cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Age at Maturity upon Fertility and Hatchability

Abstract Two experiments were performed to determine if age at first egg, age at production of first fertile egg, and age at production of first egg hatching a viable chick were different traits in pullets and to determine effects of chronological ages upon hatchability. Pullets were exposed to mature males at 17 weeks of age. Results indicated that the first egg was fertile, but a significant amount of time was required after maturity for the pullets to produce an egg which would hatch a viable chick. Hatchability increased with chronological age, reached a maximum in the 6th week after maturity, and was little affected by age at first egg in any given time interval.
Slow horizontal eye movement at human sleep onset

Slow eye movement (SEM) at human sleep onset has been studied as a function of EEG and behavioral state but has not been subjected to systematic physical measurement. This study counted the frequency of horizontal SEM and quantified its physical properties during hypnagogic EEG stages 3-8 (stage 1 sleep). SEM amplitudes, peak velocities, and durations were digitally measured. As in previous studies SEM occurred throughout stage 1 sleep, coinciding with all tonic states and with all phasic events that classically define stage 1. Within stage 1 the physical properties of SEM varied significantly. In hypnagogic stage 3, where EEG alpha dominates up to half of any 30-s epoch, the typical SEM was moderate in amplitude, slow, and short-lasting, and SEM peak velocity described a weak function of SEM amplitude. In stages 5 and 6 combined--characterized by a low-voltage delta-theta EEG, sustained alpha suppression, and no more than one vertex sharp wave (VSW) per 30-s epoch--SEM velocity was maximal, and described a strong function of amplitude. Despite low absolute velocities, stage 5/6 SEM could approximate saccade-like morphologies. In stages 7 and 8 combined, characterized by VSW bursts and incipient spindles or K complexes, SEM was maximal in amplitude and duration but not faster than SEM in stage 5/6. These properties of human SEM are discussed in relation to the anatomy and physiology of SEM in macaque.
Tower Shadow Modelization with Helicoidal Vortex Method

The helicoidal vortex model developed by the author is compared with data of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Unsteady Aerodynamics Experiment (UAE). The B Sequence has been used for this purpose. It corresponds to the \downwind conguration" where the blades cross the tower shadow. Several cases have been analyzed with wind speeds of V = 5, 7, 10 and 12 m=s and yaw angles of up to 30 deg. The results indicate that the modelization of the tower shadow gives good results in the range of applicability of the vortex model, at a low computer cost, and demonstrates further the versatility of this approach.
Algorithmic efficiency of simulated annealing for heat exchanger network design

Abstract Heat exchanger network synthesis by simulated annealing, a new multivariable optimization method based on the mathematical theory of Markov chains, has recently been reported by Dolan et al. ( Foundations of Computer- Aided Process Operations , CACHE, Elsevier, New York, 1987; AIChE Jl 35 , 725, 1989). Two aspects of the algorithm strongly affect computation time: the evaluation of the change in cost between different randomly generated states and the annealing temperature schedule. This paper describes a new implementation of the simulated annealing algorithm that efficiently treats the first aspect through the use of a linked-list data structure to calculate changes in cost directly, resulting in a speed increase of two orders of magnitude over earlier implementations of the algorithm. The second aspect is addressed through the use of the annealing schedule of Aarts and van Laarhoven ( Philips J. Res. 40 , 193, 1985). This new implementation of the algorithm is used to generate a new low-cost solution to the 7SP4 problem (Papoulias and Grossmann, Comput. Chem. Engng 7 , 707, 1983; Floudas et al. , AIChE Jl 32 , 276, 1986).
Vasodilator responses to the endomorphin peptides, but not nociceptin/OFQ, are mediated by nitric oxide release.

: The endomorphin peptides, endogenous ligands for the μ-opioid receptor, and nociceptin (orphanin FQ; OFQ), an endogenous ligand for the ORL1 receptor, have substantial vasodilator activity in the rat. The roles of nitric oxide, vasodilator prostaglandins, and the opening of K+ATP channels in mediating vasodilator responses to these novel agonists were investigated in the hindquarters vascular bed of the rat. Under constant-flow conditions, injections of the μ-selective agonists, endomorphin 1 and 2, PL017 ([N-MePhe3, d-Pro4]-morphiceptin), and DAMGO, and the ORL1 receptor agonist, nociceptin/OFQ, produced dose-dependent decreases in hindquarters perfusion pressure. Vasodilator responses to endomorphin 1, PL017, and DAMGO were attenuated by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor l-NAME at a time when vasodilator responses to nociceptin/OFQ were not altered. Responses to endomorphin 1 and 2, PL017, DAMGO, and nociceptin/OFQ were not altered by the cyclooxygenase inhibitor sodium meclofenamate or the K+ATP channel blocker U-37883A. The results of these studies indicate that responses to endomorphin 1 and 2, PL017, and DAMGO are mediated in large part by the release of nitric oxide, while responses to nociceptin/OFQ are mediated by an l-NAME-insensitive mechanism. Moreover, these results demonstrate that responses to these peptides are not mediated by the release of vasodilator prostaglandins or K+ATP channel opening in the hindquarters vascular bed.
Ligand-dependent tryptic inactivation of the ouabain sensitivity of ADP-ATP exchange catalyzed by canine renal Na+, K+-ATPase.

Abstract Trypsin treatment of purified canine renal Na+,K+-ATPase preparations causes loss of Na+,K+-ATPase activity with production of tryptic fragments as described previously (Jorgensen, P. L. (1975) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 401, 399–415). With 0.08 – 0.1 M Na+ or K+ present, the Na+-dependent, ouabain-sensitive ADP-ATP exchange activity is also inactivated by trypsin. Addition of 5 mM ATP to K+-containing digestion mixtures results in protection of ADP-ATP exchange activity with an unexpected loss of ouabain sensitivity. Addition of MgATP to Na+-containing digestion mixtures also protects exchange activity, and in this case ouabain-sensitivity is also lost, regardless of the presence or absence of MgATP. In all cases where ouabain-insensitive exchange activity is generated, the 115,000 dalton α subunit is degraded to an 87,000 dalton fragment. When loss of activity occurs without development of ouabain-insensitive exchange activity the α subunit is cleaved to 52,000 and 67,000 dalton fragments.
Cerebral disconnection in multiple sclerosis. Relationship to atrophy of the corpus callosum.

• Left ear suppression to dichotically presented verbal stimuli has been observed in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Rubens and coworkers have suggested that a disconnection of the auditory callosal pathways may account for this finding. To examine this proposal, we compared the performance of 28 MS patients with significant corpus callosum atrophy (CCA) on midsagittal magnetic resonance scans, 16 MS patients without significant CCA, and 64 demographically matched normal control subjects on two laterality tasks: verbal dichotic listening (consonant-vowel syllables) and tachistiscopic object-naming latency. Results indicated that left ear suppression was found only in the MS patients with CCA. Likewise, patients in the MS group with CCA were slow in responding to stimuli presented in the left visual field; this effect was not observed in patients without CCA. These findings support the hypothesis that efficiency of cross-callosal information flow is reduced in MS patients with CCA.
Peak velocities and peak surface strains during Northridge, California, earthquake of 17 January 1994

We present contours of the largest horizontal and vertical recorded peak velocities of strong ground motion during the Northridge, California, earthquake. Above the fault, the horizontal peak velocities exceeded 100 cm/s. The vertical velocities were larger than 20 cm/s. We also present contours of peak horizontal and vertical strain factors. Through most of the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Susana Mountains, the horizontal surface strain factor was larger than 10−3. The largest horizontal strain factor computed was for the Rinaldi Receiving Station ∼10−2·2. The corresponding vertical strains were >10−3·25 and 10−13, respectively. Through most of the Los Angeles Basin the horizontal peak surface strain factors were between 10−3·75 and 10−3.
On Two Methods of Identifying Influential Sets of Observations.

Abstract In this paper two new measures are proposed to identify influential sets of observations at the design stage in view of prediction and fitting. A relationship is established between one of proposed measures and the Cook's measure at the inference stage.
Insurance for Children With Special Health Care Needs: Patterns of Coverage and Burden on Families to Provide Adequate Insurance

Objective To update national estimates of insurance coverage for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) to reflect better the current economic and policy environment and to examine the burden on families and adequacy of coverage. Methods I analyzed data on children who were aged 0 to 17 and included in the sample child files of the 2000 and 2001 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). CSHCN were identified using a noncategorical approach. Various measures of insurance coverage type, premium contributions, unmet need for care, and out-of-pocket spending were compared for CSHCN and children without special needs across all incomes and stratified by poverty status. Results Compared with other children, CSHCN had higher rates of public insurance (29.8% vs 18.5%), lower rates of private insurance (62.5% vs 69.1%), and a smaller percentage without insurance (8.1% vs 11.5%). More than 13% of low-income CSHCN were uninsured. Most (78.1%) families of CSHCN contributed to private insurance premiums. Family premium contributions for employer-sponsored insurance plans averaged 2058 dollars, or 4.4% of income; premiums for private nongroup insurance were higher (3593 dollars) and consumed a larger percentage of income (6.6%). For children with insurance, rates of unmet need for specific services were relatively low, suggesting that insurance coverage was adequate. However, almost 20% of low-income CSHCN experienced some form of unmet need and of out-of-pocket spending was significantly higher for families with CSHCN compared with those without CSHCN. Conclusions CSHCN are more likely to have insurance coverage, but among low-income CSHCN, lack of insurance remains a problem. In addition, the burden on families of CSHCN to provide insurance is greater, yet coverage purchased is not always adequate to meet the needs of many children and places addition burdens on families to pay directly for care.
Trust region methods for structural optimization using exact second order sensitivity

The performance of multiplier algorithms for structural optimization has been significantly improved by using trust regions. The trust regions are constructed using analytical second order sensitivity, and within this region, the augmented Lagrangian ϕ is minimized subject to bounds. Evaluation of first and second derivatives of ϕ by the adjoint method does not require derivations of individual (implicit) constraint functions, which makes the method economical. Eight test problems are considered and a vast improvement over previously used multiplier algorithms has been noted. Also, the algorithm is robust with respect to scaling, input parameters and starting designs.
Annulment of Sterol-Induced Sexual Reproduction by Estradiol in Pythium periplocum

Estradiol prevented cholesterol-induced sexual reproduction by the fungus Pythium periplocum. Inhibition byestradiol was partial at 10^(-6)M and complete at 10^(-5)M, the same concentrations at which cholesterol and β-sitosterol were initially and maximally active. Higher concentrations of estradiol were required for growth inhibition than for inhibition of reproduction.
Possible Parthood and Modal-Mereological Composition

I argue that, if we take the world-time parallel seriously, then those who support Sider’s (2001) argument for unrestricted diachronic composition (UDC), establishing the existence of temporal parts, should also hold that its modal analogue, my argument for unrestricted modal composition (UMC), establishes the existence of modal parts. I formulate the latter argument and develop it by testing it against objections. Editor's Note: Best Conference Paper, 17th Annual Pacific University Undergraduate Philosophy Conference (2013)
A one-component sealant based on 1,3-dipoles†

An unusual one-component sealant based on a moisture cure has been developed. The chemistry involves the reaction of a 1,3-dipole (a difunctional nitrile oxide) with a dipolarophile (an unsaturated polymer); a difunctional hydroximoyl chloride, which forms a nitrile oxide on reaction with a latent base, reacts with the polymer on exposure to moisture by forming isoxazoline crosslinks. The hydroximoyl chloride was prepared from a bis(chloroketone) (e.g., 4,4′-bis(chloroacetyl)diphenyl ether), by reaction with nitrous acid; this avoided the use of expensive dialdehydes, as well as hydroxylamine. The preferred latent base was barium oxide, and almost any unsaturated polymer could be used. Such a system, stable indefinitely when dry, crosslinked rapidly when exposed to atmospheric moisture. Since water is generated when the initially formed barium hydroxide reacts with the hydroximoyl chloride, only catalytic amounts are required, and thick beads cure completely; skinning causes problems with other moisturecurable systems.
Attitude Stability of a Flexible Solar Electric Spacecraft; A Parametric Study

The influence of large area solar array flexibility on the attitude control of a solar electric spacecraft is analyzed. The spacecraft consists of a rigid central body, two flexible roll-out solar arrays, and a cluster of three electric propulsion engines. Each engine has gimballing or translational capacity, or both, for attitude control purposes. A parametric stability study of various spacecraft configurations was made, using hybrid coordinate techniques in an eigenvalue analysis. Parameters varied were solar array aspect ratio, solar array first natural frequency, solar array rotation angle about the yaw axis, and sensor gain factors. Only the first six modes of solar array vibration were included in the study. The attitude response characteristics of the various spacecraft configurations were obtained by means of a digital computer simulation program of the system's equations of motion. The feasibility of using the thrusters for attitude control of electric propulsion spacecraft is demonstrated. It is also shown that although the dynamics effects of large-area flexible solar arrays can be harmful, changes in the control system parameters can insure stable attitude control.
Redistricting, Candidate Entry, and the Politics of Nineteenth-Century U.S. House Elections

The effects of redistricting on candidate entry patterns in contemporary House races has received growing attention in the scholarly literature, yet virtually no consideration has been given to this question in the context of historical elections. This is unfortunate as the wider variation in congressional redistricting during the nineteenth century gives us increased leverage in terms of understanding strategic candidate behavior. Utilizing a new dataset of candidate quality for nineteenth-century House races, we examine whether candidates with prior electoral experience are more likely to run in districts that are altered during the redistricting process, and provide an account of how differences in the prevalence of redistricting may affect strategic entry decisions of politicians. Our results suggest that entry decisions and electoral outcomes are affected by redistricting in this era. Moreover, our analysis provides an opportunity to use history to test contemporary theories of congressional elections in a broader context. W hen the Texas state legislature convened in January 2003, Republicans enjoyed unified control of the state government for the first time in 130 years. Recognizing the unique political opportunity of the situation, the Texas legislature began debating a new redistricting plan drawn to shore up Republican dominance in the U.S. House of Representatives. In an effort to prevent the plan from taking shape, Democratic state legislators twice fled Texas during the legislative session to prevent the quorum necessary to allow Republicans to vote on the redistricting plan. Eventually, however, Republican state legislators succeeded in pushing their revised redistricting plan through a special session of the legislature during the fall. 1
Alternative structures in duplex DNA formed within the trinucleotide repeats of the myotonic dystrophy and fragile X loci.

Most models proposed to explain the disease-associated expansion of (CTG)n·(CAG)n and (CGG)n·(CCG)n trinucleotide repeats include the formation of slipped strand DNA structures during replication; however, physical evidence for these alternative DNA secondary structures has not been reported. Using cloned fragments from the myotonic dystrophy (DM) and fragile X syndrome (FRAXA) loci containing normal, premutation, and full mutation lengths of repeats, we report the formation of novel alternative DNA secondary structures that map within the repeat tracts during reannealing of complementary strands, containing equal lengths of repeats, into linear duplex DNA molecules. Linear duplex DNA molecules containing these alternative DNA secondary structures are characterized by reduced electrophoretic mobilities in polyacrylamide gels. These alternative secondary structures are stable at physiological ionic strengths and to temperatures up to at least 55 °C. Following reduplexing, the CAG strand of the (CTG)n·(CAG)...
Determinant Formulae and Unitarity for the N=2 Superconformal Algebras in Two-Dimensions or Exact Results on String Compactification

Determinant formulae are presented for the periodic, antiperiodic and twisted N = 2 superconformal algebras in two dimensions, and a classification is derived of the unitary highest weight representations. Physical realisations of several of these representations are discussed. In particular, it is noted that the unitarity constraints apply to string compactification, giving results which are nonperturbative in the compactification radius.
Catecholaminergic region A15 in the bovine and porcine hypothalamus

Magnocellular perikarya within the retrochiasmatic division of the supraoptic nucleus of bovine and porcine hypothalami were immunoreactive (ir) with antiserum against tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), but not dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH). Few cells in this region were also immunoreactive for vasopressin (VP) or oxytocin (OT). In contrast, the main division of the supraoptic nucleus contained numerous perikarya immunoreactive for VP and OT, but not TH nor DBH. Both the retrochiasmatic and principal divisions of the supraoptic nuclei contained TH- and DBH-ir fibers and varicosities. This region in bovine and porcine hypothalami corresponds to the ventral A15 catecholaminergic (dopamine-producing) cell group.
Double or multiple level fractures of the spine

Abstract Over a period of 5 years, 231 patients with non-pathological fractures of the spine were admitted to the Orthopaedic Department of Athens University. Eighteen (7.79 per cent) were found to have double or multiple level fractures of the spine which means that these injuries are not so uncommon. We define double level fractures as those which are separated by an intact spinal unit, not related at least at one end to a fractured vertebra. These fractures, if overlooked, may cause serious complications.
AN ATTENUATED SURRA OF MAURITIUS WITH IMMUNITY TESTS AFTER RECOVERY.

Apparently as a result of repeated passages through guinea pigs, the virulence of surra of Mauritius for mice became greatly attenuated. Three mice recovered spontaneously and two remained carriers of tryanosomes for four to seven weeks after the parasites were last seen in their blood . The mice that recovered acquired no lasting immunity. While the virulence of the parasites decreased for mice, it increased for guinea pigs. By cultivating the parasites in mice the virulence for these animals was restored after four to eight passages.
Intestinal de-epithelialization and augmentation cystoplasty: an animal model.

Abstract Objectives An animal model of augmentation cystoplasty was developed in New Zealand rabbits to study the effects of intestinal de-epithelialization on subsequent re-epithelialization by bladder urothelium. Methods. Twenty-four rabbits underwent augmentation cystoplasty using intestinal segments that were either treated with protamine sulfate and urea solution or else anastomosed with an intact epithelium. Half of the rabbits receiving the de-epithelialized intestinal segments were subjected to glycosaminoglycan replacement therapy by administration of intravesical heparin. Experimental and control rabbits were sacrificed at 1-, 2-, and 3-month intervals. Results Histologic examination of the augmented sections showed small areas of urothelium growing over the intestinal epithelium (approximately 15%). The heparin-treated group demonstrated the greatest amount of re-epithelialization. There was no obvious histologic difference in the amount of collagen present in the augmented tissues in any of the experimental groups. Conclusions In a preliminary study, New Zealand rabbits appear to be satisfactory as an experimental animal for studying the augmentation cystoplasty procedure and for the development of therapeutic interventions for enhancing epithelial growth. Protamine and urea will de-epithelialize the bowel and heparin may promote epithelialization of augmented intestinal segment by transitional epithelium.
Institutionalizing community‐based prevention through policy change

This article summarizes the types of community policies that have shown effects on decreasing youth drug use, the contribution of community organization to policy change, and finally, the role of policy change on maintaining—or institutionalizing—community-based prevention efforts. Two types of policy change are considered: those involving implementation and those related to applicable regulations. Implementation policies are those aimed at institutionalizing prevention programs, usually through raising funds, requiring standard implementation, and creating a formal non-profit organization to implement programs. Regulatory policies include all formal laws, regulations, and ordinances aimed directly at decreasing drug use, for example, regulations which enforce the monitoring of drug-free zones. Results of studies suggest that regulatory policies may show the most immediate effect on youth tobacco and alcohol use. Programmatic policies have the most potential for long-term effects on use. Community organization appears to stimulate change in both types of policy. As yet unresolved is whether policy change can subsequently contribute to long-term community prevention efforts. Recent research has identified several barriers to institutionalization of community prevention, including a) a lack of perceived empowerment by community leaders to continue prevention work; b) insufficient preparation of community leaders for adoption of evidence-based programs; c) the notion of continuing an ineffective approach because of the costs already “sunk;” and d) a general perception that no proscribed evidence-based approach will work because each community has its own unique needs. Furthermore, results suggest that policy change requires a two- to three-year commitment by community leaders and a supportive social norm for prevention. Despite these barriers, several factors have emerged from case studies of community prevention which may expedite the movement of evidence-based prevention from science into practice. Identification of a local "champion" for prevention, development of local resources to sustain prevention, feedback about prevention program effects and strategic use of supportive mass media are recommended to induce local policy change and institutionalize prevention in the community. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The comparative pathology of open chest vs. mechanical closed chest cardiopulmonary resuscitation in dogs.

Abstract We compared the pathologic changes following open-chest cardiopulmonary resuscitation (OCCPR) vs. closed chest cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CCCPR) in 28 healthy mongrel dogs subjected to experimentally induced ventricular fibrillation (VF). VF was induced in 29 dogs. No treatment was given for 3 min, then mechanical CCCPR was given for the next 12 min. External defibrillation (80 joules) was then attempted twice. One dog was resuscitated. The remaining 28 dogs were divided into 2 groups of 14 each. Group A received continued CCCPR and group B received OCCPR. All dogs received advanced cardiac life support and were followed until resuscitated or dead. All dogs were autopsied and gross pathology scores and histopathology scores were determined for each animal, and for each of 19 separate tissues within each animal. The mean gross pathology scores for the following tissues were significantly greater for dogs that received OCCPR vs. those that received CCCPR: skin (3.4 vs. 1.2; P
Sequence and structure of a cysteinyl flavin peptide from monoamine oxidase.

Abstract Previous studies in this laboratory have shown that the active center of hepatic monoamine oxidase contains flavin dinucleotide covalently linked to the peptide chain via the 8α position of the flavin but that, unlike in succinate dehydrogenase, the linkage is not to histidine but to another amino acid. A pure flavin pentapeptide has now been isolated from monoamine oxidase which yields on acid hydrolysis or digestion with aminopeptidase M 1 mole each of serine and tyrosine and 2 of glycine and gives a positive test for sulfur. Oxidation of the peptide with performic acid yields, in addition to the amino acids mentioned, cysteic acid. The physical and chemical properties of the peptide are in accord with the conclusion that the amino acid substituted on the 8α group of the flavin is cysteine in thioether linkage. Edman degradation followed by dansylation revealed the sequence:
A new surface balance for dynamic surface tension studies

Abstract A new design for a dynamic surface balance is described which utilizes a vertical mesh cylinder to alter surface area. The device is described and initial studies have been carried out. Results from DPPC monolayer experiments indicate that force—area isotherms using this device closely agree with results from standard surface balances. The described surface balance has a number of advantages over the Langmuir trough such as preventing leaks in surface films, a wide frequency range and greater accuracy using a Wilhelmy plate.
Stem solidness and its relationship to grain yield in 17 spring wheat crosses

Stem solidness in the wheat plant provides resistance to the wheat stem sawfly, a pest of wheat in Montana and North Dakota, but some agronomists have been concerned that stem solidness might be related to low grain yields. We evaluated 17 spring wheat crosses for stem solidness, grain yield, and other agronomic traits in F2 through F4 generations from 1972 to 1975. Highly significant correlation (0.735) and regression (0.731) coefficients between F2 and F3 generations verify previous studies showing that stem solidness is highly heritable and that selection in F2 should be successful. Solid-stemmed F4 composites yielded more than hollow stemmed composites at Bozeman and equal yields were obtained at Huntley, indicating that stem solidness is not a deterrent to high grain yield.
Epidemiologic studies on systemic lupus erythematosus. Comparative data for New York City and Jefferson County, Alabama, 1956-1965.

A comparative population study on SLE from 1956–1965 revealed higher attack rates in New York City than in Jefferson County, Ala. The difference was attributed to more complete case-finding in New York rather than to regional differences in predisposing factors. In both localities, incidence, prevalence and mortality rates were approximately three times higher for Negro females than for whites. In males, however, few cases were observed, and ethnic differences were considered equivocal.
Follicular lymphoma: management options in the era of targeted therapy.

For the vast majority of patients diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, the disease is never cured. As a result, it becomes a “chronic disease” that must be managed over many years. A wide array of management options exist, and it is difficult to claim that one strategy is better than another. It remains to be proven that a particular initial therapy or a particular sequence of therapies is superior, if one defines “superior” as affecting survival. It also remains to be proven that immediate treatment is superior to a “watch and wait” approach in patients with low tumor burden. However, newer targeted approaches to treatment are providing additional treatment options, and they generally have more favorable side-effect profiles than traditional cytotoxic therapies. The challenge is determining how to best incorporate such targeted therapies into traditional treatment. Additionally, determining the true impact of newer therapies is not entirely straightforward, as selection bias often confounds trial results in follicular lymphoma. A new follicular lymphoma prognostic index should aid in the interpretation of future clinical trials.
K-winner networks

A special class of mutually inhibitory networks is analyzed, and parameters for reliable K-winner performance are presented. The network dynamics are modeled using interactive activation, and results are compared with the sigmoid model. For equal external inputs, network parameters that select the units with the larger initial activations (the network converges to the nearest stable state) are derived. Conversely, for equal initial activations, networks that select the units with larger external inputs (the network converges to the lowest energy stable state) are derived. When initial activations are mixed with external inputs, anomalous behavior results. These discrepancies are analyzed with several examples. Restrictions on initial states are derived which ensure accurate K-winner performance when unequal external inputs are used. >
Unconventional vision sensors

Summary form only given. What can be perceived by a human or computed by a machine from an image is fundamentally restricted by the captured data. Current imaging systems are limited in spatial resolution, field of view, and dynamic range. In this talk, we present new vision sensors that provide unconventional forms of visual information. The first part of the talk focuses on the use of catadioptrics (lenses and mirrors) for capturing unusually large fields of view. We describe several methods for obtaining single viewpoint and multi-viewpoint images. The second part of the talk addresses the problem of acquiring high dynamic range images using a low dynamic range detector. We present two approaches for extracting the desired extra bits at each pixel; the first one uses multiple images while the second uses just a single image. Several interactive demonstrations of our results are shown. These results have implications for digital imaging, immersive imaging, image based rendering, 3D scene modeling, and advanced interfaces.
Improving computational efficiency in autonomous agent, asynchronous discrete-event simulation

Implementing independent, continuously evolving components (i.e. autonomous agents) in discrete-event simulation while providing a useful and efficient broadbased modeling methodology has proven a challenge to the simulation community. Reasons for these difficulties are innate to the implementation of current accepted simulation modeling practices and theories of clock advances, modeling world view, and network modeling paradigms. Meeting the challenge of implementing autonomous agents requires understanding the underlying factors and issues hindering further development. This paper identifies these factors and offers sectoring as basis for building an efficient methodology for autonomous agents in discrete-event simulation. >
A Matching Hypothesis for the Activity Level of Actions Involved in Attitude–Behavior Consistency

Two studies examined a matching hypothesis: Attitudes predict behaviors better when they both involve the same rather than different levels of attitude-relevant action activity. In Study 1, participants listed actions they might take toward gay men and immediately reported their attitudes. One to two weeks later, their reported attitudes were more predictive of behaviors that matched than mismatched the activity level of their listed actions. In Study 2, participants were randomly assigned to make decisions about either active or passive actions toward gay men just before they reported their attitudes. One to two weeks later, their reported attitudes better predicted behaviors that matched than mismatched the type of attitude-relevant action that had been made salient. The results support the importance to attitude–behavior consistency of matching attitude-relevant actions and behavioral measures on activity level, and the utility of considering both positivity and activity level in studies of attitude–be...
Muscle Length Directs Sympathetic Nerve Activity and Vasomotor Tone in Resistance Vessels of Hamster Retractor

Increased resistance to blood flow with muscle extension has been explained by the deformation of vessels within the muscle. In the present study, we developed a novel preparation of the hamster retractor muscle to investigate whether passive changes in skeletal muscle length elicit active vasomotor responses through a range of motion (85% to 130% of in vivo length; sarcomere length, 2.69 +/- 0.02 to 4.05 +/- 0.01 microns) encompassing the classic length-tension relationship. Arterioles (diameter, 32 +/- 3 microns) and feed arteries (diameter, 75 +/- 4 microns) were observed to progressively constrict (by 8 +/- 1 and 17 +/- 2 microns, respectively) with muscle lengthening, reducing blood flow by > 50%; reciprocal changes occurred with passive shortening. Sodium nitroprusside (10 mumol/L) dilated vessels (to 47 +/- 2 and 98 +/- 4 microns, respectively) and abolished vasomotor responses to changing muscle length. The coordination of vasomotor responses between arterioles and feed arteries maintained wall shear rate (control, 1764 +/- 200 s-1) and perfusion pressure (60 +/- 5 mm Hg) into the arteriolar network. Tetrodotoxin (TTX, 1 mumol/L), phentolamine (1 mumol/L), prazosin (0.1 mumol/L), or 6-hydroxydopamine (1 mmol/L) inhibited vasoconstrictor responses, indicating that action potentials initiated by muscle lengthening give rise to norepinephrine release from sympathetic nerves. As shown with glyoxylic acid staining, sympathetic nerves formed a plexus encompassing arterioles and feed arteries. To test for a reflexive response initiated by intramuscular mechanoreceptors, TTX was applied with micropipettes to proximal segments of feed arteries, thereby neurally "isolating" the muscle from the hamster. Whereas lengthening-induced vasoconstriction persisted in arterioles and in feed artery segments distal to TTX, there was no vasomotor response central to the block. We conclude that passive lengthening stimulates the activity of periarteriolar sympathetic nerves; this activity propagates antidromically along nerve fibers into the feed arteries. These findings identify a mechanotransduction sequence by which the length of skeletal muscle actively governs vasomotor tone and the supply of oxygen to muscle fibers.
Reevaluating Recovery: Perceived Violations and Preemptive Interventions on Emergency Psychiatry Rounds

Objective: Contemporary error research suggests that the quest to eradicate error is misguided. Error commission, detection, and recovery are an integral part of cognitive work, even at the expert level. In collaborative workspaces, the perception of potential error is directly observable: workers discuss and respond to perceived violations of accepted practice norms. As perceived violations are captured and corrected preemptively, they do not fit Reason's widely accepted definition of error as "failure to achieve an intended outcome." However, perceived violations suggest the aversion of potential error, and consequently have implications for error prevention. This research aims to identify and describe perceived violations of the boundaries of accepted procedure in a psychiatric emergency department (PED), and how they are resolved in practice. Design: Clinical discourse from fourteen PED patient rounds was audio-recorded. Excerpts from recordings suggesting perceived violations or incidents of miscommunication were extracted and analyzed using qualitative coding methods. The results are interpreted in relation to prior research on vulnerabilities to error in the PED. Results: Thirty incidents of perceived violations or miscommunication are identified and analyzed. Of these, only one medication error was formally reported. Other incidents would not have been detected by a retrospective analysis. Conclusions: The analysis of perceived violations expands the data available for error analysis beyond occasional reported adverse events. These data are prospective: responses are captured in real time. This analysis supports a set of recommendations to improve the quality of care in the PED and other critical care contexts.
Immunoaffinity purification of parathyroid hormone-related protein from bovine milk and human keratinocyte-conditioned medium.

Parathyroid hormone-related proteins (PRHrP) are a novel family of proteins that appear to be responsible for humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. Although PTHrP derived from human tumors have been purified and their N-terminal amino acid sequence determined, and although the structure of the PTHrP gene and its alternatively spliced mRNA transcripts have been defined, the secretory and circulating form(s) of the protein are unknown. Purification of PTHrP in the past has been difficult, requiring multiple chromatographic steps and months or years to complete. To define naturally occurring PTHrP species we have developed a rapid and efficient immunoaffinity purification method. Bovine milk (250 ml) and human keratinocyte-conditioned medium (3000 ml) were affinity purified using a 300 μl affinity-purified polyclonal anti-PTHrP-(1–36) antibody column and a single RP-HPLC step. Purification required only 7–10 days and yielded a 3–4% recovery. Quantities of PTHrP sufficient for silver-stained SDS-PAGE, Western analysis, and N-terminal amino acid sequence were obtained. In contrast to conventional purification schemes, affinity purification of PTHrP is rapid and efficient and can be applied to biologic samples that contain PTHrP in low abundance. These methods can be applied to the purification and characterization of the as yet undefined secretory and circulating forms of PTHrP.
Image processing algorithm for cheese shred evaluation

Abstract A robust and efficient algorithm called the X – Y sweep method is proposed for image segmentation. In this method a visual scene is swept in X -direction and Y -direction and two sets of run-length codes are generated. According to the width conditions and spatial relations with the neighbor run-length codes, the run-length codes are grouped as segments. A joint is formed by collecting the pixels that cannot be swept through in X -direction or Y -direction. The occluded shred shaped objects can be recovered by merging the neighbor blocks based on the local, semi-local and global descriptions. The topological sorting method is used to find the best match. The X – Y sweep method can work correctly to all the shred-shaped objects. An accuracy of 99% was obtained for pre-cut touching and overlapping straight copper wires. The tests with “in situ” cheese shreds (i.e., touching and overlapping as poured from its packaging) was about 95% accurate in estimating shred lengths. Uniformity of shreds can be objectively determined from the shred length distribution histogram. Two cheese shred quality indices, degree of free-flowing and degree of matting are also proposed based on X – Y sweep measurements.
L-selectin shedding is independent of its subsurface structures and topographic distribution.

L-selectin (CD62L), a lectin-like adhesion molecule, mediates lymphocyte homing and leukocyte accumulation at sites of inflammation. Its transmembrane (TM) and intracellular (IC) domains confer clustering of L-selectin on microvilli of resting leukocytes, which is important for L-selectin function. Following activation of protein kinase C (PKC) or calmodulin inhibition, the wild-type (WT) protein is rapidly cleaved in its membrane-proximal ectodomain. To examine whether L-selectin topography or TM/IC domains are involved in this shedding process, we used stable transfectants expressing WT L-selectin (on microvilli) or chimeric molecules consisting of the L-selectin ectodomain linked to the TM/IC domains of CD44 (excluded from microvilli) or CD31 (randomly distributed). PKC activation by PMA altered the cells’ surface morphology, but did not induce a redistribution of L-selectin ectodomains. All cell lines shed ectodomains upon PMA activation in a dose-dependent fashion and with similar kinetics. Calmodulin inhibition by trifluoperazine induced shedding in both WT and chimera transfectants. At high trifluoperazine concentrations, shedding of WT L-selectin was significantly more pronounced than that of chimeric molecules. Regardless of the activating stimulus, shedding was blocked by a hydroxamate-based metalloprotease inhibitor, suggesting that ectodomain downregulation occurred through proteolytic cleavage by identical protease(s). These results show that the recognition site(s) for PKC-induced L-selectin shedding is exclusively contained within the ectodomain; the nature of subsurface structures and surface topography are irrelevant. Shedding induced by calmodulin inhibition has two components: one requires the L-selectin TM/IC domain, and the other is independent of it. The Journal of Immunology, 2001, 167: 3642‐3651.
Adjustable bandwidth filter design with generalized farrow structure

Digital filters with adjustable bandwidth(s) are generally desirable in many applications like audio processing and telecommunication. This paper proposes a generalized Farrow structure for adjustable bandwidth linear-phase FIR filters designed under a minimax design criterion. The bandwidth of the proposed filter structure can be continuously adjusted with an updating routine that only involves a few multiplications and additions. Moreover, the generalized structure can be designed to effectively reduce the dynamic range of basis filter coefficients, which is desirable when making a fixed-point implementation on FPGAs.
Delay Analysis for Different Resource Allocation Schemes in Wireless Networks

In this paper, we study the delay performance of wireless network considering different resource allocation schemes with single-hop traffic. Existing works studying the delay performance only consider a given resource allocation scheme, either multi-channel system (sharing bandwidth) or time slotted system (sharing time). The fundamental question ignored is which type of resource allocation scheme produces better delay performance with different network configurations, such as number of commodities, traffic statistics. We investigate the impact of different resource allocation schemes on the delay performance. A new arrival mode is designed for the time slotted system to reduce the average delay. We also construct the delay lower bound taking the perfect scheduling policy and queue management into account. We get four important conclusions from the numerical results: 1) the new arrival mode produces better delay performance than the regular mode, and it is immune to the change of time slot length. 2) time slotted system has better delay performance than multi-channel system, and almost achieves the lower bound, 3) the scalability of the multi-channel system is not good, since the delay will be very large with a large number of commodity flows. While time slotted system is scalable with a converging delay value with the infinite number of commodities. 4) both the multi-channel system and time slotted system are sensitive to the difference between arrival rate and service rate, which means that the delay is large when arrival rate is close to service rate.
Differential modulation of Toll-like receptors by fatty acids preferential inhibition by n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

Human subjects consuming fish oil showed a significant suppression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in blood monocytes when stimulated in vitro with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an agonist for Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Results with a murine monocytic cell line (RAW 264.7) stably transfected with COX-2 promoter reporter gene also demonstrated that LPS-induced COX-2 expression was preferentially inhibited by docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5n-3), the major n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) present in fish oil. Additionally, DHA and EPA significantly suppressed COX-2 expression induced by a synthetic lipopeptide, a TLR2 agonist. These results correlated with the preferential suppression of LPS- or lipopeptide-induced NF kappa B activation by DHA and EPA. The target of inhibition by DHA is TLR itself or its associated molecules, but not downstream signaling components. In contrast, COX-2 expression by TLR2 or TRL4 agonist was potentiated by lauric acid, a saturated fatty acid. These results demonstrate that inhibition of COX-2 expression by n-3 PUFAs is mediated through the modulation of TLR-mediated signaling pathways. Thus, the beneficial or detrimental effects of different types of dietary fatty acids on the risk of the development of many chronic inflammatory diseases may be in part mediated through the modulation of TLRs.
A simple scheme to improve the performance of your cellular system

The stochastic nature of wireless communication that manifests itself by the fading processes leads the designers of wireless networks to over-engineer their designs. This random behavior can, however, be reduced by diversity methods. For example, Rayleigh fading can be mitigated by microdiversity and the effects of shadow fading can be reduced by macrodiversity techniques. In this paper, we advocate the use of a macrodiversity scheme based on signal-to-interference ratio, in combination with postdetection combining. This scheme has been termed multiply-detected macrodiversity (MDM). We discuss the sources of the improvement and demonstrate that the MDM scheme yields a considerable gain over the traditional macrodiversity scheme that is based on selection of the strongest signal path. Application of the MDM scheme in practical wireless networks results in reduction in the BER throughout over 50% of the system coverage.
Neural computations that underlie decisions about sensory stimuli

Decision-making behavior has been studied extensively, but the neurophysiological mechanisms responsible for this remarkable cognitive ability are just beginning to be understood. Here we propose neural computations that can account for the formation of categorical decisions about sensory stimuli by accumulating information over time into a single quantity: the logarithm of the likelihood ratio favoring one alternative over another.We also review electrophysio-logical studies that have identified brain structures that may be involved in computing this sort of decision variable.The ideas presented constitute a framework for understanding how and where perceptual decisions are formed in the brain.