cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preferential Enhancement of Dopamine Transmission within the Nucleus Accumbens Shell by Cocaine Is Attributable to a Direct Increase in Phasic Dopamine Release Events

Preferential enhancement of dopamine transmission within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell is a fundamental aspect of the neural regulation of cocaine reward. Despite its importance, the nature of this effect is poorly understood. Here, we used fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to examine specific transmission processes underlying cocaine-evoked increases in dopamine transmission within the NAc core and shell. Initially, we examined altered terminal dopamine concentrations after global autoreceptor blockade. This was the first examination of autoreceptor regulation of naturally occurring phasic dopamine transmission and provided a novel characterization of specific components of dopamine neurotransmission. Comparison of increased dopamine signaling evoked by autoreceptor blockade and cocaine administration allowed robust resolution between increased frequency, concentration, and duration of phasic dopamine release events after cocaine delivery. Cocaine increased dopamine transmission by slowed uptake and increased concentration of dopamine released in the core and shell. However, an additional increase in the number phasic release events occurred only within the NAc shell, and this increase was eliminated by inactivation of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. This represents the first evidence that cocaine directly increases the frequency of dopamine release events and reveals that this is responsible for preferentially increased dopamine transmission within the NAc shell after cocaine administration. Additionally, cocaine administration resulted in a synergistic increase in dopamine concentration, and subregion differences were abolished when cocaine was administered in the absence of autoregulation. Together, these results demonstrate that cocaine administration results in a temporally and regionally specific increase in phasic dopamine release that is significantly regulated by dopamine autoreceptors.
Patients Overwhelmingly Prefer Inpatient Boarding to Emergency Department Boarding

Abstract Background Boarding of admitted patients in the emergency department (ED) is a major cause of crowding. One alternative to boarding in the ED, a full-capacity protocol where boarded patients are redeployed to inpatient units, can reduce crowding and improve overall flow. Objective Our aim was to compare patient satisfaction with boarding in the ED vs. inpatient hallways. Methods We performed a structured telephone survey regarding patient experiences and preferences for boarding among admitted ED patients who experienced boarding in the ED hallway and then were subsequently transferred to inpatient hallways. Demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as patient preferences, including items related to patient comfort and safety using a 5-point scale, were recorded and descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Results Of 110 patients contacted, 105 consented to participate. Mean age was 57 ± 16 years and 52% were female. All patients were initially boarded in the ED in a hallway before their transfer to an inpatient hallway bed. The overall preferred location after admission was the inpatient hallway in 85% (95% confidence interval 75–90) of respondents. In comparing ED vs. inpatient hallway boarding, the following percentages of respondents preferred inpatient boarding with regard to the following 8 items: rest, 85%; safety, 83%; confidentiality, 82%; treatment, 78%; comfort, 79%; quiet, 84%; staff availability, 84%; and privacy, 84%. For no item was there a preference for boarding in the ED. Conclusions Patients overwhelmingly preferred the inpatient hallway rather than the ED hallway when admitted to the hospital.
A comparison of gas chromatographic and anti-cholinesterase methods for measuring parathion metabolism in vitro.

Parathion, (0,O-diethyl 0-~-nitrophenyl phosphorothionate), a widely used insecticide, is transformed to its oxygen analogue, paraoxon (O,O-diethyl 0-~-nitrophenyl phosphate), a potent inhibitor of acetyl cholinesterase (DIGGLE and GAGE, 1951; GAGE, 1953), by hepatic microsomal enzymes (MURPHY and DUBOIS, 1958; DAVISON, 1955; NEAL, 1967). Hepatic microsomal enzymes also catalyze the oxidative cleavage of parathion to thiophosphoric acid and p-nitrophenol (NEAL, 1967). Because of its high sensitivity and lack of necessity for extensive extraction and cleanup procedures, an anticholinesterase assay has been used in this and other laboratories for measuring the enzymatic conversion of parathion (and related phosphorothionates) to its oxygen analogue (MURPHY, 1966; HITCHCOCK and MURPHY, 1971; JOHNSEN and DAHM, 1966; VUKOVICH et al., 1971). Gas chromatography has also been used to measure both parathion (NAKATSAGAWA et al., 1968; RAO and MCKINLEY, 1969) and paraoxon (HOLLINGWORTH, 1969). The purpose of this study was to adapt a gas chromatographic procedure suitable for routine determinations of small amounts of paraoxon produced in tissue incubations in the presence of a large excess of parathion as substrate, and to compare its utility with that of the anti-cholinesterase method of assaying for paraoxon. It was desired that the method be suitable for determining the rate of total metabolism of parathion as well as the production of the active metabolite, paraoxon. A gas chromatographic procedure was developed which used OV-IOI (a methyl silicone resin) as a liquid phase and a flame photometric detector for quantitative analysis (BOWMAN and BEROZA, 1970). The procedure is similar to one reported by Jaglan et al., (1969, 1970) for determining the activation of methyl parathion.
Coordinating computational and visual approaches for interactive feature selection and multivariate clustering

Unknown (and unexpected) multivariate patterns lurking in high-dimensional datasets are often very hard to find. This paper describes a human-centered exploration environment, which incorporates a coordinated suite of computational and visualization methods to explore high-dimensional data for uncovering patterns in multivariate spaces. Specifically, it includes: (1) an interactive feature selection method for identifying potentially interesting, multidimensional subspaces from a high-dimensional data space, (2) an interactive, hierarchical clustering method for searching multivariate clusters of arbitrary shape, and (3) a suite of coordinated visualization and computational components centered around the above two methods to facilitate a human-led exploration. The implemented system is used to analyze a cancer dataset and shows that it is efficient and effective for discovering unknown and unexpected multivariate patterns from high-dimensional data.
Targeting doxorubicin to epidermal growth factor receptors by site-specific conjugation of C225 to poly(L-glutamic acid) through a polyethylene glycol spacer

Purpose. Targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic agents through antibody-polymer conjugates has met with limited success. One of the limiting factors is the loss of antibody's binding affinity upon conjugation with polymeric carriers because of lack of control over the number and site of attachment. This study aims to synthesize monovalent polymeric immunoconjugates through site-specific conjugation and to evaluate the in vitro binding activities of the resulting construct.
Chest drain safety checklist

Background: Intercostal chest drains are amongst the most invasive procedure a medic will undertake; not infrequently by a junior trainee. Adverse events unfortunately are well reported with chest drains, the UK's National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) reported 12 deaths and 768 events of harm all related to chest drains occuring between Jan '05 and Mar '08. A never event is “a serious, largely preventable patient safety incident that should not occur if the available preventative measures have been implemented by healthcare providers”. Never Events are preventable because: there is guidance that explains what the care or treatment should be; there is guidance to explain how risks and harm can be prevented; and there has been adequate notice and support to put systems in place to prevent them from happening. The NPSA Never Events list includes wrong site surgery, and in the respiratory arena this encompasses the infrequent but always regrettable insertion of a chest drain on the wrong side Aim: To devise a chest drain proforma to improve patient safety and prevent adverse and never events. Methodology: We used an iterative model building upon the WHO surgical safety checklist. Results: We devised and piloted a "Chest drain safety check list" utilising a 2-person stepwise approach. ![Figure][1] Conclusion: This checklist represents a process that should lead to a systematic and safe approach to inserting chest drains. [1]: pending:yes
A single-stage grid-connected inverter with wide range reactive power compensation using energy storage system (ESS)

This paper presents a single-stage grid-connected inverter with energy storage system (ESS) for small distributed power generation (DG) system application. A reactive power allocation (RPA) strategy is developed so the proposed inverter can provide real and reactive power in wide range. In particular, the ESS can provide not only harmonic compensation but also reactive power to enhance the system stability. An appropriate reactive power allocation coefficient is designed to avoid duty cycle saturation and over modulation in order to maintain good power quality. Furthermore, a control system, including proportional resonant control, capacitor voltage balance control and RPA control, is developed in grid-connected mode. Finally, a 3.5 kW single-stage grid-connected inverter with proposed control strategy is implemented in the laboratory. Both simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the validity of the proposed technology
Quality of Life of Long-Term Survivors of Breast Cancer and Lymphoma Treated With Standard-Dose Chemotherapy or Local Therapy

Purpose This study compared the quality of life (QOL) of long-term survivors of breast cancer and lymphoma who had been treated with standard-dose systemic chemotherapy or local therapy only. Patients and Methods Long-term survivors (mean, 10.0 ± 5.3 years after treatment) of breast cancer or lymphoma who had been treated with systemic chemotherapy (breast, n = 141, age = 57.0 ± 10.1 years; lymphoma, n = 66, age = 55.8 ± 13.5 years) or local therapy only (breast, n = 294, age = 65.8 ± 9.1 years; lymphoma, n = 37, age = 50.4 ± 12.8 years) were interviewed by phone using the Quality of Life–Cancer Survivors Tool. Results Multivariate analysis of covariance, controlling for sex, age, education, stage of disease, and time since last treatment, revealed that survivors who had been treated with systemic chemotherapy scored significantly lower on overall QOL compared with survivors treated with local therapy only (P = .04). Analysis of covariance on the subscale scores revealed that, compared with survivors who ...
Dark matter annihilation in the Galactic Center as seen by the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope

Abstract We analyze the first two years of data from the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope from the direction of the inner 10° around the Galactic Center with the intention of constraining, or finding evidence of, annihilating dark matter. We find that the morphology and spectrum of the emission between 1.25° and 10° from the Galactic Center is well described by the processes of decaying pions produced in cosmic ray collisions with gas, and the inverse Compton scattering of cosmic ray electrons in both the disk and bulge of the Inner Galaxy, along with gamma rays from known points sources in the region. The observed spectrum and morphology of the emission within approximately 1.25° (∼175 parsecs) of the Galactic Center, in contrast, departs from the expectations for by these processes. Instead, we find an additional component of gamma ray emission that is highly concentrated around the Galactic Center. The observed morphology of this component is consistent with that predicted from annihilating dark matter with a cusped (and possibly adiabatically contracted) halo distribution ( ρ ∝ r − γ , with γ = 1.18 to 1.33). The observed spectrum of this component, which peaks at energies between 1–4 GeV (in E 2 units), can be well fit by a 7–10 GeV dark matter particle annihilating primarily to tau leptons with a cross section in the range of 〈 σ v 〉 = 4.6 × 10 − 27 to 5.3 × 10 − 26 cm 3 / s , depending on how the dark matter distribution is normalized. We also discuss other sources for this emission, including the possibility that much of it originates from the Milky Wayʼs supermassive black hole.
Calculation of an aggregated level of interest function for recorded events

As recording technology becomes pervasive there is a dramatic increase in the number of events being recorded in multimedia. The challenge now facing users is to quickly view the recorded content in the least amount of time. While there are several methods to analyze video based on ambient noise, scene changes, slide transitions, etc..., these techniques merely find features in the recording, they do not reveal which sections are important.This paper presents a method to calculate a Level Of Interest (LOI) function for an event by aggregating bookmarks made by the event attendees. The findings of a preliminary evaluation of the LOI function are also presented along with the design of an LOI based video browser.
Small-scale spatial and temporal variability in coastal benthic O2 dynamics: Effects of fauna activity

In situ measurements in a shallow water sediment were performed using three different modules—a microprofiling unit, a transparent benthic chamber, and a planar optode periscope. The combined data set revealed an extremely patchy and variable benthic O2 distribution primarily due to temporal variations in fauna activity and photosynthesis. A distinct diel pattern in the fauna activity, dominated by Hediste diversicolor, resulted in strongly elevated O2 uptake rates of ;5.3 mmol m 22 h 21 at the onset of darkness. The activity gradually diminished during the night, and the O2 uptake decreased to less than half the maximum rate just before sunrise. The volume of oxic sediment around burrow structures was influenced by changing environmental conditions (benthic photosynthesis and fauna activity) but grossly exceeded that below the primary sediment surface. The volume specific respiration rate around burrows was more than seven times higher than the equivalent value at the sediment surface. A budget of the O2 consumption revealed that the O2 uptake through the burrow walls just after sunset accounted for the major part of the total O2 uptake on a diel scale. The study demonstrates that light-driven variations in fauna activity can have great effects on the total benthic O 2 consumption rate with large implications for estimated benthic mineralization rates.
Expressed Emotion, Family Functioning, and Treatment Outcome for Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa

The current study examined the relation between parental expressed emotion (EE) and treatment outcome among adolescents participating in a treatment study for adolescent anorexia nervosa, as well as its impact on family functioning. One hundred and twenty-one families were assigned to family-based treatment or adolescent-focused therapy. Paternal criticism predicted lesser improvement in eating disorder psychopathology at end of treatment. There was also a significant interaction between maternal hostility and treatment, indicating that adolescents whose mothers displayed hostility had greater increases in percent of expected body weight in adolescent-focused therapy than family-based treatment. In addition, maternal hostility predicted less improvement in general family functioning and family communication at the end of treatment. Findings suggest that maternal and paternal EE may differentially impact treatment outcome and should be directly attended to in clinical settings. Future research is needed to further explore ways in which parental EE can be effectively modified in treatment.
Inhibition of Hepatitis B Virus Replication during Adenovirus and Cytomegalovirus Infections in Transgenic Mice

We have previously demonstrated that hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication and gene expression are abolished in the livers of HBV transgenic mice by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and during lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection, stimuli that trigger the production of alpha/beta interferon, gamma interferon, and tumor necrosis factor alpha in the liver. We now report that hepatic HBV replication and gene expression are inhibited by the local induction of these cytokines during adenovirus- and murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV)-induced hepatitis. Further, we show that MCMV also blocks HBV replication and gene expression in the proximal convoluted tubules of the kidney by causing interstitial nephritis and inducing the same cytokines in the renal parenchyma. These results suggest that inflammatory cytokines probably contribute to viral clearance during acute viral hepatitis in humans, and they imply that induction of these cytokines in the liver and other infected tissues of chronically infected patients might have therapeutic value.
Octanoyl-Homoserine Lactone Is the Cognate Signal for Burkholderia mallei BmaR1-BmaI1 Quorum Sensing

Acyl-homoserine lactones (HSLs) serve as quorum-sensing signals for many Proteobacteria. Members of the LuxI family of signal generators catalyze the production of acyl-HSLs, which bind to a cognate receptor in the LuxR family of transcription factors. The obligate animal pathogen Burkholderia mallei produces several acyl-HSLs, and the B. mallei genome has four luxR and two luxI homologs, each of which has been established as a virulence factor. To begin to delineate the relevant acyl-HSL signals for B. mallei LuxR homologs, we analyzed the BmaR1-BmaI1 system. A comparison of acyl-HSL profiles from B. mallei ATCC 23344 and a B. mallei bmaI1 mutant indicates that octanoyl-HSL synthesis is BmaI1 dependent. Furthermore, octanoyl-HSL is the predominant acyl-HSL produced by BmaI1 in recombinant Escherichia coli. The synthesis of soluble BmaR1 in recombinant E. coli requires octanoyl-HSL or decanoyl-HSL. Insoluble aggregates of BmaR1 are produced in the presence of other acyl-HSLs and in the absence of acyl-HSLs. The bmaI1 promoter is activated by BmaR1 and octanoyl-HSL, and a 20-bp inverted repeat in the bmaI1 promoter is required for bmaI1 activation. Purified BmaR1 binds to this promoter region. These findings implicate octanoyl-HSL as the signal for BmaR1-BmaI1 quorum sensing and show that octanoyl-HSL and BmaR1 activate bmaI1 transcription.
Identifying causal regulatory SNPs in ChIP-seq enhancers

Thousands of non-coding SNPs have been linked to human diseases in the past. The identification of causal alleles within this pool of disease-associated non-coding SNPs is largely impossible due to the inability to accurately quantify the impact of non-coding variation. To overcome this challenge, we developed a computational model that uses ChIP-seq intensity variation in response to non-coding allelic change as a proxy to the quantification of the biological role of non-coding SNPs. We applied this model to HepG2 enhancers and detected 4796 enhancer SNPs capable of disrupting enhancer activity upon allelic change. These SNPs are significantly over-represented in the binding sites of HNF4 and FOXA families of liver transcription factors and liver eQTLs. In addition, these SNPs are strongly associated with liver GWAS traits, including type I diabetes, and are linked to the abnormal levels of HDL and LDL cholesterol. Our model is directly applicable to any enhancer set for mapping causal regulatory SNPs.
Forms and behaviour of vacuum emission electronic devices comprising diamond or other carbon cold cathode emitters

Nanocarbon-derived electron emission devices, specifically nanodiamond lateral field emission (FE) diodes and gated carbon nanotube (CNT) triodes, are new configurations for robust nanoelectronic devices. These novel micro/nanostructures provide an alternative and efficient means of accomplishing electronics that are impervious to temperature and radiation. For example, nitrogen-incorporated nanocrystalline diamond has been lithographically micropatterned to use the material as an electron field emitter. Arrays of laterally arranged ‘finger-like’ nanodiamond emitters constitute the cathode in a versatile diode configuration with a small interelectrode separation. A low diode turnon voltage of 7 V and a high emission current of 90 mA at an anode voltage of 70 V (electric field of approx. 7 V mm K1 ) are reported for the nanodiamond lateral device. Also, a FE triode amplifier based on aligned CNTs with a low turn-on voltage and a small gate leakage current has been developed.
A Model for Rain Erosion of Homogeneous Materials

Abstract : The behavior of homogeneous materials subjected to repeated impingements of liquid droplets is investigated. Based on fatigue theorems, a model is presented for describing both the incubation period ni(i.e. the time elapsed before the mass loss of the material becomes appreciable), and the mass loss past the incubation period m. The parameters are established which govern the length of the incubation period and the subsequent mass loss rate, and simple algebraic expressions are developed relating ni and m to the properties of the impinging droplets and the material. The limits of applicability of the model are also established. (Author)
Dicationic electrophiles from olefinic amines in superacid.

This paper describes the superacid-catalyzed chemistry of olefinic amines and related compounds. A variety of olefinic amines are found to react with benzene in CF3SO3H (triflic acid) to give addition products in good yields (75−99%), including the pharmaceutical agents fenpiprane and prozapine. A general mechanism is proposed that invokes the formation of reactive, dicationic electrophiles and the direct observation of a diprotonated species is reported from low-temperature NMR experiments. This chemistry is also used to conveniently prepare functionalized polystyrene beads having pendant amine groups.
A new synthetic route to polyaza-crown macrocycles through the per(N-formyl)polyaza-crowns

Seven new per(N-formyl)polyaza-crown macrocycles 1-7 containing 14 to 21 ring members have been synthesized in yields of over 40% via the cyclization reaction of the appropriate per(N-formyl)polyamine 11-13 with the appropriate ditosylate, dibromide or diiodide. Three of the per(N-formyl) macrocycles 5-7 were hydrolyzed under acidic conditions to give the unsubstituted polyaza macrocycles 8-10 in yields of over 77%.
Screening For Gestational Diabetes

Traditionally, screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been done only for those women with identifiable risk factors. To determine the value of screening all pregnant women, 363 consecutive patients were tested for GDM using a glucose challenge test (GCT). The test measured plasma glucose 1 hour after administration of a 50-gram oral glucose load. Those patients with a plasma glucose greater than 140 mg/dL were given a standard 3-hour glucose tolerance test (GTI) using 100 g of oral glucose. Patients with risk factors were compared with those without risk factors. There was no significant difference between the two groups for number of abnormal 3-hour GTIs. We conclude that in order to identify GDM, all pregnant patients must be screened. Universal screening was found to be simple and cost effective.
Repair of Pectus Excavatum

Pectus excavatum is a congenital deformity of the anterior chest wall. It consists of two primary elements. The first component is posterior depression of the body of the sternum, generally beginning at the level of the insertion of the second or third costal cartilages. The second component is posterior depression of the attached costal cartilages. This depression generally involves ribs 3 through 7 and sometimes will extend to the level of the second costal cartilage. In older teenagers, the posterior depression of the ribs will involve part of the osseous component as well as the cartilage component. This congenital deformity will be apparent within the first year of life in more than 90% of affected children. It occurs most often in families with a history of chest wall deformity, and has been estimated to have an incidence of 1 in 300 to 1 in 400 births.
Future Eustatic Sea-Level Change

Scientific consensus on the causes of climate change during the achanges. This uncertainty is illustrated by the debates about the magnitude of global warming during the past century. Whereas few debate that global warming has occurred during the past century, as the Earth emerged from the Little Ice Age, the magnitude of the warming and its possible causes are unclear. The prediction of future climate is fraught with even greater difficulties and uncertainties. Prediction of future climate change can be either empirical or based on numerical models. Each technique makes significant assumptions that cause the predictions to differ substantially for many scenarios of climate forcing. The historical record of climate and the prediction of future climate are discussed separately below.
A Mixed Excitation LPC Vocoder with Frequency-Dependent Voicing Strength

Traditional pitch-excited LPC vocoders use a fully parametric model to efficiently encode the important information in human speech. These vocoders can produce intelligible speech at low data rates (800-2400 bps), but they often sound synthetic and generate annoying artifacts such as buzzes, thumps, and tonal noises. These problems increase dramatically if acoustic background noise is present at the speech input. This paper presents a new LPC vocoder model which preserves the low bit rate of a fully parametric model, but adds more free parameters to the excitation signal so the synthesizer can mimic more characteristics of natural human speech. The new model also eliminates the traditional requirement for a binary voicing decision, so the vocoder performs well even in the presence of acoustic background noise.
Examination of the Content Specificity of Posttraumatic Cognitions in Combat Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Objective: Cognitive theories have proposed the idea of content specificity, which holds that emotional disorders are associated with unique sets of negative cognitions. The existent research exploring the content specificity related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression is sparse, and research is especially needed in veteran samples. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of PTSD symptom clusters and comorbid depressive symptoms with posttraumatic cognitions. Method: This study was cross-sectional in design, and the sample consisted of data from 150 male combat veterans with PTSD drawn from the baseline assessments of a large clinical trial. Analyses involved a series of separate and simultaneous linear regressions to examine the unique associations of comorbid depressive symptoms and PTSD symptom clusters with posttraumatic cognitions, as well as post hoc analyses to examine the mediational role of comorbid depressive symptoms. Results: Findings demonstrated that post...
The Role of Liver Transplantation in the Treatment of Primary Liver Tumors

From a worldwide perspective, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma account for 84% and 13% of all primary liver tumors, respectively. Liver transplantation has resulted in poor results when used for non-cirrhotic patients suffering from either HCC or cholangiocarcinoma. The only exception is fibrolamellar carcinoma; whether this is an indication for liver transplantation is still under consideration. The tumor indication with the most favorable survival rate is early HCC in cirrhosis. Vascular invasion is the most serious risk factor, but its detection is still impossible prior to the histopathological examination of a specimen. Therefore, surrogate markers are required. Stringent selection criteria relating to size and number of tumor nodules have been identified and must be adhered to in order to avoid recurrence. Recurrence is especially harmful in the transplant population because the immunosuppressive treatment appears to reduce the time taken for the tumor to double in volume.
In Pursuit of Bio-inspired Triboluminescent Multifunctional Composites

In the last three decades, much research work has gone into efforts to utilize the triboluminescence properties of some crystals for damage monitoring in engineering structures such as bridges and aircrafts. The key challenge from practical application point of view has to do with integrating the sensor in opaque composite structures and successfully transmitting and characterizing the TL signals generated due to damage in these structures. To solve this problem, we have developed the bio-inspired in-situ triboluminescent optical fiber (ITOF) sensor that mimics the sensory neurons of the human nervous system with an integrated sensing and transmission system. The integration of the TL-based sensing component and the transmission component has greatly enhanced the efficiency of side-coupling making distributed sensing along the entire coated length of the polymer optical fiber possible. Our group is the first to apply TL-based damage sensing to cementitious composite systems such as concrete structures to create multifunctional composites with both load carrying and in situ damage monitoring capabilities. This work will highlight key results and advances made in the development of cementitious as well as fiber reinforced polymer composites with in situ damage monitoring capabilities.
Classification of finger vibrotactile input using scalp EEG

While there are many output brain-computer interface (output BCIs) studies, few have examined the input pathway, namely decoding the sensory input. To examine the possibility of building a BCI with sensory input using scalp electroencephalography (EEG), this study builds a classifier based on Local Fisher Discriminant Analysis (LFDA) and Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) to classify neural activity generated by vibrotactile sensory stimuli delivered to the fingers. Small vibrators were placed on the fingertips of the participant. They vibrated one by one in a random sequence while the participant sat still with eyes closed. EEG data were recorded and later used to classify which finger was vibrated. There were two tasks: one focusing on differentiating between ipsilateral fingers, the other one focusing on differentiating contralateral fingers. Decoding accuracies were high in both tasks: 97.6% and 99.3% respectively. Event-related EEG features in both amplitude and power domain are discussed.
Isotopic studies of fluid and electrolyte changes in domestic rabbits with Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Previous studies on patients with Rocky Mountain spotted fever1 have suggested that the distribution of body fluids and electrolyte metabolism are altered during the course of this disease. Further studies of the disturbed physiology of spotted fever have been performed on experimental animals. Although the disease is induced most easily in guinea pigs, their small size and the paucity of veins make them unsuitable for the performance of serial determinations of fluid spaces. The rabbit is best suited for such a study, and Foot2 has previously reported that clinical spotted fever can be induced in the domestic rabbit.
Notes on the cia's Secret War in Afghanistan

The new war against terrorism has taken up where the United States left off some years ago in its campaign against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Events of the initial campaign of the terror war, which concluded with the fall of the Tora Bora cave complex in December 2001, as well as developments that can be anticipated in the larger conflict, can be illuminated by reference to the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) efforts in the anti-Soviet war of the 1980s. These notes attempt to touch on key elements of that experience that should be borne in mind today, including the purposefulness of United States programs, the problems inherent in hurried efforts, the crosscutting impacts of local politics and customs, the nature of modern military operations, and the tendency of the solutions ofthe moment to spawn later difficulties.' The CLA operation of the 1980s began as a spoiling operation. In April 1978, during the Carter administration, Afghan Communists overthrew a left-leaning but moderate dictatorship that had itself resulted from a coup against the Afghan monarch. Not satisfied with the slow progress in turning the nation toward socialism, the factions of the Communist party then began to fight each other. Meanwhile, within weeks of the so-called April revolution, Muslim fundamentalists and tribal groupings with no love for the Communists began a resistance movement. The cIA program sought to augment that resistance. Soviet involvement in Afghanistan long predated both the April revolution and the antimonarchist coup of 1973. Beginning in 1955, the Russians had furnished both economic and military aid in amounts totaling $2.5 billion by 1979, and the Soviet Union had become Afghanistan's leading trading partner. At the time of the April revolution there were already a thousand Russian technical experts and military advisers in the country.2 Much as the political machinations of local clients had deepened the American stake in South Vietnam, the Communist coups in Kabul com-
Management of migraine headaches in a chronic pain patient: A case report

Abstract Managing migraines complicated with medication overuse headaches and opioid-induced hyperalgesia can be challenging, especially within the geriatric and chronic pain population. A 65-year-old woman with a degenerative spine condition and chronic migraine headaches, along with other comorbidities, was admitted to the geriatric psychiatry unit for extreme mood swings and paranoia. Prior to admission, she had been taking extended-release morphine sulfate twice daily for more than a month and was unable to determine triggers to her frequent migraine headaches. She had a history of medication overuse and severe migraine episodes within 4 weeks prior to admission. This case report reviews the challenges of treating a geriatric patient with probable chronic migraines in addition to other pain conditions and comorbidities.
The Poetics of Repetition in Beckett’s Watt

A lot of Beckett criticism has considered Beckett’s prose “chaotic” and has often referred to it as a “chaos of this” or a “chaos ofthat” looking at it as a “catastrophe of accidents.” Perhaps the reason for all that “chaos” is due to the fact that many critics fail to see Beckett’s novels as a refined approach, a rarefied approach, to anti-traditional novel writing. Beckett’s use of a multiplicity of figures of speech immediately situates the text in a non-traditional posture vis-a-vis the Realistic novel. The inversion of sentences renders them “different” in terms of its politextuality or the political nature of the context of the text. To that end, this chapter focuses on the specific rhetorical devices Beckett uses in the novel.
1. The role of IOM in modern times

Neurophysiologic Intraoperative Monitoring grew over four decades to a widely used discipline of many techniques and applications. Studies show substantial improvements in patient outcome, e.g. 60% decrease in paraplegia and paraparesis after spinal surgery. Evidence-based guidelines have demonstrated the benefits of techniques in structured methodologies. To attain these benefits, three personnel skill sets are needed: in-room technologist skills, the knowledgeable advanced expert, and the physician who brings the medical dimension to interpretations and decision-making. Often one person serves more than one role. Some procedures require in-room physician interpretation, such as for electrocorticography and functional cortical localization. Other procedures may be performed by on-line connection. Remote on-line monitoring makes these techniques available at location without experts. Volume of services continues to climb. Expert physician monitorists are a scarce resource. Complicated cases need the one-on-one attention of the supervising physician, whereas other cases may be monitored a few at a time simultaneously. Simultaneous monitoring makes better use of scarce personnel. Limiting simultaneous cases typically to three at a time is needed to maintain adequate attention to each individual case. More competent providers are needed, so that training programs are an important part of the field both at the technologists and professional levels.
Exile, Theotopia, and Atopia: Mann’s Joseph and His Brothers and Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita

The modernist dystopias mentioned so far in this study contain few religious elements, given the fact that the modernist utopias themselves are preponderantly secular and tend to treat religion as just another cultural institution that needs to be reformed and regulated, if not eliminated al together. In other words, theotopias have largely gone out of style in modernist highbrow culture, following a steady historical trend since the second part of the 19th century, already discussed in previous chapters. One of the most remarkable exceptions to this modernist dystopian trend is Thomas Mann’s masterpiece, Joseph and his Brothers. In turn, Bulgakov’s masterpiece of the 1930s appears to follow the general dystopian trend, but it actually reveals itself to be a theotopia in dystopian disguise. Both novels explore the notion of atopia, but along somewhat different lines: whereas in Joseph and His Brothers, atopia largely concerns the theotopian bridges over the existential void, in Bulgakov’s narrative it also concerns the role of art and the artist in creating what Aldous Huxley would call an alternative, “sane” or healthy society.
A mechanochemical study of the effects of compression on a Diels-Alder reaction.

We examine the effects of compressive external forces on the mechanisms of the parent Diels-Alder (DA) reaction between butadiene and ethylene. Reaction pathways and transition states were calculated using the nudged elastic band method within a mechanochemical framework at the CASSCF(6,6)/6-31G**, as well as the B3LYP/6-311++G** levels of theory. Our results suggest that compressive hydrostatic pressure lowers the energy barrier for the parent DA reaction while suppressing the undesirable side reaction, thereby leading to a direct increase in the yield of cyclohexene. Compressive pressure also increases the exothermicity of the parent DA reaction, which would lead to increased temperatures in a reaction vessel and thereby indirectly increase the yield of cyclohexene. Our estimates indicate that the compression used in our study corresponds to a range of 68 MPa–1410 MPa.
Pathways to naturally small Dirac neutrino masses

If neutrinos are truly Dirac fermions, the smallness of their masses may still be natural if certain symmetries exist beyond those of the standard model of quarks and leptons. We perform a systematic study of how this may occur at tree level and in one loop. We also propose a scotogenic version of the left–right gauge model with naturally small Dirac neutrino masses in one loop.
Azido and Tetrazolo 1,2,4,5-Tetrazine N-Oxides

This study presents the synthesis and characterization of the oxidation products of 3,6-diazido-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (1) and 6-amino-[1,5-b]tetrazolo-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (2). 3,6-Diazido-1,2,4,5-tetrazine-1,4-dioxide was produced from oxidation with peroxytrifluoroacetic acid, and more effectively using hypofluorous acid, and 2 can be oxidized to two different products, 6-amino-[1,5-b]tetrazolo-1,2,4,5-tetrazine mono-N-oxide and di-N-oxide. These N-oxide compounds display promising performance properties as energetic materials.
Forgive for Good

1) To understand the mind body link in forgiveness 2) To practice two simple forgiveness techniques 3) To derive a practical definition of forgiveness that will be an aid in practice 96 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} 4) To review the 9 steps to forgiveness
Skill Organization and Human Learning Behavior

Abstract A theory and model of motor skills learning postulate a statistical decision process for the human operator controlling a dynamic system. The selection of response alternatives and the revision of preferences for them are functions of a decision center in the human mind. This decision center is one component of a hypothetic single-channel information system. Also included in this information processing system are a sensor, which perceives the information upon which the decision center acts, and an effector, which executes the response decisions made by the center. The model of human learning behavior is a digital computer program which is obtained from a translation of the theory into machine language. Behavior of this model is compared with subject behavior in a controlled series of motor skill experiments. The extent of the model's characterization of the time-varying random nature of human learning is brought out by this comparison.
Negotiating gendered transnationalism and nationalism in post-socialist Latvia

This article examines how gender equality activists in post-socialist Latvia negotiate national and transnational frameworks in their campaigns. The case study for this analysis is the 15-year evolution of one gender equality non-governmental organization (NGO), the Resource Center for Women, Marta, in Riga. RCW Marta’s work has resulted in significant steps in policy reform and broader social awareness regarding questions of gender equality. In doing so, it bridges essentialist, patriarchal conceptions of the Latvian nation-state and a transnational European feminist narrative. The experience of RCW Marta affirms the continued relevance of the nation, though a redefined one, within transnationalism, which in turn contributes to a rethinking of post-socialism as a spatial and analytic category.
Skinworlds: Borders, haptics, topologies:

Over the last decade, anthropologists have drawn attention to the disconnect between a political imagination that conceptualizes nation-states’ borders as unambiguous and linear, and the realities ...
Rule by Aesthetics: World-Class City Making in Delhi, by D. Asher Ghertner

One of the worst kept secrets in India is that malls and luxury apartment buildings are often built in circumvention of land use codes. Yet, despite this, it is ‘slums’ that are most usually associ...
Understanding Mobility in America

Throughout history, the United States has been characterized as a nation of wanderers. From the period of early colonizing and populating of the continent (1602–1900), to the Industrial Revolution with its concom-mitant rural to urban migrations (1890–1917), large portions of the popu-lation have appeared to change residences easily. Even today approx-imately 20%, or about 40 million individuals, move from one residence to another each year; and, within a 5-year period, almost half of the United States population relocates at least once (Kroger, 1980; Long & Boertlein, 1976). It is estimated that, on the average, an American will move 14 times during his or her life (Heller, 1982; Kroger, 1980). In comparison, the Irish relocate about 3 times in their lives, the Japanese about 7 times, and the British about 8 times (Long & Boertlein, 1976).
Sequential intravascular ultrasound of the mechanisms of rotational atherectomy and adjunct balloon angioplasty

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to use sequential intravascular ultrasound imaging before intervention, after rotational atherectomy and after adjunct balloon angioplasty to characterize the mechanisms of lumen enlargement after each. Background. Rotational atherectomy uses a high speed, rotating, diamond-tipped elliptic burr to abrade atherosclerotic plaque to increase lumen size. In vitro studies have shown that high speed rotational atherectomy selectively abrades hard, especially calcified, plaque elements. However, rotational atherectomy procedures usually require adjunct balloon angioplasty. Methods. Forty-eight lesions in 46 patients were treated with rotational atherectomy followed by adjunct balloon angioplasty in 44. Quantitative coronary arteriographic and intravascular ultrasound measurements of the target lesion were made before intervention, after rotational atherectomy and after balloon angioplasty. Results. Before intervention, target lesion external elastic membrane area measured 17.3 ± 5.9 mm2, lumen area measured 1.8 ± 0.9 mm2and plaque plus media area measured 15.7 ± 4.1 mm2. After rotational atherectomy, lumen area increased, plaque plus media area decreased, arc of target lesion calcium decreased and 26% of the target lesions had dissection planes After adjunct balloon angioplasty, external elastic membrane area increased, lumen area increased, plaque plus media area did not change and 77% of the target lesions had dissection planes. Arterial expansion was seen in 80% of lesions. The pattern of dissection plane location, which was predominantly within calcified plaque after rotational atherectomy, became predominantly adjacent to calcified plaque after adjunct balloon angioplasty (p = 0.008). Conclusions. Sequential intravascular ultrasound imaging shows that high speed rotational atherectomy causes lumen enlargement by selective ablation of hard, especially calcific, atherosclerotic plaque with little tissue disruption and rare arterial expansion. Adjunct balloon angioplasty further increased lumen area by a combination of arterial dissection and arterial expansion, especially of compliant, noncalcified plaque elements.
The J-Curve Between Blood Pressure and Coronary Artery Disease or Essential Hypertension. Exactly How Essential?

The topic of the J-curve relationship between blood pressure and coronary artery disease (CAD) has been the subject of much controversy for the past decades. An inverse relationship between diastolic pressure and adverse cardiac ischemic events (i.e., the lower the diastolic pressure the greater the risk of coronary heart disease and adverse outcomes) has been observed in numerous studies. This effect is even more pronounced in patients with underlying CAD. Indeed, a J-shaped relationship between diastolic pressure and coronary events was documented in treated patients with CAD in most large trials that scrutinized this relationship. In contrast to any other vascular bed, the coronary circulation receives its perfusion mostly during diastole; hence, an excessive decrease in diastolic pressure can significantly hamper perfusion. This adverse effect of too low a diastolic pressure on coronary heart disease leaves the practicing physician with the disturbing possibility that, in patients at risk, lowering blood pressure to levels that prevent stroke or renal disease might actually precipitate myocardial ischemia. However, these concerns should not deter physicians from pursuing a more aggressive control of hypertension, because currently blood pressure is brought to recommended target levels in only approximately one-third of patients.
Workplace Mindfulness and its Effect on Staff Auditors' Audit Quality-Threatening Behavior

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effect of staff auditors' workplace mindfulness on premature sign-off—a serious audit quality-threatening behavior that can go undetected through the review pro...