cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Benthic Current Observations at DOMES Sites A, B, and C in the Tropical North Pacific Ocean

Benthic current measurements are reported from three locations (A: 8°27′N, 150°49′W; B: 11°42′N, 138°24′W; C: 14°38′N, 125°29′W) in the eastern tropical Pacific. Near-bottom stratification was weak at all sites. The measurements were of 4- to 6- month duration. Mean currents were small and to the northwest; however, low frequency fluctuations dominated the records. These fluctuations had dominant periods for the meridional component of 2 months at all sites; the zonal component had periods varying from 2 months at the easternmost site to about 5 months at the other sites. Low frequency kinetic energy increased from west to east. Vertically, the low frequency motions were coherent over the bottom 200 m. A small speed increase was observed from 200 m to 30 m off the bottom; below this the speed decreased. Interpretation of these data in terms of an Ekman layer showed counterclockwise (looking down) veering between 30- to 6-m levels, which was consistent with the expected layer thickness of 25 m.
“I Have the Government in My Pocket…”: Social Media Users in Turkey, Transmit-Trap Dynamics, and Struggles Over Internet Freedom

This article explores how social media users in Turkey conceptualize and navigate free speech challenges in the wake of recent government crackdowns on media institutions. The study is based on qualitative interviews with 40 social media users in Istanbul, including people from LGBTQ, feminist, Kurdish, journalist, activist, and academic communities, who have been on the front lines of free speech struggles in Turkey. Informants' comments converged around a theme of transmit-trap dynamics, which emphasizes user experiences in the context of “networked authoritarianism,” and speaks to the ways Turkish social media users find themselves simultaneously empowered by and targeted within social media platforms.
Reading the (Photographic) Evidence

> There is only one Coliseum or Pantheon; but how many millions of potential negatives have they shed.… Every conceivable object of Nature and Art will soon scale off its surface for us. Men will hunt all curious, beautiful, grand objects, as they hunt the cattle in South America, for their skins, and leave the carcasses as of little worth. > > — Oliver Wendell Holmes , > “The Stereoscope and the Stereograph,” 1859 Histories of the built environment, like contemporary discourse on architecture, have been populated by photographic images for more than a century, even as photographic technologies have changed radically. For architects and historians, photographs offered seemingly evidentiary representations throughout the analog life of the medium (often dated from 1839 to roughly 1990) despite frequent doctoring of images in the darkroom or on the page. Products of an obsolete technology, photographs are yet fabulous discursive propositions as much as dry records of building. They are revealing diagnostic devices, speaking with more than one tongue to say more than one thing. Reading photographic evidence, then, complicates the architectural historian's task by adding multivalent, nonexclusive, sometimes contradictory visual “texts” to other information about the production and consumption of architecture. Photographs do tell us about the hard stuff of buildings on sites; they also tell us how that stuff is seen at a given moment in time, and how buildings are deployed differently through photographic means—whether in series, sequences, single instances, compilations, or montage. Such photographic assemblages elicit strikingly rich interpretations. In short, photographs are discursive, but in ways that differ profoundly from text or spoken word. We continue to seek analytical frames adequate to what photography historian Matthew Witkovsky refers to as “the game,” in addition to “the match” of this extremely heterogeneous manner of imaging.1 I recently asked Witkovsky whether photographs are like letters, words, sentences, paragraphs, or texts. “All of the above, …
Grating based high-frequency ultrasonic sensors

Damage in civil, aerospace, and mechanical structures caused by crack growth and impact loading generate transient ultrasonic waves whose frequency and amplitude can reveal the underlying structural health condition. Hence, it is necessary to find a useful tool based on ultrasonic detection for structural health monitoring. Recently, smart sensors based on gratings such as fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) have been shown to be suitable to detect such acoustic waves in structural health monitoring applications. However, the fiber-based gratings as the ultrasonic sensor has limited sensitivity to high frequency ultrasound detection due to a specific grating length and a finite spectrum width. To eliminate this limitation, one improvement has been made by using phase shift FBGs due to their special filtering characteristics. The phase shift FBGs can have a narrower spectral width, which will significantly improve the detection sensitivity. Another big improvement, for example Bragg grating waveguide (BGW) sensor, is to optimize the grating structure using different materials. In this work, we describe a 3D printed-polymer BGW sensor for ultrasound detection fabricated through a two-photon polymerization process. The design and fabrication have been optimized for high detection sensitivity. The results demonstrate the potential application of BGW devices for high-sensitivity ultrasound detection.
Changing Trends in the Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Anaerobic Bacteria

Within the past few years, the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of anaerobic bacteria has undergone a gradual change (1,14,21). For example, some strains of Bacteroides melaninogenicus, other Bacteroides species, and some Clostridium species have become moderately resistant to penicillin G (7,9). Also, many strains of Bacteroides fragilis and other anaerobes are now resistant to tetracycline (21), and in 1976, two strains of Bacteroides fragilis subsp. ovatus (18) resistant to clindamycin were reported. Sutter and Finegold have suggested that specialized centers, nationwide, perform periodic antimicrobial susceptibility tests to monitor changing patterns of resistance of anaerobic bacteria to antimicrobial agents commonly recommended in the treatment of patients with anaerobic infections, and to determine the activity of newer agents against anaerobic bacteria (21). The purpose of this study was to assess the in vitro activity of several antimicrobial agents currently used for therapy of anaerobic infections and to explore the activity of several newer drugs against a variety of recent clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria.
Early Surgical Referral for Penetrating Aortic Ulcer Leads to Improved Outcome and Overall Survival

Background The natural history of penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU) has been variably described and clear guidelines are lacking. We reviewed our experience with PAUs in a tertiary referral center. Methods Imaging reports from January 2010 to December 2017 were retrospectively searched for the diagnosis of “penetrating aortic ulcer.” Diagnosis was confirmed by review of imaging studies. Patient demographics, presenting symptoms, and anatomic characteristics were collected and analyzed for associations with need for surgical intervention, aortic complication, and overall survival. Results One hundred six patients with PAU were identified. Locations included 57 (53.8%) aortic arch, 24 (22.6%) descending thoracic, and 25 (23.5%) abdominal aorta. Dissection was present in 12 (11.4%) and acute rupture in 4 (3.8%) cases. At presentation, 57 (53.8%) patients were symptomatic. Forty-six (43.8%) patients were evaluated by cardiothoracic or vascular surgeons. Thirteen (12.3%) underwent surgical or endovascular repair and 10 (10.4%) had a change in medical management. Long-term follow-up (LTFU) was available in 30 patients for a mean of 36.5 ± 29.2 months. Twenty-one (70%, 21/30) demonstrated disease stability or resolution and 9 (30%, 9/30) worsened with 3 undergoing surgery. No PAU ruptured during follow-up. Patient demographics, presenting symptoms, and PAU morphology did not predict disease progression. Referral to a cardiovascular surgeon at initial presentation was associated with a 40% decreased likelihood of disease progression (P = 0.046) and a 60% survival advantage at LTFU (P = 0.037). Conclusions PAU disease progression occurs in 30% of patients at LTFU of 36.5 ± 29.2 months. All patients identified with PAU on diagnostic imaging should be referred for a surgical evaluation and follow-up, as referral to cardiovascular surgeon is associated with improved disease course.
Physical and chemical characterization of aerosol in fresh and aged emissions from open combustion of biomass fuels

Biomass burning (BB) emissions and their atmospheric oxidation products can contribute significantly to direct aerosol radiative forcing of climate. Limited knowledge of BB organic aerosol chemical...
Abstract TMP79: Delays in Recognition of Perioperative Strokes Following Cardiac Surgery

Introduction: Previous studies have suggested that perioperative stroke (PS) following cardiac surgery has a bimodal distribution of timing with more than half of cases identified beyond postoperative day one (POD1). The objective of our multicenter study was to determine preoperative and intraoperative factors that are associated with PS following cardiac surgery and to identify factors that may contribute to PS that is identified after POD1. Methods: Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) or isolated valve surgery from January 2, 2015 to April 28, 2017 at three Southeastern US centers were identified from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Registry. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to identify preoperative (patient-related) and intraoperative (procedure-related) variables from the registry to identify factors associated with PS, defined by STS as any confirmed neurological deficit of abrupt onset caused by a disturbance in blood supply to the brain that did ...
Cinematic Nihilism: Encounters, Confrontations, Overcomings

Through case studies of popular films, including Prometheus, The Dark Knight Rises, Dawn of the Dead and The Human Centipede, this book re-emphasises the constructive potential of cinematic nihilism.
Recognition of prey species by their odors in the grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster)

This study examined the development of olfactory recognition of an insect prey by the northern grasshopper mouse. The approach was to feed different groups of mice a certain amount of house crickets, may beetles or mealworm larvae or varying numbers of house crickets and then measure a mouse's preference for discovering that particular species when presented these three insects buried in a grid pattern. A mouse preferentially sought out that species which it had eaten and required between 5 and 15 prior feeding experiences to develop that preference.
Recognition of code-mixed gated words: Phonotactic features of Spanish and English

Abstract Introduction This study examined word identification among Spanish-English bilingual and English monolingual individuals, i.e., speech perception using a gated word task examining phonetic category formation. Methods Participants included 25 English-speaking monolingual and 10 fluent Spanish-English speaking bilingual adults. The experiment included a gating task incorporating Spanish sentences, English sentences, code-mixed Spanish-English sentences, and code-mixed English-Spanish sentences. The gated words at the end of the sentences consisted of voiceless initial consonants, voiced initial consonants, CV-tense words, or CV-lax words. Results There was a significant main effect for consonant voicing features and for language group. In addition, there was a significant interaction between consonant voicing features and language group. A significant main effect for vowel tenseness was also found along with a significant interaction between vowel tenseness and language group. Discussion Results suggest that bilinguals are capable of ultimate attainment, with phonotactic capabilities similar to that of monolingual speakers when identifying English words. Bilingual speakers may also be more sensitive to voicing features for both Spanish and English words.
Decompression Surgery versus Interspinous Devices for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Systematic Review of the Literature

In this retrospective review study, the authors systematically reviewed the literature to elucidate the efficacy and complications associated with decompression and interspinous devices (ISDs) used in surgeries for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). LSS is a debilitating condition that affects the lumbar spinal cord and spinal nerve roots. However, a comprehensive report on the relative efficacy and complication rate of ISDs as they compare to traditional decompression procedures is currently lacking. The PubMed database was queried to identify clinical studies that exclusively investigated decompression, those that exclusively investigated ISDs, and those that compared decompression with ISDs. Only prospective cohort studies, case series, and randomized controlled trials that evaluated outcomes using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index, or Japanese Orthopedic Association scores were included. A random-effects model was established to assess the difference between preoperative and the 1-2-year postoperative VAS scores between ISD surgery and lumbar decompression. This study included 40 papers that matched our criteria. Twenty-five decompression-exclusive clinical trials with 3,386 patients and a mean age of 68.7 years (range, 31-88 years) reported a 2.2% incidence rate of dural tears and a 2.6% incidence rate of postoperative infections. Eight ISD-exclusive clinical trials with 1,496 patients and a mean age of 65.1 (range, 19-89 years) reported a 5.3% incidence rate of postoperative leg pain and a 3.7% incidence rate of spinous process fractures. Seven studies that compared ISDs and decompression in 624 patients found a reoperation rate of 8.3% in ISD patients vs. 3.9% in decompression patients; they also reported dural tears in 0.32% of ISD patients vs. 5.2% in decompression patients. A meta-analysis of the randomized controlled trials found that the differences in preoperative and postoperative VAS scores between the two groups were not significant. Both decompression and ISD interventions are unique surgical interventions with different therapeutic efficacies and complications. The collected studies do not consistently demonstrate superiority of either procedure over the other but understanding the differences between the two techniques can help tailor treatment regimens for patients with LSS.
SYSTEMATICALLY SHORTCHANGED, YET CARRYING ON: Black Adolescent Girls in the Detroit Metropolitan School Reform Environment

School reform policies, such as the closure of "low-performing" schools and the competitive introduction of school choice and charters, were presented to communities of color as the fix to educational inequities and the lifeline needed for urban Black students to have a chance at a quality education and social mobility. The ways in which reforms have under-delivered on this promise, and in some cases exacerbated negative academic outcomes, particularly for Black boys, are documented. Yet, research on the experience of Black adolescent girls is sparse. We explore ways that policies aimed at delivering a school choice environment have affected daily life for Black adolescent girls. We examine this issue in the context of the Detroit metropolitan area with Black adolescent girls, reflecting on their high school education experiences that spanned a time-period of rapid transitions in the schooling environment (2014-2016) prompted by a series of school reforms in Michigan. Through in-depth interviews we found that girls sought to invest in their high school education as a path to college; yet the very reforms advanced as ways to clear this path, hindered their ability to spend time on the human and social capital activities believed to be important to their academic success and social mobility. Our findings suggest advantages for those students with proximal access to high quality neighborhood schools cannot be replicated in a choice environment. There may also be health consequences of the coping strategies girls are compelled to employ to carry on under adverse educational circumstances.
Osteogenic preconditioning in perfusion bioreactors improves vascularization and bone formation by human bone marrow aspirates.

Cell-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) provides a niche to promote osteogenic differentiation, cell adhesion, survival, and trophic factor secretion. To determine whether osteogenic preconditioning would improve the bone-forming potential of unfractionated bone marrow aspirate (BMA), we perfused cells on ECM-coated scaffolds to generate naive and preconditioned constructs, respectively. The composition of cells selected from BMA was distinct on each scaffold. Naive constructs exhibited robust proangiogenic potential in vitro, while preconditioned scaffolds contained more mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) and exhibited an osteogenic phenotype. Upon implantation into an orthotopic calvarial defect, BMA-derived ECs were present in vessels in preconditioned implants, resulting in robust perfusion and greater vessel density over the first 14 days compared to naive implants. After 10 weeks, human ECs and differentiated MSCs were detected in de novo tissues derived from naive and preconditioned scaffolds. These results demonstrate that bioreactor-based preconditioning augments the bone-forming potential of BMA.
Get Out: Moral Monsters at the Intersection of Racism and the Horror Film

Pinedo uses critical race theory to analyze how Get Out (2017) simultaneously engages and subverts horror film tropes to depict the disposability of black life in post-racial America, in the process, extending Clover’s figure of the Final Girl beyond its original theoretical and empirical limitations. The film’s central image is the ‘sunken place,’ a form of social death depicted as a void within which black subjectivity is constricted and isolated while a white person controls his/her fate. This chapter explores how the film and promotional strategies construct both black subjectivity and the moral monsters that would systematically degrade a class of human beings without remorse. It shows that racial politics in Get Out falls on the critical cross line between Night of the Living Dead (1968) and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Development and Validation of the Motivation to Teach Computer Science Scale

Motivation is a powerful driver of teachers' decisions to enter the teaching profession and why they stay in the field. As computer science education (CSEd) expands and the need for well-prepared computer science (CS) teachers grows, understanding what motivates teachers to teach CS will help address challenges related to recruiting, preparing, and retaining teachers. This poster presents the development of a scale that measures teachers' motivation to teach CS. We used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to test and revise the scale. This resulted in a reliable, 18-item scale that measures four distinct, but related, constructs of teacher motivation to teach CS: external pressures, external benefits, student benefits, and personal enjoyment. Researchers and practitioners can utilize this scale to understand what motivates teachers to become CS educators and explore how such motivations can be leveraged to strengthen CSEd.
Synchronous spiking of cerebellar Purkinje cells during control of movements

Abstract The information that the brain transmits from one region to another is often viewed through the lens of firing rates. However, if the output neurons could vary the timing of their spikes with respect to each other, then through synchronization they could highlight information that may be critical for control of behavior. In the cerebellum, the computations that are performed by the cerebellar cortex are conveyed to the nuclei via inhibition. Yet, synchronous activity entrains nucleus neurons, making them fire. Does the cerebellar cortex rely on spike synchrony within populations of Purkinje cells (P-cells) to convey information to the nucleus? We recorded from multiple P-cells while marmosets performed saccadic eye movements and organized them into populations that shared a complex spike response to error. Before movement onset, P-cells transmitted information via a rate code: the simple spike firing rates predicted the direction and velocity of the impending saccade. However, during the saccade, the spikes became temporally aligned within the population, signaling when to stop the movement. Thus, the cerebellar cortex relies on spike synchronization within a population of P-cells, not individual firing rates, to convey to the nucleus when to stop a movement.
Tapering Chronic Opioid Medications: A Human Factors Approach to Building a Provider-Facing App:

Approximately 25.3 million adults in the U.S. take prescription opioid medication to provide relief from their daily pain. Over-prescription of these medications has contributed to the opioid epide...
MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC Serious Injury by Vehicle: Define Crime

The Act creates a new felony offense of serious injury by vehicle resulting from reckless driving. Previously, the Code restricted the felony offense of serious injury by vehicle to reckless driving due to impairment of ability by alcohol or drugs. The Act broadens the statute's scope to include reckless driving without such impairment.
Improvements in K-Nearest Neighbor Classification

We have deveioped two novel methods to improve K-nearest neighbor (K-NN) classifications. First, we introduce a new technique to greatly reduce the template size. This significantly improves classification time with no accuracy drop. Secondly, we introduce a preprocessing procedure to preclude a large part of prototype patterns which are unlikely to match the unknown pattern. This again accelerates the classification procedure considerably. The simulation results on the GSC digit recognizer [1] show that the accommodation of two procedures to K-NN search achieves 7 times faster than the original one without any decay in classification accuracy.
Fuzzy Quantum Probability Theory

This paper surveys some of the recent results that have been obtained in fuzzy quantum probability theory. In this theory fuzzy events are represented by quantum effects and fuzzy random variables are represented by quantum measurements. Probabilities, conditional probabilities and sequential products of effects are discussed. The relationship between the law of total probability and compatibility of measurements is treated. Results concerning independent effects are given. Finally, properties of the sequential product, almost sharp effects and nearly sharp effects are discussed.
The Role of Chunking and Organization in The Process of Recall

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the role of chunking and organization in the process of recall. There are four concepts associated with the organization of memory: chunk, memory code, decode, and recode. Chunks have been operationally defined as behavior sequences, which tend to occur either adjacently or in an all-or-none manner. Theoretically, they can be defined as item or information sets, which are stored within the same memory code, with the code and the chunk being distinct. Recoding refers to the process of learning the code for a chunk, and decoding is the process of translating the code into the information it represents. Organization plays a major role in the associative relations between an item in a sequence and all the other items in the sequence. When the items are from the same chunk, there appears to be a transferable association, but if they are from different chunks the transfer is small, if it exists at all. Chunks may also represent decision units in recall.
The combination of finite-length geometric equalization and bandwidth optimization for multicarrier transceivers

A bandwidth-optimized and equalized multicarrier transceiver that achieves near-optimum performance at a practical complexity level is described. The equalizer used is a relatively short FIR filter whose taps and delay are set to optimize the performance of the multicarrier transceiver. Simulation results on a set of carrier-serving-area subscriber loops are also presented to demonstrate the separate and joint effects of bandwidth optimization and equalization on performance. Finally, the intriguing idea of using a pole-zero equalizer to achieve the high performance of infinite-complexity FIR equalizers at a much lower implementation cost is investigated.
Kant's Commitment to Metaphysics of Morals

A definitive feature of Kant's moral philosophy is its rationalism. Kant insists that moral theory, at least at its foundation, cannot take account of empirical facts about human beings and their circumstances in the world. This is the core of Kant's commitment to ‘metaphysics of morals’, and it is what he sees as his greatest contribution to moral philosophy. The paper clarifies what it means to be committed to metaphysics of morals, why Kant is committed to it, and where he thinks empirical considerations may enter moral theory. The paper examines recent work of contemporary Kantians (Barbara Herman, Allen Wood, and Christine Korsgaard) who argue that there is a central role for empirical considerations in Kant's moral theory. Either these theorists interpret Kant himself as permitting empirical considerations to enter, or they propose to extend Kant's theory so as to allow them to enter. With some qualifications, I argue that these interpretive trends are not supported by the texts, and that the proposed extensions are not plausibly Kantian. Kant's insistence on the exclusion of empirical considerations from the foundations of moral theory is not an incidental feature of his thought which might be modified while the rest remains unchanged. Rather, it is the very centre of his endeavours in moral philosophy. If we disagree with it, I argue, we have grounds for moving to a distinctly different theoretical framework.
Streptococcus and rheumatic fever.

Purpose of reviewTo give an overview of the current hypotheses of the pathogenesis of rheumatic fever and group A streptococcal autoimmune sequelae of the heart valve and brain.Recent findingsHuman monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) derived from rheumatic heart disease have provided evidence for crossreac
Prerequisite for development of visually guided reaching in the kitten.

Abstract Only certain components of visually coordinated behavior develop when a kitten has access to some sources of visual feedback from movement but not others. The components acquired are precisely related to opportunity for feedback, but this finding does not imply that there are no other constraints upon development. Certain visual motor capacities may be prerequisite to acquisition of others. Specifically, we have inquired whether the development of a body-centered map of space, as evidenced by visually guided locomotion, might be prerequisite to development of visually guided reaching. Kittens were permitted visual feedback from one forelimb before, and from the other forelimb after, development of guided locomotion. Guided reaching was displayed only when using the forelimb from which movement produced feedback was provided subsequent to acquisition of a body-centered map of visual space.
Mechanisms of stereoscopic vision: the disparity energy model

The past year has seen significant advances in our understanding of the role played by the primary visual cortex (V1) in stereoscopic vision. Recently, the mechanism by which complex cells in V1 respond to random-dot stereograms has been characterized; it appears that their response properties greatly reduce the complexity of one of the critical links for stereopsis, the correspondence problem.
Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) modulates pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene regulation in stably transfected AtT-20 cells overexpressing LIF.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) levels are elevated in sepsis and correlate with shock and poor prognosis. We have previously shown that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration induces hypothalamic and pituitary LIF expression in vivo, which is associated with the acute rise in circulating adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) levels. As AtT-20 cells respond to LIF, we established murine LIF (mLIF) stably transfected AtT-20 cell lines to study LIF regulation of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) expression and ACTH secretion. Our results show that mLIF transfectants accumulated mLIF (up to 15.6±3.2 ng/mL after 24h) as well as increased ACTH secretion (up to 2.4-fold above control cells) in conditioned medium. The magnitude of ACTH induction correlated with mLIF concentrations in different transfectants (r=0.75–0.88,p<0.05). Moreover, mLIF transfectants showed a higher sensitivity to CRH stimulation with an increased ACTH production within 8 h (p<0.05), whereas control cells were responsive to CRH at 24h. Additionally, mLIF transfectants exhibited a maximum threefold ACTH induction, compared to 1.7-fold in control cells. Furthermore, mLIF transfectants have a blunted dexamethasone-mediated inhibition of ACTH (35% inhibition in control cells vs no inhibition in mLIF-transfected cells at 24h). These findings support and extend the previous observations of LIF acting at the pituitary level, and indicate that mLIF stably-transfected AtT-20 cells are a useful model for studying mLIF-mediated gene regulation in pituicytes.
How to provide something for everyone without going insane

Along with the rest of the Information Technology landscape over the last couple of years, providing technical support to Faculty has become increasingly complex. As faculty and student use of different electronic communication tools increase, requests for training and support become more frequent. At the same time, the increased diversity of support needs precludes use of scalable training models like traditional one-size-fits-all workshops.To meet these changing needs with current staff, Lewis & Clark's Client Services division has focused on scalable initiatives to encourage self-directed faculty experimentation with instructional technology, foster informal peer-to-peer networking across disciplines, and develop a training framework that successfully mixes formal classroom instruction and one-to-one/on-demand training.
Polarized modulated PMDR spectroscopy and the zero-field origin of phosphorescence

Abstract A new technique is deonstrated which enables the identification of the zero-field origin of each vibronic band in the phosphorescence spectrum of polyatomic molecules at very low temperatures. The method employs modulation of the microwave radiation which saturates one of the zero-field transitions while detecting the changes in the vibronic band intensity in the phosphorescence spectrum at the modulation frequency. Bands originating from either of the zero-field levels being saturated appear in the modulated spectrum with 180° phase shifts. Bands originating from both zero-field levels being saturated may show weakly in the modulated spectrum but can readily be identified by recording the modulated polarized optical spectrum.
A New Genus of Smuts

Heptapleurum venulosum Seem. is a glabrous tree common in the mixed forests of Mysore. It bears in season small orange colored fruits which give it a very characteristic and attractive appearance and the tree is often grown therefore in ornamental gardens. One such tree growing in Lalbagh at Bangalore was found to be heavily infected by a smut. The smut is principally fructicolous (FIG. 2) but it also attacks the stems, the petioles and the leaves. In the attacked fruit, the embryo and the endosperm get replaced by a pulverulent mass of spores which are held to- gether by the dried pericarp. Partially infected fruits are also common.
Preparation of high-performance optical coatings with fluoride nanoparticle films made from autoclaved sols

An ultralow refractive index is very advantageous when one designs antireflective coatings. We successfully obtained high-quality MgF2 thin films with ultralow refractive indices from autoclaved sols prepared from magnesium acetate and hydrofluoric acid. The MgF2 films consist of nanosized particles, and they have high laser-exposure durability at 193 nm. The reflectance of the antireflective coating with five layers, of which the top layer is formed by our method, is lower than 0.6% in the incident angle range of 0°-60° at 193 nm.
Platelet integrins and immunoreceptors

Stable platelet adhesion to extracellular matrices and the formation of a hemostatic or pathological thrombus are dependent on integrin alphaIIbbeta3, also known as GPIIb-IIIa. However, maximal platelet responses to vascular injury may involve the participation of other integrins expressed in platelets (alphaVbeta3, alpha2beta1, alpha5beta1, and alpha6beta1). Platelet membrane 'immunoreceptors' contain at least one subunit with an extracellular immunoglobulin superfamily domain and/or an intracellular stimulatory immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) or immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM). Platelet ITAM receptors, such as FcgammaRIIA and the GPVI-FcRgamma complex, promote activation of integrins, while ITIM receptors, such as platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1, may promote their inhibition. This review summarizes the structure and function of platelet integrins and immunoreceptors, the emerging functional relationships between these receptor classes, and the consequences of their interaction for platelet function in hemostasis and thrombosis.
Informed shared decision-making and patient satisfaction.

Background Evidence suggests that when patients have a role in medical decisions they are more satisfied with their health care. Objective To assess predictors of patient satisfaction, ratings of the provider′s informed shared decision-making (ISDM), and disability among patients with orthopedic pain complaints. Research Design A total of 130 patients with nontraumatic painful conditions of the upper extremity were enrolled. Medical encounters were audio recorded and coded by 2 independent coders. Eight ISDM elements and a total ISDM score were evaluated. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were used to answer the study questions. Measures Participants completed the Princess Margaret Hospital Patient Satisfaction with their Doctor Questionnaire to measure satisfaction; the Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire; the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 to measure depression; the Whiteley Index to assess heightened illness concerns; and the pain catastrophizing scale to assess coping strategies in response to pain. Results Less health anxiety, female gender, the ISDM element Identify choice , and any specific diagnosis determined 22% of the variation in satisfaction. Less health anxiety and unemployed unable to work compared with full-time working status were associated with a better rating of shared decision-making on the ISDM. Catastrophic thinking, female gender, symptoms of depression, and any specific diagnosis were associated with greater disability. Catastrophic thinking and symptoms of depression were the greatest contributors to the variation in disability. Conclusions Psychologic factors are the strongest determinants of patient satisfaction, ratings of shared decision-making on the ISDM, and upper-extremity disability. Health anxiety is the most important factor in ratings of patient satisfaction and ISDM, whereas depression and catastrophizing are salient predictors of disability. Level of Evidence Prognostic level I.
New Diagnostic Tests for Pneumonia: What is Their Role in Clinical Practice?

The utility of diagnostic studies to determine the etiologic agents of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has been controversial in part because of the lack of rapid, accurate, easily performed, and cost-effective methods, which might allow results for most patients at the initial point of service (ie, the initial evaluation by a clinician in an office or acute care setting). Of note, except for the introduction of the urinary antigen tests for Streptococcus pneumoniae and Legionella, there hasbeenslowadvancementindiagnosticmethods for determining the etiologic agent of CAP over the past century. For the most part, we have relied on techniques used since the time of Koch and Pasteur—standard microbiological stain and culture methods. Recently, advancements in molecular testing methods have brought forth new potentials for diagnosis, and more rapid identification of pathogens is possible. In addition, recent studies have suggested that procalcitonin levels help to distinguish between bacterial and viral pneumonia, reduce antibacterial use, and can predict severity of CAP. This article explores new diagnostic tests (immunochromatographic antigen tests and molecular tests) and procalcitonin, and assesses their clinical utility.
Energy Bands in Ferromagnetic Nickel

The energy bands in ferromagnetic nickel have been calculated within the framework of the unrestricted Hartree-Fock scheme, in which the exchange terms were approximated by a local potential. The augmented-plane-wave method was used to find the eigenvalues of the approximate Hamiltonian, and self-consistency was achieved after several iterations of this method. It was found that the use of the averaged free-electron exchange potential, i.e., ${{\overline{V}}_{x}}^{(s)}=\ensuremath{-}6{(\frac{6{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{s}}{8\ensuremath{\pi}})}^{\frac{1}{3}}$, gave results in qualitative disagreement with experiment. Reducing the exchange potential by a factor of $\frac{2}{3}$ gave more realistic results. Comparisons with the experimental data are presented which show that the unrestricted Hartree-Fock scheme may be an acceptable model for the ground state of a ferromagnetic solid.
Why academic drug discovery makes sense.

Contrary to the opinions expressed by J. Erickson in his Letter “Translation research and drug development” (19 May, p. [997][1]), we strongly believe that investing in academic drug discovery makes good financial and scientific sense. Erickson presents alarming data on the rising costs and
ZnO ultraviolet photodetectors grown via thermal oxidation of Zn-metal on glass and sapphire substrates

We have investigated the optical and structural properties of polycrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) films grown on glass and c-plane sapphire substrates. Zinc-metal films where grown on glass and sapphire substrates via dc-sputter deposition at room temperature with subsequent thermal annealing in air at 300° and 600°C. X-ray diffraction spectra indicate that after annealing, the resulting ZnO films possess a polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure without a preferred orientation. Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra indicate that films annealed at 300°C exhibited the strongest ultraviolet (UV) emission intensity and lowest deep-level emission. Increasing deep-level green emission was observed with increasing annealing temperature for films grown on glass substrates, and a red shift in the excitonic UV band was observed for films grown on sapphire substrates. ZnO-based metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) UV photodetectors where fabricated via sputter deposition of aluminum ohmic contacts on the resulting ZnO films. Decreasing photocurrent is seen for increasing annealing temperature, which is consistent with PL studies.
Identification of the bright-greenish-yellow-fluorescence (BGY-F) compound on cotton lint associated with aflatoxin contamination in cottonseed.

Abstract In order to characterize the structure of the bright-greenish-yellow-fluorescence (BGY-F) compound on cotton lint associated with aflatoxin contamination in cotton seed, various in vitro and in vivo natural BGY-F reaction products were prepared. Under similar high pressure liquid chromatography separation with variable wavelength and programmable fluorescence detection (HPLC–UV/FL), combined with atmospheric pressure ionization and mass spectral determinations it was found that the BGY-F reaction products prepared from three preparations: (a) kojic acid (KA) + peroxidase (soybean peroxide or horseradish type VI and type II) + H2O2, or (b) detached fresh cotton locules + KA + H2O2, or (c) attached field cotton locules that were treated with a spore suspension of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus, all resulted in identical chromatographic characteristics, and all exhibited a molecular weight of 282. Further characterization of the BGY-F reaction product with 1 H - and 13 C -NMR spectroscopic analysis revealed that it was a dehydrogenator dimer of 2 KA, linked through the C-6 positions.
Immunoregulatory lysophospholipids: new stars in the mast cell constellation.

The principal mammalian LPLs S1P and LPA are produced in large quantities by mast cells and have a completely different spectrum of immunologic activities than the other major immunoregulatory lipid mediator of mast cells, leukotriene B4 (LTB4). LTB4 acts through the lymphocyte GPCR BLT1 to attract T cells by direct chemotactic stimulation and altered adhesiveness for endothelial cells in a manner similar to chemokines and their lymphocyte GPCRs. In contrast, the S1P-S1P1 GPCR system suppresses lymphocyte chemotactic responses to LTB4 and chemokines to prevent excessive infiltration of lymphoid tissues by lymphocytes. The S1P-S1P1 GPCR system also suppresses lymphocyte activation with lower efficiency both directly and by trophic support of suppressor T-regulatory cells. The regulatory effects of the lymphocyte S1P-S1P1 GPCR system on cytokine generation favors Th2 cell activity over Th1 cell activity and, thus, promotes allergic reactions. Although LPA and S1P have prominent vasoactive, smooth muscle, and secretory gland activities, it is not yet known if they are primary chemical mediators of allergic reactions. Results of future studies of these lipids in animal models with genetically altered expression of GPCRs for S1P and LPA, as well as applications of selective antagonists of the receptors, will answer the latter question and further elucidate the nature of their immunoregulatory roles.
Sequential staining with Hoechst 33258 and quinacrine mustard for the identification of human chromosomes in somatic cell hybrids

Abstract We have analysed metaphase chromosomes of man-mouse somatic cell hybrids using a sequential staining procedure involving the fluorescent DNA-binding stains, Hoechst 33258 and quinacrine mustard. This was found to be a simple and reliable means of differentiating the chromosomes of the two species and of identifying specific human chromosomes. In addition, this method will permit the study of the segregation of human chromosome homologues that are discordant for quinacrine mustard fluorescent polymorphisms.
Intraparenchymal recurrence of a dural meningioma: association with rhabdoid alterations with aggressive biological and clinical behaviour

A 47-year-old man underwent surgery for syncytial meningioma. Twelve months later neuroimaging demonstrated recurrence, showing an intra-axial ring-enhanced cystic lesion in the site of previous surgery. High-grade glioma was suspected. Neuropathologist's diagnosis was 'intraparenchymal rhabdoid meningioma'. The case raises questions about behaviour of meningiomas and their differential diagnosis with gliomas.
Evaluation of urothelial stretch-induced cyclooxygenase-2 expression in a mouse ureteral obstruction model.

Abstract Prostanoids play a major role in the nociceptive response to ureteral obstruction. Cyclooxygenases (COXs) 1 and 2 catalyze the rate-limiting step in prostanoid synthesis; COX-2 is the more inducible isoform. Previous studies in human and animal models have shown that COX-2 is highly induced during ureteral obstruction. Our objective was to characterize acute COX-2 induction in a reproducible mouse model. Unilateral ureteral ligation was performed, and obstruction was maintained for 2, 4, 6, 8, or 12 hours. We evaluated COX-2 protein expression using Western immunoblotting, and found that ureteral obstruction induced COX-2 expression ninefold within 6 hours. This is the first report to characterize in vivo temporal stretch-induced COX-2 expression in a mouse model. This model will be critical for elucidation of COX-2 signaling pathways and may eventually help to identify novel therapeutic targets for treating ureteral obstruction.
Atomization-a new type for better gas scrubbing

Atomization of water by air in a Venturi scrubber was studied by stop-action still photography (0.5 μs) to determine how and where atomization takes place and what happens to the droplets formed. It was shown that two distinct types of atomization can be made to occur: “cloud-type” and “drop-type”. Cloud-type, a unique type of atomization, occurs when water is injected as a stream from nozzles greater than approximately 1 mm i.d.; drop-type occurs when smaller nozzles, spray nozzles, or dropping tubes are used which causes the water to enter the atomizer in drop (or sheet) manner. Atomization of streams produces smaller than predicted (< 30 μ dia.) droplets which group in cloud like form. Atomization of drops gives the predicted “larger” size droplets for which size range and distribution equations have been developed and verified in many previous investigations. Both of these types of atomization were produced in the same apparatus of this study simply by modifying the water inlet nozzle diameters. The difference between the two types of atomization is explained on the basis of surface tension considerations: There is less surface area in a stream of water than in the same volume of water as drops, so less work is required to break up a stream. Cloud-type atomization results in both higher atomization efficiency and in lower acceleration rates for the atomized droplets. These factors are important in obtaining efficient dust collection using inertial impaction devices. Atomization was shown to occur within 1.5 cm from the water inlets, so the lower the water droplet acceleration rate the better the collection results. Once atomized, clouds of water do not appear to agglomerate in the Venturi diffuser. Critical or minimum air velocities required to produce atomization are dependent upon the liquid injection nozzle i.d. Critical air velocities for cloud-type atomization of water can be obtained from the following equation (noting that minimum nozzle i.d. for cloud-type atomization is about 1.0 mm): vo, crit. = (8550d')12 + 15.3 where vo, crit. = fts−1d' = nozzlei.d., mm. This equation may vary slightly for impure water and other liquids. Cloud-type atomization, in addition to giving superior overall impaction type collection, should result in better absorption or adsorption in an extractor type collector because of the large number of liquid droplets formed (greater cross section and surface areas) and because of the lower acceleration rates. Operating and construction costs should both be lower in scrubbers using cloud-type atomization because larger nozzles are used. Water can be supplied at lower pressures and the numerous smaller inlets (or sprays) are not required. It should be noted that adequate liquid inlet arrangements are still necessary to assure good contact of the liquid streams by the gas stream. A water rate of 5 gal H2O/1000 ft3 air appears to provide adequate liquid for scrubbing with cloud-type atomization with scrubber diameter to nozzle diameter ratios in the range of from 9:1 to 16:1 and when the liquid is injected towards the center of the scrubber.