cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Scoping Review of Non-Occupational Exposures to Environmental Pollutants and Adult Depression, Anxiety, and Suicide.

Despite a call for better understanding of the role of environmental pollutant influences on mental health and the tremendous public health burden of mental health, this issue receives far less attention than many other effects of pollutants. Here we summarize the body of literature on non-occupational environmental pollutant exposures and adult depression, anxiety, and suicide—in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and PsychINFO through the end of year 2018. One hundred twelve articles met our criteria for further review. Of these, we found 88 articles on depression, 33 on anxiety, and 22 on suicide (31 articles covered multiple outcomes). The earliest article was published in 1976, and the most frequent exposure of interest was air pollution (n = 33), followed by secondhand smoke (n = 20), metals (n = 18), noise (n = 17), and pesticides (n = 10). Other exposures studied less frequently included radiation, magnetic fields, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), volatile organic compounds, solvents, and reactive sulfur compounds. The current literature, although limited, clearly suggests many kinds of environmental exposures may be risk factors for depression, anxiety, and suicide. For several pollutants, important limitations exist with many of the studies. Gaps in the body of research include a need for more longitudinal, life-course studies, studies that can measure cumulative exposures as well as shorter-term exposures, studies that reduce the possibility of reverse causation, and mechanistic studies focused on neurotoxic exposures.
A Fano-based acoustic metamaterial for ultra-broadband sound barriers

Ultra-broadband sound reduction schemes covering living and working noise spectra are of high scientific and industrial significance. Here, we report, both theoretically and experimentally, on an u...
Pre-Operative Bariatric Surgery Imparts An Increased Risk of Infection, Re-Admission and Operative Intervention Following Elective Instrumented Lumbar Fusion.

Study Design:Retrospective cohort study.Objectives:To evaluate the impact of bariatric surgery on patient outcomes following elective instrumented lumbar fusion.Methods:A retrospective review of a ...
Microorganisms as Potential Sources of Food

Publisher Summary Microorganisms provide an excellent supplement for conventional foodstuffs. Microorganisms can be utilized to furnish an unlimited supply of nutrient without requiring the cultivation of too much land. The gap between food supply and human population has widened steadily in recent years and the balance is greatly in favor of population growth. Food supplements from microorganisms can be cheap, palatable, wholesome, and without any toxic effect. Absence of equilibration is attributed mainly to the ever increasing rate of growth of world population, low death rate (especially among children), and no significant increase in the production of food stuff, compounded by inadequate distribution. The population growth in the 20th century is a soaring parameter, whereas the source and the production of conventional food supply are at a steady state. Food industries and the governments of developing countries should be encouraged to remedy deficient diets with enriching supplements of microbial origin.
Glycoprotein enzymes secreted by Aspergillus fumigatus: Purification and properties of α-gluccsidase☆

Abstract An extracellular α-glucosidase ( M r 63,560) from Aspergillus fumigatus was purified to homogeneity as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electro-phoresis and analytical ultracentrifugation. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 4.5, K m and V values of 1.85 m m and 10 μmoles/min/mg with maltose as substrate. It was specific for the α-configuration, readily hydrolyzed maltose and isomaltose, but utilized trehalose and p -nitrophenyl-α- d -glucoside very slowly. One mole of enzyme contained 55.1 moles of mannose, 3.2 moles of glucosamine, and 5.4 moles of glucose. However, precipitation with trichloroacetic acid released all of the glucose, while mannose and glucosamine remained associated with the protein, indicating that the latter sugais were covalently bound to the enzyme. When the enzyme was treated with 0.05 n NaOH in the presence of [ 3 H]NaBH 4 , no oligosaccharide was released and no tritiated hexitols were observed. However, stronger alkaline treatment (1 n NaOH, 100 °C, 6 hr) in the presence of [ 3 H]NaBH 4 released the oligosaccharide and led to formation of [ 3 H]glucosaminitol. These data suggested a glucosaminyl → asparagine linkage. Treatment of the α-glucosidase with endo-β- N -acetylglucosaminidase caused the release of oligosaccharide chain(s), indicating a Man(GlcNAc) 2 Asn linkage.
Sanctions Sometimes Smart: Targeted Sanctions in Theory and Practice

This essay reviews the literature and origins of the targeted sanctions framework. The development of smart sanctions has solved many of the political problems that prior efforts at comprehensive trade sanctions had created. In so doing, the idea of smart sanctions served as a useful focal point for policy coordination among key stakeholders. Nevertheless, there is no systematic evidence that smart sanctions will yield better policy results vis-a-vis the targeted country. Indeed, in many ways, the smart sanctions framework has been too successful. It would behoove policymakers and scholars to look beyond the targeted sanctions framework to examine the conditions under which different kinds of economic statecraft should be deployed.
Interactive robot theatre

This work motivates interactive robot theatre as an interesting test bed to explore research issues in the development of sociable robots and to investigate the relationship between autonomous robots and intelligent environments. We present the implementation of our initial exploration in this area highlighting three core technologies. First, an integrated show control software development platform for the design and control of an intelligent stage. Second, a stereo vision system that tracks multiple features on multiple audience participants in real-time. Third, an interactive, autonomous robot performer with natural and expressive movement that combines techniques from character animation and robot control.
Law Enforcement's Response to Sexual Assault

Abstract After the major reforms of sexual assault laws between 1960 and 1975, a number of studies examined the changes in sexual assault reports to the police and the prosecution of these cases; however, little research has studied changes in law enforcement investigative procedures of sexual assault cases. This study examines the processes used in the investigation of sexual assault cases by police and sheriff departments in nine counties of North Carolina. The procedures of these departments are compared with a set of new practices identified as effective by Epstein and Langenbahn (1994). These practices, or reforms, include specialized sexual assault investigative units, in-house victim/witness advocates, acceptance of anonymous reports from victims who do not wish to prosecute, written procedures, multiple interviews, confidentiality of the victim from the media, specialized training for investigators as well as patrol officers, and specific criteria for the selection of investigators. The law enforc...
Electrical and Lightning Injuries

A 23-year-old industrial mechanic sustains a highvoltage electrical injury. He has a circumferential fullthickness injury of the right upper extremity. The patient develops hand paraesthesia and then numbness. Which of the following is the management of choice at this time? (A) Decrease fluid resuscitation and elevate the involved extremity (B) Increase fluid resuscitation and administer mannitol (C) Continue to monitor the extremity (D) Perform escharotomy and monitor the extremity (E) Perform escharotomy and fasciotomy of the involved extremity
Decision Statistic Mapping and Number of Information Dimensions on Decision Making with Graphical Displays

This study sought to: (1) analytically separate the components of a graphical display which contributed to performance on integrated and separable tasks; and (2) determine the effect of the number of dimensions of information which had to be integrated. To that end, the study employed a 7 × 3 mixed design with seven displays manipulated between-subjects and the number of information dimensions (three, six, and nine) manipulated within-subjects. The seven displays examined included two bar graphs (non-object and object formats), two midline displays (non-object and object formats), a direct graphical display, and two numerical displays (numerical separable and numerical integrative). Based upon propositions generated from emergent feature theory, the ability to integrate information in these displays should be a function of the faithfulness, saliency, and directness of mapping the decision statistic onto the display. Results indicated that the displays which directly represented the integrated decision, th...
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VITAMIN D AND THE CRANIOFACIAL AND DENTAL ANOMALIES OF THE SUPRAVALVULAR AORTIC STENOSIS SYNDROME

There is evidence that a derangement in vitamin D metabolism on the part of the mother, the fetus, or both may be responsible for supravalvular aortic stenosis, especially when the latter is associated with infantile hypercalcemia. It has been shown that the offspring of rabbits given large amounts of parenteral vitamin D throughout pregnancy may be born with aortic lesions resembling supravalvular aortic stenosis as seen in man. The present study was designed to explore experimentally the relationship between exposure to excessive amounts of vitamin D during pregnancy and the development of the craniofacial complex and dentition because children with the multiple system abnormalities of the supravalvular aortic stenosis syndrome (SASS) share a characteristic craniofacial appearance and exhibit, in common, many abnormalities of dentition. Examination of their jaws and teeth reveals hypoplasia of the mandible, congenital absence of teeth (usually the lateral incisors and second premolars of the maxilla), microdontia, dysgnathia, enamel hypoplasia, and a narrowed occlusal table. In the present study, analogous findings were observed in rabbit offspring whose mothers received large amounts of vitamin D during pregnancy. The most marked functional accompaniment of these abnormalities was severe malocclusion of the teeth. Peculiar facies, premature closure of the cranial bones, strabismus, odd shaped ears, and a low birth weight were additional features of SASS that were noted in many test animals. Buphthalmos was also noted occasionally, probably related to maldevelopment of the bony ocular orbits. Thus, these experimental observations suggest that the cranial, facial, and dental peculiarities as well as the aortic lesion of the supravalvular aortic stenosis syndrome may be related to a derangement in vitamin D metabolism during pregnancy.
Low mach number modeling of type Ia supernovae. I. Hydrodynamics

We introduce a low Mach number equation set for the large-scale numerical simulation of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs experiencing a thermonuclear deflagration. Since most of the interesting physics in a Type Ia supernova transpires at Mach numbers from 0.01 to 0.1, such an approach enables both a considerable increase in accuracy and a savings in computer time compared with frequently used compressible codes. Our equation set is derived from the fully compressible equations using low Mach number asymptotics, but without any restriction on the size of perturbations in density or temperature. Comparisons with simulations that use the fully compressible equations validate the low Mach number model in regimes where both are applicable. Comparisons to simulations based on the more traditional anelastic approximation also demonstrate the agreement of these models in the regime for which the anelastic approximation is valid. For low Mach number flows with potentially finite amplitude variations in density and temperature, the low Mach number model overcomes the limitations of each of the more traditional models and can serve as the basis for an accurate and efficient simulation tool.
The Relation between Gaze Behavior and the Attribution of Emotion: An Empirical Study

Real-time virtual humans are less believable than hand-animated characters, particularly in the way they perform gaze. In this paper, we provide the results of an empirical study that explores an observer's attribution of emotional state to gaze. We have taken a set of low-level gaze behaviors culled from the nonverbal behavior literature; combined these behaviors based on a dimensional model of emotion; and then generated animations of these behaviors using our gaze model based on the Gaze Warping Transformation (GWT) [9], [10]. Then, subjects judged the animations displaying these behaviors. The results, while preliminary, demonstrate that the emotional state attributed to gaze behaviors can be predicted using a dimensional model of emotion; and show the utility of the GWT gaze model in performing bottom-up behavior studies.
Dark Matter, Galaxies, Superclusters and Voids

Two surprising facts of fundamental importance for understanding the large scale structure of the universe have become apparent in the last few years. The first is that most of the mass in the universe is invisible, and the matter it represents may not even be composed of baryons and leptons. The second fact is that on large scales, galaxies are distributed in a network of thick, flattened or filamentary structures, called superclusters, separated by vast voids.
SUMMARY OF SESSION I AND SOME NOTES ON THE METABOLISM OF VITAMIN B6.

Publisher Summary This chapter illustrates some possible consequences of a genetically or environmentally altered metabolism of vitamin B 6 by a consideration of the pyridoxal kinase of brain tissue. The metabolic transformations undergone by vitamin B 6 permit impairment of pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP) formation not only through diminished action of PL-kinase, but also in other mays. Pyridoxine, for example, which is the only form of vitamin B 6 normally employed for therapeutic purposes, would be relatively ineffective as a source of PLP if pyridoxine phosphate oxidase were low or lacking in tissues. Individuals lacking pyridoxine phosphate oxidase but possessing normal pyridoxal kinase levels might actually respond adversely to administration of pyridoxine, as under these conditions pyridoxine phosphate should accumulate in tissues. Pyridoxal would be expected to retain its effectiveness under these conditions. Because few relevant data exist, the discussion of further hypothetical relationships of this nature is largely pointless.
The Crime of Aggression at the ICC

In May 2012, Liechtenstein became the first State to ratify amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that seek to activate the Court’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. The amendments, which were adopted by consensus at the ICC Review Conference that met in Kampala, Uganda, in 2010, establish definitions for “act of aggression” and “crime of aggression,” and provide the Court with jurisdiction even in the absence of a referral from the Security Council. At the same time, the States Parties decided that the ICC’s jurisdiction over this crime will not become operative until at least thirty States ratify the amendments and until there is a further decision by the States Parties sometime after January 1, 2017. Even then, the ICC’s jurisdiction will be limited over this crime: there are exceptions available for States Parties who wish to avoid exposure to the Court’s jurisdiction and the jurisdiction will not extend to States that are not Parties to the Rome Statute.Despite the progress at Kampala, considerable uncertainties and ambiguities exist concerning the process for activating the jurisdiction, the manner in which the jurisdiction operates once it is activated, its institutional effects on the Security Council and the ICC itself, and its long-term implications for the jus ad bellum. As such, those interested in the effective functioning of the ICC’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression, and in the efficacy of international norms on the use of force generally, should not view Kampala as the final word on the crime of aggression, but as an opportunity to continue to grapple with the very real and very challenging issues that still remain.
Capturing overlapping, triggered, and preemptive collaborations using MSCs

Message Sequence Charts (MSCs) and related notations have found wide acceptance for scenario-oriented behavior specifications. However, MSCs lack adequate support for important aspects of interaction modeling, including overlapping interactions, progress/liveness specifications, and preemption. Such support is needed particularly in the context of service-oriented specifications both in the business information and embedded systems domain. In this text, we introduce extensions to the "standard" MSC notation addressing these deficits, and provide a semantic foundation for these extensions
Dynamic virtual convergence for video see-through head-mounted displays: maintaining maximum stereo overlap throughout a close-range work space

We present a technique that allows users of video see-through head-mounted displays to work at close range without the typical loss of stereo perception due to reduced nasal side stereo overlap in most of today's commercial HMDs. Our technique dynamically selects parts of the imaging frustums acquired by wide-angle head-mounted cameras and re-projects them for the narrower field-of-view displays. In addition to dynamically maintaining maximum stereo overlap for objects at a heuristically estimated working distance, it also reduces the accommodation-vergence conflict, at the expense of a newly introduced disparity-vergence conflict. We describe the hardware (assembled from commercial components) and software implementation of our system and report on our experience while using this technique within two different AR applications. (Plus color plates).
Teaching Physiology and the World Wide Web: Electrochemistry and Electrophysiology on the Internet

Students seek active learning experiences that can rapidly impart relevant information in the most convenient way possible. Computer-assisted education can now use the resources of the World Wide Web to convey the important characteristics of events as elemental as the physical properties of osmotically active particles in the cell and as complex as the nerve action potential or the integrative behavior of the intact organism. We have designed laboratory exercises that introduce first-year medical students to membrane and action potentials, as well as the more complex example of integrative physiology, using the dynamic properties of computer simulations. Two specific examples are presented. The first presents the physical laws that apply to osmotic, chemical, and electrical gradients, leading to the development of the concept of membrane potentials; this module concludes with the simulation of the ability of the sodium-potassium pump to establish chemical gradients and maintain cell volume. The second module simulates the action potential according to the Hodgkin-Huxley model, illustrating the concepts of threshold, inactivation, refractory period, and accommodation. Students can access these resources during the scheduled laboratories or on their own time via our Web site on the Internet (http./(/)phys-main.umsmed.edu) by using the World Wide Web protocol. Accurate version control is possible because one valid, but easily edited, copy of the labs exists at the Web site. A common graphical interface is possible through the use of the Hypertext mark-up language. Platform independence is possible through the logical and arithmetic calculations inherent to graphical browsers and the Javascript computer language. The initial success of this program indicates that medical education can be very effective both by the use of accurate simulations and by the existence of a universally accessible Internet resource.
A CMOS imager with on-chip temporal filtering for motion pre-processing

Robust motion detection algorithms such as the motion energy model require temporal filtering at the pixel level. We have designed and tested a CMOS imager with integrated, pixel-level temporal filtering necessary for motion detection. This temporal filtering enhances transients and provides a delayed and non-delayed channel for each pixel in the array. By varying bias currents on the chip, we are able to control the time constant of continuous-time low-pass filters that set the delay. By varying a reset switching frequency, we can control the high-pass filter time constant which determines the time course of transient enhancement. Operation primarily in weak inversion results in a low-power sensor well suited for integration into a motion processing system. We have constructed a 16/spl times/16 temporal processing array in a 0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS process.
"Because We Feel the Pressure and We Also Feel the Support": Examining the Educational Success of Undocumented Immigrant Latina/o Students

Drawing from the educational experiences of fifty-four undocumented immigrant college students, Laura E. Enriquez seeks to uncover the concrete ways in which social capital is used to successfully navigate K–12 educational institutions and pursue a higher education. Enriquez argues that there is a need for a more grounded understanding of how marginalized individuals develop and use social capital. She finds that undocumented immigrant students receive emotional and financial support from multiple actors, including family members, peers, and teachers. Yet undocumented students require informational resources specific to their legal status, which tend to be provided by other undocumented students rather than by traditional institutional agents. Looking specifically at how these students utilize their social capital, Enriquez shows that undocumented immigrant students participate in patchworking, the haphazard piecing together of various resources, in order to achieve their educational goals. Additionally, ...
Statistical Inverse Ray Tracing for Image-Based 3D Modeling.

This paper proposes a new formulation and solution to image-based 3D modeling (aka “multi-view stereo”) based on generative statistical modeling and inference. The proposed new approach, named statistical inverse ray tracing, models and estimates the occlusion relationship accurately through optimizing a physically sound image generation model based on volumetric ray tracing. Together with geometric priors, they are put together into a Bayesian formulation known as Markov random field (MRF) model. This MRF model is different from typical MRFs used in image analysis in the sense that the ray clique, which models the ray-tracing process, consists of thousands of random variables instead of two to dozens. To handle the computational challenges associated with large clique size, an algorithm with linear computational complexity is developed by exploiting, using dynamic programming, the recursive chain structure of the ray clique. We further demonstrate the benefit of exact modeling and accurate estimation of the occlusion relationship by evaluating the proposed algorithm on several challenging data sets.
The one hour response to parathyroid extract in hyperparathyroidism and renal disease.

Abstract In normal subjects parathyroid extract (PTE) produces a prompt decrease in renal phosphorus reabsorption (TRP) that averages 14 per cent in one hour. Hyperparathyroid subjects are resistant to the extract, and in 9 patients the decrease ranged from 0 to 6 per cent. This resistance may be helpful in detecting primary hyperparathyroidism in the presence of diminished renal function, since patients with primary kidney disease respond to PTE if the creatinine clearance is above 30 ml./minute.
Androgen receptor primes prostate cancer cells to apoptosis through down-regulation of basal p21 expression

The androgen receptor (AR) for the male hormone androgen plays an important role in regulation of cell survival or death depending on the nature of cellular context and extracellular stimuli. The pro-survival function of AR is mediated mainly by transcriptional regulation of its target genes. By contrast, the pro-death function of AR can be transcription-dependent or -independent, although the underlying mechanism of the latter is incompletely understood. Here we report that, in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells, AR promotes UV-induced apoptosis through down-regulation of basal expression of p21 independently of its transcriptional activity. Down-regulation of basal p21 expression depends on AR N-terminal interacting protein PIRH2, an E3 ligase for proteasomal degradation of p53. Silencing of PIRH2 up-regulates p53, which in turn activates p21 transcription. Consistent with this, knockdown of PIRH2 suppresses UV-induced AR-dependent apoptosis. Our data suggest that AR primes androgen-independent prostate cancer cells to DNA damage-induced apoptosis through the PIRH2-p53-p21 axis.
Regulation of constitutively expressed and induced cutinase genes by different zinc finger transcription factors in Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi (Nectria haematococca)

Cutin monomers, generated by the low levels of constitutively expressed cutinase, induce high levels of cutinase that can help pathogenic fungi to penetrate into the host through the cuticle whose major structural polymer is cutin. We cloned three highly homologous cutinase genes, cut1, cut2, and cut3, from Fusarium solani f. pisi (Nectria haematococca). Amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence of cut1 and cut2/3 matched with that of the peptides from cutinase 1 and cutinase 2, respectively, isolated from F. solani pisi grown on cutin as the sole carbon source. Induction of beta-glucuronidase gene fused to the promoters of the cutinases integrated into F. solani pisi genome indicates that cut2 is constitutively expressed and induced under starvation, whereas cut1 is highly induced by cutin monomers. A palindrome binding protein (PBP) previously cloned binds only to palindrome 1 of cut1 promoter but not palindrome 1 of cut2/3 which contains two base substitutions. PBP is thought to interfere with the binding of CTF1 alpha, the transcription factor involved in induction, to cut1 promoter and thus keep cut1 gene repressed until induced by cutin monomers. Because PBP cannot bind palindrome 1 of cut2, this gene is not repressed. CTF1 alpha does not transactivate cut2 promoter. A new Cys(6)Zn(2) motif-containing transcription factor, CTF1 beta, that binds palindrome 2 was cloned and sequenced. In yeast, CTF1 beta transactivates cut2 promoter but not cut1 promoter unless its palindrome 1 is mutated, unlike CTF1 alpha which transactivates cut1. Thus, CTF1 beta is involved in the constitutive expression of cut2 that causes production of low levels of cutin monomers that strongly induce cut1 using CTF1 alpha as the transcription factor.
Cell cycle inhibitors for the treatment of NSCLC.

Introduction: Lung cancer remains to be the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Treatment of lung cancer still poses a significant challenge. Cell cycle is a tightly integrated process and is frequently aberrant in lung cancer. Cell cycle inhibitors have emerged as novel therapeutics, in anticipation of overcoming the unrestricted cell division and growth in lung cancer. Areas covered: In this article, we first address the potential roles of cell cycle proteins and cell cycle deregulation in the development of lung cancer. The review then provides an overview for several major categories of cell cycle inhibitors with particular attention to their tolerability and disease control in early phases of lung cancer trials. Expert opinion: Targeted agents against different components of cell cycle regulation, such as cyclin-dependent kinase, polo-like kinase, checkpoint kinase and aurora kinase, are currently in clinical development for lung cancer management. Their clinical benefits remain to be de...
Response properties of rat olfactory bulb neurones

1. Response properties of rat olfactory bulb neurones were studied by recording single-unit activity evoked by stimuli delivered by an air-dilution olfactometer. Neural responses were quantified as peristimulus time histograms by averaging the responses evoked by eight presentations of the same stimulus. Animals were stimulated by means of controlled artificial sniffs produced by a vacuum source connected to the choana. 2. Evoked activity was divided into on- and after-responses. Three types of on-responses were distinguished on the basis of temporal patterns of activity evoked by odorous stimuli. Neurones exhibited the same type of response when driven by different odorants. For a given neurone, the size of an evoked response depended on the odorant used as a stimulus substance. The stimulating effectiveness of particular odorants varied between different neurones. 3. After-responses were divided into two classes: phasic (0·5-3 sec after stimulus offset) and tonic (3 sec—2 min after stimulus offset). After-responses were associated with a subset of neurones making each type of on-response and with units producing no clear on-response. It is suggested that the occurrence of an after-response in a given neurone is not dependent on the nature of the evoked on-response. 4. Intensity-related changes of on-responses were characterized by three measures: number of action potentials evoked during the stimulus event, latency of action-potential bursts, and rate of activity during the action-potential bursts. The number of evoked action potentials was not monotonically related to stimulus concentration. In contrast, there was a clear relationship between the pattern of evoked activity and stimulus concentration. 5. It is proposed that the timing of excitation and inhibition is dependent on the concentration of the stimulus and that the number of evoked action potentials depends on the odorant used as a stimulus substance and the concentration at which it is delivered.
Reversal of diazepam-induced impairment in successive discrimination performance by flumazenil

The effects of diazepam (DZ) alone and in combination with flumazenil (Ro 15-1788) on the performance of a previously learned successive discrimination task were studied in male Sprague-Dawley rats. DZ 4 mg/kg impaired discrimination performance in five successive sessions, although animals showed some tolerance to the drug's action. The impairment in discrimination performance was due to an increase in responding during no go periods of the task (errors of commission). The benzodiazepine (BDZ) receptor antagonist flumazenil (5 and 10 mg/kg) partially reversed the impairment in discrimination performance and reduced the number of incorrect responses in a generally dose-dependent manner when coadministered with DZ. These findings suggest that the impairment in discrimination performance by DZ is mediated by central BDZ receptor sites. When administered alone, flumazenil 10 mg/kg (but not 5 mg/kg) produced a mild impairment in discrimination performance which, in contrast to DZ's effects, was due to both small increases in no go period responses (errors of commission) and small decreases in go period responses (errors of omission). These findings suggest that flumazenil is not a neutral antagonist but has some intrinsic action of its own. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Dynamic agent-based hierarchical multicast for wireless mesh networks

We propose and analyze a multicast algorithm named Dynamic Agent-based Hierarchical Multicast (DAHM) for wireless mesh networks that supports user mobility and dynamic group membership. The objective of DAHM is to minimize the overall network cost incurred. DAHM dynamically selects multicast routers serving as multicast agents for integrated mobility and multicast service management, effectively combining backbone multicast routing and local unicast routing into an integrated algorithm. As the name suggests, DAHM employs a two-level hierarchical multicast structure. At the upper level is a backbone multicast tree consisting of mesh routers with multicast agents being the leaves. At the lower level, each multicast agent services those multicast group members within its service region. A multicast group member changes its multicast agent when it moves out of the service region of the current multicast agent. The optimal service region size of a multicast agent is a critical system parameter. We propose a model-based approach to dynamically determine the optimal service region size that achieves network cost minimization. Through a comparative performance study, we show that DAHM significantly outperforms two existing baseline multicast algorithms based on multicast tree structures with dynamic updates upon member movement and group membership changes.
MRI findings in Post-operative Bilateral Posterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy

A 62-year-old female complained of vision loss following multiple abdominal surgeries for mesenteric ischemia. The patient’s visual acuity was no light perception (NLP) in the right eye and hand motion (HM) at 1’ in the left eye. Both pupils were unreactive and no relative afferent pupillary defect was noted. Anterior segment and fundus examination were unremarkable. T1 and T2 weighted MRI imaging of the brain was normal but diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) revealed areas of bright signal within both intraorbital optic nerves, confirming the diagnosis of posterior ischemic optic neuropathy.
An algorithm for compensation of surface-coil images for sensitivity of the surface coil

Abstract MRI images obtained with surface coils suffer a considerable intensity shading across the image because of the sensitivity profile of the surface coil. An algorithm is presented which will correct for the surface coil sensitivity with relatively little a priori knowledge of the position and orientation of the surface coil.
Diagnosis of coarctation with MR using carotid-subclavian artery index

Introduction Aortic coarctation is a common condition defined as the narrowing of the aorta, usually just distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery, and often associated with other conditions such as bicuspid aortic valve or ventricular spetal defect [1]. Dodge-Khatami, et al. introduced the use of carotid-subclavian artery index as an alternative way of predicting coarctation independent of other variables in neonates and infants [2]. The index's validity with modalities other than echocardiography and in adults has not been explored, however.
Modeling the structure of gas distribution costs in urban areas

Abstract Urban-wide gas distribution cost models are developed and estimated, using capital costs, gas market, and population density data over cross-sections of communities served by two different utilities, with a particular emphasis on the multiproduct, multidimensional character of gas distribution: These models are used to clarify such policy issues as the allocation of joint costs through marginal cost pricing, the existence of ecpnomies of scale and density, and the appropriateness of natural monopoly status for gas distribution utilities.
Biology of colon cancer. An overview

The altered growth characteristics of neoplastic cells have recently been associated with changes in membrane glycoproteins present on the cell surface. Since the carbohydrate moieties of surface membrane glycoproteins are asymmetrically located on the external cell surface, these glycoconjugates are likely candidates for providing cell surfaces with many of their biological properties. Using specific external cell surface labeling techniques, we have broadened our investigation of tumor cell surface glycoconjugates to include studies on cultured human epithelial cells from fetal intestine and from colonic carcinoma. We have isolated by affinity chromatography and gel filtration and integral membrane glycoprotein, termed Galactoprotein I, from a cultured human colonic adenocarcinoma cell line, which appears to be identical in many respects to CEA. Further examination of cell surface glycoproteins regarding quantitative and qualitative alterations and topographical redistribution should provide an insight into the biological aspects of tumor development.
Is prostaglandin a mediator for the inhibitory action of histamine, hydrocortisone, and isoproterenol?☆

Abstract We examined the inhibitory actions of prostaglandin E 2 , histamine, isoproterenol, hydrocortisone, and interferon on lymphocyte mitogenesis. There was a high degree of intercorrelation between the amount of inhibition caused by prostaglandin E 2 , histamine, isoproterenol, and hydrocortisone, but not interferon, in any given subject; that is if lymphocytes from a given subject were highly sensitive to inhibition by one of those agents, they were also sensitive to the other agents. The inhibitory actions of histamine, isoproterenol, or hydrocortisone could be partially blocked by adding prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors to the mitogen cultures. Preincubation of the lymphocytes for 18 hr prior to the addition of mitogens and inhibitors resulted in a loss in sensitivity to the inhibitors other than interferon. Removal of glass-adherent cells (the prostaglandin-producing cells) prior to culture lessened the inhibition caused by histamine and isoproterenol. The above data would suggest that these inhibitors may act via prostaglandin; however, all of these compounds actually decrease prostaglandin production in cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Stability constants of metal complexes of macrocyclic ligands with pendant donor groups

Abstract In our studies of the stability constants of metal complexes, we have investigated a number of macrocyclic ligands with pendant donor groups. The ligands are characterized by the fact that they have nitrogen donors in the macrocyclic ring and oxygen or sulfur donors in the pendant arms. These ligands represent seven different macrocycles, and by varying the pendant donor groups, ten different ligands are indicated. The affinities of these ligands for fifteen metal ions will be described. The Fe(III) complex of triazanonane with o-hydroxypyridyl or o-hydroxybenzyl pendant donor groups are the most stable ferric complexes ever reported. The In(III) complex of triazacyclononane with pendant mercaptoethyl donor groups, is exceptionally stable. Also, the Ca(II) complex of DOTA probably has the highest stability of any calcium(II) complex. These, and other comparisons will be made on the basis of the thermodynamic stability constant data for the ligands described.
Neural network technology for knowledge resource management

The adoption of a knowledge‐based system requires that users, experts and managers have good understanding of the concepts of information resource management (IRM) and knowledge resource management (KRM). Proposes a KRM concept which aims to organize knowledge, ensure a global control of conceptual resources and reduce heterogeneity of knowledge. Uses the neural network technology to integrate both the IRM and KRM concepts through the generation of neural decision support. Such a technology will not only help users understand situations unknown to the organization’s knowledge‐based systems but also more efficiently to access stored knowledge.
Quasi-planar NMOS FinFETs with sub-100 nm gate lengths

Double-gate MOSFETs alleviate short channel effects and allow for more aggressive device scaling. Simulations have shown that scaling double-gated devices can reach 10 nm. In the past, process complexity has prevented serious development of a scalable double-gate device. In 1998, Hisarnoto et al. introduced a FinFET process that provided a method of fabricating devices with promising performance and scalability. Using a single poly layer across a silicon fin to form both gates in the double-gate structure, the FinFET benefits from having equally-sized, self-aligned gates. In this work, we have revamped the FinFET process flow to make it simpler. This improved process flow still has the self-aligned, double-gate advantage without suffering from extra gate-to-drain overlap capacitance.
Analysis of cyclic crack growth in high strength roller bearings

Abstract The lives of ball and roller bearings and raceways depend on the number of rolling contacts consumed by 3 stages of the failure process: (i) the preinitiation; (ii) crack initiation, and (iii) crack growth stages. This paper employs fracture mechanics analyses to estimate the portion of the bearing life residing in the crack growth stage. Rough estimates of: (a) the Mode II, ΔK II driving force for small cracks below the rim surface subjected to repeated 2-dimensional, pure rolling contacts, (b) the corresponding crack growth rates, and (c) the number of contacts to failure, are obtained as a function of the peak contact pressure, initial flaw size and other variables. Factors influential to the growth stage are identified. Finally, the comparisons with measured total lives provide insights into the validity of the analysis and the importance of growth relative to the preinitiation and crack initiation stages.
An Impact Protective Structure with Bistable Links

This article discusses a protective structure of a special morphology with an advanced impact resistance. We use a ‘bistable’ structure that is designed to have a non-unique stress–strain relation. When the strain reaches a threshold, some parts (sacrificial elements) yield and subsequently fail and the remaining parts (waiting elements) become active; the waiting elements carry the load and preserve structural integrity. Damage in bistable structures is more stable; the cracks do not develop due to yielding of structural elements and damage delocalization. The damage spreads in a larger region than in a conventional structure, and the load is redistributed. As a result of these effects, more impact energy is absorbed. We describe the response of bistable structures in macro- and microscales, numerically investigate a problem of projectile impacting a protective net, and introduce a mesoscale damage tensor that measures the degree of damage in a small region. We compare the structural responses of the bis...
Meta-analysis: A Time for Closer Scrutiny in Applications to Pain Research?

Summary After reading our Focus article herein and the Commentaries one may very well ask: What then do I use as a yardstick by which to judge meta-analysis for clinical decision-making purposes? Is meta-analysis equivalent to “mega-silliness” [6]? Can meta-analysis be used to resolve scientific brouhahas [14]? Or, does it actually create such brouhahas? Some guidance, then, for caution in the interpretation of meta-analysis for the reader of the pain literature may be of utility. Several clear caveats can be offered. A caution should be stated regarding publication bias—that is, significant results are more likely to be published—an issue that is greater for trials with a smaller sample size. Results that seem “too good to be true” probably are. Always examine the quality of the trials included in the review and evaluate the consistency of the results. A reader should also examine whether both clinical and statistical criteria were offered for the inclusion of trials for analysis from the larger set of trials screened for entry. When the results are on the same side of the “no difference between groups” line, then more confidence may be taken in the reported metaanalysis result [5]; however, although it is more time consuming, we would recommend separate evaluation of each trial by the reader, as does Horwitz [9]. Finally, any subgroup analyses should be examined carefully. Although subgroup analyses can help define a response surface, lack of sufficient data and appropriate analytic techniques can vitiate this approach. The broader area of meta-analytic review of the analgesic effects of antidepressants for chronic, benign pain syndromes has largely shown significant effects for the antidepressants, though the size of the effects reported has been more modest in recent reviews. Hence, it might be concluded that our interpretation of the results of trials conducted in this area to date are nihilistic in that we have stated that no effect can clearly be demonstrated, with the exception of headache; however, we emphasize that a well-justified conclusion (that we largely do not know the effect of this treatment) is not equivalent to a decrease in knowledge or a denial of knowledge of the experts in the field [1]. In fact, in this or any area of research, such a conclusion may well represent an actual increase in scientific knowledge. That is, we could conclude that trial quality assessment and the extent of heterogeneity in antidepressant medications tested and in pain syndromes investigated may account for our differential results. Stating that there is currently insufficient evidence to conclude that all antidepressants have analgesic effects in all chronic, benign pain syndromes is different from stating that selected antidepressant medications may well demonstrate analgesic effects in specific chronic, benign pain syndromes. It is the latter statement with which we are in accord and believe merits further research.
Microfluidic device for the combinatorial application and maintenance of dynamically imposed diffusional gradients

This article reports a microfluidic device for the generation of stable, steady-state, user-defined concentration profiles for the long-term maintenance of stable diffusion gradients. The microinstrument allows both dynamic temporal and dynamic spatial control over user-defined concentrations and concentration gradients of multiple chemicals. With this device, one can create an in vitro environment capable of approximating the complex in vivo biological condition for cellular studies. In addition, the device has potential application in combinatory drug discovery, electrophoretic applications, ligand binding, etc. 3D computer simulations and analysis of arbitrary concentration profiles are presented along with experimental validation using multiple diffusing species.
Evaluation of Procedures for Prediction of Unconventional Gas in the Presence of Geologic Trends

This study extends the application of local spatial nonparametric prediction models to the estimation of recoverable gas volumes in continuous-type gas plays to regimes where there is a single geologic trend. A transformation is presented, originally proposed by Tomczak, that offsets the distortions caused by the trend. This article reports on numerical experiments that compare predictive and classification performance of the local nonparametric prediction models based on the transformation with models based on Euclidean distance. The transformation offers improvement in average root mean square error when the trend is not severely misspecified. Because of the local nature of the models, even those based on Euclidean distance in the presence of trends are reasonably robust. The tests based on other model performance metrics such as prediction error associated with the high-grade tracts and the ability of the models to identify sites with the largest gas volumes also demonstrate the robustness of both local modeling approaches.