cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Corrigendum to “Microsaccade directions do not predict directionality of illusory brightness changes of overlapping transparent surfaces” [Vision Research 46 (2006) 3823–3830]

In the above-referenced article, we reported that microsaccade directions do not predict the directionality of illusory brightness changes of overlapping transparent surfaces. While our results and conclusions remain the same, there was a methodological error that requires correction. We used the SRresearch Eyelink2 algorithm to identify microsaccades, but because of an error that was not discovered until after publication, peri-blink eye movements were not removed before microsaccade detection as per standard protocol. As a result, peri-blink eye movements may have been identified as microsaccades when they were not. This could have increased the noise level, leading to the null result reported. We have repeated the study with a greater number of subjects (n = 10), removing any potential spurious microsaccades in the neighborhood of eyeblinks. We replicate our previous null finding using a more conservative analysis and microsaccade detection algorithm modified from Engbert and Kliegl [Engbert, R., & Kliegl, R. (2003). Microsaccades uncover the orientation of covert attention. Vision Research, 43, 1035–1045]. Our results confirm our previous finding that microsaccade directions do not predict directionality of illusory brightness changes of overlapping transparent surfaces, and vice versa. Details of the new analysis and data can be found online in the supplementary material in Appendix A. Although the results are the same, because this replication was carried out with more subjects and analyzed in a more conservative manner, the results in Appendix A effectively replace those in the previous report.
Distribution Of Distances In Native And Denatured Troponin I, From Frequency-Domain Measurements Of Fluorescence Energy Transfer

We used time-dependent fluorescence energy transfer to determine the distribution of donor-to-acceptor distances in native and denatured troponin I(TnI). The single tryptophan residue (trp 158) of TnI served as the donor (D), and the acceptor (A) was a labeled cysteine residue (cys 133). The time-dependent intensity decays of the donor were measured by the frequency-domain method. The frequency-response of the donor emission, in the absence and presence of acceptor, was used to recover the distribution of D to A distances, using an algorithm which accounts for the intrinsic multi-exponential decay of the donor. In the native state the D-A distribution is characterized by an average distance of 23 A and a half-width of 12 A. Denaturation results in a modest increase in the average distance to 27 A, and a dramatic increase in half-width to 47 A. We believe the ability to recover distance distributions will have numerous applications in the characterization of biological macromolecules.© (1988) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Explanations of American punishment policies: A national history

None of the conventional explanations why American penal policies became so severe — rising crime rates, harsh public attitudes and cynical electoral politics — are persuasive. Nor are various `con...
Bilateral internal iliac artery ligation as a damage control approach in massive retroperitoneal bleeding afterpelvic fracture

Introduction:The management of massive retroperitoneal hemorrhage in unstable patients with pelvic fractures remains a considerable therapeutic challenge after blunt mechanisms of injury. We present our study using emergent bilateral ligation of the internal iliac arteries (BLIA) and pelvic packing
The penetration of fresh undiluted sputum expectorated by cystic fibrosis patients by non-adhesive polymer nanoparticles.

Highly viscoelastic and adhesive sputum has precluded efficient nanoparticle-based drug and gene delivery to the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). We sought to determine whether nanoparticles coated with non-mucoadhesive polymers could penetrate CF sputum, and to use these “muco-inert particles” (MIPs) as non-destructive nanoprobes to characterize the sputum microstructure. Particles as large as 200 nm in diameter that were densely coated with low MW polyethylene glycol (PEG) moved through undiluted CF sputum with average speeds up to 90-fold faster than similarly-sized uncoated particles. On the other hand, the transport of both coated and uncoated 500 nm particles was strongly hindered. The local viscosity of sputum, encountered by the fastest 10% of 200 nm MIPs, was only 5-fold higher than that of water, whereas the bulk viscosity was 10,000-fold higher at low shear rates. Using measured transport rates of various sized MIPs combined with an obstruction-scaling model, we determined that the average 3D mesh spacing of CF sputum is ~140 ± 50 nm (range: 60-300 nm). Taken together, these results demonstrate that nanoparticles up to 200 nm in diameter that do not adhere to CF sputum can move rapidly through this critical barrier by accessing pores that are filled with a low viscosity fluid. The results also offer hope that desperately needed sputum-penetrating drug- and gene-carrier nanoparticles can be developed for CF.
Stochastic roadmap simulation: an efficient representation and algorithm for analyzing molecular motion

Classic techniques for simulating molecular motion, such as the Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics methods, generate individual motion pathways one at a time and spend most of their time trying to escape from the local minima of the energy landscape of a molecule. Their high computational cost prevents them from being used to analyze many pathways. We introduce Stochustic Roadmap Sirrrcllation (SRS), a new approach for exploring the kinetics of molecular motion by simultaneously examining multiple pathways encoded compactly in a graph, called a roadmap. A roadmap is computed by sampling a molecule's conformation space at random. The computation does not suffer from the localminima problem encountered with existing methods. Each path in the roadmap represents a potential motion pathway and is associated with a probability indicating the likelihood that the molecule follows this pathway. By viewing the roadmap as a Markov chain, we can efficiently compute kinetic properties of molecular motion over the entire molecular energy landscape. We also prove that, in the limit, SRS converges to the same distribution as Monte Carlo simulation. To test the effectiveness of our approach, we apply it to the computation of the transmission coefficients for protein folding, an important order parameter that measures the "kinetic distance" of a protein's conformation to its native state Our computational studies show that SRS obtains more accurate results and achieves several orders- of- magnitude reduction in computation time, compared with Monte Carlo simulatio.
On the sensitivity of electron and X-ray scattering factors to valence charge distributions

The sensitivity of atomic scattering factors to valence charge distributions has been compared quantitatively for X-ray and electron diffraction. It is found that below a critical scattering vector, s (|s| = sinθ/λ), ranging typically from 0.2 to 0.6 A−1 depending on the atomic number, electron diffraction is more sensitive to valence charge densities than X-ray diffraction. Thus, electron diffraction provides crucial electronic structure information via the low-order structure factors, which are relatively insensitive to thermal vibrations, but sensitive to the charge distribution that characterizes the chemical bonding properties of the materials. On the other hand, the high-order structure factors, which are mainly influenced by atomic position and core charge, in many cases can be replaced by structure factors of a procrystal (superposition of neutral atoms), or by calculated structure factors from modern density functional theory (DFT), without losing significant accuracy. This is demonstrated by detailed analyses of an MgB2 superconductor. The work reveals the importance of accurate determination of a very few low-order structure factors in valence electron density studies, and suggests the merit of the combined use of electron diffraction and DFT calculations for solids, especially those with large unit cells and nanocrystalline grains, unsuitable for X-ray studies.
Doublet splittings in Y90 and the neutron-proton residual interaction

Abstract The strength of the spin-dependent part of the central residual interaction between neutron and proton as a function of the range parameter r0 is calculated in first-order perturbation theory from several measured doublet splittings in Y90. The strength of the spin-independent part is obtained from the binding energy of neighbouring nuclei. The effect of the inclusion of the spin-orbit interaction on the doublet splitting is also discussed.
Assessing the Promise of Standards-Based Performance Evaluation for Principals: Results from a Randomized Trial

Principals (N = 76) in a large western U.S. school district were randomly assigned to be evaluated using either a new standards-based system or to continue with the old system. It was hypothesized that principals evaluated with the new system would report clearer performance expectations, better feedback, greater fairness and system satisfaction, and spending more effort on priorities emphasized in the new system. Surveys and interviews were used to assess these perceptions. The hypotheses about feedback and satisfaction were supported. The study also revealed several issues with implementing standards-based evaluation, including competition with many other messages that define performance expectations for principals.
Human Learning of Contextual Priors for Object Search: Where does the time go?

Attention allocation in visual search is known to be influenced by low-level image features, visual scene context and top down task constraints. Here, we investigate the role of Contextual priors in guiding visual search by monitoring eye movements as participants search very familiar scenes for a target object. The goal of the study is to identify which stage of the visual search benefits from contextual priors. Two groups of participants differed in the expectation of target presence associated with a scene. Stronger priors are established when a scene exemplar is always associated with the presence of the target than when the scene is periodically observed with and without the target. In both cases, overall search performance improves over repeated presentations of scenes. An analytic decomposition of the time course of the effect of contextual priors shows a time benefit to the exploration stage of search (scan time) and a decrease in gaze duration on the target. The strength of the contextual relationship modulates the magnitude of gaze duration gain, while the scan time gain constitutes one half of the overall search performance benefit regardless of the probability (50% or 100%) of target presence. These data are discussed in terms of the implications of contextdependent scene processing and its putative role in various stages of visual search.
Non-optimal convergence of adaptive LMS with uncorrelated data

Convergence analysis of the adaptive least mean square (LMS) algorithm is based on the fundamental assumption that the data vector is uncorrelated with the weight vector at each iteration. This assumption has been taken to mean that successive data vectors are uncorrelated. However, when adaptation of the algorithm is performed at intervals less than the filter length plus the prediction delay and the input is a sinusoid in white noise, it is shown that the convergent weight vector no longer satisfies the minimum mean squared error optimality criterion. Furthermore, it is shown that the adaptation proceeds with a time constant determined by the input noise power. Results of a computer experiment verify the analytic description of the non-optimal convergence.
Gender differences in combat-related stressors and their association with postdeployment mental health in a nationally representative sample of U.S. OEF/OIF veterans.

Though the broader literature suggests that women may be more vulnerable to the effects of trauma exposure, most available studies on combat trauma have relied on samples in which women’s combat exposure is limited and analyses that do not directly address gender differences in associations between combat exposure and postdeployment mental health. Female service members’ increased exposure to combat in Afghanistan and Iraq provides a unique opportunity to evaluate gender differences in different dimensions of combatrelated stress and associated consequence for postdeployment mental health. The current study addressed these research questions in a representative sample of female and male U.S. veterans who had returned from deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq within the previous year. As expected, women reported slightly less exposure than men to most combat-related stressors, but higher exposure to other stressors (i.e., prior life stress, deployment sexual harassment). No gender differences were observed in reports of perceived threat in the war zone. Though it was hypothesized that combat-related stressors would demonstrate stronger negative associations with postdeployment mental health for women, only one of 16 stressor gender interactions achieved statistical significance and an evaluation of the clinical significance of these interactions revealed that effects were trivial. Results suggest that female Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom service members may be as resilient to combat-related stress as men. Future research is needed to evaluate gender differences in the longer-term effects of combat exposure.
Cycling to Cancer with Cyclin D1

Genetic aberrations in the regulatory circuits that govern transit through the G(1) phase of the cell cycle occur frequently in human cancer and overexpression of the G(1) phase cyclin, cyclin D1, is one of the most commonly observed alterations. Cyclin D1 accumulates and activates its cognate CDK (CDK4/6) in response to mitogenic growth factors in early to mid G(1) phase. The resulting cyclin D1-dependent kinase initiates the phosphorylation-dependent inactivation of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein. Mitogen-dependent activation of the cyclin D1 kinase occurs through increased transcription, protein accumulation, cyclin/CDK assembly, reduced cyclin proteolysis, and decreased nuclear export. Perturbations at any step, which result in reduced growth factor requirements for cyclin D1/CDK activation, will provide cells with a distinct growth advantage over their normal counterparts and thus likely represents an early event in neoplasia.
Short-scale gravitational instability in a disordered Bose gas

We numerically study the evolution of a self-gravitating nonequilibrium Bose gas contained in a fixed volume. We find that, even when the volume is small enough to prevent collisionless instability, a compact phase-correlated object (a Bose star) can form, by gravity alone, from a disordered initial state. We interpret this effect and the associated growth of the density contrast as consequences of a new type of gravitational instability--a nonlinear instability due to a stimulated gravitational scattering of the bosons. Our results imply that the formation of Bose stars, in regions that have fallen out of Hubble expansion, may be a quite general phenomenon, not requiring a large preexisting correlation length or any short-range interactions. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.
Exploratory Study of Common and Challenging Ethical Dilemmas Experienced by Professional School Counselors

Results of a survey asking public school counselors in Virginia to indicate their most common and most challenging ethical dilemmas are presented. Ninetytwo school counselors reported that the most common and challenging ethical dilemmas included those involving student confidentiality, dual relationship with faculty, parental rights, and acting on information of student danger to themselves or others. Results are reported for differences in academic level. Implications for professional school counselors and counselor educators are discussed.
Viewing and Visual Representation in the Physical Education Classroom

(2008). Viewing and Visual Representation in the Physical Education Classroom. Strategies: Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 25-30.
Vascular-Targeted Overexpression of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinase-2 in Transgenic Mice Attenuates β-Adrenergic Receptor Signaling and Increases Resting Blood Pressure

Cardiovascular regulation is tightly controlled by signaling through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). beta-Adrenergic receptors (ARs) are GPCRs that regulate inotropy and chronotropy in the heart and mediate vasodilation, which critically influences systemic vascular resistance. GPCR kinases (GRKs), including GRK2 (or betaARK1), phosphorylate and desensitize agonist-activated betaARs. Myocardial GRK2 levels are increased in heart failure and data suggest that vascular levels may also be elevated in hypertension. Therefore, we generated transgenic mice with vascular smooth muscle (VSM) targeted overexpression of GRK2, using a portion of the SM22alpha promoter, to determine its impact on vascular betaAR regulation. VSM betaAR signaling, as determined by adenylyl cyclase and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activation assays, was attenuated when GRK2 was overexpressed 2- to 3-fold. In vivo vasodilation in response to betaAR stimulation using isoproterenol was attenuated and conscious resting mean arterial blood pressure was elevated from 96 +/- 2 mm Hg in nontransgenic littermate control (NLC) mice (n = 9) to 112 +/- 3 mm Hg and 117 +/- 2 mm Hg in two different lines of SM22alpha-GRK2 transgenic mice (n = 7 and n = 5, respectively; p < 0.05). Interestingly, medial VSM thickness was increased 30% from 29.8 +/- 1.6 microm in NLC mice (n = 6) to 39.4 +/- 1.6 microm in SM22alpha-GRK2 mice (n = 7) (p < 0.05) and vascular GRK2 overexpression was sufficient to cause cardiac hypertrophy. These data indicate that we have developed a unique mouse model of hypertension, providing insight into the contribution that vascular betaAR signaling makes toward resting blood pressure and overall cardiovascular regulation. Moreover, they suggest that GRK2 plays an important role in vascular control and may represent a novel therapeutic target for hypertension.
On the Use of Thermopiles for Absolute Radiometry in the Far Ultraviolet

Thermopiles used for absolute radiometry in the far ultraviolet spectral region are generally calibrated with visible and near infrared radiation. Three possibilities for the failure of the sensitivity of thermopiles to be independent of wavelength have been investigated. It was found that gold–black typical of that used on thermopiles for far ultraviolet applications reflectively scattered 2–4% of the incident far ultraviolet radiation. Since the same gold–black scattered a similar fraction of incident visible and near infrared radiation, the correction for this effect was small. An analysis of surface sensitivity maps indicated that a thermopile of 0.04-sec time constant showed no wavelength variation of sensitivity when either dc detection or ac synchronous detection with 13 cps chopping was used. The most significant wavelength-dependent phenomenon was found to be the photoelectric effect. Ejected electrons carry a significant amount of energy away from gold-blacked thermopiles in the spectral region below 1600 A. The maximum correction determined for a particular thermopile was 5.2% at λ 735 A.
An application based MPI message throughput benchmark

Recent trends in high performance computing have renewed interest in the ability of platforms to sustain high message throughput rates. The continued growth in platform scale, combined with emerging application areas, are pushing platforms to support increasing message rates. Best-case message throughput has grown in previous hardware generations due to growing clock rates and software optimization techniques. However, previous work has shown that MPI receive queue length and cache hit rates can drastically impact message throughput, leading to a significantly lower worst-case message throughput. This paper introduces the Sandia Message Throughput benchmark which measures message throughput using a communication pattern which is neither best-case nor worst-case, but which mimics communication patterns found in real-world applications. Results on InfiniBand, Myrinet, and Cray XT platforms are presented, and suggest that message rates on some networks are greatly impacted by cache invalidation between communication phases, simultaneously sending and receiving, and by communicating with more than one peer simultaneously.
Cognitive intelligence in UAC channel parameter identification, measurement, estimation, and environment mapping

The recent growing interest in underwater acoustic communication (UAC) requires an in depth understanding of a vast and diverse water medium. The UAC channel presents many difficulties such as high frequency, time, and space selectivity, frequency dependent noise, and significant range and band limitation on transmission. The traditional channel parameter measurement and estimation methods may not be sufficient and sometimes inapplicable to UAC, as many of the underwater situations are beyond human reach. This paper will first identify and classify the UAC channel environment, its parameters, parameter measurement and estimation methods. Then two novel cognitive intelligent algorithms will be presented to measure and estimate the parameters and map them to appropriate UAC channel environment models. To the best knowledge of the authors, the concept of cognitive intelligence (CI) and the proposed CI algorithms in UAC channel parameter measurement, estimation, and mapping ha ve not been addressed in literature to current date. Thus this research presents a pioneering work in this domain.
Francisella tularensis Infection-Derived Monoclonal Antibodies Provide Detection, Protection, and Therapy

Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of tularemia and a potential agent of biowarfare. As an easily transmissible infectious agent, rapid detection and treatment are necessary to provide a positive clinical outcome. As an agent of biowarfare, there is an additional need to prevent infection. We made monoclonal antibodies to the F. tularensis subsp. holarctica live vaccine strain (F. tularensis LVS) by infecting mice with a sublethal dose of bacteria and, following recovery, by boosting the mice with sonicated organisms. The response to the initial and primary infection was restricted to immunoglobulin M antibody directed solely against lipopolysaccharide (LPS). After boosting with sonicated organisms, the specificity repertoire broadened against protein antigens, including DnaK, LpnA, FopA, bacterioferritin, the 50S ribosomal protein L7/L12, and metabolic enzymes. These monoclonal antibodies detect F. tularensis LVS by routine immunoassays, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Western blot analysis, and immunofluorescence. The ability of the antibodies to protect mice from intradermal infection, both prophylactically and therapeutically, was examined. An antibody to LPS which provides complete protection from infection with F. tularensis LVS and partial protection from infection with F. tularensis subsp. tularensis strain SchuS4 was identified. There was no bacteremia and reduced organ burden within the first 24 h when mice were protected from F. tularensis LVS infection with the anti-LPS antibody. No antibody that provided complete protection when administered therapeutically was identified; however, passive transfer of antibodies against LPS, FopA, and LpnA resulted in 40 to 50% survival of mice infected with F. tularensis LVS.
Adaptive control variates

Adaptive Monte Carlo methods are specialized Monte Carlo simulation techniques where the methods are adaptively tuned as the simulation progresses. The primary focus of such techniques has been in adaptively tuning importance sampling distributions to reduce the variance of an estimator. We instead focus on adaptive control variate schemes, developing asymptotic theory for the performance of two adaptive control variate estimators. The first estimator is based on a stochastic approximation scheme for identifying the optimal choice of control variate. It is easily implemented, but its performance is sensitive to certain tuning parameters, the selection of which is nontrivial. The second estimator uses a sample average approximation approach. It has the advantage that it does not require any tuning parameters, but it can be computationally expensive and requires the availability of nonlinear optimization software.
Potentiation of endoperoxide analog-induced platelet aggregation by heparin

Abstract The mechanism of heparin-induced platelet aggregation potentiation is much debated. We examined the effects of heparin on platelet aggregation induced by cyclic endoperoxide analog U46,619. Heparin enhanced platelet aggregation in a dose-related fashion. Potentiation of platelet aggregation was also found to be related to the incubation time of heparin and platelet rich plasma. Porcine intestinal heparin and bovine lung heparin exhibited similar patterns. To test the hypothesis of increased platelet thromboxane A 2 production under the influence of heparin, we measured U46,619-induced thromboxane A 2 generation. Heparin was found not to affect platelet thromboxane A 2 generation over a wide range of concentrations. The platelet aggregation potentiating actions of heparin are thus unrelated to thromboxane A 2 pathway.
Designing PCR Primers Painlessly

Students design primers using web-based tools along with a printed sequence of a prokaryotic gene showing both DNA strands and translation of the coding strand into amino acids. The melting temperature of each primer is determined and the pair closest in temperature can be used to amplify and clone a gene into a vector for a one-semester laboratory exercise. By working through this primer design exercise, students see first hand what is involved in the process of amplifying DNA.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Its Role as a Human Pathogen

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a unique bacterium that does not always receive the attention it merits considering the number of illnesses it causes and the degree of morbidity associated with it in both children and adults. Serious infections requiring hospitalization, while rare, occur in both adults and children and may involve multiple organ systems. The severity of disease appears to be related to the degree to which the host immune response reacts to the infection. Extrapulmonary complications involving all of the major organ systems can occur in association with M. pneumoniae infection as a result of direct invasion and/or autoimmune response. The extrapulmonary manifestations are sometimes of greater severity and clinical importance than the primary respiratory infection. Evidence for this organism's contributory role in chronic lung conditions such as asthma is accumulating. Effective management of M. pneumoniae infections can usually be achieved with macrolides, tetracyclines, or fluoroquinolones. As more is learned about the pathogenesis and immune response elicited by M. pneumoniae, improvement in methods for diagnosis and prevention of disease due to this organism may occur.
Subsecond Dopamine Release in the Nucleus Accumbens Predicts Conditioned Punishment and Its Successful Avoidance

The mesolimbic dopamine system is believed to be a pathway that processes rewarding information. While previous studies have also implicated a general role for dopamine in punishment and its avoidance, the precise nature of subsecond dopamine release during these phenomena remains unknown. Here, we used fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to investigate whether subsecond dopamine release events in the nucleus accumbens encode cues predicting the avoidance of punishment during behavior maintained in a signaled footshock avoidance procedure. In this task, rats could initiate an avoidance response by pressing a lever within a warning period, preventing footshock. Alternatively, once footshocks commenced, animals could initiate an escape response by pressing the lever, terminating footshock. This design allowed us to assess subsecond dopamine release events during the presentation of a warning signal, safety periods, and two distinct behavioral responses. We found that release consistently increased upon presentation of the warning signal in a manner that reliably predicted successful punishment avoidance. We also observed subsecond dopamine release during the safety period, as occurs following the receipt of reward. Conversely, we observed a decrease in release at the warning signal during escape responses. Because of this finding, we next assessed dopamine release in a conditioned fear model. As seen during escape responses, we observed a time-locked decrease in dopamine release upon presentation of a cue conditioned to inescapable footshock. Together, these data show that subsecond fluctuations in mesolimbic dopamine release predict when rats will successfully avoid punishment and differentially encode cues related to aversive outcomes.
Proof System for Enriched Fuzzy BK Relational Calculi: Pt. 1 - Transforming Notations

Enriched fuzzy relational algebras based on BK-products of relations have representational and computational means for handling both, concrete numerical representations of relations extensively used in applications, as well as high level symbolic forms. Such forms can be used for symbolic manipulation of relations that have been abstracted from numerical representations. Symbolic forms can be handled equationally. Equations over BK-products can characterise relational properties in a universal way. The described tool facilitates transformations between these different forms.
Superiority of Directly Administered Antiretroviral Therapy over Self-Administered Therapy among HIV-Infected Drug Users: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial

HAART has dramatically reduced the morbidity and mortality associated with HIV disease [1, 2], but these benefits have not been conferred equally among all patient populations. Drug users have had particularly less-favorable outcomes, with HIV disease progression remaining at high levels [3, 4]. These poorer outcomes occur largely because this population is less likely to be prescribed HAART [5, 6], and when HAART is prescribed, drug users are less likely to demonstrate high levels of adherence to therapy [3, 7, 8]. Because adherence to HAART is the key determinant in the progression of HIV disease [9, 10], strategies that improve adherence should result in better clinical outcomes among drug users. Directly observed therapy for tuberculosis has resulted in impressive improvements in adherence and clinical response, as well as marked reductions in the development of resistance [11–13]. The time-limited treatment of tuberculosis, the inherently different transmission patterns of tuberculosis and HIV infection, and the complexity of antiretroviral therapy have raised concerns about translating this model to use for HIV treatment [14–16]. Successful but noncomparative programs of directly administered antiretroviral therapy (DAART) have been implemented in methadone-maintenance programs [17, 18], community-based settings [19, 20], skilled nursing facilities [21, 22], and prisons [23]. One randomized, controlled trial of DAART failed to demonstrate an impact on virologic outcomes among a general population of low-income HIV-infected patients [24], but it is unclear how these results relate to drug users or other populations with problematic adherence [25]. Therefore, we conducted the first randomized, controlled trial to address this issue, consisting of 6 months of DAART versus self-administered therapy (SAT) among active drug users in a community setting. The objective was to determine the potential efficacy of a 6-month DAART program on HIV infection, using surrogate markers of HIV-1 RNA level and CD4+ T lymphocyte count.
Pathogenesis of extra efferent vessel development in diabetic glomeruli

The development of extra efferent vessels (EEV) is a little-known feature of diabetic glomerulopathy. The only previous large study [Min W, Yamanaka N. Three-dimensional analysis of increased vasculature around the glomerular vascular pole in diabetic nephropathy. Virchows Archiv A Pathol Anat 1993; 423:201-7] known to us found that up to 5 EEV per glomerulus (glom) each drained a separate lobule. Most EEV connected to the second- and third-order branches of the afferent arteriole (AA), and drained into peritubular capillaries. Although not so stated, the illustrations suggested that some EEV could be shunts, and thus detrimental to glom function, and possibly glom health. There was no correlation between the unquantitated presence of increased EEV at the vascular pole (VP) and the severity of the major diabetic glomerular (glom) lesions. The authors opined that efferent arteriole (EA) stenosis by insudative lesions (IL) stimulated the formation of EEV. To confirm and extend these findings, we have repeated the study in 18 diabetic cases with mild to severe, but not end-stage, diffuse and nodular lesions (DL and NL), 8 controls, and the 2 normal traumatic nephrectomy cases. Up to 18 EEV per glom were found in diabetic cases along with occasional EEV in controls. EEV contained muscle and were almost identical to the EA in structure. Nearly all EEV connected with efferent glom capillaries at the VP, where they exited the glom through apparently preexisting gaps in the Bowman's capsule and/or glomerular capillary basement membranes (BCBM/GCBM). The EA exited through a similar gap, so the exit of EEV was accomplished without altering the anatomical relationships between the exiting vessels and the components of the VP thought to be important in the control of glom outflow. The largest number of EEV occurred in long-standing T2DM cases with mild to moderate DL and NL. Complete photographic glom reconstructions revealed numerous anastomoses among efferent glom capillaries in normal and diabetic gloms with mild to moderate DL and NL. No disproportionately dilated EEV were seen. The findings just cited confirm that EEV are common and surprisingly numerous in diabetic gloms. They suggest that EEV formation served to preserve glom function, and that EEV could neither shunt nor restrict glom outflow locally. In our opinion, the formation of EEV represents a significant, possibly hemodynamically induced, remodeling of the glom that should be added to the list of changes that occur in diabetes. It is hypothesized that EEV develop because of increased glom inflow, and that the latter may be attributable to AA muscle damage that impairs its contractile ability.
Nativity, Language Spoken at Home, Length of Time in the United States, and Race/Ethnicity: Associations with Self-Reported Hypertension

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death both in the United States nationally1 and in New York City (NYC),2 and hypertension is a leading modifiable risk factor affecting approximately 1 in 4 NYC adults.3 Since the Immigration Act of 1965, the influx of immigrants from Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia has increased steadily,4 with many of these individuals settling in metropolitan areas such as NYC.5,6 Characterization of chronic conditions in these newcomers is critical for understanding health patterns and identifying emerging health disparities. Acculturation, or the process where a person raised in one culture comes into contact with a second culture, has been shown to be associated with hypertension in the United States.7–9 The acculturation experience differs for each racial/ethnic group; white immigrants, for instance, may assimilate faster than other groups, owing to their phenotypic similarity with the racial/ethnic majority in the United States.10 Asian immigrants tend to have more education and higher starting wages at time of immigration than Hispanics11 and therefore may experience less socioeconomic-related stress. Aside from 2 studies,8,12 research on acculturation and hypertension has focused on single racial/ethnic groups7,13–16 and differences by race/ethnicity have not been well characterized. Given the changing demographics of NYC and the differences in the assimilation experience among racial/ethnic groups,10 hypertension prevalence estimates that account for the complex relationships between acculturation-related factors and race/ethnicity are warranted. Aside from 1 recent publication using national data,12 the study of granular groups, particularly those representing newer immigrants such as foreign-born whites or Asians, are limited. The diverse population in NYC provides an ideal backdrop in which to characterize hypertension in these groups. The aims of this analysis were to estimate the prevalence of self-reported hypertension (SRH) by acculturation-related factors (nativity, language spoken at home, and length of time in the United States) in an urban environment and to assess potential effect modification of these relationships by race/ethnicity.
Assessing comparative effectiveness research in the US.

With the inclusion of $US1.1 billion earmarked for comparative effectiveness research (CER) in the recently enacted stimulus package, the US government indicated it will play an important role in informing prescribing and reimbursement decisions. However, this sizable investment does beg four important questions: what is the nature of CER data; what methods are suitable for collecting CER data; who is (should be) responsible for collecting CER data; and how will (should) CER data be used by the federal government? Using three recent high-profile cases of drugs and drug classes, we assess the current state of federal- and state-funded CER in the US. From these cases we observe that evidence is gradually emerging as a filter for certain prescribing and coverage decisions. The first case indicates evidence should not be gathered and applied in a post hoc fashion after a reimbursement decision has already been reached. Case 2 suggests limitations associated with making inferences from systematic reviews when applying the evidence to the treatment of individual patients. Case 3 points to a comprehensive, but more costly and time-consuming, way of gathering data to inform prescribing and reimbursement decisions. Despite caveats, we argue that there is room for building a more systematic and better coordinated evidence base in the US, so that all stakeholders are better equipped to understand variation in clinical outcomes while promoting appropriate prescribing patterns. Accordingly, CER could help close the gap between what we know and what we do in pharmaceutical care. For the majority of cases in which CER is carried out, we favour a pluralistic system of CER analyses with a clearinghouse for systematic reviews conducted by multiple evidence-based practice centres, each uniquely suited to its constituency.
Neural Basis of Object-Centered Representations

We present a neural model that can perform eye movements to a particular side of an object regardless of the position and orientation of the object in space, a generalization of a task which has been recently used by Olson and Gettner [4] to investigate the neural structure of object-centered representations. Our model uses an intermediate representation in which units have oculocentric receptive fields-just like collicular neurons-whose gain is modulated by the side of the object to which the movement is directed, as well as the orientation of the object. We show that these gain modulations are consistent with Olson and Gettner's single cell recordings in the supplementary eye field. This demonstrates that it is possible to perform an object-centered task without a representation involving an object-centered map, viz., without neurons whose receptive fields are defined in object-centered coordinates. We also show that the same approach can account for object-centered neglect, a situation in which patients with a right parietal lesion neglect the left side of objects regardless of the orientation of the objects.
Everpresent Λ . II. Structural stability

Ideas from causal set theory lead to a fluctuating, time-dependent cosmological constant of the right order of magnitude to match currently quoted ``dark energy'' values. Although this effect was predicted some time ago [R. D. Sorkin, in Relativity and Gravitation: Classical and Quantum, Proceedings of the SILARG VII Conference, Cocoyoc, Mexico, 1990, edited by J. C. D'Olivo, E. Nahmad-Achar, M. Rosenbaum, M. P. Ryan, L. F. Urrutia, and F. Zertuche (World Scientific, Singapore, 1991), pp. 150--173; Rafael D. Sorkin, Int. J. Theor. Phys. 36, 2759 (1997).], it is only more recently that a more detailed phenomenological model of a fluctuating $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ was introduced and simulated numerically [M. Ahmed, S. Dodelson, P. Greene, and R. D. Sorkin, Phys. Rev. D 69, 103523 (2004).]. In this paper we continue the investigation by studying the sensitivity of the model to some of the ad hoc choices made in setting it up.
Reproductive Factors and Risk of Myocardial Infarction

The relation of reproductive factors to risk of myocardial infarction in women aged 45-69 years was examined in a case-control interview study carried out in Massachusetts from 1986 to 1990. Each of 858 cases of first myocardial infarction was age-matched with a control from the same precinct of residence. Conditional logistic regression was used to control the matching factors and the major known and suspected risk factors for coronary heart disease. For parous women compared with nulliparous women, the estimated relative risk of myocardial infarction was 1.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-3.3). Among parous women, the relative risk estimate for five or more births relative to fewer births was 1.4 (95% CI 1.0-2.0); the estimate for a first birth before age 20 relative to a later age at first birth was 1.7 (95% CI 1.1-2.6). The greatest increase in risk was observed for women who had both an early age at first birth and five or more children. However, confounding by factors related to socioeconomic status may have contributed to the results. Compared with women who had a natural menopause at age 50 or older, women who reached the menopause before age 45 were at increased risk regardless of type of menopause: The estimated relative risks were 2.1 (95% CI 1.3-3.2), 1.7 (95% CI 1.0-2.7), and 1.7 (95% CI 1.0-2.8) for early natural menopause, bilateral oophorectomy, and hysterectomy with retention of one or both ovaries, respectively. These results suggest that early cessation of ovulatory function, whether due to natural causes or to surgery, increases the risk of myocardial infarction. Age at menarche was not related to myocardial infarction risk.
American football and national pride: Racial differences

Over the past four decades, scholars from diverse disciplines have consistently emphasized the role of sport in national pride. Language: en
Differential modulation of nucleus accumbens synapses.

The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is a brain region involved in functions ranging from motivation and reward to feeding and drug addiction. The NAcc is typically divided into two major subdivisions, the...
A Spoken-Language Intervention for School-Aged Boys With Fragile X Syndrome.

Abstract Using a single case design, a parent-mediated spoken-language intervention was delivered to three mothers and their school-aged sons with fragile X syndrome, the leading inherited cause of intellectual disability. The intervention was embedded in the context of shared storytelling using wordless picture books and targeted three empirically derived language-support strategies. All sessions were implemented through distance videoteleconferencing. Parent education sessions were followed by 12 weekly clinician coaching and feedback sessions. Data were collected weekly during independent homework and clinician observation sessions. Relative to baseline, mothers increased their use of targeted strategies, and dyads increased the frequency and duration of story-related talking. Generalized effects of the intervention on lexical diversity and grammatical complexity were observed. Implications for practice are discussed.
Atrioventricular Septal Defects (Atrioventricular Canal)

Partial atrioventricular (AV) canal is also known as ostium primum atrial septal defect (ASD) with a cleft or zone of apposition of the anterior leaflet of the left AV valve. Most anatomists and surgeons use the term “partial AV canal” for this entity, as it aligns with the other forms of AV canal and the ramifications of its repair are quite different from those of other forms of ASD, owing to the unpredictable outcome of left AV valve repair. More recently, the term “zone of apposition” has been substituted for “cleft” and is used preferentially in the literature, although both descriptions can be found.
An experimental study on effect of melatonin on sleep

Objective:To study sleep improvement function of melatonin.Methods:Direct inducing sleep test,the test of lengthen the sleep time that induced by pentobarbital sodium,the test of pentobarbital sodium subthreshold-hypnosis and the test of barbital sodium sleep latency were adopted in this study to observe the inductive effect of melatonin.Results:The mice were fed with melatonin on the dosage of 33.35,66.7 and 133.4 mg/kg.BW for 30 days,the test shows melatonin can lengthen the sleep time that induced by pentobarbital sodium(P0.01 and P0.05) and shorten the barbital sodium sleep latency(P0.01 and P0.05),and it have synergy effect on pentobarbital sodium subthreshold-hypnosis(P0.05) while it has no effect on direct inducing sleep and the mice's weight.Conclusion:Melatonin has an effect of sleep improvement.
Method and Mechanism of the Inorganic Rejuvenation for Water Tree Aged XLPE Cables

We proposed a rejuvenation fluid that rejuvenated water tree aged cross-linked polyethylene(XLPE) cables to deal with the spreading water tree aging problem in urban distribution grids. The fluid reacts with water to form macromolecule polymer and TiO2 inorganic particles. Meanwhile, we investigated its performance and mechanism of enhancing cable insulation. Using a digital bridge and SEM, we studied the dielectric properties and microscopic characteristics of the compounds produced by the direct reaction between the rejuvenation fluid and water. Then, after adopting the rejuvenation fluid to treat water tree aged samples obtained by an accelerated aging experiment, we compared the breakdown voltages of the samples. Also, using SEM and XPS, we observed and analyzed the filling compound in the voids of water trees. The results indicate that the rejuvenation fluid can diffuse into the insulator to eliminate water, and the generated organic-inorganic filling compounds have good dielectric properties. Moreover, the breakdown voltage of rejuvenated cables is higher than aged cable or even new cables. This is probably because the TiO2 particles in the filling compounds can inhibit space charge accumulation, help uniform electric field, absorb UV lights, and reduce thermal electron emission. It is concluded that the proposed rejuvenation fluid can rejuvenate or even further enhance insulation of aged XLPE cables.