cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design and analysis of the reflection grating arrays for the X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission

The Reflection Grating Spectrometer Experiment (RGS), which has been selected for flight on the European Space Agency's X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM), includes two arrays of reflection gratings that are placed in the X-ray optical path behind two separate grazing incidence X-ray telescopes. Each of the grating arrays picks off roughly half the X-ray light emanating from its telescope and diffracts it to a dedicated strip of charge-coupled device (CCD) detectors offset from the telescope focal plane. The arrays contain 224 100 mm X 200 mm gratings, each mounted at a graze angle of 1.58° to the incident beam. The gratings are produced by epoxy replication of a common master onto very thin substrates. Both the gratings and the detectors are mounted on a Rowland circle which also includes the telescope focus. In this paper, we review the current state of both the engineering and the optical designs for the grating arrays.
Comparison of Three Clinical Techniques for the Diagnosis of Laryngeal Paralysis in Dogs

Objectives— To evaluate laryngeal function using 3 diagnostic techniques: echolaryngography (EL), transnasal laryngoscopy (TNL), and laryngoscopy per os (LPO). Study Design— Prospective clinical study. Animals— Dogs with laryngeal paralysis (n=5) and control dogs (n=10); 5 age- and breed-matched dogs and 5 young, breed-matched dogs. Methods— Laryngeal function was evaluated in conscious dogs using EL. All examinations were recorded and evaluated by separate, blinded observers upon completion of the study. The methods were compared with a standard evaluation incorporating all clinical knowledge of the case (STD) using sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values. Results— Three dogs with bilateral laryngeal paralysis requiring surgery were diagnosed as unilaterally affected or normal on EL. Three dogs had paradoxic motion on TNL and LPO, 2 of those were considered normal on EL, and 1 had no motion on EL. Paralysis was diagnosed in 1 age-matched and 3 young control dogs on EL. LPO and TNL falsely diagnosed lack of arytenoid movement in 2 age-matched controls and 1 young control. Two age-matched and 1 young control dog were misdiagnosed as paralyzed with TNL and LPO. Discussion— Direct observation of the larynx allowed better evaluation of laryngeal function compared with EL. TNL did not require induction of anesthesia, but did not improve the ability to assess laryngeal function compared with LPO. Conclusions— EL was not as effective as direct observation of the larynx. TNL did not improve the evaluation of laryngeal function compared with LPO. Clinical Relevance— We use LPO combined with knowledge of the clinical history and physical examination to diagnose laryngeal paralysis in preference to EL and TNL.
Comparative pharmacokinetic and clinical profiles of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and calcium antagonists in systemic hypertension

Abstract Angtotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and calcium antagonists are important classes of antihypertensive agents. Within their respective classes, ACE inhibitors and calcium antagonists share common pharmacokinetic properties, but in contrast to ACE inhibitors, some calcium antagonists may cause a significant increase in plasma digoxin concentrations. Clinically, both classes of agents have been shown to be safe and effective in large-scale, long-term clinical trials. ACE inhibitors appear to be very well tolerated and may be associated with fewer adverse effects than some calcium antagonists. ACE inhibitors appear to blunt diuretic-induced hypokalemia, hypercholesterolemia, hyperuricemia, and hyperglycemia. Both classes of agents can be used safely in patients with renal disease, diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. They may also be used in the elderly. While ACE inhibitors are particularly useful in hypertension accompanied by congestive heart failure, calcium antagonists can be very useful when angina pectoris is present in the hypertensive patient.
Forecasting Physician Workforce Requirements-Reply

In Reply. —A key goal of my article was to help revitalize interest in the long-dormant topic of physician workforce planning. Based on the letters herein, others sent to me personally, and related editorials printed in many major newspapers, it appears that I have been, at least to some degree, successful. Accepting my charge from the Council on Graduate Medical Education, I attempted to portray the likely outcomes of one set of assumptions, which included growth in managed care plans and universal insurance coverage. Although I did my best to adopt a set of defendable suppositions, I claim neither a monopoly on truth nor prophetic abilities. To the contrary, as stated in my article and in other writings, 1 it is essential that scrutiny be directed at all assumptions embodied in this or any other forecasting model. Thus, I am gratified that your readers are suggesting alternative scenarios and perspectives.
Phlebotomy as a Source of Clostridium septicum Gas Gangrene

Abstract ISSUE: Phlebotomy is often performed by personnel without nursing or infection prevention education. Infection Control (IC) was notified regarding a potential Clostridium septicum gas gangrene inoculation in an outpatient phlebotomy setting. A 70-year-old patient expired 52 hours after receiving phlebotomy. The patient presented to an outside facility with pain and swelling of the right antecubital space. After the diagnosis of a gas-producing infection, the patient quickly decompensated and later expired. PROJECT: Infection control professionals (ICPs) were given the opportunity to assess practice, policy, and environmental conditions within an area often overlooked in large tertiary-care facilities. RESULTS: ICPs observed breaks in aseptic technique by numerous staff. Skin-preparation technique was noted as inadequate. First, staff did not sanitize their hands between clients. Second, the initial alcohol prep was not allowed to dry, preventing appropriate antisepsis. Finally, site recontamination occurred during palpation of the antecubital site with ungloved, unwashed hands. It was noted that the medical supply storage area was untidy and that supplies were not kept the proper distance from the floor. Educational inservices on proper patient skin preparation and proper specimen collection were conducted. Waterless hand sanitizer was installed to make proper hand hygiene more accessible. Direct feedback of these observations was given to the staff. LESSONS LEARNED: Outpatient areas like phlebotomy should not be overlooked as financial and time constraints may cause personnel to neglect appropriate technique. Infection control practices and principles should be reviewed with phlebotomy personnel on a routine basis.
Automatic diacritization of Arabic for acoustic modeling in speech recognition

Automatic recognition of Arabic dialectal speech is a challenging task because Arabic dialects are essentially spoken varieties. Only few dialectal resources are available to date; moreover, most available acoustic data collections are transcribed without diacritics. Such a transcription omits essential pronunciation information about a word, such as short vowels. In this paper we investigate various procedures that enable us to use such training data by automatically inserting the missing diacritics into the transcription. These procedures use acoustic information in combination with different levels of morphological and contextual constraints. We evaluate their performance against manually diacritized transcriptions. In addition, we demonstrate the effect of their accuracy on the recognition performance of acoustic models trained on automatically diacritized training data.
Theory-based Psychosocial Factors that Discriminate Between Weight-loss Success and Failure Over 6 Months in Women with Morbid Obesity Receiving Behavioral Treatments

To improve success rates of behavioral weight-loss treatments, a better understanding of psychosocial factors that discriminate between weight-loss success and failure is required. The inclusion of cognitive–behavioral methods and manageable amounts of exercise might induce greater improvements than traditional methods of education in healthy eating practices. Women with morbid obesity [body mass index (BMI) ≥40 kg/m2] were recruited for a treatment of supported exercise paired with either a cognitive–behavioral or an educational approach to eating change over 6 months. They were classified as either successful with (i.e., at least 5 % loss; n = 40) or failed at (no loss, or weight gain; n = 43) weight loss. Discriminate function analysis incorporated theory-based models of 1 (self-efficacy), 5 (self-efficacy, self-regulation, mood, physical self-concept, body satisfaction), and 3 (self-efficacy, self-regulation, mood) psychosocial predictors at both month 6, and change from baseline–month 6. All three models significantly discriminated weight-loss success/failure (66, 88, and 87 % for success; and 81, 87, and 88 % for failure, respectively). Self-regulation had the strongest correlations within the multi-predictor models (0.90–0.96), and all variables entered were above the standard of 0.30 set for relevance. Participants in the cognitive–behavioral nutrition group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in all psychosocial variables and success with weight loss. Completing at least two sessions of exercise per week predicted success/failure with weight loss better than overall volume of exercise. New and relevant findings regarding treatment-induced psychosocial changes might be useful in the architecture of more successful behavioral weight-loss interventions.
The effect on drawbar-pull in sand of the lateral spacing of cleats

Abstract : The primary objective of this work is to evaluate in relative terms the effect on drawbar-pull in sand of the lateral spacing of cleats with grousers. As a means of achieving this objective, a set of four varied cleat configurations is used as the basis for both a theoretical and an experimental evaluation of the effect. A secondary objective of this work was to prepare for and place into operation a newly acquired soil-bin dynamometer. Consequently, considerable information pertaining to the dynamometer is included.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS AFECTING THE LOCATION OF RESIDENTAL NEIGHBORHOODS

In this paper it has been argued that there are several important variables to consider in explaining the distribution of residential neighborhoods. These include (1) the overall tendency for urban populations to be concentrated about central places and along major transportation facilities, (2) the pattern of social relations which exist among the subgroups which comprise the community's population, (3) the major (common) residential values held by members of the community, and (4) the community power structure. It has been noted that the first of these factors has received more than its share of attention, and that, indeed, most attempts to explain residential structure seek to associate compositional characteristics in a fixed way to the settlement density and competition for land. Because the relationship between composition and density is mediated by many institutional and social variables, however, this approach is not considered very promising. Instead, it is suggested that attention be directed to all four elements, and especially to the second, dealing with the social relations that exist among the subgroups of the community. The careful study of these relations should provide an important key to the understanding of the residential structure of the modern American metropolis.
EXPERT SYSTEM FOR SELECTING SPEED REDUCTION COMPONENTS FOR A POWER TRANSMISSION

Abstract This paper describes the development of an expert system that will allow for the concurrent consideration and analysis of the many facets of product constraints, particularly function and manufacturability, at the early stages of power transmission development. The Power Transmission Design Assistant methodology is based on the concept of directed refinement, where the product and analysis methodology become less abstract as more information is given. This allows for analysis and guidance throughout the product development process. The methodology has been demonstrated on a small-scale, semi-automatic tool. The tool was the foundation for a larger tool that incorporates expert rules to help optimize power transmission component design.
Canonical Patterns of Oriented Topologies

A common problem in many areas of behavioral research is the analysis of the large volume of data recorded during the execution of the tasks being studied. Recent work has proposed the use of an automated method based on canonical sets to identify the most representative patterns in a large data set, and described an initial experiment in identifying canonical web-browsing patterns. However, there is a significant limitation to the method: it requires the similarity matrix to be symmetric, and thus can only be used for problems that can be modeled as unoriented topologies. In this paper we propose a novel enhancement to the method to support oriented topologies by allowing the similarity matrix to be nonsymmetric. We demonstrate the power of this new technique by applying the new method to find canonical lane changes in a driving simulator experiment.
Long-term low-dose IL-2 enhances immune function in common variable immunodeficiency.

Abstract Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a primary immunodeficiency disease characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and lack of antibody production. Numerous T cell defects have been described, including reduced gene expression and production of IL-2. Since some of the T cell defects could be explained by lack of IL-2, we have been investigating the effects of in vivo IL-2 treatment. Here, a long-acting form of IL-2, PEG-IL-2, was given for 12–18 months to 15 randomly chosen CVID subjects, in comparison to 39 CVID subjects who served as controls. After 6 to 12 months of treatment, T cell proliferative responses to mitogens and to IL-2 were significantly enhanced; proliferative responses to tetanus and candida antigens increased up to 50-fold. Four of eight subjects immunized with the neoantigen bacteriophage φX 174 displayed increased antibody responses after treatment. Treated subjects recorded reduced, but not overall statistically significant, days of bronchitis, diarrhea, and joint pain. These data indicate that IL-2 might serve as an adjuvant to therapy in some subjects with CVID, enhancing T cell functions and reversing T cell anergy in most.
The Relationship between Radiation Dose and Dominant Visible Mutation Rate in Drosophila Melanogaster.

Tests were made of the frequency of easily seen visible mutations, chiefly autosomal dominants, of Drosophila melanogaster induced at ten radiation dosage levels in the 0.5 to 10 kr range. Results are related to findings in sexlinked lethal tests. (C.H.)
SRU, Open Data and the Future of Metasearch

ABSTRACT Search/Retrieve via URL (SRU)isaREST-ful Web service defined by the Library of Congress that supports the standardized, machine-readable transmission of textual queries via HTTP using XML. This article evaluates the suitability of SRU for wide implementation by information providers of all types as a tool to enable effective metasearch services. SRU proves to be an excellent choice for commercial publishers, content aggregators, Internet search engines, and digital library maintainers who wish to make their content available to metasearch tools. This article also presents a hypothetical scenario illustrating how a library could use SRU compliant information resources to implement a metasearch service. doi:10.1300/J136v12n03_09
Local resolution-limit-free Potts model for community detection.

We report on an exceptionally accurate spin-glass-type Potts model for community detection. With a simple algorithm, we find that our approach is at least as accurate as the best currently available algorithms and robust to the effects of noise. It is also competitive with the best currently available algorithms in terms of speed and size of solvable systems. We find that the computational demand often exhibits superlinear scaling $O({L}^{1.3})$ where $L$ is the number of edges in the system, and we have applied the algorithm to synthetic systems as large as $40\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}$ nodes and over $1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{9}$ edges. A previous stumbling block encountered by popular community detection methods is the so-called ``resolution limit.'' Being a ``local'' measure of community structure, our Potts model is free from this resolution-limit effect, and it further remains a local measure on weighted and directed graphs. We also address the mitigation of resolution-limit effects for two other popular Potts models.
The Precautionary Principle, Public Health, and Public Health Nursing

The Precautionary Principle posits that, in the absence of certainty, the appropriate course of action is to err on the side of caution. The Principle has been applied to decision making and policy development related to environmental health issues both internationally and in the United States. The American Public Health Association and the American Nurses Association (ANA) have issued policy statements that invoke the Precautionary Principle, and the Principle has been incorporated into statements that describe the practice of public health nursing. Nursing has always recognized the relationship of the environment with the health of humans--individuals, families, populations, and communities (ANA). The increasing attention to the Precautionary Principle comes at a time of redefinition of the field of public health, environmental public health, and the practice of public health nursing. Thus, it is crucial that practicing public health nurses understand the Precautionary Principle and its relevance to the practice of public health, public health nursing, and the current and future health individuals, families, populations, and communities.
Phase transitions in two-component systems

The deduction of the physical properties of the liquid state from a knowledge of the atomic properties, has not had the success of the corresponding treatment of the solid or gaseous state, primarily because there is no mathematical formalism which can be taken over and applied to liquids. In the case of dilute gases, the well-known laws of probability immediately suggest themselves, and in the case of solids the methods of Fourier analysis can be used to represent the periodicity found. It is this lack of a mathematical formalism which makes the liquid state so difficult to treat and explains the absence of a completely satisfactory theory. The radial distribution function approach to liquids was formulated by Yvon
ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT AND NEUROTRANSMITTER RECEPTORS

The extent of high affinity, specific binding of several pharmacological agents to brain membrane fractions derived from rats reared in an environmentally enriched or impoverished environment has been assayed. The binding of all labeled agents studied was not significantly altered in cerebellar, subcortical, or cortical membranes by the rearing condition. In the case of cortical membranes, binding of 3H-benzodiazepine, 3H-dihydroalprenolol, 3H-dihydroergocryptine, 3H-spiroperidol, 3H-quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB), and 3H-muscimol was not detectably altered by exposure to these two housing conditions. These data suggest that the observed small but statistically significant increase in density of cortical synapses in rats kept in the “enriched” condition may not necessarily reflect a great increase in a specific class of synapse.
Information warfare and nuclear conflict termination

This study considers the possible implications of information warfare for efforts to terminate a nuclear war, or a war between nuclear armed states that is about to go nuclear. Information warfare could interfere with some of the requirements for nuclear conflict termination in at least five ways: by increasing the difficulty of accurate communication between heads of state; by decreasing the likelihood of military compliance with terms of ceasefire or settlement; by reinforcing mass images of the enemy that make it more difficult for leaders to negotiate; and by making battle damage assessment more complicated; and by increasing the amount of uncertainty within an already chaotic government decision‐making process and within a possibly acephalous military instrument.
Angiosarcoma arising in a lymphedematous abdominal pannus with histologic features reminiscent of Kaposi's sarcoma: report of a case and review of the literature.

Background Despite common endothelial origins, angiosarcoma and Kaposi's sarcoma are clinically and histologically distinct vascular proliferations. The development of angiosarcoma in a chronically edematous abdominal pannus is extremely uncommon. Similarly, tumors with the combined histologic features of angiosarcoma and Kaposi's sarcoma have rarely been described. Methods We reviewed the literature on angiosarcoma arising in a lymphedematous abdominal pannus and evaluated an 81-year-old morbidly obese woman who had profound, long-standing edema of the lower abdominal wall in which an aggressive vascular tumor developed. Results Three clinically similar cases were identified in the literature. All patients were women who generally experienced rapid disease progression. In addition, in our patient, sequential cutaneous sampling from different lesional sites demonstrated disparate histologic changes, ranging from those of classic Kaposi's sarcoma to high-grade angiosarcoma, to areas with combined features of the two tumors. A polymerase chain reaction performed on lesional tissue was negative for human herpesvirus-8 DNA. Conclusion It is important to note that angiosarcoma may develop in the abdomen in association with chronic lymphedema, as demonstrated by the cases noted in this report. In addition, our case highlights the difficulty in differentiating histologically angiosarcoma from Kaposi's sarcoma in some situations, and demonstrates the value of close clinicopathologic correlation and sequential tissue sampling in evaluating problematic cases.
Gastric trichobezoars--sonographic and computed tomographic appearance.

We report two young girls with gastric trichobezoars in whom ultrasound, computed tomography and upper gastrointestinal contrast studies were done. Since sonography and, less frequently, computed tomography are usually the first studies obtained in a child, with an abdominal mass it is important to recognize the rather distinctive appearance of a trichobezoar on these images.
Diversity in autoimmunity against retinal, neuronal, and axonal antigens in acquired neuro-retinopathy

Purpose Autoimmune retinopathies and optic neuropathies are complex disorders of the retina and the optic nerve, in which patients develop autoantibodies (AAbs) against retinal and optic nerve proteins. Autoimmunity might significantly influence the outcome of retinal and optic nerve degenerative process but the pathogenic process is not fully elucidated. To better understand the role of AAbs in pathogenicity of these suspected autoimmune visual disorders, we focused on unique AAbs specificities associated with the syndrome to identify their antigenic targets in the optic nerve and retina.
Orbitotemporal Neurofibromatosis: Classification and Treatment

Purpose: To review the clinical findings in orbitotemporal neurofibromatosis and discuss treatment options. Clinical features, histopathologic characteristics, and treatment options are reviewed. Methods: A Medline literature search from 1966 to 2004 was performed, using the key words: orbitotemporal neurofibromatosis, orbitopalpebral neurofibromatosis, orbitofacial neurofibromatosis, cranio-orbital neurofibromatosis, and cranio-orbital-temporal neurofibromatosis, and the pertinent literature was reviewed. Additionally, our experience with two patients is reported. The surgical procedures are discussed. Conclusion: The management of orbitotemporal neurofibromatosis is challenging. The planned surgical approach and extent of resection depend on the severity of the orbital soft tissue and bony involvement and on the visual potential. Ultimately, orbital exenteration may be needed for rehabilitation and cosmesis.
Role of the visuomotor system in on-line attenuation of a premovement illusory bias in grip aperture.

In this investigation participants formulated a grip aperture (GA) consistent with the size of an object embedded within a Muller-Lyer (ML) figure prior to initiating visually guided grasping movements. The accuracy of the grasping response was emphasized to determine whether or not the visuomotor system might resolve the premovement bias in GA very early in the response, as predicted by the perception/action model (PAM: Milner & Goodale, 1995), or more gradually as the action unfolds over time, as predicted by the planning/control model (PCM: Glover & Dixon, 2002). Grasping time (GT) was normalized and GA was measured at 11 time points: a premovement GA and ten time points beginning at 10% of GT and ending at 100% of GT. Not surprisingly, premovement GA was influenced in a direction consistent with the perceptual effects of the ML figure (cf. Westwood, Heath, & Roy, 2000). Interestingly, however, the bias in GA was not attenuated during the response, that is, a reliable illusory effect was observed for upwards of 90% of GT. Only at 100% of GT did we find resolution of the illusory effect. Based on these results, it is proposed that shaping GA in advance of response execution leads to a feedforward mode of grasping control in which the spatiotemporal characteristics of GA are controlled via an offline and context-dependent planning mechanism (i.e., the ventral visual pathway).
Effects of peroxynitrite dose and dose rate on DNA damage and mutation in the supF shuttle vector.

Peroxynitrite (ONOO-) induces oxidative and nitrosative DNA damage, and previous studies by our group have shown that it is strongly mutagenic in the supF shuttle vector pSP189 replicated in Escherichia coli MBL50 cells. In those experiments, however, the pSP189 plasmid was exposed under unphysiological conditions to large single bolus doses of ONOO-, which limits extrapolation of the data to in vivo pathological states in which ONOO- may play a role. We have thus sought to define the effects of ONOO- dose and dose rate on the DNA damage and mutations induced in the supF gene by three different dosage mechanisms: (i) by infusion of ONOO- solution into suspensions of pSP189 at rates approximating those estimated to occur in inflamed tissues; (ii) by exposure to 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), which generates ONOO- spontaneously during decomposition; and (iii) by bolus doses of ONOO- solution. In all cases, plasmid DNA was exposed in the presence of 25 mM bicarbonate, since the reaction of CO2 with ONOO- ...
Particle creation in a toroidal universe

We calculate the particle production rate in an expanding universe with a three-torus topology. We discuss also the complete evolution of the size of such a universe. The energy density of particles created through the nonzero modes is computed for selected masses. The unique contribution of the zero mode and its properties are also analyzed.
Impact of prophylactic amiodarone on length of hospital stay, stroke, and atrial fibrillation after cardiothoracic surgery.

Study Objective. To evaluate the effect of prophylactic amiodarone on length of stay (LOS), postoperative stroke, and postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF). Design. Retrospective cohort study. Setting. Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut. Patients. Two thousand forty-six patients who underwent cardiothoracic surgery from February 1998–October 2003 (186 received amiodarone, 1860 were controls). Measurements and Main Results. Patients receiving any of the prophylactic amiodarone regimens used in the Atrial Fibrillation Suppression Trials (AFIST) I and II were matched (1:10 matching) for age, valvular surgery, history of atrial fibrillation, sex, β-blocker intolerance, and preoperative digoxin therapy with patients not receiving amiodarone prophylaxis. The AFIST regimens consisted of oral amiodarone 6 g over 6 days and 7 g over 10 days, beginning on preoperative days 1 and 5, respectively, or a hybrid intravenous and oral loading regimen delivering amiodarone 7 g over 5 days. Mean + SD age of the patients was 68.9 + 9.8 years, 75% were men, and 21% had undergone valvular surgery. Patients receiving prophylactic amiodarone had a shorter LOS (8.6 + 6.0 days) than controls (11.6 + 14.0 days, p=0.003) and a reduced frequency of POAF (23.1% vs 29.9%, p=0.05). Frequency of stroke was not significantly affected (2.2% vs 2.7% in the amiodarone vs control groups, p=0.61). Conclusion. Use of the prophylactic amiodarone regimens from the AFIST trials reduced LOS by 3.0 days and frequency of POAF by 22.7%.
Susceptibility of Louisiana and Florida populations of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to transgenic Agrisure®Viptera™ 3111 corn

Abstract In the United States, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a target species of transgenic corn ( Zea mays L.) expressing pyramided Bacillus thuringiensis proteins. In 2011, a total of 150 F 2 two-parent families of S. frugiperda were established using single-pair matings of feral individuals collected from three locations in Louisiana and Florida. The objective of this study was to determine the susceptibility of these field derived families of S. frugiperda to a pyramided Bt corn hybrid containing Agrisure ® Viptera™ 3111 traits. For each F 2 family, 96 neonates were assayed on leaf tissue of Agrisure ® Viptera™ 3111 corn in the laboratory. None of the 150 families survived for 7 days on leaf tissue of the Bt corn plants. The results demonstrate that the field populations of S. frugiperda collected from Louisiana and Florida were susceptible to the pyramided Bt corn product containing Agrisure ® Viptera™ 3111 traits. The data generated in this study can be used as baseline data for resistance monitoring.
Thermodynamic Impact of the Unstructured Linker Region on the Synaptotagmin I C2A Domain

Synaptotagmin I is a protein involved in the final steps of neurotransmitter release assisting in the fusion of vesicles with the plasma membrane of nerve cells. The synaptotagmin protein consists of a single transmembrane region connected to two C2 domains, C2A and C2B, through a long unstructured linker region. While much work has been done in order to understand how synaptotagmin functions in the fusion process, it has largely been focused solely on the C2 domains of the protein, with little work done examining the linker region. Recently it has been shown that these domains show remarkably low stabilities, and that the two C2 domains are energetically coupled. These results paint a picture of a protein that is exquisitely sensitive to its environment. As such these findings have led us to hypothesize that the unstructured linker region that tethers the C2 domains to the membrane may play an important role in the function of synaptotagmin. In order to gain a better understanding on how the presence of this unstructured region impacts synaptotagmin, we have investigated the stability of the C2A domain both with and without the linker region and have found dramatic differences between the two constructs. We have found that under all ligand conditions the stability of the domain decreases. For example, in the presence of Ca2+ the stability of the C2A domain with the linker region was found to be 3.61±0.03 (kcal/mol) compared to a stability of 4.32±0.05 (kcal/mol) for the domain without the linker. The decrease found in the stability of domain when connected with the linker region suggests that this region acts to increase the sensitivity of the C2A domain to its environment, and as such may tune the responsiveness of the domain.
Yueh-Gin Gung and Dr. Charles Y. Hu Award to Manuel P. Berriozábal for Distinguished Service to Mathematics

Manuel Berriozd_bal is a mathematician, a college professor, and a visionary with the unusual talent to turn his visions into reality. The best example-and the one for which he has become most widely known-is the incredibly successful Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP). He formed PREP at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in 1979 in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and several colleges and universities out of his concern about the low number of minority students who successfully completed college studies in science and engineering. PREP is a mathematics-based academic enrichment program. Its focus is on the development of abstract reasoning and problem solving skills. Participants study mathematical logic and its applications, algebraic structures, probability and statistics, technical writing, some topics in engineering, physics, and computer science. They also learn about careers in science and engineering. When San Antonio PREP first started twenty-two years ago at UTSA, the conventional wisdom was that the program was doomed to failure because middle school and high school students would never want to spend eight weeks during the summer on a college campus studying mathematics and its applications. Furthermore, it was believed that minority students would not succeed in this structured and disciplined environment. Indeed in 1979, a San Antonio magazine published a feature article on UTSA that reflected the low expectations of Texas minority students. In this article an anonymous member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board expressed opposition to approving an engineering program at UTSA with the words, "The Mexican American community is not where engineers come from anyway."~ Twenty-two years of operation have belied these low expectations. Since 1979, this program has been replicated as the Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program (TexPREP) in 15 Texas cities on 25 community and senior college campuses and Feb~~~~~~~~~!: :.:.:::: :irur 201 97_
A switchable radioactive neutron source: Proof-of-principle

The feasibility of a practical switchable radioactive neutron source (SRNS) that can be switched on and off like an accelerator and is field portable has been demonstrated. A stable, thin film of238Pu oxide deposited on a stainless steel planchet was the alpha source and beryllium was the light element target that produced neutrons. This device requires minimal, if any, shielding when not in use. Design specifications and performance of this proof-in-principle instrument are discussed.
A sum rule for the rare decay modes of kaons

An exact sum rule is found for theKe4 decay of Kaons and it is modified to account for the possible Charge and Parity-non-conservation.
An effective, low-cost mechanism for direct drag force measurement on solar concentrators

An effective technique for measuring the drag force on a solar concentrator in a subsonic wind tunnel with a simply-fabricated, low-cost force sensing mechanism is described. The measurement uncertainty was reduced by ensuring operation near full scale of the load sensor employed, and by averaging a large number of samples to reduce chance variations due to turbulent fluctuations in the system. The resulting drag coefficients from our apparatus successfully duplicated previously published experimental data from a geometrically-similar, parabolic trough style solar collector.
SINGLE-PERIOD MEAN-VARIANCE IN A MULTIPERIOD CONTEXT

It is not readily apparent that the single-period mean and variance are sufficient to specify the investor choice problem when the investor horizon is greater than one period. It is pointed out that the standard justifications for use of single-period mean-variance analysis are inconsistent with the assumptions usually made in the multiperiod problem. It is argued, however, that if the investor horizon is long enough, the single-period mean and variance will be approximately sufficient. The argument is much less restrictive than the standard justifications for the use of single-period mean-variance analysis. The predictions of this alternative justification are empirically tested and found to be quite accurate for the time frames found in the literature.
Theoretical Analysis of the Local Field Potential in Deep Brain Stimulation Applications

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a common therapy for treating movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), and provides a unique opportunity to study the neural activity of various subcortical structures in human patients. Local field potential (LFP) recordings are often performed with either intraoperative microelectrodes or DBS leads and reflect oscillatory activity within nuclei of the basal ganglia. These LFP recordings have numerous clinical implications and might someday be used to optimize DBS outcomes in closed-loop systems. However, the origin of the recorded LFP is poorly understood. Therefore, the goal of this study was to theoretically analyze LFP recordings within the context of clinical DBS applications. This goal was achieved with a detailed recording model of beta oscillations (∼20 Hz) in the subthalamic nucleus. The recording model consisted of finite element models of intraoperative microelectrodes and DBS macroelectrodes implanted in the brain along with multi-compartment cable models of STN projection neurons. Model analysis permitted systematic investigation into a number of variables that can affect the composition of the recorded LFP (e.g. electrode size, electrode impedance, recording configuration, and filtering effects of the brain, electrode-electrolyte interface, and recording electronics). The results of the study suggest that the spatial reach of the LFP can extend several millimeters. Model analysis also showed that variables such as electrode geometry and recording configuration can have a significant effect on LFP amplitude and spatial reach, while the effects of other variables, such as electrode impedance, are often negligible. The results of this study provide insight into the origin of the LFP and identify variables that need to be considered when analyzing LFP recordings in clinical DBS applications.
Performance of Learning Disabled and Low Achieving Secondary Students on Formal Features of a Paragraph-Writing Task:

An experimental paragraph-writing task was administered to 26 learning disabled and 26 low achieving students in grades 7 through 10. Writing samples were analyzed for syntactic maturity, productiv...
Biochemical and morphological studies on GABA neurons in reaggregate culture.

Abstract Dissociated cells from the 14-day fetal mouse corpus striatum (CS), rostral mesencephalic tegmentum (RMT) and tectum were reaggregated in rotation-mediated cultures in the following combinations: CS alone, RMT-CS, RMT-tectum, and tectum alone. Reaggregates were cultured for 1–4 weeks. An even distribution of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-positive cells was observed in all the reaggregate combinations that were cultured for 1 and 2 weeks. With increasing time in culture, cellular staining was decreased while positive fiber staining increased. CS and RMT-CS co-cultures increased their capacity to take up [ 3 H]GABA with time in culture. All reaggregates reached a maximum uptake/accumulation capacity of 30–40 pmol/mg protein/30 min, by 4 weeks in vitro. There were no significant differences between the various co-aggregate combinations in the accumulation capacity. [ 3 H]GABA accumulation in the reaggregates was largely blocked by the putative neuronal GABA uptake inhibitor, diaminobutyric acid, and was inhibited to a much lesser degree by the putative glial uptake inhibitor β-alanine. All reaggregates released [ 3 H]GABA to 70 mM potassium depolarization, in a calcium-dependent manner. One-three weeks CS reaggregates released more [ 3 H]GABA in response to the potassium-induced depolarization than RMT-CS co-cultures. Since nigral dopamine neurons within the RMT proliferate processes and actively release dopamine only when co-cultured with CS target cells (see ref. 15), it is suggested that these dopamine neurons might chronically inhibit striatal GABA neurons in the RMT-CS co-cultures, thereby depressing stimulated release of [ 3 H]GABA.
Interactive Computer-Centered Instructions for Science and Engineering Education

Both the formal and informal cooperative learning methods are proven pedagogical tools that provide the context for engaging students in reflective judgment and consultation. The cooperative method pays close attention to the multiple learning styles of students participating in the classroom project. Our engineering program’s goal is to expose students majoring in engineering (electrical, computer and mechanical) to a positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, development of interpersonal skills and individual accountability. We introduces the use of Blackboards and clickers together to enhance cooperative learning aimed at educating students to succeed in today’s global economy. As such, classroom instruction and group projects were assigned to foster an environment that maximized the use of computers, took advantage of information and resources available on the internet and Blackboards, and nurtured cooperative learning among groups. This paper describes a method to create a learner-centered, cooperative environment, which will engage students, give positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, and will help them to develop interpersonal skills and individual accountability in better understanding, critical thinking and judgment, all of which are necessary skills to succeed in twenty first century economy. This teaching method already impacted hundreds of students from fall, winter and spring, 2007 to spring 2011 and will impact thousands of students in the future. At the end of the courses outcomes were evaluated using developed questionnaires using Clicker response system. To answer one of the questions, “I wish the professors in my other classes use the clicker”, 72.1% strongly agree or agree, 18.3% disagree and 9.7% strongly agree. To answer another question, “The use of clickers in techhnology-21 class improves my ability to learn the material”, 88.3% strongly agree or agree, 9.6% disagree and 2.1% strongly agree. According to the results obtained from the questionnaire, students heavily benefited from the clicker system. The assessments were done anonymously.
Volcanism and igneous processes in small icy satellites

Evidence for the production of endogenic processes of the small Saturnian satellites by igneous activity of low melting point NH3-H2O magma heated radiogenically is presented. An initial state of the inner satellites is modeled as a homogeneous mixture of particulate silicates and ices. Conductive transport is assumed to have either combined with heat capacity in a mixture of crystalline phases, or to have been reduced by the presence of dust, defects, vitreous or amorphous phases, and clathrates. The extent to which a eutectic melt could form is calculated in terms of the volume percentage of melt, with all heating above 175 K going toward overcoming the latent heat of the eutectic mix. Mimas and Enceladus were treated as free from radiogenic heat sources, which were significant for Tethys, Dione, Rhea, and Iapetus. The migrations of inner materials to form surface structures and seal off the interiors of the moons are described.
An agent-based simulation approach for dual toll pricing of hazardous material transportation

A dual toll pricing is a conceptual policy in which policy maker imposes toll on both hazardous materials (hazmat) vehicles as well as regular vehicles for using populated road segments to mitigate a risk of haz-mat transportation. It intends to separate the hazmat traffic flow from the regular traffic flow via controlling the dual toll. In order to design the dual toll pricing policy on a highly realistic road network environment and detailed human behaviors, an extended BDI framework is employed to mimic human decision behaviors in great detail. The proposed approach is implemented in AnyLogic® agent based simulation software with using a traffic data of Albany, NY. Also, search algorithms in OptQuest® are used to determine the optimum dual toll pricing policy which results in the minimum risk and travel cost based on the simulation results. The result reveals the effectiveness of the proposed approach in devising a reliable policy under the realistic road network conditions.
Autonomic dysfunction as the presenting feature of Guillain-Barré syndrome

Autonomic dysfunction has been demonstrated in various conditions associated with peripheral neuropathy such as acute intermittent porphyria, amyloidosis, and Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). In the latter, hypertension is an associated complication that typically occurs after neurological signs are already present. We report a case of a patient with autonomic dysfunction as the presenting feature who was admitted to the coronary unit with chest pain and hypertension. Subsequently, he developed progressive symmetric muscle, weakness, sensory changes, and areflexia. GBS was then diagnosed based on the clinical picture, albuminocytologic dissociation in the cerebrospinal fluid, and electrodiagnostic abnormalities suggestive of demyelinative polyneuropathy with conduction block. Few cases in the literature have reported autonomic dysfunction as the presenting feature of GBS, such as in this case. In a previously asymptomatic patient, acute onset of autonomic dysfunction should alert the physician to the possibility of an acute polyneuropathy, such as GBS.
Dynamic study of cerebral bioenergetics and brain function using in vivo multinuclear MRS approaches

One of the greatest merits of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methodology used in biomedical research and clinical settings is its capability of measuring various physiological parameters in vivo. Besides MR imaging (MRI), which has been routinely applied to obtain vital information in living organs at normal and diseased states, in vivo MR spectroscopy (MRS) provides an invaluable tool for determining metabolites, chemical reaction rates, bioenergetics, and their dynamic changes in the human and animals noninvasively. These MRS capabilities are further enhanced at high/ultrahigh magnetic fields because of significant gain in NMR detection sensitivity and improvement in the spectral resolution. Recent progress has shown that in vivo MRS holds great promise in many biomedical research areas—in particular, brain research. This article provides a broad review of (i) in vivo multinuclear MRS approaches, (ii) advanced MRS methodologies, and (iii) MRS applications for determining cerebral metabolism as well as bioenergetics at resting brain state and their dynamic changes in response to brain activation. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part A 27A: 84-121, 2005
Putting Feelings Into Words Affect Labeling Disrupts Amygdala Activity in Response to Affective Stimuli

Putting feelings into words (affect labeling) has long been thought to help manage negative emotional experiences; however, the mechanisms by which affect labeling produces this benefit remain largely unknown. Recent neuroimaging studies suggest a possible neurocognitive pathway for this process, but methodological limitations of previous studies have prevented strong inferences from being drawn. A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of affect labeling was conducted to remedy these limitations. The results indicated that affect labeling, relative to other forms of encoding, diminished the response of the amygdala and other limbic regions to negative emotional images. Additionally, affect labeling produced increased activity in a single brain region, right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (RVLPFC). Finally, RVLPFC and amygdala activity during affect labeling were inversely correlated, a relationship that was mediated by activity in medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). These results suggest that affect labeling may diminish emotional reactivity along a pathway from RVLPFC to MPFC to the amygdala.