cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
UNIQUE PLACE OF AMBULATORY EEG (aEEG) IN MANAGEMENT OF EPILEPSY (P1.244)

Objective: Evaluate utility of aEEG in epilepsy clinic for capturing unrecognized seizures and its role in drug withdrawal. Background: Drug withdrawal, discrepancy between “reported” seizures and actual events, clearance for driving, etc. pose unique challenges in epilepsy patients. No clear guidelines exist. We explore role of aEEG in management of such patients. Design/Methods: Retrospective chart review was performed for 227 patients who underwent aEEG (performed with full complement of scalp EEG electrodes) between 2014–2016. Patients were instructed to document all events on an event-log. Information collected include: age, sex, race, indication for test, seizure frequency, etiology, AEDs, EEG findings, seizure detection. Follow-up clinic notes were reviewed to document impact of aEEG findings. Results: 227 patients were included. Electrographic seizures were captured in 18 (8%), of which only 2 (11%) were reported on event-log. aEEG was specifically ordered for evaluation of drug withdrawal in 21 patients and findings include: 2 had seizures, 6 had rare to occasional spikes, 13 had normal aEEG. AEDs were not withdrawn in 2 patients with seizures. Out of 13 patients with normal aEEG - 5 did not have follow-up in clinic at time of writing of this abstract, 7 underwent successful (seizure free > 1 year) drug withdrawal and 1 had recurrence of seizure on attempted AED withdrawal. 3 patients with rare spikes underwent successful AED withdrawal and 3 did not have follow-up in clinic yet. Conclusions: Most patients with epilepsy perhaps underestimate seizure burden and many seizures go unrecognized. Clinical decision-making just based on verbal report of seizure freedom can be misleading and potentially dangerous. aEEG is uniquely suited to provide estimation of seizure freedom and to help make decision regarding drug withdrawal, driving clearance, etc. Disclosure: Dr. Doshi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Tripathi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chauhan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Shah has received personal compensation from UCB Pharma and Lundbeck as a speaker.
Buying Allies: Payment Practices in Multilateral Military Coalition-Building

Many countries serving in multilateral military coalitions are “paid” to do so, either in cash or in concessions relating to other international issues. An examination of hundreds of declassified archival sources as well as elite interviews relating to the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization operation in Afghanistan, the United Nations–African Union operation in Darfur, and the African Union operation in Somalia reveals that these payment practices follow a systematic pattern: pivotal states provide the means to cover such payments. These states reason that rewarding third parties to serve in multilateral coalitions holds important political benefits. Moreover, two distinct types of payment schemes exist: deployment subsidies and political side deals. Three types of states are most likely to receive such payments: (1) states that are inadequately resourced to deploy; (2) states that are perceived by the pivotal states as critical contributors to ...
Automation and Adverse Weather

Like other vehicles, vehicles with automated driving systems have to handle a variety of adverse weather conditions. Furthermore, when anticipated weather for all or part of a trip is outside the operational design domain of the system, the vehicle itself or the humans responsible for it need to take appropriate action.
Abstract 894: A Self-Immobilizing NIR Probe forin vivoImaging of Chemotherapy Induced Senescence

Post-treatment relapse and distant metastasis are significant causes of mortality by cancers. Previous research has demonstrated that cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, can sometimes stimulate tumor spread. This phenomenon is associated with an essential process that some cells are resistant to apoptosis by entering premature senescence after therapy. Thus, chemotherapy-induced cellular senescence may play a critical role in cancer recurrence and metastasis. To monitor the cellular senescence induced by chemotherapy, we developed a self-immobilizing near infrared (NIR) probe (4-152) that can be activated by senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (β-gal) and get immobilized at site of activation, allowing the monitoring of chemotherapy-induced senescence in vivo. We first verified our approach in vitro, when cervical cancer cells (HeLa) were treated with camptothecin (CPT), followed by fluorescence imaging with 4-152. The results demonstrated that our designed probe exhibited a dramatic NIR fluorescent response in cells receiving CPT treatment. The fluorescent western blot showed that the probe could be activated by β-gal and attached to the enzyme. The confocal microscopy imaging and flow cytometry results further demonstrated the 4-152 could accumulate in the CPT-induced senescent cancer cells. We then investigated the in vivo imaging ability of the probe for senescence detection in tumor xenografts treated with CPT. After treatment with CPT or saline (as control), 4-152 was administrated to the mice by tail vein injection. NIR imaging was then performed on the IVIS Spectrum in vivo imaging system. The imaging showed that the 4-152 could quickly distribute to the tumor and accumulated for over 24 hours. The fluorescence intensity of the CPT treated tumors was significantly higher than the untreatment tumors. After imaging, tumors and major organs were resected for ex vivo imaging. The fluorescent intensity of tumors showed 6.27-fold higher than liver. Ex vivo immunofluorescence staining and X-gal staining further confirmed the correlation of probe 4-150 and senescence cells.In conclusion, we have developed an activatable self-immobilizing NIR probe for the monitoring of chemotherapy-induced cellular senescence in vivo. This probe may be used for the treatment effect monitoring and therapeutic regimen optimization in the future. Reference1. Ebos JM. Prodding the beast: assessing the impact of treatment-induced metastasis. Cancer Res 2015; 75: 3427-3435. Citation Format: Xiaowei Ma, Jun Liu, Ying Wang, Chao Cui, Philip Deenik. A Self-Immobilizing NIR Probe for in vivoImaging of Chemotherapy Induced Senescence [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 894.
Interspecific and intraspecific interference of Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) and large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis) in sweetpotato

Field studies were conducted in 2016 and 2017 in Clinton, NC, to determine the interspecific and intraspecific interference of Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson) or large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.] in ‘Covington’ sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.]. Amaranthus palmeri and D. sanguinalis were established 1 d after sweetpotato transplanting and maintained season-long at 0, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 0, 1, 2, 4, 16 plants m−1 of row in the presence and absence of sweetpotato, respectively. Predicted yield loss for sweetpotato was 35% to 76% for D. sanguinalis at 1 to 16 plants m−1 of row and 50% to 79% for A. palmeri at 1 to 8 plants m−1 of row. Weed dry biomass per meter of row increased linearly with increasing weed density. Individual dry biomass of A. palmeri and D. sanguinalis was not affected by weed density when grown in the presence of sweetpotato. When grown without sweetpotato, individual weed dry biomass decreased 71% and 62% from 1 to 4 plants m−1 row for A. palmeri and D. sanguinalis, respectively. Individual weed dry biomass was not affected above 4 plants m−1 row to the highest densities of 8 and 16 plants m−1 row for A. palmeri and D. sanguinalis, respectively.
Application: Does Aspirin Help Prevent Heart Attacks? The Physician’s Health Study

During the 1980s, approximately 22,000 physicians over the age of 40 agreed to participate in a long-term health study for which one important question was to determine whether or not aspiring helps to lower the rate of heart attacks (myocardial infarctions). The treatment for this part of the study was aspirin, and the controlwas a placebo. Physicians were randomly assigned to one treatment or the other as they entered the study so as to minimize bias caused by uncontrolled factors. The method of assignment was equivalent to tossing a coin and sending the physician to the aspirin arm of the study if a head appeared on the coin? After the assignment, neither the participating physicians nor the medical personnel who treated them knew who was taking aspirin and who was taking placebo. This is called a double-blind experiment. (Why is the double blinding important in a study such as this?) The method of measurement was to observe the physicians carefully for an extended period of time and record all heart attacks, as well as other problems, that might occur.
Advancing global change biology through experimental manipulations: Where have we been and where might we go?

This commentary summarizes the publication history of Global Change Biology for works on experimental manipulations over the past 25 years and highlights a number of key publications. The retrospective summary is then followed by some thoughts on the future of experimental work as it relates to mechanistic understanding and methodological needs. Experiments for elevated CO2 atmospheres and anticipated warming scenarios which take us beyond historical analogs are suggested as future priorities. Disturbance is also highlighted as a key agent of global change. Because experiments are demanding of both personnel effort and limited fiscal resources, the allocation of experimental investments across Earth's biomes should be done in ecosystems of key importance. Uncertainty analysis and broad community consultation should be used to identify research questions and target biomes that will yield substantial gains in predictive confidence and societal relevance. A full range of methodological approaches covering small to large spatial scales will continue to be justified as a source of mechanistic understanding. Nevertheless, experiments operating at larger spatial scales encompassing organismal, edaphic, and environmental diversity of target ecosystems are favored, as they allow for the assessment of long-term biogeochemical feedbacks enabling a full range of questions to be addressed. Such studies must also include adequate investment in measurements of key interacting variables (e.g., water and nutrient availability and budgets) to enable mechanistic understanding of responses and to interpret context dependency. Integration of ecosystem-scale manipulations with focused process-based manipulations, networks, and large-scale observations will aid more complete understanding of ecosystem responses, context dependence, and the extrapolation of results. From the outset, these studies must be informed by and integrated with ecosystem models that provide quantitative predictions from their embedded mechanistic hypotheses. A true two-way interaction between experiments and models will simultaneously increase the rate and robustness of Global Change research.
Libraries that Learn: Keys to Managing Organizational Knowledge

The term “silo” has a history within library circles to describe information trapped in a system for which access to other systems is not possible. Library and information science professionals hav...
From Collegiality to Synodality: Promise and Limits of Francis’s ‘Listening Primacy’:

Synodality is a key term to understand Pope Francis’s ecclesiology. This article analyzes Francis’s use of synodality in the major documents, the speeches, and in the most important moment of his p...
The Data-Driven Festival: Recordkeeping and Archival Practices

Film festivals have been investigated from a wide range of perspectives; however, there is a gap in our understanding of how festivals manage data and records, including ephemeral online materials. A holistic understanding of film festival records is important for historians and film studies scholars interested in documenting and preserving the history of festivals. This chapter explores issues and questions related to the artefacts of film festivals offering a taxonomy of the materials which can be archived and presents the collaboration of Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and Duke University as a case study and possible model to follow.
How We Came to Understand the “ Tumultuous Chemical Heterogeneity ” of the Lipid Bilayer Membrane

The path to our modern understanding of the structure of the lipid bilayer membrane is a long one that can be traced from today perhaps as far back as Benjamin Franklin in the eighteenth century. Here, I provide a personal account of one of the important steps in that path, the description of the "Complete Structure" of a hydrated, fluid phase dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayer by the joint refinement of neutron and X-ray diffraction data by Stephen White and his colleagues.
A RILP-regulated pathway coordinating autophagosome biogenesis with transport

Mammalian cells, including neurons, use macroautophagy (here 'autophagy') to degrade damaged proteins and organelles, and recycle nutrients in response to starvation and other forms of cell stress. The basic cellular machinery responsible for autophagy is highly conserved from yeast to mammals. However, evidence for specific adaptations to more complex organisms and in highly differentiated cells (e. g. neurons) remains limited. RILP (Rab interacting lysosomal protein) mediates retrograde transport of late endosomes (LEs) in nonneuronal mammalian cells. We have now found that RILP plays additional important, fundamental roles in neuronal autophagosome (AP) transport, and, more surprisingly, in AP biogenesis, and cargo turnover as well. RILP accomplishes these tasks via sequential interactions with key autophagosomal components - ATG5 and LC3 - as well as the microtubule motor protein cytoplasmic dynein (Figure 1A). We found further that RILP expression and behavior are controlled by MTOR kinase, linking RILP to a potentially wide range of physiological and pathophysiological functions.
Desperate Times: Protecting the Public From Research Without Consent or Oversight During Public Health Emergencies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted an unprecedented global research effort to better understand this virus and to identify promising treatments. In this essay, the authors note that defining activities as public health surveillance has important implications, because such activities do not require further ethical oversight, informed consent, or protections for vulnerable persons or communities.
Gender, Class, and Freedom in Modern Political Theory

is published by Princeton University Press and copyrighted, © 2007, by Princeton University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher, except for reading and browsing via the World Wide Web. Users are not permitted to mount this file on any network servers.
Optimizing computation of overnight decline in delta power: Evidence for slower rate of decline in delta power in insomnia patients

Abstract Objective To determine the best of commonly used methods for computing the rate of decline in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep EEG delta power overnight (Delta Decline) in terms of vulnerability to missing data and to evaluate whether this rate is slower in insomnia patients than healthy controls (HC). Methods Fifty-one insomnia patients and 53 HC underwent 6 nights of polysomnography. Four methods for estimating Delta Decline were compared (exponential and linear best-fit functions using NREM (1) episode mean, (2) peak, and (3) total delta power and (4) delta power for all available NREM epochs). The best method was applied to compare groups on linear and exponential rates of Delta Decline. Results Best-fit models using all available NREM epochs were significantly less vulnerable to deviation due to missing data than other methods. Insomnia patients displayed significantly slower linear and exponential Delta Decline than HC. Conclusions Computing Delta Decline using all available NREM epochs was the best of the methods studied for minimizing the effects of missing data. Insomnia patients display slower Delta Decline, which is not explained by differences in total sleep time or wake after sleep onset. Significance This study supports using all available NREM epochs in Delta Decline computation and suggests a slower rate in insomnia.
Dismantling Segregationist Land Use Controls

Since the inception of the American law of zoning, communities with local political power have used zoning to exclude from white neighborhoods Black and Indigenous people and other People of Color. Modernly, restrictive residential zoning continues to be used as a tool by those with local political power to keep those without local political power out of their neighborhoods, schools, and parks. The result is that land use law continues to be used in municipalities throughout the United States to racially and economically segregate neighborhoods, further entrenching one of the root causes of racial injustice. Dismantling a segregationist land use system embraced by US cities for more than a century requires a bold shift in paradigm, a redefining or rejection of the American land use law concept of "compatible uses" of land that communities have used and continue to use to exclude People of Color from predominantly white neighborhoods and the myriad privileges that attach to residence and home-ownership in those neighborhoods. This article briefly reviews the segregationist history of land use controls and the many ways modern zoning regulations continue to facilitate segregation by race and class of communities throughout the United States. The article then examines four examples of recent land use law reforms that land use planners and lawyers, state and local government officials, and affected communities have instituted to confront this historic and continuing system of oppression.
Modeling Control Traffic in Software-Defined Networks

The southbound control protocols used in Software Defined Networks (SDNs) allow for centralized control and management of the data plane. However, these protocols introduce additional traffic and delay between network controllers and switches. Despite the well understood capabilities of SDNs, current representations of control traffic overhead consist of approximations at best. In addition to high reactivity to incoming flows, the need for resource allocation and deterministic messaging delay necessitates a thorough understanding and modeling of the amount of control traffic and its effect on latency. In this work, we capture the network overhead of various switch configurations on a testbed and extract mathematical models to predict expected overhead for arbitrary switch configurations. We demonstrate that controller-switch traffic patterns are non-negligible and can be accurately modelled to compute the bandwidth utilization and latency of controller-switch communication.
Risk Assessment Strategies and Techniques for Combined Exposures

Consideration of cumulative risk is necessary to evaluate properly the safety of, and the risks associated with, combined exposures. These combined exposures (“mixtures”) commonly occur from exposure to: environmental contaminants in air, soil, and water; pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements; consumer and personal care products; food additives and residues; and nonchemical stressors (e.g., physical and psychosocial). Risk assessments of mixtures of chemicals are more complex than those of single chemicals for two major reasons: (1) in combining chemicals to estimate mixture risk, it is necessary to rely on multiple assumptions; and (2) the potential for pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamic interactions among mixture components. Additional difficulties exist for complex environmental mixtures, which typically contain a large fraction of total mixture mass of unknown identity and toxicity. The influence of data type, quality and quantity on the risk assessment approach is illustrated. Guidance is provided on when whole mixture risk assessment approaches are possible and when component-based approaches are needed. Advantages and disadvantages of whole mixture risk assessment approaches are discussed, including concerns due to unknown mixture mass and the current status of sufficient similarity methodology. Component-based methods based on dose-addition represent the majority of chemical mixture risk assessments that have been conducted to date; both hazard index-based (Hazard Index, Target Organ Toxicity Hazard Index, Interaction-Weighted Hazard Index) and index chemical (Relative Potency Factor and Toxic Equivalency Factor) approaches are reviewed. There is recognition of the need to consider the cumulative effects of both chemical and nonchemical stressors, but standard methods with a history of use are not available.
The Range of Sensational Epistemology

There are two assumptions underlying this inquiry. The first is that epistemology is ontology-free. We are going to proceed as though no ontological axioms were necessary to the consideration of alternatives in knowledge theory.
USING DUALITY TO SOLVE DISCRETE OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS: THEORY AND COMPUTATIONAL EXPERIENCE*

Meaningful dual problems have recently been identified for the integer programming problem, the resource constrained network scheduling problem and the traveling salesman problem. In this paper a general class of discrete optimization problem is given for which dual problems of this type may be derived. We discuss the use of dual problems for obtaining strong bounds, feasible solutions, and for guiding the search in enumeration schemes for this class of problems. Properties of dual problems and three algorithms are discussed, a primal-dual ascent algorithm, a simplicial approximation algorithm and an algorithm based on the relaxation method for solving systems of inequalities. Finally, computational experience is given for integer programming and resource constrained network scheduling dual problems.
A Formalism for Quantum Games and an Application

This paper presents a new mathematical formalism that describes the quantization of games. The study of so-called quantum games is quite new, arising from a seminal paper of D. Meyer [12] published in Physics Review Letters in 1999. The ensuing near decade has seen an explosion of contributions and controversy over what exactly a quantized game really is and if there is indeed anything new for game theory. What has clouded many of the issues is the lack of a mathematical formalism for the subject in which these various issues can be clearly and precisely expressed, and which provides a context in which to present their resolution. Such a formalism is presented here, along with proposed resolutions to some of the issues discussed in the literature. One in particular, the question of whether there can exist equilibria in a quantized version of a game that do not correspond to classical correlated equilibria of that game and also deliver better payoffs than the classical correlated equilibria is answered in the affirmative for the Prisoner’s Dilemma and Simplified Poker.
Frequency-Shifted Low-Noise Sagnac Sensor for Ultrasonic Measurements

Laser generation of ultrasound and the subsequent detection of the ultrasonic waves using laser interferometry are areas of active research [1–6]. In earlier papers, the present authors have discussed an LBU system which employs a diffraction grating for illumination of a line-array to generate narrow-band surface waves and Lamb waves [4], and a fiberized heterodyne dual-probe laser interferometer to measure signals [3]. This paper reports progress towards the development of a robust low cost fiberized Sagnac laser interferometer suitable for field applications. Bowers first reported [7] the use of a Sagnac-type interferometer for surface acoustic wave detection, and the present authors have previously reported [8 QNDE 95] a variant of that scheme. In this paper, we present an alternative lower noise system that uses low cost, long coherence He-Ne lasers that have better intensity noise characteristics than typically used laser diodes. A scheme for elimination of a parasitic interference utilizing a frequency shifting technique has been developed. The primary advantage of the Sagnac interferometer is that it is exactly path matched and as such requires no heterodyning or static path compensation for sensor stabilization. The Sagnac interferometer described below is suitable for the measurement of ultrasonic surface waves arising from laser- or PZT-generated sources or from acoustic emissions. The laser-based ultrasonics (LBU) system can be used to detect and characterize discrete defects such as cracks.
Optimal purchase decision criteria for information technology

With the amount of resources dedicated to information technology (IT) expenditure today, we need to have a systematic way for assessing the elusive benefit of all IT purchases. This chapter proposes a modified Factor Rating approach that separates the subjective benefit assessment from objective cost-benefit analysis. Using this method, we often discover that for most users, due to the advancement of computer technology, the cheapest computer may be the optimal computer in the market today.
A New Species of Melanoplus (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Melanoplinae) from the Cedar Glades of Tennessee, USA

Abstract Melanoplus ingrami n. sp. is described from the cedar glades of central Tennessee.
Abstract 350: High-Mobility Group Protein B2 is Essential in Maintaining Normal Cardiac Gene Expression

Heart hypertrophy is a complex disease that involves differential expression of hundreds of genes and requires highly coordinated chromatin remodeling events that must facilitate such genome-wide changes in gene expression. We examine the genome-wide distribution of a chromatin structural protein, High-Mobility Group Protein B2 (HMGB2) in isolated cardiac myocytes with or without adrenergic receptor agonist. We report a comprehensive map of HMGB2 binding in both normal and hypertrophic cardiac myocytes, and find that HMGB2 preferentially localizes to promoters, CpG islands, enhancers and transcription factor binding sites. Moreover, we find that upon hypertrophic stimulation, HMGB2 peaks move from regulatory elements to intergenic regions. Because both HMGB2 knock-down and PHE treatment can induce hypertrophic growth, we compare gene expression dynamics between HMGB2 knock-down and PHE treatment, and find hypertrophy-related gene expression pattern upon HMGB2 knock-down is different from the one after PHE...
Synthesis and polymerization of some ethynyl trifluoromethyl napthhalenes

Abstract Some bromonaphthoic acids were fluorinated with SF4 to bromo(trifluoromethyl)naphthalenes. Although a reaction of Grignard reagent of one of the bromides with Cl2C=CF2 gave low yield of a (dichlorofluorovinyl) (trifluoromethyl) naphthalene, lithio derivatives gave the desired ethynyl(trifluoromethyl) naphthalenes in improved yields after subsequent eliminations of the vinylic halogens with n –butyllithium. Polymerization of the acetylenes was carried out with photo-activated W(CO)6 catalyst to yield high-molecular-weight polymers.
Teaching Merchant-Class Virtues with Chushingura and The London Merchant

In his paper, "Teaching Merchant-Class Virtues with Chushingura and The London Merchant," David S. Escoffery examines the different styles of teaching merchant-class virtues in eighteenth-century Japan and England through an analysis of the classical Japanese play Chushingura and the didactic British play The London Merchant. He holds that in both Europe and Japan, the eighteenth century saw the rise of a whole new class, the middle class, to either economic or social power or both. That century was also a didactic age for the theatre. For the first time, the audience could see characters from the new merchant class on stage, and they were expected to learn proper behavior from what they saw there. It is interesting to note, however, that the teaching methods used in Japan were vastly different from those used in Europe. In Japan the teaching was done in a positive way, with representations of virtuous merchants dominating the stage. The merchant class in Japan was not allowed to move up the strict social hierarchy, so they often focused their attention on art as a substitute form of social advancement, which could explain the use of positive teaching methods. In England, on the other hand, the teaching usually came through negative examples with characters showing the audience what not to do. At that point, the middle class in Europe was attempting to naturalize its new value system, teaching those at the bottom of the middle class as if they were children. David S. Escoffery, "Teaching Merchant-Class Virtues with Chushingura and The London Merchant" page 2 of 10 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 5.2 (2003):
Fumonisin B1 alters sphingolipid metabolism and tumor necrosis factor α expression in heart and lung of mice

Fumonisin B(1) (FB(1)), produced by Fusarium verticillioides, is a common contaminant in foods and feeds. Increase in tissue free sphingoid bases resulting from the inhibition of ceramide synthase is a biomarker of fumonisin exposure. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) is induced in liver in response to FB(1) treatment. This study determined whether fumonisin B(1) caused increases in free sphingoid bases and altered the expression of TNFalpha in heart and lung, organs that are not targets of FB(1) toxicity, of male and female mice treated with 5-daily subcutaneous injection of 2.25 mg/kg FB(1). A significant increase in free sphingoid bases was observed in both heart and lung of FB(1)-exposed mice. The magnitude of increases in free sphingoid bases in both organs of female mice was much higher than that in males. The expression of TNFalpha was increased by FB(1) treatment in the lung of male mice and in the heart of female mice, whereas the expression of interferon gamma was unaltered. Results suggest that both sphingolipid accumulation and TNFalpha induction are observed in the tissues of mice that are not associated with FB(1) toxicity.
Prevalence of Dental Fluorosis in Fluoridated and Nonfluoridated Communities—a Preliminary Investigation

As a result of undocumented observations that the prevalence of dental fluorosis in both fluoridated and nonfluoridated communities may be higher than would be predicted on the basis of Dean's data from the 1940s, dental fluorosis assessments using a modification of Dean's Index were made in 1981 as part of routine examinations in a series of clinical trials. A total of 1,663 children in fluoridated or nonfluoridated communities, ranging in age from seven to 17 years, were examined during 1981–82. The prevalence of dental fluorosis in nonfluoridated communities ranged from 1.7 percent in 16-year-olds to 13.9 percent in 10-year-olds and, in fluoridated communities, ranged from 17.1 percent in 13-year-olds to 33.0 percent in 14-year-olds. At all age levels common to the two types of communities, the difference in prevalence of dental fluorosis was statistically significant. Compared with findings in Dean's studies in 1942, for children of comparable age in communities with essentially the same water-fluoride levels, the prevalence of dental fluorosis in the present study was 3½ times higher in nonfluoridated communities and two times higher in fluoridated communities. Mean fluorosis scores, however, were similar. If additional studies substantiate that the prevalence and intensity of dental fluorosis are increasing, the accepted norms for fluoride dosage need to be reassessed—especially in supplements, dentifrices, and water.
An introduction to optical burst switching

Optical burst switching is a promising solution for all-optical WDM networks. It combines the benefits of optical packet switching and wavelength routing while taking into account the limitations of the current all-optical technology. In OBS, the user data is collected at the edge of the network, sorted based on a destination address, and grouped into variable sized bursts. Prior to transmitting a burst, a control packet is created and immediately sent toward the destination in order to set up a bufferless optical path for its corresponding burst. After an offset delay time, the data burst itself is transmitted without waiting for a positive acknowledgment from the destination node. The OBS framework has been widely studied in the past few years because it achieves high traffic throughput and high resource utilization. However, despite the OBS trademarks such as dynamic connection setup or strong separation between data and control, there are many differences in the published OBS architectures. In this article we summarize in a systematic way the main OBS design parameters and the solutions that have been proposed in the open literature.
Modelling planting configuration and canopy architecture effects on diurnal light absorption changes in cotton

Abstract A simplified model that accounts for diurnal solar zenith and azimuth angle illumination changes and plant geometry effects on photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was developed, h was tested using diurnal absorbed PAR (APAR) measurements acquired for cotton (Gossvpium hirsuium L.) grown at Weslaco, Texas, during the 1984 and 1986 growing seasons. Diurnal canopy reflectance and transmittance measurements were automatically collected at 3-minute intervals from about 9.00 to 14.50 local standard time (LST) using radiometers mounted 3·7m above the soil surface and PAR light bar sensors located beneath the crop canopy perpendicular to the crop rows. Plant growth measurements estimated by the model were significantly correlated with observed measurements during crop development. Model-estimated heliotropic leaf elevation trends agreed with published results for cotton canopies. APAR, relative to incident PAR, was generally lower for east-west rows than for north-south rows during crop development...
A new proposal for randomized start design to investigate disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer disease:

Background The increasing prevalence of Alzheimer disease (AD) and lack of effective agents to attenuate progression have accelerated research and development of disease modifying (DM) therapies. The traditional parallel group design and single time point analysis used in the support of past AD drug approvals address symptomatic benefit over relatively short treatment durations. More recent trials investigating disease modification are by necessity longer in duration and require larger sample sizes. Nevertheless, trial design and analysis remain mostly unchanged and may not be adequate to meet the objective of demonstrating disease modification. Randomized start design (RSD) has been proposed as an option to study DM effects, but its application in AD trials may have been hampered by certain methodological challenges.Purpose To address the methodological issues that have impeded more extensive use of RSD in AD trial and to encourage other researchers to develop novel design and analysis methodologies to b...
A functionally graded syntactic foam material for high energy absorption under compression

Abstract A functionally graded structure for hollow particle (microballoon) filled syntactic foams is fabricated that is capable of withstanding compression for 60–75% strain without any significant loss in strength. The new functionally graded structure is based on creating a gradient in microballoon wall thickness. This material has the same volume fraction of microballoons throughout the structure, eliminating the undesirable effects of the present functionally graded composites containing a gradient of particle volume fraction. Three compositions of such material are fabricated and tested in the present study. Results show that the compressive modulus, strength, and total energy absorption of the new syntactic foams can be controlled by using appropriate type and volume fraction of microballoons.
Measurement of the Absorption Rate of Carbon Dioxide into Aqueous Diethanolamine

Absorption rates of gaseous CO2 into aqueous diethanolamine (DEA) solutions were measured in a quiescent, inverted-tube diffusiometer by monitoring the rate of pressure drop. The absorption rate was found to be insensitive to the diffusion coefficient of CO2 in solution but very sensitive to the diffusion rate of bicarbonate, protonated DEA, and carbamate ions. Evidence also suggested that chemical reaction equilibrium is rapid relative to diffusion. The diffusion coefficient of DEA in water was also measured using a Taylor dispersion apparatus. A numerical model was developed and used to regress diffusion coefficients of bicarbonate, carbamate, and protonated amine from measured absorption rates. CO2 absorption rates and diffusion coefficients of bicarbonate, carbamate, and protonated DEA were obtained at 298.2 K and 318.2 K in solutions containing 20, 35, and 50 mass % DEA in water.
Contraceptive usage patterns in North American medical students

Abstract Background Previous studies indicate that the sexual beliefs and mores of students in medical professions may influence their capacity to care for patients' sexuality and contraception issues. Students also represent a large sample of reproductive-age individuals. In this study, we examined contraceptive usage patterns in North American medical students. Study Design Students using online medical student social and information networks enrolled in allopathic and osteopathic medical schools in North America between February and July of 2008 were invited to participate via email and published announcements in an Internet-based survey consisting of a questionnaire that assessed ethnodemographic factors, year in school and sexual history. We also collected information about current use of contraceptive and barrier methods. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were utilized to analyze responses. Results Among our 2269 complete responses, at least one form of contraception was being utilized by 71% of men and 76% of women. Condoms were the most popular form of contraceptive, utilized by 1011 respondents (50% of men and 40% of women). Oral contraceptive pills were the contraceptive of choice for 34% of men and 41% of women. Decreased rates of contraception use were associated with being black or Asian, not being in a relationship and having more sexual dysfunction in female respondents. Students who reported comfort discussing sexual issues with patients were more likely to use effective contraceptive methods themselves. Ten percent of this of sexually active medical students was not currently using contraception. Conclusions There are significant differences in contraceptive use based on demographics, even at the highest education levels. The personal contraception choices of medical students may influence their ability to accurately convey information about contraception to their patients. In addition, medical students may personally benefit from improved knowledge of effective contraceptive practices.
The Kyoto Protocol: Regional and Sectoral Contributions to the Carbon Leakage

Carbon dioxide emissions abatement in a group of countries can result in increased emissions in non-abating countries. This effect has been referred to as carbon leakage. The Kyoto Protocol calls for a number of industrialized countries to limit their emissions while other countries have no abatement commitments. This paper assesses the sectoral and regional determinants of the leakage in a static multi-sector , multi-regional computable general equilibrium model. In baseline estimates based on our model , the Kyoto Protocol leads to a carbon leakage rate of 10 percent. A decomposition technique is applied which attributes increases in C02 emissions by non-participating countries to specific sectors in the abating countries. This information is important for the debate on the tax exemptions for certain industries in the participating countries as it provides information for the most- and least-leakage contributing sectors of the economy. Additional calculations indicate the need for caution in the carbon tax design. Exemptions of any sector from a carbon tax are not justified because they lower welfare in a region. The degree of sectoral and regional data disaggregation , and international capital mobility do not change the leakage rate significantly. Fossil-fuel supply elasticities and trade substitution elasticities are crucial determinants for projecting the total 'borld emissions of C02 .
Pierre Robin anomaly with an accessory metacarpal of the index fingers. The Catel-Manzke syndrome

A two-year-old female with the Pierre Robin anomaly and bilateral index finger malformations is described. Hypertelorism, full cheeks, posteriorly rotated ears with prominent antihelix, short neck, simian creases, bilateral fifth finger clinodactyly, and short toes with hypoplastic small nails were also present. Her mother had a subsequent pregnancy that resulted in the delivery at 26 weeks, of a stillborn female fetus with cleft palate, index finger anomalies and congenital heart disease. These two patients are the first females reported with this group of anomalies. The etiology of this combination of malformations, the Catel-Manzke syndrome, is unknown.
Strong linkage disequilibria among HLA-Bw50, BfS1, and HLA-DR3/DR7, and mapping of the Bf locus.

Abstract Based on genotypic and phenotypic studies we have found strong linkage disequilibria in Caucasians among the genes HLA-Bw50, Bf s 1, and HLA-DR3 and/or -DR7. The relative disequilibria, which are among the highest described in man, are Δ r ( Bf s 1, DR 7) = 0.51, Δ r ( Bw 50, Bf s 1, DR 7) = 0.36, Δ r ( Bw 50, DR 3 or 7) = 0.72, Δ r ( Bf s 1, DR 3 or 7) = 0.91, Δ r ( Bw 50, Bf s 1, DR 3 or 7) = 0.73. The previously described high Δ r ( Bw 50, Bf s 1) and Δ r ( Bw 50, DR 7) have also been confirmed. A B//DR crossover family is also presented that, together with previously reported recombinant families, confirms that the Bf locus resides between HLA-B and HLA-DR. These data suggest the existence of a supergene complex of Bw50, Bf s 1. DR3/7 (or MB2), and hypotheses to account for the observed disequilibria are discussed.
Combat Robot Strategy Adaptation Using Multiple Learning Agents

As robotic systems become more prevalent, it is highly desirable for them to be able to operate in highly dynamic environments. A common approach is to use reinforcement learning to allow an agent controlling the robot to learn and adapt its behavior based on a reward function. This paper presents a novel multi-agent system that cooperates to control a single robot battle tank in a melee battle scenario, with no prior knowledge of its opponents’ strategies. The agents learn through reinforcement learning, and are loosely coupled by their reward functions. Each agent controls a different aspect of the robot’s behavior. In addition, the problem of delayed reward is addressed through a time-averaged reward applied to several sequential actions at once. This system was evaluated in a simulated melee combat scenario and was shown to learn to improve its performance over time. This was accomplished by each agent learning to pick specific battle strategies for each different opponent it faced.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Tolerogenic dendritic cells: cytokine modulation comes of age

Dendritic cells (DCs) include a heterogeneous family of professional APCs involved in initiation of immunity and in immunologic tolerance. Specifically, peripheral tolerance can be achieved and maintained by promoting regulatory T-cell (Treg) responses and/or T-cell anergy or deletion. Until recently, immature developmental stages of DC differentiation were believed to induce T-cell anergy or Treg cells, whereas DCs transformed into mature DCs by activation stimuli were thought to represent immunogenic DCs capable of inciting primary T-cell responses. This paradigm has been challenged by the demonstration of Treg-cell expansion by antigen-bearing, fully mature DCs. Similarly, semimature DCs with a distinctive interleukin 10 (IL-10)+ IL-12- cytokine production profile might be endowed with tolerogenic functions, supporting the concept that DC maturation per se should no longer be considered as a distinguishing feature of immunogenic as opposed to tolerogenic DCs (TDCs). Cytokine-modulated TDCs reflect an incomplete or altered status of monocyte differentiation and promote in vitro induction of Treg cells and/or in vivo protection from autoimmune diseases. Several growth factors, including IL-10, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), modulate DC maturation and favor the differentiation of TDCs. From a therapeutic standpoint, cytokine-modulated TDCs might be beneficial for prevention and/or treatment of posttransplantation graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and autoimmunity.
Optical simulator and testbed for spacecraft star tracker development

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) is currently developing a prototype star scanner design incorporating a variation on the V-slit design concept, called the N-slit, which is intended for deployment on future NASA spacecraft missions, such as the Radiation Belt Storm Probe (RBSP). In order to effectively test and evaluate alternative designs, including optics, sensors, and tracking algorithms, we have developed a laboratory testbed that simulates celestial objects, including stars down to a specified magnitude. We do this by creating a light-hermetic dome-shaped projection environment using light emitting diodes of specified brightness coupled to the dome exterior via fiber-optic patch cords, which can be adjusted by current bias and selected for color, if necessary, to simulate stars over a particular range of magnitudes required for the desired system accuracy. We also simulate the spacecraft platform spin dynamics using a two-axis servo-actuated mount for the star tracker test unit within the dome. This same actuator or a similar assembly can then be transitioned to actual field tests for sensor down-select and full functionality demonstrations prior to follow-on spacecraft-qualified design. We will describe the design, construction, calibration, and operation of this simulator and preliminary results of star scanner sensor evaluation using a photomultiplier-based N-slit sensor.
MULTIPOINT FIBEROPTIC HUMIDITY MONITOR

ABSTRACT Spectral Sciences, Inc. is developing a multipoint humidity monitor for drying application in the pulp and paper industry. The humidity is measured by monitoring near-infrared optical absorption in the process stream atmosphere. An array of sensor heads distributed throughout the plant is linked by fiber optic cables to a single source/readout device which can be located in a control room hundreds of meters away. The sensor heads and cables are modular. allowing for raid installation and reconfiguration of a distributed sensor system in process control applications. The method used for quantifying the optical absorption provides substantial stability, accuracy, and signal processing advantages over standard wavelength scanning or band pass techniques. The laser diode's output wavelength is actively locked to the center of a water absorption line, thereby providing a constant monitor of water vapor concentration which is insensitive to all other species in the process stream. Wavelength modulation...
Effect of zinc on cadmium influx and toxicity in cultured CHO cells

Addition of zinc lowers the toxicity level of cadmium in cultured CHO cells. Cell survival and protein synthesis were used to measure the cellular toxicity of cadmium.(109)Cd was used to measure cadmium uptake by the cells. The results suggest that these class IIB transition metals, zinc and cadmium, share a common transport mechanism. Thus, the antagonism appears to involve a reduction in the influx of cadmium due to the presence of zinc.