cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Model of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Self-administration and Reinstatement That Alters Synaptic Plasticity in Nucleus Accumbens.

Abstract Background Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug, but knowledge of the neurological consequences of cannabis use is deficient. Two primary components of cannabis are Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). We established a THC+CBD model of self-administration and reinstated drug seeking to determine if, similar to other addictive drugs, cannabis produces enduring synaptic changes in nucleus accumbens core (NAcore) thought to contribute vulnerability to drug reinstatement. Methods Sprague Dawley rats were trained to self-administer THC+CBD (n = 165) or were used as vehicle self-administering control animals (n = 24). Reinstatement was initiated by context, cues, drug priming, and stress (yohimbine injection). Enduring neuroadaptations produced by THC+CBD self-administration were assayed using four measures: dendritic spine morphology, long-term depression, alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid/N-methyl-D-aspartate ratios, and behavioral pharmacology. Results We described a novel rodent model of cannabis relapse involving intravenous THC+CBD self-administration and drug seeking induced by conditioned context, cues, and stress. Cued reinstatement of THC+CBD seeking depended on a sequence of events implicated in relapse to other addictive drugs, as reinstatement was prevented by daily treatment with N-acetylcysteine or acute intra-NAcore pretreatment with a neuronal nitric oxide synthase or matrix metalloprotease-9 inhibitor, all of which normalize impaired glutamate homeostasis. The capacity to induce N-methyl-D-aspartate long-term depression in NAcore medium spiny neurons was abolished and dendritic spine density was reduced, but alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid/N-methyl-D-aspartate ratio was unaltered in THC+CBD-trained animals, akin to opioids, but not to psychostimulants. Conclusions We report enduring consequences of THC+CBD use on critical relapse circuitry and synaptic physiology in NAcore following rat self-administration and provide the first report of cue- and stress-induced reinstatement with this model.
Semi-Secure Numbers? Augmenting SSNs in the Authentication Use Case

Identity theft costs Americans more than $15 billion per year. Central to this problem is that Social Security Numbers (SSNs) serve a dual role as identifiers and authenticators. As unique identifiers, SSNs are used to retrieve an individual’s records, such as a credit report. In this role, they are not meant to be secret. As authenticators, an SSN is used to prove identity. In this role, SSNs must be secret to be secure. This Article proposes a way to resolve the dual-purpose tension by deploying a “smart card,” similar to EMV cards, containing cryptographic certificates signed by the Social Security Administration to act as a second factor of authentication in cases for which SSNs are currently used as authenticators. This solution increases the security of SSNs as authenticators, while not limiting the use of SSNs as identifiers. This leaves the tremendous economic value of SSNs as identifiers unabridged. Part I is an overview of the SSN system while Part II is a description of the dual-purpose problem. Part III describes the technical details of the smart card solution. Part IV proposes policy recommendations to foster the deployment and wide adoption of this system for the benefit of the American people.
The Modeling, Analysis, and Management of Intensive Care Units

Intensive care units (ICUs) are limited-capacity, resource-intensive wards in a hospital designed to provide continuously monitored, intensive care and temporary support to critically-ill patients with a broad range of health conditions. Therefore, their efficient operation and management are critical to providing quality care to the most severely ill patients and to reducing costs for healthcare providers. Computer-based simulation and analytical models have historically been used to analyze ICU operational outcomes such as patient waiting times, bed occupancy rates, denied admission rates, and daily operating costs. This chapter highlights the variety of models and techniques that are prevalent in the modeling, analysis, and management of ICUs. Additionally, we describe an ongoing, multidisciplinary research project whose aim is to develop an empirically-validated discrete-event simulation model to analyze the performance of multiple ICUs at a local Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital.
Endocrine and metabolic changes during altered growth rates in beef cattle.

Eight steers from a group of 14 were fed ad libitum from 240 to 510 kg live weight, gaining at 1.4 +/- .2 kg/d. The six other steers were diet-restricted and grew at .37 +/- .09 kg/d from 240 to 307 kg, prior to ad libitum realimentation on the same diet to a final weight of 510 kg. Blood samples taken during the growth phases from both treatments were analyzed for insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), glucose (GLU), nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and (or) growth hormone (GH). During restricted growth, mean serum concentrations of GH were elevated (45.6 vs 23.4 ng/ml; P less than .05), serum concentrations of IGF-I decreased (108 vs 167 ng/ml; P less than .05) compared with control steers with ad libitum access to feed. Levels of T4 and GLU also were lower (P less than .05) during restricted than during normal growth. During early realimentation, levels of GLU (P less than .05), IGF-I (P less than .01), T4 and BUN (P less than .01) increased. Levels of T3 remained unchanged, whereas concentration of NEFA declined (P less than .001). Blood urea nitrogen decreased during early realimentation despite a large increase in diet protein intake and in protein storage, suggesting an increased efficiency of nitrogen use for protein synthesis. During realimentation, IGF-I levels rose above those of control steers and remained higher at the final weight of 510 kg (P less than .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Importance of Self-Reflection and Awareness for Human Development in Hard Times

Trauma is an inescapable part of being human, whether caused by external events or internal struggles. Self-reflection and self-awareness aid in the recovery from external trauma and heal psychosom...
Age Structure: Bounds, Growth, Convergence

The analysis of age structure remains of central interest to many demographers and I present here some useful results: bounds on age structure in the presence of random rates, a relatively simple formula for growth rate a, and an analysis of periodic matrices.
“My Patient Can’t Sleep”: Resident-Led Curriculum Development for Insomnia Management

Insomnia is a prevalent complaint on acute psychiatric units. When not addressed by primary treating teams, patients request sleep aids “as needed,” leading to increased burden on on-call residents and decreased individualized treatment. The authors implemented a new educational curriculum and computer order set for inpatient insomnia management, and examined changes in residents’ comfort level in its management and in inpatient sleep medication ordering patterns. In this IRB-approved quality improvement project, the authors identified best practices for insomnia management, developed a new curriculum for psychiatry residents, and created a “Sleep Order set” in the electronic medical record (EMR). Residents were surveyed and EMR queried for sleep medication orders for 6 months pre- and post-intervention. The level of comfort of the residents in ordering a variety of sleep medications increased significantly. Sleep medication orders placed by primary teams surged from 938 during the pre-intervention period to 1801 post-intervention (p < 0.001), while those placed by on-call teams fell considerably. Education on insomnia management boosted residents’ confidence in handling inpatient sleep disorders. Implementation of the new resident-developed “Sleep Order set” greatly reduced the work load of on-call residents, in terms of “as needed” sleep medication orders.
Electronic health record use-diffusion patterns and eSharing of health information among US office-based physician practices

Abstract Background The use of some computerized capabilities (CCs) that support eligibility for meaningful use incentive has lagged despite an increase in Electronic Health Record adoption. Purpose This study described the use-pattern of CC among office-based physician practices by applying the Use-Diffusion model (UD); to identify CCs that support the Stage 1 core objectives for meaningful use, and to predict their effect on eSharing of health information. Methods Data from the United States 2013 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey was used, and four use-patterns based on the variety and frequency of CC use were identified. Logistic regression was used to assess factors related to the use of a low variety of CC, and factors predictive of eSharing of health information. Results The unweighted sample of 2444 physician practices reported at least one computerized capability. The unweighted proportion of each UD group was 53%, 20%, 15% and 12% representing the intense, non-specialized, specialized, and limited groups respectively. Only 5.3% in the specialized and 8.9% in the limited UD groups reported the ability to provide electronic access to patients in 2013. Provision of email/internet patient consult and having an increasing number of CCs were predictive of eSharing of health information. Conclusions The use-diffusion model can describe office-based physician practices’ use-pattern of EHR capabilities, and the characteristics that differentiate the groups. Solo and specialty practices may lag in their readiness to meet the Stage 1 meaningful use objectives, both in the variety of capabilities and the frequency of use to qualify for incentive payments.
Modeling Approaches to Predicting Persistent Hotspots in SCORE Studies for Gaining Control of Schistosomiasis Mansoni in Kenya and Tanzania.

BACKGROUND Some villages, labeled "persistent hotspots (PHS)," fail to respond adequately in regard to prevalence and intensity of infection to mass drug administration (MDA) for schistosomiasis. Early identification of PHS, for example, before initiating or after 1 or 2 years of MDA could help guide programmatic decision making. METHODS In a study with multiple rounds of MDA, data collected before the third MDA were used to predict PHS. We assessed 6 predictive approaches using data from before MDA and after 2 rounds of annual MDA from Kenya and Tanzania. RESULTS Generalized linear models with variable selection possessed relatively stable performance compared with tree-based methods. Models applied to Kenya data alone or combined data from Kenya and Tanzania could reach over 80% predictive accuracy, whereas predicting PHS for Tanzania was challenging. Models developed from one country and validated in another failed to achieve satisfactory performance. Several Year-3 variables were identified as key predictors. CONCLUSIONS Statistical models applied to Year-3 data could help predict PHS and guide program decisions, with infection intensity, prevalence of heavy infections (≥400 eggs/gram of feces), and total prevalence being particularly important factors. Additional studies including more variables and locations could help in developing generalizable models.
Suicidal Ideation and Behavior Among Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Youth: 1995-2017.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we determined trends in prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual youth from 1995 to 2017 using population-based surveillance data. METHODS: Data were drawn from the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 1995 to 2017 (unweighted N = 41 636). The annual percent change (APC) in prevalence of suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts was stratified by sexual orientation as indexed by sexual identity and sexual behavior. RESULTS: Among sexual minority youth, prevalence rates declined over the entire study period for suicidal ideation (APCsexual identity = −1.25; APCsexual behavior = −1.83), plans (APCsexual identity = −1.88; APCsexual behavior = −1.95), and attempts (APCsexual identity = −2.64; APCsexual behavior = −2.47). Among heterosexual youth, prevalence rates declined from 1995 to 2007 for suicidal ideation (APCsexual identity = −6.67; APCsexual behavior = −6.77) and plans (APCsexual identity = −5.73; APCsexual behavior = −6.25). These declines in ideation and plans were steeper than those for sexual minority youth. Prevalence of suicide attempts declined across the entire study period among heterosexual youth (APCsexual identity = −3.66; APCsexual behavior = −4.01). Prevalence of all 3 outcomes remained markedly high among sexual minority youth across the 23-year study period. CONCLUSIONS: Although suicidal thoughts and behavior have generally declined among sexual minority and heterosexual youth, disparities in these outcomes persist, and their prevalence among sexual minority youth has remained consistently elevated. Prioritized screening for risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in this vulnerable population is imperative to reduce disparities and prevalence of these outcomes.
Social Support and Divorce among American Couples

This study investigates the relationship between extradyadic social support and divorce risk, net of existing need for support. Social support aids couples in weathering challenges but social ties ...
Motivational Interviewing and Caregiver Engagement in the Family Check-Up 4 Health.

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a therapeutic style in which a provider elicits client motivation and helps strengthen commitment to change (Miller and Rollnick 2002). The original Family Check-Up (FCU; Dishion and Stormshak 2007)—and the adapted version for improving health behaviors in primary care, the Family Check-Up 4 Health (FCU4Health; Smith et al. 2018a)—are brief, assessment-driven, and family-centered preventive interventions that use MI to improve parent engagement in services to improve parenting and prevent negative child outcomes. This study examines the role of MI in the Raising Healthy Children project, a randomized trial to test the effectiveness of the FCU4Health for the prevention of obesity in pediatric primary care, with data from the 141 families assigned to receive the FCU4Health. Families were eligible for the study if the child was between 5.5 and 12 years of age at the time of identification and had a BMI ≥ 85th percentile for age and gender at the most recent visit to their primary care provider. MI skills at the first session predicted caregiver in-session active engagement, attendance at follow-up parenting sessions, and improvements in motivation to address child health and behavior goals. Baseline characteristics of the family (i.e., child health diagnosis, caregiver baseline depression, motivation, and Spanish language preference) had differential associations with responsiveness and MI skills. This study has implications for program development, provider training, and fidelity monitoring.
Biological evolution as a form of learning

Living organisms function according to protein circuits. Darwin's theory of evolution suggests that these circuits have evolved through variation guided by natural selection. However, it is currently unknown what variation mechanisms can give rise to protein circuits of the complexity found in biology, within realistic population sizes and realistic numbers of generations. We suggest that computational learning theory offers the framework for investigating this question, of how circuits can come into being via a Darwinian process without a designer. We formulate evolution as a form of learning from examples. The targets of the learning process are the protein expression functions that come closest to best behavior in the specific environment. The learning process is constrained so that the feedback from the experiences is Darwinian. We formulate a notion of evolvability that distinguishes function classes that are evolvable with polynomially bounded resources from those that are not. The dilemma is that if the function class that describes the expression levels of proteins in terms of each other, is too restrictive, then it will not support biology, while if it is too expressive then no evolution algorithm will exist to navigate it. We shall review current work in this area.
Not Just a Dog Bite: Unmasking Underlying Chronic Venous Insufficiency:

An 81-year-old man sustained a dog bite to his right lateral calf. Despite antibiotics, the patient continued to have leg swelling, severe itching, and a chronic wound. He was evaluated at the Woun...
Provozieren konvergierende zelluläre und Signalübertragungs-Störungen die atopische Dermatitis?

Diverse vererbte und erworbene Storungen epidermaler Strukturproteine und Enzyme beeintrachtigen Permeabilitat, Barrierefunktion und antimikrobielle Abwehr bei atopischer Dermatitis (AD). Obwohl verschiedene Mutationen in Filaggrin (FLG) uberwiegen, sind Veranderungen in anderen S-100-Vorstufen-Proteinen des cornified envelope (Hornerin [HRNR], Filaggrin 2 [FLG2], SPRR3, Mattrin), die die Bildung der Lamellarkorperchen (lamellar bodies) regulieren, unabhangig voneinander mit dem AD-Phanotyp assoziiert: SPINK5, das einen Serin-Protease-Inhibitor kodiert, LEKTI1, und ein Fettsauretransporter, FATP4. Exogene und endogene Stressoren, wie anhaltender psychischer Stress, geringe Umgebungsfeuchtigkeit oder Kontakt zu basischen Seifen und Tensiden konnen die Barrierefunktion zusatzlich beeintrachtigen und die Erkrankung auslosen. Aus immunologischer Perspektive ist die Barrierestorung nur deshalb relevant, da sie Antigenen und Pathogenen Zutritt ermoglicht, wahrend sie die Produktion von Th2-Zytokinen stimuliert. Diese Proteine regulieren wiederum das Niveau Lipid-synthetisierender Enzyme und antimikrobieller Peptide sowie vieler epidermaler Strukturproteine, wie Filaggrin, herunter. Jede vererbte und erworbene Storung kann unabhangig voneinander die Produktion der Sekretion der Lamellarkorperchen beeintrachtigen, was zu fehlerhafter Organisation der Lamellarmembran und der antimikrobiellen Abwehr fuhrt. Daruber hinaus ist ein erhohter pH-Wert des Stratum corneum fur die AD-Pathogenese kritisch, da er die postsekretorische Lipidverarbeitung beeintrachtigt, wahrend er gleichzeitig die Entzundung verstarkt. Es gibt zahlreiche therapeutische Optionen, die die verschiedenen Stadien dieses pathogenen Prozesses unterbrechen konnen.
Beyond pojangmacha: Edae food carts and the future of Seoul’s social gastronomy

Across Seoul, Korea, countless tented food stalls called pojangmacha have for generations purveyed cheap, tasty fare from early evening unto the wee hours of the night. The foods sold are familiar ...
Legal Control on Warranty Liability Limitation under the Uniform Commercial Code

Under the Uniform Commercial Code, sellers of goods in the commercial context have two means of limiting warranty liability: they may disclaim warranties under section 2-316, or may limit buyers' remedies for breach of warranty under section 2-719. Each section imposes certain prescriptions, or "controls," on the exercise of liability limitation; for example, the parties must express their intent in a particular way or give effect to recognized commercial conditions and practices. These controls are designed to ensure the consensual allocation of business risk. However, sections 2-316 and 2-719 impose non-equivalent controls. To the extent sellers achieve the same allocation of risk by using either disclaimers or remedy limitations, the differences in applicable controls create "tension points" between the two sections. For example, a seller may include in the contract either a disclaimer-"the warranty of merchantability expires after ten days"-or a remedy limitation-"the buyer must assert any breach of the warranty of merchantability within ten days." These two clauses achieve the same effect, but according to the usual reading of the Code, different controls apply in each case. The disclaimer must be conspicuous and mention merchantability; the remedy limitation is void if it fails of its essential purpose. The decision of the Code's framers to impose differing controls for disclaimers and limitations of remedy suggests that an analytical distinction exists between the two practices. Accordingly, the majority of courts confronting the issue hold that sections 2-316 and 2-719 are mutually exclusive, and that the controls of the former apply to what are truly disclaimers and the controls of the latter apply to what are really remedy limitations. A growing minority of courts, however, using a variety of analytical methods, has rejected a sharp distinction between disclaimers and remedy limitations. These courts have sensed that a control ensuring the parties' consent frequently is appropriate to both of these forms of warranty liability limitation even though it may be mandated for only one. Therefore, some courts have applied to remedy limitations controls that are apparently applicable only to warranty disclaimers, and vice-versa. The purpose of this note is to evaluate the utility of the disclaimer/remedy limitation distinction as a criterion for selecting controls to determine the validity of warranty liability limitation terms. After describing the controls applicable under Code sections 2-316 and 2-719, identifying tension points between them, and surveying the cases construing the disclaimer/remedy limitation distinction, the note will set forth a proposed model for addressing warranty liability limitation problems.
Data Analysis Methods for Health Monitoring Sensors: A survey

Innovations in health monitoring systems are fundamental for the continuous improvement of remote healthcare. With the current presence of SARS-CoV-2, better known as COVID-19, in people’s daily lives, solutions for monitoring heart and especially respiration and pulmonary functions are more needed than ever. In this paper, we survey the current approaches that utilize the advantages of sensor technologies to sense, analyze, and estimate health data related to respiration, heart, and sleep monitoring. We focus on illustrating the signal processing and machine learning techniques used on each approach to facilitate researchers’ understanding of how data is processed nowadays. We have classified the reviewed papers into two main categories: contact and contactless sensors. In each category, we discuss the different types of used sensors, the data analysis technique, and the accuracy of those techniques.
Comment on the Round Table Discussion on Theoretical Models Related to Urolithiasis

It is a sign of the times that a Round Table on theoretical models appears on the program of this international urolithiasis research meeting. Fields of research in clinical medicine, pure science and engineering can interpenetrate each other more deeply and lead to new and more precise therapeutic strategies. The body of urolithiasis research has matured sufficiently that there is some utility in considering stone formation models, though these models now seem somewhat abstract. Such is the nature of models. They are mathematical missiles manufactured and aimed at a specific problem; only test firings reveal their exact impact. The models under consideration are so complex that they cannot be unique. A proper role of a model is to describe what might be and what simply cannot be.
High performance temporal indexing on modern hardware

Transaction time databases can be put to a number of valuable uses, auditing, regulatory compliance, readable backups, and enabling multi-version concurrency control. While additional storage for retaining multiple versions is unavoidable, compression and the declining cost of disk storage largely removes that impediment to supporting multi-version data. Not clear has been whether effective indexing of historical versions, can be achieved at high performance. The current paper shows how temporal indexing can exploit the latch-free infrastructure provided for the Bw-tree by the LLAMA cache/storage subsystem to support high performance. Further, it demonstrates how the LLAMA mapping table can be exploited to simultaneously enable migration of historical data, e.g. to cloud storage, while overcoming the index node time splitting difficulty that has arisen in the past when historical nodes are migrated.
Anaerobic infections of the female genital tract

Anaerobic bacterial organisms are a frequent cause of female genital tract infections. There has been a lack of appreciation of the significant role anaerobes play in obstetric and gynecologic infections. Utilization of newer appropriate anaerobic culture techniques has shown the importance of these organisms as pathogens in serious infections of the genital tract. Many species of anaerobic bacteria appear to be part of the normal microflora of the lower genital tract in female subjects. Similar organisms are frequently isolated from pelvic infections. Bacteroides, anaerobic cocci, and Clostridia are the most commonly isolated anaerobes associated with clinical infections. The clinician must recognize the presence of anaerobic infections, utilize proper anaerobic culture methods, and institute appropriate antibiotic and/or surgical therapy.
Food enrichment with omega-3 fatty acids.

Abstract: Consumer awareness of the beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids has led to a demand for economical and easily available sources of these nutrients as an alternative to marine foods. In response to this, the poultry industry has launched several brands of omega-3 enriched eggs, consumption of which could contribute over 50% of the recommended daily intake of omega-3 fatty acids. However, problems relating to lipid oxidation and consequent decreased shelf-life, loss of omega-3 fatty acids during storage and decreased sensory qualities remain as problems. The use of feed additives such as vitamin E and other types of antioxidants is under consideration to resolve these issues.
Immunostaining for thyroid transcription factor-1 on fine-needle aspiration specimens of lung tumors: a comparison of direct smears and cell block preparations.

BACKGROUND Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is used commonly for the diagnosis of pulmonary neoplasms. It has been reported that thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) is a sensitive and specific marker for certain primary lung tumors. To the authors' knowledge, the use of TTF-1 immunostaining on FNA smears has not been documented in the literature. This study was designed to examine the utility of TTF-1 immunostaining on FNA specimens from various types of lung tumors by comparing the expression rates on Papanicolaou (Pap)-stained and Diff-Quik (DQ)-stained smears with the expression rates on cell block (CB) sections. METHODS Forty-three FNA specimens of lung tumors were studied, including 34 primary tumors (14 adenocarcinomas, 12 squamous carcinomas, and 8 small cell carcinomas) and 9 metastatic tumors. One Pap-stained slide and one DQ-stained slide were selected from each tumor. The cytologic material from the slides was transferred to positively charged slides. Unstained recuts were obtained from the CB sections. All slides were stained with TTF-1 monoclonal antibody using heat-induced epitope retrieval and a labeled polymer detection system. RESULTS Twelve of 14 pulmonary adenocarcinomas were positive for TTF-1 (11 specimens on both CB sections and Pap-stained smears and 1 specimen on all 3 preparations, including the DQ-stained smear). Two of 14 adenocarcinomas were negative for TTF-1. Of 12 pulmonary squamous carcinomas, only 1 was positive for TTF-1 (on the CB section and the Pap-stained smear); the others were negative in all 3 preparations. Of eight small cell lung carcinomas, six specimens showed positive staining for TTF-1 on both CB and Pap-stained preparations; one of those also was positive on the DQ-stained smear. The remaining two small cell lung carcinomas were negative for TTF-1 in all three preparations. All metastatic tumors were negative for TTF-1. CONCLUSIONS TTF-1 immunostaining of pulmonary neoplasms was applicable to FNA smears that were stained previously with the Pap technique, and the rate of positive staining in each tumor type was identical to the rate of positive staining in CB sections and was comparable to that reported in previous publications. Smears previously stained with the DQ method were unreliable for TTF-1 immunostaining. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2004;102:000–000. © 2004 American Cancer Society.
Ultrastructural localization of D2 receptor-like immunoreactivity in midbrain dopamine neurons and their striatal targets

Potential cellular substrates for functions ascribed to the dopamine D2 receptor were examined in rat brain using immunoperoxidase for localization of a D2 receptor peptide and immunogold staining for the catecholamine biosynthetic enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Specificity of the rat polyclonal antiserum, raised against a 15 amino acid fragment from the third intracellular loop of the D2 receptor, was shown by immunoblot analysis and by selective labeling of cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells permanently transfected with the cDNA for the D2 receptor. Although the light microscopic distribution of immunolabeling for the D2 peptide was diffuse, it was selectively localized to regions containing dopamine cells (substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area) or their forebrain projections (dorsal and ventral striatum, nucleus accumbens, and olfactory tubercles). Electron microscopic examination of the medial substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area revealed readily detectable peroxidase immunoreactivity for the D2 peptide, primarily associated with the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and plasmalemmal surfaces of dendrites. Many D2 peptide-immunoreactive dendrites also contained immunogold labeling for TH, although some dendrites were singly labeled for either marker. In the medial and dorsolateral striatum, immunoperoxidase product for the D2 peptide was localized most extensively in dendrites, with the greatest intensity of immunolabeling seen in spines. A number of striatal dendrites exhibiting D2 peptide labeling were contacted by axon terminals immunoreactive for TH. Additionally, D2 peptide immunoreactivity was distributed to some synaptic vesicles and portions of the plasmalemmal surface in unmyelinated axons and in axon terminals. Most D2 peptide-immunoreactive terminals either lacked detectable membrane specializations, or formed thin, symmetric synapses in single sections. A few D2 peptide-labeled terminals formed asymmetric junctions on dendritic spines. In dually labeled sections, most D2 peptide-immunoreactive terminals lacked detectable immunolabeling for TH. However, in fortunate planes of section, peroxidase product for D2 peptide immunoreactivity was occasionally seen in pre-terminal portions of axons whose terminal varicosities contained immunogold labeling for TH. These ultrastructural results are consistent with the localization of a dopamine D2 receptor-like protein that is strategically positioned to subserve (1) autoreceptor functions at the level of dendrites in the midbrain and presynaptic axon terminals in the striatum, as well as (2) postsynaptic actions on striatal spiny dendrites and other nondopamine terminals.
Ultraviolet observations of 31 and 32 Cygni

Some observations of 31 and 32 Cygni, started in September 1978, at phases 0.62 and 0.17, respectively, are presented. The UV spectrum of 32 Cyg is described both qualitatively and quantitatively. Numerous lines of Si II, O I, C II, Al II and III and Fe II appear with P Cygni characteristics. The LWR-2275 image is dominated by the Mg II 2800 A resonance doublet and numerous Fe II lines in the 2200 - 2700 A region, all showing P Cygni profiles. More quantitatively, ionization modeling for the B star environs was made by comparing observed and computed equivalent widths to deduce density, temperature and turbulence values. At the projected separation between the stars, the log particle density obtained was 7.2, neglecting dust and molecule formation.
Student Attrition from Traditional and Immersion Foreign Language Programs

This paper describes the research that has been conducted on the phenomenon of student attrition from traditional and immersion foreign language (FL) programs. It includes an explanation of the relevant terminology and a brief review of how researchers have studied FL student attrition. After providing this background, the article explores the four major factors in FL student attrition identified in the research studies on the topic: instruction, academic success, anxiety, and motivation. This summary of the studies and synthesis of their findings reveals both powerful insights and important lacunae in the literature on the phenomenon. The paper concludes with some recommendations for instructors hoping to reduce FL student attrition in their programs, as well as for individuals designing future studies about FL student attrition.
The Suicide Survivor's Grief and Recovery

While official estimates report approximately 30,000 completed suicides each year, some researchers claim the numbers range much higher. Each suicide has severe and prolonged effects on the family members and friends left behind. Those left behind, the survivors of the suicide, tend to experience a very complicated form of bereavement. This is due to the combination of the sudden shock, the unanswered question of "why," and possibly the trauma of discovering or witnessing the suicide. Survivors' grief reactions can become even more exacerbated by inappropriate responses from the community to the suicide. A mental health professional can help the survivor through this difficult grieving process by direct and indirect means.
Complete internal photon dosimetry characterization of the University of Florida newborn hybrid computational phantoms

2129 Objectives A very important aspect of nuclear medicine imaging that it is always in need of improvement in organ dosimetry. The determination of tissue absorbed dose from radiation emitted from inside the human body is known as internal dosimetry and is an integral part of performing risk assessment for nuclear medicine imaging. Computational radiation dosimetry is typically performed for such procedures owing to the difficulties of using physical phantoms and dose measuring devices for organ dose assessment. This study develops an improved method of determining dose to the human skeleton from incident photons and presents a new comprehensive set of photon specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) for the UF newborn hybrid phantoms for use in internal dosimetry estimates. Methods The recent iteration of the UF newborn hybrid computational phantom was used for dosimetric analysis. The concept of the photon dose response function (DRF) was used to develop age-specific hybrid photon DRFs for use in skeletal dosimetry. MCNPx was used to compute SAFs for photon energies between 10 keV and 4 MeV for both the male and female phantom. 63 source organs were simulated for the male and 61 for the female. Extrapolation and smoothing methods were utilized for specific absorbed fraction functions which exhibited relatively poor statistics. The set of specific absorbed fractions can be used to calculate the effective dose for any nuclear medicine imaging procedure, provided the biokinetics and radionuclide decay information are known. Results Up to a 33% difference between the new hybrid photon DRFs and the ORNL photon DRFs was found. For the liver source in the female phantom, the maximum, minimum, and average absolute difference between the UF hybrid SAFs and the ORNL SAFs was found to be 2256%, 0%, and 74%. Conclusions Internal photon dosimetry was improved by using realistic computational phantoms and age-dependent hybrid photon DRFs. By using these new specific absorbed fractions, accurate dosimetry may be performed for a variety of nuclear medicine procedures
Helpful or harmful? Examining the effects of interruptions on task performance

Most research on interruptions has shown that they can be disruptive by causing a longer time to complete the primary task and by causing more errors on the primary task. However, a limited amount of research has shown that interruptions can actually be beneficial to simple primary tasks, a benefit that has been explained by arousal. We sought to replicate the finding that simple tasks can benefit from interruptions and to examine the specific processes that are actually improving as a result of the interruptions. More specifically, reaction time data and eye movement data were collected to account for motor actions and perceptual processes. Results indicate that participants' immediate action following the interruption was disrupted. However, participants' other actions during the interruption trials were actually performed faster and with fewer errors as compared to the control. This speed-up is not attributed to faster motor responses, but actually to faster perceptual processing.
Activity of bortezomib administered once every 3 weeks for treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma.

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is characterised by a proliferation of monoclonal plasma cells and production of a homogeneous immunoglobulin (M-protein). During the past decade, outcome of patients has sign...
From Primary Concept to Prisoner's Dilemma: Tracing “Cooperation” in Organizational Scholarship

The topic of “cooperation” prominently appeared in early works of management literature and theory—it was referred to by Taylor, Barnard, Mayo and Roethlisberger, among others. Today, however, most studies of “cooperation” in the social sciences occur in laboratory settings or computerized modeling schemes based on the “prisoner's dilemma” game-theoretic approach. This paper undertakes a systematic study of the evolution of “cooperation” in the context of organizational literature to explore its journey as a construct through 2005, identifying how resistance to application of the concept in hierarchical organizations combined with research paradigms in psychology to shape the concept’s direction and development.
Ingham-type inequalities for complex frequencies and applications to control theory

Abstract For complex valued sequences { ω n } n = 1 ∞ of the form ω n = a n + i b n with a n ∈ R and b n ⩾ 0 , we prove inequalities of the form ∫ 0 T | ∑ n = p ∞ x n e i t ω n | 2 d t ≈ ∑ n = p ∞ | x n | 2 / ( 1 + b n ) , for all sequences { x n } with ∑ n = 1 ∞ | x n | 2 / ( 1 + b n ) ∞ . We apply these to prove exact null-controllability for a class of hinged beam equations with mild internal damping with either boundary control or internal control.
Photochemical synthesis of polyacrylate–silica hybrid sol–gel materials catalyzed by photoacids

Often, the link between two research fields leads to the ex- pected or unexpected development of new techniques in the scientists' bag of tricks. During the past two decades, pho- toacids, which generate protons with high quantum yields upon irradiation, have found wide application as photoini- tiators in cationic polymerization."I The most commonly used photoacids include diaryliodoniumr2. and triarylsul- foniumL2.
Statistical analysis of accident severity on rural freeways

The growing concern about the possible safety-related impacts of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) has focused attention on the need to develop new statistical approaches to predict accident severity. This paper presents a nested logit formulation as a means for determining accident severity given that an accident has occurred. Four levels of severity are considered: (1) property damage only, (2) possible injury, (3) evident injury, and (4) disabling injury or fatality. Using 5-year accident data from a 61 km section of rural interstate in Washington State (which has been selected as an ITS demonstration site), we estimate a nested logit model of accident severity. The estimation results provide valuable evidence on the effect that environmental conditions, highway design, accident type, driver characteristics and vehicle attributes have on accident severity. Our findings show that the nested logit formulation is a promising approach to evaluate the impact that ITS or other safety-related countermeasures may have on accident severities.
Progress towards a quantum memory with telecom-frequency conversion

Quantum networks provide conduits capable of transmitting quantum information that connect to nodes at remote locations where the quantum information can be stored or processed. Fiber-based transmission of quantum information over long distances may be achieved using quantum memory elements and quantum repeater protocols. However, atombased quantum memories typically involve interactions with light fields outside the telecom window needed to minimize absorption in transmission by optical fibers. We report on progress towards a quantum memory based on the generation of 795 nm spontaneously emitted single photons by a write-laser beam interacting with a cold 87Rb ensemble. The single photons are then frequency-converted into (out of) the telecomm band via difference (sum) frequency generation in a PPLN crystal. Finally, the atomic state is read out via the interaction of a read-pulse with the quantum memory. With such a system, it will be possible to realize a long-lived quantum memory that will allow transmission of quantum information over many kilometers with high fidelity, essential for a scalable, long-distance quantum network.
Redox isomerism for quinone complexes of chromium and chromium oxidation state assignment from X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

A recent publication presented X-ray absorption data challenging the assignment of charge for members of the [CrIII(Q)3]n, n = 3+ to 3− redox series. Structural, spectral, and magnetic properties reported for various members of the series unambiguously point to ligand-based redox steps with the metal remaining as Cr(III) through the series.
Hypoxia effects on gill surface area and blood oxygen-carrying capacity of the Atlantic stingray, Dasyatis sabina

Atlantic stingrays, Dasyatis sabina, are common residents of shallow-water seagrass habitats that experience natural cycles of severe hypoxia during summer months. We hypothesized that stingrays exposed to hypoxic episodes would improve their hypoxia tolerance by increasing branchial surface area and altering blood oxygen-carrying capacity. To this end, we compared critical oxygen minimum, gill morphology, and hemoglobin/hematocrit levels in a control group of Atlantic stingrays held at continuous oxygen saturations of 80-90% (≥5.5 mg/l), to treatment groups exposed to a 7-h hypoxic interval at 55% (~4.0 mg/l), or 30% oxygen saturation (~2.0 mg/l). Stingrays in hypoxic treatment groups significantly improved their hypoxia tolerance. Critical oxygen minimum values fell from 0.7 ± 0.11 mg/l in control fish to 0.4 ± 0.05 and 0.4 ± 0.06 mg/l in the 55 and 30% saturation treatment groups, respectively. Mass-specific gill surface area between control fish and the 30% saturation treatment group increased by 1.7-fold, from 85 to 142 mm(2)/g. Although stingrays did not show an increase in hematocrit or hemoglobin levels, production of more efficient hemoglobin isoforms could not be ruled out. An increase in hypoxia tolerance allows Atlantic stingrays to forage for longer times and across a wide range of hypoxic habitats that are less accessible to predators and competitors.
Membrane antigens of human colonic carcinoma and non-tumoral colonic mucosa: results obtained with a new isolation method

A new technique is described for the extraction and purification of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) from human tumors. This method involves the use of lithium diiodosalicylate for dissociation of the antigen-membrane complex. The method differs from earlier procedures in that extraction conditions do not rely on an acid precipitation step and that the yield of CEA appears to be approximately 10-fold greater. A glycoprotein immunologically similar to CEA was isolated from non-tumoral human adult colonic mucosa, suggesting that the difference between tumoral and non-tumoral tissues in this system may be quantitative rather than absolute.
A 72-year-old man with localized prostate cancer.

In Reply. —I agree with Dr Miles and colleagues that the assessment of tumor burden and prognosis based on pretreatment data is highly uncertain. Unfortunately, without performing a radical prostatectomy, this is all the information available to patients and clinicians (beyond age and comorbidity) to arrive at an appropriate decision regarding treatment. Relying on pretreatment data such as serum PSA and tumor grade to predict treatment outcomes carries risks of both undertreatment and overtreatment. Precisely because pretreatment data are uncertain, clinicians must use this information from a population perspective to maximize the probability of suggesting an optimal treatment strategy for the majority of their patients. This is the essence of formal decision analysis. Watchful waiting is delayed therapy and entails periodic reevaluation of available clinical data. Miles et al correctly state that the probability of cure with aggressive interventions likely is highest when patients are treated as early as possible.
Implementation of the EPA's Water Quality Trading Policy for Storm Water Management and Smart Growth

A strategy has been presented to address conflicts that may arise in implementing smart growth initiatives in the face of the growing importance given to controlling nonpoint source pollutants. These pollutants are the result of urban development and subsequent storm water runoff and are regulated under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Phase I and Phase II storm water requirements. The strategy is based on utilizing EPA's newly promulgated Water Quality Trading (WQT) Policy that seeks tradeoffs between development in different portions of a watershed. The strategy is consistent with regulatory requirements in providing a means to maintain compliance with water quality criteria in all portions of a stream, while providing a community with the flexibility to allow continued development in economically important areas. The strategy can be applied on a community-wide basis or in individual locations to support individual smart growth projects. Issues that must be addressed before WQT can be implemented are identified, along with potential solution strategies. Although additional effort is necessary to implement WQT for smart growth, a framework has been established upon which subsequent work can be built.
A Mathematical model for carbon dioxide exchange during mechanical ventilation with Tracheal Gas Insufflation (TGI)

A mathematical model is presented to study the effect of Tracheal Gas Insufflation (TGI) on the alveolar ventilation during passive, mechanical ventilation. Equations are derive that relate the physiologic dead space and alveolar ventilation to the physiologic parameters of the patient (compliance, inspiratory and expiratory resistances, anatomical dead space, cardiac output, and shunting), the ventilator settings (frequency, inspiratory time fraction, and pressure waveform), and the catheter settings (flow rate and flow duration). It is shown that optimal alveolar ventilation exists for certain frequencies of ventilation and these frequencies are dependent on the catheter flow.