cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An optimization approach to group coupling in heterogeneous collaborative systems

Recent proliferation of computing devices has brought attention to heterogeneous collaborative systems, where key challenges arise from the resource limitations and disparities. Sharing data across disparate devices makes it necessary to employ mechanisms for adapting the original data and presenting it to the user in the best possible way. However, this could represent a major problem for effective collaboration, since users may find it difficult to reach consensus with everyone working with individually tailored data. This paper presents a novel approach to controlling the coupling of heterogeneous collaborative systems by combining concepts from complex systems and data adaptation techniques. The key idea is that data must be adapted to each individual's preferences and resource capabilities. To support and promote collaboration this adaptation must be interdependent, and adaptation performed by one individual should influence the adaptation of the others. These influences are defined according to the user's roles and collaboration requirements. We model the problem as a distributed optimization problem, so that the most useful data--both for the individual and the group as a whole--is scheduled for each user, while satisfying their preferences, their resource limitations, and their mutual influences. We show how this approach can be applied in a collaborative 3D design application and how it can be extended to other applications.
Baroclinic Instability of Realistic Zonal-Mean States to Planetary Waves1

Abstract It is demonstrated that realistic zonal mean states on a sphere are unstable to perturbations of zonal wavenumbers 2 and 3. Moreover, these waves have significant growth rates and are of such a narrow meridional scale that they fall into the class of unstable modes first discovered by Charney. For zonal mean wind cross sections characteristic of the Southern Hemisphere, wavenumber 2 has an unstable mode with an e-folding time of about 9 days and a period of about 2 weeks. The growth rate of the unstable wave 2 is relatively insensitive to changes in wind structure and to topography representative of the Antarctic continent. The unstable waves extend well into the stratosphere, and it is suggested that the eastward traveling wave 2 and wave 3 components observed in the Southern Hemisphere may be baroclinically unstable modes of the Charney type. The relatively large growth rates of these waves are made possibly by a relatively narrow meridional scale in the troposphere. and their propagation into ...
Biologic Control of Stromatolite Microstructure: Implications for Precambrian Time-Stratigraphy: ABSTRACT

Studies of Holocene stromatolitic sediments indicate that the biologic makeup of surficial blue-green algal mats controls the microstructure (features less than several centimeters in size) of stromatolites. Microstructural features include relief along a single growth surface, grain-to-grain relations within laminae, and distribution of organic matter. Recent stromatolitic sediments are basically an intertidal phenomenon. Within the intertidal zone, blue-green algal species are organized into distinct biologic communities. Each community occupies the sediment surface within a specific flooding-frequency range, and each community produces a distinctive microstructure. Recent algal communities have a wide geographic range. Similar communities and zonations may be hundreds nd thousands of miles apart, but only where the areas are connected by rapidly flowing open water or wind currents (e.g., areas connected by the Indian Ocean North Equatorial Current). Therefore, major stromatolite-forming algal communities do not have a worldwide distribution. These data may be applied to the assemblages of stromatolitic microstructures which characterize 100-300 m. y. intervals in the late Proterozoic (Riphean) End_Page 619------------------------------ of the USSR. The nonrepetitive changes in microstructural assemblages through the Riphean may be understood in terms of the community organization of blue-green algae. The presence of distinctive microstructures which survived for long periods of time implies the presence of very highly biologically accommodated communities of blue-green algae, i.e., of assemblages of algal species with high levels of physiologic and biochemical accommodation among species. The time range of each community and microstructure was determined by the timing of major regressions or of major reorganizations in the distribution of shallow seas. Biologically accommodated communities were broken down during these regressions or reorganizations. Microstructural assemblages had broad areal distributions within t e USSR, as well as specific time ranges. Paleogeographic reconstructions of the USSR indicate that areas with similar microstructural assemblages were in open-water contact during the corresponding time period. Open-water connection accounts for the synchroneity of microstructural assemblages in the USSR, but similarity of hydrographic conditions throughout the Precambrian world ocean is improbable. Therefore, time-stratigraphic microstructural units defined in the USSR should not be used for worldwide correlation until paleogeographic relations are established firmly. End_of_Article - Last_Page 620------------
Pediatric Urologic Emergencies and Urgencies

The more common urologic problems seen in infancy and childhood that require urgent or emergent pediatric urologic referral are discussed, including a brief description of the usual presenting signs or symptoms, differential diagnoses, proper diagnostic work-up recommended before or at the time of referral, and the usual therapeutic course of management after evaluation by the urologist. These conditions include the acutely swollen scrotum, scrotal masses, penile swelling and erythema, exstrophy, hematuria, urinary retention, abdominal masses, and various genital abnormalities including interlabial masses, hypospadias with any degree of cryptorchidism, and ambiguous genitalia. This article is designed to provide the primary care practitioner with a focused review and a useful resource for managing children who have genitourinary abnormalities in the hospital or clinic setting.
A simple linear method to obtain height ordering of scene points

We present a novel algorithm to extract height ordering information for points relative to the ground plane. The ordering of scene points is obtained by exploiting the idea of linearly invariant representation of space points, image points, and the optical center of the camera, from which we derive a measure that is monotonic with respect to the height of points relative to the ground plane. We present results of the algorithm on data obtained from a mobile robot.
Increased photocatalytic activity of TiO2 mesoporous microspheres from codoping with transition metals and nitrogen

Abstract The composition of anatase TiO 2 was modified by codoping using combinations of a transition metal and nitrogen in order to increase its photocatalytic activity and extend it performance in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The transition metals (Mn, Co, Ni, Cu) were added during the hydrothermal preparation of mesoporous TiO 2 particles, and the nitrogen was introduced by post-annealing in flowing ammonia gas at high temperature. The samples were analyzed by SEM, XRD, BET, inductively-coupled plasma spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance UV–vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity was assessed by observing the change in methylene blue concentrations under both UV–vis and visible-only light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of the (Mn,N), (Co,N), (Cu,N), and Ni,N) codoped TiO 2 was significantly enhanced relative to (N) TiO 2 .
A Simple Closed-Form Linear Source Localization Algorithm

A closed-form linear solver is proposed to estimate a source location based on time difference of arrivals from the source measured by two neighboring sensors in a linear array. Those sensors are shown to be located at different foci of paired hyperbolas. Using a geometric representation of a hyperbola that is defined as the locus of points whose distance from the focus is proportional to the distance from a directrix, a set of linear equations for the x-coordinate of the source are derived, and subsequently the y-coordinate is solved from a set of equations describing Cartesian coordinates of source and sensors. The algorithm is applicable to both near-field and far-field scenarios without any approximation. It also enjoys simplicity and computational efficiency without the nonlinearity inherited from hyperbolic equations. The estimation error is characterized by the estimation performance of the time differences. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has a similar performance with the maximum-likelihood estimator at high signal to noise ratio.
Acute volume loading and exercise capacity in postural tachycardia syndrome.

Postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is associated with exercise intolerance, hypovolemia, and cardiac atrophy, which may contribute to reduced stroke volume and compensatory exaggerated heart rate...
Technical program overview

This is my opportunity to write a few lines, read by perhaps very few, about some really boring statistics. First, I would like to bring up an issue that deserves some thought. Between ACC, CDC and IFAC (or ECC, MSC, etc.) we write and review over 5,000 conference papers a year, this year a lot more! We seek at least two reviews per paper (done in less than a month), and increasingly demand little to no overlap with other conference and/or journal submissions. Naturally, we have developed an army of volunteers (see the numbers below), to handle all this. Is this sustainable? After thousands of reviews (which needed millions of reminders), we get something resembling a 3,000 page version of IEEE Trans. on …., which of course it is not - nor it is meant to be. Should we expect something different, and more, from such a huge effort?
Pliocene-Quaternary volcanism and faulting at the intersection of the Gulf of California and the Mexican Volcanic Belt

The junction of the western Mexican Volcanic Belt and the Gulf of California represents a superposition of subduction and continental rifting tectonic regimes in the late Cenozoic. Subduction of the oceanic Rivera plate has caused late Cenozoic uplift of western Mexico, forming the Jalisco Block. This paper addresses three questions: Where is the northern boundary of the Jalisco Block; how is the continental fracture system related to that offshore; and what is the spatial distribution and composition of subduction-related lavas? 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates on Cretaceous to Paleogene silicic ash flows show that the northern boundary of the Jalisco Block may be defined by the abrupt change in basement age from Cretaceous to Miocene. 40 Ar/ 39 Ar and K-Ar dates on faulted lavas from the Nayarit region indicate that extension at the edge of the Jalisco Block has occurred since ca. 4.2 Ma. The least principal stress (σ 3 direction associated with these faults has had two different orientations from 4.2 Ma to the present: Several Pliocene to Holocene (4.20, 1.05, and 0.65 Ma) lava flows, and aligned cinder cones have a N45°W associated least principal stress direction, whereas three Pliocene (3.36, 3.38, and 3.11 Ma) lava flows are cut by faults indicating a north to north-northeast least principal stress direction. The two different stress directions may arise either from structural features in the basement of the arc or from changes in offshore plate boundaries (e.g., 2.5 Ma when the Rivera and Mathematicians plates were locked together). Whole-rock major and trace element analyses of lavas from the coastal Nayarit region reveal three different lava types: an alkali basalt series, basaltic andesite, and andesite. The alkali basalts show FeO and TiO 2 enrichment and have low Ba/Zr and Ba/La ratios, consistent with derivation from an oceanic-island-type mantle. The basaltic andesites and andesites are both alkaline and calc-alkaline, contain hydrous phenocrysts, and have high Sr/Zr and La/Nb ratios, consistent with a subduction-related source. Among these lavas there is a correlation between Sr/Zr, oxygen fugacity, and H 2 O contents, suggesting that an oxidized, hydrous fluid is involved in the genesis of the subduction-related lavas. The distribution of subduction-related volcanic centers in the coastal Nayarit region, and areas southeast within the Jalisco Block, defines front that parallels the Middle America Trench and is consistent with a 45° dip on the subducted Rivera plate.
Quality control in protein biogenesis: thiol-mediated retention monitors the redox state of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum

There is accumulating evidence that proteins can be retained in the endoplasmic reticulum by a mechanism that is believed to monitor the oxidation status of one or more cysteines in their sequences. For example, a single cysteine residue critical for retention of secretory IgM assembly intermediates has been mapped to the C-terminal cysteine, Cys575, of the secretory mu chain. Little is known concerning the mechanism responsible for this system of quality control, which has been termed thiolmediated retention. In particular, it is not known if the mechanism monitors the redox state of the important cysteine residue in the secretory mu protein itself or within the context of higher-order IgM complexes. To address this question, we evaluated the fidelity of retention of secretory IgM and determined the redox status of cysteines in secretory mu proteins in polymers and polymer intermediates at various stages of maturation. We demonstrate that all secreting B cells and B cell lines secrete assembly intermediates in addition to completed, covalent pentameric and hexameric IgM polymers. A fraction of assembly intermediates exit the endoplasmic reticulum as individual components, mature through the Golgi without undergoing further assembly, and most, if not all, are secreted. While the majority of IgM assembly intermediates have exposed thiols and are contained within the endoplasmic reticulum where they can be utilized for oligomerization, maturing assembly intermediates found in the Golgi and extracellular space are completely oxidized. Thus, while the retention of unpolymerized IgM is highly efficient, the retention system lacks the ability to distinguish fully oxidized assembly intermediates from fully oxidized completed polymers. The molecular mechanisms that may contribute to this aspect of IgM biogenesis and their implications for the concept of thiolmediated retention are discussed.
Bridging the gap between community ecology and historical biogeography: niche conservatism and community structure in emydid turtles

Historical (phylogenetic) biogeography and community ecology were once integrated as part of the broader study of organismal diversity, but in recent decades have become largely separate disciplines. This is unfortunate because many patterns studied by community ecologists may originate through processes studied by historical biogeographers and vice versa. In this study, we explore the causes of a geographic pattern of community structure (habitat use) in the emydid turtle assemblages of eastern North America, with more semi-terrestrial species of the subfamily Emydinae in the north and more aquatic species of Deirochelyinae in the south. Specifically, we address the factors that prevent northern emydines from invading southern communities. We test for competitive exclusion by examining patterns of range overlap, and test for the role of niche conservatism using analyses of climatic and physiological data based on a multilocus molecular phylogeny. We find no support for competitive exclusion, whereas several lines of evidence support the idea that niche conservatism has prevented northern emydines from dispersing into southern communities. Our results show how understanding the causes of patterns of historical biogeography may help explain patterns of community structure.
Use of Gabapentin in the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the role of gabapentin for the treatment of neuropathic pain.DATA SOURCES:Clinical literature was identified through MEDLINE (from 1990 to October 1999). Key search terms were gabapentin and pain.DATA SYNTHESIS:Neuropathic pain can be a problematic, chronic syndrome that is frequently refractory to current drug treatments. Gabapentin is a newer generation antiepileptic drug that is commonly used in treatment of neuropathic pain. An evaluation of clinical trials using gabapentin to treat neuropathic pain was performed.CONCLUSIONS:Gabapentin appears to be effective in treating various neuropathic pain disorders. Gabapentin may have advantages over current therapies, such as a favorable safety profile and lack of drug interactions; however, cost issues and limited experience may limit the use of gabapentin as a first-line option.
Human Category Learning

Much recent evidence suggests some dramatic differences in the way people learn perceptual categories, depending on exactly how the categories were constructed. Four different kinds of category-learning tasks are currently popular-rule-based tasks, information-integration tasks, prototype distortion tasks, and the weather prediction task. The cognitive, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging results obtained using these four tasks are qualitatively different. Success in rule-based (explicit reasoning) tasks depends on frontal-striatal circuits and requires working memory and executive attention. Success in information-integration tasks requires a form of procedural learning and is sensitive to the nature and timing of feedback. Prototype distortion tasks induce perceptual (visual cortical) learning. A variety of different strategies can lead to success in the weather prediction task. Collectively, results from these four tasks provide strong evidence that human category learning is mediated by multiple, qualitatively distinct systems.
Identification of the immobilization antigens of Paramecium by their cyanogen bromide cleavage patterns

Immobilization antigens from 12 serotypes of three stocks of Paramecium tetraurelia and from one serotype of one stock of P. primaurelia were isolated and purified. Purified proteins were cleaved with cyanogen bromide, and the patterns of the fragment peptides were determined by electrophoresis on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. It was shown that each of the serotypes of stock 51 of P. tetraurelia has an antigen that produces a characteristic and unique pattern. Consequently, the antigens can be identified by their patterns. Antigens from the allelic serotypes tested had identical patterns. The method is sensitive enough for the investigation of small sample volumes, and useful as a simple biochemical technique for the identification of serotypes.
Blind equalizers of multichannel linear-quadratic FIR Volterra channels

Blind equalization of general Volterra models has not been addressed, despite its practical value in communications, acoustics, and physiological modeling. Relying upon diversity (sufficient number of multiple outputs), we establish existence and uniqueness conditions which guarantee that single-input, FIR nonlinear Volterra channels can be perfectly but blindly equalized using linear FIR equalizers. Apart from a minimal order persistence-of-excitation condition (also present with input-output approaches), the inaccessible input is allowed to be deterministic or random and of unknown color or distribution. With the kernels also satisfying a certain co-primeness condition, we develop direct blind equalizers which by-pass the channel estimation step. Preliminary simulations corroborate our analytical results.
CIRCUMSTANCES IN SUPPLEMENTARY HOMICIDE REPORTS: VARIETY AND VALIDITY*

This paper presents a critical examination of homicide circumstances as reported in supplementary homicide reports (SHR). Different types of homicides can be distinguished by the circumstance codes and victim/offender relationship recorded on the SHR. Delineating murder by type invites analysis of this offense from a victimization perspective–homicides have much in common with nonlethal offenses. Different types of homicide present different policy problems to police. The paper also discusses various sources of error in SHR data, which must be recognized by researchers interested in theoretical or policy questions.
The future of breastfeeding in the face of HIV-1 infection: science and policy.

This book presents a comprehensive and detailed overview of transmission of HIV-1 to the infant via the infected mother’s breast milk. There is no question that breast milk is the ideal food for the infant—with numerous nutritional, immunologic, cognitive, and psychological benefits for the mother/infant dyad, it is a food evolutionarily designed and uniquely tailored to the needs of the developing infant. Promotion of breastfeeding is now recognized throughout the world—and especially in resource-limited settings—as one of the most critical interventions to prevent infant and young child mortality [1–4]. Derrick Jelliffe, one of the founding fathers of developing world pediatrics and child health/nutrition, aptly described the result of promotional practices of the formula industry in the 1960s and 1970s as “commerciogenic malnutrition” [5–7].
Green Jobs Career Pathways: A Qualitative Study of the Early Startup Experiences of Two Federally Funded Green Jobs Training Partnerships in the United States

The ProblemIn light of the 2008 recession, new government investment to stimulate the development of new green markets has been unprecedented. One area that has received significant attention is wo...
Sensorless speed control for DC permanent magnetic motors

DC permanent magnetic motors are widely used in industry for their high reliability and low cost. The accuracy of motor speed control is a key issue. It is desirable that the motor speed be controlled within a given band under various known or unknown disturbances. Cost associated with the sensors that directly or indirectly measure the motor speed makes many existing control designs not production viable. In this paper, we study the challenging task of controlling the speed of sensorless DC permanent magnetic motors. The feasibility of such controller design is evaluated by simulation in the Matlab/Simulink environment first. Different type of controllers are analyzed and compared. The new controller, Closed Loop Speed Control, is tested in an ABS system and shown to be as good as a controller with a position sensor.
Reduced PCR cycling time amplification using AmpFℓSTR® Identifiler® kit

To reduce the DNA profiling time, DNA samples were amplified using AmpFlSTR® Identifiler® kit at reduced PCR cycling time amplification method without addition of any enhancement buffers or enzymes. The results showed no significant difference in the quality of the profiles produced compared to those produced in the manufacturer recommended condition. This study contributed in saving almost 25% of the time needed for PCR amplification without compromising the quality of the profiles.
Quantum Universality, Computability, & Complexity

In this chapter we surveyed issues of complexity, computability, and universality in the quantum and classical domains. Although there is no function a quantum computer can compute that a classical computer cannot also compute, given enough time and memory, there are computational tasks, such as generating true random numbers and teleporting information, that quantum computers can do but which classical ones cannot.
Performance analysis of solar thermophotovoltaic conversion enhanced by selective metamaterial absorbers and emitters

Abstract By converting broadband sunlight into narrowband thermal radiation matched to the bandgap of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells, solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) systems could potentially reach a high conversion efficiency far exceeding the Shockley–Queisser limit. However, actual STPV systems exhibit much lower efficiency due to non-idealities in solar absorbers, thermal emitters and TPV cells. In this work, the STPV system with selective metamaterial solar absorber and emitter is investigated, whose conversion efficiency is between 8% and 10% with concentration factor varying between 20 and 200. This conversion efficiency is remarkably enhanced compared with the conversion efficiency of less than 2.5% for the STPV system employing black absorbers and emitters. The sidewall emission losses from the absorber–emitter module and the non-unity view factor between the thermal emitter and TPV cell will diminish the performance of the STPV system, whose effects are also quantitatively discussed in this work. Furthermore, the non-planar STPV systems with larger emitter–absorber area ratios are investigated, whose conversion efficiency can reach up to 12.6% under 200 suns when the emitter is four times as large as the absorber.
Subtleties in the Emergency Care of Elderly Patients with Biliary Disease

The management of acute biliary disease in the elderly population can be a challenging endeavor. Older patients often present with atypical symptoms or advanced disease, which can further complicate the treatment options. A treating physician must have a high index of suspicion for biliary disease as a cause of acute intra-abdominal emergencies in the elderly patient that presents with vague abdominal complaints. While the initial workup of these patients is similar to their younger counterparts, the utilization of advanced imaging modalities can often assist in clarifying the diagnosis. The successful treatment of an elderly patient with an acute biliary emergency must take many factors into account. Any decision to proceed with emergency surgery on an elderly patient should be predicated on thorough pre-operative cardiopulmonary risk stratification as well as the utilization of frailty scores. Candid discussions should be held with the patient and his/her family in order to highlight the benefits and risks of any invasive intervention and the associated increased mortality rate since not all patients will be a reasonable operative candidate. For patients deemed to have an appropriate mortality risk for surgical intervention, both laparoscopic and open approaches to cholecystectomy may be safely deployed in the elderly population. Elderly patients with acute biliary disease are often not suitable candidates for emergency surgery, due to the duration of their symptoms, delayed presentation, multiple underlying comorbidities, or acute physiological derangements. Thus, it is imperative that treating physicians understand the many non-operative management strategies that exist to take care of acute biliary disease in this specific patient population.
Subglacial hydrology at Rink Isbrae, West Greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance

Marine-terminating outlet glaciers discharge most of the Greenland ice sheet's mass through frontal ablation and meltwater runoff. While calving can be estimated by in situ and remote sensing observations, submarine melting and subglacial meltwater transport are more challenging to quantify. Here we investigate the subglacial hydrology of Rink Isbrae, a fast-flowing West Greenland tidewater glacier, using time-lapse photography, modeled runoff estimates and daily satellite imagery from 2007 to 2011. We find that sediment plumes appear episodically at four distinct locations across the terminus, and last between 2 h and 17 d. This suggests short-term variability in discharge and the existence of persistent pathways. The seasonal onset of sediment plumes occurs before supraglacial lake drainages, shortly after the onset of runoff, and only after the wintertime ice melange has begun disintegrating. Plumes were also visible after the cessation of runoff (23 ± 5 d), which is indicative of subglacial storage. The lack of either a seasonal velocity change or a correspondence between meltwater availability and plume occurrence suggests that the subglacial system persists in a state of inefficient drainage. Subglacial hydrology at tidewater glaciers is of critical importance in understanding dynamics at the ice front.
Research of Application of MDA in the Construction of Agricultural GIS Application System

With the deeply application of GIS in agricultural sector,the development of agriculture GIS application system is moving in the specific,complex and specialized.Aiming at the existed shortages of the current agricultural GIS application system,such as lack of unification among conceptual model,data model,metadata standards,limitation of database integration,by analyzing the MDA framework and development process,combined with software reuse ideas and the MDA approach,this paper proposed a MDA-based development mode for building agricultural GIS applications,and described some key technologies for spatial database model construction.With examples,it also discussed the feasibility,advantages and disadvantages in constructing agricultural GIS application system based on MDA method.
AIDS virus antibody testing and survey of related knowledge among overseas Chinese people in Qingtian county from 2005 to 2010

Objective:To understand the existing situation of overseas Chinese population with HIV infection and their understanding of related knowledge,in order to provide decision-making basis for AIDS prevention and control work.Methods: Cluster sampling method was adopted for 9860 overseas Chinese from 31 villages and towns to detect HIV antibodies,and 2759 overseas Chinese were conducted questionnaire investigation,then EPIinfo software was used for statistical analysis on survey results.Results: 11 Chinese staff were confirmed with positive HIV antibody.Knowing rate of 9 items of AIDS knowledge among overseas Chinese was 49.8%,the overall AIDS awareness need to be further improved,their knowledge for transmission route of AIDS is not enough.Conclusion: Positive rate of overseas Chinese population with HIV antibody was 0.11%.Their knowledge about AIDS was still on the low level,so relevant departments should strengthen the propaganda interventions,further improve Chinese HIV/AIDS awareness of protection.
Uses of a Silk-Derived Biological Scaffold for Static Facial Suspension: A Case Series of a New Technique

Introduction : Static facial suspension has been traditionally approached with autologous tissues. Objective : We report the use of a new technique for static facial suspension that utilizes SeriÂ® surgical scaffold (Allergan, Irvine, CA), a silk-derived biological matrix. Participants : Patients with upper lid, brow or midface ptosis, ectropion, or oral incompetence, who previously had autologous suspension procedures with incomplete correction. Results : Six patients were included in this case series. One patient had upper lid ptosis from cranial nerve 3 palsy. One patient exhibited ectropion and midface ptosis from cranial nerves 6 and 7 palsies. Two patients displayed lower lid ectropion from various etiologies. One patient had undergone congenital nevus excision resulting in ectropion and brow ptosis, while the final patient had oral incompetence from burn contracture. All patients showed early clinical improvement, without complications. Conclusion : This case series highlights the versatility of a new technique for static facial soft tissue suspension. SeriÂ® surgical scaffold is ready-to-use, easy to secure, provides no donor site morbidity, and no foreign body is present long-term. It has proven to be a useful tool for revisionary procedures where anatomical structures are believed to be either scarred or too lax to provide strong suspension.
Spontaneous and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-activated GABA(A) receptor channels formed by epsilon subunit-containing isoforms

A new gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor (GABAR) subunit class, epsilon, has recently been cloned and shown to form functional channels when coexpressed with both alpha and beta subunits. We report that the combination of alpha1beta3epsilon subunit subtypes expressed in L929 cells produced functional chloride ion channels that were both spontaneously active and gated by the application of extracellular GABA. When cells were voltage-clamped at -75 mV in the whole-cell configuration, holding currents of 50 to 300 pA associated with increased noise were consistently recorded. The application of pentobarbital and loreclezole, which increase GABAR currents, increased the holding current, whereas the application of zinc and picrotoxin, which reduce GABAR currents, reduced the holding current in a concentration-dependent manner. Coexpression of alpha1beta3gamma2L, alpha1beta3delta, alpha1epsilon, beta3epsilon, alpha1beta3, or epsilon subtypes did not produce holding currents that were sensitive to picrotoxin (30 microM). Cells expressing alpha1 beta3epsilon subtypes had concentration-dependent GABAR currents that were potentiated by pentobarbital, loreclezole, and lanthanum and inhibited by zinc and furosemide. Spontaneous and GABAR single-channel currents from alpha1beta3epsilon receptors had single-channel conductances of approximately 24 pS. The biophysical properties and the effects of allosteric modulators were similar for spontaneous and evoked GABAR currents, suggesting that a single GABAR isoform was responsible for both currents. These data extend the pharmacological characterization of epsilon-containing GABARs and demonstrate that incorporation of the epsilon subunit permits spontaneous channel gating while preserving the structural information necessary for GABA sensitivity.
Sociologic study of food habits--a review. I. Diversity in diet and scalogram analysis.

For success in changing and/or improving food intake patterns, the nutrition educator can benefit from a sociologic orientation. The authors propose an approach adapted from the sociologist's armamentarium.
Lung Function Trajectories in World Trade Center-Exposed New York City Firefighters Over 13 Years: The Roles of Smoking and Smoking Cessation

Background World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed Fire Department of the City of New York firefighters lost, on average, 10% of lung function after September 11, 2011, and >10% developed new obstructive airways disease. There was little recovery (on average) over the first 6 years. Follow-up into the next decade allowed us to determine the longer-term exposure effects and the roles of cigarette smoking and cessation on lung function trajectories. Methods We examined serial measurements of FEV 1 from March 11, 2000, to September 10, 2014, among 10,641 WTC-exposed Fire Department of the City of New York firefighters with known smoking and body weight histories. Results The median number of FEV 1 measurements during follow-up was 9; 15% of firefighters arrived at the WTC during the morning of September 11, 2001; and 65% never smoked. Firefighters arriving the morning of September 11, 2001 averaged lower lung function than did lesser exposed firefighters; this difference remained significant during most of follow-up ( P 1 P 1 P P P Conclusions Thirteen years after September 11, 2001, most firefighters continued to show a lack of lung function recovery, with the trajectory of decline differing by WTC exposure and smoking status. Unlike the immutable effect of WTC exposure, we demonstrated the benefit on lung function of smoking cessation in this unique occupational/environmental cohort.
Roots of Healing Music

Hanser explains that, in ancient healing rituals and ceremonies, music was an essential element to connect with the Divine. Music was an important communication tool, as it was deemed an expression of the human spirit. When communities sought order, they welcomed the order of music, and its ability to ground and settle participants of rituals. Some societies saw it as a key to understanding the world, and used mantras and nādā (or sound) yoga, as regular practices. Within contemporary models of music therapy, Hanser demonstrates how the philosophies of multiple cultures are combined and modified to create an integrative model for wellness and optimal health. Music therapy aims to reveal the inner healer in everyone.
Locating material defects via wavefield demixing with morphologically germane dictionaries

This article introduces a methodology for the detection and localization of structural defects in solid media using morphological demixing algorithms. The demixing algorithms are designed to separa...
Reduction of Mutagenic Potentials in Milk: Effects of Ammonia Treatment on Aflatoxin-Contaminated Cottonseed.

Milks obtained from cows fed rations containing aflatoxin-contaminated cottonseed, ammonia-treated aflatoxin-contaminated cottonseed, and uncontaminated cottonseed were tested for mutagenic potential using the Salmonella /mammalian microsome mutagenicity assay using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100. Standard assay protocol was used with S-9 liver homogenate added. Samples including whole milk, nonfat dry milk powder, cream, and reconstituted whole milk were applied directly to the plates in triplicate. As a control, samples of whole milk, reconstituted whole milk, and nonfat dry milk powder from cows fed uncontaminated feed were spiked with aflatoxin B1 and tested for mutagenic activity. High levels of mutagenic activity were observed in all samples from cows exposed to aflatoxin-contaminated cottonseed and the aflatoxin-spiked milks. This high activity was not evident in whole milk and whole milk component samples from cows fed the ammonia-treated aflatoxin-contaminated cottonseed or nonaflatoxin containing cottonseed. A low level of mutagenic potential was evident in whole milk from the ammonia treated group using TA100 tester strain.
Political participation, personality, and the conditional effect of campaign mobilization

Why are some people more responsive to campaign mobilization than others? I argue that the composition of a person's core personality makes some people more responsive to mobilization cues than others. However, the degree to which personality alters the effectiveness of mobilization also depends on the type of political participation for which people are being mobilized. I explore the determinants of political participation by looking at the interaction between the Big-5 traits of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability and the intensity of campaign environments. This paper demonstrates that despite the possible ameliorative effect mobilization has on unequal patterns of political participation, an enduring source of participatory inequality may very well be rooted in a person's core psychological structure.
Computational design of telescoping structures

Telescoping structures are valuable for a variety of applications where mechanisms must be compact in size and yet easily deployed. So far, however, there has been no systematic study of the types of shapes that can be modeled by telescoping structures, nor practical tools for telescopic design. We present a novel geometric characterization of telescoping curves, and explore how free-form surfaces can be approximated by networks of such curves. In particular we consider piecewise helical space curves with torsional impulses, which significantly generalize the linear telescopes found in typical engineering designs. Based on this principle we develop a system for computational design and fabrication which allows users to explore the space of telescoping structures; inputs to our system include user sketches or arbitrary meshes, which are then converted to a curve skeleton. We prototype applications in animation, fabrication, and robotics, using our system to design a variety of both simulated and fabricated examples.
Why we don't want another "Synthesis".

High-level debates in evolutionary biology often treat the Modern Synthesis as a framework of population genetics, or as an intellectual lineage with a changing distribution of beliefs. Unfortunately, these flexible notions, used to negotiate decades of innovations, are now thoroughly detached from their historical roots in the original Modern Synthesis (OMS), a falsifiable scientific theory. The OMS held that evolution can be adequately understood as a process of smooth adaptive change by shifting the frequencies of small-effect alleles at many loci simultaneously, without the direct involvement of new mutations. This shifting gene frequencies theory was designed to support a Darwinian view in which the course of evolution is governed by selection, and to exclude a mutation-driven view in which the timing and character of evolutionary change may reflect the timing and character of events of mutation. The OMS is not the foundation of current thinking, but a special case of a broader conception that includes (among other things) a mutation-driven view introduced by biochemists in the 1960s, and now widely invoked. This innovation is evident in mathematical models relating the rate of evolution directly to the rate of mutation, which emerged in 1969, and now represent a major branch of theory with many applications. In evo-devo, mutationist thinking is reflected by a concern for the “arrival of the fittest”. Though evolutionary biology is not governed by any master theory, and incorporates views excluded from the OMS, the recognition of these changes has been hindered by woolly conceptions of theories, and by historical accounts, common in the evolutionary literature, that misrepresent the disputes that defined the OMS. Reviewers: This article was reviewed by W. Ford Doolittle, Eugene Koonin and J. Peter Gogarten.
Demyelinating Disease: Evolution of a Paradigm

Multiple sclerosis was at one time viewed as a spiritual (God-given) disorder; only much later was it recognized as a scarring process. With advancing scientific knowledge, it was seen as a primarily demyelinating disease, later as thromboembolic in origin, and finally as inflammatory and destructive, probably an immunologic response to exogenous (infectious) agents or to one or more autoantigens. The pathogenesis of lesions was first ascribed to antibody, later to inflammatory cells, acting via a panoply of mediators, such as cytokines, adhesion molecules, chemokines, and complement components. It is now recognized as a complex disorder, in which many genetically controlled elements interact. Research on model diseases in experimental animals, both autoimmune and initiated by viral infection, has guided research on MS and similar demyelinating disorders of the CNS and PNS.
Kinetics of the Aqueous Phase Reactions of Atmospherically Relevant Monoterpene Epoxides

Laboratory and field measurements have demonstrated that an isoprene-derived epoxide intermediate (IEPOX) is the origin of a wide range of chemical species found in ambient secondary organic aerosol (SOA). In order to explore the potential relevance of a similar mechanism for the formation of monoterpene-derived SOA, nuclear magnetic resonance techniques were used to study kinetics and reaction products of the aqueous-phase reactions of several monoterpene epoxides: β-pinene oxide, limonene oxide, and limonene dioxide. The present results, combined with a previous study of α-pinene oxide, indicate that all of these epoxides will react more quickly than IEPOX with aqueous atmospheric particles, even under low-acidity conditions. As for α-pinene oxide, the observed products can be mainly rationalized with a hydrolysis mechanism, and no long-lived organosulfate or nitrate species nor species that retain the β-pinene bicyclic carbon backbone are observed. As bicyclic ring-retaining organosulfate and nitrate s...
Stochastic Switching of SHE-MTJ as a Natural Annealer for Efficient Combinatorial Optimization

Efficient computing models for combinatorial optimization problems, like the Ising spin model, have been researched intensively as an alternative to the von-Neumann based general-purpose computing. The bottleneck mainly stems from the fact that the computing complexity of such optimization problems increases exponentially with the size of the problem. Although efficient heuristic algorithms have been designed for such combinatorial problems, yet hardware implementations of such top-down approaches suffer from complex control requirements and frequent memory accesses. Interestingly, unique device characteristics of the recent emerging devices, such as stochastic spintronic devices, can potentially pave the way for efficient hardware implementation of such combinatorial optimization problems. In this work, we leverage stochastic switching of nano-magnets in presence of thermal noise to implement an efficient combinatorial optimization solver and demonstrate its feasibility by solving realistic NP-complete problems.
Catalyst: Advancing Polymer Science by Revisiting Known Plastics

Bradley Olsen earned his PhD in chemical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT. Since December 2009, he has led a research group in the area of polymer and biopolymer science. Bryan Boudouris earned his PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Minnesota and is the Robert and Sally Weist Associate Professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering and Department of Chemistry at Purdue. His team focuses on the polymer chemistry, polymer physics, and end-use application of macromolecules for energy and clean-water applications.
Psychosomatic Medicine in Primary Care

The theoretical basis of Psychosomatic Medicine is the biopsychosocial model system. This system describes the interactions among the biological, psychological, and social processes that are involved, to different extents, in each disease. In many Western countries, basic knowledge about recognizing psychological and psychosomatic disorders and problems, counseling and providing emotional support, and providing referrals to health specialists are included in the training of medical students and postgraduate doctors. The objectives of the psychosomatic approach are to build bridges between the various clinical disciplines to overcome the mind–body dichotomy and to stress the importance of understanding the interactions among biology, psychology, and social factors in every patient, independent of the primary pathology that is being treated. These objectives imply both a system-based perspective and knowledge of the biological, psychological, and social subsystems and their interactions. The psychosomatic approach focuses on the doctor–patient relationship and on an integrative strategy for diagnosing and treating patients. Educating and training the somatic clinician to integrate psychosomatic aspects of medical care into his/her daily work has become a well-accepted priority for training and research.
Humanized Mouse Versus Non-human Primate Models of HIV-1 Infection

Animal models are critical for biomedical research including human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV-1). Asian non-human primate (NHP) macaques and humanized mice (hu-mice) are the two best available models of HIV-1 infection of humans. Here, we compare and contrast the pros and cons of NHP and hu-mouse models of HIV-1 infection of humans in general; discuss in detail which model is more relevant in studying HIV-1 transmission and vaccine, and what aspects of these models need to be further improved in order to meet the HIV-1 research need.
Top-Down versus Bottom-Up Patterning of Polymers

Self assembling block copolymer thin films offer a route to lithographic patterning at length scales smaller than can be achieved by photolithography. Their use relies on three key challenges. First, sufficient mobility must be imparted to polymer chains so that polymer chains may assemble, either by heating above the blocks’ glass transition temperature or by solvent annealing. Second, directing the assembly to gain predictable patterns with long-range order and controlled morphology orientation – commonly by graphoepitaxy or chemically patterned surfaces. Finally, because the polymers themselves are often not of use in applications, block copolymer lithography is used to transfer the assembled pattern to other useful materials. Here we review recent work in these three areas.