cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Contraceptive use and pregnancy risk among U.S. high school students, 1991-2003.

CONTEXT: Trends in teenagers' contraceptive use have received less attention than trends in adolescent sexual intercourse, despite the importance of contraceptive use to preventing teenage pregnancy. METHODS: Sexually active high school students' use of contraceptives and risk of pregnancy from 1991 to 2003 were examined using data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey and published contraceptive failure rates. Changes in pregnancy risk were assessed using weighted least-squares regression. RESULTS: Between 1991 and 2003, contraceptive use improved among sexually active U.S. high school students. Improvements among women included an increase in the proportion reporting condom use at last sex (from 38% to 58%) and declines in the proportions using withdrawal (from 19% to 11%) and no method (18% to 12%). Hormonal method use changed little, as a decline in pill use (from 25% to 20%) was offset by use of injectables (5% in 2003). Similar patterns were found among men. Women's risk of pregnancy declined 21% over the 12 years. The largest improvements in contraceptive use and pregnancy risk occurred among ninth graders, and whites and blacks. In 2003, 46% of pregnancy risk resulted from failure to use any method of contraception, and 54% resulted from contraceptive failure. CONCLUSIONS: Improvement in the use of contraceptives by sexually active high school students during the 1990s is encouraging. To sustain this trend, programs need to encourage contraceptive use among teenagers who do not use it and to stress consistent and correct use among those who do.
Crude oil prices and exchange rates: Causality, variance decomposition and impulse response

Abstract This paper examines the short-run and long-run dynamic relationship between the U.S. imported crude oil prices and exchange rates. The monthly data of the U.S. crude oil imports from five source countries during January 1996 and December 2009 are examined. Empirical results indicate that the exchange rates Granger-caused crude oil prices in the short run while the crude oil prices Granger-caused the exchange rates in the long run. Furthermore, oil prices were affected by the exchange rate changes at a minimal level. However, in the medium run and the long run, oil price shocks had a significant impact on exchange rate changes. Exchange rate shock has a significant negative impact on crude oil prices while the impulse response of the exchange rate variable to a crude oil price shock was statistically insignificant. Finally, the impact of extreme price volatility in June 2008 on exchange rates was significant. When world oil prices are stabilized, currency fluctuations and uncertainty can be minimized.
Adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis by purified rubisco activase

Activation of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) in vivo is mediated by a specific protein, rubisco activase. In vitro, activation of rubisco by rubisco activase is dependent on ATP and is inhibited by ADP. Purified rubisco activase hydrolyzed ATP with a specific activity of 1.5 mumol min-1 mg-1 protein, releasing approximately stoichiometric amounts of ADP and Pi. Hydrolysis was highly specific for ATP-Mg and had a broad pH optimum, with maximum activity at pH 8.0-8.5. ATPase activity was inhibited by ADP but not by molybdate, vanadate, azide, nitrate, or fluoride. Addition of rubisco in either the inactive or activated form had no significant effect on ATPase activity. Incubation of rubisco activase in the absence of ATP resulted in loss of both ATPase and rubisco activation activities. Both activities were also heat labile, with 50% loss in activity after 5 min at 38 degrees C and complete inhibition following treatment at 43 degrees C. Both activities showed a sigmoidal response to ATP concentration, with half-maximal activity at 0.053 mM ATP. Rubisco activation activity was dependent on the concentrations of both ATP and ADP. The results suggest that ATPase activity is an intrinsic property of rubisco activase.
Characterization by Ellipsometry of polymerized ultra-thin films formed in a two-dimensional solvent on an oxide surface

Abstract Surfactants adsorbed onto the surface of suspended mineral oxide particles may be used to position an ultra-thin layer of polymer on the surface of the particles. The polymer layer is formed by what may be viewed as a three-step process. First, solution parameters are varied in such a way as to induce complete coverage of the particle surface with a surfactant bilayer. Monomer introduced into the solution then partitions into the hydrophobic core of the surfactant layer. In situ polymerization is then initiated to form the polymer layer. The surfactant concentration in the bulk is well below the CMC so that solubilization does not occur nor does a latex form. This process was used to construct ultra-thin polymer layers on the surface of glass slides coated with a vacuum deposited aluminum layer, on which an oxide layer had been formed. The films thus constructed consisted of a polystyrene and sodium dodecyl sulfate suprastructure adhereing to the oxide surface. Ellipsometry was employed to calculate: (1) the optical constants of the freshly deposited aluminum, and (2) the thicknesses of the aluminum oxide and polymer layers. In determination of the thicknesses of the aluminum oxide and polymer layers literature values of the refractive indices were used. Under varying reaction conditions, the thickness of the polymer layer could be varied from 3.5 to 13.6 nm. It may be possible to use this process to produce suspensions of greater stability than those obtained by current techniques.
Novel nanofibrous spiral scaffolds for neural tissue engineering

Due to several drawbacks associated with autografts and allografts, tissue-engineering approaches have been widely used to repair peripheral nerve injuries. Most of the traditional tissue-engineered scaffolds in use are either tubular (single or multi-lumen) or hydrogel-based cylindrical grafts, which provide limited surface area for cell attachment and regeneration. Here, we show a novel poly(lactide-co-glycotide) (PLGA) microsphere-based spiral scaffold design with a nanofibrous surface that has enhanced surface areas and possesses sufficient mechanical properties and porosities to support the nerve regeneration process. These scaffolds have an open architecture that goes evenly throughout the scaffolds hence leaving enough volume for media influx and deeper cell penetration into the scaffolds. The in vitro tests conducted using Schwann cells show that the nanofibrous spiral scaffolds promote higher cell attachment and proliferation when compared to contemporary tubular scaffolds or nanofiber-based tubular scaffolds. Also, the nanofiber coating on the surfaces enhances the surface area, mimics the extracellular matrix and provides unidirectional alignment of cells along its direction. Hence, we propose that these scaffolds could alleviate some drawbacks in current nerve grafts and could potentially be used in nerve regeneration.
Immunocytochemical analysis of noradrenaline, substance P and enkephalin axonal contacts on serotonin neurons in the caudal raphe nuclei of the cat

The present study investigates the anatomical basis for interactions between serotonin immunoreactive neurons in nuclei raphe magnus and pallidus, and either noradrenaline, substance P (SP) or enkephalin immunoreactive axonal varicosities. Using a double-label immunocytochemical method, we found that each of these neurochemicals could be localized to axons which contacted serotonin immunoreactive neurons. The frequency and location of these inputs differed in nuclei raphe magnus and pallidus. SP immunoreactive varicosities formed the greatest number of contacts. These findings suggest that serotonin-containing neurons in the caudal raphe nuclei receive input from multiple putative neurotransmitters.
Electron cyclotron resonance microwave ion sources for thin film processing

Abstract Plasmas created by microwave absorption at the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) are increasingly used for a variety of plasma processes, including both etching and deposition. ECR sources efficiently couple energy to electrons and use magnetic confinement to maximize the probability of an electron creating an ion or free radical in pressure regimes where the mean free path for ionization is comparable to the ECR source dimensions. The general operating principles of ECR sources are discussed with special emphasis on their use for thin film etching. Data on source performance during Cl based etching of Si using an ECR system are presented.
Tonsillectomy techniques and pain: a review of randomized controlled trials and call for standardization.

Objectives: To review the literature comparing operative techniques in tonsillectomy and postoperative pain. Methods: Randomized controlled trials comparing opera
The Effect of Piped Water on Early Childhood Mortality in Urban Brazil, 1970-1976

This paper utilizes data on the ratio of surviving children and other variables for a sub-sample of mothers aged 20-29 to analyze the impact of increased access to piped water in urban households on trends and income class differentials in child mortality. Path analytic regression techniques are used to test a recursive model linking the supply and demand for piped water to selected household and community level variables, and to examine their joint effect on child mortality. The analysis shows that increased maternal education accounted for a larger share of the mortality decline between 1970 and 1976 than any other single factor. Increased access to piped water did contribute, and also helped reduce the mortality differential between lower and higher income and education classes. Obviously, piped water is a costly intervention; an analysis of the relative cost-effectiveness, e.g. piped water vs. female education, requires that their costs be estimated and matched to these estimates of relative effectiveness.
Echocardiographic evaluation of vagolytic effects of atropine sulfate during pediatric halothane anesthesia

The aims of this study were to define the antagonistic effects of atropine sulfate to halothane-induced cardiovascular depression in children, and to clarify whether or not a larger dose of atropine is more effective in attenuating the cardiovascular depression. Thirty-four children aged 1–12 years who had undergone minor surgery, free from cardiac or pulmonary disease, were assigned at random to two groups. M-mode echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular function in each patient was performed at three points (before induction, point A; after induction, point B; and following administration of atropine, point C). Results were compared between points A and B, B and C and C and A, and between the two study groups with different doses of atropine (0.01 mg/kg vs 0.02 mg/kg). Heart rate (HR), mean blood pressure (MBP) and left ventricular shortening fraction (LVSF) decreased, and left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD) were increased significantly by halothane induction. Although HR and MBP recovered following atropine, LVSF and LVEDD remained unchanged. There were no differences found between the values after vagolysis in both study groups, except for HR and mean velocity of circumferential fiber shortening (mVcf). Heart rate increased above that of pre-induction, even following the smaller dose of atropine. The myocardial depression cannot be necessarily attenuated by vagolysis regardless of the dosage of atropine. The smaller dose (i.e. 0.01 mg/kg) seems to be sufficient only to antagonize the bradycardia and hypotension during halothane anesthesia in children.
Computational high-resolution heart phantoms for medical imaging and dosimetry simulations

Cardiovascular disease in general and coronary artery disease (CAD) in particular, are the leading cause of death worldwide. They are principally diagnosed using either invasive percutaneous transluminal coronary angiograms or non-invasive computed tomography angiograms (CTA). Minimally invasive therapies for CAD such as angioplasty and stenting are rendered under fluoroscopic guidance. Both invasive and non-invasive imaging modalities employ ionizing radiation and there is concern for deterministic and stochastic effects of radiation. Accurate simulation to optimize image quality with minimal radiation dose requires detailed, gender-specific anthropomorphic phantoms with anatomically correct heart and associated vasculature. Such phantoms are currently unavailable. This paper describes an open source heart phantom development platform based on a graphical user interface. Using this platform, we have developed seven high-resolution cardiac/coronary artery phantoms for imaging and dosimetry from seven high-quality CTA datasets. To extract a phantom from a coronary CTA, the relationship between the intensity distribution of the myocardium, the ventricles and the coronary arteries is identified via histogram analysis of the CTA images. By further refining the segmentation using anatomy-specific criteria such as vesselness, connectivity criteria required by the coronary tree and image operations such as active contours, we are able to capture excellent detail within our phantoms. For example, in one of the female heart phantoms, as many as 100 coronary artery branches could be identified. Triangular meshes are fitted to segmented high-resolution CTA data. We have also developed a visualization tool for adding stenotic lesions to the coronaries. The male and female heart phantoms generated so far have been cross-registered and entered in the mesh-based Virtual Family of phantoms with matched age/gender information. Any phantom in this family, along with user-defined stenoses, can be used to obtain clinically realistic projection images with the Monte Carlo code penMesh for optimizing imaging and dosimetry.
Nanocomposites based on poly (ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL)/clay hybrid: polystyrene, high impact polystyrene, ABS, polypropylene and polyethylene

Abstract Nanocomposites of polystyrene, high impact polystyrene, acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene terploymer, polypropylene and polyethylene have been prepared using an organically-modified clay that contains polycaprolactone—PCL-modified clay. Depending upon the mode of preparation of the PCL-modified clay, all three types of nanocomposites, immiscible, intercalated and exfoliated, may be produced. The materials have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, cone calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and the evaluation of mechanical properties.
Can Theology Have a Role in “Public” Bioethical Discourse?

In the US religious groups have been active in voicing their bioethical concerns in the public discourse. The Roman Catholic Church and religiously motivated anti-abortion activists have been quite visible in the public discussion of issues ranging from abortion infertility therapies withdrawal of artificial nutrition and direct euthanasia. While some might object to such particularistic groups having a voice in our pluralistic society their legitimacy comes not from their religious origins but from their moral convictions. The bioethical literature is full of opinions written from particular religious points of views but rarely are these opinions grounded in appeals to particular religious beliefs. Rather they are grounded in particular moral convictions that may have originated from religious beliefs. Nonreligious moral convictions have their origins outside of religion but in the literature it is often impossible to tell them apart. Directly religious appeals are rarely used in the literature since their scope would be limited only to those who shared a common religious belief. Instead the opinions are grounded in substantive moral principles. It must be understood that theological contributions to bioethics overlap and coincide with philosophical ones more than they conflict. Based on a commitment of openness and dialogue bioethics provides a forum for people with many different inspirations for their moral convictions to discuss the relevant issues. Theology must play a role in bioethics if only to clarify the issues for the religious community itself. And since the inspiration and motivation for peoples moral convictions can be either religious or not theology need not be excluded from the public dialogue.
A comparison of sodium dependent GABA transport in cortical synaptosomes from Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats

The sodium dependent, high affinity transport of GABA has been studied in cortical synaptosomes from Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and the results compared to previous results from Long-Evans (LE) rats. Initial velocity of uptake was measured as a function of both GABA and sodium concentration. These data were then fitted to the rate equation for the model which was found to give minimal best fit to similar data from Long-Evans animals. An excellent fit was obtained; the average per cent error between experimental data and model predictions is only 2.55%. No simplification of the model could be made without lessening the goodness of fit. Thus there are no fundamental differences between the two groups in the mechanism by which carrier, sodium, and GABA interact in the process of transport.
Multiscale modeling of fluid permeability of a non-homogeneous porous media

Abstract We discuss various models describing single phase fluid flow in a porous media with non-uniform distribution of pore sizes. Treating such a media as a heterogeneous one we adopted various approximate schemes used in micromechanics of materials. For this aim, we introduced the fluid permeability contribution tensor that describes effect of a single inhomogeneity onto the overall properties. We also compare these derived micromechanical schemes with formulas used in geomechanics. We show that the different approaches lead to similar results. The main advantages of micromechanical schemes are, (1) they do not contain adjustable parameters; (2) they can be used to describe fluid permeability in materials with more than two phases.
Logics of the Wind: Development Desires over Oaxaca

: [energy, energopolitics, anthropology of energy, oil production, wind farm, wind energy, sustainability]
The solution of the minimum cost flow and maximum flow network problems using associative processing

The minimum cost flow problem exists in many areas of industry. The problem is defined as: given a network composed of nodes and directed arcs with the arcs having an upper capacity, lower capacity, and a cost per unit of commodity transferred, find the maximum flow at minimum cost between two specified nodes while satisfying all relevant capacity constraints. The classical maximum flow problem is a special case of the general minimum cost flow problem in which all arc costs are identical and the lower capacities of all arcs are zero. The objective in this problem is also to find the maximum flow between two specific nodes. Algorithms exist for the solution of these problems and are coded for running on sequential computers. However, many parts of both of these problems exhibit characteristics that indicate it would be worthwhile to consider their solution by associative processors.
Quantitative thermodynamic analysis of sublimation rates using an atomic force microscope.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been successfully used to study the activation energy for evaporation of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) nanoislands formed by spin coating. These islands are annealed isothermally in the temperature range of 30−70 °C for a given time and are scanned with AFM in contact mode at room temperature. The volume of these islands does not change significantly up to about 35−40 °C indicating that sublimation is not significant below 40 °C. Above 40 °C, the islands start shrinking, and the rate of weight loss is analyzed as a function of temperature. The activation energy of evaporation using AFM was found to be similar to that for bulk PETN crystals using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at higher temperatures (110−135 °C). These results demonstrate that AFM is a useful tool to measure thermodynamic properties with a nanoscale probe.
Hanle Effect Measurements of Spin Lifetime in Zn0.4Cd0.6Se Epilayers Grown on InP

We use the Hanle effect to study spin relaxation in ZnxCd1−xSe epilayers grown on lattice-matched InP substrates. We study three samples with a fixed composition (x = 0.4) and with varying levels of n-doping, as well as an undoped sample with x = 0.5. Our measurements show that the spin relaxation time changes non-monotonically as a function of carrier density, with a maximum transverse spin lifetime of ~10.5 ns at low temperatures for a sample doped near the metal–insulator transition.
Pituitary tumorigenesis and hPit-1 cells

Abstract Despite decades of clinical data verifying the success of therapeutic approaches to human pituitary tumors, a significant number of tumors progress and can be life-threatening. The development of better therapeutic strategies for pituitary tumors is complicated by the relative scarcity of human pituitary material for basic experimentation. Human pituitary tissue was used to derive cell cultures, and a cell line, hPIT-1. Molecular and functional analyses were used to further characterize the cells as human pituitary explants in vitro. Functional analyses of the cell cultures indicated that the cells were tumorigenic and of human folliculostellate origin. hPit-1 cells revealed numerous abnormalities of ploidy. Molecular analyses indicated the absence of expression of the following pituitary hormones or hormone subunits by this culture: growth hormone, prolactin, ACTH, FSHβ, LHβ, THβ, and p-glycoprotein. By contrast, the cells expressed uniformly high levels of human follistatin mRNA. Finally, the cells are moderately tumorigenic in immune-deficient mice. Although the precise molecular genetic mechanisms for tumorigenesis in the established cell culture are unknown, the cells serve as a future resource in the study of pituitary tumor initiation, progression, and response to therapy.
Functional characteristics of canine pylorus in health, with pyloroplasty, and after pyloric reconstruction.

The aim was to determine whether pyloroplasty decreases the strength of pyloric contractions and speeds gastric emptying of solids, while subsequent pyloric reconstruction restores these abnormalities to the control. In conscious dogs, pyloroplasty decreased the strength of pyloroduodenal pressure waves measured with a perfused sleeve sensor [mean ± SEM pyloroduodenal motility index: control (N=7)=1116±351 mm Hg×sec/10 min; pyloroplasty (N=7)=43±19 mm Hg×sec/10 min;P<0.05], and caused rapid gastric emptying of solids measured scintigraphically (mean±SEM half-emptying time: control=246±14 min, pyloroplasty=176±16 min;P<0.05). The frequencies of pyloroduodenal waves and gastric emptying of liquids, however, were unchanged. Pyloric reconstruction restored the postpyloroplasty patterns to the control. In conclusion, pyloroplasty decreased the strength of pyloroduodenal contractions and sped gastric emptying of solids, while pyloric reconstruction restored the altered patterns to the control.
Hip Arthroscopic Portal Bridge Retraction Technique for Improved Peripheral Compartment Visualization

Hip arthroscopy has been shown to be an effective technique in managing an increasingly widening set of indications for hip pathology. In any arthroscopic procedure, obtaining good visualization is one of the most critical components to performing a successful operation. Whereas other authors have described various techniques for improving visualization, we describe an additional simple but effective technique in this report. We describe the use of a retracting suture bridge between portal sites that allows for improved visualization of the peripheral compartment in hip arthroscopy, as well as other arthroscopic procedures.
Plasma-aided manufacturing of ceramics and composite materials

Owing to the recent availability of plasma generating devices and their reliable performance, the applications of plasma technology in materials processing is rapidly increasing. In this paper, therefore, the progress of plasma technology in materials processing has been critically examined. Also, the experimental results of the authors' investigation of the sintering kinetics of A1203 and PSZ, with and without Al203, in the plasma environment have been presented and discussed. Alumina and partially stabilized Zr02, with and without A1203, have been sintered in a radio frequency induction coupled plasma system. The translation speed of the specimens through the plasma, power level, sintering additives and pressure into the reaction tube were investigated as the experimental variables to elucidate the sintering mechanism (s). Both A1203 and partially stabilized Y203-+-Zr02 rods have been sintered with final densities greater than 99.7% at a very high densification rate. The grain sizes of the sintered spec...
Recovery at one year following isolated traumatic brain injury: a Western Trauma Association prospective multicenter trial.

Background: Age has been shown to be a primary determinant of survival following isolated traumatic brain injury (TBI). We have previously reported that patients ≥65 years who survived mild TBI have decreased functional outcome at 6 months compared with younger patients. The purpose of this study was to further investigate the effect of age on outcome at 1 year in all patients surviving isolated TBI. Methods: The Western Trauma Association multicenter prospective study included all patients sustaining isolated TBI defined as Abbreviated Injury Scale score for Head ≥ 3 with an Abbreviated Injury Scale score in any other body area £ 1. Outcome data included discharge disposition, Glasgow Outcome Scale score (1 = dead to 5 = full recovery) and modified Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score measuring feeding, expression, and locomotion (1 = total dependence to 4 = total independence) for each component at discharge and 1 year. Results: In all, 295 patients were enrolled with a follow-up of 82%, resulting in 241 study patients. An additional five patients died from non-TBI causes and were excluded. The mean and median times for the last follow-up in the 236 remaining patients were 307 and 357 days, respectively. Patients were divided into four age ranges: 18 to 29 years (n = 66), 30 to 44 years (n = 54), 45 to 59 years (n = 50), and ≥60 years (n = 65). More severe THIS, as measured by admitting Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), were observed in the youngest group compared with all others but there were no differences in mean GCS between the remaining three groups. There were no differences in neurosurgical intervention between the groups. Age was a major determinant in the outcome at discharge and last follow-up. Patients over 60 years discharged with a GOS ≤4 were less likely to improve at 1 year than all other groups (37% versus 63 to 85%; p ≤ 0.05). Patients between 18 and 29 years of age had the lowest mean Glasgow Outcome Scale and discharge FIM scores, which correlated with the low admission GCS. Despite the increased severity of TBI, this group had the best FIM score at 1 year. In contrast, patients older than 60 years had the least improvement and had a significantly lower final FEM score at 1 year compared with all other groups. Conclusion: Older patients following isolated TBI have poorer functional status at discharge and make less improvement at 1 year compared with all other patients. These worse outcomes occur despite what appears to be less severe TBI as measured by a higher GCS upon admission. Differences in outcome begin to appear even in patients between 45 and 59 years. Further investigations with more detailed outcome instruments are required to better understand the qualitative limitations of a patient's recovery and to devise strategies to maximize functional improvement following TBL Age is an exceedingly important parameter affecting recovery from isolated TBI.
Properties of the larval hemocytes of Drosophila melanogaster

Contrary to Srdic and Gloor's report, we find crystal cells (cc) in the lymph glands ofD. melanogaster larvae; the size and number of inclusions in the cc cannot be used to distinguish the 2 sibling species,D. melanogaster andD. simulans; cc in the hemocoel are not phagocytic cells; the surface properties of the lamellocytes are consistent with their derivation from plasmatocytes and not cc.
Novel Kinetic Effects in Vkcoelasttc Surfactant Solutions Under Shear

Using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), we have investigated the transient alignment and relaxation under Couette shear of viscoelastic aqueous micellar solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium 3,5- dichlorobenzoate (CTA3,5CL) mixtures at concentrations well above {phi}{sup *} (but below 1.0 wt.%). Time constants of the order of tens of minutes are reported for alignment and relaxation, orders of magnitude slower than any previously observed in similar micellar systems. The collective properties of the network of entangled, threadlike micelles, rather than the individual micellar segments, dominate alignment and relaxation behavior. At low micellar surface charge density ({sigma})(e.g., in pure CTA3,DCl), the first observation of alignment proceeding in two stages has been made. Increasing {sigma} decreases by an order of magnitude the shear rate required to reach full alignment and provides a comparable decrease in the rate constant for relaxation after cessation of shear.
Glucocorticoids: do they really contribute to stress-related reproductive inhibition?

Broadly speaking, stress may be considered a state of disrupted homeostasis, or a threat to homeostasis, caused by perturbations known as stressors. These can include trauma, altered metabolic dema...
Age-related memory deficits in rats and mice: Enhancement with peripheral injections of epinephrine

Epinephrine peripherally administered to rats and mice immediately following avoidance and/or appetitive training enhances later memory retention in both young and old animals. These findings suggest a possible involvement of peripheral adrenergic systems in memory dysfunctions which accompany aging.
Efficient Computation of Absolute Pose for Gravity-Aware Augmented Reality

We propose a novel formulation for determining the absolute pose of a single or multi-camera system given a known vertical direction. The vertical direction may be easily obtained by detecting the vertical vanishing points with computer vision techniques, or with the aid of IMU sensor measurements from a smartphone. Our solver is general and able to compute absolute camera pose from two 2D-3D correspondences for single or multi-camera systems. We run several synthetic experiments that demonstrate our algorithm's improved robustness to image and IMU noise compared to the current state of the art. Additionally, we run an image localization experiment that demonstrates the accuracy of our algorithm in real-world scenarios. Finally, we show that our algorithm provides increased performance for real-time model-based tracking compared to solvers that do not utilize the vertical direction and show our algorithm in use with an augmented reality application running on a Google Tango tablet.
Repeated stimulation of the ventral tegmental area sensitizes the hyperlocomotor response to amphetamine

The locomotor-activating effects of amphetamine have been reported to increase with repeated drug administration. Although the precise underlying mechanisms for this behavioral sensitization effect remain unknown, many investigators have suggested a role for the mesolimbic dopaminergic system that emanates from cell bodies in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain. To test this hypothesis, the present study examined the effects of repeated electrical stimulation of the VTA (in place of repeated amphetamine administration) on the hyperlocomotor actions of d-amphetamine. Locomotor activity induced by 0.75 mg/kg SC amphetamine was assessed during two 90-min tests, one before and one after a 14-day treatment regimen during which animals experienced daily 15-min sessions of intracranial VTA stimulation. Each session involved the delivery of 600 trains of 0.5 s 60-Hz sine-wave stimulation applied at one of four intensities: 0, 15, 30, or 45 microA. An additional comparison group of rats self-administered 30 microA of VTA stimulation. Data analysis revealed that both the self-stimulation and the high current groups were reliably more active posttreatment compared to pretreatment. No such sensitization-like effects were observed in any of the other treatment groups. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that repeated activation of VTA neurons can produce a sensitization to the behavioral effects of d-amphetamine.
Discrete inverse methods for elastic waves in layered media

The seismic inverse problem for waves at normal incidence on horizontally layered media is discussed. The emphasis is theoretical rather than practical, but some long‐standing questions concerning the general applicability of the often taught Goupillaud inverse method are answered. The main purpose is to demonstrate in detail the equivalence between the Goupillaud method of inversion for the wave equation and the Marchenko integral equation (inverse scattering) method for the Schroedinger equation. We show that the very simple method of solution due to Goupillaud for a specialized model (layers of equal traveltime) actually has a much wider significance. If seismic data are smoothed before sampling using a type of antialiasing filter, the Goupillaud method gives a valid approximate inversion for models with arbitrary layer thicknesses (or continuous impedance variation) when the “reflection coefficients” are appropriately reinterpreted. In all, three inverse methods are considered: (1) the Goupillaud meth...
FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS OF DEEP SEA MOORING LINE IN STATIC EQUILIBRIUM

Abstract The integrated equations of deep sea mooring lines in static equilibrium under consideration of gravity force and line elongation are obtained. The most useful forms of the equations for designing deep sea mooring system are those in which horizontal displacement and horizontal and vertical components of tension are obtained as functions of line length, water depth, critical tension and unit weight of line. When the dynamic simulation of a buoy system is carried out, line tensions acting on the buoy should be represented as a linear function of displacement. Therefore the linearisation method is introduced by use of linearisation coefficient matrix. Translation formulae for the matrix from two to three dimensions is also presented. The influence of line elongation on the horizontal component of tension in a taut mooring condition is important, therefore the elongation of stretched deep sea mooring line must be considered carefully. Also, the scaling law under consideration of line elongation in static equilibrium, which is necessary in estimation from a small sized experiment, is discussed.
Sailing Again on “The Patagonia”

Among the reservations Henry James expressed about the first-person narrative was that it prevented the author from making "certain precious discrimina tions. "x As he was at that moment composing The Ambassadors and so would have had his depiction of Lambert Strether very much in mind, we can easily enough follow James's craft-point: interplay between a reflecting central consciousness serving as post of observation and the mediating but discreet omniscience was what was enabling him to develop this remarkable pupil-teacher protagonist so successfully. Yet it seems equally true to point out that in earlier (and shorter) works, James had occasionally turned to that otherwise restrictive first-person mode in order to prevent the reader, rather than the writer, from making "certain precious discriminations "-with the resultant ambiguity not only enriching his tale but finally justifying its being told. That is to say, we are at once challenged by the narrator and consoled by the narrative. For it is also in that Preface to The Ambassadors that James wrote: "There is the story of one's hero, and then, thanks to the intimate connexion of things, the story of one's story itself. I blush to confess it, but if one's a dramatist, one's a dramatist, and the latter embroglio is liable on occasion to strike me as really the more objective of the two" (pp. x?xi). A supreme dramatist in that sense, James strove always to compose "the story of [his] story" in such form as to do fullest justice to its hero even when that justice had to express itself in the Scottish stand-off decision of "Not Proven." I refer here to the handful of first-person works in which the calculated ambiguities are such that the hero incurs suspicion but escapes judgment: "the story itself" confounds our best attempts to discriminate clearly enough to pronounce it. "The Turn of the Screw" and The Sacred Fount are the most celebrated as well
Career Assessment With Gifted and Talented Students

Advances have been made recently in the conceptualization of the career development of the gifted and talented, particularly in clarifying the career development concerns of multipotential individuals and of individuals with specific extraordinary talents. A greater understanding has emerged of gifted students' choices and needs, which in turn has provided information about the kinds of career assessments and interventions which are most useful to this population. Gifted women and gifted minority students have special career development needs and require cautious use of testing and interview assessment strategies.
Gametogenesis in Coelomomyces dodgei Couch (Blastocladiales, Chytridiomycetes)

The ultrastructure of gametogenesis was studied inCoelomomyces dodgei Couch (Blastocladiales, Chytridiomycetes), an obligate parasite of anopheline mosquito larvae and the copepod,Acanthocyclops vernalis. In infected copepods reared under a 16/8 hours light/dark photoperiod at 25 +2 °C., the gametophyte develops over a period of approximately seven days, and gametogenesis is triggered by the onset of the dark period during the last day of development. The initial step of gametogenesis is the elongation of the centriole to form the kinetosome, and measuring time from the onset of the final dark period (0 hours), this occurs prior to the beginning of the light period (8 hours). Subsequently, small vesicles that appear to originate from elements of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) fuse at the distal end of the kinetosome forming the flagellar vesicle into which the axonemal microtubules elongate to form the flagellum (8–12 hours). Similar small vesicles apparently also derived from rER align in planes and fuse to form cleavage furrows which delineate the gamete initials (12–14 hours). As the gamete initials begin forming, the mitochondria within each initial fuse to form a single mitochondrion that associates with the lipid globules and microbodies forming the microbody-lipid globule complex (12–16 hours). The time elapsed between the formation of the flagellar vesicle to the release of mature gametes from the copepod host is about 8.5 hours. No differences were observed in the processes or timing of gametogenesis in male and female gametophytes.
Anticipating the future: the University of Michigan's media union

The Media Union is a new facility that brings together information resources, information technology, and media production studios. It is unique in the blending of those resources into an integrated program serving the entire University of Michigan and supporting interdisciplinary collaboration. The Media Union anticipates the future not only by the proximity of its informational resources but by bringing together different types of information specialists to work collaboratively. The article provides a thorough description of the facility, its administrative structure, and examples of how pre‐existing organizational units made the trasition into the new environment.
Intercalation and exfoliation of clay nanoplatelets in epoxy-based nanocomposites: TEM and XRD observations

Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and diglycidyl ether of bisphenol F (DGEBF) reinforced with organo-montmorillonite clay nanoplatelets were investigated using anhydride- and amine-curing agents. The sonication technique was used to process epoxy/clay nanocomposites. The basal spacing of clay nanoplatelets was observed by wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques, and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the basal spacing of clay nanoplatelets in epoxy matrix was expanded after mixing with either DGEBA/DGEBF or methyltetrahydrophthalic-anhydride (MTHPA) curing agent. The sonication technique provided larger d-spacing of clay nanoplatelets. Because of the different curing temperatures, MTHPA-cured epoxy/clay nanocomposites produced more expanded d-spacing of clay nanoplatelets modified with methyl, tallow, bis(2-hydroxyethyl) quaternary ammonium (MT2EtOH) than triethylenetetramine-cured nanocomposites. Depending on the selection of curing agent and organic modification for clay nanoplatelets, the d-spacing was expanded to be up to 8.72 nm. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 46:452–463, 2006. © 2006 Society of Plastics Engineers
Protein Kinase C-ζ is Critical in Pancreatitis-Induced Apoptosis of Kupffer Cells

Protein kinase C-zeta (PKC-ζ) regulates cell death via NF-κB; therefore, we tested the hypothesis that PKC-ζ plays a critical role in pancreatitis-induced Kupffer cell apoptosis. Acute pancreatitis was induced in rats by cerulein injection 24 h later, livers were assayed for PKC-ζ, IKKα, IKKβ, IKKγ, NF-κB, Fas/FasL, and apoptosis was assessed with Caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation. Kupffer cells from unoperated rats were infected with a PKC-ζ domain-negative adenovirus (AdPKCζ-DN) to inhibit PKC-ζ, or transfected with pCMVPKC-ζ to overexpress PKC-ζ, and then stimulated with pancreatic elastase; cellular extracts were assayed for PKC-ζ, IKKα, IKKβ, IKKγ, NF-κB, Fas/FasL, Caspase-3, and DNA fragmentation. Cerulein-induced pancreatitis upregulated PKC-ζ protein and activity, IKKβ, IKKγ, NF-κB, Fas/FasL, Caspase-3 and increased DNA fragmentation in rat livers (all p < 0.001 vs control). AdPKCζ-DN abolished elastase-induced upregulation of PKC-ζ activity, IKKβ, IKKγ, NF-κB, Fas/FasL, Caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation (all p < 0.001 vs infection control), whereas overexpression of PKC-ζ augmented elastase-induced upregulation of IKKβ, IKKγ, Fas/FasL, Caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation (p < 0.001 vs control). PKC-ζ plays a critical role in pancreatitis-induced Kupffer cell apoptosis via NF-κB and Fas/FasL. The ability of Kupffer cells to autoregulate their stress response by upregulating their death receptor/ligand and key proapoptotic cell signaling systems warrants further investigation.
Immunology 102 at poxvirus U: Avoiding apoptosis

Poxviruses are large complex viruses that replicate in the cytoplasm of cells without integrating their DNA into the host genome or undergoing a latent intracellular stage. In addition to viral enzymes for DNA and RNA synthesis, poxviruses encode many proteins that modulate host responses. These include inhibitors of apoptosis induced by ligand binding to cell surface receptors, peroxides, ultraviolet light, DNA damaging agents and other cell signaling pathways.
Time dependence of cn internal energy distribution following ir multiphoton dissociation of vinyl cyanide

Abstract Laser-induced fluorescence was used to study the CN radical produced by infrared multiphoton dissociation of vinyl cyanide. The time between the photolysis pulse and observation was varied. CN fragments produced at short times were hotter rotationally than those produced later, even under the collisionless conditions of a molecular beam.
Essential self-adjointness of Schrödinger-type operators on manifolds

Several conditions are obtained ensuring the essential self-adjointness of a Schrodinger-type operator , where is a first-order elliptic differential operator acting on the space of sections of a Hermitian vector bundle over a manifold with positive smooth measure and is a Hermitian bundle endomorphism. These conditions are expressed in terms of completeness of certain metrics on naturally associated with . The results generalize theorems of Titchmarsh, Sears, Rofe-Beketov, Oleinik, Shubin, and Lesch. It is not assumed a priori that is endowed with a complete Riemannian metric. This enables one to treat, for instance, operators acting on bounded domains in with Lebesgue measure. Singular potentials are also admitted. In particular, a new self-adjointness condition is obtained for a Schrodinger operator on whose potential has a Coulomb-type singularity and can tend to at infinity. For the special case in which the principal symbol of is scalar, more precise results are established for operators with singular potentials. The proofs of these facts are based on a refined Kato-type inequality modifying and improving a result of Hess, Schrader, and Uhlenbrock.
Magma mixing and the generation of isotopically juvenile silicic magma at Yellowstone caldera inferred from coupling 238 U– 230 Th ages with trace elements and Hf and O isotopes in zircon and Pb isotopes in sanidine

The nature of compositional heterogeneity within large silicic magma bodies has important implications for how silicic reservoirs are assembled and evolve through time. We examine compositional heterogeneity in the youngest (~170 to 70 ka) post-caldera volcanism at Yellowstone caldera, the Central Plateau Member (CPM) rhyolites, as a case study. We compare 238U–230Th age, trace-element, and Hf isotopic data from zircons, and major-element, Ba, and Pb isotopic data from sanidines hosted in two CPM rhyolites (Hayden Valley and Solfatara Plateau flows) and one extracaldera rhyolite (Gibbon River flow), all of which erupted near the caldera margin ca. 100 ka. The Hayden Valley flow hosts two zircon populations and one sanidine population that are consistent with residence in the CPM reservoir. The Gibbon River flow hosts one zircon population that is compositionally distinct from Hayden Valley flow zircons. The Solfatara Plateau flow contains multiple sanidine populations and all three zircon populations found in the Hayden Valley and Gibbon River flows, demonstrating that the Solfatara Plateau flow formed by mixing extracaldera magma with the margin of the CPM reservoir. This process highlights the dynamic nature of magmatic interactions at the margins of large silicic reservoirs. More generally, Hf isotopic data from the CPM zircons provide the first direct evidence for isotopically juvenile magmas contributing mass to the youngest post-caldera magmatic system and demonstrate that the sources contributing magma to the CPM reservoir were heterogeneous in 176Hf/177Hf at ca. 100 ka. Thus, the limited compositional variability of CPM glasses reflects homogenization occurring within the CPM reservoir, not a homogeneous source.
FPGA accelerated DNA error correction

Correcting errors in DNA sequencing data is an important process that can improve the quality of downstream analysis using the data. Even though many error-correction methods have been proposed for Illumina reads, their throughput is not high enough to process data from large genomes. The current paper describes the first FPGA-based error-correction tool, called FPGA Accelerated DNA Error Correction (FADE), which targets to improve the throughput of DNA error correction for Illumina reads. The base algorithm of FADE is BLESS that is highly accurate but slow. A Bloom filter that is the main data structure of BLESS and BLESS' error correction subroutines for different types of errors have been implemented on a FPGA. We compared our design with the software version of BLESS using DNA sequencing data generated from four genomes and we could achieve up to 43 times speedup for the best case, and 36 times speedup on the average.