cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Garbage Classifying Application Using Deep Learning Techniques

Garbage disposal is a very important task in a healthy and green environment. With spreading awareness among the citizens of India regarding the importance of a clean environment to decrease the consumption of natural resources and garbage disposal, the recycling industry is booming. The quantity of generated trash in day-to-day life is affecting land, water, and air which causes a serious threat to the aquatic species and their surroundings and ultimately to humans if not managed properly. Conventional garbage disposal systems are on the rise and need accurate and efficient segmentation and recognition mechanisms. This demand coincides with the increase of computational capabilities of modern computer architectures and more effective algorithms for image recognition. To deal with this problem the garbage classification process is automated by building an image classifier using a convolutional neural network (CNN) and thereby decrease the time for the waste segregation and make it cost-effective. The idea behind making the process automated is to decrease human intervention and make this waste segregation process more productive. In this work, three different models are being tested for higher accuracy: Simple CNN, ResNet50, and VGG16 trained on various datasets of images, these are used to extract features from images and feed them into a classifier for dump/trash classification. The trained models are then fed to a mobile application that captures pictures in the real-time using camera. The experimental results conclude the performance of VGG16 using Transfer Learning being significantly higher than all other models for the purpose of Trash Classification and the performance of Simple CNN being better for Dump Classification.
Daugherty Cave, Wyoming

Daugherty Cave is a double component site in the Big Horn Basin of northern Wyoming. The earlier level is representative of a widespread Late Middle Prehistoric Period occupation. The surface mater...
Feeding value of coconut alcohol bottoms-bottoms for feedlot cattle.

Six crossbred steers (274 kg) with "T" cannulas in the rumen, proximal duodenum (6 cm from the pyloric sphincter) and distal ileum (20 cm from the ileal-cecal valve) were used in a crossover experiment to evaluate the feeding value of coconut alcohol bottoms-bottoms (CABB) in a finishing diet for feedlot steers. Dietary treatments consisted of a steam-rolled barley-based finishing diet supplemented with or without 6% CABB. The CABB was blended first with the steam-rolled barley portion of the diet prior to adding the other dietary ingredients. Ruminal digestion of ADF and N was not affected (P greater than .10) by CABB supplementation. Added CABB decreased total tract digestibility of OM, ADF, lipid and DE by 5.65 (P less than .01), 29.4 (P less than .05), 57.4 (P less than .01) and 5.65%, respectively. Adjusting for constituent passage of the basal diet, estimated total tract digestibility of OM, DE and lipid of the supplemental CABB was 1.1, -.23 and 16.4%, respectively. CABB essentially has no feeding value in finishing diets for cattle.
Preoperative Cardiovascular Risk Assessment

The contribution of cardiac disease, especially ischemic heart disease, to the risk of noncardiac surgery cannot be overstated. The literature pertaining to the evaluation and treatment of patients with cardiac conditions in the perioperative setting is by far the most investigated and developed domain of perioperative medicine. This association has spawned consensus statements that guide best medical practice “as reported by Fleisher et al. (J Am Coll Cardiol 50:e159–242, 2007) and is a major consideration in professional societies devoted to this clinical domain.
Fuzzy Logic as the Logic of Natural Languages

As we move further into the age of machine intelligence and automated decision-making, a long-standing problem becomes more pressing and more complex. The problem is: How to reason and compute with information described in natural language. The basic importance of this problem derives from the fact that much of human knowledge—and especially world knowledge—is expressed in natural language.
Vibrational spectroscopy of bacteriorhodopsin mutants. Evidence for the interaction of aspartic acid 212 with tyrosine 185 and possible role in the proton pump mechanism.

Abstract The role of Asp-212 in the proton pumping mechanism of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) has been studied by a combination of site-directed mutagenesis and Fourier transform infrared difference spectroscopy. Difference spectra were recorded at low temperature for the bR----K and bR----M photoreactions of the mutants Asp-212----Glu, Asp-212----Asn, and Asp-212----Ala. Despite an increased proportion of the 13-cis form of bR (normally associated with dark adaptation), all of the mutants exhibited a light-adapted form containing as a principal component the normal all-trans retinal chromophore. The absence of a shift in the retinal C = C stretching frequency in these mutants indicates that Asp-212 is not a major determinant of the visible absorption wavelength maximum in light-adapted bR. It is unlikely that Asp-212 is the acceptor group for the Schiff base proton since both the Asp-212----Glu and Asp-212----Ala mutants formed an M intermediate. All of the Asp-212 mutants were missing a Fourier transform infrared difference band that had been assigned previously to protonation changes of Tyr-185. These results are discussed in terms of a model in which Tyr-185 and Asp-212 form a polarizable hydrogen bond and are positioned near the C13-Schiff base portion of the chromophore. These 2 residues may be involved in stabilizing the relative orientation of the F and G helices and isomerizing the retinal in a regioselective manner about the C13 = C14 double bond.
Vintage production approach to perennial crop supply: An application to tea in major producing countries

Abstract New planting and replanting decisions play a key role in determining the long-run response of perennial producers and in accounting for observed differences in the patterns of agricultural development. In this paper a framework based on the vintage production model is proposed, which links the producer's short-run and long-run decisions. The empirical applications to tea production in Kenya, India and Sri Lanka illustrate the diversity of mechanisms determining the supply responses.
Human tumor immunology at the molecular divide.

In the mid-1980s, as a young investigator at Duke University running a human immunology laboratory with interest in T cell allograft rejection, I was becoming very confident in my ability to grow human alloreactive T cell lines from small biopsies of kidney allografts and use them to define their Ag
Using My "You Lie Moment" to Theorize Persistent Resistance to Critical Multicultural Education.

In this article I detail correspondences between a breach of decorum that occurred during a speech delivered by President Obama before a joint session of the United States Congress and an encounter between a teacher education student and me in a graduate-level multicultural education course. The encounter served as a powerful, albeit inadvertent, impetus to theorize the nature of persistent resistance to diversity and critical multicultural education in one teacher education unit.
Converting Intellectual Assets into Property

This paper introduces ways to serve the commercial need to optimize protection for intangible firm capital or assets by taking advantage of options provided by copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Although published in Corporate Counsel's Quarterly in 2002, its guidance remains current.
Estimaciones sobre la población del Perú en el momento de la conquista

En un articulo publicado en 1965, sostenia que la poblacion del Peru antes de la conquista podia calcularse mejor despues de un cuidadoso estudio de los sitios arqueologicos valle por valle y de un analisis de la maxima capacidad productiva de los sistemas ecologicos.
Agricultural crop density and risk of childhood cancer in the midwestern United States: an ecologic study

There is limited evidence for an association between agricultural pesticide exposure and certain types of childhood cancers. Numerous studies have evaluated exposure to pesticides and childhood cancer and found positive associations. However, few studies have examined the density of agricultural land use as a surrogate for residential exposure to agricultural pesticides and results are mixed. We examined the association of county level agricultural land use and the incidence of specific childhood cancers. We linked county-level agricultural census data (2002 and 2007) and cancer incidence data for children ages 0–4 diagnosed between 2004 and 2008 from cancer registries in six Midwestern states. Crop density (percent of county area that was harvested) was estimated for total agricultural land, barley, dry beans, corn, hay, oats, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets, and wheat. Rate ratios and 95 % confidence intervals were estimated using generalized estimating equation Poisson regression models and were adjusted for race, sex, year of diagnosis, median household income, education, and population density. We found statistically significant exposure-response relationships for dry beans and total leukemias (RR per 1 % increase in crop density = 1.09, 95 % CI = 1.03–1.14) and acute lymphoid leukemias (ALL) (RR = 1.10, 95 % CI = 1.04–1.16); oats and acute myeloid leukemias (AML) (RR = 2.03, 95 % CI = 1.25, 3.28); and sugar beets and total leukemias (RR = 1.11, 95 % CI = 1.04, 1.19) and ALL (RR = 1.11, 95 % CI = 1.02, 1.21). State-level analyses revealed some additional positive associations for total leukemia and CNS tumors and differences among states for several crop density-cancer associations. However, some of these analyses were limited by low crop prevalence and low cancer incidence. Publicly available data sources not originally intended to be used for health research can be useful for generating hypotheses about environmental exposures and health outcomes. The associations observed in this study need to be confirmed by analytic epidemiologic studies using individual level exposure data and accounting for potential confounders that could not be taken into account in this ecologic study.
An approach to increase graduate school enrollment in engineering

In order to encourage prospective students to consider graduate school, some senior undergraduate lab projects have been designed to give the student an introduction to the type of projects available to the electrical engineering graduate. Projects in the areas of pulsed power, image processing, neural networks, optical computing, and plasma research are available. Special lab projects provide the student with the opportunity to become acquainted with the faculty advisor and possible thesis topics. These lab projects provide the student with a better understanding of the available career options. Three projects are described and the objectives of each is discussed. >
Testing of the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) prototype loop heat pipe

This paper describes the testing of the prototype loop heat pipe (LHP) for the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS). The primary objective of the test program was to verify the loop's heat transport and temperature control capabilities under conditions pertinent to GLAS applications. Specifically, the LHP had to demonstrate a heat transport capability of 100 W, with the operating temperature maintained within +/-2K while the condenser sink was subjected to a temperature change between 273K and 283K. Test results showed that this loop heat pipe was more than capable of transporting the required heat load and that the operating temperature could be maintained within +/-2K. However, this particular integrated evaporator-compensation chamber design resulted in an exchange of energy between the two that affected the overall operation of the system. One effect was the high temperature the LHP was required to reach before nucleation would begin due to inability to control liquid distribution during ground testing. Another effect was that the loop had a low power start-up limitation of approximately 25 W. These Issues may be a concern for other applications, although it is not expected that they will cause problems for GLAS under micro-gravity conditions.
Disease susceptibility genes for autism

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairment in social interaction accompanied by a delay or lack of language, restricted interests, stereotyped behavior, and repetitive movement. Genetic predisposition to autism is evident from family and twin studies, and heritability in idiopathic autism is estimated at over 90%. Frequency of the disorder is approximately 1:2000 with a male to female ratio of 4:1. Affected individuals look normal at birth, and the symptoms manifest at the first 2-3 years of life. The spectrum of clinical symptoms and the severity of the disorder are variable even among siblings. Family studies and several genome-wide linkage analyses support the hypothesis of complex inheritance with involvement of as many as 10-100 genes of moderate effect. Identification of genes responsible for the phenotype would help to understand the molecular mechanisms of the disorder. Several genes have been proposed to play a role in susceptibility to autism, and this paper will overview those genes and their potential role in the disorder.
Uncertainty and commitment in commissioning of health services

This article reports on the use of management accounting information in commissioning of health services in England. The effects of environmental pressures and uncertainty on the use of this information in the decision-making process was examined. The relationship was further analysed from the perspective of interorganizational dependence and commitment with reference to particular financial management and budgeting practices. A more integrated approach to health care commissioning could be achieved by better harmonizing fund allocation, performance measurement and management systems and by supporting cultivation of joint multiprofessional groups so that regional hubs of information could be used to formulate consistent, bottom-up and lasting local strategies to secure inter-organizational trust and mutual dependency between local health alliances.
Delinquency and Personal vs. Social Controls

Summary This study was based on the premise that by selecting and defining research variables according to the theoretical criterion of personal and social control, we may more closely approach a total explanation of such forms of deviance as juvenile delinquency. Based on the reponses of 486 male and female high-school and introductory-level-university students, this exploratory test of the association between self-reported delinquency and the control concept indicated that four personal control and six social control variables accounted for 36% of the variance in the incidence of reported delinquency. Moreover, as hypothesized, of the four personal control factors, three were among the five variables accounting for most of the delinquency variance (with 30% of the variance being specified by the variable of deviance proneness alone), while, of the five variables contributing least to an explanation of delinquency, four were social control dimensions.
Avoiding Communication in Successive Band Reduction

The running time of an algorithm depends on both arithmetic and communication (i.e., data movement) costs, and the relative costs of communication are growing over time. In this work, we present sequential and distributed-memory parallel algorithms for tridiagonalizing full symmetric and symmetric band matrices that asymptotically reduce communication compared to previous approaches. The tridiagonalization of a symmetric band matrix is a key kernel in solving the symmetric eigenvalue problem for both full and band matrices. In order to preserve structure, tridiagonalization routines use annihilate-and-chase procedures that previously have suffered from poor data locality and high parallel latency cost. We improve both by reorganizing the computation and obtain asymptotic improvements. We also propose new algorithms for reducing a full symmetric matrix to band form in a communication-efficient manner. In this article, we consider the cases of computing eigenvalues only and of computing eigenvalues and all eigenvectors.
Models in the Policy Process: Past, Present, and Future

Although the past 20 years seem to indicate that modeling for public policymaking has not been very successful, as better decision support systems and other user-friendly computer systems are developed, analysts, policymakers, and staff members will have an opportunity to work more closely throughout the whole process from problem definition to implementation. Policy analysts will be in greater demand in government and as consultants to government agencies.
Electron Scattering by Atomic Electrons

The velocity distributions of electrons scattered by helium atoms, at angles ranging from 10\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} to 60\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, have been measured for electrons having energies of 800, 1000, and 1200 volts. The curves have a well-defined narrow maximum where the scattered electrons have the same velocity as the primary electrons, this being the well-known elastic scattering. In addition, for each angle of scattering, a single broad peak is superposed on the continuous distribution of velocities ranging from the maximum down to zero. This represents the inelastically scattered electrons. The position of each peak is such that the velocity corresponding to it, is given approximately by $v=ucos\ensuremath{\theta}$, where $u$ is the velocity of the electron before impact and $\ensuremath{\theta}$ the angle of scattering. This is the formula for the velocity of an electron when scattered through $\ensuremath{\theta}$, by a free electron initially at rest. The inference is that we may associate these inelastic peaks with collisions between the incident electrons and the atomic electrons when the binding energy is small in comparison with the energy transfers during the collision. Jauncey's theory of the breadth of the modified line in the Compton effect is discussed in relation to the breadth of the inelastic peak, on replacing the photon by the incident electron.
Thought before language: how deaf and hearing children express motion events across cultures

Do children come to the language-learning situation with a predetermined set of ideas about motion events that they want to communicate? If so, is the expression of these ideas modified by exposure to a language model within a particular cultural context? We explored these questions by comparing the gestures produced by Chinese and American deaf children who had not been exposed to a usable conventional language model with the speech of hearing children learning Mandarin or English. We found that, even in the absence of any conventional language model, deaf children conveyed the central elements of a motion event in their communications. More surprisingly, deaf children growing up in an American culture used their gestures to express motion events in precisely the same ways as deaf children growing up in a Chinese culture. In contrast, hearing children in the two cultures expressed motion events differently, in accordance with the languages they were learning. The American children obeyed the patterns of English and rarely omitted words for figures or agents. The Chinese children had more flexibility as Mandarin permits (but does not demand) deletion. Interestingly, the Chinese hearing children’s descriptions of motion events resembled the deaf children’s descriptions more closely than did the American hearing children’s. The thoughts that deaf children convey in their gestures thus may serve as the starting point and perhaps a default for all children as they begin the process of grammaticization ‐ thoughts that have not yet been filtered through a language model. q 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
The Impossibility of a Perfectly Competitive Labor Market

Using the institutional theory of transaction cost, I demonstrate that the assumptions of the competitive labor market model are internally contradictory and lead to the conclusion that on purely theoretical grounds a perfectly competitive labor market is a logical impossibility. By extension, the familiar diagram of wage determination by supply and demand is also a logical impossibility and the neoclassical labor demand curve is not a well-defined construct. The reason is that the perfectly competitive market model presumes zero transaction cost and with zero transaction cost all labor is hired as independent contractors, implying multi-person firms, the employment relationship, and labor market disappear. With positive transaction cost, on the other hand, employment contracts are incomplete and the labor supply curve to the firm is upward sloping, again causing the labor demand curve to be ill-defined. As a result, theory suggests that wage rates are always and everywhere an amalgam of an administered and bargained price.
A thyratron inflexion indicator for teaching the deaf

In an instrument designed for making pitch variations visible, sound impulses are fed to an electronic frequency meter the output of which is directly proportional to the fundamental frequency. The amplified voltage is applied to the grids of seven thyratrons, which are biassed by successively greater amounts. The number of thyratrons which fire at any given signal therefore depends on the frequency of the signal. The firing of each thyratron lights a neon lamp in its plate circuit, and since these lamps are arranged in a vertical column, the effect obtained is of a column of light which rises and falls with rising and falling pitch. The device presents visually the concept of pitch change and greatly facilitates instruction in voice control.
Metacognition Needed: Teaching Middle and High School Students to Develop Strategic Learning Skills

ABSTRACT Students' ineffective learning strategies are linked to poor metacognition, revealing that struggling learners have not developed the practical figure it out skills to succeed in academic challenges. Well-documented research has noted the positive effect of self-reflective learning on students' academic and personal development. Also, researchers have described that metacognitive awareness can be taught. The author explores these issues and presents practical suggestions that middle and high school teachers can use to help students develop metacognitive skills.
Falcate-spored species of Colletotrichum on soybean

Field collections of falcate-spored isolates of Colletotrichum were obtained from various soybean plant parts. Two colony types were distinguished; one was identified as C. dematium f. truncatum, the other as C. capsici. C. capsici was pathogenic on bell pep- per, tomato, and eggplant seedlings and on cotton seedlings and bolls. The fungus was nonpathogenic or weakly pathogenic on soybean seedlings, with pathogenicity limited primarily to cotyledons. In con- trast, C. d. f. truncatum was extremely virulent on soybean seedlings and caused considerable pre- and postemergence seedling death. C. capsici was isolated more frequently from pods and leaves than from stems and seeds. Compared to C. d. f. truncatum, C. capsici was rare in seeds, but maximum frequencies of the two fungi on leaves, stems, and pods were com- parable. The occurrence of C. capsici on soybean in the United States is a new record, and it extends the host range of the fungus in the United States.
Euglossine Bees as Long-Distance Pollinators of Tropical Plants

Euglossine bees may return to a nest from as far away as 23 kilometers in a tropical rain forest. These bees apparently forage long distances and visit the same plants repeatedly along a feeding route. They probably promote outcrossing among tropical plants with low population density; therefore, they may permit the existence of plant species whose densities have been forced very low by such things as competition and predators on seeds and seedlings.
Preoperative Preparation of Patients for Thoracic Surgery

The preoperative preparation of patients for thoracic surgery is complex and involves individuals from diverse subspecialties within the field of medicine. This issue of the Thoracic Surgery Clinics focuses on these interrelationships through contributions from the fields of nursing, law, pulmonary medicine, cardiology, and anesthesia, in addition to thoracic surgery. Although several of the authors are from Stanford University, I have attempted to provide some diversity in both geographical location and specialty training in the selection of authors for this issue. Because thoracic surgery encompasses a wide range of pathologic entities, I have attempted to cover ground that is common to many patients and disease processes (anesthetic concerns, preoperative teaching, legal issues of informed consent, smoking cessation, preoperative cardiac evaluation, antibiotic and deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis), as well as more
In vitro Inhibition of Oocyte and Follicular Maturation and Spawning in Starfish (Asterias forbesi) by 2-4-Dinitrophenol

The in vitro effects of 2-4-dinitrophenol (DNP) on spawning and follicular and oocyte maturation in starfish ovaries and its various cellular components were investigated. Spawning and oocyte and follicular maturation induced by starfish gonadotropin radial nerve factor (RNF) in isolated ovarian fragments were all inhibited by appropriate doses of DNP. DNP inhibits processes which occur shortly after addition of the gonadotropin; in ovarian fragments insensitivity to DNP inhibition occurred shortly after addition of RNF but prior to initiation of spawning. Spontaneous follicular and oocyte maturation which occurred following release of ovarian follicles into sea water was prevented by DNP. In non-spontaneously maturing follicles released from the ovary, DNP inhibited both follicle and oocyte maturation induced by the secondary stimulator of spawning and maturation, 1-methyladenine (1-MA). DNP also inhibited 1-MA induced meiotic maturation in isolated immature oocytes incubated in the absence of follicle cells. Inhibition of oocyte maturation was not associated with inhibition of 3H-1-MA incorporation by isolated oocytes. Immature oocytes incubated in the presence of DNP underwent maturation following washing and subsequent exposure to 1-MA. Immature oocytes initially exposed to both 1-MA and DNP, however, showed decreased maturation responsiveness following washing and re-exposure to 1-MA. The results suggest that the inhibitory effects of DNP on spawning and oocyte maturation are the result of direct effects on the oocytes and possibly other cells and tissues within the ovary.
Theory of elastic solids reinforced with fibers resistant to extension, flexure and twist

A model of non-linearly elastic solids reinforced by continuously distributed embedded fibers is formulated in which elastic resistance of the fibers to extension, bending and twist is taken into account explicitly. This generalizes the conventional theory in which the solid is modeled as a transversely isotropic simple material.
Cerebral ischemia in gerbils: effects of acute and chronic treatment with adenosine A2A receptor agonist and antagonist.

Despite significant progress in understanding of the potential of adenosine A1 receptor-based therapies in treatment of cerebral ischemia and stroke, very little is known about the effect of selective stimulation of adenosine A2A receptors on the outcome of a cerebrovascular arrest. In view of a major role played by adenosine A2 receptors in the regulation of cerebral blood flow, we have investigated the effect of both acute and chronic administration of the selective adenosine receptor agonist 2-[(2-aminoethylamino)-carbonylethylphenylethylamino]-5′-N-ethylcarboxoamidoadenosine (APEC) and antagonist 8-(3-chlorostyryl)caffeine (CSC) on the outcome of 10 min ischemia in gerbils. Acute treatment with APEC improved recovery of postischemic blood flow and survival without affecting neuronal preservation in the hippocampus. Acute treatment with CSC had no effect on the cerebral blood flow but resulted in a very significant protection of hippocampal neurons. Significant improvement of survival was present during the initial 10 days postischemia. Due to subsequent deaths of animals treated acutely with CSC, the end-point mortality (14 days postischemia) in this group did not differ statistically from that seen in the controls. It is, however, possible that the late mortality in the acute CSC group was caused by the systemic effects of brain ischemia that are not subject to the treatment with this drug. Chronic treatment with APEC resulted in a statistically significant improvement in all studied measures. Although chronic treatment with CSC improved postischemic blood flow, its effect on neuronal preservation was minimal and statistically insignificant. Mortality remained unaffected. The results indicate that the acute treatment with adenosine A2A receptor antagonists may have a limited value in treatment of global ischemia. However, since administered CSC has no effect on the reestablishment of postischemic blood flow, treatment of stroke with adenosine A2A receptor antagonists may not be advisable. Additional studies are necessary to elucidate whether chronically administered drugs acting at adenosine A2 receptors may be useful in treatment of stroke and other neurodegenerative disorders.
A Model for Community-Based Mental Health Services for Older Adults:: Innovative Social Work Practice

The mental health needs of older adults have historically been underserved by existing mental health service delivery systems. This paper presents a model for the delivery of comprehensive mental health services to older adults in their own homes, based on sound clinical practice, and incorporating a cross-cultural perspective coupled with a strong social and community support base.
Protein kinase C potentiates cAMP-stimulated mouse duodenal mucosal bicarbonate secretion in vitro

PKC has been shown to regulate epithelial Cl- secretion in a variety of models. However, the role of PKC in duodenal mucosal bicarbonate secretion is less clear. We aimed to investigate the role of...
On the influence curve for quantal bioassay

Abstract Influence curves are defined for estimators of the ED50 in quantal bioassay, assuming a symmetic tolerance distribution. A definition of influence-curve robustness is suggested. Influence curves are obtained for L-,M- and R-estimators, and their robustness is investigated. The influence curve of the logistic maximum likelihood estimator is studied.
Effects of repeated treatment with the dopamine D2/D3 receptor partial agonist aripiprazole on striatal D2/D3 receptor availability in monkeys

Rationale Chronic treatment with dopamine (DA) receptor agonists and antagonists can differentially affect measures of DA D2/D3 receptor number and function, but the effects of chronictreatmentwithapartialD2/D3receptoragonistarenot clear. Objective We used a within-subjects design in male cynomolgus monkeys to determine the effects of repeated (17-day) treatment with the D2/D3 receptor partial agonist aripiprazole (ARI; 0.03 mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg i.m.) on foodreinforced behavior (n=5) and on D2/D3 receptor availability as measured with positron emission tomography (PET; n=9). Methods Five monkeys responded under a fixed-ratio 50 schedule of food reinforcement and D2/D3 receptor availability was measured before and 4 days after ARI treatment using PET and the D2/D3 receptor-selective radioligand [ 18 F]fluoroclebopride (FCP). Four additional monkeys were studied using [ 11 C]raclopride and treated sequentially with each dose of ARI for 17 days. Results ARI decreased food-maintained responding with minimal evidence of tolerance. Repeated ARI administration increased FCP and raclopride distribution volume ratios (DVRs)inthecaudatenucleusandputameninmostmonkeys, but decreases were observed in monkeys with the highest baseline DVRs. Conclusions The results indicate that repeated treatment with a low-efficacy DA receptor partial agonist produces effects on brain D2/D3 receptor availability that are qualitatively different from those of both high-efficacy receptor agonists and antagonists, and suggest that the observed individual differences in response to ARI treatment may reflect its partial agonist activity.
Gap Costs for Multiple Sequence Alignment

Standard methods for aligning pairs of biological sequences charge for the most common mutations, which are substitutions, deletions and insertions. Because a single mutation may insert or delete several nucleotides, gap costs that are not directly proportional to gap length are usually the most effective. How to extend such gap costs to alignments of three or more sequences is not immediately obvious, and a variety of approaches have been taken. This paper argues that, since gap and substitution costs together specify optimal alignments, they should be defined using a common rationale. Specifically, a new definition of gap costs for multiple alignments is proposed and compared with previous ones. Since the new definition links a multiple alignment's cost to that of its pairwise projections, it allows knowledge gained about two-sequence alignments to bear on the multiple alignment problem. Also, such linkage is a key element of recent algorithms that have rendered practical the simultaneous alignment of as many as six sequences.
The Hydrolysis of Spirohydantoin Mustard

Spirohydantoin mustard (I) is a rationally designed antitumor agent with substantial in vivo activity against intracranially implanted tumors in mice. However, hydrolysis of I was much faster than that of mechlorethamine hydrochloride or melphalan, two parenterally administered mustards. The hydrolysis products of I were identified by GC-MS of their silylated derivatives. The decomposition of I (at 25° in 10% dimethylacetamide at pH 4–6), as monitored by GLC was pseudo first-order. The half-life of I ranged from 20 min at pH 4.0 to 14 min at pH 6.0. Nonionic surfactants enhanced the stability of I, but this effect was diminished at lower pH, presumably due to decreased solubility of I in the micelle as more drug was protonated. Several dilute parenterally suitable solvents exhibited no marked effect on the hydrolysis of I. The drug was most stable in a 10% fat emulsion system where the time for 10% decomposition of I was 49 ± 5 min. Plots of the concentration of I versus time were linear indicating the disappearance was zero order in the 10% fat emulsion system.
Towards integrated autonomous systems

An autonomous intelligent agent working in a real, unstructured, dynamic environment must have very close interactions among its perceptual, cognitive, and motor components. We believe that by placing the environment model at the heart of these systems this interaction can be facilitated significantly. In our approach, the environment model is responsible for interaction among different components, providing temporal coherence, combining information from multiple sensors, and providing the purposive behavior to the system. The information about the environment is acquired by using multiple disparate sensors, from multiple viewpoints, and at multiple time instants. We believe that the combination of information from disparate sensors should be viewed as a problem of information assimilation, rather than sensor integration. The focus in information assimilation is on the physical world being modeled, sensory information is just a means to the end. Sensor integration treats the goal implicitly, misplacing the focus on the processing of sensed information. Existing approaches towards autonomous systems tend to follow exclusively reactive or exclusively deliberated operations. We present an approach that provides a balance between reaction and deliberation.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Fungal growth and acid production during fermentation and refermentation of organic acid treated corn silages.

Chopped corn (35% dry matter) treated with either propionic, formic, 60% propionic plus 40% formic, or 80% propionic plus 20% acetic acids at 0, .5, 1, and 2%, was placed in polyethylene bags inside metal drums, and evacuated. During fermentation silages were sampled and temperatures determined. On day 40 of fermentation silages were placed in open containers at 25 C and were sampled during refermentation. All samples were analyzed for volatile and lactic acids, pH, and number and type of fungi. Lactate fermentation was totally inhibited at 2% addition of all acids, but formic acid was more effective than propionic acid at .5 and 1%. Acerate production was equally depressed by both propionic and formic additions. Heating, growth of fungi, and days until spoilage were delayed by all acid additions during refermentation, with propionic more effectivethan formic. The large increases in lactate and acetate of treated silages during refermentation reflect a protection of soluble sugars during fermentation and subsequent use by microbes after exposure to air. Silages treated with more than 1%propionic (as propionic or a mixture) did not increase in fungal colonies during refermentation. At initiation of fermentation yeasts werehigher than other fungi but decreases by day 40. During refermentation, yeasts again grew. Geotrichum comprised 35% on day 40 of refermentation but was lower at other times. Aspergillus proliferated during refermentation and few Penicillium were detected.
Biochemical basis for dominant mutations in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MSH6 gene

Here, the ATP-binding, ATP hydrolysis, mispair-binding, sliding clamp formation, and Mlh1–Pms1 complex interaction properties of dominant mutant Msh2–Msh6 complexes have been characterized. The results demonstrate two mechanisms for dominance. In one, seen with the Msh6-S1036P and Msh6-G1067D mutant complexes, the mutant complex binds mispaired bases, is defective for ATP-induced sliding clamp formation and assembly of ternary complexes with Mlh1-Pms1, and occludes mispaired bases from other mismatch repair pathways. In the second, seen with the Msh6–G1142D complex, the mutant complex binds mispaired bases and is defective for ATP-induced sliding clamp formation but assembles ternary complexes with Mlh1–Pms1 that either occlude the mispaired base or prevent Mlh1–Pms1 from acting in alternate mismatch repair pathways.
CR reliability testing

The purpose of this work was to develop a method for systematically testing the reliability of a CR system under realistic daily loads in a non-clinical environment prior to its clinical adoption. Once digital imaging replaces film, it will be very difficult to revert back should the digital system become unreliable. Prior to the beginning of the test, a formal evaluation was performed to set the benchmarks for performance and functionality. A formal protocol was established that included all the 62 imaging plates in the inventory for each 24-hour period in the study. Imaging plates were exposed using different combinations of collimation, orientation, and SID. Anthropomorphic phantoms were used to acquire images of different sizes. Each combination was chosen randomly to simulate the differences that could occur in clinical practice. The tests were performed over a wide range of times with batches of plates processed to simulate the temporal constraints required by the nature of portable radiographs taken in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Current patient demographics were used for the test studies so automatic routing algorithms could be tested. During the test, only three minor reliability problems occurred, two of which were not directly related to the CR unit. One plate was discovered to cause a segmentation error that essentially reduced the image to only black and white with no gray levels. This plate was removed from the inventory to be replaced. Another problem was a PACS routing problem that occurred when the DICOM server with which the CR was communicating had a problem with disk space. The final problem was a network printing failure to the laser cameras. Although the units passed the reliability test, problems with interfacing to workstations were discovered. The two issues that were identified were the interpretation of what constitutes a study for CR and the construction of the look-up table for a proper gray scale display.
A Biosurveillance-driven Home Score to Guide Strep Pharyngitis Treatment

Adults at low risk for Group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis should neither be tested nor treated, yet millions annually seek care. We derive and validate a 'home score' to estimate a patient's GAS risk based on history and real-time local biosurveillance, and compare its accuracy to traditional models. Data included 110,208 patients seen at a national retail health chain. Using a 0.10 home score cutoff extrapolates to 230,000 saved visits annually and 8500 additional missed cases (0.20: 2.9M visits saved, 320,000 additional missed). A patient-centric approach could save millions of visits annually by identifying low-risk patients in the pre-visit setting.
Acute Care Surgery: A New Training and Practice Model in the United States

The specialty of trauma is at a crossroads. Choosing a career in trauma is associated with concerns related to lifestyle issues and maintenance of adequate operative experience. Trauma and critical care surgeons in the U.S. have reexamined their role based on these concerns and the realization that surgeon resources for the injured patient are in jeopardy. After much work over the past five years, a model of “Acute Care Surgery” has emerged and a training curriculum has been proposed. This article reviews the evolution of a new specialty and identifies some of the challenges and opportunities associated with the implementation of this model.
Mapping of opioid receptors using antisense oligodeoxynucleotides: correlating their molecular biology and pharmacology

Abstract Understanding the pharmacology of opioid receptors took a major step forward with the cloning of genes that encode four members of the opioid receptor family. Gavril Pasternak and Kelly Standifer show how strategies that use antisense oligodeoxynucleotides can provide a selective approach to correlate the properties of the cloned receptors with their in vivo pharmacological effects, and have confirmed the association of the δ-, μ- and κ 1 -opioid receptor clones with analgesia mediated through δ-, μ- and κ 1 -opioid receptors, respectively. Approaches that use antisense oligodeoxynucleotides provide an opportunity to characterize the pharmacology of short cDNA fragments without necessitating the cloning of the entire cDNA and can assess the role of the products of specific exons in a receptor, providing an approach for the study of alternative splicing as demonstrated with the μ- and κ 3 -opioid receptor clones.
Effects of Broiler Litter Applied to No‐Till and Tillage Cotton on Selected Soil Properties

Improved understanding of the effects of broiler litter application to row crops as a source of nutrients on soil properties is required to predict the outcome of litter applications and prevent undesirable environmental impacts. This study was conducted on two separate commercial farms representing a no-till system at Coffeeville and a conventional-tillage system at Cruger in Mississippi to evaluate soil chemical, physical, and biological properties in response to 3 yr of broiler litter application with or without supplemental N. In each location, the experimental design was a randomized complete block with six treatments replicated four times. Treatments included broiler litter rates of 0, 4.5, and 6.7 Mg ha -1 in some combination with 0, 34, and 67 kg N ha -1 . Commercial N-P-K fertilizer at the recommended rate was included. At the Coffeeville location, changes in soil characters increased with increasing broiler litter applications, and at the rate of 6.7 Mg ha -1 , soil pH, P, total N, total C, microbial biomass C, and soil aggregate stability significantly increased by 22, 20, 18, 20, 28, and 34%, respectively, as compared with commercial fertilizer treatment at the recommended rate. At the Cruger location, changes in soil character were less responsive to treatment applications. For the same broiler litter rate at Coffeeville and Cruger, no significant difference in the changes of soil character was obtained between a combination of broiler litter with supplemental N and broiler litter alone treatments. At both locations, broiler litter at rates >4.5 Mg ha -1 with 67 kg ha -1 supplemental N did not increased cotton lint yield and exceeded the crop N use potential as evidenced by increasing soil profile NO 3 -N.
Chemical–mechanical polishing for giant magnetoresistance device integration

Abstract Giant magnetoresistance (GMR) device integration with Si ICs requires an atomically smooth and clean dielectric surface for the conformal deposition of GMR multi-layers. A chemical–mechanical polishing (CMP) process demonstrates that PVD silicon nitride films can achieve less than 0.2 nm RMS surface roughness with a wide process window. This CMP process for silicon nitride is a more robust and manufacturable process than CMP of PTEOS oxide. Alternative techniques for post-CMP cleaning prior to GMR film deposition indicate that brush scrub clean provides lowest levels of metallic contamination, while a chemical cleaning with ammonium hydroxide-hydrogen peroxide mixture delivers lowest defect counts.
Some evidence for an effect of ingested petroleum on the fertility of the mallard drake ( Anas platyrhynchos )

The male and the female of monogamous pairs of mallard ducks were housed separately on each side of a removable wire-mesh partition and each bird was fed either uncontaminated food or food that had been contaminated with South Louisiana crude oil (3 ml/100 g dry weight food). Food was removed from both sides of the cage for five hr each day, and during this interval the partition was removed to permit the birds to interact physically. When both sexes consumed uncontaminated food, the imposition of this interrupted feeding regime did not alter the normal temporal pattern of ovarian development in the female and the ability of the male to fertilize eggs laid by the female was not impaired. When the male, but not the female, consumed petroleum-contaminated food ovarian development was normal but the ability of the male to fertilize the eggs was significantly reduced. However, when only the female consumed contaminated food, ovarian development was slowed significantly and the frequency of fertilization was lowered to the same extent that it was when only the male consumed contaminated food. These effects suggest that ingested petroleum contaminants may impair the development of photostimulated gonadal endocrine function in both the male and the female.
A carbon nanotube cortical neuron with excitatory and inhibitory dendritic computations

A cortical neuron with carbon nanotube circuit elements that performs nonlinear dendritic computations with excitatory and inhibitory post-synaptic potentials is presented. An inhibitory synapse with controllable parameters that implement plasticity is described. The circuit design was simulated using carbon nanotube spice models, showing that the neuron fires as long as the inhibitory post-synaptic potential is weak or absent. Strong inhibitory potentials prevent the neuron from firing.