cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Heteromeric, but not homomeric, connexin channels are selectively permeable to inositol phosphates.

Previous work has shown that channels formed by both connexin (Cx)26 and Cx32 (heteromeric Cx26/Cx32 hemichannels) are selectively permeable to cAMP and cGMP. To further investigate differential connexin channel permeability among second messengers, and the influence of connexin channel composition on the selectivity, the permeability of inositol phosphates with one to four phosphate groups through homomeric Cx26, homomeric Cx32, and heteromeric Cx26/Cx32 channels was examined. Connexin channels were purified from transfected HeLa cells and from rat, mouse, and guinea pig livers, resulting in channels with a broad range of Cx26/ Cx32 aggregate ratios. Permeability to inositol phosphates was assessed by flux through reconstituted channels. Surprisingly, myoinositol and all inositol phosphates tested were permeable through homomeric Cx32 and homomeric Cx26 channels. Even more surprising, heteromeric Cx26/Cx32 channels showed striking differences in permeability among inositol phosphates with three or four phosphate groups and among isomers of inositol triphosphate. Thus, heteromeric channels are selectively permeable among inositol phosphates, whereas the corresponding homomeric channels are not. There was no discernible difference in the permeability of channels with similar Cx26/Cx32 ratios purified from native and heterologous sources. The molecular selectivity of heteromeric channels among three inositol triphosphates could not be accounted for by simple connexin isoform stoichiometry distributions and therefore may depend on specific isoform radial arrangements within the hexameric channels. Dynamic regulation of channel composition in vivo may effectively and efficiently modulate intercellular signaling by inositol phosphates.
The Legal Status of Medical Marijuana

Objective:To review the legal status of medical marijuana in the US.Data Sources:Relevant publications were located using LexisNexis (1982–October 2006), WestLaw (1996–October 2006), BNA Health Law Reporter (1996–October 2006), MEDLINE (1996–October 2006), EMBASE (1980–October 2006), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970–October 2006), and an Internet search targeting government sites using the key words medical marijuana.Study Selection and Data Extraction:Federal and state medical marijuana laws were examined. Relevant cannabinoid-based drug products were reviewed. Federal and State Supreme Court and Appeal level cases involving medical marijuana were evaluated.Data Synthesis:Marijuana is regulated as a Schedule I controlled substance and its use is prohibited under federal law. Dronabinol and nabilone are synthetic cannabinoids approved by the Food and Drug Administration and Sativex is a cannabis-based extract being evaluated in Phase III trials. The federal government sponsors a single patient...
Argonaute MID domain takes centre stage.

Two recent papers, one in EMBO reports and one in Nature give us the first eukaryotic structures of Argonaute MID domains; providing a structural basis for the 5′-nucleotide recognition of the guide strand and a possible explanation for the allosteric regulation of RNA binding.
Pleistocene Refugia and Holocene Expansion of a Grassland-Dependent Species, the Black-Footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes)

Abstract Climate change during the late Quaternary has been implicated as the cause of both massive range shifts and extinction events. We combined molecular marker data and previously published fossil data to reconstruct the late Quaternary history of a grassland-dependent species, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), and to determine whether populations from Pleistocene refugia in the Columbia Basin, eastern Beringia, and Great Plains persisted into the Holocene and Recent eras. Using DNA extracted from 97 museum specimens of extirpated populations, we amplified 309 bp of the mtDNA control region, and 8 microsatellite markers from the nuclear genome. Overall haplotype diversity from 309 base pairs (bp) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region was low (5 haplotypes, nucleotide diversity = 0.001 ± 0.001 SD) and was contained within a single phylogenetic clade. The star phylogeny and unimodal mismatch distribution indicated that a rapid range expansion from a single Pleistocene refugium occurred....
Modeling of Hydrogen Retention and Outgassing from Co-Deposits with Distributed Energy States

A hydrogen retention/outgassing model with distributed hydrogen energy states in material is proposed. The model considers hydrogen in co-deposits to occupy continuous energy states arising from all realizable local atomic arrangements in a medium with some degree of disorder. The outgassing flux of hydrogen from a sample is described via occupancy evolution of energy states corresponding to free hydrogen. We apply the model to analysis of hydrogen thermo-desorption experiments on beryllium co-deposits produced in a Be capable sputter magnetron system at the UCSD PISCES laboratory. It is demonstrated that the model can describe experimentally obtained time evolutions of hydrogen desorption flux from co-deposits in different thermal outgassing regimes. (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
RASTER: a light-weight routing protocol to discover shortest overlay routes in randomized DHT systems

In this paper, we propose a novel routing protocol, RASTER, that approximates shortest overlay routes between nodes in randomized DHTs. Unlike previously proposed routing protocols, RASTER encodes and aggregates routing information. Its simple bitmap-encoding scheme together with the proposed RASTER routing algorithm enable a performance edge over current overlay routing protocols. RASTER provides a forwarding overhead of merely a small constant number of bitwise operations, a routing performance close to optimal, and a better resilience to churn. RASTER also provides nodes with the flexibility to adjust the size of the maintained routing information based on their storage/processing capabilities. The cost of storing and exchanging encoded routing information is manageable and grows logarithmically with the number of nodes in the system.
Effect of Surface-Limited Reactions on the Properties of Kevlar® Fibers

Aromatic diamides have been investigated as models for aramid fibers to select reagents and conditions suitable for surface-controlled heterogeneous reactions on Kevlar filaments. Reactions have been done on Kevlar fibers to introduce functional groups designed to interact with matrix resins and improve adhesion in fiber reinforced composites. The effects of reaction environments and conditions on the mechanical properties and surface topography of modified fibers have been investigated. For Kevlar fibers modified by nitration and subsequent reduction of nitro groups to amino groups, significant concentrations of functional groups have been introduced on the surface with minor strength losses and with improvements in the interfacial shear strength measured with an epoxy resin using the microbond technique. Surface-controlled chlorosulfonation reactions (in solutions of chlorosulfonic acid and by exposure to chlorosulfonic acid vapor) have also been investigated for Kevlar fibers to introduce chlorosulfony...
Protestant Clergy Debate the Nation's Vocation, 1898–1899

A review in the New York Times observed that “the church abandoned the Negro in the 19th century and took up Hugh Hefner in the 20th. Churchmen in America have always been followers instead of leaders.” While this wry comment is not entirely true, it has enough truth to keep clergymen from undue selfesteem. It is clear, on the other hand, that churchmen on occasion have been leaders as well as followers. An equally wry comment attributed to Lincoln Steffens provides a clue to the clergy's leadership role. Americans, Steffens remarked, never learned to do wrong knowingly. Whenever they compromised with principle, they had to find a pious justification for it. Clerical leadership was especially prominent in the period prior to World War I, since this was a time when the American public looked to the pulpit for its pious justifications.
Theorem on bounded PRF

A theorem on positive real functions is proven and some of its consequences demonstrated. For any bounded positive real function Z and an arbitrary function z analytic in the unit disk, the function W = (1 + zZ)/(1 - zZ) is a positive real function.
The SSRL injector control system

The control system for the SSRL injector for SPEAR is based on one central VAX/VMS workstation with additional workstations as consoles and standard CAMAC equipment for data transmission and hardware interfacing. The CAMAC crates are connected to the central workstation by using a serial highway. The central computer has the database that describes all the accelerator hardware characteristics and the actual accelerator status information. The application software is built on top of the central database and is independent of the specific hardware characteristics. >
Effects of Amrinone on Cardiac Index, Venous Oxygen Saturation and Venous Admixture in Patients Recovering from Cardiac Surgery

The hemodynamic and oxygen transport effects of low-dose (0.75 mg/kg loading dose + 10 micrograms/kg/min infusion, n = 12) and high-dose (2.25 mg/kg loading dose + 20 micrograms/kg/min infusion, n = 12) amrinone were evaluated in extubated patients 24 h after CABG. At both doses, amrinone significantly (p less than 0.05) increased HR, but decreased mean arterial, mean pulmonary artery, central venous and pulmonary artery occlusion pressures. High-dose amrinone significantly decreased systemic vascular resistance. Arterial oxygen saturation decreased significantly following both low- (97.8 +/- 0.4 to 95.6 +/- 0.9 percent) and high- (98.8 +/- 3.4 to 93.9 +/- 1.2 percent) dose amrinone. Pulmonary shunt increased significantly following low-dose amrinone and markedly increased Qs/Qt after high-dose amrinone. Although amrinone significantly increased cardiac index in a dose-dependent fashion (low:3.0 +/- 0.2 to 3.3 +/- 0.3 L/min/m2; high:2.7 +/- 0.2 to 3.4 +/- 0.2 L/min/m2), mixed venous oxygen saturation did not change. Thus, mixed venous oxygen saturation may not predict the hemodynamic response to amrinone infusion in postoperative surgical patients.
Stochastic reconstruction and electrical transport studies of porous cathode of Li-ion batteries

The goal of this work is to study electrical transport within multiphase structures of Li-ion electrodes through numerical microstructure reconstruction and direct evaluation. Li-ion battery electrodes at different compositions were numerically reconstructed mimicking the experimental fabrication process. Electrode material agglomeration and interfaces between components, as well as possible implication on battery performance were explored. Distribution of electrode phases (active material particles, binder, conducting phase carbon), and electrical conductivity were studied upon the reconstructed 3D microstructure. The electrical conductivity of the electrodes was estimated from the reconstructed electrode structures, and compared favorably with those measured experimentally using four-probe tests. It has been found that macro mass transport properties of the numerically reconstructed electrodes depend critically on nanoscale physical characteristics of electrode components and their contact. This work revealed the localized nanoscale electrode complexity and transport processes in great details, which are currently difficult to investigate experimentally or by alternative models.
Models for call hand-off schemes in cellular communication networks

In the past much work that considered the problem of hand-off in cellular communications systems, relied exclusively on simulation models. However, it is possible to create reasonable and tractable analytical models which provide additional insight and permit computation of theoretical performance characteristics. This paper presents an underlying methodology that can be used to model a variety of issues and schemes relating to the problem of hand-off. The approach, which is based on the notion of multi-dimensional birth-death processes, is rich enough to permit representation of many factors, including (among others): a broad class of probability laws that describe the underlying driving processes such as session holding times and platform mobility factors; platforms that support multiple calls; various priority oriented schemes; and, both large and small user populations. Some example applications and performance results are given.
Numerical Study of Microwave Scattering in Breast Tissue via Coupled Dielectric and Elastic Contrasts

A computational investigation of microwave scattering in mechanically (or acoustically) excited breast tissue is conducted to explore the feasibility of combining dielectric and elastic properties contrasts to enhance breast cancer detection. The mechanical excitation induces tissue-dependent displacements in the heterogeneous breast interior, which modulate the scattered microwave signals. Sheet boundary conditions are implemented using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method to efficiently compute the Doppler component of the scattered microwave signals. Simulation results for a 2D numerical phantom testbed demonstrate increased microwave scattering contrast between malignant and normal fibroglandular inclusions when elastic properties are exploited.
Partially Purified Collagen from Refiner Discharge of Pacific Whiting Surimi Processing

The physicochemical properties of acid-soluble collagen (ASC) from refiner discharge and the partially purified collagen (PPC) from both the refiner discharge and the fish skin were evaluated. Yield of collagen from refiner discharge was 34% higher in PPC than ASC. Mercury, lead, cadmium, and chromium contents of PPC from refiner discharge were not detected. There was no difference in the pattern of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) between ASC and PPC from refiner discharge. PPC from refiner discharge showed better functional properties than that from skin and was similar to ASC: whiteness, solubility, emulsifying activity, and cooking stability. Therefore, PPC from refiner discharge could be used as a new resource.
Dyakonov–Tamm waves guided by the planar interface of an isotropic dielectric material and an electro-optic ambichiral Reusch pile

The existence of an electromagnetic surface wave—classified as a Dyakonov–Tamm wave—guided by the planar interface of an isotropic, homogenous, dielectric material and an electro-optic ambichiral Reusch pile was theoretically established for various values of a dc electric field applied normal to the interface. For low magnitudes of the dc electric field, the spread of values of the refractive index ns of the isotropic partnering material supporting the surface waves is exceedingly small. A sufficient increase in the magnitude of the dc electric field considerably widens that range. The allowed propagation directions, in all cases, constitute an angular sector of several tens of degrees in width.
Metscape: a Cytoscape plug-in for visualizing and interpreting metabolomic data in the context of human metabolic networks

Summary: Metscape is a plug-in for Cytoscape, used to visualize and interpret metabolomic data in the context of human metabolic networks. We have developed a metabolite database by extracting and integrating information from several public sources. By querying this database, Metscape allows users to trace the connections between metabolites and genes, visualize compound networks and display compound structures as well as information for reactions, enzymes, genes and pathways. Applying the pathway filter, users can create subnetworks that consist of compounds and reactions from a given pathway. Metscape allows users to upload experimental data, and visualize and explore compound networks over time, or experimental conditions. Color and size of the nodes are used to visualize these dynamic changes. Metscape can display the entire metabolic network or any of the pathway-specific networks that exist in the database.
Estrogen receptor β as a therapeutic target for promoting neurogenesis and preventing neurodegeneration

Both estrogen receptor (ER) subtypes, ERα and ERβ, are expressed throughout the brain of both rodents and humans. Analyses from our laboratory and others reveal that both ERα and ERβ can contribute to estrogen-induced protection against neurodegenerative insults. ERβ plays a key role in regulating brain development and estrogen-induced promotion of neurogenesis and memory. These findings suggest that targeting ERβ could generate safe and effective therapeutics to promote neuronal defense mechanisms and to maintain cognitive function, while simultaneously reducing adverse effects in reproductive organs such as breast and uterus. A number of naturally occurring ERβ selective phytoestrogens have been identified and multiple structurally diverse ERβ selective ligands have been synthesized. A comparison of the models of complexes between selective agonists and either ERα or ERβ reveals that two variant amino acid residues in the ligand binding site, Leu384 and Met421 in ERα, which are replaced with Met336 and Ile373, respectively, in ERβ, are the key molecular constituents underlying the binding of selective ligands to either ER subtype. Development of an ERβ brain-selective estrogen receptor modulator, in particular a natural source formulation, has great potential benefit for peri- and post-menopausal women who face age-associated cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. In addition, an ERβ selective formulation might promote neuronal defense mechanisms and cognition in men, while reducing the risk of prostate cancer. Drug Dev. Res. 66:103–117, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Neuromuscular blocking effects of cisatracurium and its antagonism with neostigmine in a canine model of autosomal-recessive centronuclear myopathy.

Background Centronuclear myopathy (CNM) is a rare congenital condition associated with skeletal muscle weakness. Patients with CNM may have decreased acetylcholine receptor expression and a reduced number of releasable quanta. Such perturbations could affect the time-course of neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) and their antagonism with cholinesterase inhibitors. As a result of the rarity of CNM, prospective data regarding NMBA use in this subpopulation is scarce. We evaluated the neuromuscular blocking effects of cisatracurium and its antagonism with neostigmine in a canine model of CNM. Methods Six dogs with congenital autosomal-recessive CNM and six controls received cisatracurium 0.15 mg kg −1 i.v. under general anaesthesia and intermittent positive pressure ventilation. Neuromuscular function was monitored with acceleromyography. When the second response (T2) to train-of-four (TOF) stimulation returned, neostigmine 0.04 mg kg −1 (with glycopyrrolate) were administered i.v. The onset time, time to spontaneous return of T2, and the time to reach a TOF ratio ≥0.9 after neostigmine administration were recorded. Results Onset time was no different between groups. Median (interquartile range) time to return of T2 was 27 (24–31) min for control dogs and 26 (22–31) min for CNM dogs ( P =0.93). After neostigmine administration, a TOF ratio ≥0.9 was reached in 12 (10–15) min and 17 (16–19) min in control and CNM, respectively ( P =0.005). Conclusions The spontaneous return of T2 was not different between groups. However, neostigmine-facilitated recovery was significantly slower in dogs with CNM. Canine autosomal-recessive CNM does not preclude the use of cisatracurium or its antagonism with neostigmine.
Carrefour S.A.

In August 2002, the French retail giant Carrefour S.A. is considering alternative currencies for raising ¬750 million in the Eurobond market. Carrefour's investment bankers believe that the bonds can be issued at 5.25% in euros, 5.375% in British pounds, 3.625% in Swiss francs, and 5.5% in U.S. dollars. Despite the high nominal coupon rate and the lack of any material business activity in the United Kingdom, the British-pound issue appears to provide the lowest cost of funds. This case is designed to introduce topics in international finance such as interest-rate parity, currency risk management, and the Eurobond market. Students are tasked with exploring why forward-currency exchange rates vary from spot rates and proposing a Eurobond financing strategy for Carrefour.
3D Rotations

The author describes four methods to achieve rotations using elementary concepts from algebra, analytic geometry, and calculus.
Treatment of osteomyelitis in charcot foot with single-stage resection of infection, correction of deformity, and maintenance with ring fixation.

Background:There is both increased interest and awareness in diabetes-associated Charcot foot arthropathy. The number of affected patients will likely increase as the incidence of both diabetes and...
Step Contours in the Development of Periodically Modulated Vicinal Surfaces

The connection between the atomic step distributions and decay modes of modulated surfaces is the focus of this paper. We have examined the arrangements of atomic steps on real 1- and 2-D periodic structures by scanning tunneling microscopy(STM) and low energy electron microscopy(LEEM) and have followed their development at temperature by LEEM. The steps present on the surface due to small ‘miscuts’ from exact singular planes can have major effects on both the mechanisms of shape development and the actual shapes that result. Major differences exist in the modes of development between 1- and 2-D periodic step arrays. Some of these observations have led us to a method for producing arrays of step-free Si(001) regions that may have application in device processing.
Use of Everolimus After Multivisceral Transplantation: A Report of Two Cases

Inhibitors of mechanistic target of rapamycin are used in solid organ transplant procedures to avoid calcineurin inhibitor complications, including nephrotoxicity and malignancy. We present 2 cases of multivisceral transplantation for neuroendocrine tumor (NET) for which everolimus was implemented for its potential to prevent NET recurrence as well as preserve renal function. The first case was complicated by NET recurrence in the liver before initiation of everolimus. After initiation of everolimus, the patient developed a ventral hernia and elevated aminotransferase levels with nonspecific biopsy findings. The second case was complicated by cytomegalovirus infection with elevated everolimus trough levels as well as acute cellular rejection. Everolimus was reinitiated in both cases in addition to decreasing the dosage of tacrolimus, and there were no further complications. Everolimus was beneficial in stabilizing renal function in both patients and has the theoretical potential to prevent recurrence of NET.
Analysis of ultrasonic examination of 13 584 workers in Wuxi City

[Objective]to analyze abdominal viscera characteristics and laws by ultrasonic inspection.[Methods]Retrospective analysis was conducted for abdominal ultrasound examination results of 13 584 workers in 2011.[Results] Of the 13 584 examinees,6 010 were found to have some health problems.The positive finding rate was 44.24%.The fatty liver was on 4 576 cases with the rate of 33.67%,followed by gallbladder polyps with a detection rate of 4.86%.The most disease incidence was increase with age.The significant difference of incidence was found between different genders and different enterprises.[Conclusion]Ultrasound examination can clearly show early disease of organs,which can increase the rate of disease detection,and provide a reliable basis for prevention and health education.
Pooling of Immunomagnetic Separation Beads Does Not Affect Detection Sensitivity of Six Major Serogroups of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli in Cattle Feces.

ABSTRACT Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) of the serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145, often called non-O157 STEC, are foodborne pathogens. Cattle are asymptomatic reservoirs for STEC; the organisms reside in the hindgut and are shed in the feces, which serve as the source of food product contaminations. Culture-based detection of non-O157 STEC involves an immunomagnetic separation (IMS) step to capture the specific serogroups in complex matrices, such as feces. The IMS procedure is time consuming and labor intensive because of the need to subject each fecal sample to six individual beads. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate whether pooling of IMS beads affects sensitivity of non-O157 STEC detection compared with using individual IMS beads. The evaluation was done by comparing detection of serogroups in feces spiked with pure cultures (experiments 1 and 2) and from feces (n = 384) of naturally shedding cattle (experiment 3). In spiked fecal samples, detection with pools of thr...
A block mixture model to map eQTLs for gene clustering and networking

To study how genes function in a cellular and physiological process, a general procedure is to classify gene expression profiles into categories based on their similarity and reconstruct a regulatory network for functional elements. However, this procedure has not been implemented with the genetic mechanisms that underlie the organization of gene clusters and networks, despite much effort made to map expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) that affect the expression of individual genes. Here we address this issue by developing a computational approach that integrates gene clustering and network reconstruction with genetic mapping into a unifying framework. The approach can not only identify specific eQTLs that control how genes are clustered and organized toward biological functions, but also enable the investigation of the biological mechanisms that individual eQTLs perturb in a signaling pathway. We applied the new approach to characterize the effects of eQTLs on the structure and organization of gene clusters in Caenorhabditis elegans. This study provides the first characterization, to our knowledge, of the effects of genetic variants on the regulatory network of gene expression. The approach developed can also facilitate the genetic dissection of other dynamic processes, including development, physiology and disease progression in any organisms.
Application of a Universal Evaluation Post-Processor

Purpose of Lesson To demonstrate the application of a universal post-processor for quantifying the local discretization errors in both finite element and finite difference solutions.
Data movement optimizations for independent MPI I/O on the Blue Gene/Q

Abstract Scalable high-performance I/O is crucial for application performance on large-scale systems. With the growing complexity of the system interconnects, it has become important to consider the impact of network contention on I/O performance because the I/O messages traverse several hops in the interconnect before reaching the I/O nodes or the file system. In this work, we present a route-aware and load-aware algorithm to modify existing bridge node assignment in the Blue Gene/Q (BG/Q) supercomputer. We reduce the network contention and reduce the write time by an average of 60% over the default independent I/O and by 20% over collective I/O on up to 8192 nodes on the Mira BG/Q system. Our algorithm routes 1.4× fewer messages through the bridge nodes which connect to the I/O nodes on the BG/Q. Our algorithm also reduces the average distance of a compute node from a bridge node, and thus lessens the network load, and decreases I/O time.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Wildlife Detection and Observation Technologies at a Solar Power Tower Facility.

Solar power towers produce electrical energy from sunlight at an industrial scale. Little is known about the effects of this technology on flying animals and few methods exist for automatically detecting or observing wildlife at solar towers and other tall anthropogenic structures. Smoking objects are sometimes observed co-occurring with reflected, concentrated light (“solar flux”) in the airspace around solar towers, but the identity and origins of such objects can be difficult to determine. In this observational pilot study at the world’s largest solar tower facility, we assessed the efficacy of using radar, surveillance video, and insect trapping to detect and observe animals flying near the towers. During site visits in May and September 2014, we monitored the airspace surrounding towers and observed insects, birds, and bats under a variety of environmental and operational conditions. We detected and broadly differentiated animals or objects moving through the airspace generally using radar and near solar towers using several video imaging methods. Video revealed what appeared to be mostly small insects burning in the solar flux. Also, we occasionally detected birds flying in the solar flux but could not accurately identify birds to species or the types of insects and small objects composing the vast majority of smoking targets. Insect trapping on the ground was somewhat effective at sampling smaller insects around the tower, and presence and abundance of insects in the traps generally trended with radar and video observations. Traps did not tend to sample the larger insects we sometimes observed flying in the solar flux or found dead on the ground beneath the towers. Some of the methods we tested (e.g., video surveillance) could be further assessed and potentially used to automatically detect and observe flying animals in the vicinity of solar towers to advance understanding about their effects on wildlife.
Long Term Care Nursing Services: An Empirical Investigation and Marketing Implications

Marketing as a useful conceptual framework has been extended to a variety of nonprofit sectors, including the health care industry. This paper illustrates the development and application of a multivariate technique in the context of nursing facilities specializing in the long term patient care. Empirical findings from the exploratory investigation are presented and are discussed with some implications for administrators of the long term care nursing homes.
Fiber Products of Measures and Quantum Foundations

With a view to quantum foundations, we define the concepts of an empirical model (a probabilistic model describing measurements and outcomes), a hidden-variable model (an empirical model augmented by unobserved variables), and various properties of hidden-variable models, for the case of infinite measurement spaces and finite outcome spaces. Thus, our framework is general enough to include, for example, quantum experiments that involve spin measurements at arbitrary relative angles. Within this framework, we use the concept of the fiber product of measures to prove general versions of two determinization results about hidden-variable models. Specifically, we prove that: (i) every empirical model can be realized by a deterministic hidden-variable model; (ii) for every hidden-variable model satisfying locality and lambda-independence, there is a realization-equivalent hidden-variable model satisfying determinism and lambda-independence.
Neuropeptide systems and new treatments for nicotine addiction.

The mildly euphoric and cognitive enhancing effects of nicotine play a role in the initiation of smoking, while dysphoria and anxiety associated with smoking cessation contribute to relapse. After the acute withdrawal phase, smoking cues, a few cigarettes (i.e., lapse), and stressors can cause relapse. Human and animal studies have shown that neuropeptides play a critical role in nicotine addiction. The goal of this paper is to describe the role of neuropeptide systems in the initiation of nicotine intake, nicotine withdrawal, and the reinstatement of extinguished nicotine seeking. The reviewed studies indicate that several drugs that target neuropeptide systems diminish the rewarding effects of nicotine by preventing the activation of dopaminergic systems. Other peptide-based drugs diminish the hyperactivity of brain stress systems and diminish withdrawal-associated symptom severity. Blockade of hypocretin-1 and nociceptin receptors and stimulation of galanin and neurotensin receptors diminishes the rewarding effects of nicotine. Both corticotropin-releasing factor type 1 and kappa-opioid receptor antagonists diminish dysphoria and anxiety-like behavior associated with nicotine withdrawal and inhibit stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking. Furthermore, blockade of vasopressin 1b receptors diminishes dysphoria during nicotine withdrawal, and melanocortin 4 receptor blockade prevents stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking. The role of neuropeptide systems in nicotine-primed and cue-induced reinstatement is largely unexplored, but there is evidence for a role of hypocretin-1 receptors in cue-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking. Drugs that target neuropeptide systems might decrease the euphoric effects of smoking and improve relapse rates by diminishing withdrawal symptoms and improving stress resilience.
Responses of legumes and grasses to non-, moderate, and dense shade in Missouri, USA. II. Forage quality and its species-level plasticity

Annual screenings of forage grasses and legumes for shade tolerance were conducted from 1996 to 2001 in the outdoor Shade Tolerance Screening Laboratory at the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center, University of Missouri. Forty-three forages were grown under non-shade (100% of full sunlight), moderate shade (45%), and dense shade (20%) without competition for water and nutrients. Annual forage yield (g pot−1) was equal to or higher under moderate shade for all 43 forages and under dense shade for 31 forages than the non-shade control. Relative distance plasticity index (RDPI), a measure of a species’ adaptability to different environments, ranged from 0.104 to 0.567. Cool season grasses had the lowest RDPI (0.183), followed by warm season grasses (0.252), warm season legumes (0.274), and cool season legumes (0.314), indicating grasses tend to be more shade tolerant than legumes in terms of forage yield. Overall, most grass and legume forages have the potential to produce equivalent or higher yields in agroforestry practices featuring light to moderate shade than forages in open pastures when competition from tree roots is minimized.
Resuspension of Escherichia coli and MS2 Bacteriophage from Bed Sediment in Irrigation Canals

AbstractSediments are known to be potential reservoirs of pathogenic microorganisms that can influence the microbial quality of the overlaying water. A set of laboratory experiments was conducted t...
Partisan Self-Stereotyping: Testing the Salience Hypothesis in a Prediction of Political Polarization

The goal of this study is to theorize the relationship between the news and political polarization through a lens of group dynamics. Consistent with the salience hypothesis of the category fit and category accessibility interaction, we first articulate when and how news exposure makes news consumers think of themselves as Democrats or Republicans instead of unique individuals. Drawing on group polarization literature, we further hypothesize partisan self-stereotyping—an automatic reaction to partisan identity salience—as a mechanism behind the polarizing effect of partisan conflict-framed news. Two experimental studies provide a consistent pattern of support for our hypotheses. The implications of these findings were discussed in comparison with extant studies testing similar news effects under a different theoretical framework—namely, motivated reasoning.
The Geography of Underrepresentation: Latino Student Success and Absence at a Predominantly White Public University:

This study examines the reasons for underrepresentation in enrollment of Latinos in comparison with all students at a predominantly White public university. Using a quantitative analysis of student...
Development of fuzzy logic and genetic fuzzy commodity price prediction systems — An industrial case study

Supply Chain Managers in major automobile or construction industries often rely on the forecasted commodity prices to negotiate with suppliers where products are produced via respective commodity. For example, the natural rubber price is a key factor affecting cost in buying tires in automobile industries. This industrial case study proposes two commodity pricing prediction systems, Fuzzy Logic and Genetic Fuzzy Systems. By reviewing five main factors for this predictive model: (1) historical quarterly NR price; (2) the prices for crude oil; (3) China GDP growth rate; (4) synthetic rubber price index; (5) world natural rubber consumption/production ratio, the Genetic Fuzzy system outperforms the Fuzzy Logic system.
Fundamental frequency as a cue to postvocalic consonantal voicing: Some data from speech perception and production

Several recent studies by Lehiste have reported that changes in fundamental frequency (F0) can serve as a cue to perceived vowel length and, furthermore, that the perceived lengthening of the vowel can influence perception of the voicing feature of stop consonants in syllable-final position. In Experiment 1, we replicated Lehiste’s basic results for stop consonants in final position. Experiment 2 extended these results to postvocalic fricatives. The final consonant in syllables of intermediate vowel duration was more often perceived as voiced when F0 was falling than when F0 was monotone. In Experiment 3, we examined the F0 contours produced by eight talkers before postvocalic stop consonants and fricatives in natural speech for minimal pairs of words differing in voicing. The amount of change of F0 over the vowel was no greater before voiced than voiceless consonants, suggesting that the earlier perceptual effects cannot be explained by appealing to regularities observed in the production of F0 contours in vowels preceding postvocalic consonants.
Network Neutrality and the Economics of Congestion

The Supreme Court's Brand X decision has reignited the debate over "network neutrality," which would limit broadband networks' authority to impose restrictions on end users' ability to access content, run applications, and attach devices and to charge content and application providers higher prices for higher levels of quality of service. In this Article, Professor Christopher Yoo draws on the economics of congestion to propose a new analytical framework for assessing such restrictions. He concludes that when transaction costs render metering network-usage uneconomical, imposing restrictions on bandwidth-intensive activities may well enhance economic welfare by preventing high-volume users from imposing uncompensated costs onlow-volume users. Usage of bandwidth-intensive services can thus serve as a useful proxy for congestion externalities just a sport usage served as a proxy for consumption of lighthouse services in Coase's classic critique of the economic parable of the lighthouse. In addition, content delivery networks and other commercial caching systems represent still another innovative way to manage the problems associated with congestion and latency that would before closed by network neutrality. Furthermore, allowing network owners to differentiate their services can serve as a form of price discrimination that can mitigate the sources of market failure that require regulatory intervention in the first place. This frame work suggests that broadband policy would be better served by embracing a network diversity principle that would eschew a one-size-fits-all approach and would allow network providers to experiment with different institutional forms until it can be shown that a particular practice is harmingc ompetition. At most, concerns that telephone companies may prevent end users from using their digital subscriber line(DSL) connections to access Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provide support for targeted regulatory intervention. They do not justify a blanket prohibition of end user restrictions that network neutrality proponents envision.
Interactions in Water Across Interfaces: From Nano to Macro-Scale Perspective

In this work we first revisit the surface forces between two (model) mineral surfaces, mica, across an aqueous solution (KNO3) over a broad range of concentrations. The significantly improved resolution available from the extended surface force apparatus (eSFA) allows the distinction of hydrated-ion structures. Above concentrations of 0.3 mM, hydrated-ion correlations give rise to multiple collective transitions (4 ± 1 A) in the electrical double layers upon interpenetration. These features are interpreted as the result of hydrated-ion ordering (layering), and are responsible for hydration forces, in contrast to the traditional interpretation invoking water layering. At concentrations as low as 20 mM, attractive surface forces are measured in deviation to the DLVO theory. The estimated hydration number of the ions in the confined electrolyte is significantly below that of the bulk. A confined 1–3 nm thick ionic layer condensates at concentrations >100 mM, i.e. below bulk saturation. This study leads to new insights into crystal growth in nano-confinement that differs from the classical theory of crystallization. Finally, the impact of the properties of confined water or solution and in-pore crystallization on the macro-scale description of soil water distribution is discussed.
HPV and Oral Cancer: The need to integrate oral health practices into nursing education

BACKGROUND:Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer has increased in recent decades. With a shortage of dental professionals, nurses may be key in detecting oral cancer and educating patients.OBJECTIVES:The aim of this study is to assess students in nursing and dental programs for
A High-Efficiency Low-Profile Zero-Voltage Transition Synchronous Non-Inverting Buck-Boost Converter With Auxiliary-Component Sharing

This paper presents an efficiency-enhanced low-profile zero-voltage-transition (ZVT) synchronous non-inverting buck-boost converter for 48-V tens-of-Watt output applications. By only using three auxiliary components shared between two switching nodes, zero-voltage switching (ZVS) of all four power switches and zero-current switching of the auxiliary switch are achieved in the proposed converter to minimize the switching power loss. Compared with the existing ZVT topologies, the proposed converter reduces the required number of auxiliary components, thereby decreasing the converter volume and power loss. In addition, the proposed converter can be configured into the buck mode with full ZVS capability to support a wide input range from 36 V to 90 V. Experimental results show that the proposed converter can operate at 1 MHz and deliver a maximum output power of 75 W. The measured peak power efficiencies achieve 92.5% and 96.3% in the buck-boost mode and buck mode, respectively. Compared with the state-of-the-art ZVS-based buck-boost counterpart, the proposed converter reduces the volume of the auxiliary circuit by ~2 times even with 28% increase in the maximum load current and two times reduction in the switching frequency, and provides higher peak power efficiencies in both buck-boost and buck modes.
Lower extremity stiffness when running in minimalist, traditional, and ultra-cushioning shoes

Differences in running mechanics between minimalist (MIN) and traditional (TRAD) running shoes have been the subject of much research in the last decade. More recently, ultra-cushioning (ULTRA) sho...
Altered connectivity in depression: GABA and glutamate neurotransmitter deficits and reversal by novel treatments

The mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology and treatment of depression and stress-related disorders remain unclear, but studies in depressed patients and rodent models are beginning to yield promising insights. These studies demonstrate that depression and chronic stress exposure cause atrophy of neurons in cortical and limbic brain regions implicated in depression, and brain imaging studies demonstrate altered connectivity and network function in the brains of depressed patients. Studies of the neurobiological basis of the these alterations have focused on both the principle, excitatory glutamate neurons, as well as inhibitory GABA interneurons. They demonstrate structural, functional, and neurochemical deficits in both major neuronal types that could lead to degradation of signal integrity in cortical and hippocampal regions. The molecular mechanisms underlying these changes have not been identified but are thought to be related to stress induced excitotoxic effects in combination with elevated adrenal glucocorticoids and inflammatory cytokines as well as other environmental factors. Transcriptomic studies are beginning to demonstrate important sex differences and, together with genomic studies, are starting to reveal mechanistic domains of overlap and uniqueness with regards to risk and pathophysiological mechanisms with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These studies also implicate GABA and glutamate dysfunction as well as immunologic mechanisms. While current antidepressants have significant time lag and efficacy limitations, new rapid-acting agents that target the glutamate and GABA systems address these issues and offer superior therapeutic interventions for this widespread and debilitating disorder.
Innovative Socketable and Surface-Mountable BGA Interconnections

This paper introduces a universal BGA technology that can reliably be used both in sockets and SMT applications. Socketing and SMT have been driving two different board-level interconnection technologies: LGA for socketing, to provide a stable and reworkable mechanical contact, and BGA for SMT, for low-temperature metallurgical bonding to the board. Enabling socketable BGAs has become critical to simplify microprocessor package designs and converge towards a unique product. The approach presented in this research involves the use of multi-layered coatings on solder spheres. These coatings consist of a diffusion barrier/noble metal combination designed based on diffusion models to meet the requirements of both applications. Standard surface finish Electroless Ni Immersion Au (ENIG) has been studied in detail as a first approach. This paper focuses on the challenges faced in plating ENIG on traditional SAC solder balls and a new process combining sputtering and electrodeposition is demonstrated as a promising alternative to uniformly coat solder spheres with a controlled thickness of ENIG without corrosion. A first demonstration of attaching these coated spheres to the package is also presented.
Law Reviews and Technology: Copyright Law from Noah Webster to Tasini and the Importance of Written Contracts

This short paper was prepared as a handout for a presentation given for the National Conference of Law Reviews, Baltimore, MD, March 22, 2001. It discusses copyright law from the perspective of law professors and other authors who plan to submit, or have submitted articles to law reviews, and the cases which have resulted from the interface of new technology making law review articles available in non-print media and digital formats. Readers are advised as to what rights to have assigned to them in light of new technology.