cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
T Lymphocyte Subpopulations

Thymus-derived lymphocytes perform a variety of functions in the adaptive immune response. These include activating the inflammatory response, helping B lymphocytes produce antibodies, rejecting foreign grafts, eliminating virally infected cells, and regulating ongoing immune responses. The realization of this dichotomy stimulated a search for functional subpopulations of T lymphocytes based on phenotypic differences. Initially, T lymphocytes were separated into two populations, CD4 + and CD8 + , based on the expression of cell surface molecules that could be detected with monoclonal antibodies. This division was correlated with function (CD4 + lymphocytes are helpers while CD8 + lymphocytes are cytotoxic) and the mechanism used by these lymphocytes to interact with foreign antigens (CD4 + lymphocytes recognize class II histocompatibility molecules while CD8 + lymphocytes recognize class I histocompatibility molecules). Subsequently, subpopulations of CD4 + T lymphocytes have been isolated based on the cytokines that induce their activation as well as the cytokines they synthesize and secrete following activation; this division is correlated with their function. At least five functional subpopulations of CD4 + T lymphocytes are known; manipulation of these populations provides intriguing methods to regulate ongoing adaptive immune responses in several clinical situations such as autoimmune disease, cancer, and allograft rejection.
A Simulation Study of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Cask Condition Evaluation Using High Energy X-Ray Computed Tomography

Abstract The dry cask storage time could be much longer (>60 years) for the spent nuclear fuels before final disposition in the United States. The casks have multiple internal components that are designed to provide structural integrity during storage and, in some cases, during transportation. The long-term internal stability of the internals and spent fuel and their cladding is important to maintain the sub-criticality of the fissile materials in the casks. In this study, we propose to develop a high-energy X-ray CT system to examine the integrity of casks and their inner components. With careful system design and advanced image reconstruction techniques, we estimate that a sub-centimeter spatial resolution can be achieved through the simulation study. A complete three-dimension “anatomical” picture of the cask and its inner components can be obtained with a reasonable scanning time.
Taijiquan: An Adaptable Chinese Exercise Program

(1987). Taijiquan. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance: Vol. 58, No. 8, pp. 60-61.
Joining of a Si-Ti-C-O Fiber-Bonded Ceramic and an Fe-Cr-Ni Stainless Steel with a Ag-Cu-Ti Brazing Alloy

Joining of a Si-Ti-C-O fiber-bonded ceramic and an Fe-Cr-Ni stainless steel with a Ag-Cu-Ti brazing alloy was carried out. For relaxation of thermal stress caused by thermal expansion mismatch between the ceramic and the stainless steel, a thin pure copper plate was set between the specimens to be joined. Joining strength was evaluated by a four-point bending test at room temperature. The highest strength of ceramic/stainless steel joint attained in this study was 230MPa. The scattering of the strength was narrow. The ceramic-side fracture surfaces of the joints were divided into many regions by fiber/matrix interfacial cracks. It was inferred that those fiber/matrix interfacial cracks, which were perpendicular to the main crack along the joining interface, decreased the stress intensity factor of the main crack and increased the strength of the joint.
Go with what Flow? Interpreting Speckle Contrast Imagery in the Multiple Scattering Limit

There are significant deviations between speckle contrast imaging flow measures and RBC speeds between vessels of disparate calibers. We highlight and attempt to alleviate this discrepancy by accounting for the effects of multiple dynamic scattering.
Analysis of the human CD10/neutral endopeptidase 24.11 promoter region: two separate regulatory elements.

The cell surface zinc metalloproteinase CD10/neutral endopeptidase 24.11 (NEP) is expressed on normal and malignant lymphoid progenitors, granulocytes, and a variety of epithelial cells. To further define the tissue-specific and developmentally related expression of CD10/NEP, we have characterized two separate regulatory regions that control the transcription of 5′ alternatively spliced CD10/NEP transcripts. These type 1 and 2 CD10/NEP regulatory regions are both characterized by the presence of multiple transcription initiation sites and the absence of classic TATA boxes and consensus initiator elements. The purine-rich type 1 regulatory region, which includes 5′ UTR exon 1 sequence, is characterized by multiple putative PU.1 binding sites and consensus ets-binding motifs. In marked contrast, the GC-rich type 2 regulatory region contains multiple putative Sp1 binding sites, a potential consensus retinoblastoma control element (RCE), and an inverted CCAAT box. In the majority of tissues examined to date, type 2 CD10/NEP transcripts were more abundant; the abundance of type 1 transcripts was more variable, with the highest type 1 levels in fetal thymus and certain lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines.
Quantitative Analysis of the Citation Frequency and Download Frequency of Librarianship and Information Cause Periodicals

Taking the high citation frequency papers as research subjects,this paper focuses on the quantitative analysis of the citation frequency,download frequency and the correlation between the both in librarianship and information cause core periodicals.The download frequency is always larger than(never equal to or smaller than) the citation frequency of the same paper,the download frequency of average aritical in a periodical is several times of the citation frequency;in a periodical,the number of papers with citation frequency more than 100 indicates the academic influence of the core journal,because the core journal has higher citation frequency.The citation is mainly periodicals,doctor / master's dissertations and papers of academic conference,among which doctor / master's dissertations are of great importance.
Vascular Network Formation by Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells in Modular Fibrin Microtissues.

Microvascular endothelial cells (MVEC) are a preferred cell source for autologous revascularization strategies, since they can be harvested and propagated from small tissue biopsies. Biomaterials-based strategies for therapeutic delivery of cells are aimed at tailoring the cellular microenvironment to enhance the delivery, engraftment, and tissue-specific function of transplanted cells. In the present study, we investigated a modular tissue engineering approach to therapeutic revascularization using fibrin-based microtissues containing embedded human MVEC and human fibroblasts (FB). Microtissues were formed using a water-in-oil emulsion process that produced populations of spheroidal tissue modules with a diameter of 100–200 μm. The formation of MVEC sprouts within a fibrin matrix over 7 days in culture was dependent on the presence of FB, with the most robust sprouting occurring at a 1:3 MVEC:FB ratio. Cell viability in microtissues was high (>90%) and significant FB cell proliferation was observed over ...
Nurses’ perceptions, acceptance, and use of a novel in-room pediatric ICU technology: testing an expanded technology acceptance model

The value of health information technology (IT) ultimately depends on end users accepting and appropriately using it for patient care. This study examined pediatric intensive care unit nurses’ perceptions, acceptance, and use of a novel health IT, the Large Customizable Interactive Monitor. An expanded technology acceptance model was tested by applying stepwise linear regression to data from a standardized survey of 167 nurses. Nurses reported low-moderate ratings of the novel IT’s ease of use and low to very low ratings of usefulness, social influence, and training. Perceived ease of use, usefulness for patient/family involvement, and usefulness for care delivery were associated with system satisfaction (R2 = 70%). Perceived usefulness for care delivery and patient/family social influence were associated with intention to use the system (R2 = 65%). Satisfaction and intention were associated with actual system use (R2 = 51%). The findings have implications for research, design, implementation, and policies for nursing informatics, particularly novel nursing IT. Several changes are recommended to improve the design and implementation of the studied IT.
Klinefelter Syndrome in Association with Tetralogy of Fallot and Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is the most common sex chromosomal aneuploidy in males. Major cardiovascular and diaphragmatic anomalies are uncommon in this syndrome. Here we report an infant with KS who had tetralogy of Fallot and congenital diaphragmatic hernia, all of which were identified prenatally and managed successfully after birth. Microarray analysis did not reveal any deletions or duplications other than the additional X-chromosome, to account for the additional abnormalities in this infant. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first such report of major cardiac and diaphragm anomaly occurring together, in an infant with KS.
Eco-districts: Development and Evaluation. A European Case Study

Abstract Based on a comparative case study of Malmo Bo01 (Sweden), Barcelona Trinitat Nova (Spain), Bordeaux Ginko (France), and Docks de Saint Ouen (France), this paper shows that there are substantial differences in the practical interpretation of the term eco-district, and that the eco-district framework has evolved to suit different governmental systems and cultures. The four urban development projects arrive at similar outcomes and a common understanding of “urban sustainability”, yet their structures differ. Cities and city governments go above and beyond the national and international guidelines and tailor policies to meet their local priorities.
Tensioni sacre e origini del melodramma: l’ Orfeo «sub specie Dantis» di Striggio e Monteverdi.

Our knowledge of Orpheus by Striggio and Monteverdi can be enriched through additional considerations concerning its dramaturgy, specifically its well-known Dantean resonances. In the light of documentary evidence that has not yet been brought into the discussion of this work, these resonances may now be framed within the context of late-sixteenth century acadmic Milan, in some ways surprisingly revealing a work influenced as much by post-Tridentine culture as it is by the literary culture of Renaissance humanism.
How many lives are at stake? Assessing 2030 sustainable development goal trajectories for maternal and child health.

John W McArthur, Krista Rasmussen, and Gavin Yamey examine how far countries have to go to meet the targets for maternal and child mortality and what needs to be done to help them
A Nearly-Sublinear Method for Approximating a Column of the Matrix Exponential for Matrices from Large, Sparse Networks

We consider random-walk transition matrices from large social and information networks. For these matrices, we describe and evaluate a fast method to estimate one column of the matrix exponential. Our method runs in sublinear time on networks where the maximum degree grows doubly logarithmic with respect to the number of nodes. For collaboration networks with over 5 million edges, we find it runs in less than a second on a standard desktop machine.
Venture Financing and Role of Certification: A Theoretical Perspective

This paper attempts to extend the Certification Paradigm--mainly used in the literature as an explanation for IPO underpricings--to provide guidelines to entrepreneurs in their efforts to secure funding for new ventures. After extending the model to cases of pre-venture-capital start-up firms, along with the practical implications that would follow, efforts are made to derive some testable hypotheses for further research on the topic.
Abstract TP272: Effect of the Affordable Care Act on Direct Medical Expenditures Among US Adults With Stroke: 2003-2014

Background: Healthcare expenditures among stroke patients are high and expected to rise over time as the population in the United States ages. However, there are limited contemporary data on the na...
Technology for new surgical aortic valve replacement: current evidence and future directions.

Surgical aortic valve surgery has stood the test of time as a reliable, reproducible, durable and readily available surgery using either mechanical or tissue or autologous valve technology. Performed well, the long-term results are excellent. All new heart valve related trials including catheter based [transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)] are compared to the conventional surgical aortic valve replacement (C-AVR). So why do we need new valves and techniques to insert aortic valves? What is driving this and why should we adopt them?
Enhancing the weldability of CP titanium friction stir welds with elemental foils

ABSTRACTFriction stir welding (FSW) has proven to be a viable technique for joining a wide variety of alloys. However, thick section welding of alpha and near-alpha Ti alloys has proven particularl...
Survey of mood detection through various input modes

Mood has a large impact on people's behavior and even health. Thus, detecting and monitoring mood can potentially benefit users, researchers, clinicians, and content providers. In recent years, advancements in affective computing have enabled the development of various mood detection systems based on self-reported data, speech, facial expressions, mobile phone usage patterns, or physiological signals. This paper reviews each of those approaches and evaluates them in terms of usability and accuracy. Systems based on mobile phone usage and physiological data seem to be the most user friendly, but more research is needed to examine the positive and negative effects of mood monitoring.
Determinants, Diagonals, and Discovery.

Thus the upper-left to lower-right diagonal has a positive sign associated with its product, and the upper-right to lower-left diagonal has a negative sign associated with its product. Such an introduction to determinants is historically correct and provides a sound foundation for later work involving matri ces and possibly linear algebra itself. The association of a real number with a square array of numbers is readily extended into the concept of a function, for example, det(A), which is the formal definition of a determinant.
Application of the Logit Demand Function to Determine the Retail Price and Inventory Replenishment Policy in a Serial Supply Chain

We consider a serial supply chain with multiple stages in a centralized control scenario. Within this supply chain, the first stage faces a supplier selection decision for a particular product that experiences a price sensitive demand. The demand is represented as a logit function, which parameters account for the range and price sensitivity factors. Suppliers are capacitated and offer their individual fixed unit price with a corresponding quality level for the product. The buying stage needs to decide which suppliers to choose and how to allocate orders, determining the optimal inventory policy for all stages and the retail price to offer to end customers, while maximizing the total profit of the supply chain. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming model and a heuristic algorithm is proposed to deal with the complexity of the model. Then, we analyze a special case that considers only one uncapacitated supplier and a buyer with price sensitive demand in a serial supply chain. An efficient heuristic is developed for this case to obtain the near optimal solution in a timely manner. Finally, we provide a series of numerical examples to illustrate our results and analyze the impact of the parameters within a sensitivity analysis.
Understanding the out-of-equilibrium dynamics near a critical point in the QCD phase diagram

Upcoming experimental programs, including the Beam Energy Scan at RHIC, will look for signatures of a possible critical point in the QCD phase diagram in fluctuation observables. To understand and predict these signatures, one must account for the fact that the dynamics of any critical fluctuations must be out-of-equilibrium: because of critical slowing down, the fluctuations cannot stay in equilibrium as the droplet of quark gluon plasma produced in a collision expands and cools. Furthermore, their out-of-equilibrium dynamics must also influence the hydrodynamic evolution of the cooling droplet. The recently developed Hydro+ formalism allows for a consistent description of both the hydrodynamics and the out-of-equilibrium fluctuations, including the feedback between them. We shall provide an explicit demonstration of how this works, setting up a Hydro+ simulation in a simplified setting: a rapidity-independent fireball undergoing radial flow with an equation of state in which we imagine a critical point close to the ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}=0$ axis of the phase diagram. Within this setup, we show that we can quantitatively capture nonequilibrium phenomena, including critical fluctuations over a range of scales and memory effects. Furthermore, we illustrate the interplay between the dynamics of the fluctuations and the hydrodynamic flow of the fireball: as the fluid cools and flows, the dynamical fluctuations lag relative to how they would evolve if they stayed in equilibrium; there is then a backreaction on the flow itself due to the out-of-equilibrium fluctuations; and, in addition, the radial flow transports fluctuations outwards by advection. Within our model, we find that the backreaction from the out-of-equilibrium fluctuations does not yield dramatically large effects in the hydrodynamic variables. Further work will be needed in order to check this quantitative conclusion in other settings but, if it persists, this will considerably simplify future modeling.
Occupational Stress and Functioning among Military Veterans in the Fire Service

Military veterans in the fire service may experience higher risk for occupational stress and impaired personal and professional functioning. This investigation compared occupational stress and func...
Neonatal Partial Liquid Ventilation for the Treatment and Prevention of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

* Abbreviations: ARDS: : acute respiratory distress syndrome BPD: : bronchopulmonary dysplasia CHOP: : Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia ECLS: : extracorporeal life support FDA: : Food and Drug Administration FRC: : functional residual capacity HFOV: : high-frequency oscillatory ventilation PEEP: : positive end-expiratory pressure PFC: : perfluorocarbon PFOB: : perfluorooctyl bromide PLV: : partial liquid ventilation RDS: : respiratory distress syndrome TLV: : total (tidal) liquid ventilation Survival rates in extremely premature infants are increasing as are rates of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Current therapeutic options are not sufficient to prevent or treat bronchopulmonary dysplasia in many infants. This presents a large cost, both human and economic. Perfluorocarbon liquids have been studied since the 1960s for various biomedical applications. After some promising studies in the 1990s, work in this field was halted. Despite considerable attention, including significant amounts of published data, the temporal gap has seen a generation of physicians who may not know about this potentially valuable therapy. This article will reintroduce partial liquid ventilation, a promising therapeutic option in acute and chronically ill infants, to clinicians by examining the history and presenting new data. After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Identify the physiologic function of perfluorocarbon liquid in the human lung. 2. Describe the historical development of partial liquid ventilation and contextualize the published literature. 3. Explain the limitations of partial liquid ventilation and roadblocks in the past. In their 1962 article entitled, “Of mice as fish,” Kylstra and colleagues wrote with excitement about the implications of a newfound mode of ventilation. In liquid ventilation using oxygenated saline solutions, these investigators saw a sort of reverse engineering of evolution—mammals regressing to their supposed piscine origins. Kylstra et al envisioned a world in which pool water, titrated to have an adequate saline concentration, would allow for more efficacious resuscitation from drowning. (1) In its most essential form, liquid ventilation involves filling the lungs of an animal with some kind of liquid. That liquid, at varying doses, may be cycled in and out of the lungs with the assistance of a ventilator. In 1966, Clark and Gollan first described the use of perfluorocarbons (PFCs) in liquid ventilation toward a similar end as did Kylstra and colleagues—undersea survival and …
T Cells in Autoimmunity-Associated Cardiovascular Diseases.

T cells are indisputably critical mediators of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), where they secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines that promote vascular pathology. Equally well-established is the fact that autoimmune diseases, which are mediated by autoreactive T cells, substantially increase the risk of developing CVD. Indeed, as immunomodulatory treatments have become more effective at treating end-organ pathology, CVD has become a leading cause of death in patients with autoimmune diseases. Despite this, investigators have only recently begun to probe the mechanisms by which autoreactive T cells promote CVD in the context of autoimmune diseases. Herein, we review the role of T cells in vascular inflammation associated with four autoimmune diseases. T cells are best-studied in the pathogenesis of systemic vasculitides, where they react to self-antigen in the vessel wall. However, newer studies indicate that T cells also contribute to the increased CVD risk associated with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Given the central role of T-cell-derived cytokines in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, the role of these factors in psoriatic CVD is also under investigation. In the future, T cells are likely to represent major targets for the prevention and treatment of CVD in patients with autoimmune diseases.
Predictors of Mortality Among Very Low Birth Weight Infants With Gastrointestinal Perforation.

BackgroundGastrointestinal (GI) perforation is a risk factor for mortality in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Little data exist regarding pretreatment factors and patient characteristics know...
A Neural Network-Based Optimal Tile Size Selection Model for Embedded Vision Applications

Graph-based programming models for accelerating computer vision applications such as OpenVX have shown the potential to facilitate the expression of high-performance computer vision algorithms on embedded platforms effectively. The motivation behind this graph-based paradigm is to decouple algorithms (vision pipelines and data flow among them) from schedules (runtime) so that exploiting parallelism and locality through optimizations such as tiling becomes more feasible. While OpenVX allows benefits from tiling easily through a provided tiling extension, crafting an optimal tile size selection (TSS) model is still challenging due to the inherent nonlinearity between tile size and performance. In this paper, we propose a neural network model that utilizes unique access patterns in OpenVX applications to learn and predict optimal tile sizes effectively. Our mechanism extracts optimal features from raw profiling data such that it maximizes the clustering quality of vision operators, thereby generating highly accurate TSS models. The experimental evaluations using both individual kernels and full application benchmarks show that our proposed model predicts optimal tile sizes accurately; the prediction error is 10% in the worst case, and mostly around 3%. More importantly, compared with previous TSS methods based on analytical models and the state-of-the-art neural network approach, our proposed method can predict optimal tile size for vision applications with better accuracy and less inference time.
Quality and Accountability in the Online Business Education Environment

Online courses, often considered low-quality alternatives to traditional in-person courses, have become necessities for all learning during the pandemic. Whether this trend continues in postpandemic times depends on how we enhance the online learning experience.
Gene Action Changes during Early Embryogenesis

The early events in the development of the fertilized egg into an embryo involve little or no growth but simply successive divisions (cleavages) into increasingly numerous, but even smaller, cells. Among metazoans, the first clusters, or plates, of cells thus produced are followed by more complexly organized series of stages, most of which are considered to be universal in occurrence in animals of all types, while in plants quite different stages are to be found. As customary, in the present section the most thoroughly explored aspects of the topic, embryogenesis in metazoans, is presented first, followed by the less thoroughly investigated ones to provide a full spectrum. While descriptions of embryonic stages necessarily occupy a large share of the pages, the changes in gene expressions observed in altered cell shape, behavior, and fates remain the major objective. Despite the abundance of evidence of the proteinaceous nature of those genie changes, only a relatively small proportion have been specifically identified.
Laboratory maintenance of the bacterial endosymbiont, Neorickettsia sp., through the life cycle of a digenean, Plagiorchis elegans

The Digenea (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda) are a diverse and complex group of internal metazoan parasites. These parasites can serve as hosts to obligate intracellular bacteria belonging to the genus Neorickettsia (Family: Anaplasmataceae). Neorickettsiae persist within all stages of the fluke life cycle and thus are maintained through vertical transmission. However, the low prevalence of Neorickettsia in nature limits study of their transmission biology at different steps of digenean life cycles. To resolve this dilemma, we have developed for the first time a laboratory model allowing to maintain Neorickettsia sp. through the whole life cycle of a digenean, Plagiorchis elegans. The laboratory life cycle of P. elegans consists of a snail first intermediate host, Lymnaea stagnalis, an aquatic arthropod second intermediate host, Culex pipiens (mosquito larva), and a vertebrate definitive host, Mesocricetus auratus (Syrian hamster). This paper focuses on the development of the laboratory life cycle, as well as outlines its potential uses in studying the transmission biology of Neorickettsia and its evolutionary relationship within its digenean host.
Studies of Activity and Stability of Immobilized ß -N-Acetylhexosaminidase

A mixture of glycosidases from the liver of sea worm T. cornutus was co-immobilized with bovine serum albumin and glutaraldehyde and then cast as membranes. When the activities of nine glycosidases were examined, it was found that only a - mannosidase was completely inactivated by this immobilization procedure. The properties of immobilized s-N-acetylhexosaminidase were studied in some detail. The yield of immobilized s -N-acetylhexosaminidase was unaffected by increasing the concentration of glutaraldehyde but was decreased by increasing the bovine serum albumin concentrations. While the pH optimum for the soluble enzyme was 4. 0, after insolubilization, a bimodal pH curve with optima at 3.4 and 5.0 was observed. The bimodality was abolished when the immobilized enzyme was assayed in the presence of 1M NaCl. The Km values of the soluble and immobilized s -N-acetylhexosaminidase for p-nitrophenyl — s -2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-galactopyranoside were 3.6 and 10.1 mM, respectively. The immobilized enzyme showed enhanced stability towards thermal and proteolytic inactivation. No loss of activity could be detected in the membrane after using it for 24 consecutive assays or after storage at 40 for at least 50 days. This glutaraldehyde-albumin co-crosslinking technique provides a simple general method of preparing immobilized glycosidases.
Two Variations on a Theme by Stevens

First there is the thing and then there is the account of the thing, bent into new alphabets. Living your Ufe twice is no feat. Or there is what happens to you, as if to you only, the yes of no comparison, until finaUy, or secretly, the yes repeats. So a vine with grapes enough to persuade it to the ground may be a Une with one grape repeated. AU love's sighs are this, simply: an inhalation, an exhalation, something in between that is imagined. The final word is the first word reiterated with gray hair.
Separation of gastric electrical control activity from simultaneous MGG/EGG recordings using independent component analysis.

Spatiotemporal parameters of gastric electrical control activity such as its amplitude, direction and prop- agation velocity are physiological parameters of distinctive clinical interest due to their potential use for differentiating between the healthy and diseased states of the human stomach. Whereas their time evolution is relatively well behaved in the case of healthy subjects, significant deviations from normal have been observed in patients suffering from a number of gastric diseases such as gastroparesis and gastropathy. For this reason, monitoring ECA parameters noninvasively may offer a useful test for the presence of such diseases whose diagnosis remains problematic. Here, we describe a method for computing ECA direction and orientation from simultaneous, noninvasive magnetogastrographic (MGG) and electrogastrographic (EGG) recordings. We demonstrate how independent component anal- ysis and standard frequency analysis methods can be used to predict the locations and orientations of gastric current dipoles from MGG/EGG data. We compare our MGG-based dipole parameters to analogous ones obtained from simultaneous EGG recordings within the experimental framework of a human model. We find that magnetic recordings are superior in their ability to portray the underlying physiology of the stomach. I. INTRODUCTION The study of gastric motility is of clinical interest due to the relationship between gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and the characteristics of gastric electrical control activity (ECA). ECA is a slow, sinusoidal wave with a frequency of 3 cycles per minute (cpm) originating in the antral gastric region and propagated along smooth muscle cells. Abnormal ECA has been associated with many GI disorders, such as gastroparesis, diabetic gastropathy, and gastric myoelectrical dysrhythmia (12). Two methods for characterizing ECA are electrogastrography (EGG) and magnetogastrography (MGG). EGG involves the placement of cutaneous electrodes on the abdomen to record the bioelectric fields due to ECA at the body surface. The reliability of this procedure has been questioned due to the high dependence of electrical record- ings upon tissue conductivity, the thickness of the abdominal wall, and the variable propagation velocity of ECA (10). MGG involves the positioning of a magnetometer in close proximity to the abdomen to detect the biomagnetic field generated by the electric current of ECA. The measurement of biomagnetic fields is advantageous because they are more strongly dependent on tissue permeability, which is nearly equivalent to that of free space. In this study, we describe our application of principal and independent component analysis (PCA and ICA, respec- tively) for measuring ECA parameters from simultaneous, noninvasive MGG/EGG recordings. Our approach makes use of ICA to isolate the gastric signal, whereafter gastric dipole locations and orientations can be determined from ICA field maps. We compare our results based on magnetic data to analogous ones obtained using simultaneous electrode recordings.
From Simulink to smartphone: Signal processing application examples

This paper presents the steps one needs to take in order to run a signal processing algorithm designed in Simulink on the ARM processor of smartphones. The steps are conveyed by transitioning two signal processing application examples from Simulink to smartphone. The application examples involve background noise classification and lane departure detection. Considering that Simulink programming is widely used in signal processing, the approach presented in this paper is of benefit to practicing engineers and signal processing researchers/educators in terms of the process of making Simulink codes or models to run on smartphones.
Ultra wideband interference effects on an amateur radio receiver

This paper illustrates the complexity of issues that arise in the accurate measurement and interpretation of ultra wideband (UWB) interference effects in narrowband receivers. The behavior of an amateur radio receiver in the presence of sinusoidal and UWB interference is studied. We characterize antenna response and receiver nonlinearities, which lead to an understanding of UWB effects on the receiver output during outdoor response measurements as a function of range and antenna orientation.
Expertise and decision-making in American football

In American football, pass interference calls can be difficult to make, especially when the timing of contact between players is ambiguous. American football history contains many examples of controversial pass interference decisions, often with fans, players, and officials interpreting the same event differently. The current study sought to evaluate the influence of experience with concepts important for officiating decisions in American football on the probability (i.e., response criteria) of pass interference calls. We further investigated the extent to which such experience modulates perceptual biases that might influence the interpretation of such events. We hypothesized that observers with less experience with the American football concepts important for pass interference would make progressively more pass interference calls than more experienced observers, even when given an explicit description of the necessary criteria for a pass interference call. In a go/no-go experiment using photographs from American football games, three groups of participants with different levels of experience with American football (Football Naive, Football Player, & Football Official) made pass interference calls for pictures depicting left-moving and right-moving events. More experience was associated with progressively and significantly fewer pass interference calls (F (2, 48) = 10.4, p < .001), with Football Naive participants making the most pass interference calls, and Football Officials the least. In addition, our data replicated a prior finding of spatial biases for interpreting left-moving images more harshly than identical right-moving images, but only in Football Players. These data suggest that experience with the concepts important for making a decision may influence the rate of decision-making, and may also play a role in susceptibility to spatial biases.
Psychiatric Decision Making in Family Practice Future Research Directions

Psychiatric illnesses in family practice are significantly underdiagnosed because of factors associated with both the physician and patient. Clinicians too often fail to utilize a biopsychosocial approach in the assessment process, tending to assess symptoms as organic regardless of their etiology. Patients similarly tend to emphasize the physical nature of their complaints when presenting in medical settings. Efforts have been made to improve the physician's diagnostic accuracy through the use of screening scores. The results, however, are inconclusive. It remains unclear whether the physician disregards this information or considers it irrelevant. We suggest that future research investigate not only the accuracy of the clinician's diagnostic formulation but also the processes whereby the family practitioner elicits, analyzes, and synthesizes or discards cues pertinent to mental illness. By combining statistical analyses with the analytic techniques developed in studies of medical decision making and general problem solving, detailed leads should emerge for the design of improved didactic and experiential training programs.
Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths in Latin American and Caribbean Countries (LAC)

La mayoria de paises de Latinoamerica y del Caribe (LAC) han alcanzado las metas del milenio; no obstante estos progresos, aun es necesario efectuar un esfuerzo intenso para frenar los millares de muertes maternas e infantiles que ocurren anualmente y que son prevenibles. Este esfuerzo requiere de una serie de intervenciones de alto impacto, el fortalecimiento de los sistemas de salud nacionales y la disminucion de las brechas de equidad entre los diferentes paises de la region de LAC. En junio de 2012, los gobiernos de Etiopia, India y los Estados Unidos, en conjunto con la UNICEF, convinieron en efectuar un "llamado a la accion por la supervivencia de los ninos" (CSCTA), proponiendo la meta de frenar las muertes infantiles prevenibles. La premisa central de este llamado es que ya se debe de saber como prevenir estas muertes, y poder llevar a cabo las intervenciones de manera asequible y practica. El CSCTA, conforme las acciones subsecuentes a llevar a cabo, siguiendo a la UNICEF, enfatiza en la importancia de que cada pais planifique y calcule los recursos propios que debera invertir para reducir las muertes infantiles. Bajo esta vision, los soportes economicos de apoyo de organismos internacionales solo deberan ser suplementarios, no el recurso principal de los paises en desarrollo, para reducir la mortalidad infantil. Como resultado de la reunion de junio de 2012, 175 paises alrededor del mundo han firmado los compromisos del CSCTA, incluyendo 31 paises de la region de LAC
Spirochaeta aurantia, a Pigmented, Facultatively Anaerobic Spirochete

A strain of Spirochaeta aurantia was isolated from mud by a procedure involving migration of the organisms through cellulose ester filter discs (0.3-mum pore diameter) onto the surface of culture plates. The helical cells measured 0.3 by 10 to 20 mum during exponential growth. Electron microscopy showed the presence of two subterminally inserted axial fibrils partially overlapping in a 1-2-1 arrangement. An outer envelope, exhibiting a polygonal substructure, was observed. The spirochete grew either aerobically or anaerobically, with aerobic yields of 9.8 x 10(8) cells per ml and anaerobic yields of 3.0 x 10(8) cells per ml. The organism used carbohydrates, but not amino acids, as energy sources. Amino acids served as sole nitrogen sources, whereas inorganic ammonium salts did not. The presence of biotin and thiamine in the medium was required for growth. Growing cells fermented maltose mainly to carbon dioxide, hydrogen, ethyl alcohol, and acetic acid. Small amounts of formic and lactic acids, acetoin, and diacetyl were produced. Cells of S. aurantia growing aerobically produced a yellow-orange pigment. Chemical analysis indicated that the pigment was carotenoid in nature, its main component being lycopene or a similar compound. S. aurantia is not closely related to the leptospires, since it lacks both the hemolytic antigen and the hooked ends typical of the latter organisms. Furthermore, the guanine plus cytosine content in the deoxyribonucleic acid of S. aurantia (66.8 moles%) differs drastically from that of leptospires.
Unintended pregnancy in the United States.

Context Current debates on how to reduce the high U.S. abortion rate often fail to take into account the role of unintended pregnancy, an important determinant of abortion. Methods Data from the 1982, 1988 and 1995 cycles of the National Survey of Family Growth, supplemented by data from other sources, are used to estimate 1994 rates and percentages of unintended birth and pregnancy and the proportion of women who have experienced an unintended birth, an abortion or both. In addition, estimates are made of the proportion of women who will have had an abortion by age 45. Results Excluding miscarriages, 49% of the pregnancies concluding in 1994 were unintended; 54% of these ended in abortion. Forty-eight percent of women aged 15-44 in 1994 had had at least one unplanned pregnancy sometime in their lives; 28% had had one or more unplanned births, 30% had had one or more abortions and 11% had had both. At 1994 rates, women can expect to have 1.42 unintended pregnancies by the time they are 45, and at 1992 rates, 43% of women will have had an abortion. Between 1987 and 1994, the unintended pregnancy rate declined by 16%, from 54 to 45 per 1,000 women of reproductive age. The proportion of unplanned pregnancies that ended in abortion increased among women aged 20 and older, but decreased among teenagers, who are now more likely than older women to continue their unplanned pregnancies. The unintended pregnancy rate was highest among women who were aged 18-24, unmarried, low-income, black or Hispanic. Conclusion Rates of unintended pregnancy have declined, probably as a result of higher contraceptive prevalence and use of more effective methods. Efforts to achieve further decreases should focus on reducing risky behavior, promoting the use of effective contraceptive methods and improving the effectiveness with which all methods are used.
Acid Phosphatase Activity in Human Breast Tumors

We examined lysosomal participation in the degradation of tumor cells from human breast biopsies, utilizing the histochemical activity and localization of acid phosphatase (AP). Enzyme activities in benign and malignant lesions were compared. AP was faintly detected in normal mammary epithelia and was marked in malignant cells. The histochemical patterns of AP distribution in the breast tissues showed differences between normal and neoplastic cells. AP staining was more intense in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) associated with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) cases compared to when IDC was present alone. These results suggest that non-invasive breast cancers, such as DCIS, may be subjected to more lysosomal cellular lysis than is observed in invasive breast cancers, like IDC.
Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence Scalar Measurements in a Turbulent Jet

The planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) technique has been used to measure the concentration of a passive molecular tracer (biacetyl) in a turbulent axisymmetric nitrogen jet. The emitted light was recorded using two low noise, high dynamic range CCD cameras. The acquired images were corrected for experimental artifacts and statistically analyzed. Results are presented for mean concentration, RMS concentration fluctuations, scalar dissipation, and cross-section centered means.
First-principles calculation of native defect densities in Hg 0.8 Cd 0.2 Te

We use a quasichemical formalism to make quantitative predictions of the native point defect densities in ${\mathrm{Hg}}_{0.8}$${\mathrm{Cd}}_{0.2}$Te. The electronic contribution to the defect-formation free energy is calculated using the self-consistent first-principles full-potential linearized muffin-tin orbital method and the local-density approximation (LDA). A gradient correction is added to the LDA result so that absolute reference to the chemical potential of the mercury vapor phase can be made. A Green's function approach based on a valence force field plus a point Coulomb model is used to calculate the vibrational contributions to the defect free energy (both energy and entropy). We find the double acceptor mercury vacancy is the dominant defect, in agreement with previous interpretations of experiments. The tellurium antisite is also found to be an important defect in this material. Predictions of the low-temperature hole concentrations are made as a function of annealing temperature and compared with available experiments. The order of magnitude of our predictions agrees well with experimental results, and discrepancies can be attributed to contributions to the free energy that we have neglected or to inaccuracies in the intrinsic reaction constant used. Suggestions for further experimental work are made.
Commercial Bank Underwriting of Credit-Enhanced Bonds: Are there Benefits to the Issuer?

Recent studies have expanded the commercial bank certification hypothesis to include banks acting in an underwriting capacity. This paper further develops that research by focusing on the industrial revenue bond market in which banks have the unique opportunity to simultaneously act as both credit guarantor and underwriter. When explicitly allowing for bank-issued standby letters of credit (guarantees), we find significantly greater yield spreads for those bonds underwritten by commercial banks compared to bonds underwritten by investment banks. Overall, no net benefit appears to accrue to the bond issuer when attempting to achieve joint (or double) certification benefits by employing commercial banks as both credit guarantor and underwriters except in the special case where the same bank acts as both guarantor and underwriter. This latter result is consistent with an "economy of scope" in monitoring and reusing information.
Effects of contraction and lactic acid on the discharge of group III muscle afferents in cats

1. In barbiturate-anesthetized cats we examined the interaction of lactic acid and static contraction on the discharge of group III muscle afferents. Only afferents whose receptive fields were located in the triceps surae muscles were studied. 2. Twelve of 20 afferents were stimulated by a 60-s static contraction. The majority of firing occurred within the first few seconds of contraction. Thirteen of 20 afferents were stimulated by femoral arterial injections of 24 mM lactic acid (1-4 ml) with the muscle at rest. Repeated injections of lactic acid with the muscle at rest led to tachyphylaxis. Lactic acid was then injected (24 mM; 4 ml) during the last 15 s of static contraction. In eight of nine afferents that were tachyphylactic to lactic acid with the muscle at rest, we noted a restored sensitivity to lactic acid during contraction. 3. In separate experiments we examined the effects of dichloroacetate (DCA) on the responses of group III muscle afferents to static contraction. DCA reduces the production of lactic acid by increasing levels of the active form of the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase. 4. DCA lowered arterial and venous lactate concentrations at rest and during contraction. DCA significantly decreased (31%; P < 0.05) the responses of the afferents to contraction. This effect was most prominent within the first 10 s of contraction and was not due to a reduced level of mechanical stimulation after DCA, because peak tension levels were the same during the two bouts of contraction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The relationship between biogeography and ecology: envelopes, models, predictions

This paper reviews ideas on the relationship between the ecology of clades and their distribution. Ecological biogeography represents a tradition that dates back to ancient times. It assumes that the distribution of organisms is explained by factors of present environment, especially climate. In contrast, modern systematics, following its origins in the Renaissance, concluded with Darwin that ‘neither the similarity nor the dissimilarity of the inhabitants of various regions can be accounted for by their climatal and other physical conditions’. In many cases, species distribution models – ecological niche models – based on the current environment of a species (its environmental envelope) fail to predict the actual distribution of the species. In particular, they often over-predict distributions. In addition, a group's niche often varies in space and time. These results provide valuable evidence that Darwin was correct, and many ecologists now recognise that there is a problem with the niche theory of distribution. Current ecological processes explain distribution at smaller scales than do biogeographical and evolutionary processes, but the latter can lead to patterns that are much more local than many ecologists have assumed. Biogeographical phenomena often occur at a much smaller scale than that of the Wallacean regions. In areas that have been subjected to marine inundation or intense tectonism, many centres of endemism are only tens of kilometres across. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 115, 456–468.