cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Retinoids in eggs and embryos of birds fed fish from the Great Lakes.

Retinoids were analyzed in 11-day chick embryos and eggs from white Leghorn hens (Gallus domesticus) fed environmentally-derived polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in carp (Cyprinus carpio) from Saginaw Bay. The yolks and the embryos contained all-trans-retinol, 3,4-didehydroretinol and retinyl esters. There was no significant difference in the total retinoid content in the yolks of 11-day incubated eggs among hens fed for 7 weeks diets containing 0.5–6.6 mg PCB/kg diet. However, the proportional amount of retinols in the high (6.6 mg) PCB group was significantly less than that in low (0.5 mg) PCB controls, while the amount of retinyl palmitate in the high PCB group was significantly greater than that in the controls. Retinoids in the embryos were not affected by any of the PCB levels fed to hens for 7 weeks prior to laying the eggs. The 50% reduction in the molar ratio of retinols to retinyl palmitate in the yolks of eggs as the result of the high PCB level fed to hens for 7 weeks can serve as an indicator for chronic exposure to PCB contamination at the level of 6.6 mg or higher PCB/kg diet.
Unified interactive multiple objective programming

Abstract Previous research has stressed the philosophical, strategic, and taxonomical differences among the procedures of interactive multiple objective programming. In this paper, however, we pursue a completely different tack by examining the all but overlooked implementation similarities of the interactive procedures. In doing so, the paper demonstrates how the preponderance of interactive procedures can be made to fit a single algorithmic outline. Then, by introducing the concept of the unified sampling program, and using only a modest inventory of component subroutines, it is shown how these procedures can be unified into a single algorithmic product. In addition, the unified approach of this paper supports procedure-switching, thus enabling a user to start with one procedure and switch to other procedures during the interactive process if so desired. A unified algorithm embracing STEM, the Geoffrion-Dyer-Feinberg procedure, interactive goal programming, Wierzbicki's Aspiration Criterion Vector method, and five other prominent procedures is used to illustrate the degree to which the procedures of interactive multiple objective programming can be folded into one another when pursuing the unified strategy.
Meniere's Disease: 150 Years and Still Elusive

The amount of information in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months. Unfortunately, although nearly 150 years have passed since Prosper Meniere first described the constellation of symptoms that is called Meniere’s disease, conclusive etiology and curative treatments are still elusive. Some of the brightest and most productive scientists in the world are focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms giving rise to the auditory and vestibular phenomena that patients suffer yet we still do not have a clear grasp on whether or not this disease is metabolic, developmental, genetic, autoimmune, or infectious. Reading through the content in this publication, written by leading experts in this field, there is strong experimental and clinical evidence to support each of these theories, and thus, the most likely explanation is that the disease is multifactorial. Although endolymphatic hydrops has long been held to be the distinguishing pathologic derangement, which gives rise to Meniere’s disease, it is provocative to consider that, in blinded temporal bone studies, not all individuals with histopathologic evidence of endolymphatic hydrops had clinical histories consistent with Meniere’s disease. This suggests that there may be ameliorating factors even in the presence of histopathologically evident hydrops that can modulate patient symptoms. Even more perplexing is the finding that the surgical destruction of the endolymphatic sac seems to improve symptoms in these patients, contrary to what might be expected, and calls into question the role of the endolymphatic sac in maintaining inner ear homeostasis.
The group of schizoaffective and related psychoses: IV. A family study

Abstract There is increasing evidence that numerous affective symptoms are present during every stage of schizophrenia, often persisting throughout the patient's schizophrenic life. This study has shown that sick first-degree relatives have manifested a very similar clinical picture, course and outcome as the probands. Since the course of illness in both probands and relatives was chronic psychotic and deteriorating, it was characteristic of schizophrenia and not of affective disorder. Neither the presence of numerous affective symptoms, nor the family study indicated the presence of schizoaffective psychosis as a diagnostic entity. We suggest, therefore, that the term “undiagnosed” rather than schizoaffective psychosis be used when encountering acute cases of psychotic and affective symptoms. The methodological shortcomings of this study were discussed.
The lateral line mechanoreceptive mesencephalic, diencephalic, and telencephalic regions in the thornback ray, Platyrhinoidis triseriata (Elasmobranchii)

Central lateral line pathways were mapped in the thornback ray,Platyrhinoidis triseriata, by analyzing depth profiles of averaged evoked potentials (AEPs), multiunit activity (MUA), and single unit recordings.
Physicochemical characteristics and levels of microbial activity in some Florida peat swamps

Abstract Although microorganisms are certainly present in swamp and marsh peats, their geochemical role has not been demonstrated, in spite of their importance in determining the input to coalification processes. In order to obtain information on the gross level of microbial activity in the natural habitats, a broad-spectrum test for a type of enzyme important in the respiration of all organisms has been applied to cores of peat from a number of different environments in the Florida Everglades. In most cases, the respiratory activity in the upper layer is comparable to that in a fertile mineral soil, and this level of activity is found also at greater depths in several cores. In addition, some properties of the peat that tend to define their character as habitats for microorganisms were determined. pH values close to neutrality were observed at all sites. Chlorinity and total ionic strength naturally were high in the coastal swamps; seasonal variations in profiles in the brackish areas somewhat away from the coast suggested that some bulk flow of water through the peat into the porous limestone bedrock occurs in the rainy season. Eh profiles, regarded as empirical characterizations of environments, did differ considerably between saline and fresh water peats, though on a graphite indicator electrode were more positive than might have been expected in systems in which sulfate reduction was active. However, in these non-equilibrium systems, the potential recorded apparently depends on the nature of the electrode material used.
An unusual mosaic protein with a protease domain, encoded by the nudeI gene, is involved in defining embryonic dorsoventral polarity in Drosophila

Abstract Dorsoventral polarity of the Drosophila embryo is induced by a ventral extracellular signal, which is produced by a locally activated protease cascade within the extraembryonic perivitelline compartment. Local activation of the protease cascade depends on a positional cue that is laid down during oogenesis outside the oocyte. Here we present evidence that the nudeI gene encodes an essential component of this cue. The nudeI gene, which is expressed in follicle cells covering the oocyte, encodes an unusual mosaic protein resembling an extracellular matrix protein with a central serine protease domain. Our findings suggest that embryonic dorsoventral polarity is defined by a positional cue that requires the nudel protein to anchor and to trigger the protease cascade producing the polarity-inducing signal.
A CASE OF C-H ACTIVATION (ORTHO METALATION) WHICH IS REVERSIBLE AT 25 C

The reaction of LiC2Ph with Ir(H)2ClL2 (L = PtBu2Ph) gives Ir(H)2(C2Ph)L2, which readily loses H2 to form the ortho-metalated species IrH(η2-C6H4PtBu2)(C2Ph)L. This molecule is unique in showing (sp2)C/H reductive elimination/oxidative addition, which is thermally reversible at 25 °C. Line shape analysis of the 31P{1H} NMR spectra yield ΔH⧧ = 12.3 (±0.4) kcal mol-1 and ΔS⧧ = −2.0 (±1.1) cal deg-1 mol-1 for this process. This implicates the 14-electron species Ir(C2Ph)L2 as highly reactive, yet more easily accessible, than IrClL2 (which ortho metallates essentially irreversibly). The strained four-membered ring in IrH(η2-C6H4PtBu2)(C2Ph)L reacts readily with PhC2H to give IrH(C2Ph)2L2, another unsaturated molecule essentially devoid of π-stabilization. The structure of this molecule, a square pyramid with apical hydride (proton NMR chemical shift −44 ppm), minimizes the Lewis acidity of such a species. Crystal data (−181 °C): a = 9.616(1) A, b = 23.032(2) A, c = 8.886(1) A, α = 95.18(1)°, β = 99.03(1), γ ...
Basic emotions, natural kinds, emotion schemas, and a new paradigm.

Research on emotion flourishes in many disciplines and specialties, yet experts cannot agree on its definition. Theorists and researchers use the term emotion in ways that imply different processes and meanings. Debate continues about the nature of emotions, their functions, their relations to broad affective dimensions, the processes that activate them, and their role in our daily activities and pursuits. I will address these issues here, specifically in terms of basic emotions as natural kinds, the nature of emotion schemas, the development of emotion—cognition relations that lead to emotion schemas, and discrete emotions in relation to affective dimensions. Finally, I propose a new paradigm that assumes continual emotion as a factor in organizing consciousness and as an influence on mind and behavior. The evidence reviewed suggests that a theory that builds on concepts of both basic emotions and emotion schemas provides a viable research tool and is compatible with more holistic or dimensional approaches.
A PstI Polymorphism Detects the Mutation of Serine128 to Arginine in CD 62E Gene – a Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Disease

The mutation of serine128 to arginine in the CD 62E gene is a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). We designed a new method to detect this mutation based on the observation that it is due to a transversion of nucleotide A561 to C, which abolishes aPstI recognition site. Two alleles, A and C, are easily typed when genomic DNA is amplified by PCR, digested withPstI, and separated on agarose gels. Among 153 people who underwent an elective, diagnostic arteriography in Johns Hopkins Hospital, we found that the C allele accounts for 19.5% in angiographically documented CAD patients (n=82). It is significantly higher than the 10.6% frequency observed in normal controls (n=71, p<0.05). It indicates that the C allele is associated with early-onset CAD. This new method should facilitate the screening of this mutant allele in large populations and contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the association of this mutation with CAD.
DNA REPAIR IS ACTIVATED IN EARLY STAGES OF P53-INDUCED APOPTOSIS

p53 is a complex molecule involved in apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and DNA repair. Since apoptosis may play an important role in deletion of neoplastic cells, an understanding of the mechanism of p53-induced apoptosis may be critical for possible future therapeutic interventions. Recent evidence suggests that p53-induced apoptosis may involve members of the nucleotide excision repair (NER) family, linking these two cellular events. Our work using a temperature-sensitive p53 construct further analyzes p53-induced apoptosis in cultured murine mammary epithelial cells and also suggests that DNA repair plays a role in that process. Although p21 is induced in our system, apoptosis occurs without a detectable preceding G1 cell cycle arrest and independent of cellular alterations brought on by the temperature shift. In addition, clonogenic assays suggest that early stages of p53-induced apoptosis may be reversible upon removal of the apoptosis stimulus. As a possible explanation for this reversibility, our results show that general DNA repair activity increases early in p53-induced apoptosis. We also show that caspase-3 is activated at a timepoint when colony formation begins to drop, suggesting a possible mechanism for the point of no return in p53-induced apoptosis. Cell Death and Differentiation (2000) 7, 393–401
Substantia nigra opiate receptors on basal ganglia efferents

Many behavioral effects of opiate narcotics and peptides have been linked to effects on dopamine neurons originating in the substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area. Selective brain lesions were combined with quantitative autoradiography to determine whether opiate receptors are on dopaminergic somata and/or processes in the substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area. 6-Hydroxydopamine lesions that eliminated dopamine neurons produced little change in the pattern or density of [3H]-naloxone binding in the substantia nigra pars compacta or ventral tegmental area. Radiofrequency lesions of the internal capsule or globus pallidus and kainic acid lesions of the striatum markedly decreased [3H]-naloxone binding in the pars compacta and pars reticulata. These results are consistent with a dense distribution of opiate receptors on pallido-nigral and/or striato-nigral fibers and strengthen the likelihood that local effects of opiates on dopamine function in the nigrostriatal pathway are mediated indirectly by actions on nondopaminergic processes.
Experimental characterization of powered Fontan hemodynamics in an idealized total cavopulmonary connection model

A viscous impeller pump (VIP) based on the Von Karman viscous pump is specifically designed to provide cavopulmonary assist in a univentricular Fontan circulation. The technology will make it possible to biventricularize the univentricular Fontan circulation. Ideally, it will reduce the number of surgeries required for Fontan conversion from three to one early in life, while simultaneously improving physiological conditions. Later in life, it will provide a currently unavailable means of chronic support for adolescent and adult patients with failing Fontan circulations. Computational fluid dynamics simulations demonstrate that the VIP can satisfactorily augment cavopulmonary blood flow in an idealized total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC). When the VIP is deployed at the TCPC intersection as a static device, it stabilizes the four-way flow pattern and is not obstructive to the flow. Experimental studies are carried out to assess performance, hemodynamic characteristics, and flow structures of the VIP in an idealized TCPC model. Stereoscopic particle image velocimetry is applied using index-matched blood analog. Results show excellent performance of the VIP without cavitation and with reduction of the energy losses. The non-rotating VIP smoothes and accelerates flow, and decreases stresses and turbulence in the TCPC. The rotating VIP generates the desired low-pressure Fontan flow augmentation (0–10 mmHg) while maintaining acceptable stress thresholds.
A field study of small raindrop oscillations

Measurements were made at the ground in Hawaiian showers to detect oscillations of small raindrops as predicted by recent laboratory experiments. Oscillation frequencies and amplitudes were determined from photographs using backscattered light of the primary rainbow. A strobe provided highlights so that the fall speeds and corresponding sizes of each drop could be calculated. The drop-size distributions were measured independently with a collocated disdrometer. The observations of 0.3 mm to 2.0 mm diameter raindrops clearly showed the onset of oscillations near 1 mm, at the same size where eddy shedding begins. Alternative causes of drop oscillations from drop collisions and wind shear were eliminated using estimates based on drop-size distributions and winds. Our inferred oscillation sizes, modes and amplitudes were consistent with several previous measurements where small raindrops were found to be generally more spherical than the non-oscillating shapes predicted by theory. This field study firmly establishes eddy shedding as the major cause of natural shape variations for small raindrops in precipitation—and provides further evidence that significant corrections are needed in estimating the scattering of microwaves in light to heavy rain showers (e.g., for interpreting polarization radar data and evaluating rain outages in communication links).
Determination of transient drainage across lease boundaries

Abstract A technique which simplifies the determination of how much oil or gas flows across a linear segment during the transient flow period of the reservoir is presented. The technique is based on two definite integrals which result from application of the line-source solution of flow in an infinite-acting reservoir combined with the fundamental definition of flow across a plane. The theory, the outline of a methodology, and several examples are provided. The examples, one which determines the flow across a lease line for transient flow in an oil reservoir, one using the method for a bounded lease, and one using the method to assess the well spacing in a tight-gas reservoir, show that the technique can be applied to a variety of practical problems. Graphical solutions to the definite integrals are given to facilitate application of the method.
Vitamin C in plasma is inversely related to blood pressure and change in blood pressure during the previous year in young Black and White women

The prevalence of hypertension and its contribution to cardiovascular disease risk makes it imperative to identify factors that may help prevent this disorder. Extensive biological and biochemical data suggest that plasma ascorbic acid may be such a factor. In this study we examined the association between plasma ascorbic acid concentration and blood pressure (BP) in young-adult women. Participants were 242 Black and White women aged 18–21 yr from the Richmond, CA, cohort of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study. We examined the associations of plasma ascorbic acid with BP at follow-up year 10, and with change in BP during the previous year. In cross-sectional analysis, plasma ascorbic acid at year 10 was inversely associated with systolic BP and diastolic BP after adjusting for race, body mass index, education, and dietary intake of fat and sodium. Persons in the highest one-fourth of the plasma ascorbic acid distribution had 4.66 mmHg lower systolic BP (95% CI 1.10 to 8.22 mmHg, p = 0.005) and 6.04 mmHg lower diastolic BP (95% CI 2.70 to 9.38 mmHg, p = 0.0002) than those in the lowest one-fourth of the distribution. In analysis of the change in BP, plasma ascorbic acid was also inversely associated with change in systolic BP and diastolic BP during the previous year. While diastolic blood pressure among persons in the lowest quartile of plasma ascorbic acid increased by 5.97 mmHg (95% CI 3.82 to 8.13 mmHg) from year 9 to year 10, those in the highest quartile of plasma vitamin C increased by only 0.23 mmHg (95% CI -1.90 to +2.36 mmHg) (test for linear trend: p < 0.0001). A similar effect was seen for change in systolic BP, p = 0.005. Plasma ascorbic acid was found to be inversely associated with BP and change in BP during the prior year. The findings suggest the possibility that vitamin C may influence BP in healthy young adults. Since lower BP in young adulthood may lead to lower BP and decreased incidence of age-associated vascular events in older adults, further investigation of treatment effects of vitamin C on BP regulation in young adults is warranted.
The Spectrum of Lead Hydride

From a lead arc in a hydrogen atmosphere at four to five atmospheres pressure, a "many-lined" spectrum in the region 5000-7000A due to PbH has been produced. Practically all of the lines have been assigned to ten bands constituting a $^{2}\ensuremath{\Sigma}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{2}\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ transition between an upper state of low stability and a stable ground state (${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{e}=1565.2$, ${B}_{e}=4.972$). Strong interaction with other states is evidenced by a very large spin-doubling ($\ensuremath{\gamma}=6.17$) in the lower state and in the upper state by an unorthodox variation of ${{B}_{v}}^{*}$ with $v$, irregular spin doubling, a prominent failure of the Mecke rule and a sharp cut-off of levels at about $\frac{1}{3}$ volt above ${K}^{\ensuremath{'}}=0$, ${v}^{\ensuremath{'}}=0$.
STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN HEXOKINASE II GENE

Mutations in the gene encoding hexokinase II which catalyzes a key step in glycolysis could contribute to the development of peripheral insulin resistance and lead to non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. As a first step towards screening patients for mutations in this gene, we have determined its structure and the sequence of exon-intron junctions. The human HKII gene is composed of 18 exons that span at least 40 kb, and its organization is highly homologous to that of the rat gene. A hexokinase II processed pseudogene was discovered while screening a human genomic library. The coding sequence of this pseudogene is uninterrupted by introns and contains at least one premature stop codon.
A procedure for the isolation of primary cultures of melanocytes from newborn and adult human skin.

A method to obtain high-density primary cultures of adult and neonatal human melanocytes is described. Keratinocytes and melanocytes are coisolated from split- thickness sections of neonatal foreskin obtained after circumcision, or from adult facial skin removed for cosmetic correction. Cells are released by trypsin and are plated in McCoy's 5A medium containing cholera enterotoxin (1 × 10 -9 M) and isobutylmethylxanthine (3.3 × 10 -5 M) to enhance melanocyte and keratinocyte multiplication. Keratinocytes and melanocytes are allowed to grow for 1 week. To remove associated keratinocytes, cells are exposed to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (1.92 × 10 -5 , 3.84 × 10 -5 , 1.92 × 10 -4 M). In the presence of low concentrations of 5-FU, keratinocytes are selectively destroyed within 3 weeks, while melanocytes continue to multiply and to form pigment. The differential effect of 5-FU on the multiplication of keratinocytes and melanocytes provides a simple method for obtaining cultures of melanocytes free from other nondendritic cell types present in the epidermis.
A Pituitary Adenoma With Dilated Ventricles

Abstract It is generally accepted that postoperatively radiographic examinations be limited to the area of pathology. The patient presented here complained of visual difficulties two years after transphenoidal removal of a pituitary prolactinoma. His endocrinologist ordered what he believed to be the appropriate computed tomography study and the neuroradiologist did not correctly interpret the new finding of dialted ventricles. Subsequently, a second primary tumor was discovered, a pineal gland sarcoma. The patient had refused radiotherapy after removal of his prolactinoma. Had he not, his second tumor would probably have been attributed to radiation. It is interesting to speculate whether radiation scatter from treatment of the prolactinoma would have prevented the pineal gland sarcoma.
Dense nonrigid motion tracking from a sequence of velocity fields

We have addressed the problem of tracking the non-rigid motion of the heart using a sequence of velocity fields and a sequence of contours. The information from both the contours and the dense velocity fields is integrated into a deforming mesh that is placed over the myocardium at one time frame and then tracked over the entire cardiac cycle. The deformation is guided by a smoothing filter that provides a compromise between (i) believing the dense field velocity and the contour data when it is crisp and coherent in a local spatial and temporal sense and (ii) employing a temporally smooth cyclic model of cardiac motion when contour and velocity data are not trustworthy. The method has been carefully evaluated with simulated data and phantom data. Experiments with in vivo data have also been conducted.
The cross-bridge cycle and skeletal muscle fatigue

The functional correlates of fatigue observed in both animals and humans during exercise include a decline in peak force (P0), maximal velocity, and peak power. Establishing the extent to which the...
Joseph B. Strauss, Charles A. Ellis, and the Golden Gate Bridge: Justice at Last

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the best-known engineering structures in the world and was the longest suspension bridge in the world for many years. Its design has generally been attributed to Joseph Strauss, but recent evidence proves that Charles Ellis was the prime designer of the bridge between 1929 and 1931. Strauss fired Ellis in late 1931 and systematically removed any mention of Ellis’ name in his final report on the bridge issued in 1938. It remained for John van der Zee in his book The Gate to set the record straight. This paper makes the case that Strauss violated one of the fundamental ethical canons—that of giving credit where credit is due.
Acclimation of white lupin to phosphorus deficiency involves enhanced expression of genes related to organic acid metabolism

White lupin (Lupinus albus L.) acclimates to phosphorus deficiency (−P) by the development of short, densely clustered lateral roots called proteoid (or cluster) roots. These specialized plant organs display increased exudation of citric and malic acid. The enhanced exudation of organic acids from P stressed white lupin roots is accompanied by increased in vitro phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activity. Here we report the cloning of full-length white lupin PEPC and MDH cDNAs. RNA blot analysis indicates enhanced expression of these genes in −P proteoid roots, placing higher gene expression at the site of organic acid exudation. Correspondingly, macroarray analysis of about 1250 ESTs (expressed sequence tags) revealed induced expression of genes involved in organic acid metabolism in −P proteoid roots. In situ hybridization revealed that PEPC and MDH were both expressed in the cortex of emerging and mature proteoid rootlets. A C3 PEPC protein was partially purified from proteoid roots of P deficient white lupin. Native and subunit Mr were determined to be 440 kD and 110 kD, respectively. Citrate and malate were effective inhibitors of in vitro PEPC activity at pH 7. Addition of ATP partially relieved inhibition of PEPC by malate but had little effect on citrate inhibition. Taken together, the results presented here suggest that acclimation of white lupin to low P involves modified expression of plant genes involved in carbon metabolism.
Design and Control of a Powered Transfemoral Prosthesis

The paper describes the design and control of a transfemoral prosthesis with powered knee and ankle joints. The initial prototype is a pneumatically actuated powered-tethered device, which is intended to serve as a laboratory test bed for a subsequent self-powered version. The prosthesis design is described, including its kinematic optimization and the design of a three-axis socket load cell that measures the forces and moments of interaction between the socket and prosthesis. A gait controller is proposed based on the use of passive impedance functions that coordinates the motion of the prosthesis with the user during level walking. The control approach is implemented on the prosthesis prototype and experimental results are shown that demonstrate the promise of the active prosthesis and control approach in restoring fully powered level walking to the user.
Properties of quantal transmission at CA1 synapses.

We have used Monte Carlo simulations to understand the generation of quantal responses at the single active zones of CA1 synapses. We constructed a model of AMPA channel activation that accounts fo...
DFT based Monte Carlo simulations of poly(9,9-dialkylfluorene-2,7-diyl) polymers in solution.

The dilute solution properties of poly(9,9-dihexylfluorene-2,7-diyl) (PDHF) were studied by coupled SEC/light scattering and MALDI−TOF over a large molecular weight (MW) span ranging from PDHF oligomers (1−8-mer) to high MW polymer. The results were compared with Monte Carlo simulations based on realistic PDHF models obtained from X-ray data and density functional theory (DFT) calculations and with a DFT based Kratky−Porod−Benoit−Doty (KPBD) worm-like chain. The simulations called “selective random walk” (SRW) and the corresponding “selective self-avoiding random walk” (SSAW) explicitly take into account the rotationally labile bonds between the fluorene units in that four distinct torsion angles (±37.5 and ± 143°) between the units are chosen randomly. The simulations better account than the KPBD model for the experimental data obtained by us and others for various poly(9,9-dialkylfluorene-2,7-diyl) polymers but still give somewhat larger values for the radii of gyration and hydrodynamic volumes. The tor...
Dynamic colour adaptation for colour object tracking

This manuscript describes an implementation of a system that can adaptively cope with the task of robust colour identification in the domain of robot soccer. The main challenge is to perform this in an environment of changing light conditions and/or cameras used. The camera setup is first characterised using common techniques from colour management with ICC profiles. In a second step current light conditions are compensated for by means of an affine colour transformation determined repeatedly at runtime. Lastly, a self learning hybrid Fuzzy colour contrast fusion algorithm is used to discriminate the detected colours optimally against each other. This enables the system to robustly and efficiently identify individual players and objects on the playing field.
The determination of the relationship between strain and microhardness by means of visioplasticity

The determination of strain values by means of microhardness measurements is a useful technique in that it can be used to measure plastic strains either on the surface or within the body of a specimen or structural component. A method is described whereby a calibration curve between strain and microhardness can be obtained by use of the visioplasticity technique. The curve thus obtained is valid for complex stress and strain states and for high strains. The microhardness was found to be a single valued function of the true effective strain independent of how this strain was produced. Agreement was found between the microhardness and values calculated from the flow stress.
Thermal Control for High Density Packaging

Direct cooling of semiconductor components is limited to very low power levels due to the small surface area of the components. Free air convection is limited to about 0.5 watts per square inch while forced air cooling can increase the allowable power levels to 5 watts per square inch. Forced convection with liquid coolants is required for higher power levels. Pressure drop is genrally not a problem due to the low velocities and large duct sizes. Indirect cooling permits more efficient thermal design of heat exchangers. Forced-air cooling can handle heat loads up to 10 watts per square inch. Above this level, liquid is required. Pressure drop is a major factor in forced-air cooling and extended surfaces must be carefully designed. Nucleate boiling presents component access problems. However, it offers the possibility of an order of magnitude increase in power dissipation when compared to forced convection in the same liquid.
Time Use of Parents in the United States: What Difference Did the Great Recession Make?

Feminist and institutionalist literature has challenged the “Mancession” narrative of the 2007-09 recession and produced nuanced and gender-aware analyses of the labor market and well-being outcomes of the recession. Using American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data for 2003-12, his paper examines the recession’s impact on gendered patterns of time use over the course of the 2003-12 business cycle. We find that the gender disparity in paid and unpaid work hours followed a U-shaped pattern, narrowing during the recession and widening slightly during the jobless recovery. The change in unpaid work disparity was smaller than that in paid work, and was short-lived. Consequently, mothers’ total workload increased under the hardships of the Great Recession and declined only slightly during the recovery.
A “Trimer of Dimers”—Based Model for the Chemotactic Signal Transduction Network in Bacterial Chemotaxis

The network that controls chemotaxis in Escherichia coli is one of the most completely characterized signal transduction systems to date. Receptor clustering accounts for characteristics such as high sensitivity, precise adaptation over a wide dynamic range of ligand concentrations, and robustness to variations in the amounts of intracellular proteins. To gain insights into the structure-function relationship of receptor clusters and understand the mechanism behind the high-performance signaling, we develop and analyze a model for a single trimer of dimers. This new model extends an earlier model (Spiro et al. in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 94:7263–7268, 1997) to incorporate the recent experimental findings that the core structure of receptor clusters is the trimer of receptor dimers. We show that the model can reproduce most of the experimentally-observed behaviors, including excitation, adaptation, high sensitivity, and robustness to parameter variations. In addition, the model makes a number of new predictions as to how the adaptation time varies with the expression level of various proteins involved in signal transduction. Our results provide a more mechanistically-based description of the structure-function relationship for the signaling system, and show the key role of the interaction among dimer members of the trimer in the chemotactic response of cells.
Freeze Casting of Aqueous Alumina Slurries with Glycerol

Freeze-drying concepts were utilized in the shape forming of alumina parts by pressureless slip molding using aqueous slurries. A water solidification modifier, glycerol, was utilized to eliminate the defects associated with the expansion and ceramic particle rejection of water during freezing. Castable alumina slurries with solids loading up to 60 vol% were prepared and characterized using viscosity and zeta-potential measurements with and without glycerol additions. Frozen parts were dried under vacuum by sublimation of ice to obtain net-shape green bodies. The combined effects of high-solids-loading slurries, >57.5 vol%, and glycerol additions were essential for freeze casting to achieve highly dense alumina bodies with a uniform microstructure.
Signaling multiplex of the epidermal growth factor receptor

Cells must be able to not only internalize extracellular signals, but also decipher these messages that ultimately result in a variety of cell-specific outcomes. Physiologically, transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases play an important role in normal development. Pathologically, these receptors are implicated in deregulation of growth displayed by cancer cells. Over the past 30 years, the mechanistic understanding of cell signaling through receptor tyrosine kinases has become quite sophisticated. This review focuses primarily on the epidermal growth factor receptor and cetuximab, the only monoclonal antibody approved for targeting this receptor.
Thermodynamics of aqueous solutions containing volatile weak electrolytes

A thermodynamic framework has been established to calculate equilibrium vapor-liquid compositions for dilute aqueous solutions of one or more volatile weak electrolytes: ammonia, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen cyanide, in the temperature range 0° to 100°C and for liquid-phase concentrations from 10−4 to 1 or 2 molal. Binary electrolyte-water parameters are obtained from reduction of experimental data for single-solute solutions. Additional parameters required for multi-solute systems are estimated from correlations. These parameters, coupled with chemical equilibria, are used to predict multicomponent vapor-liquid equilibria. At a fixed temperature, either liquid-phase or vapor-phase compositions may be calculated if the composition of the other phase is known. Although the framework has no adjustable parameters for multisolute systems, predicted and observed equilibria are in good agreement for two ternary systems: ammonia-hydrogen sulfide-water and ammonia-carbon dioxide-water.
Structural and behavioral representations in Roget's International Thesaurus

Roget's International Thesaurus is a valuable source of structural and semantic information. However, it is difficult to use this information in a knowledge representation system because the structures were not produced using a formal methodology. To achieve the objective of formalizing the structural and behavioral representations of Roget's International Thesaurus, the application of concept lattices and object-oriented analysis to Roget's is examined. The application of constraints to Roget's International Thesaurus and concept lattices in order to represent the behavior are examined. >
Sterility testing of cell therapy products: parallel comparison of automated methods with a CFR-compliant method.

BACKGROUND: Automated blood culture systems are not FDA-approved for sterility testing of human cells, tissues, or cellular- or tissue-based products. It was previously demonstrated that BacT/ALERT (bioMerieux) and Bactec (Becton Dickinson) were superior to the manual CFR method described in the general biologics regulations, in rates of detection and time to detection of organisms seeded into mock mononuclear cell products with a variety of background media and antibiotics. In this study, the two automated systems were compared to the CFR method for sterility testing of actual cell therapy products manufactured in our facility. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Over a 36-month period, in-process and final product samples from all cell therapy products manufactured in our facility were tested for sterility both by the CFR method and by either BacT/ALERT or Bactec. Products were categorized according to collection and processing variables for analysis of results. RESULTS: For 1617 samples of a broad range of cell therapy products, rates of true-positive tests were comparable for the automated and CFR methods (2.3% vs. 2.1%), but the CFR method had higher rates of false-positive results (7.3% vs. 0.2%). For automated systems, time to detection of organisms was equivalent to, or faster than, the CFR method. CONCLUSION: Compared to the CFR method, both BacT/ALERT and Bactec are more sensitive, faster in time to detection, less prone to false-positive results, and less labor-intensive. Both of these automated systems are suitable for sterility testing of cell therapy products after site-specific validation has been performed.
Relay selection for grouped-relay networks using the average SLNR measure

In this paper, a distributed grouped-relay network with multiple source and destination nodes is introduced, and its distributed beamforming based on an average signal-to-leakage-plus-noise ratio (SLNR) is proposed to mitigate interference and colored noise from the multiple relay groups. Through system bit-error-rate simulations, it is verified that the performance of the leakage-based selection scheme is comparable to a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR)-based optimal beamforming method albeit at much lower complexity.
Roles of saturated vs. polyunsaturated fat in heart failure survival: not all fats are created equal.

This editorial refers to ‘High intake of saturated fat, but not polyunsaturated fat, improves survival in heart failure despite persistent mitochondrial defects’ by T.F. Galvao et al. , doi:10.1093/cvr/cvr258. Galvao et al. 1 compare the effects of two high-fat diets, both 45% kcal but sourced from either polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; linoleic and α-linolenic acids) or saturated fat (palmitate and stearate) in a male δ-sarcoglycan null Bio TO2 hamster model of heart failure. Surprisingly, the heart failure hamsters fed the diet high in saturated fat showed increased survival compared with hamsters fed a diet high in PUFA or the control standard diet (12% kcal from fat). Importantly, in all three diet groups, the hamsters developed dysfunction at both the left ventricle and cardiac mitochondria levels. Despite the lack of a cardiac function phenotype, the PUFA-fed hamsters showed elevated Ca2+-induced mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening rates compared with both the saturated fat and standard fed hamsters. The clear distinction in obesity effects differentially driven by high-fat diets from different lipid sources, in the context of heart failure, has not been previously studied. The present study is important because it reveals the strong impact of fat source on cardiovascular events and survival rates in the setting of existing heart failure. A diet high in saturated fat promotes obesity by stimulating an inflammatory response that can induce cardiac concentric hypertrophy and alter the stress response.2 Obesity resulting either from saturated or PUFA …
Object categorization using co-occurrence, location and appearance

In this work we introduce a novel approach to object categorization that incorporates two types of context-co-occurrence and relative location - with local appearance-based features. Our approach, named CoLA (for co-occurrence, location and appearance), uses a conditional random field (CRF) to maximize object label agreement according to both semantic and spatial relevance. We model relative location between objects using simple pairwise features. By vector quantizing this feature space, we learn a small set of prototypical spatial relationships directly from the data. We evaluate our results on two challenging datasets: PASCAL 2007 and MSRC. The results show that combining co-occurrence and spatial context improves accuracy in as many as half of the categories compared to using co-occurrence alone.
Ethics and military engineering operations

Imagine the following three-variable Venn diagram: One circle represents the field of applied and professional ethics, a second circle represents military operations, and the third circle represents the practice of engineering, particularly construction projects. We can, without much difficulty, picture what the overlapping areas between any two circles refer to: engineering ethics, military ethics and military engineering. What I would like to address in this paper is the area common to all three circles: is there room for a unique field of ethics called "military engineering ethics"? I contend that there is, and in this presentation I propose to sketch out why and what that might look like.
Pharmacological Agents in Bronchial Provocation Tests

In about 10 of adults with asthma, but rarely in asthmatic children, aspirin and other nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) precipitate asthma attacks. This distinct clinical syndrome is called aspirin-induced asthma (AIA) [12, 16–18, 22].
Cellular signaling in sinecatechins-treated external genital and perianal warts: unraveling the mechanism of action of a botanical therapy

Taken together with our previous report, current results provide cursory evidence that the sinecatechins’ mechanism of action likely entails some degree of modulation of inflammatory and apoptotic processes, in particular, the NF-κB-pathway. It is possible that sinecatechins also upregulate the host immune response, since the only gene to be significantly upregulated in VR is the pro-lymphocytic IL2; however, further studies are needed to examine the exact pattern of immune regulation. Moreover, since no DEGs were identified in VNR in the prior report, the present study provides putative insight into the expression patterns of patients who are not responsive to sinecatechins.
The Encephalopathy of Prematurity: One Pediatric Neuropathologist’s Perspective

A major challenge in understanding brain injury in the premature brain is the establishment of the precise human neuropathology at the cellular and molecular levels, as such knowledge is the foundation upon which the elucidation of the cause(s), scientific experimentation, and therapies in the field is by necessity based. In this essay, I provide my perspective as a pediatric neuropathologist upon pathologic studies in the developing human brain itself, including a review of past, present, and future aspects. My focus is upon the path that has brought us to the current recognition that preterm brain injury is a complex of white and gray matter damage that results in the modification of key developmental pathways during a critical period, which in turn defines the adverse clinical outcomes as important as the primary insult itself. The evolution of this recognition, as well as the introduction of the term "encephalopathy of prematurity" for the complex of gray and white matter damage because of acquired and developmental mechanisms, is discussed. Our enhanced understanding of the fundamental neuropathology of the human preterm brain should bring us closer to more effective therapy as the need to prevent and treat injury to developing oligodendrocytes and neurons in combination is appreciated.
A Dialectic Integration of Development for the Study of Psychopathology

The field of developmental psychopathology was initially focused on efforts to understand the etiology of adult mental disorders by studying children and their disorders. However, this effort produced unanticipated changes in our understanding of pathology, individual development, and the role of social context. Among these modifications were the blurring of the division between mental illness and mental health, the need to attend to patterns of adaptation rather than personality traits, and the powerful influences of the social world on individual development. Current developmental views place deviancy in the dynamic relation between individuals and their contexts. From another perspective, the history of developmental psychopathology is an example of universal dialectical processes where action in the world, that is, research on mental illness, produces results that contradict the models that inspired that action, that is, linear models of individual psychopathology. Dialectical developmental processes are evident as we trace how patterns of adaptation by researchers, expressed in theoretical models and empirical paradigms, increasingly have come to match the complexities of human mental health and illness.
An approach to diagnosis and management of resistant hypertension

Hypertension is a key determinant of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality, directly accounting for approximately 10% of deaths in India. There is a causal association between the magnitude of blood pressure (BP) elevation and adverse cardiovascular event rate, which provides the rationale for implementing BP reduction in routine clinical practice. However, an estimated 30-50% of the hypertensive population remain uncontrolled with a BP >140/90 mmHg, of whom a subgroup fulfill the diagnostic criteria for resistant hypertension. This cohort lies at the extreme end of the cardiovascular risk spectrum, and hence stands to benefit most from specialist input to optimize BP control. This review summarizes a management approach in patients with resistant hypertension, focusing on accurate diagnosis and evidence-based treatments.