cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bio-inspired aquatic robotics by untethered piezohydroelastic actuation

This paper investigates fish-like aquatic robotics using flexible bimorphs made of macro-fiber composite (MFC) piezoelectric laminates for carangiform locomotion. In addition to noiseless and efficient actuation over a range of frequencies, geometric scalability, and simple design, bimorph propulsors made of MFCs offer a balance between the actuation force and velocity response for performance enhancement in bio-inspired swimming. The experimental component of the presented work focuses on the characterization of an elastically constrained MFC bimorph propulsor for thrust generation in quiescent water as well as the development of a robotic fish prototype combining a microcontroller and a printed-circuit-board amplifier to generate high actuation voltage for untethered locomotion. From the theoretical standpoint, a distributed-parameter electroelastic model including the hydrodynamic effects and actuator dynamics is coupled with the elongated-body theory for predicting the mean thrust in quiescent water. In-air and underwater experiments are performed to verify the incorporation of hydrodynamic effects in the linear actuation regime. For electroelastically nonlinear actuation levels, experimentally obtained underwater vibration response is coupled with the elongated-body theory to predict the thrust output. The measured mean thrust levels in quiescent water (on the order of ∼10 mN) compare favorably with thrust levels of biological fish. An untethered robotic fish prototype that employs a single bimorph fin (caudal fin) for straight swimming and turning motions is developed and tested in free locomotion. A swimming speed of 0.3 body-length/second (7.5 cm s−1 swimming speed for 24.3 cm body length) is achieved at 5 Hz for a non-optimized main body-propulsor bimorph combination under a moderate actuation voltage level.
Malacofauna of the Forum Romanum and adjacent ancient Roman monuments

Land snail assemblages found among the most famous and popular historical monuments of ancient Rome are the subject of this study. Malacocoenoses found beneath walls of ruins in antique places, among grass and other short vegetation, in places visited by thousands of tourists, are usually ignored by naturalists and thus are only rarely examined. They develop in specific habitats, being under constant and strong human impact. The living fauna is accompanied by thanacocoenoses composed of numerous shells. Species associated with open or even xerothermic habitats as well as mesophile ones, accepting both sunny and shaded habitats, are the main components of these assemblages.
Social Competence and the Study of Foreign Languages

Author's summary.— The study of foreign languages is consistent with the ideal of social competence if teachers accept as their aim the mastery of language as a tool of understanding, and cease to regard the study of foreign languages as too difficult for all but the superior student. This article deals with the educational values of foreign language study, with the problem of popularizing foreign language study in the secondary school, and with the newer techniques which must be adopted if problems of teaching and learning are to be solved in terms of the goal of social competence.
Current and potential immune therapies and vaccines in the management of psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune skin disease associated with significant morbidity. Development of psoriasis is influenced by numerous genes, one allele is HLA-CW*0602. Other genes and single nucleotide polymorphisms affect immunologic pathways and antimicrobial peptide synthesis. Dendritic cells initiate psoriasis by activating T-cells toward a Th1 and Th17 response, with increased cytokines including TNF-α, IL-6, -12, -17, -22, and -23. IL-22 appears to promote keratinocyte dedifferentiation and increased antimicrobial peptide synthesis while TNF-α and IL-17 induce leukocyte localization within the psoriatic plaque. These recent insights identifying key cytokine pathways have led to the development of inhibitors with significant efficacy in the treatment of psoriasis. While a strategy for vaccine modulation of the immune response in psoriasis is in progress, with new technology they may provide a cost-effective long-term treatment that may induce tolerance or targeted self-inhibition for patients with au...
Y-maze avoidance performance and activity change as a function of CS quality in rats.

Rats made more avoidance responses in a Y-maze to a buzzer-light conditioned stimulus (CS) relative to either a tone-light CS or a light only CS. No evidence for CS-related differences in brightness discrimination learning of the safe arm was found. A second study which showed that increases in activity occurred during the buzzer presentation in a nonshock ation suggests that the Y-maze results are attributable to the buzzer's capacity to elicit unlearned activity changes which increase the likelihood of appropriately initiating the running avoidance response. In interpreting avoidance performance it is important to consider the role of the CS since CS-elicited unlearned responses may interact with task demands to determine the observed behavior.
College Classroom Environment Effects of Sterility versus Amiability on Student and Teacher Performance

Effects of classroom physical environment were studied by adding bright wall paint, posters, kites, rugs, softer lighting, cushions, and plants to a college classroom while an identical control cla...
A Conference for the Education of Families who Have a Member with Phenylketonuria

LTHOUGH RELATIVELY RARE, phenylkeonuria (PKU) has a profound effect on the families of those with this genetic disorder. The families have many educational and support needs that cannot be adequately met through individual patient/family teaching. The purpose of the South Texas Family PKU Conference was to establish a source of education and support for families who have a member with PKU. Diagnosed through newborn screening, this inborn error of metabolism results in a limited ability to convert phenylalanine (PHE) to tyrosine. When left untreated, the buildup of blood levels of PHE results in a number of problems, including neurological problems, developmental delays, and mental retardation. The only treatment for PKU is through a PHE-restricted diet, and the current recommendation is that persons with PKU continue the diet for life (Castiglioni & Rouse, 1995). The diet is protein restricted, and the logistics of maintaining the diet can be problematic, as well. Because essential amino acids are needed by all children, it is necessary to use special formulas for infants, and specialty foods such as low-PHE pasta and bread help older children maintain proper nutrition while adhering to dietary restrictions. One of the problems associated with this Iow-PHE diet is the high cost of these specialty foods and the often limited ability of families to receive reimburse-
Cortical and ventral tegmental systems exert opposing influences on self-stimulation from the prefrontal cortex.

Intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) was obtained from 3 areas of anteromedial cortex: the prelimbic area (Brodman's area 32), the anterior cingulate area and the posterior cingulate area. Electrical stimulation in the prelimbic and anterior cingulate areas also produces a behavioral inhibition which is most pronounced at anterior sites (i.e. prelimbic) and declines at increasingly more posterior sites. It was found that the acquisition of responding for ICSS and the magnitude of amphetamine's facilitation of ICSS were inversely related to the degree of behavioral inhibition. These data and the ability of amphetamine to reverse prefrontal stimulation-induced inhibition suggest an important interaction between the prefrontal cortex and the mesolimbic dopamine systems in the control of goal-directed behavior. A model involving cortical suppression of mesolimbic dopamine function is discussed.
Plasma Sterilization of Poly Lactic Acid Ultrasound Contrast Agents: Surface Modification and Implications for Drug Delivery

Abstract Poly lactic acid (PLA) ultrasound contrast agents (CA) have been developed previously in our laboratory for ultrasound (US) imaging, as well as surface coated with doxorubicin to create a potential targeted platform of chemotherapeutic delivery using focused US. However, we have previously found it impossible to sterilize these agents while at the same time maintaining their acoustic properties, a task that would probably require fabrication within a clean facility. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of using plasma to sterilize these CA while maintaining maximum echogenicity, a step that would greatly facilitate in vivo investigations. Effects of plasma exposure time (1, 3 and 6 min) and intensity (low—10 mA, 6.8 W; medium—15 mA, 10.5 W; and high—25 mA, 18 W) on the CAs' acoustic properties, surface morphology, zeta potential, capacity to carry chemotherapeutics and overall sterility are described. Both increases in plasma intensity and exposure time increased CA zeta potential and also significantly increased drug payload. High-intensity plasma exposure for 3 min was found to be an optimal sterilization protocol for maximal (100%) preservation of CA echogenicity. Plasma exposure resulted in sterile samples and maintained original CA enhancement of 20 dB and acoustic half-life over 75 min, while increasing CA zeta potential by 11 mV and doxorubicin loading efficiency by 10%. This study not only shows how a highly temperature- and pressure-sensitive agent can be sterilized using plasma, but also that surface modification can be used to increase surface binding of the drug. (E-mail: wheatley@coe.drexel.edu )
Gramicidin single-channel properties show no solvent-history dependence

The structure of membrane-associated gramicidins can depend on the solvent in which they were dissolved prior to membrane incorporation (LoGrasso, P. V., F. Moll, and T. A. Cross 1988. Biophys. J. 54:259–267; Killian, J. A., K. U. Prasad, D. Hains, and D. W. Urry. 1988. Biochemistry. 27:4848–4855). The peptide's solvent history might thus affect the functional characteristics of gramicidin channels (op. cit.). We tested this proposal by examining the properties (conductance, conductance dispersity, and average duration) of channels formed by [Val1]gramicidin A that had been dissolved in eight different solvents. The peptide was incorporated into lipid bilayers either by addition to the aqueous phase (and subsequent adsorption to the membrane) or by cosolubilization with the membrane-forming phospholipid. When the peptide was cosolubilized with the phospholipid, the channel properties did not vary with the solvent used. When the peptide was dissolved in chloroform, benzene, or trifluoroethanol and added through the aqueous phase, the channel properties differed from those found when gramidicin was dissolved in methanol, ethanol, dioxane, dimethylsulfoxide, or ethylacetate. The changes observed with the former three solvents were reproduced by adding them to the aqueous phase, and are therefore due to the ability of these solvents to partition into the membrane and alter the channels' behavior.
The nuclear envelope at a glance

The cell nucleus is the ‘mothership’ that organizes, protects and regulates the genome. The inner and outer nuclear membranes (INM and ONM, respectively) of the nuclear envelope (NE) have over 60 distinct membrane proteins, whose roles and functional sophistication might rival the cell surface.
Ionic conductivity and self-diffusion of Cl− in NH4Cl

Abstract Ionic transport in NH 4 Cl has been studied by measurement of electrical conductivity and selfdiffussion of Cl − . A vacancy mechanism involving both anions and cations is proposed to explain the results.
Spectral broadening and shaping of nanosecond pulses: toward shaping of single photons from quantum emitters.

We experimentally demonstrate spectral broadening and shaping of exponentially-decaying nanosecond pulses via nonlinear mixing with a phase-modulated pump in a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide. 1550 nm pump light is imprinted with a temporal phase and used to upconvert a weak 980 nm pulse to 600 nm while simultaneously broadening the spectrum to that of a Lorentzian pulse up to 10 times shorter. While the current experimental demonstration is for spectral shaping, we also provide a numerical study showing the feasibility of subsequent spectral phase correction to achieve temporal compression and reshaping of a 1 ns mono-exponentially decaying pulse to a 250 ps Lorentzian, which would constitute a complete spectrotemporal waveform shaping protocol. This method, which uses quantum frequency conversion in PPLN with >100∶1 signal-to-noise ratio, is compatible with single photon states of light.
Fifteen-year results of breast-conserving surgery and definitive irradiation for Stage I and II breast carcinoma: the University of Pennsylvania experience

Abstract Purpose To determine the 15-year outcomes for women with early stage breast cancer after breast conservation therapy. Methods and materials Between 1977 and 1990, 937 women with Stage I and II breast carcinoma (55% T1N0, 16% T2N0, 18% T1N1, and 11% T2N1) underwent lumpectomy, axillary lymphadenectomy, and definitive irradiation. The median patient age was 52 years. Of the 937 patients, 375 (40%) received adjuvant chemotherapy and/or hormonal therapy, including 249 (92%) of the 270 women with pathologically positive nodes. The median follow-up was 10.1 years. Results For the overall group, the 15-year overall survival rate was 71%, and the rate of freedom from distant metastases was 76%. The 15-year local failure rate was 19%. The 15-year contralateral breast cancer rate was 12%. The most common first events were distant failure (13%), local failure (10%), contralateral breast cancer (7%), and second malignant neoplasms (6%). The local failure rate at 10 years for favorable subsets of tumors characterized by mammographic detection, resection with negative margins, treatment with chemotherapy, and treatment with hormones was 8%, 10%, 10%, and 7%, respectively. Local failures were most commonly observed within (true recurrence), or just outside (marginal miss), the primary tumor bed (66%, 85 of 128). The rate of true recurrence or marginal miss at 5, 10, and 15 years was 5%, 10%, and 12%, respectively. Conclusion These high rates of survival and local control confirm that breast conservation therapy yields favorable results in women with early breast cancer into the second decade after treatment.
Reading deficits and intellectual patterns among children with neurocognitive dysfunctions

Abstract Reading deficits among 56 elementary aged learning disabled children with suspected neurocognitive dysfunctions were calculated. The children were grouped according to the following IQ profiles: low Verbal-high Performance, high Verbal-low Performance, and a no-difference group. Differences in reading deficits among the groups were analyzed and the results indicate that the pattern of high Verbal-low Performance IQs is associated with the least deficiency in reading and that this association is evident as early as second grade within a group of learning disabled children with concomitant central processing problems.
Glass transition measurements on heterogeneous surfaces

Abstract The local glass transition temperature ( T g ) of heterogeneous polymer surfaces has been successfully determined by lateral force microscopy (LFM) on the submicron–nanometer scale. This paper addresses interfacial confinement effects in thin films of blends and emulsions from polystyrene (PS), poly(butylmethacrylate) (PBMA) and poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA). The paper addresses the difficulty of thermal rheological experiments with a microscopic scanning technique, and introduces an in-situ calibration method.
Fermentative Production of l-Proline by dl-3,4-Dehydroproline Resistant Mutants of l-Glutamate Producing Bacteria

Mutants resistant to growth inhibition by dl-3,4-dehydroproline, an analog of l-proline, were derived from the wild type l-glutamate producing bacteria, Brevibacterium flavum, Brevibacterium lactofermentum, Corynebacterium glutamicum and Microbacterium ammoniaphilum. Among these mutants, potent l-proline producers were obtained.The production of l-proline by Brevibacterium flavum No. 199, which was obtained as an isoleucine auxotrophic and sulfaguanidine resistant mutant from the wild strain, was improved by deriving dl-3,4-dehydroproline resistant mutants under the condition, in which the overproduction of l-proline was reduced by adding excess l-isoleucine, i.e. more than necessary for growth. Among mutants thus obtained, strain P-390 produced 40 g of l-proline per liter, which was 30% more than that of parental strain No. 199, in medium containing 10% glucose, 6% ammonium sulfate, inorganic salts and other components. This yield was the highest among yields so far reported.
Acidic deposition distribution and episode statistics from the MAP3S network database

Abstract Data for precipitation and acidic pollutant concentration from the MAP3S network in the eastern United States were analyzed to assess the probability distributions of acidic deposition and the spatial and temporal character of high deposition events (or ‘episodes’). About 20% of the precipitation events account for about 55% of the deposition of the major species (sulfur, nitrate, free hydrogen, and ammonium). The mean ‘episodicity’, as defined by Smith and Hunt ( Atmospheric Environment 12 , 461–477, 1978), is 7%; this is not considered highly episodic. The distribution characteristics are spatially quite uniform over the MAP3S region, suggesting a homogeneous pollution-exposure environment. Occurrences of the leading deposition events generally follow the seasonal trends in concentration, and the major episodes usually account for about 10% or less of a given year's total deposition. Most episode events are characterized by above-normal values of both precipitation amount and concentration.
Epigenetic regulation of miR-184 by MBD1 governs neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation.

Summary Methyl-CpG binding protein 1 (MBD1) regulates gene expression via a DNA methylation-mediated epigenetic mechanism. We have previously demonstrated that MBD1 deficiency impairs adult neural stem/progenitor cell (aNSC) differentiation and neurogenesis, but the underlying mechanism was unclear. Here, we show that MBD1 regulates the expression of several microRNAs in aNSCs and, specifically, that miR-184 is directly repressed by MBD1. High levels of miR-184 promoted proliferation but inhibited differentiation of aNSCs, whereas inhibition of miR-184 rescued the phenotypes associated with MBD1 deficiency. We further found that miR-184 regulates the expression of Numblike (Numbl), a known regulator of brain development, by binding to the 3′-UTR of Numbl mRNA and affecting its translation. Expression of exogenous Numbl could rescue the aNSC defects that result from either miR-184 overexpression or MBD1 deficiency. Therefore, MBD1, miR-184, and Numbl form a regulatory network that helps control the balance between proliferation and differentiation of aNSCs.
Adjuvant immunotherapy in melanoma: a new approach.

Patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma to two or more regional lymph nodes have an extremely poor prognosis despite radical lymphadenectomy. In an attempt to improve the survival and to determine the safety of a new method of tumor specific adjuvant immunotherapy in such a high risk group of patients, nine patients were studied. Three to four weeks after regional lymphadenectomy, each of them received a single intradermal injection of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin. Three weeks later, they were immunized by allogenic melanoma cells obtained from live donors with distant metastases. Each patient received three vaccinations, each from a different donor (except in one), to avoid development of HLA response, but maintaining exposure to melanoma antigens. No cultured melanoma cells were used. Each vaccine consisted of mitomycin-C treated tumor cells mixed with purified protein derivative (PPD) of tuberculin given intradermally once per month for 3 months. The patients were then observed with no further treatment. Utilizing the leukocyte migration inhibition test, there was some in vitro evidence of tumor specific cell mediated response which seemed to disappear 1–2 months postimmunization. At 5 years, five of the nine patients (55%) were alive free of disease. No autoimmune diseases were detected in any of the immunized patients. A major hindering factor for such an approach was the limited availability of the allogenic melanoma cells. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Effects of Combinations of Liquid and Granular Formulations of Disulfoton and Cycloate on Sugarbeets

In greenhouse and field studies, liquid and granular combinations of disulfoton and cycloate at 1 and 4 lb AI/acre, respectively, were incorporated in soil before planting sugarbeets. In the greenhouse, the stand of sugarbeets and dry weights of seedlings were reduced most by the liquid-herbicide granular-insecticide treatment. In the field study, the disulfoton-cycloate mixtures produced necrotic cotyledons and leaves, as well as extensive stunting. The liquid-herbicide liquid-insecticide mixture was the most damaging combination, followed by the granular-herbicide liquid-insecticide, liquid-herbicide granular-insecticide, and the granular-herbicide granular-insecticide treatments. Mixing the herbicide with the insecticide did not reduce the ability of the herbicide to control weeds effectively: injured sugarbeet seedlings recovered fully after 3 months of growth and there was no significant difference between root weights, percent sucrose, or sucrose production for the various treatments at harvest.
Navigation performance with a virtual auditory display: effects of beacon sound, capture radius, and practice.

OBJECTIVE: We examined whether spatialized nonspeech beacons could guide navigation and how sound timbre, waypoint capture radius, and practice affect performance. BACKGROUND: Auditory displays may assist mobility and wayfinding for those with temporary or permanent visual impairment, but they remain understudied. Previous systems have used speech-based interfaces. METHOD: Participants (108 undergraduates) navigated three maps, guided by one of three beacons (pink noise, sonar ping, or 1000-Hz pure tone) spatialized by a virtual reality engine. Dependent measures were efficiency of time and path length. RESULTS: Overall navigation was very successful, with significant effects of practice and capture radius, and interactions with beacon sound. Overshooting and subsequent hunting for waypoints was exacerbated for small radius conditions. A human-scale capture radius (1.5 m) and sonar-like beacon yielded the optimal combination for safety and efficiency. CONCLUSION: The selection of beacon sound and capture radius depend on the specific application, including whether speed of travel or adherence to path are of primary concern. Extended use affects sound preferences and quickly leads to improvements in both speed and accuracy. APPLICATION: These findings should lead to improved wayfinding systems for the visually impaired as well as for first responders (e.g., firefighters) and soldiers. Language: en
Familial linkage between neuropsychiatric disorders and intellectual interests.

From personality to neuropsychiatric disorders, individual differences in brain function are known to have a strong heritable component. Here we report that between close relatives, a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders covary strongly with intellectual interests. We surveyed an entire class of high-functioning young adults at an elite university for prospective major, familial incidence of neuropsychiatric disorders, and demographic and attitudinal questions. Students aspiring to technical majors (science/mathematics/engineering) were more likely than other students to report a sibling with an autism spectrum disorder (p = 0.037). Conversely, students interested in the humanities were more likely to report a family member with major depressive disorder (p = 8.8×10−4), bipolar disorder (p = 0.027), or substance abuse problems (p = 1.9×10−6). A combined PREdisposition for Subject MattEr (PRESUME) score based on these disorders was strongly predictive of subject matter interests (p = 9.6×10−8). Our results suggest that shared genetic (and perhaps environmental) factors may both predispose for heritable neuropsychiatric disorders and influence the development of intellectual interests.
Equilibrium characterization of initial bond offerings: Implications for empirical research

Abstract Many studies of initial bond offerings have been criticized because they lack a solid theoretical foundation for the empirical test commonly employed, i.e., a linear regression with yield as the dependent variable and the independent variables comprised of both security specific attribute and macroeconomic descriptors. In this study, it is shown that a linear multifactor specification is appropriate and that under certain conditions, yield is an appropriate dependent variable. Although particular variables are not identified, the independent variables should include security specific attributes and macroeconomic descriptors. The estimated model is interpretable within an equilibrium risk-return framework.
Improved graft patency associated with altered platelet function induced by marine fatty acids in dogs

Female mongrel dogs fed a marine fish diet rich in long-chain polyenoic fatty acids had improved patency of small-diameter arterial prosthetic grafts as compared to controls. Also, in vivo platelet function as measured by bleeding times was significantly prolonged. Eicosapentaenoic acid, not found in the serum of control animals, was present in relatively high concentrations in both the serum and a platelet-rich fraction of the marine oil-fed group. Eicosapentaenoic acid, unlike arachidonic acid, does not induce platelet aggregation and this phenomonon may account for the altered platelet function demonstrated in our animals and hence the improved graft patency. These data lend further support to the role of platelets in determining the patency of vascular grafts.
A constraint selection technique for a class of linear programs

It is well known that, for most linear programs, only a relatively small percentage of constraints are binding at the optimal solution. Significant effort has been directed towards methods which identify those constraints most likely to be tight at optimality. We present here a simple, but highly effective, heuristic for finding solutions to linear programming problems by using only a small proportion of the original constraints.
Evaluation of Soil Survey Scale for Zone Development of Site-Specific Nitrogen Management

Zone sampling for site-specific N application has been shown to be effective in North Dakota and other areas of the Great Plains. Printed and sometimes digitized soil surveys are presently available for most agricultural counties in the USA. Order 2 soil surveys generally have scales that range from 1:12 000 to 1:31680. These surveys were developed for general planning purposes. There is interest in using Order 2 soil surveys as a basis for delineating N management zone patterns, especially where the soil-mapping units have been digitized. This study was conducted to evaluate soil survey scales at the Order 1 (scale >1:15 840) and Order 2 level against grid- and topography-based zone sampling to determine whether soil surveys at these scales could be used to delineate N management zones for site-specific fertilizer application. Fields mapped at a finer scale (Order 1 survey) showed some similarity between mapping units and N management zones defined by topography. Order 2 soil-mapping units, which are the present mapping scale of most agricultural soil surveys, were often not similar to N management zones. Published Order 2 soil surveys should not be used to develop N management zones for site-specific agriculture unless the soil patterns are verified with other zone development tools of site-specific management. Alternatively, a major benefit of Order 1 soil surveys would be to reinforce or redefine apparent N management zones.
Sugar Tongs Get a Grip on the Starch Granule in Barley α-Amylase 1

A novel polysaccharide binding site is identified in domain C of barley alpha-amylase 1 from the X-ray structure of the enzyme/tetrasaccharide complex.
Following the TRAIL to apoptosis

Apoptosis, programmed cell death, eliminates injured or harmful cells. It can mediate its response through the actions of death ligands including TRAIL. TRAIL, a member of TNF superfamily, induces apoptosis of transformed cells through the action of death domain receptors DR-4 and DR5. It directly induces apoptosis through an extrinsic pathway, which involes the activation of caspases. TRAIL also is able to prevent apoptosis through the actions of its decoy receptors DcR-1 and DcR-2. Various regulators of TRAIL include FADD, IAPs, Bcl-2s, p53, and FLIPs. TRAIL is present in cells involved in asthma including eosinophils, mast cells, fibroblasts, and airway epithelial cells. It is expressed in airway remodeling and may be linked with the pathways of transforming growth factor-beta1, which is thought to cause damage to the epithelium. The repair process of the epithelium is hindered as a result of increased apoptosis induced by TGF-β1, which overlaps with the pathways of TRAIL. Analogs of TRAIL could have therapeutical applications for asthma. TRAIL is also seen as the basis for a “miracle” drug for cancer because of its ability to selectively kill cancer cells.
Diagnosis of intramural coronary artery in transposition of the great arteries using two-dimensional echocardiography.

BACKGROUND An intramural coronary is an uncommon but potentially significant risk factor for transfer of the coronary arteries as part of the arterial switch operation for transposition of the great arteries. Preoperative diagnosis is advantageous because it helps prevent accidental injury to the intramural coronary artery during transection of the aortic root and excision of the coronary artery ostium from the aorta. Therefore, we investigated the reliability of two-dimensional echocardiography for detecting an intramural coronary artery in infants with d-transposition of the great arteries. METHODS AND RESULTS All infants with d-transposition of the great arteries who underwent echocardiography and primary surgical repair at this institution between January 1987 and June 1992 were identified by search of the cardiology data base. From this group, all patients diagnosed with an intramural coronary artery were identified by review of the echocardiographic, surgical, and autopsy reports. Among 435 infants with transposition, 29 infants were diagnosed as having an intramural coronary artery. In 27 cases, the diagnosis was confirmed at surgery or autopsy, and there were two false-positive echocardiographic diagnoses (specificity, 99.5%). Twenty of the 27 patients with an intramural coronary artery were correctly diagnosed prospectively by echocardiography (sensitivity, 75%), including 17 of 23 patients with an intramural left coronary artery or left anterior descending coronary artery and 3 of 4 patients with an intramural right coronary artery. Two primary diagnostic criteria were identified: a major coronary artery arising from the contralateral septal sinus, near the usually intercoronary commissure, and a course for this vessel within the posterior aortic wall between the great arteries, creating a "double-border" appearance. Retrospective review using these criteria identified 26 of the 27 intramural arteries with no false-positive diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that coronary echocardiography is a very promising technique for detecting an intramural coronary artery in transposition of the great arteries. Careful prospective application of the identified diagnostic criteria should greatly improve the diagnostic accuracy.
Early evolution of an extensional monocline by a propagating normal fault: 3D analysis from combined field study and numerical modeling

Abstract The Nopolo structure is located along the eastern margin of the Baja California peninsula and formed during the early stages (12–6 Ma) of development of the Gulf of California. The Nopolo structure is an ∼15-km-long series of two NW-striking, extensional monoclines produced by the upward propagation of normal faults. Where normal faults reach the surface, the footwall contains undisturbed, gently dipping strata, whereas the hanging wall is a highly deformed zone that contains fractured and faulted steep to subvertical strata. Long, narrow grabens with moderate to steep east-dipping strata are present in the hanging wall of the main normal faults. Initial monoclinal folding over blind normal faults produced a minimum of ∼300 m of structural relief. Once the faults propagated to the surface, they offset the monoclines ∼20–30 m before faulting ceased. We use an elastic dislocation model to invert fault geometry from bedding orientations around the Nopolo structure. The data are best matched by a listric normal fault that soles out at ∼5 km depth. The model suggests that the tip line of the fault was located ∼1 km below the surface prior to the breaching of the monocline. Because the offset along the main normal faults is minimal (∼20 m), the Nopolo structure is a unique example of an extensional faulted monocline and monocline system where faulting ended soon after the monoclines were breached and offset.
Xenobiotic biotransformation in livers and lungs of adult black-tailed deer: Comparison with domestic goat and sheep

1. The capacity of liver and lung tissue of black-tailed dear (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) to biotransform xenobiotics was compared in vitro to the domestic sheep and goat. Donor animals were all females of varying ages. Tissues from the black-tailed deer were collected in the wild. A variety of biotransformation enzymes were measured in both microsomal and cytosolic fractions. 2. Deer liver was lower in total cytochrome P450 concentration, but mono-oxygenase activities were greater compared to sheep and goat. The opposite was true for the lung. 3. Epoxide hydrolase activities were significantly different in deer vs sheep and goat. 4. In general, both hepatic and pulmonary activities were more similar between sheep and goat than either species compared to the deer, however, the magnitude of the hepatic differences did not exceed 5-fold. 5. Based on these limited results, there is no reason to discredit the sheep or goat as a toxicity testing model for deer.
A micromachined combustor and its application to micro thermoelectric power generation

This paper reports a micromachined combustor and its application to micro thermoelectric power generation. The combustor chamber is covered by a ∼1.3μm thick dielectric diaphragm which is supported by a silicon support rim bonded to a glass substrate. The diaphragm is coated with Pt-catalyst and incorporates a heater for ignition. Scaling effects on self-sustained catalytic combustion are investigated for a square combustor chamber. The small size limit for self-sustained combustion at a hydrogen flow rate of ∼3sccm is found to be between 1 to 2mm. Very large temperature gradients can be achieved on diaphragm because of its low thermal conductance and the high combustion temperature. This combustor configuration is used in a micro thermoelectric power generation chip. The output power level of the generator has been measured to be ∼3μW/thermocouple at a hydrogen flow rate of 3.1sccm.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Time capsule: an autonomous sensor and recorder based on diffusion–reaction

We describe the use of chemical diffusion and reaction to record temporally varying chemical information as spatial patterns without the need for external power. Diffusion of chemicals acts as a clock, while reactions forming immobile products possessing defined optical properties perform sensing and recording functions simultaneously. The spatial location of the products reflects the history of exposure to the detected substances of interest. We refer to our device as a time capsule and show an initial proof of principle in the autonomous detection of lead ions in water.
Continuous-time sigma-delta modulator design for wireless biomedical sensing applications

This paper discusses the use of continuous-time sigma-delta modulators for ADCs in wireless biomedical sensing applications. The advantages of the proposed continuous-time sigma-delta modulators include the fact that it eliminates the need for an anti-aliasing filter in front of the ADC because of its intrinsic anti-alias filtering property. Additionally, the use of weak inversion and a low flicker noise structure minimizes power consumption and low frequency flicker noise. Finally, the decimation filter used in ordinary sigma-delta ADCs to attenuate high-frequency noise is eliminated because the biomedical sensor analyzes the periodogram in software, thus significantly reducing the cost and power consumption. A design example illustrating these advantages is presented in this paper.
Malignancy and systemic lupus erythematosus

The association of malignancy with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been investigated for years. The findings of cohort studies lend support for an increased risk of malignancy in SLE but are difficult to interpret definitively. In addition, several cohort studies have suggested an increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but with imprecise estimation. There is inadequate evidence for any conclusions about the risk of solid tumors in these patients. A multicenter international research effort is in progress to elucidate these issues and to establish the role of exposures such as cytotoxic or immunomodulatory therapy. The recommendations advocated for cancer screening policies and for minimizing known risk factors for cancer in the general population should not be neglected in persons with SLE.
Varieties of (Scientific) Creativity A Hierarchical Model of Domain-Specific Disposition, Development, and Achievement

Prior research supports the inference that scientific disciplines can be ordered into a hierarchy ranging from the "hard" natural sciences to the "soft" social sciences. This ordering corresponds with such objective criteria as disciplinary consensus, knowledge obsolescence rate, anticipation frequency, theories-to-laws ratio, lecture disfluency, and age at recognition. It is then argued that this hierarchy can be extrapolated to encompass the humanities and arts and interpolated within specific domains to accommodate contrasts in subdomains (e.g., revolutionary versus normal science). This expanded and more finely differentiated hierarchy is then shown to have a partial psychological basis in terms of dispositional traits (e.g., psychopathology) and developmental experiences (e.g., family background). This demonstration then leads to three hypotheses about how a creator's domain-specific impact depends on his or her disposition and development: the domain-progressive, domain-typical, and domain-regressive creator hypotheses. Studies published thus far lend the most support to the domain-regressive creator hypothesis. In particular, major contributors to a domain are more likely to have dispositional traits and developmental experiences most similar to those that prevail in a domain lower in the disciplinary hierarchy. However, some complications to this generalization suggest the need for more research on the proposed hierarchical model.
An Examination of Factors Affecting Service Recovery in a Restaurant Setting

This study contributes to the literature on service recovery. As in prior studies, service recovery was found to have a significant impact on consumer satisfaction. However, the results of this stu...
Telaprevir-based treatment effects on hepatitis C virus in liver and blood.

Understanding hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication has been limited by access to serial samples of liver, the primary site of viral replication. Our understanding of how HCV replicates and develops drug-resistant variants in the liver is limited. We studied 15 patients chronically infected with genotype 1 HCV treated with telaprevir (TVR)/pegylated-interferon alpha/ribavirin. Hepatic fine needle aspiration was performed before treatment and at hour 10, days 4 and 15, and week 8 after initiation of antiviral therapy. We measured viral kinetics, resistance patterns, TVR concentrations, and host transcription profiles. All patients completed all protocol-defined procedures that were generally well tolerated. First-phase HCV decline (baseline/treatment day 4) was significantly slower in liver than in plasma (slope plasma: −0.29; liver, −0.009; P < 0.001), whereas second-phase decline (posttreatment days 4-15) did not differ between the two body compartments (−0.11 and −0.15, respectively; P = 0.1). TVR-resistant variants were detected in plasma, but not in liver (where only wild-type virus was detected). Based upon nonstructural protein 3 sequence analysis, no compartmentalization of viral populations was observed between plasma and liver compartments. Gene expression profiling revealed strong tissue-specific expression signatures. Human intrahepatic TVR concentration, measured for the first time, was lower, compared to plasma, on a gram per milliliter basis. We found moderate heterogeneity between HCV RNA levels from different intrahepatic sites, indicating differences in hepatic microenvironments. Conclusion: These data support an integrated model for HCV replication wherein the host hepatic milieu and innate immunity control the level of viral replication, and the early antiviral response observed in the plasma is predominantly driven by inhibition of hepatic high-level HCV replication sites. (Hepatology 2014;60:1825–1836)
Appearance Derivatives for Isonormal Clustering of Scenes

A new technique is proposed for scene analysis, called "appearance clustering.rdquo The key result of this approach is that the scene points can be clustered according to their surface normals, even when the geometry, material, and lighting are all unknown. This is achieved by analyzing an image sequence of a scene as it is illuminated by a smoothly moving distant light source. In such a scenario, the brightness measurements at each pixel form a "continuous appearance profile.rdquo When the source path follows an unstructured trajectory (obtained, say, by smoothly hand-waving a light source), the locations of the extrema of the appearance profile provide a strong cue for the scene point's surface normal. Based on this observation, a simple transformation of the appearance profiles and a distance metric are introduced that, together, can be used with any unsupervised clustering algorithm to obtain isonormal clusters of a scene. We support our algorithm empirically with comprehensive simulations of the Torrance-Sparrow and Oren-Nayar analytic BRDFs, as well as experiments with 25 materials obtained from the MERL database of measured BRDFs. The method is also demonstrated on 45 examples from the CURET database, obtaining clusters on scenes with real textures such as artificial grass and ceramic tile, as well as anisotropic materials such as satin and velvet. The results of applying our algorithm to indoor and outdoor scenes containing a variety of complex geometry and materials are shown. As an example application, isonormal clusters are used for lighting-consistent texture transfer. Our algorithm is simple and does not require any complex lighting setup for data collection.
Solution and Solid-State Spin-Crossover Behavior in a Pseudotetrahedral d7 Ion

This Communication describes a pseudotetrahedral d7 complex, [PhBP3]Co(OSiPh3), that exhibits thermally induced spin-crossover both in solution and in the solid state. Magnetic crossover behavior is achieved by confluence of the X-type ligand and the tripodal auxiliary employed. Four-coordinate platforms of the present geometry type may offer a new approach to magnetic spin-crossover behavior distinct from their electronically related pseudooctahedral counterparts.
The Utility of Morphological Data in Resolving Phylogenetic Relationships of Darters as Exemplified with Etheostoma (Teleostei: Percidae)

ABSTRACT Recent investigations of darter phylogeny have been based almost entirely on analyses of DNA sequence data. External morphological characters have, at times, been used to infer phylogenetic relationships among species in specific darter clades, but these types of characters are most often used in the discovery and description of darter species. Datasets that comprise more than a dozen discretely coded characters from osteology and myology are surprisingly absent from the investigation of darter phylogeny. It is unknown whether phylogenetic analyses of discretely coded morphological characters can result in resolved hypotheses of darter phylogeny, and whether these inferences would agree with those resulting from phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data. This study uses a dataset of 135 discretely coded morphological characters scored for 83 darter species originally presented in an unpublished doctoral dissertation. The phylogenetic utility of this morphological dataset was investigated with bo...
Adaptively biased linear transconductor

This paper describes a new circuit topology of a linear transconductor. The conventional differential pair (CDP), with a constant tail current, is linearized by an adaptive biasing scheme , and the only extra elements added to the differential pair are source followers. Compared to the CDP, the proposed circuit achieves similar speed and noise performance, but the common-mode rejection is compromised at the expense of tremendous improvement in linearity. While operating from a 1.8-V power supply in a 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS process, the simulated variation in g/sub m/ for 1-V/sub p-p/ and 2-V/sub p-p/ differential input is 1.2% and 22%, respectively. Also, the THD performance for a 1-V/sub p-p/, 1-MHz differential sinusoidal input is -65 dB, which is about a 40-dB improvement over the CDP.
ORN Additive: Shrinking the Gap between Database Modeling and Implementation

ORN Additive is a prototype tool that was developed to show how the gap between database modeling and implementation can be reduced - more specifically, to show how associations defined in data models can be more directly mapped to and better supported by a relational database management system (DBMS) and done so in a powerful way. The "additive, " object relationship notation (ORN), allows database developers to extend the multiplicities given in UML class diagrams with "bindings " to model the semantics of a wide variety of association types. The tool, ORN Additive, lets them add this ORN to the foreign key constraints given for a Microsoft SQL Server database. This allows simple to complex association semantics to be included in the database's metadata and supported by the enhanced DBMS. Such support means that associations are implemented as modeled without DBMS users having to develop and maintain complex constraints, triggers, and/or procedural code.