cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using mobile technology for cardiac rehabilitation: a review and framework for development and evaluation.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the leading cause of death in the United States.[1][1] Cardiac rehabilitation is an evidence-based, cost-effective, multidisciplinary program of individual patient risk factor assessment and management, exercise training, and psychosocial support for patients with
A Rapid Dipstick Test for Histamine in Tuna

Abstract This study describes the production of a solid phase assay (dipstick test) for histamine in tuna based on the coupling of diamine oxidase to a peroxidase/dye system. The optimized dipstick preparation consisted of a diamine oxidase/peroxidase/Stabilcoat mixture layered onto a tetramethylbenzidine color strip. The assay was linear to 1.0 mM histamine (RSQ = 0.994) and the minimum detectable concentration was 0.07 mM corresponding to 2.3 mg% in tuna extracts. Quality control samples gave intra and interassay precisions of 9.14–9.84 %CV and 7.08–13.86 %CV respectively. Similarly, the assay was accurate (p> 0.05) for both low and high controls. Histidine and cadaverine did not interfere with the assay whereas putrescine reacted slightly with the dipstick. Histamine determinations of fresh and spoiled tuna gave good agreement between the dipstick method and both the official reference and modified AOAC flurometric methods.
On the Fingerprinting Capacity Games for Arbitrary Alphabets and Their Asymptotics

The fingerprinting capacity has recently been derived as the value of a two-person zero-sum game. In this paper, we study the fingerprinting capacity games with \(k\) pirates in a new collusion model called the mixed digit model, which is inspired by the combined digit model of Skoric et al. For small \(k\) , the capacities along with optimal strategies for both players of the game are obtained explicitly. For large \(k\) , we extend our earlier asymptotic analysis for the binary alphabet with the marking assumption to \(q\) -ary alphabets with this general model and show that the capacity is asymptotic to \(A/(2k^{2} \ln q)\) where the constant \(A\) is specified as the maximin value of a functional game. Saddle-point solutions to the game are obtained using methods of variational calculus. For the special case of \(q\) -ary fingerprinting in the restricted digit model, we show that the interleaving attack is asymptotically optimal, a property that has motivated the design of optimized practical codes.
Long-term impact of discontinued or reduced calcineurin inhibitor in patients with chronic allograft nephropathy.

Long-term impact of discontinued or reduced calcineurin inhibitor in patients with chronic allograft nephropathy. Background Chronic allograft nephropathy is the major cause of progressive renal failure in renal transplant recipients. It has no definitive treatment. Methods One hundred eighteen renal transplant recipients with declining kidney function and biopsy-proven chronic allograft nephropathy had their cyclosporine or tacrolimus dose reduced or discontinued with either the addition or continuation of mycophenolate mofetil and low-dose steroids at a mean of 853.3 days post-transplantation. Their renal function was modeled before and after this intervention by two methods: A least-square regression was used to assess the decay of renal function after the intervention and to compare that with the slope pre-intervention, whereas a hinge regression line method was used to assess the correlation of the intervention with the inflection point and the impact of the intervention on the decay of renal function. Mean follow-up was 651.0 days after the intervention. Serum creatinine at the time of intervention was 2.8 ± 0.9 mg/dL in the reduced dose cyclosporine ( N = 67) and reduced dose tacrolimus ( N = 33) groups, and was 2.7 ± 0.7 mg/dL in the group with discontinued calcineurin inhibitor ( N = 18). Results Using the least-square method, 91.7% of the no calcineurin inhibitor group, 51.6% of the reduced dose cyclosporine group, and 59.3% of the reduced dose tacrolimus group had improved or lack of deterioration in slope after the intervention. Using the hinge regression line method, there was a statistically significant correlation of the inflection point with the intervention ( P = 0.001). Moreover, there was a similar relationship with stabilized or improved graft function observed with the hinge regression line method and the least-square method, as 72.2% of the calcineurin inhibitor withdrawal group, 54.4% of reduced-dose cyclosporine group, and 40% of the reduced-dose tacrolimus group had improved the slope of decay of renal function or lack of deterioration after the inflection point. The difference between the calcineurin inhibitor withdrawal group and the reduced-dose cyclosporine/tacrolimus groups on the decay in renal function was significant ( P = 0.038) with the least-square method and nearly significant ( P = 0.056) using the hinge regression line method. Conclusion This intervention was safe, well tolerated, and associated with a minimal risk of acute rejection. We conclude that the reduction and possible withdrawal of calcineurin inhibitors may be necessary to slow the rate of loss of renal function in patients with chronic allograft nephropathy and deteriorating renal function.
Vibration-insensitive 61-MHz micromechanical disk reference oscillator

A low phase noise oscillator referenced to a 61-MHz vibrating wine-glass disk resonator with anchor-isolating supports designed to suppress microphonics has posted (without any compensation) a measured acceleration sensitivity at least as good as Γ ∼0.2ppb/g for vibration frequencies up to 2kHz and in all directions, yielding a vector magnitude Γ less than 0.5ppb/g. Remarkably, this result is at least 30 times better than previous work using a similar wine-glass disk resonator and is the best mark among MEMS-based oscillators to date, including those aided by feedback compensation circuits. It is also more than an order of magnitude better than an off-the-shelf crystal oscillator and is now comparable with low sensitivity oven-controlled crystal oscillators (OCXO's). Such low sensitivity to environmental vibration by a tiny uncompensated MEMS-based oscillator is expected to enable harsh environment and military applications that require stable and compact reference oscillators.
SU‐FF‐T‐392: Simulating Absorbed Dose: Finite Element Modeling of a Stirred Water Calorimeter

Purpose: To conduct detailed, finite‐element studies of heat transfer mechanisms — in particular, heat conduction and forced convection due to stirring — in a room‐temperature watercalorimeter intended as a new primary standard for high‐energy photondosimetry.Method and Materials: The direct realization of absorbed dose is achieved by measurement of watertemperature change of order 0.24 mK per Gy of radiation, posing experimental difficulties due to thermal and electrical noise. Prolonged irradiations can improve the signal‐to‐noise ratio, but the heat‐transfer processes inherent to the calorimeter design can cause systematic errors in the results. We model the calorimeter components and the experimental conditions, and compare the simulation with data obtained experimentally. Results: We find that the simulated temperature history wave form agrees with experimental data if we include the forced convection treatment of the water external to the detection vessel. This is done by artificially raising the thermal conductivity of the water in the stirred region, simulating the actual magnetic stirrer deployed in the phantom. We also investigate artificially constructed scenarios that are difficult to achieve experimentally but offer closed‐form solutions. We decompose both the spatial and temporal components and find that the simulated results indeed agree with the analytical calculation. We proceed to add up all the components such that they represent the results under realistic conditions. Conclusions: Finite‐element modeling of a watercalorimeter provides insights into the effects of heat transfer on the dose determination. The systematic response observed experimentally over a large time scale can be reproduced in the model. When broken up into components, the simulated response can be calculated analytically.
Short-term cost for long-term benefit: Time preference and cancer control.

A tradeoff between short-term costs and long-term gains characterizes many cancer control behaviors, such as behavior change (e.g., quitting smoking), screening (e.g., mammography), and prevention (e.g., healthy diet). One factor that may influence these tradeoffs is time preference, or the value assigned to future outcomes relative to immediate ones. Studies of the relationship between individual differences in time preference and preventive health behaviors, however, have yielded mixed results. Time preference is related to addictive behaviors (e.g., smoking) but not to other preventive health behaviors (e.g., vaccination). This pattern of results suggests that time preference measures reflect an ability to forgo immediate gratification that is applicable to hot behaviors, such as smoking, but not to cold behaviors, such as vaccination.
Discursive geographies: Politics and public narratives of immigration in a Midwestern US city

Immigration has become an object of political contention far from national borders. As migrants and immigrants move into interior cities, border discourses follow them, often propagated by conservative political factions seeking to extend their influence. This article examines one episode of contention around these processes – a struggle among officials, media organizations, and activists to shape the public narrative of a Midwestern U.S by discursively positioning in relation to border processes thousands of kilometers away. Using elements of critical discourse analysis, critical geography, and border studies, the article develops the concept of ‘discursive bordering’ to analyze how policy discourses and political imagery move across national territories, and how “local” actors redefine their own borders, and those of their cities, to resist or support these discursive incursions. Keywords: Policy discourse; political rhetoric; bordering; anti-migrant politics
The process safety guerrilla: Giving your company a future, even if it does not want one

You understand well that a strong process safety program not only prevents incidents but also improves overall operational discipline, quality, efficiency, and profitability. Unfortunately, your management thinks that process safety is some kind of hippie environmentalist thing that will shave a few dollars off quarter-over-quarter growth. If only you could implement the kind of transformative program demonstrated by the Center for Chemical Process Safety founding companies and other industry leaders, unfortunately, you're not at a sufficient level to champion such a transition, and the people at that level are not even in the ballpark, never mind willing to step up to the plate. Some day, maybe soon, the plant will go up in flames, and along with it will go your 401(k) and the livelihoods of your family, friends, and neighbors. Now is the time for the downtrodden to rise up. How? By implementing the time-honed guerrilla strategies used throughout the generations by those who lack the power of position. These strategies include theft, gangs, subterfuge, sabotage, arson, assassination, official corruption, and others. Well… not really. But these “crimes” do suggest legal and effective ways of building a stronger process safety program from the bottom up. This article will summarize ways that clever and persistent “process safety guerillas” have precipitated positive change at their companies. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 2010
Bifurcations and Routes to Chaos in Wave-Structure Interaction Systems

Wave-structure interaction systems are examined in this paper. These systems are characterized by a nonlinear restoring force and a coupled wave-structure drag and inertial exciting force. Stability analyses of system response define domains of primary and secondary resonances and reveal the existence of nonlinear solutions. Local and global bifurcations identify possible routes to chaotic motion and their controlling parameters. The analysis shows that period doubling and tangent bifurcations are enhanced by parametric excitation induced by the wave-structure coupling. Thus, complex dynamics recently uncovered numerically are obtained semianalytically allowing the identification of instabilities and their generating mechanisms.
Mood state and cerebral metabolism in persons with age-associated memory impairment.

Abstract People undergoing medical procedures sometimes experience feelings that may influence the results. In this study, we explore the relationship between changes in mood state self-ratings and cerebral glucose metabolism during positron emission tomography (PET) in persons with age-associated memory impairment (mean age 59.4±9.8 years). Brain regions of interest involved in both mood and memory were examined. Mood ratings of increased boredom correlated significantly with mesial temporal and parietal asymmetry and decreased parietal metabolism. Mood ratings of increased fatigue correlated with basal ganglia asymmetry and the right basal ganglia and left mesial temporal metabolism. These findings suggest that subjective mood state changes during PET may influence metabolism in brain regions implicated in emotion and memory function in people with age-related memory complaints.
Zcs: A zeroth level classifier system

A basic classifier system, ZCS, is presented that keeps much of Holland's original framework but simplifies it to increase understandability and performance. ZCS's relation to Q-learning is brought out, and their performances compared in environments of two difficulty levels. Extensions to ZCS are proposed for temporary memory, better action selection, more efficient use of the genetic algorithm, and more general classifier representation.
Hawkmoth flight stability in turbulent vortex streets.

Shedding of vortices is a common phenomenon in the atmosphere over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. However, it is unclear how these vortices of varying scales affect the flight performance of flying animals. In order to examine these interactions, we trained seven hawkmoths ( Manduca sexta ) (wingspan ~9 cm) to fly and feed in a wind tunnel under steady flow (controls) and in the von Karman vortex street of vertically oriented cylinders (two different cylinders with diameters of 10 and 5 cm) at speeds of 0.5, 1 and 2 m s−1. Cylinders were placed at distances of 5, 25 and 100 cm upstream of the moths. Moths exhibited large amplitude yaw oscillations coupled with modest oscillations in roll and pitch, and slight increases in wingbeat frequency when flying in both the near (recirculating) and middle (vortex dominated) wake regions. Wingbeat amplitude did not vary among treatments, except at 1 m s−1 for the large cylinder. Yaw and roll oscillations were synchronized with the vortex shedding frequencies in moths flying in the wake of the large cylinder at all speeds. In contrast, yaw and pitch were synchronized with the shedding frequency of small vortices at speeds ≤1 m s−1. Oscillations in body orientation were also substantially smaller in the small cylinder treatment when compared with the large cylinder, regardless of temporal or non-dimensional spatial scale. Moths flying in steady conditions reached a higher air speed than those flying into cylinder wakes. In general, flight effects produced by the cylinder wakes were qualitatively similar among the recirculating and vortex-dominated wake regions; the magnitude of those effects, however, declined gradually with downstream distance. * 3D : three-dimensional b : wingspan D : cylinder diameter DLT : direct linear transformation f b : body oscillation frequency f F : feather oscillation frequency f v : vortex shedding frequency l b : body length m b : body mass px, py : pixel coordinates Re : Reynolds number R w : wing length S 1 : one-wing area St : Strouhal number U : airspeed x : downstream distance from cylinder ηw : wingbeat frequency θ : pitch oscillation amplitude υ : kinematic viscosity ϕ : roll oscillation amplitude φA : wingbeat amplitude ψ : yaw oscillation amplitude
The role of cholesterol in the association of endoplasmic reticulum membranes with mitochondria

The unique endoplasmic reticulum (ER) subdomain termed the mitochondria-associated ER membrane (MAM) engages the physical connection between the ER and the mitochondrial outer membrane and plays a role in regulating IP(3) receptor-mediated Ca(2+) influx and the phospholipid transport between the two organelles. The MAM contains certain signaling and membrane-tethering proteins but also lipids including cholesterol. The biophysical role of lipids at the MAM, specifically in the physical interaction between the MAM of the ER and mitochondria, remains not totally clarified. Here we employed the in vitro membrane association assay to investigate the role of cholesterol in the association between MAMs and mitochondria. The purified MAMs and mitochondria were mixed in vitro in a test tube and then the physical association of the two subcellular organelles was quantified indirectly by measuring the presence of the MAM-specific protein sigma-1 receptors in the mitochondria fraction. Purified MAMs contained free cholesterol approximately 7 times higher than that in microsomes. We found that depletion of cholesterol in MAMs with methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβC) significantly increases the association between MAMs and mitochondria, whereas MβC saturated with cholesterol does not change the association. (14)C-Serine pulse-labeling demonstrated that the treatment of living cells with MβC decreases the level of de novo synthesized (14)C-phosphatidylserine (PtSer) and concomitantly increases greatly the synthesis of (14)C-phosphatidylethanolamine (PtEt). Apparently, cholesterol depletion increased the PtSer transport from MAMs to mitochondria. Our findings suggest that cholesterol is an important substrate in regulating the association between MAMs of the ER and mitochondria.
Management of pilocytic astrocytoma with diffuse leptomeningeal spread: two cases and review of the literature

Introduction Leptomeningeal dissemination of juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma (JPA) is a rare event. We report two children with disseminated JPAs treated with a chemotherapeutic agent, temozolomide, after progression of the disease despite surgery, traditional chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy.
A young white dwarf companion to pulsar B1620-26: evidence for early planet formation.

The pulsar B1620-26 has two companions, one of stellar mass and one of planetary mass. We detected the stellar companion with the use of Hubble Space Telescope observations. The color and magnitude of the stellar companion indicate that it is an undermassive white dwarf (0.34 ± 0.04 solar mass) of age 480 × 106 ± 140 × 106 years. This places a constraint on the recent history of this triple system and supports a scenario in which the current configuration arose through a dynamical exchange interaction in the cluster core. This implies that planets may be relatively common in low-metallicity globular clusters and that planet formation is more widespread and has happened earlier than previously believed.
Comparison of rainbow smelt age estimates from fin rays and otoliths

Abstract Rainbow smelt Osmerus mordax, although nonnative, are an important component of the offshore food web in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In Lake Ontario, we estimate ages of rainbow smelt annually to study population dynamics such as year-class strength and age-specific growth and mortality. Since the early 1980s, we have used pectoral fin rays to estimate rainbow smelt ages, but the sectioning and mounting of fin rays are time and labor intensive. Our objective was to assess the feasibility of using otoliths rather than fin rays to estimate rainbow smelt ages. Three readers interpreted the ages of 172 rainbow smelt (60–198 mm total length) based on thin sections of pectoral fin rays, whole otoliths with no preparation, and whole otoliths that had been cleared for 1 month in a 70:30 ethanol : glycerin solution. Bias was lower and precision was greater for fin rays than for otoliths; these results were consistent for comparisons within readers (first and second readings by one individual; three reader...
Short- and long-run adjustments in U.S. petroleum consumption

Long-run adjustments in petroleum consumption are not only larger than short-run adjustments. They may also be motivated by entirely different price events. This analysis shows that new price peaks have both short-run and long-run consumption responses, a result that is starkly different than price changes that track previous price paths. It also establishes significant trend effects where gasoline and residual fuel oil consumption decline over time. The analysis explores these adjustments by establishing long-run cointegrating relationships for different petroleum product groupings. An important implication is that price increases above historical levels may be providing substantially greater incentives for significant long-run demand adjustments than would be the case otherwise.
HOMO LOQUENS: AN ETHOLOGICAL VIEW

Language, it is generally agreed, is the property of man alone on this earth. ‘Animal language’ is a metaphorical term at best, referring to nothing more elaborate than a set of vocal signals that some animals can produce so as to establish contact with their fellows. The range of these signals is niirrow, and their distinctiveness ,%ant. It is possible, indeed easy, to list exhaustively all the different utterances that even the most ‘arti.;ulate’ animal will ever produce in his life, and no member of the species will invent any new signals or utterances. But it is of course inconceivable to record or foretell the different utterances of one human in his lifetime, let alone Gose of the entire species. Animal signals serve to ammunce matters of simple, albeit often vital, import: the approach of an enemy, the staking out of a territorial claim (the singing of birds), the sole possession of food or of a mat{! henceforth imlcccscible to competitors, leadership over a group, and so forth.1) All such signals are of course species specific. They ue triggered by an attitude and a mood created by the animal’s present perceived surroundings. Animal language is made up, then, not of information symbols, but of mood signals.zj
Studies on the formation of collagen. I. Properties and fractionation of neutral salt extracts of normal guinea pig connective tissue.

Some properties of cold neutral salt extracts of fresh guinea pig dermis have been described in terms of viscosity, electrophoresis and sedimentation patterns, partial composition, the collagen content, conditions for extraction of collagen, and the effect of certain enzymes. Viscosity of the extracts depended on the collagen in solution as demonstrated by removal of this protein by precipitation or enzymatic degradation. The intrinsic viscosity of the crude 0.45 M extract, as well as that of the isolated collagen was 14.5, identical with that for collagen dissolved by dilute acid, indicating the same high asymmetry ratio for both. Electrophoresis of the skin extracts revealed a slow moving, high, sharp, poorly diffusing boundary in addition to a pattern superficially resembling that of serum. The ultracentrifuge pattern revealed a slowly sedimenting, hypersharp boundary following a large rapidly diffusing peak. The slow moving boundaries in both patterns were abolished by collagenase or heat precipitation of the collagen fraction. Hyaluronidase had no effect on either pattern. Neutral sulfate, chloride, and phosphate extracted more collagen than did thiocyanate. Very little collagen was extracted at 37°C. as compared with that removed at 3°C. A two stage fractionation procedure employing dilute trichloroacetic acid and ethanol is described for the isolation and purification of soluble collagen from crude extracts.
Molecular Characterization of the Mutant fap3(A22) Allele for Reduced Palmitate Concentration in Soybean

Reduction of the palmitate concentration in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] oil is desirable for reducing the amount of saturated fat in the human diet. Chemical mutagenesis was used to develop the line A22 with the mutant allele designated fap3(A22) that reduces palmitate concentration in the seed oil. The objective of our study was to determine the molecular basis of the fap3(A22) mutation and develop a corresponding molecular marker to assist in future efforts for developing soybean cultivars with low saturated fat. DNA sequence analysis of the GmFATB1a gene of soybean revealed a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) resulting in a nonconservative amino acid substitution that was likely to be detrimental to the function of the 16:0-acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioesterase (TE) enzyme. An association analysis was conducted using F 2 ―derived lines from a cross between the cultivar Archer (Fap3Fap3) and A22 (fap3fap3) that had been analyzed for their palmitate concentration by gas chromatography. Molecular genotyping of these lines established a perfect correlation between lines phenotypically classified as homozygous for the Fap3 allele or homozygous for the fap3(A22) allele based on their palmitate concentration. The polymorphism in the GmFATB1a gene was used to develop a functional, codominant marker that could be used to distinguish the Fap3 and fap3(A22) alleles in segregating populations. This marker will be useful for breeders who are developing low-saturate cultivars with the fap3(A22) allele.
ATP Competitive Protein Kinase C Inhibitors Demonstrate Distinct State-Dependent Inhibition

We previously reported that some ATP competitive protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors are either competitive or uncompetitive inhibitors with respect to substrate peptides. In this report, we demonstrate how the interactions between PKC and inhibitors change PKC activation kinetics. A substrate competitive inhibitor, bisindolylmaleimide I, targets activated PKC and stabilizes PKC in the activated conformation. This leads to transient activation and prolonged deactivation of PKC in the presence of bisindolylmaleimide I. In contrast, an uncompetitive substrate inhibitor, bisindolylmaleimide IV, targets quiescent PKC and stabilizes PKC in the quiescent conformation, which generates slower activation and suppressed translocation upon activation of PKC.
Strong–strong simulation study for the wire compensation of long-range beam–beam effect in LHC

Abstract The wire compensation of long-range beam–beam interactions in LHC was studied with numerical simulation of 10 6 macro-particles up to 10 5 turns. In the simulation, head-on beam–beam interactions at two high-luminosity interaction points of LHC were calculated self-consistently with the particle-in-cell (PIC) method and long-range beam–beam interactions calculated with the soft-Gaussian approximation. Including also the multipole field errors in the LHC lattice, the effectiveness of the compensation was evaluated in terms of the emittance growth. The robustness of the compensation to static and random errors in the electric currents on the wires was also investigated.
Algebraic extensions of an archimedean lattice-ordered group, I

Abstract Within a quite general class of structures, it is shown (pursuing a lead of Bacsich) that an extension A≤B is algebraic according to a definition transplanted from a model-theoretic context of Jonsson (we say, ‘an AE’) if and only if A≤E≤B implies A≤E is epimorphic in the categorical sense. This is valid in the category Arch of archimedean l-groups, with l-homomorphisms, and its subcategory W , whose objects have distinguished weak unit, whose morphisms preserve the weak unit. Here, we focus on W (turning to Arch in a sequel; an understanding of W is necessary first), deploying our theory of epimorphisms developed previously. We find the forbidding pieces of pathology than an AE of an AE need not be an AE, and only rarely does an object have an AE which is also algebraically closed (AC). But still, there are canonical extensions A≤c 3 A≤C[ C A ]≤C[ C Aδ ] with the features: A≤B is an AE if and only if the ideal generated by A in B embeds into c3A; every AE of A embeds into C[ C A] and C[ C A] is minimum for that; C[ C Aδ] is AC, and minimum for that plus containing every AE of A—so A is AC if and only if A = C[ C Aδ ] . The defect that AE's are not composable can be attributed to the fact that there are AE's A≤B with elements of B not order-dominated by A; defining these away produces a ‘perfect theory’. Corollaries of the development are that the c3 objects constitute the least reflective subcategory with each reflection an essential extension, and that this class coincides with the class of extremal subobjects of AC objects.
Discriminative stimulus properties of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in C57Bl/6J mice.

Primarily, rats have served as subjects in Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol's (THC) discrimination studies although other species such as monkeys and pigeons have been used. While the introduction of the knockout and transgenic mice has vastly stimulated the study of the discriminative stimulus effects of drugs there is only a single published report of mice trained to discriminate THC. Thus, this study extended those results by providing a systematic replication that THC serves as an effective discriminative stimulus in mice and by further investigating the mechanisms of action involved in the THC discrimination model in the mouse. Male C57BL/6J mice were trained to discriminate 10 mg/kg THC from vehicle in 2-lever drug discrimination. THC fully and dose dependently substituted for itself. Cannabinoid indoles, except one with low cannabinoid CB(1) receptor affinity, substituted for THC. Anandamide failed to substitute for THC when administered alone but completely substituted when administered with the non-specific fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor, phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride. As expected, nicotine failed to substitute for THC. Lastly, the cannabinoid CB(1) receptor antagonist rimonabant blocked THC's discriminative stimulus effects. Taken together these studies demonstrate THC's ability to produce discriminative stimulus effects as well as demonstrate its pharmacological specificity and mechanism of action in a two-lever drug discrimination mouse model.
Review of Q-FAST interactive testing system

The administration and scoring of paper and pencil measures present a host of logistical problems to clinicians, researchers and educators who rely heavily on these techniques. In addition to the expense of producing and reproducing these materials, the completed measures must be scored, the results must be reduced and recorded and the data must be analyzed. The introduction of human error at any of these steps may compromise the reliability of the obtained data and obstruct its valid interpretation. The Q-FAST computerized testing system is a software package which could improve the efficiency of collection, scoring and analysis of data obtained through such procedures.
A Six-state Study of Institutional Egg Use

Abstract Information pertaining to the institutional use of eggs was obtained by surveying 1478 hospitals, nursing homes, primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and universities in the six states of Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Utah and Virginia. In addition, 250 Colorado restaurants were surveyed. Subject response was 38% for restaurants and 46% for all other institutions. State comparisons revealed significant (P Institution comparisons revealed significant (P Eggs were perceived to be nutritious, colorful and versatile. The major objection to eggs was their cholesterol content. Only 20% disliked eggs because of the cholesterol content while 15% found nothing to dislike.
Generation of Reovirus Core-like Particles in Cells Infected with Hybrid Vaccinia Viruses That Express Genome Segments L1, L2, L3, and S2

Abstract When mouse L fibroblasts are infected with various combinations of recombinant vaccinia viruses possessing thymidine kinase (TK) genes with inserted reovirus genes that encode core components, particles are formed that closely resemble reovirus cores. In cells infected with vaccinia viruses that express reovirus proteins λ1 and σ2, particles are formed that are very similar to reovirus core shells; if, in addition, the cells are also infected with vaccinia virus that expresses protein λ2, particles are formed that also possess the characteristic icosahedrally located projections/spikes that are present on reovirus cores. If, in either case, the cells are also infected with vaccinia virus that expresses the reovirus RNA polymerase, protein λ3, the resultant particles are morphologically identical with those formed in its absence, but also contain protein λ3.
Preliminary examination of the confidential alcohol treatment and education program

The Army instituted the Confidential Alcohol Treatment and Education Pilot in response to concerns that stigma associated with treatment for alcohol abuse may deter soldiers from receiving services...
A note on aggregation of Fechner-Thurstone direct utility functions

Abstract This paper demonstrates that exact aggregation of individual to per capita demand functions is achieved when the Fechner–Thurstone functional form is the underlying direct utility function. The exact aggregation takes place without the restrictive assumptions that characterize systems of demand functions derived from other functional forms.
An empirical model for polarized and cross-polarized scattering from a vegetation layer

An empirical model for scattering from a vegetation layer above an irregular ground surface is developed in terms of the first-order solution for like-polarized scattering and the second-order solution for cross-polarized scattering. The effects of multiple scattering within the layer and at the surface-volume boundary are compensated by using a correction factor based on the matrix doubling method. The major feature of this model is that all parameters in the model are physical parameters of the vegetation medium. There are no regression parameters. Comparisons of this empirical model with theoretical matrix-doubling method and radar measurements indicate good agreements in polarization, angular trends, and k sub a up to 4, where k is the wave number and a is the disk radius. The computational time is shortened by a factor of 8, relative to the theoretical model calculation.
The Role of Fingerspelled Self-Cues during Spelling with a Speech Generating Device by a Child with Autism: A Brief Report

This brief report represents a post-hoc analysis on the use of fingerspelling as a self-cue by a child with autism who was previously taught to spell with a speech generating device under three feedback conditions: auditory (speech output), visual (Liquid Crystal Display), and auditory-visual (Schlosser et al., Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 28:309–319, 1998). During instruction for this study, the child was provided with fingerspelled input across conditions. In coding the videotaped sessions for correct spelling performance, it was noted that this child seemed to use fingerspelling as self-cues as he was entering a letter into the keyboard. The purpose of this post-hoc analysis was to determine whether he used these fingerspelled self-cues more in certain feedback conditions than others. Results revealed that although the child produced fingerspelled self-cues across conditions, he used them most frequently in the auditory condition and least often in the visual condition. It is hypothesized that this child may have self-generated a visual mnemonic as needed (as a function of the condition) in order to facilitate memory retrieval of letters during spelling.
Investigation of the Figure Superiority Effect in Sustained Attention

This study examined whether enhanced perceptual discrimination for targets presented on figural than on ground elements, namely the figure superiority effect, extends to performance on vigilance or sustained attention tasks. In the experimental condition, targets requiring discriminations of line orientation were presented on figure-ground displays that could be organized as a face, a seahorse, and a pineapple, respectively, against a uniform black or white background. A control condition was also employed in which the same targets were presented on a bipartite black/white field. Figure-ground organization did not differentially effect signal detection in the experimental condition. However, perceptual sensitivity was significantly greater for signals appearing in the meaningful figure-ground display than in the control display, which lacked a meaningful figure-ground segregation. Consequently, meaningful figure-ground organization can be a critical psychophysical factor in controlling sustained attention.
Common cycles in seasonally cointegrated time series

Abstract For seasonally cointegrated time series, the Beveridge-Nelson-Stock-Waston-type decomposition is obtained and the conditions for the existence of common cycles are discussed.
On graphite and interstellar extinction

Mie scattering calculation to support theory that interstellar extinction is caused by graphite particles
Prediction, repetition, and erasure in quantum physics : experiment, theory, epistemology

The article considers the epistemology of quantum phenomena and the quantum eraser experiments as reflecting certain essential features of these phenomena, and uses these experiments to introduce a new concept, that of ‘erasure’. This concept is defined by the fact that a given quantum measurement destroys, ‘erases’, the usefulness of actual or even possible information associated with a given quantum system prior to this measurement, for the purposes of predictions concerning the experiments performed on this system after this measurement. The concept of ‘erasure’ allows one to capture certain fundamental aspects of quantum phenomena more sharply than previously, and to differentiate classical and quantum phenomena, and theories in a new way.
Update on vascular catheter infections

Purpose of reviewExtensive reviews of our current understanding of vascular catheter infections have recently been published. This update highlights 22 primary research articles selected from 415 randomized clinical trials and over 2500 other articles on vascular catheter infections published betwee
Promises and pitfalls of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide as a vaccine antigen

Antibodies directed to the Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigens have clearly shown to mediate the most effective immunity to infection caused by LPS-smooth strains. Such strains are major causes of disease in immunocompromised hosts such as burn or cancer patients, individuals in intensive care units, and those who utilize extended-wear contact lenses. Yet producing an effective vaccine composed of non-toxic, immunogenic polysaccharides has been challenging. The chemical diversity among the different O-antigens representative of the 20 major serotypes, plus additional diversity among some O-antigens representing variant subtype antigens, translates into a large degree of serologic variability that increases the complexity of O-antigen specific vaccines. Further complications come from the poor immunogenicity of the major protective epitope expressed by some O-antigens, and a large degree of diversity in animal responses that preclude predicting the optimal vaccine formulation from such studies. Nonetheless human trials over the years of vaccines eliciting O-antigen immunity have been encouraging, though no vaccine has yet been fully evaluated and found to be clinically efficacious. Newer vaccine approaches such as using polysaccharide-protein conjugates and passive therapy with monoclonal or polyclonal immune sera offer some additional means to try and produce an effective immunotherapeutic reagent for this problematic pathogen.
Consistent measurements comparing the drift features of noble gas mixtures

Abstract We present a consistent set of measurements of electron drift velocities and Lorentz deflection angles for all noble gases with methane and ethane as quenchers in magnetic fields up to 0.8 T. Empirical descriptions are also presented. Details on the World Wide Web allow for guided design and optimization of future detectors.
Novel quantum wire infrared photodetectors

This paper describes novel semiconductor quantum wire infrared photodetectors in the long- and very long-wavelength regions. The infrared photodetectors are based on intersubband transitions in semiconductor quantum wires and have the potential for higher operational temperature, increased signal-to-noise ratio, reduced dark current, wider spectral range and sensitivity to normal incident radiation. The quantum wire IR detectors are implemented using a nonlithographic nanostructure fabrication technique that is capable of producing large arrays of semiconductor quantum wires of a variety of materials and on different substrates. This paper describes the operational principles, the design procedure as well as the implementation of the quantum wire photodetectors.
Integrating the Microsoft Kinect With Simulink: Real-Time Object Tracking Example

The introduction of low-cost, relatively high-resolution 3-D sensing systems, like the Microsoft Kinect, has considerable potential in autonomous system applications. One of the impediments to wider Kinect application development is that the available Kinect drivers define C language interfaces. To help fully realize the Kinect's potential, the aims of this paper are 1) to develop a “VU-Kinect ” block which provides easy access to the sensor's camera and depth image streams, and which enables them to be incorporated seamlessly within a higher level, Simulink-based, image-processing and real-time control strategy; 2) to address implementation issues associated with the Kinect, such as sensor calibration; and 3) to show the utility of both the VU-Kinect block and the Kinect itself through a simple 3-D object tracking example.
Conceptual foundations for multidisciplinary thinking

Preface 1. Introduction Part I. The System Concept: 2. Systems, domains, and truth assertions 3. Sysreps and the human mind Part II. Complexity: 4. An index for complexity 5. Thinking about complex systems 6. Feedback as a source of complexity Part III. Structure: 7. Hierarchy as a structural feature: the hierarchy of constitution 8. Interfaces of mutual constraint and levels of control: Polyanyi's principle 9. The theory of dimensions 10. Integrated control information 11. Disciplines at one level: disciplines and the human design process 12. Consistency as a primary criterion: the limits of reductionism and synoptism 13. Operational procedures in forming sysreps for compex systems 14. Examples of multidisciplinary anaylsis 15. The evolution of disciplines, 1500-1900 16. Relations among the disciplines in the twentieth century: similarities and differences Part IV. Fallacies of Projection: 17. Fallacies of projection: illustrations 18. Fallacies of projection: possible sources Part V. Conclusions: 19. What have we learned? A summary of results and conclusions 20. What have we learned? Implications and inferences Appendix A. Implications for education Appendix B. Two standing bets Appendix C. Hypotheses, guidelines, dicta, and queries Appendix D. Glossary References Index.
p53 Induces myocyte apoptosis via the activation of the renin-angiotensin system.

The mechanism by which p53 activates apoptosis in various cell systems is unknown. In the absence of an external death stimulus, p53 and p53-dependent genes, bcl-2 and bax, cannot trigger apoptosis. However, p53 may enhance not only transcription of bax and repress bcl-2, but also may upregulate the local renin–angiotensin system, inducing the formation and secretion of angiotensin II from the cells. To test this hypothesis, adult rat ventricular myocytes were infected with AdCMV.p53, which resulted in downregulation of Bcl-2, upregulation of Bax, and death of 34% of the cells. Gel retardation assays demonstrated p53 binding in the promoters of angiotensinogen and angiotensin II AT1receptor subtype. Angiotensinogen and AT1mRNAs increased in AdCMV.p53 cells and this phenomenon was associated with a 14-fold increase in the secretion of angiotensin II. The AT1receptor blocker losartan and angiotensin II antibody prevented p53-induced apoptosis. Thus, p53 enhances the myocyte renin-angiotensin-system and decreases the Bcl-2/Bax ratio in the cells, triggering apoptosis. The identification of this new pathway in p53-mediated apoptosis may be critical in the alterations of myocardial function in the pathologic heart.
Expression of human salivary protein genes.

Human proline-rich proteins (PRPs) are polymorphic, homologous in sequence, and linked in a cluster called the human salivary protein complex (SPC). Recently this complex was localized to human chromosome band 12p13.2 (Mamulaet al., Cytogenet. Cell Genet. 39:279, 1985). We have isolated a PRP cDNA, EO27, from a human parotid gland library, identified it by DNA sequencing, and used it to study the molecular and cellular biology of PRP production. Cell-free translation and mRNA characterization with EO27 indicate that the numerous PRPs seen in saliva are produced from relatively few, large precursors, probably by posttranslational cleavage. This supports an hypothesis originally proposed by Friedman and Karn in 1977 (Am. J. Hum. Genet. 29:44A;Biochem. Genet. 15:549) and later supported by biochemical studies (Karnet al., Biochem Genet. 17:1061, 1979) and molecular studies (Mamulaet al., Fed. Proc. 43:1522, 1984; Maedaet al., J. Biol. Chem. 260:1123, 1985). EO27 was also used in this study to localize PRP mRNA production to the acinar cells of the parotid gland byin situ hybridization.
Fathers and sons: preparing noble youths to be lords in twelfth-century Germany

Abstract The most prominent noble lineages of the twelfth-century German empire drew much of their authority from scattered collections of heritable rights and properties, a state of affairs that led each family to exercise its lordship in a unique manner. As a result, it was important for the success of a lineage that heirs understood the diverse administrative, political, diplomatic and military foundations of their family's power before they came into their inheritance. This article argues on the basis of evidence from several leading noble houses — including the Staufen, Welf, Zahringen, Wittelsbach, Andechs and Wettin — that fathers played an essential role in the training of their sons to succeed and inherit. For the noble heirs of twelfth-century Germany, therefore, the period in life known as youth was principally a time of instruction and preparation. Models of youth that emphasise the adventurousness and rebelliousness of noble sons during the central middle ages are therefore insufficient for explaining father-son relationships within the imperial nobility.