cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reinventing quantitative genetics for plant breeding: something old, something new, something borrowed, something BLUE

The goals of quantitative genetics differ according to its field of application. In plant breeding, the main focus of quantitative genetics is on identifying candidates with the best genotypic value for a target population of environments. Keeping quantitative genetics current requires keeping old concepts that remain useful, letting go of what has become archaic, and introducing new concepts and methods that support contemporary breeding. The core concept of continuous variation being due to multiple Mendelian loci remains unchanged. Because the entirety of germplasm available in a breeding program is not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, classical concepts that assume random mating, such as the average effect of an allele and additive variance, need to be retired in plant breeding. Doing so is feasible because with molecular markers, mixed-model approaches that require minimal genetic assumptions can be used for best linear unbiased estimation (BLUE) and prediction. Plant breeding would benefit from borrowing approaches found useful in other disciplines. Examples include reliability as a new measure of the influence of genetic versus nongenetic effects, and operations research and simulation approaches for designing breeding programs. The genetic entities in such simulations should not be generic but should be represented by the pedigrees, marker data, and phenotypic data for the actual germplasm in a breeding program. Over the years, quantitative genetics in plant breeding has become increasingly empirical and computational and less grounded in theory. This trend will continue as the amount and types of data available in a breeding program increase.
Gene profiling of genistein’s effect in men with prostate cancer.

5265 Genistein is a putative prostate cancer (PCa) chemopreventative agent. Both epidemiological studies conducted by others, as well as preclinical molecular pharmacology studies performed by us, indicate that genistein has the potential to inhibit metastasis. Prospective studies aimed at evaluating the effects of genistein upon prostate cells in man are lacking. As genistein may be an effective chemopre ventive agent but may be operating through other mechanisms, it is also notable that effective methods to broadly screen for molecular effects in target tissue in man are also lacking. After completing a phase I trial, we have implemented a phase 2 trial in men about to undergo radical prostatectomy, thus providing tissue from those treated with genistein and controls. We have recently developed a robust and accurate method which allows high density gene array profiles to be performed on specific prostate cell populations recovered from intact tissue by laser capture microdissection. In the current study we examine normal prostate epithelial cells, and compare gene expression profiles between control subjects (N = 11) and genistein treated (N = 8). From over 12,000 genes analyzed, 10 were identified as significantly differentially expressed. Importantly, 3 genes have a clear mechanistic relationship to genistein. HCF2 is an anticoagulant factor involved in cell migration. BASP1 is a neural tissue-enriched protein and motility-associated factor. HSP90 is in the same family as HSP27, which we have recently shown regulates PCa cell matrix metalloproteinase type 2 (MMP-2) induction and invasion. In summary, robust in vivo molecular profiling at the level of individual cell types is now possible, and provides key mechanistic information about therapeutic intervention.
Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Imaging

DCE-MRI involves the acquisition of serial T1-weighted images of the prostate before and after the bolus injection of a gadolinium-based contrast agent. Prostate cancers (PCa) show early enhancement due to increased vascularity or angiogenesis. Increased capillary permeability leads to higher uptake of contrast agent that shortens T1 relaxation time, and therefore cancers show up as hyperintense relative to surrounding tissue. PI-RADS v2 recommends imaging with an in-plane resolution ≤2 × 2 mm with 3 mm slice thickness without any gaps between slices that match diffusion-weighted images. The use of temporal resolution of <15 s (<7 s preferred) without any gaps in acquisition for over 2 min is recommended. In addition to qualitative analysis, semiquantitative (curve type, EMM) and quantitative analysis (Tofts pharmacokinetic model) can be used for PCa diagnosis. Prostate cancers are characterized by increased contrast media transfer coefficient (Ktrans) and typically a type 3 signal curve with increased wash-in and washout rate compared to benign tissue. Currently, DCE is still an essential component of the mpMRI prostate examination; however, its role in determination of PI-RADS v2.1 assessment category is secondary to T2W and DWI.
Representation, Incorporation, and Corrections Spending: The Counterbalancing Effect of Black Political Incorporation

Theories concerning the adoption of punitive policies at the state level often cite two dynamics: conservative ideology and racial threat, that punitive policies are more likely in states with Republican politicians and a higher proportion of Black residents. I argue these theories lose their explanatory power in the post-Civil Rights era, and suggest Black political incorporation acts as a powerful antidote to the punitive impulses of government officials. I test my hypotheses on a dataset of state corrections spending from 1983 to 2011 and find evidence for the counterbalancing argument. States with increasing percentages of Black state legislators spend .36 fewer dollars per capita on corrections, suggesting Black political incorporation is an important mediator in the relationship between racial threat and corrections budgets. This paper has implications for the application of the social control theory as descriptive representation grows, but also for the study of the effect of minority politicians on budgets and policy more broadly. The adoption of policies deleterious to certain communities can be mitigated by the presence of representatives who legislate on behalf of those communities.
The Spice Islands in Prehistory: Archaeology in the Northern Moluccas, Indonesia: edited by Peter Bellwood, Terra Australis 50, Canberra, ANU Press, 2019, 235 pp., ISBN 9781760462918 (online)

Anthropological archaeologists have investigated human interaction for decades as interaction studies highlight how humans have communicated and networked for 200,000 years at a variety of spatial ...
The critical lower radius limit approach for laminar flame speed measurement from spherically expanding stretched flames

Abstract Spherically expanding flames are severely affected by flame stretch in the early stage of combustion and therefore stretch models are of great importance in determining the uncertainty of experimental laminar flame speeds (SL) and burned gas Markstein lengths (Lb). In order to prevent the existing large scatter in experimental data of these two fundamental flame parameters, the effect of the lower radius limit for the flame speed calculation on extrapolation results of the stretch models was investigated through spherically expanding flames under constant pressure. Methane, hydrogen, propane, and iso-octane fuels were tested to account for both hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon fuels with different evolutions in the burned gas Markstein length when equivalence ratio is increased. Results show that there is a critical lower radius limit (RL,critical), where all laminar flame speed and burned gas Markstein length values obtained by the extrapolation of the stretch models converge to the same laminar flame speed and burned gas Markstein length. The value of the critical lower radius limit strongly depends on the burned gas Markstein number (Mab) and this dependency can be shown with |Mab|=0.8424*RL,critical for fuel/oxidizer mixtures with −0.48 mm ≤ Lb ≤ 1.23 mm (or, −0.62 ≤ Mab ≤ 2.60). Finally, laminar flame speeds and burned gas Markstein lengths of methane, hydrogen, propane, and iso-octane flames that were corrected according to the critical lower radius limit approach proposed in the present study were compared to previously published experimental results.
Finding Sunshine on a Cloudy Day: A Positive Affect Intervention for Co-Occurring Methamphetamine Use and HIV

Abstract Among sexual minority men (i.e., gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men) living with HIV, those who use methamphetamine experience profound health disparities. Affect Regulation Treatment to Enhance Methamphetamine Intervention Success (ARTEMIS) is an evidence-based, 5-session, individually delivered positive affect intervention adapted for sexual minority men living with HIV who use methamphetamine. ARTEMIS was designed to amplify the benefits of evidence-based substance use interventions such as contingency management (CM) with this high-priority population. Delivering ARTEMIS during CM has been shown to assist participants in reducing stimulant use, increasing positive affect, and achieving durable reductions in HIV viral load. We describe the theoretical underpinnings of the ARTEMIS intervention, provide details of the training and session protocols with a case example, and discuss implications for future applications in research and clinical settings.
ADHD in Emerging Adults Attending College

Because up-to-date knowledge of ADHD is one of the keys to successful clinical management of this disorder, this chapter begins with an overview of ADHD, after which its clinical presentation, assessment issues, and co-occurring conditions are discussed. This is followed by a review of published research studies that have examined the therapeutic impact of various treatment approaches for college students with ADHD. The remainder of this chapter focuses on ACCESS – Accessing Campus Connections and Empowering Student Success – addressing our rationale for its development, the iterative steps taken to pilot test and refine it, a detailed description of the program’s major treatment components, and a brief summary of research findings that our research team has generated attesting to its efficacy.
Reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin methods for compressible flows based on a new hyperbolic Navier-Stokes system

Abstract A new first-order hyperbolic system (FOHS) is formulated for the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. The resulting hyperbolic Navier-Stokes system (HNS), termed HNS20G in this paper, introduces the gradients of density, velocity, and temperature as auxiliary variables. Efficient, accurate, compact and robust reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin (rDG) methods are developed for solving this new HNS system. The newly introduced variables are recycled to obtain the gradients of the primary variables. The gradients of these gradient variables are reconstructed based on a newly developed variational formulation in order to obtain a higher order polynomial solution for these primary variables without increasing the number of degrees of freedom. The implicit backward Euler method is used to integrate solution in time for steady flow problems, while the third-order explicit first stage singly diagonally Runge-Kutta (ESDIRK) time marching method is implemented for advancing solutions in time for unsteady flows. The flux Jacobian matrices are obtained with an automatic differentiation toolkit TAPENADE. The approximate system of linear equations is solved with either symmetric Gauss-Seidel (SGS) method or general minimum residual (GMRES) algorithm with a lower-upper symmetric Gauss-Seidel (LU-SGS) preconditioner. A number of test cases are presented to assess accuracy and performance of the newly developed HNS+rDG methods for both steady and unsteady compressible viscous flows. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the developed HNS+rDG methods are able to achieve the designed order of accuracy for both primary variables and the their gradients, and provide an attractive and viable alternative for solving the compressible Navier-Stokes equations.
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy-related Inflammation Presenting With a Cystic Lesion in Young-onset Alzheimer Disease.

We describe a patient with cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related inflammation (CAA-ri) presenting as Alzheimer disease (AD) with a mass lesion with symptom onset at age 59. He was found to have a nonenhancing lesion in the right temporal lobe on magnetic resonance imaging without evidence of hemorrhage. He underwent a biopsy which showed amyloid beta in blood vessel walls and a perivascular inflammatory infiltrate consistent with CAA-ri. Neurofibrillary tangles were present and a flortaucipir positron emission tomography showed bilateral signal highest in the lateral temporal and parietal cortices. A lumbar puncture showed tau, p-tau, and amyloid beta levels consistent with AD without evidence of inflammation. He was homozygous for the APOE e4 allele. He died at age 67. A focus of CAA-ri can be present in the context of AD with a mass lesion and without evidence of hemorrhage, significant ischemic changes, or overt inflammation on cerebrospinal fluid examination.
Edinburgh postnatal depression scale: Description and applications

Abstract The Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS; Cox, Holden, & Sagovsky, 1987 ) is one of the most extensively researched self-report tools to screen for perinatal depression. Depression with peripartum onset (PPD) is defined as the onset of depression during pregnancy or after delivery. The EPDS is a 10-item self-report that measures the severity of a person’s mood and anxiety symptoms in the past 7 days. This chapter presents an overview of the EPDS format, purpose, and administration. We describe the method of scoring and interpreting results, its psychometric properties, and relevant cultural considerations. We will also describe how the EPDS can be used in clinical and research initiatives. Applications include the detection of PPD symptoms during the perinatal phase, evaluation of treatment efficacy, use in neuroscience research initiatives, and the improvement of patient care coordination.
Canada–USA Bilateral Fisheries Management in the Gulf of Maine: Under the Radar Screen

Canada and the USA have developed a series of cooperative initiatives that address transboundary fisheries issues in the Gulf of Maine. The Canada–USA Steering Committee serves as an umbrella forum for discussing and coordinating transboundary management measures. Through the work of the Transboundary Resource Assessment Committee and the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee, the Steering Committee has overseen the development of joint scientific stock assessments and a sharing agreement for groundfish resources in the vicinity of the eastern Georges Bank. The bilateral Fisheries Enforcement Agreement helps ensure the success of such cooperative management initiatives by combating illegal fishing in the vicinity of the international boundary. However, the largely informal ‘under the radar screen’ arrangements, while positive on many fronts, to date fall short of fully implementing key principles of sustainable development, such as public participation, the ecosystem approach, integration and precaution.
Deep immune profiling of the maternal-fetal interface with mild SARS-CoV-2 infection

Pregnant women are an at-risk group for severe COVID-19, though the majority experience mild/asymptomatic disease. Although severe COVID-19 has been shown to be associated with immune activation at the maternal-fetal interface even in the absence of active viral replication, the immune response to asymptomatic/mild COVID-19 remains unknown. Here, we assessed immunological adaptations in both blood and term decidua from 9 SARS-exposed pregnant women with asymptomatic/mild disease and 15 pregnant SARS-naive women. In addition to selective loss of tissue-resident decidual macrophages, we report attenuation of antigen presentation and type I IFN signaling but upregulation of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in blood monocyte derived decidual macrophages. On the other hand, infection was associated with remodeling of the T cell compartment with increased frequencies of activated CD69+ tissue-resident T cells and decreased abundance of Tregs. Interestingly, frequencies of cytotoxic CD4 and CD8 T cells increased only in the blood, while CD8 effector memory T cells were expanded in the decidua. In contrast to decidual macrophages, signatures of type I IFN signaling were increased in decidual T cells. Finally, T cell receptor diversity was significantly reduced with infection in both compartments, albeit to a much greater extent in the blood. The resulting aberrant immune activation in the placenta, even with asymptomatic disease may alter the exquisitely sensitive developing fetal immune system, leading to long-term adverse outcomes for offspring.
Sustainability: If It's Everything, Is It Nothing?

In this second edition, the authors present new developments in the sustainability discussion and argue that a new understanding of sustainability is needed if we are to truly serve future generations ecologically, economically, and equitably. Despite the great flurry of activity around sustainability, the concept itself remains highly contested. This book argues that a new conceptualization of sustainability is needed if we are to achieve a healthful and sustainable environment for the long term. The authors examine the uses, misuses, and abuses of sustainability, and provide case studies of faux sustainability in practice. Seeking to redefine and clarify the concept and its application, they offer a new definition of sustainability – what they call neo-sustainability – to help guide policies and practices that respect the primacy of the environment, the natural limits of the environment, and the relationship between environmental, social, and economic systems. Offering a comprehensive view of sustainability, this text is essential reading for all students and scholars in the field. It will also be of interest to environmental professionals and activists.
Distributed System Optimal Control and Parameter Estimation: Computational Techniques Using Spline Approximations.

Abstract Spline-based computational procedures for parameter estimation and optimal control problems involving delay and partial differential equations are outlined. Brief discussions are presented reporting on application of of the ideas to compute feedback controls for delay systems, to estimate variable coefficients in population dispersal models, and to estimate parameters in higher order models arising in elasticity.
Consultation evaluation: I. Psychotropic drug recommendations.

Abstract A follow-up chart review was undertaken of 100 consecutive patients seen in psychiatric consullation for whom psychotropic medication was recommended. Significant differences in implementation (P
On the Economics of Optimal Urban Groundwater Management in the Desert Southwest

Climate change and population growth anticipate the need for efficient, sustainable, long-term groundwater management. Groundwater serves as the primary water source for approximately 80 percent of public water systems in the United States and for many more as a secondary source. Traditionally management relies on groundwater to meet rising demand by increasing supply, but climate uncertainty and population growth require more judicious management to achieve efficiency and sustainability. Over pumping leads to groundwater overdraft and jeopardizes the ability of future users to depend on the resource. Optimal urban groundwater pumping is a solution to this conundrum. This paper investigates to what extent and under what circumstances optimally controlled groundwater pumping improves social welfare. It considers management in a hydro-economic framework and finds the optimal pumping path and the optimal price path. These enable the paper to identify the social benefit of controlled pumping and the scarcity rent, a tool to sustainably manage groundwater resources. The paper numerically illustrates the model with Albuquerque, New Mexico as the case study. The Albuquerque results indicate that, in the presence of strong demand growth, controlled pumping improves social welfare by 22 percent, lengthens the resource, and provides planners a mechanism to achieve water sustainability.
Simple vs. complex extrapolation models

This paper describes an empirical study of time series data for consumer products in the food processing industry at the stockkeeping unit level. The focus is on whether or not simple forecasting models adequately fit this type of data. The Box-Jenkins methodology is used to select forecasting models. The results show that simple models are identified by this procedure. In particular, two types of models prevail: (1) models that require information from only the previous time period and (2) simple seasonal models. The forecasting results reinforce the choice of simple models and show that better fitting models do not, in general, give better forecasts. Finally, the simple exponential smoothing model is shown to be a robust forecasting model for data of this type.
Successful treatment of hyperphagia by resection of a hypothalamic hamartoma

Hypothalamic hamartomas (HHs) are benign lesions that are often associated with central precocious puberty and may present with gelastic seizures. Treatment modalities for HH include medical therapy with long-term gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs or resection. The authors report the case of a 7-year-old girl who was diagnosed with an HH due to precocious puberty and was treated medically with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog for 3 years. Despite normalization of her plasma levels of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and estradiol and arrest of her precocious puberty, the patient developed progressive weight gain associated with extreme hyperphagia and morbid obesity by the age of 10 years. Her compulsive eating patterns were refractory to counseling and other interventions attempted by her parents and physicians. After resection of the HH, her hyperphagia resolved and her weight stabilized. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report describing resection of an HH for ...
Coevolution of composite-tool technology, constructive memory, and language: Implications for the evolution of modern human behavior

The evolution of modern human behavior was undoubtedly accompanied by neurological changes that enhanced capacities for innovation in technology, language, and social organization associated with working memory. Constructive memory integrates components of working memory in the medial prefrontal cortex to imagine alternative futures. Enhanced mental time travel permits long‐range strategic planning. Within this broadly conceived area of cognitive neuropsychology, I will focus on two stages of the evolution of cognitive faculties for planning. The first involves executing complex sequences of actions involving manufacture of multicomponent artifacts; the second involves enhanced planning through information sharing, which required the establishment of extended regional social interaction networks based on trust and cooperation. Both stages were probably accompanied by important innovations in grammatical speech.
An observation concerning a classification problem and back-propagation for the feedforward neural network

A simple classification problem using a single-layer feedforward neural network in conjunction with the backpropagation training algorithm (BPTA) is examined. It has been observed that, for such a problem, the values of the input weights are closely related to the input training set. An implication of this observation is that, rather than choosing initially random weights for the BPTA, one may choose initial weights that are actually quite close to a global minimum in the BP error function. An advantage of such a choice would be faster convergence times based on knowledge of the incoming training data. >
Probing DNA Bending Kinetics by yNhp6A with Ultrafast Temperature Jump Spectroscopy

The yeast Nhp6A protein is a member of the eukaryotic HMGB family of chromatin factors that enhance apparent DNA flexibility in many cellular processes. yNhp6A exhibits no sequence-specificity but binds to DNA with 1-10 nM affinity, sharply bending the DNA by >60° at the binding site. The kinetic mechanism by which this DNA deformation occurs remains unclear. It is not known whether the protein first binds weakly to unbent DNA and then deforms the DNA or if partially bent DNA conformations are thermally accessible and are “captured” and stabilized by the bound protein. The limited (tens-of-milliseconds) time resolution of previous kinetics studies was insufficient to observe the dynamics of DNA deformations in this complex. Here, we report time-resolved FRET measurements on yNhp6A bound to an 18-bp DNA oligomer labeled at each end with Cy3/Cy5, in response to a laser temperature-jump (T-jump) perturbation. The us temporal resolution of T-jump, together with ionic-strength and concentration dependence of equilibrium FRET and anisotropy measurements, helps reveal some of the microscopic kinetics steps. Equilibrium measurements with varied Nhp6A-DNA concentrations indicate that, at 250mM NaCl, the decrease in FRET with increasing temperature, in the range 15-60°C, is from unimolecular unbending of DNA. Kinetics traces measured under these salt conditions are single-exponential with relaxation times ranging from ∼400 us (at 60°C) to ∼1ms (at 45°C). At lower [salt] 65°C, bi-exponential kinetics are observed, likely corresponding to unimolecular bending/unbending, followed by dissociation of the complex and concurrent DNA melting. These results represent the first observation of DNA bending/unbending dynamics in complex with a nonspecific DNA-binding protein, and are an important step towards a more comprehensive understanding of the kinetic mechanisms of DNA binding and bending interactions by this class of proteins.
Conjugation in Stentor coeruleus

SYNOPSIS. Sexual reproduction of up to 50% of the cells from 9 cultures of Stentor coeruleus was observed repeatedly for several months. Photomicrographs were taken of mating pairs, and a number of new observations were made, including the ability of well fed cells (containing food vacuoles) to conjugate, the ability of a high percentage of cells (approaching 50%) in a culture to mate at one time, a more detailed description of the region of cell attachment as viewed from the frontal fields of the partner cells, and the ability of one partner to twist off and leave its oral area attached to the other member of the pair.
A model for computation of second breakdown in transistors

Abstract Two kinds of second breakdown are considered. 1. (1) thermal mode breakdown. 2. (2) current mode breakdown. All the theoretical considerations refer to the open circuit base configuration, but the results are generalized to both the forward and reverse bias cases. The problem is approached by assuming that the transverse voltage drops are negligibly small in both the emitter and collector ohmic connections (the substrate is regarded as the ohmic connection of the collector). Calculations show that the current-temperature system of a transistor is in a negative feedback regime as long as the temperature of the hottest part of the device does not exceed the critical value. At this stage, an approximately constant current density is maintained within the ‘effective transistor’. Once the critical value is reached, the transistor goes over into a positive-feedback regime and a spontaneous constriction of the current paths results. The current mode breakdown is due to the occurrence of a negative resistance in the collector junction as a result of the Kirk effect. Once this begins in a spot, the collector capacity discharges through it and this creates a pinching-in field. The high concentration of the dissipated energy which follows brings about a final thermal breakdown.
A linac-pumped excimer laser: Fluorescence and scaling studies

This work was an experimental investigation of a potential large-scale excimer laser system, in which a high-pressure KrF gas mix was pumped by the 4-MeV electron beam from an available linear accelerator. As a function of the mix and the pressure, fluorescence from KrF* and/or Kr2F* were produced with good efficiency. Comparing measured data with a kinetic model, it was found that the kinetics followed the “normal” patterns seen in low-energy electron pumping. The data fitting process also resulted in a new value for the three-body quenching rate constant for reactions involving Ar. A critical factor in the development of this laser will be an improvement in beam control over that afforded by a simple solenoidal magnet. The conditions necessary for lasing are predicted; no inherent limitations on scaling of the device were found.
RAS oncogenes: weaving a tumorigenic web

RAS proteins are essential components of signalling pathways that emanate from cell surface receptors. Oncogenic activation of these proteins owing to missense mutations is frequently detected in several types of cancer. A wealth of biochemical and genetic studies indicates that RAS proteins control a complex molecular circuitry that consists of a wide array of interconnecting pathways. In this Review, we describe how RAS oncogenes exploit their extensive signalling reach to affect multiple cellular processes that drive tumorigenesis.
Application of split-gate structures as tunable spin filters

We describe an electron filter that exploits the known magnetotransport properties of quantum point contacts to provide local and tunable control of the spin polarization in a semiconductor. When properly configured, we show that the conductance of this device gives a direct measure of the spin polarization of carriers transmitted through it. By modeling the transport through a potential barrier with experimentally realistic parameters, we discuss the factors which must be satisfied in order to successfully implement such a device.
Aortic Dissection Presenting as Isolated Lower Leg Ischemia

Abstract Background: Aortic dissections that present only with symptoms of lower extremity ischemia are rare. Few case reports exist documenting this phenomenon. Objectives: We report an unusual case of aortic dissection presenting as unilateral lower extremity pain. Case Report: A 56-year-old man presented with left lower extremity pain of 1 h duration. He had no associated complaints. Doppler imaging revealed decreased flow in the left iliac artery, thus, initial treatment with anticoagulation was begun for presumptive obstruction. Subsequent imaging with arteriography revealed a Stanford type A/DeBakey type 1 aortic dissection. This was confirmed by computer-assisted tomography angiography, and the patient was taken to surgery for repair. Conclusion: It is important to consider the connection between lower extremity symptoms and possible aortic dissection.
Acquisition of schedule-induced polydipsia in rats with no prior drinking experience

Abstract Three litters of 10 rat pups each were reared on Purina laboratory chow and either (1) continuous access to water, (2) access to both water and lettuce until weaning at 21 days and then only lettuce, or (3) continous access to lettuce. At 100 days all rats were reduced to 80% free feeding weight and tested for polydipsia. During 15 sessions of polydipsia testing, excessive postpellet drinking developed in all groups to 45 mg Noyes pellets delivered on a fixed-time 1 min schedule. No significant differences in water intake over sessions were found among groups. It was concluded that schedule-induced polydipsia does not represent an exaggeration of a learned prandial drinking pattern, but rather an exaggeration of an inborn prandial drinking reflex.
The feasibility of using natural language processing to extract clinical information from breast pathology reports.

Objective: The opportunity to integrate clinical decision support systems into clinical practice is limited due to the lack of structured, machine readable data in the current format of the electronic health record. Natural language processing has been designed to convert free text into machine readable data. The aim of the current study was to ascertain the feasibility of using natural language processing to extract clinical information from >76,000 breast pathology reports. Approach and Procedure: Breast pathology reports from three institutions were analyzed using natural language processing software (Clearforest, Waltham, MA) to extract information on a variety of pathologic diagnoses of interest. Data tables were created from the extracted information according to date of surgery, side of surgery, and medical record number. The variety of ways in which each diagnosis could be represented was recorded, as a means of demonstrating the complexity of machine interpretation of free text. Results: There was widespread variation in how pathologists reported common pathologic diagnoses. We report, for example, 124 ways of saying invasive ductal carcinoma and 95 ways of saying invasive lobular carcinoma. There were >4000 ways of saying invasive ductal carcinoma was not present. Natural language processor sensitivity and specificity were 99.1% and 96.5% when compared to expert human coders. Conclusion: We have demonstrated how a large body of free text medical information such as seen in breast pathology reports, can be converted to a machine readable format using natural language processing, and described the inherent complexities of the task.
Bidirectional, iterative approach to the structural delineation of the functional "chemoprint" in GPR40 for agonist recognition.

GPR40, free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFAR1), is a member of the GPCR superfamily and a possible target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In this work, we conducted a bidirectional iterative investigation, including computational modeling and site-directed mutagenesis, aimed at delineating amino acid residues forming the functional “chemoprint” of GPR40 for agonist recognition. The computational and experimental studies revolved around the recognition of the potent synthetic agonist GW9508. Our experimentally supported model suggested that H137(4.56), R183(5.39), N244(6.55), and R258(7.35) are directly involved in interactions with the ligand. We have proposed a polarized NH−π interaction between H137(4.56) and GW9508 as one of the contributing forces leading to the high potency of GW9508. The modeling approach presented in this work provides a general strategy for the exploration of receptor−ligand interactions in G-protein coupled receptors beginning prior to acquisition of experimental data.
Continuities and Discontinuities in Foreign Assistance

Assessing foreign assistance to Arab states sheds important light on how Western and regional donors have responded to the dramatic changes set in motion by the wave of mass protests that swept across the Middle East in 2011 and beyond. The papers presented in this special issue highlight two essential fingings. First, Western patterns of foreign assistance exhibit remarkable continuity, despite the scale of the uprisings and their effects, and despite the commitment of Western governments to expand assistance in support of the aspirations of Arab protestors. Second, patterns of foreign assistance from the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries reflect the deepening politicization of Arab foreign assistance, the ongoing shift in regional influence from the Arab East to the Gulf, and the extent to which foreign assistance has become instrumentalized in regional balance of power politics.
Alterations in the concentration of cholesterol in bile after administration of human growth hormone.

Extract: To determine the influence of human growth hormone (hGH) on gall bladder bile composition, bile (concentration and molar percentage of cholesterol, bile acids, and phospholipids) was examined in three growth hormone-deficient patients and in one control subject with constitutional short statute, but with adequate secretion of growth hormone. Investigations were made before and after 0.3, 4, and 12 months of therapy with exogenous hGH, 3 U/week. Two patients responded to hGH with accelerated growth (increase in height velocity from 1.3 and 0.2 cm/year to 10.5 and 3.0 cm/year, respectively), but, during the same time, the cholesterol concentration in bile increased progressively, raising the “lithogenic index” from 1.00 and 0.93 to 1.66 and 1.10, respectively. Normally, the “lithogenic index” is 1.00 or less. The third patient also showed some growth acceleration, but his bile did not become oversaturated with cholesterol. The bile of the control subject was excessively saturated with cholesterol after 0.3 months of treatment with hGH, raising the “lithogenic index” from 0.10 to 2.94, the highest yet reported in man. However, this abnormal response to hGH was not sustained, and bile composition returned to normal later on. The data obtained in this study suggest, but do not prove, that hGH might influence cholesterol secretion into bile. Speculation: Normally, biliary cholesterol is kept in micellar solution by bile acids and phospholipids. An increase in the concentration of cholesterol in bile, without a concomitant increase of bile acids and/or phospholipids, causes oversaturation of bile with cholesterol, as expressed in changes of the lithogenic index. The lithogenic index is a quantitative expression of the cholesterol saturation in bile by a single figure which represents all three major biliary lipids. Oversaturation of bile with cholesterol is now recognized as a probable prerequisite for the formation of cholesterol gall stones. Further studies should now define the influence of hGH on biliary cholesterol secretion rates.
Mechanisms for exsheathment of entomopathogenic nematodes

Abstract Infective juveniles of the entomopathogenic nematodes Steinernema carpocapsae (All and Mexican strains) and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (HB1 and NC1 strains) are ensheathed in a cuticle retained from the previous molt. Exsheathment marks the transition from the free-living to the parasitic life cycle. Chemical and non-chemical exsheathment methods were examined. S. carpocapsae exsheaths more readily than H. bacteriophora. Movement on a substrate increased exsheathment in S. carpocapsae but had no effect on H. bacteriophora. Exposure to 1% sodium hypochlorite for 5 min resulted in nearly 100% sheath removal in both species. Storage increased exsheathment, with greater than 70% exsheathed in both species after 64 days at 7°C. Agitation and carbon dioxide did not stimulate exsheathment. Temperature alone did not stimulate exsheathment, however, increased temperatures accelerated exsheathment during storage. The availability of reliable exsheathment methods will enable analysis of exsheathment behavior and clarification of the role of the sheath in entomopathogenic nematodes.
Multi-input multi-output vibration testing of an inflatable torus

Abstract In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) modal testing technique on an inflated torus. In particular, the refined modal testing methodology focuses on using Macro-Fiber Composite (MFC®) patches as both actuators and sensors. MFC® patches can be integrated in an unobtrusive way into the skin of the torus, and can be used to find a gossamer structure's modal parameters. Furthermore, MFC® excitation produces less interference with the suspension modes of the free–free torus than excitations from a conventional shaker. The use of multiple actuators is shown to properly excite the global modes of the structure and distinguish between pairs of modes at nearly identical resonant frequencies. Formulation of the MIMO test as well as the required post-processing techniques are studied and successfully applied to an inflated Kapton® torus.
Structural radial heterogeneity of a silica-based wide-bore monolithic column

The radial distribution of the main characteristics (elution time and standard deviation) of the elution profiles of a flat injected band recorded at the exit of a monolithic column were determined. These distributions provide the radial distributions of the average mobile phase velocity, the elution time and the maximum height of the peak of an analyte, the column efficiency and the analyte concentration. The band profiles were measured at the exit of a 10-mm i.d., 100-mm long silica-based monolithic column. An on-column local electrochemical amperometric detector allowed the recording of the elution profiles at different spatial positions throughout the column cross-section. The local spatial distribution of the mobile phase velocity does not follow a piston-flow behavior but exhibits radial heterogeneity. The local efficiency near the wall is lower than that near the column center. The radial distribution of the maximum concentration of the peaks varies throughout the column exit section, partially due to the radial variations of the column efficiency. These results might explain the rather large value of the A term of the Van Deemter or the Knox equations reported previously for monolithic columns.
Off-line thermochemolysis versus flash pyrolysis for the in situ methylation of lignin: Is pyrolysis necessary?

Abstract Lignin, a major biopolymer in vascular plants, is shown to undergo thermochemolysis reactions when subjected to flash pyrolysis with in situ methylation using tetramethylammonium hydroxide. The product distribution, composed of methylated lignin monomers, implies that the thermochemolysis involves cleavage of the β-O-4 ether bonds in the lignin. Because thermochemolysis occurs with equal effectiveness at sub-pyrolysis temperatures of 300 °C, we conclude that the analytical method does not require use of specialized pyrolysis equipment, and can be implemented in a batch mode in which internal standards can be added and the products quantified.
BRAIN-ASSOCIATED STEM CELL ANTIGEN: AN ANTIGEN SHARED BY BRAIN AND HEMOPOIETIC STEM CELLS

There is an antigen on mouse brain tissue which is shared by the hemopoietic colony-forming unit or stem cell of the mouse. Treatment of bone marrow or fetal liver cells with anti-brain antisera inhibits expression of colony-forming units. The anti-stem cell antibody is not absorbed by thymus cells and thus can be distinguished from the anti-thymocyte antibody which these antisera also contain.
Biopsy Principles and Techniques for Spinal Tumors

A major advance has been made in the diagnosis, classification and treatment of neoplasms of the spine. The biopsy represents a final step in the diagnosis of such lesions. Although technically it may be a minor procedure, it is well established that poorly conceived or executed biopsy may result in adverse outcome. In this article, we discuss issues related to preoperative work-up, optimal planning, and executing of the vertebral and paraspinous biopsy.
Chemical induction of sister chromatid exchange at fragile sites

Chromosomal breakage was studied for its correlation to sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes from normal individuals following treatment with different fragile site- and breakage-inducing chemicals. The average SCE per cell was similar for cultures untreated or treated with fluorodeoxyuridine (FdU), caffeine, and aphidicolin (APC) (6.5 SCE), but elevated with mitomycin C (MMC) (46.5 SCE). About half of the breaks induced with caffeine and FdU were at fragile sites, with fewer than 10% accompanied by SCE. Forty percent of MMC-induced breaks were at fragile sites, of which 47% had SCE. APC induced 68% breaks at fragile sites, of which 44% were associated with SCE. Fragile sites induced at >4% included 3p14, 6q26, 7q22, and 16q23. The 3p14 fragile site was induced by all chemicals except caffeine. The different frequency in induction of fragile sites and their association with SCE by the chemicals tested suggest that they are related to different mechanisms of induction which may be dependent upon nucleotide content.
Breeding-Induced Endometritis in Mares

Endometritis is a common cause of infertility in broodmares. In the past, the condition was believed to be exclusively the result of bacterial contamination of the uterus. Treatment strategies were focused on preventing bacteria from entering the uterus and on treating mares with signs of endometritis with antibiotics. More recent research on uterine defense mechanisms has increased our understanding of the pathophysiology of equine endometritis. Additional causative agents have been identified, and we have learned to separate uterine infections and a physiologic breeding-induced endometritis resulting from uterine exposure to semen.vi
THE ABEL‐FOURIER METHOD OF HANKEL TRANSFORMATION: APPLICATIONS TO SEISMIC DATA*

The formal equivalency between a Hankel transform and an Abel transform followed by a Fourier transform is used as a basis for the computation of synthetic seismograms and for performing plane-wave decomposition of both synthetic and field seismograms. The Abel-Fourier method performs better for near-offset or small ray-parameter, although at greater computational effort than calculations based upon the asymptotic Hankel transform.
Assessment of Fermi-liquid description for the normal state of high- T c superconductors

The applicability of Fermi-liquid theory for the normal state of the high-${T}_{c}$ copper oxides is investigated. In the present context "Fermi-liquid theory" refers to a description in which there are two components (copper and oxygen) within the Fermi surface. This is to be contrasted with other approaches in which the Cu electrons are fully localized. Our calculations are based on a Coulomb renormalized band structure which characterizes the quasiparticle energies. This band structure arises from a variety of different but essentially equivalent mean-field techniques. The present focus is on deriving a Fermi-liquid description which combines both Coulomb-induced localization (as a precursor to the insulating state) with semirealistic band structure. The latter requires that next-nearest-neighbor oxygen-oxygen overlap integrals also be included in a tight-binding scheme. The interplay of these two effects leads to (i) a positive Hall coefficient which becomes progressively larger as the insulator is approached and reverses its sign for large doping concentration; (ii) a "pinning" of the Cu valence near the ${\mathrm{Cu}}^{2+}$ state; (iii) two important features in the density of states, one of which can be associated with the van Hove singularities and the other with band narrowing or incipient localization effects. The former occur away from the half-filled limit as a result of oxygen-oxygen overlap processes, so that the perfect nesting of the nearest-neighbor half-filled tight-binding model is significantly offset. The latter leads to a strong prediction of the theory: as in the Brinkman-Rice picture, incipient localization effects will be manifested by a progressively larger Sommerfeld coefficient $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ as the insulator is approached. This prediction needs to be tested experimentally. While transport experiments seem consistent with this behavior, more direct thermodynamic measurements are both difficult to interpret and too sample sensitive to allow clear trends to be inferred from the data. Our general conclusion is that, at present, there is no persuasive evidence to support the claim that Fermi-liquid theory is inapplicable to the copper oxides.