and their long-term outcomes. By making use of longitudinal research methods, this project gives a more thorough understanding of homelessness and substance abuse.