cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Trehalose and proline failed to enhance cold tolerance of the cowpea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Col.: Bruchidae)

Abstract The cowpea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Col.: Bruchidae) is a cosmopolitan field-to-store pest ranked as the major post-harvest pest of cowpea in tropical regions. The cold tolerance of an insect species can vary as a result of abiotic features including food resources. In this study, C. maculatus larvae were fed with proline and trehalose (10, 20, and 40 mmol) treated cowpea seeds to determine the effects of these potential cryoprotectants on the supercooling (SCP) and cold hardiness of the upcoming adult beetles. The SCPs of the control, proline-fed and trehalose-fed adults non-significantly changed from −18.2 °C for the control to −17.2 °C for trehalose-fed adults. The cold hardiness (24 h at 0, -5.0, −7.5, −10.0, and −12.5 °C) of the adults was almost the same for control and treatments. Median lethal times (LT50; lethal time for 50% mortality) were 6.3, 6.0, and 5.4 h, respectively. Moreover, feeding the larvae with proline and trehalose-treated seeds did not affect the proline and trehalose contents of the adult beetles. Our results showed that C. maculatus could not tolerate subzero temperatures well above their SCP, indicating that this species might be a chill-susceptible insect.
Body Trouble: Some Sources of Difficulty in the Progressive Realization of Manual Action

This report examines interactional troubles that find their source, not in talk, but in manual action. First, we introduce the intertwined character of two fundamental features of most, if not all ...
AI-based design of a nuclear reactor core

The authors developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm for the design and optimization of a nuclear reactor core based on a flexible geometry and demonstrated a 3× improvement in the selected performance metric: temperature peaking factor. The rapid development of advanced, and specifically, additive manufacturing (3-D printing) and its introduction into advanced nuclear core design through the Transformational Challenge Reactor program have presented the opportunity to explore the arbitrary geometry design of nuclear-heated structures. The primary challenge is that the arbitrary geometry design space is vast and requires the computational evaluation of many candidate designs, and the multiphysics simulation of nuclear systems is very time-intensive. Therefore, the authors developed a machine learning-based multiphysics emulator and evaluated thousands of candidate geometries on Summit, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s leadership class supercomputer. The results presented in this work demonstrate temperature distribution smoothing in a nuclear reactor core through the manipulation of the geometry, which is traditionally achieved in light water reactors through variable assembly loading in the axial direction and fuel shuffling during refueling in the radial direction. The conclusions discuss the future implications for nuclear systems design with arbitrary geometry and the potential for AI-based autonomous design algorithms.
Application of Soft Computing Techniques to Estimate the Effective Young's Modulus of Thin Film Materials

This research aims at characterizing and predicting the Young's Modulus of thin film materials that are utilized in Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Recent studies indicate that the mechanical properties such as Young's Modulus of thin films are significantly different from the bulk values. Due to the lack of proper understanding of the physics in the micro-scale domain the state-of-art estimation techniques are unreliable and often unfit for use for predicating the mechanical behavior of slight modifications of existing designs as well as new designs. This disadvantage limits the MEMS designers to physical prototyping which is cost ineffective and time consuming. As a result there is an immediate need for alternative techniques that can learn the complex relationship between the various parameters and predict the effective Young's Modulus of the thin films materials. The proposed technique attempts to solve this problem using empirical estimation techniques that utilize soft computing techniques for the estimation as well as the prediction of the effective Young's Modulus. As a proof of concept, effective Young's Modulus of Aluminum and TetrathylOrthoSilicate (TEOS) thin films were computed by fabricating and analyzing self-deformed micromachined bilayer cantilevers. In the estimation phase, 2D search and micro Genetic algorithm were studied and in the prediction phase, back propagation based Neural networks and One Dimensional Radial Basis Function Networks (1D-RBFN) were studied. The performance of all combinations of these soft computing techniques is studied. Based on the results, we conclude that performance of the soft computing techniques is superior to the existing methods. In addition, the effective values generated using this methodology is comparable to the values reported in the literature. Given a finite number of data samples, the combination of 1D-RBFN (prediction phase) and GA (estimation phase) presented the best results. Due to these advantages, this methodology is foreseen to be an essential tool for developing accurate models that can estimate the mechanical behavior of thin films.
Tactics and Strategy in Peptide Synthesis

Over and above the problems of activation, coupling, protection and removal of protecting groups there are some more general aspects of peptide synthesis which, in order to be treated in a systematic manner, need to be identified and defined. Thus, schemes for the combination of various protecting groups have to be developed for syntheses in which certain blocking groups, e.g. those applied for the masking of the α-amino function, must be removed after coupling, while others are expected to stay intact throughout the chain building process. Considerations which govern the selection of protecting groups and coupling methods can be designated tactics. A separate, although not independent, part of the plan of a synthesis of a large peptide is the general design of the synthetic scheme. Decisions such as the construction of a. long chain from larger segments or from single residues, form the strategy of synthesis. A further category, the techniques of peptide synthesis, encompasses methods of facilitation, the choice between synthesis carried out in solution and chain building in which the peptide is anchored to an insoluble support. Experimental devices which simplify the isolation of intermediates or dispense with their isolation will also be discussed among the varieties of techniques proposed for peptide synthesis. It seems to us that for the sake of exact communication between peptide chemists, these concepts [1–3] have to be clearly distinguished and consistently described with appropriate terms.
Low-power, low-rate ultrasonic communications system transmitting axially along a cylindrical pipe using transverse waves

Acoustic-electric channels have been used in the recent past to send power and data through thin metallic barriers. Acoustic-electric channels formed along a structure which are highly attenuative and nonreverberant could have potential applications in aerospace, nuclear, and oil industries, among others. This work considers data transmission along the length of a cylindrical pipe both when in air and when filled and immersed in water using shear waves of transverse polarity. To combat the effects of frequency selectivity and to address the available power constraints, a simple modulation scheme using noncoherent demodulation is employed for data transmission: chirp-on-off keying (Chirp-OOK). The wideband nature of the chirp waveform provides resilience against nulls in the channel response while making it possible to implement a simple noncoherent energy detector. Monte Carlo simulation results using measured channel responses suggest that the bit error rate performance of the scheme matches quite closely with the theoretical results. The energy detector performance is independent of the type of the channel used as long as intersymbol-interference is negligible and same received Eb/N0 is maintained. A low-power prototype hardware system was implemented using microcontrollers, commercial ICs, and custom circuits. Successful data transmission was achieved across the 4.8 m length of pipe (in air and water) for a data rate of 100 bps using approximately 5 mW of transmit power.
Renormalization-Group Approach to Percolation Problems.

The relation between the $s$-state Ashkin-Teller-Potts (ATP) model and the percolation problem given by Fortuin and Kasteleyn is used to formulate a renormalization-group treatment of the percolation problem. Both an $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ expansion near 6 spatial dimensions and cluster approximations for the recursion relations of a triangular lattice are used. Series results for the ATP model are adapted to the percolation problem.
Lithium Isotope Ratios in Halo Stars. III.

New, high-precision observations of the Li I λ6707 blend in the spectra of five halo stars with metallicities in the range -2.0 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ -1.0 yield no positive detections of the lighter isotope at upper limits ranging from 6Li/7Li ≤ 0.02 to 6Li/7Li ≤ 0.13. In determining these limits, we removed two constraints that were previously imposed during comparison of the observed and synthetic line profiles. A reanalysis of our previous similar observations of six other halo stars with -2.9 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ -1.1 was also carried out with this same procedure. The reanalysis confirms our earlier detection of 6Li in HD 84937 with an isotopic ratio 6Li/7Li = 0.08 ± 0.04 (1 σ), in agreement with Smith, Lambert, & Nissen, but converts our reported detection of 6Li in HD 201891 to a comparable upper limit only,6Li/7Li ≤ 0.055. Among the 12 halo stars examined for 6Li at high sensitivity by one or more of three different groups, positive results have been obtained only for the hottest dwarf, HD 84937, and possibly for the hottest subgiant, HD 160617, for which Nissen found 6Li/7Li = 0.0173 ± 0.012 (1 σ). However, the less sensitive upper limits available for three slightly cooler dwarfs exceed the isotopic ratio at which 6Li is seen in HD 84937. In combination with Be and B abundances measured for some of these 12 stars, the very sparse 6Li data suggest that a process such as α + α reactions at low energies produced much of the 6Li that was present at [Fe/H] ≈ -2.2, and that at least one of the following three assumptions is in error. (1) the 6Li/Be ratio measured in HD 84937 is typical of halo gas at [Fe/H] = -2.2; (2) the Galactic 6Li/Be ratio remained approximately invariant at -2.2 [Fe/H] -1.0; and (3) most of the original 6Li in the probable subgiants HD 134169 and HD 201891 (with [Fe/H] = -1.0 and -1.1, respectively, and Te ≥ 5800 K) has survived to the present day, as the observations of Pilachowski, Sneden, & Booth and the calculations of Chaboyer together suggest. Alternatively, the low 6Li fractions required by the upper limits measured in HD 134169 and HD 201891 can be understood if both stars are dwarfs, not subgiants.
Pedigree Analysis of Children with Phonology Disorders

This study examined 87 pedigrees of individuals with histories of preschool phonology disorders. Results confirmed previous reports that speech and language disorders aggregate in families, with a higher incidence of males affected than females. Significantly more family members with dyslexia and learning disabilities, but not stuttering or hearing impairment, were found in pedigrees of individuals with phonology disorders than in pedigrees of nondisabled individuals. Probands with and without additional language problems did not differ in the incidence of affected family members. Nuclear family members demonstrated a higher incidence of disorders than when all family members were considered, with brothers of probands most often affected. Pedigrees of female probands had more affected members in their nuclear families than pedigrees of male probands.
PREPARATION OF YEAST PROTEIN ISOLATE WITH LOW NUCLEIC ACID BY SUCCINYLATION

Succinylation after cell disruption facilitates the isolation of yeast protein in high yields with less than 2% nucleic acid. The method involves the addition of excess succinic anhydride at pH 8 immediately after cell disruption followed by isoelectric precipitation of the modified protein at pH 4.2. Most of the nucleic acid remains in the protein free supernatant. Succinylation increased extractability of the protein, decreased proteolysis and improved thermal stability. The precipitated protein contained 15.61, 1.8 and 7.0% nitrogen, nucleic acid and carbohydrate, respectively.
Human gross anatomy: A crucial time to encourage respect and compassion in students

We suggest four ways in which human gross anatomy instructors can reinforce respect and compassion in students. First, encourage respectful language in the laboratory. The term "donor" should be used instead of "cadaver" or "corpse" in referring to the donated body because this promotes appreciation for the students' first "patient." Second, provide the students with the actual name, age, history, and likely cause of death of the donor so that they more fully appreciate the donor as having once been a living human being. Third, prompt students to explore feelings and discuss topics stimulated by the intense experience of human dissection. Suggested topics include the students' feelings about dissecting a human being, the difficulty in deciding to donate one's body, the central importance of anatomy to a medical practitioner's role, and the historical development of the study of anatomy. Fourth, hold a memorial ceremony, in which both students and faculty participate, as a positive closure to an emotionally and intellectually intense course. Additionally, a ceremony reinforces salutary values in students, enhances social bonding among students, and encourages their appreciation of various cultural and religious beliefs. These methods introduce a new dimension of experience for anatomy students. We have developed these methods in response to what we view as a negative trend in the medical profession in which health care becomes technical and patients become objects. It is our role as faculty to reinforce respectful and compassionate attitudes in medical students from the very beginning.
RAD (RNA Abundance Database) : an infrastructure for array data analysis

Analysis of array-based gene expression experiments is challenging particularly when multiple experiments are involved and presents challenges in data management as well. Selecting well-measured spots and normalizing raw data are basic steps required for subsequent analyses, especially those involved with comparisons over a collection of experiments. Other preprocessing steps might also be needed for certain analyses. The most appropriate criteria for spot selection, for normalization, and for other data transformations depend on the experiments under study and on the questions investigated. Furthermore, comparing experiments appropriately requires knowledge of how the experiments were performed and the samples that were used in sufficient detail to understand their degree of similarity. Approaches taken in RAD to address these issues will be presented. These include the storage of raw and processed data along with history and parameter tracking and the use of ontologies to provide precise consistent experimental descriptions.
Hemispheric specialization for temporal information: implications for the perception of voicing cues during speech perception.

Abstract Developmental research reporting electrophysiological correlates of voice onset time (VOT) during speech perception is reviewed. By two months of age a right hemisphere mechanism appears which differentiates voiced from voiceless stop consonants. This mechanism was found at 4 years of age and again with adults. A new study is described which represents an attempt to determine a more specific basis for VOT perception. Auditory evoked responses (AER) were recorded over the left and right hemispheres while 16 adults attended to repetitive series of two-tone stimuli. Portions of the AERs were found to vary systematically over the two hemispheres in a manner similar to that previously reported for VOT stimuli. These findings are discussed in terms of a temporal detection mechanism which is involved in speech perception.
Characteristics of Baitfish Retailers in Kentucky: Evidence of a Market to Support a Regional Industry

Bait shops in Kentucky and surrounding states rely primarily on large-scale suppliers for baitfish. However, these suppliers provide specific species and sizes of fish. This creates a potential market where small-scale producers could supply bait shops with uncommon species and size combinations of baitfish. This study describes baitfish and bait crayfish marketing parameters in Kentucky by reporting results of a survey that elicited marketing information from local baitfish dealers. The results showed 94% of the respondents were interested in purchasing baitfish from local producers. The types of baitfish wanted by these bait dealers from local suppliers included rosy red minnows (Pimephales promelas), catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), and large golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas). The survey provided evidence of significant niche marketing opportunities in baitfish in states such as Kentucky, where baitfish production is not a major industry.
Dispersion of Nitric Acid-Treated SWNTs in Organic Solvents and Solvent Mixtures

The dispersion of pristine and nitric acid-treated single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) has been studied in organic solvents and solvent mixtures using optical absorption, as a function of settling time. The extinction coefficients of both the pristine and acid-treated tubes at 500-nm wavelength was measured to be 25.5 (mg/L)-1 cm-1 in various solvents. The dispersibility of nitric acid-treated tubes increased with the solvent's hydrogen-bonding ability and reached 27 mg/L in ethanol and 35 mg/L in water. Nitric acid-treated tubes could also be dispersed in butanol/toluene and xylene/ethanol mixtures, which are known to be poor solvents for the pristine SWNTs.
Ideal pain terminology is parsimonious, jargon-free, and scale-appropriate

H yperalgesia and allodynia are recognized in the earliest medical texts. Bonica, in an excellent historical survey [1], notes that "cutaneous tenderness caused by non-noxious , .. stimulation was used by ancient physicians in Egypt, India, China and Greece as an aid in the diagnosis of painful disorders" [of the viscera]. The year 1996 marks the, thousandth anniversary of Avicenna's (980-1038) taking up the study of medicine.Avicenna's monumental Canon enumerates 15 types of pain: boring, squeezing, corrosive, dull, tiring, heavy, cutting, irritating, itching, pricking, relaxinq, stabbing, tearing, pulling, and throbbing [12]. Bonica credits Morgagni in 1761 as the first to employ the word hyperesthesia to connote upper abdominal skin sensitivity in a patient with basilar pneumonia, a finding we would now call allodynia. By Morgagni's time, an abundance of words were at clinicians' disposal to describe every sort of pain and altered sensation.These words were harnessed to provide vivid reports-still unsurpassed-of syndromes such as left arm allodynia during angina and hyperalgesia and allodynia after a musket ball wound of the arm. Indeed, the pain descriptors in the McGillMelzack questionnaire were originally derived from patients' descriptions of their own pain. Yet pain terminology continues to generate controversy [4]. Sufficient imprecision, confusion, and frank conflict surround the use of pain terminology that Chaplan and Sorkin "agonize" over this sorry state of affairs. This commentary presents two arguments for abandoning the introduction of terms intended to be used by both preclinical scientists and clinicians and recommends instead that one strive for jargon-free description of a reality unfiltered by categories and expectations.
Synthesis and Turnover of Cytoskeletal Proteins in Cultured Astrocytes

: We previously reported that the cytoskeleton of rat astrocytes in primary culture contains vimentin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and actin. These proteins were found in a fraction insoluble in Triton X-100 and thought to be assembled in filamentous structures. We now used primary astrocyte cultures to study the kinetics of synthesis and turnover of these cytoskeletal proteins. The intermediate filament proteins were among the most actively synthesized by astrocytes. High levels of synthesis were detectable by the third day of culture in the early log phase of growth, and the pattern of labeling at day 3 was similar to that at 14 days when the cultures had reached confluency. In short-term incorporation experiments vimentin, GFAP, and actin in the Triton-insoluble fraction were labeled within 5 min after exposure of the cultures to radioactive leucine. We did not detect any saturation of labeling for up to 6 h of incubation. The turnover of filament proteins studied by following the decay of radioactivity from prelabeled vimentin, GFAP, and cytoskeletal actin displayed biphasic decay kinetics for all three proteins. In the initial phase a fast-decaying pool with a half-life of 12–18 h contributed about 40% of the total activity in each protein. A major portion, about 60%, of each protein, however, decayed much more slowly, exhibiting a half-life of about 8 days.
The new century: Lessons learned from Singapore's shopping sector during the 1990's

Singapore's main shopping corridor, Orchard Road, is being challenged as the international shopping paradise for residents and visitors. It no longer reigns supreme as the mecca for international shopping. The loss of prestige and dominance can be attributed to recent shifts in the Singaporean and regional marketplace such as: economic recession, tourism industry slump, societal concerns, technological trends and innovations, shopping sector development in the region, and political uncertainty, etc. Within Singapore, the restructuring of the retail shopping sector from one dominated by the Orchard Road Corridor to one including several satellite shopping centers in the “New Cities” creates additional severe competition for retail customers. This paper examines the spatial relationships and structure of Singapore's shopping centers and their impact on the Orchard Road corridor. The article highlights selected theories, models, and techniques developed for planning shopping center locations and determining store site selection in an attempt to discover applications for the Singapore shopping scene. The paper also examines environmental conditions that create challenges for the retail shopping industry during the new millenneum: for example, the effects of economic events, government policy changes, visitor pattern shifts, and the changing shopping habits of Singaporeans. While the focus is primarily on problems and opportunities for Singapore's retailers in the main shopping corridor, the implications for the additional surburban centers emerging along mass transit routes in major housing developments are discussed briefly. Finally, plans to counteract the current sluggish market conditions and reposition and revitalizing the centers along Orchard Road to enhance competitiveness for the new millennium, are discussed.
Toward a theory of clinical science

Much criticism has been leveled at physicians concerning the integration of psychiatry and medicine, but little has been said of the burdens of those expected to participate in that integration. Most of the difficulties inherent in that activity may well result from a failure to accurately conceptualize the process involved. The nature of the criticism is distilled in Eisenberg's' crisp assessment of the current state of psychiatry and medicine: "One can tolerate neither a 'brainless psychiatry' which ignores the biology of the central nervous system in a one-sided preoccupation with the psyche, nor a 'mindless medicine' which ignores personal concerns and social reality in its zeal for a technologic fix," We hold that the criticisms of both psychiatrists and nonpsychiatrist physicians, as well as their burdens, would be reduced if the reasoning of psychosomaticists, liaison psychiatrists, and physicians in general turned toward development of a theory of clinical science. Much labor and straining have gone into attempts at clarifying the meaning of "psychosomatic medicine" and the nature of health and disease. Kimball's2 thoughtful approach was an early contemporary effort in his paper "Conceptual Developments in Psychosomatic Medicine: 1939-1969," LipowskP-s during the late 1960s and early 1970s wrote reviews with regularity on concepts and theories connected with psychosomatic medicine, Within the last year, a rash of publications has appeared on this topic, notably by Engel,6 Weiner,7.9 Reiser,IO,1I and Eisenberg" It is worthwhile to look more closely at these. The titles aptly explain the objectives and the content: ''The Need for a New Medical Model: A Challenge for Biomedicine,''6 Psychobiology and Human Disease,7 ''The Illusion of Simplicity: The Medical Model Revisited,''9 "The Challenge of Newer Research Findings for Psychosomatic Theories,"11 and "Psychiatry and Society, a Sociobiologic Synthesis.'" All have this in common: They are concerned with conceptualizing a theory of emotions and disease, and going beyond this to theories of human disease itself, and
Urbanization of the Nonfarm Population: A Research Note on the Convergence of Rich and Poor Nations

Urbanization as conventionally measured by demographers is urban population divided by total population. By this criterion rich nations are considerably more urban than poor nations. The purpose of this paper is to compare rich and poor nations on urbanization of the nonfarm population (which is, I argue, a better indicator of the urban Irural distribution of those who are eligible to live in cities). By this criterion rich nations and poor nations are roughly equivalent on urbanization. Cross-national comparisons of urbanization are haunted by two problems. The first is how to get the numbers (the boundary problem): how do we distinguish urban from nonurban residents? The second is how to put the numbers together in constructing measures of urbanization. While the first problem has attracted more attention, the second probably has created more confusion, especially among non-specialists. Consider, for example, the often-heard contention that LDCS (less developed countries) are urbanizing at an unprecedented rate. This contention is controversial, not so much from disagreement over the numbers, but from inconsistency in the measures used. "Urbanizing at an unprecedented rate" has been interpreted variously to mean rate of increase in urban population (dUldt), rate of increase in percent urban (d%U/dt), and absolute increase in percent urban (&%U). (And the measure one chooses does matter: indeed, the answer to the "unprecedented urbanization" question depends on it, e.g., Davis; Preston.)1 Nevertheless these and other measures of urbanization are similar in one respect: all are "crude" measures-crude in the sense that they ignore subpopulation differences in eligibility for urban residence. Farm
Virus therapy for bladder cancer

Approximately 50,000 cases of superficial bladder cancer are diagnosed annually in the United States. Immunotherapy utilizing intravesical BCG is the most effective standard therapy for superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Based on ease of administration, limited systemic dissemination, and the demonstrated activity of immunotherapy, superficial bladder cancer is an excellent target for virus based gene and immunotherapy. Thus far, clinical trials of virus therapy for bladder cancer have yielded mixed results. In this paper the results of several virus based clinical trials for bladder cancer are reviewed.
Puncturing a thin elastic sheet

Abstract We use membrane theory to analyze the puncturing of a thin solid circular isotropic elastic sheet by a rigid axisymmetric indenter. A solution is obtained in which a hole is formed at the center of the sheet with an interior annulus in frictionless contact with the cylindrical surface. The contacting part is in a state of pure hoop stress with the corresponding hoop stretch exhibiting a strong singularity at the origin. Conditions are given ensuring that the solution has finite total energy and it is shown to be energetically favored over unpunctured states for transverse indenter displacements exceeding a finite critical value.
Characterization of L-glutamate binding sites in rat spinal cord synaptic membranes: evidence for multiple chloride ion-dependent sites

The effects of various ions on L-glutamate (L-Glu) binding sites (Na+-dependent, Cl(-)-dependent, and Cl(-)-independent) in synaptic plasma membranes (SPM) isolated from rat spinal cord and forebrain were examined. Cl(-)-dependent binding sites were over twofold higher in spinal cord (Bmax = 152 +/- 34 pmol/mg protein) as compared to forebrain SPM (Bmax = 64 +/- 12 pmol/mg protein). Na+-dependent binding, on the other hand, was nearly sixfold less in spinal cord (Bmax = 74 +/- 10 pmol/mg protein) compared to forebrain SPM (408 +/- 26 pmol/mg protein). Uptake of L-Glu (Na+-dependent) was also eightfold less in the P2 fraction from spinal cord relative to forebrain (Vmax of 2.89 and 22.3 pmol/mg protein/min, respectively). The effects of Na+, K+, NH4+, and Ca2+ on L-Glu binding sites were similar in both regions of the CNS. In addition, in spinal cord membranes, Br-, I-, and NO3- were equivalent to Cl- in their capacity to stimulate L-Glu binding, whereas F- and CO3- were less effective. Cl(-)-dependent L-Glu binding in spinal cord membranes consisted of two distinct sites. The predominant site (74% of the total) had characteristics similar to the Cl(-)-dependent binding site in forebrain membranes [i.e., Ki values of 5.7 +/- 1.4 microM and 119 +/- 38 nM for 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (AP4) and quisqualic acid, (QUIS), respectively]. The other Cl(-)-dependent site was unaffected by AP4 but was blocked by QUIS (Ki = 14.2 +/- 4.8 microM).
Control of the constrained planar simple inverted pendulum

Control of a constrained planar inverted pendulum by eigenstructure assignment is considered. Linear feedback is used to stabilize and decouple the system in such a way that specified subspaces of the state space are invariant for the closed-loop system. The effectiveness of the feedback law is tested by digital computer simulation. Pre-compensation by an inverse plant is used to improve performance.
Mass flow in loop type coronal transients

The white light coronagraph on Skylab observed many loop type coronal transients. These loops travel through the coronagraph's field of view (2–6R⊙) over a period of a few hours, after which the legs of the loops usually remain visible for a few days. In this paper we investigate the temporal changes in density and mass per unit length measured along the legs of such loops during the several days after the initial eruption. Examination of 8 transients shows that the mass and density in the legs decrease during the few hours after the top of the loop has travelled beyond the coronagraph's field of view. The mass and density then increase slowly, during the next one half to one day, then decrease again over approximately the same period. These changes are generally shown to be too rapid to be explained by solar rotation, indicating that the transient legs have a lifetime of only a few days.
Investigation of optical transitions in InAs/GaAs(Sb)/AlAsSb quantum dots using modulation spectroscopy

InAs quantum dots (QDs) were grown in an AlAs0.56Sb0.44/GaAs matrix in the unintentionally doped (uid) region of an In0.52Al0.48As solar cell, establishing a variety of optical transitions both into and out of the QDs. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate sequential absorption, where one photon is absorbed, promoting an electron from the valence band into the QD, and a second photon is absorbed in order to promote the trapped electron from a QD state into the host conduction band. In this study, we directly investigate the optical properties of the solar cell using photoreflectance and evaluate the possibility of sequential absorption by measuring spectral responsivity with broadband infrared illumination.
Location, Timing, and Social Structure Patterns Related to Physical Activity Participation in Weight Loss Programs

Less than half of the adults in the United States meet national guidelines for physical activity. Physical activity programs can induce short-term improvements in physical activity. To develop effective interventions, researchers and practitioners should consider the timing, location, and social structure patterns of participants. Using a pretest, posttest study design, 329 adults in a weight loss program completed surveys on their patterns and physical activity participation. Men preferred weight lifting, cycling, and jogging, whereas women preferred walking and aerobics. Black participants preferred being active in the home. Additionally, participating in a mix of group and individual activities compared with individual-only activities was predictive of posttest moderate-to-vigorous intensity and total physical activity. Providing a variety of activities for adults in both location and social structure may lead to sustained physical activity participation.
Decision support systems in diabetes : a systems perspective

This paper examines, from a systems perspective, some of the major issues associated with the provision of computer-based decision support in the management of the diabetic patient. The importance of understanding the underlying dynamics is emphasised, as is the value of a systems approach to the specification, design and evaluation of decision support systems if they are to find clinical acceptance.
Cardiac pathology of pediatric HIV infection

Abstract The prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection has risen in infants and children due to a rising incidence of vertical transmission from HIV infected mothers and due to longer survival resulting from improved treatment modalities. As the more common complications of HIV infection, particularly opportunistic infections, can be treated successfully, other less common complications have become more prevalent. Cardiac complications of HIV infection are now well recognized in both pediatric and adult age groups, may involve any component of the cardiovascular system, and may present with or without cardiac symptomatology. This article reviews the cardiac pathology in HIV infection of pediatric patients as described in the literature on pediatric AIDS and extrapolated from the series in adults.
The social regulation of threat-related attentional disengagement in highly anxious individuals.

Social support may normalize stress reactivity among highly anxious individuals, yet little research has examined anxious reactions in social contexts. We examined the role of both state and trait anxiety in the link between social support and the neural response to threat. We employed an fMRI paradigm in which participants faced the threat of electric shock under three conditions: alone, holding a stranger’s hand, and holding a friend’s hand. We found significant interactions between trait anxiety and threat condition in regions including the hypothalamus, putamen, precentral gyrus, and precuneus. Analyses revealed that highly trait anxious individuals were less active in each of these brain regions while alone in the scanner—a pattern that suggests the attentional disengagement associated with the perception of high intensity threats. These findings support past research suggesting that individuals high in anxiety tend to have elevated neural responses to mild or moderate threats but paradoxically lower responses to high intensity threats, suggesting a curvilinear relationship between anxiety and threat responding. We hypothesize that for highly anxious individuals, shock cues were perceived as highly threatening if they were alone in the scanner, possibly due to attentional disengagement, but this perception was mitigated if they were holding someone’s hand. The disengagement seen in highly anxious people under conditions of high perceived threat may thus be alleviated by social proximity. These results suggest a role for social support in regulating emotional responses in anxious individuals, which may aid in treatment outcomes.
Is intravenous lidocaine an effective adjuvant for endotracheal intubation in children undergoing induction of anesthesia with halothane-nitrous oxide?

Abstract Study Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of intravenous (IV) lidocaine in suppressing the cough reflex and increases in intraocular pressure (IOP), heart rate (HR), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) elicited by endotracheal intubation. Design: Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded study. Patients: 60 ASA physical status I premedicated children aged 2 to 6 years undergoing induction of anesthesia with halothane-nitrous oxide (N 2 O) for surgery to correct strabismus. Interventions: Patients were randomly divided into two groups of 30 each. The control group (C) received saline and the treatment group (L) received 2 mg/kg IV lidocaine 90 seconds prior to endotracheal intubation. Measurements and Main Results: Awake HR and MAP; IOP, HR, and MAP 45 seconds prior to endotracheal intubation, immediately after endotracheal intubation, and 1 minute later, were recorded. Coughing was noted at endotracheal intubation. Lidocaine prevented coughing and a significant increase in IOP. Although significant increases in HR and MAP were observed in both groups (comparing preintubation and postintubation values), these increases were significantly less in the L group compared with the C group. Conclusions: In healthy premedicated children, aged 2 to 6 years, who are undergoing induction of anesthesia with halothane-N 2 O, 2 mg/kg of lidocaine given 90 seconds prior to laryngoscopy effectively suppresses the cough reflex and increase in IOP secondary to endotracheal intubation and attenuates increases in HR and MAP.
Precise Information Flow Analysis by Program Verification

Information flow analysis algorithms for programs typically overestimate the amount of information flow that occurs in a program, since they must account for all paths through the computation graph, whether or not they are actually possible. This is the source of the information flow anomalies, which are simple situations not properly handled by syntactic information flow analysis. This paper introduces an abstract information content function for state machine models of programs, and applies it to the information firm analysis problem, in conjunction with a semantic analysis of functional behavior provided by a program verification system. Our method fits well within the framework of many existing program verification systems, requiring only a small amount of knowledge of set theory. Some of the more common information flow anomalies are shown to be handled correctly by the method.
MRD‐CI calculations of proton affinity within the ab initio method for approximation of the frozen molecular fragment

The method of approximation of the frozen molecular fragment (FMF) we derived has been applied to calculations of proton affinities. Results are in good agreement with experimental data and extended basis set calculations.
Social versus self-control skills deficits in four cases of depression

This study involves a crossover treatment design that describes four cases of depression with two cases exhibiting social skills deficits and the other two cases exhibiting deficits in self-control skills. The effects of treatment matched or unmatched to the presenting deficit were evaluated. It was found that matched treatment was more effective than the unmatched treatment in alleviating depression and the skills deficit. Limitations of the study are discussed and further research using multivariate assessment is encouraged. The findings are consistent with Craighead's (1980) call for an abandonment of a unitary model of depression.
Parent Evaluation and Social Ideology

Upon the assumption that an individual's social attitudes are determined in part by his social ideology, a series of exploratory studies was designed to throw light on the role of parent participation in ideology development. To date three studies have been completed (Crutchfield, 1958; Cooper & Blair, 1959). The first two have been reported elsewhere, and the third will be reported in detail short1y.l Thus far the approach has been phenomenological in that Ss were asked to evaluate their parents, and to estimate the degree of similarity between their own and their parents' social ideologies. High school and college student samples were used. The two principal instruments were: first, a Parent Evaluation Scale, designed to measure "good and "bad" parent behavior and personality characteristics; second, the wellknown E-F Scale (6ough, 1951), used as a measure of social ideology. The essential hypothesis, that Ss who accord relatively high evaluations to their parents think of themselves as relatively close to their parents ideologically, was strongly supported by the results of each study. Among others, three ancillary findings appear to have long range significance for this research program. First, high school Ss who accorded their parents high evaluations were relatively high in academic achievement. Second, high school Ss who scored high on the E-F Scale tended to accord their parents low evaluations. Third, with one exception, both high school and college Ss indicated no parental sex preference. That exception was: intellectually superior high school males expressed a significant father preference. One important methodological change is planned for the next study; parents wiU be interrogated directly. In addition, certain technical improvements in the measuring instruments are planned.
Serum cetrorelix concentrations do not affect clinical pregnancy outcome in assisted reproduction

Objective To analyze the potential association between serum cetrorelix levels and clinical pregnancy outcome in patients who had undergone assisted reproduction cycles with a GnRH antagonist cetrorelix acetate 3-mg injection. Design Retrospective case–control study. Setting University-affiliated private-assisted reproduction center. Patient(s) 130 IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection first cycles, treated with the same cetrorelix acetate protocol, in two matched groups according to whether the cycle resulted in clinical pregnancy (n = 56) or not (n = 74). Intervention(s) Cetrorelix acetate administration at 3 mg in a sandwich protocol. Main Outcome Measure(s) Serum cetrorelix concentrations on the day of hCG administration with regard to clinical pregnancy outcome, pre- versus post-hCG percent change in serum E 2 levels and implantation rates. Result(s) The cetrorelix serum concentrations were in the range of 0.29 to 5.12 ng/mL. The comparisons between groups with and without clinical pregnancy revealed comparable serum cetrorelix levels. There was no significant correlation between the serum cetrorelix concentrations and percent change in pre- versus post-hCG serum E 2 levels. Serum cetrorelix levels were comparable among patients with various implantation rates. Conclusion(s) Although a wide range of serum cetrorelix levels could be detected during a GnRH antagonist cycle, these levels were comparable in patients with and without clinical pregnancies.
The Developmental Perspective in Vocational Psychology

Abstract Vocational psychology has not realized its potential as a developmental science, despite the centrality of its domain across the entire life span and its impressive accomplishments in measuring and modifying career behaviors. Moreover, rapid changes in technology and in the world of occupations have created new opportunities and new challenges. If vocational psychology is to realize its potential in this new reality, it must become a science and profession that can speak authoritatively on all substantive questions dealing with the vocational development of children, adolescents, and adults. It must also seek to integrate its research findings with those of other areas to produce a more coherent, cohesive body of knowledge that addresses every aspect of vocational development within the larger framework of life-span human development.
Infrasonic energy harvesting for embedded structural health monitoring micro-sensors

Many signals of interest in structural engineering, for example seismic activity, lie in the infrasonic range (frequency less than 20Hz). This poses a significant challenge for developing self-powered structural health monitoring sensors that are required not only to monitor rare infrasonic events but also to harvest the energy for sensing, computation and storage from the signal being monitored. In this paper, we show that a linear injection response of our previously reported piezo-floating-gate sensor is ideal for self-powered sensing and computation of infrasonic signals. Our experimental results demonstrate that the sensor fabricated in a 0.5- μm CMOS technology can compute and record level crossing statistics of an input infrasonic event with total current less than 10nA.
Pulmonary hypertension in hypertensive patients: Association with diastolic dysfunction and increased pulmonary vascular resistance

Background Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with systemic hypertension and preserved ejection fraction (PEF) has been described. However, the pathophysiology and consequences are not entirely clear. We sought to distinguish the clinical and anatomic features among hypertensive patients with or without coexistent PH. Methods Echocardiograms and records of hypertensive patients with left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and PEF from January 2009 to January 2011 were reviewed. We identified 174 patients, including 36 with PH (calculated pulmonary artery systolic pressure [PASP] ≥ 35 mmHg), and 138 with normal pulmonary pressures. Results Hypertensive patients with PH were older (76 ± 13 vs. 65 ± 13 years, P < 0.0001), more often female (91, 70%), had lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (63 ± 44 vs. 88 ± 48 mL/min, P = 0.002), and higher pro-BNP levels (3141 ± 4253 vs. 1219 ± 1900 pg/mL, P = 0.003). PH patients also had larger left atrial areas (23.7 ± 3.8 vs. 20.8 ± 4.6 cm2, P = 0.002), evidence of diastolic dysfunction (i.e., septal E/e′ 17.6 ± 8.6 vs. 12.7 ± 4.4, P = 0.0005), and higher calculated peripheral vascular resistance (PVR) (2.3 ± 1.1 vs. 1.6 ± 0.4, P < 0.0001). Both PVR and septal E/e′ showed strong linear correlation with PASP (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001, respectively). Conclusions Hypertension in elderly patients is frequently complicated by LV diastolic dysfunction and secondary PH. These hypertensive patients tended to have reduced renal function and higher pro-BNP. Because of the known morbidity and mortality associated with PH, these observations have potentially important implications for target medical therapy.