cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ultrastructural effects of calcitonin on osteoclasts in tissue culture.

The hypocalcemic hormone, calcitonin, is generally felt to act by the inhibition of bone resorption. Microcinematography has indicated that osteoclasts are active in bone resorption, and electron microscopy has suggested that the ruffled border of these cells is the part directly associated with resorption. We now present evidence to suggest that the inhibition of bone resorption caused by calcitonin is directly related to a rapid response at the ruffled border of osteoclasts. This report consists of (a) the ultrastructure of osteoclasts found in a bone organ culture system characterized by a high rate of intrinsic resorption, and (b) the short-term ultrastructural effects of calcitonin on these osteoclasts. Calcitonin was found to produce marked effects on the ruffled borders of these cells. The ruffled borders exhibited striking changes which were well underway at 15 minutes and maximal within 1 hour after treatment with calcitonin. These changes included a flattening of the ruffled border together with a loss of cytoplasmic coating from its membrane. At 24 hours after treatment with calcitonin, the cells continued to lack ruffled borders, and were generally separated from the surface of the bone by other cells. This observation supports the hypothesis that calcitonin acts by inhibiting osteoclastic bone resorption and extends this hypothesis to suggest that one action of calcitonin is at the ruffled borders of actively resorbing osteoclasts.
The Effects of Deuteron Irradiation on the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in Teflon

F 19 magnetic resonance was observed on non-irradiated Teflon and irradiated one by deuterons. Irradiation caused considerable increase of line width and second moment above -75°C, where an abrupt narrowing of line width caused by the onset of the segmental motion of the molecules took place for both samples. This result suggests that there might exist in the irradiated Teflon some molecular structures disturbing the molecular motion, e.g., cross-linkings, double bonds, formation of ring etc. and/or increase of crystallinity by irradiation. A broad line component superimposed on a sharp absorption line observed in the original Teflon around -7°C faded out as a result of the irradiation. The energies and entropies of activation were computed from the line width data. The irradiation gave them the effects similar to those of curing in natural rubber.
Selection for Autogeny in Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae

Most species of Culicidae, with the exception of those which feed exclusively on nectar, require a hlood meal to mature each batch of eggs. However, Roubaud (1929) observed that some Culex pipiens maintained without nourishment after emergence developed eggs, a phenomenon which he termed “autogeny.” This definition has been broadened, for Aedes at least, to allow sugar-feeding by the adults (Lea 1964). Thus, autogeny may be regarded as egg maturation, without an exogenous source of protein.
Crustal deformation across the Sierra Nevada, northern Walker Lane, Basin and Range transition, western United States measured with GPS, 2000–2004

[1] Global Positioning System (GPS) data collected in campaigns in 2000 and 2004 were processed and interpreted with other GPS data in the western Basin and Range province to provide new constraints on the rate, style, and pattern of deformation of the central and northern Walker Lane (WL), which lies near the western boundary of the Basin and Range. Across the central WL, near 38N latitude, the velocities with respect to North America increase westward by � 10 mm/yr inducing dextral shear. Farther north between 40 and 41N latitude, a western zone of � 7 mm/yr relative motion undergoes dextral shear, and an eastern zone of � 3 mm/yr relative motion undergoes extension and shear. These data show that the northern WL is essentially a dextral shear zone experiencing minor net dilatation (eD = 2.6 ± 0.8 nstrain/yr). Near most Holocene normal faults, dilatation inferred from the velocity field is not greater than the uncertainties. However, near the central Nevada seismic belt we detect significant dilatation expressed as extension in a direction approximately normal to the range fronts (eD = 23.0 ± 3.9 nstrain/yr), some of which is attributable to transient postseismic deformation following large historic earthquakes. A block model constrained by velocities corrected for transient effects shows that the sum of dextral slip rates across the Honey Lake, Warm Springs, east Pyramid fault system, and Mohawk Valley faults is � 7 mm/yr. The WL is a zone whose width and dilatation rate increase northwestward, consistent with counterclockwise rotation of the Sierra Nevada microplate and transfer of deformation into the Pacific Northwest.
Effects of stimulation parameters and electrode location on thresholds for epidural stimulation of cat motor cortex

Epidural electrical stimulation (ECS) of the motor cortex is a developing therapy for neurological disorders. Both placement and programming of ECS systems may affect the therapeutic outcome, but the treatment parameters that will maximize therapeutic outcomes and minimize side effects are not known. We delivered ECS to the motor cortex of anesthetized cats and investigated the effects of electrode placement and stimulation parameters on thresholds for evoking motor responses in the contralateral forelimb. Thresholds were inversely related to stimulation frequency and the number of pulses per stimulus train. Thresholds were lower over the forelimb representation in motor cortex (primary site) than surrounding sites (secondary sites), and thresholds at sites 4 mm away. Electrode location and montage influenced the effects of polarity on thresholds: monopolar anodic and cathodic thresholds were not significantly different over the primary site, cathodic thresholds were significantly lower than anodic thresholds over secondary sites and bipolar thresholds were significantly lower with the anode over the primary site than with the cathode over the primary site. A majority of bipolar thresholds were either between or equal to the respective monopolar thresholds, but several bipolar thresholds were greater than or less than the monopolar thresholds of both the anode and cathode. During bipolar stimulation, thresholds were influenced by both electric field superposition and indirect, synaptically mediated interactions. These results demonstrate the influence of stimulation parameters and electrode location during cortical stimulation, and these effects should be considered during the programming of systems for therapeutic cortical stimulation.
Conditional moments and linear regression for stable random variables

Abstract Jointly α-stable random variables with index 0 E ( X 2 | X 1 = x ). We show that if ( X 1 , X 2 ) is a symmetric α-stable random vector, then under appropriate conditions, the regression is well-defined even when α ⩽ 1 and is linear in x . The results are applied to different classes of symmetric α-stable processes.
Use of thermography in the diagnostics of energy use in multifamily dwellings

Rising energy costs have placed a heavy burden on multifamily complex managers in recent years. To reduce energy expenditures these managers are then faced with making difficult decisions as to which building retrofits will prove to be most cost-effective. The Building Energy Research Group at Princeton University has embarked on the development of analysis procedures that will provide these managers with a prioritized list of energy conservation opportunities (ECOs). The case studies presented here illustrate the importance of thermography in this analysis procedure, its impact on the inspection time, and the value of the information gained. The infrared scan often eliminates large areas of the thermal envelope from further inspection and aids the analyst in locating energy losses through construction that would otherwise be difficult to find. Not only does thermography guide us in the choice of ECOs but it also provides us with information that should lead to the construction of better buildings in the future.© (1984) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The ρ parameter for two different symmetry-breaking schemes

The computation of {rho}={ital m}{sub {ital W}}{sup 2}/{ital m}{sub {ital Z}}{sup 2}cos{sup 2}{theta}{sub {ital W}} for two different models is performed. The heavy-Higgs-boson and the techni-{rho} contributions are considered in next-to-leading order. The two results are found opposite in sign, although too small to be detected experimentally at present.
Is there a cocaine syndrome ? Dysmorphic and anthropometric assessment of infants exposed to cocaine

It was suggested that a "fetal cocaine syndrome" exists. The objective of this study was to systematically investigate whether or not a "cocaine syndrome" exists. The setting was Parkland Memorial Hospital, a large urban public hospital in Dallas, TX, where approximately 15,000 infants are delivered annually. Infants who tested positive by urinalysis for cocaine (n = 25) were included in this study. Controls negative for cocaine (n = 25) were matched to cocaine-exposed infants for estimated gestational age, sex, and race. A standardized dysmorphology examination (135 features) and a series of anthropometric measures (n = 22) were done for each cocaine-exposed and control infant by an observer blinded to drug-exposure status. Fetal growth retardation characterized cocaine-exposed infants. No characteristic pattern of minor dysmorphic or anthropometric features of the face, limbs, or torso was observed among cocaine-exposed infants. Cocaine-exposed infants lack a facial gestalt or torso/limb features that would characterize a syndrome. If a "cocaine syndrome" that can be characterized dysmorphologically and/or anthropometrically exists, its occurrence seems infrequent.
Remotely controlled vehicles on the Internet

The Redrover, Redrover project implements a control system that runs over the Internet. The goal of the project is to provide an inexpensive educational tool that introduces elementary and middle school aged students to robotic vehicles, the Internet, concepts of remote control, and planetary exploration. The control loop consists of a server and client(s), which communicate locally or through the Internet. The server receives move commands from the client and sends back images and sensor data. The server part of the program runs on a computer that is connected to a rover built by using Lego blocks. The control interface between the computer and the rover turns on and off the drive motors and collects data from the sensors. The client user interface was first based on HTML pages, subsequently it was rewritten to increase the speed of the application and create a more consistent user interface.Advantages of using the Internet for remote control are cheap implementation and universal availability. The disadvantage is the generally low bandwidth of the Internet resulting in low data transfer rates and uneven response times.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Clinical pearls in nephrology.

At the 2001 American College of Physicians (ACP) Annual Conference, a new teaching format to aid physician learning, “Clinical Pearls,” was introduced. Understanding 3 qualities of physician learners allowed the design of Clinical Pearls to be created. First, we physicians enjoy learning from cases. Second, we like concise practical points that we can use in our practice. Finally, we take pleasure in problem solving. In the Clinical Pearls format, speakers present a number of short cases in their specialty to a general internal medicine audience. Each case is followed by a multiple-choice question answered live by attendees using an audience response system. The answer distribution is shown to attendees. The correct answer is then displayed and the speaker discusses teaching points, clarifying why one answer is most appropriate. Each case presentation ends with a “Clinical Pearl,” defined as a practical teaching point, generally not well known to most internists and supported by the literature. Clinical Pearls is currently one of the most popular sessions at the ACP meeting. As a service to its readers, Mayo Clinic Proceedings has invited a selected number of these Clinical Pearl presentations to be published in our Concise Reviews for Clinicians section. The following “Clinical Pearls in Nephrology” is one of them.
A Biocompatible Oxidation-Triggered Carrier Polymer with Potential in Therapeutics

Dextran, a water-soluble, biocompatible polymer of glucose, was modified at its hydroxyls with arylboronic esters to make it soluble in common organic solvents, allowing for the facile preparation of oxidation-sensitive dextran (Oxi-DEX) carrier microparticles. These particles were found to release their payload with a half-life of 36 min at 1 mM H2O2, which can be compared with a half-life of greater than 1 week in the absence of H2O2. When used in a model vaccine application, Oxi-DEX particles loaded with ovalbumin (OVA) increased the presentation to CD8+ T-cells 27-fold relative to OVA encapsulated in a classical vehicle not sensitive to oxidation. No presentation was observed from cells incubated with unencapsulated OVA. Additionally, Oxi-DEX was found to be nontoxic in preliminary in vitro cytotoxicity assays. Because it is easy to prepare, sensitive to biological oxidation, and biocompatible, this material may represent an attractive new platform for selective delivery applications.
Bilaterally symmetric facial morphology simulated by diffusion-controlled chemical precipitation in gel

Abstract Reactions controlled by diffusion create self-organizing periodic patterns in chemical systems and play a key role in biological pattern formation through diffusion-generated morphogen gradients. To better understand the organizing ability of diffusion-controlled assembly, we investigated the formation of bilaterally symmetric morphologies by simple inorganic precipitation reactions in neutral agarose gel. Our results reveal that bilaterally symmetric ‘face-like’ deposits of insoluble products reproducibly form in gel, by reactions governed by the properties and concentrations of soluble reactants placed symmetrically relative to a midline and by the temporal and spatial distributions arising by diffusion from initial times and positions of reactant placement.
Human Rights in the United States, or Are Americans Human?

: [human rights forum, North America, AAA Committee for Human Rights] Gretchen E Schafft is contributing editor of “Human Rights Forum,” the AAA Committee for Human Rights column in Anthropology News.
Rapid tracking for autonomous driving with monocular video

We present a novel tracking algorithm for an autonomous vehicle equipped with a single camera. Given only monocular visual data, our algorithm utilizes projective geometry to compute concise features of the environment. Using these features, road markings are identified by a multi-class classifier. The classification results are then used with a Rao-Blackwellized particle filter to track the vehicle as it moves back and forth across the road. The resulting position tracker is part of a complete, simulated autonomous driving system. The realistic driving video game Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was used as a vehicle simulation platform, and the autonomous system is shown to perform competitively against the game's automated opponents.
A murine model of inducible, cardiac-specific deletion of STAT3: its use to determine the role of STAT3 in the upregulation of cardioprotective proteins by ischemic preconditioning.

Abstract Pharmacological studies have shown that signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) are necessary for the delayed cardioprotection of ischemic preconditioning (PC). However, pharmacologic STAT inhibitors are not specific; furthermore, the individual role of STAT3 in late PC remains unknown. The objectives of the study were (i) to create an inducible, cardiac-specific STAT3 knockout mouse; (ii) to verify whether STAT3 deletion has any adverse effects in the short term (~ 1 month); and (iii) to use this novel tool to evaluate the role of STAT3 in the PC-induced upregulation of cardioprotective and anti-apoptotic proteins. We created an inducible, cardiomyocyte-restricted STAT3 deficient mouse ( MCM TG: STAT3 flox/flox ) by interbreeding STAT3 flox/flox mice and tamoxifen-inducible MCM TG mice. Treatment of MCM TG: STAT3 flox/flox mice with tamoxifen resulted in deletion of STAT3 specifically in cardiac myocytes, concomitant with abrogation of ischemic PC-induced Tyr-705 and Ser-727 phosphorylation of STAT3 and increased STAT3 DNA-binding activity. In vehicle-treated MCM TG: STAT3 flox/flox mice, ischemic PC increased the expression of cardioprotective (COX-2 and HO-1) and anti-apoptotic (e.g., Mcl-1, Bcl-x L , c-FLIP L , c-FLIP S ) proteins 24 h later; in contrast, in tamoxifen-treated MCM TG: STAT3 flox/flox mice this increase was completely absent. Deletion of STAT3 had no apparent adverse effects on LV structure or function after 35 days. We have developed a novel inducible, cardiomyocyte-restricted STAT3 deficient mouse that can be used to specifically interrogate the role of this transcription factor in cardiovascular pathophysiology in vivo . Our data demonstrate, for the first time, that recruitment of STAT3 plays an obligatory role in the upregulation of cardioprotective and anti-apoptotic proteins and suggest that STAT3 activation is important in inhibiting both the death receptor pathway (which is modulated by c-FLIP L and c-FLIP S ) and the mitochondrial pathway (which is mediated by Mcl-1 and Bcl-x L ).
Moisture-assisted crack propagation at polymer/glass interfaces

Abstract Moisture-assisted crack growth at various polymer/glass interfaces was measured as a function of applied strain energy release rate and relative humidity using a four-point flexure apparatus coupled with an inverted microscope. The specimens consisted of two glass plates bonded together with a thin layer of commercially available epoxy-acrylate, urethane-acrylate or epoxy adhesive. The crack front at the epoxy-acrylate and epoxy interfaces was relatively smooth and, above a threshold strain energy release rate, the crack growth rate was dependent on the applied strain energy release rate via a power law relationship. Crack growth along the urethane-acrylate interface was characterized by the development of finger-like perturbations along the advancing crack front. These finger-like perturbations grew until they reached a steady-state length. Once the fingers reached steady-state, the crack growth rate of the overallcrack front was dependent on the applied strain energy release rate via a power law function. With all the polymer adhesives crack growth rates increased with higher relative humidities.
Dynamic compensator design for robust stability of linear uncertain systems

This paper presents a robust linear dynamic compensator design algorithm for linear uncertain systems whose parameters vary within given bounded sets. The algorithm explicitly incorporates the structure of the uncertainty into the design procedure and utilizes the elemental perturbation bounds developed recently. The special cases of linear state feedback and measurement feedback controllers are considered and the relative trade offs are discussed. The design algorithm is illustrated with the help of a simple example.
β-Amyloid Degradation and Alzheimer's Disease

Extensive β-amyloid (Aβ) deposits in brain parenchyma in the form of senile plaques and in blood vessels in the form of amyloid angiopathy are pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The mechanisms underlying Aβ deposition remain unclear. Major efforts have focused on Aβ production, but there is little to suggest that increased production of Aβ plays a role in Aβ deposition, except for rare familial forms of AD. Thus, other mechanisms must be involved in the accumulation of Aβ in AD. Recent data shows that impaired clearance may play an important role in Aβ accumulation in the pathogenesis of AD. This review focuses on our current knowledge of Aβ-degrading enzymes, including neprilysin (NEP), endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE), insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), and the plasmin/uPA/tPA system as they relate to amyloid deposition in AD.
Pulmonary characteristics in COPD and mechanisms of increased work of breathing

Mechanical characteristics and gas exchange inefficiencies of the lungs contribute to increased work of ventilation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at rest and exercise, and the energy cost of ventilation is increased in COPD at any external work level. Assuming typical ventilatory variables and respiratory characteristics, we estimated the relative contributions of inspiratory and expiratory resistance, dynamic elastance, intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure, and gas exchange inefficiency to the work of breathing, finding that the last of these is likely to be of major importance. Dynamic hyperinflation can be seen as both an impediment to inspiratory muscle function and an essential component of adaptation to severe obstruction. Extrinsic restriction, in which the chest wall fails to achieve and maintain abnormally high lung volumes in COPD, can limit ventilatory function and contribute to disability.
Performance of an aerospace plane propulsion nozzle

A novel inviscid and viscous analysis is provided for a nozzle that is used with a scramjet for thrust generation. The analysis is based on the theory of a two-dimensional minimum length nozzle with a curved inlet surface, where the flow is sonic or supersonic. Inlet conditions are prescribed and the gas is assumed to be perfect. Viscous and inviscid nondimensional parametric results are provided for the thrust, lift, heat transfer, pitching moment, and a variety of boundary-laye r thicknesses. In addition to global results, wall distributions of thrust, heat transfer, etc., are provided. The analysis demonstrates that the nozzle produces a lift force whose magnitude may exceed the thrust and a significant pitching moment. The thrust is sensitive to the inlet Mach number; it rapidly decreases as this Mach number increases. There is little loss in the thrust as the nozzle's downstream wall is truncated while the corresponding decrease in lift and the pitching moment is moderate.
The price of tolerance: wolf damage payments after recovery

The costs of wildlife conservation distribute unequally across society. Compensation can potentially redress inequities and raise local tolerance for endangered wildlife that damage property. However, the rules for payments generate controversy, particularly as costs mount and species recover. In Wisconsin (USA), gray wolf damage payments grew notably over 28 years and eventually undermined budgets for conserving other endangered species. We measured attitudes to compensation among 1,364 state residents, including those who voluntarily contributed funds and those likely to receive compensation, and we interviewed elected officials about the politics of payment rules. Most respondents endorsed compensation for wolf damages to livestock—even when wolves are no longer endangered—but opposed payments for wolf damage to hunting dogs on public land. Most donors opposed killing wolves and over one-fourth unconditionally rejected a wolf hunt. We predict the latter donors would stop contributing funds for compensation if the state were to implement a proposed wolf hunt. Controversy over payment rules reveals clashing values regarding wildlife between those receiving and those paying for compensation. Moreover, the costs of compensation ratchet up as endangered species recover and claims of entitlement expand. Hence we recommend conservationists use sunset clauses and an adaptive management of compensation programs.
In Vivo Shoulder Function After Surgical Repair of a Torn Rotator Cuff Glenohumeral Joint Mechanics, Shoulder Strength, Clinical Outcomes, and Their Interaction

Background: Surgical repair of a torn rotator cuff is based on the belief that repairing the tear is necessary to restore normal glenohumeral joint (GHJ) mechanics and achieve a satisfactory clinical outcome.Hypothesis: Dynamic joint function is not completely restored by rotator cuff repair, thus compromising shoulder function and potentially leading to long-term disability.Study Design: Controlled laboratory study and Case series; Level of evidence, 4.Methods: Twenty-one rotator cuff patients and 35 control participants enrolled in the study. Biplane radiographic images were acquired bilaterally from each patient during coronal-plane abduction. Rotator cuff patients were tested at 3, 12, and 24 months after repair of a supraspinatus tendon tear. Control participants were tested once. Glenohumeral joint kinematics and joint contact patterns were accurately determined from the biplane radiographic images. Isometric shoulder strength and patient-reported outcomes were measured at each time point. Ultrasoun...
Bi(1)-(x)Sb(x) alloy nanocrystals: colloidal synthesis, charge transport, and thermoelectric properties.

Nanostructured Bi1–xSbx alloys constitute a convenient system to study charge transport in a nanostructured narrow-gap semiconductor with promising thermoelectric properties. In this work, we developed the colloidal synthesis of monodisperse sub-10 nm Bi1–xSbx alloy nanocrystals (NCs) with controllable size and compositions. The surface chemistry of Bi1–xSbx NCs was tailored with inorganic ligands to improve the interparticle charge transport as well as to control the carrier concentration. Temperature-dependent (10–300 K) electrical measurements were performed on the Bi1–xSbx NC based pellets to investigate the effect of surface chemistry and grain size (∼10–40 nm) on their charge transport properties. The Hall effect measurements revealed that the temperature dependence of carrier mobility and concentration strongly depended on the grain size and the surface chemistry, which was different from the reported bulk behavior. At low temperatures, electron mobility in nanostructured Bi1–xSbx was directly prop...
Impact of the gut microbiome on mucosal inflammation

In the past 10 years it has become increasingly apparent that the gut microbiome has profound effects on the immune system to which it is juxtaposed, the mucosal immune system. Here, I explore recent studies in which the effects of the microbiota expand or facilitate anti-inflammatory or regulatory immunological machinery or which favor development of proinflammatory immunological machinery in this system. I then focus on how these opposing processes play out in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); a disease in which normal immune homeostasis is disturbed and inflammation takes hold.
Design considerations for a flexible multigrid preconditioning library

MueLu is a library within the Trilinos software project [An overview of Trilinos, Technical Report SAND2003-2927, Sandia National Laboratories, 2003] and provides a framework for parallel multigrid preconditioning methods for large sparse linear systems. While providing efficient implementations of modern multigrid methods based on smoothed aggregation and energy minimization concepts, MueLu is designed to be customized and extended. This article gives an overview of design considerations for the MueLu package: user interfaces, internal design, data management, usage of modern software constructs, leveraging Trilinos capabilities, linear algebra operations and advanced application.
Society and Wilderness

In a recent book, Mark Sagoff argues that humans are an essential part of nature. According to Sagoff, an area is 'natural' (part of nature) only if humans have cultivated the area through activities such as farming, hunting, trapping, and fishing. Humans must "come to terms with nature", he writes. Wilderness is apparently an exception to this view, however. By law, many human activities are excluded from wilderness, for example, farming and commercial logging. These and other cultivating activities are considered 'non-conforming'. In this paper, I will argue that wilderness supports Sagoff's view, at least in part. Wilderness has in fact been cultivated for specific uses, not farming, logging, or mining, but certain recreational uses highly valued within our society. Wilderness has been brought into our society as we have extended aspects of our culture into wilderness, moulding this part of nature to fit perceived human needs.
Connecting health and natural history: a failed initiative at the American Museum of Natural History, 1909-1922.

In 1909, curator Charles-Edward Winslow established a department of public health in New York City’s American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Winslow introduced public health as a biological science that connected human health—the modern sciences of physiology, hygiene, and urban sanitation—to the natural history of plants and animals. This was the only time an American museum created a curatorial department devoted to public health. The AMNH’s Department of Public Health comprised a unique collection of live bacterial cultures—a “Living Museum”—and an innovative plan for 15 exhibits on various aspects of health. I show how Winslow, facing opposition from AMNH colleagues, gathered scientific experts and financial support, and explain the factors that made these developments seem desirable and possible. I finish with a discussion of how the Department of Public Health met an abrupt and “inglorious end” in 1922 despite the success of its collections and exhibitions.
Efficient Algorithms for Knowledge-Enhanced Supertree and Supermatrix Phylogenetic Problems

Phylogenetic inference is a computationally difficult problem, and constructing high-quality phylogenies that can build upon existing phylogenetic knowledge and synthesize insights from new data remains a major challenge. We introduce knowledge-enhanced phylogenetic problems for both supertree and supermatrix phylogenetic analyses. These problems seek an optimal phylogenetic tree that can only be assembled from a user-supplied set of, possibly incompatible, phylogenetic relationships. We describe exact polynomial time algorithms for the knowledge-enhanced versions of the NP-hard Robinson Foulds, gene duplication, duplication and loss, and deep coalescence supertree problems. Further, we demonstrate that our algorithms can rapidly improve upon results of local search heuristics for these problems. Finally, we introduce a knowledge-enhanced search heuristic that can be applied to any discrete character data set using the maximum parsimony (MP) phylogenetic problem. Although this approach is not guaranteed to find exact solutions, we show that it also can improve upon solutions from commonly used MP heuristics.
Vibrational relaxation of carbon monoxide in model heme compounds. 6-coordinate metalloporphyrins (M = Fe, Ru, Os)

Abstract Vibrational relaxation of carbon monoxide bound to a series of metalloporphyrin complexes (M-(coproporphyrinate-I tetraisopropyl ester)(CO)(pyridine); M = Fe, Ru, Os) was measured using picosecond infrared pump-probe experiments. The vibrational relaxation rates ((1–2.5) × 10 10 s −1 ) increased with increasing mass of the metal ion. This effect is opposite that predicted by through-σ-bond models and is interpreted as arising from a through-π-bond coupling between the CO vibrational fundamental and porphyrin vibrations.
The pharmacokinetics of isoproterenol in critically ill pediatric patients

The pharmacokinetics of isoproterenol (ISO) in infants and children have never been reported. The authors studied ISO pharmacokinetics in two disparate groups of pediatric intensive care unit patients: postoperative cardiac patients (POC, n = 10), and reactive airway disease patients (RAD, n = 9). In all, 44 blood samples were taken at steady-state from the 19 patients, whereas from 15 patients samples were also taken just before and after discontinuation of ISO infusion. There were 12 male and 7 female patients in the study, and their ages ranged from 2 days to 14 years. The average ISO dosing rate was 0.30 micrograms/kg/minute for the whole study population, ranging from 0.01 to 5.5 micrograms/kg/minute. The POC patients received a significantly lower dosing rate than the RAD patients (0.029 +/- 0.002 vs 0.50 +/- 0.21 micrograms/kg/minute, P < .0001); the average steady-state plasma concentrations of ISO were also lower in the POC patients (1.3 +/- 0.3 versus 13.9 +/- 4.9 ng/mL, P < .0001). The steady-state plasma concentration, normalized to a dosing rate of .05 micrograms/kg/minute, was 1.9 +/- 0.3 ng/mL for all patients, and the clearance was 42.5 +/- 5.0 mg/kg/minute. Postoperative cardiac patients had a significant higher normalized steady-state plasma concentration and moderately significant lower clearance than did RAD patients (2.1 +/- 0.3 versus 1.7 +/- 0.4 ng/mL, P < .05 and 33.2 +/- 4.9 versus 48.4 +/- 7.3, P < .06, respectively). The average plasma half-life of ISO was 4.2 +/- 1.5 minutes, and the volume of distribution was 216 +/- 57 mg/kg.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The aging population and its needs

Now that science and technology have contributed to our living longer, the world's population is aging dramatically. The oldest people - those over age 80 - represent the greatest challenge in providing health-related services and identifying ways to assist them in maintaining independence. The US National Institutes on Health's National Center on medical rehabilitation research studies mechanisms, modalities, and devices that improve, restore, or replace lost, underdeveloped, or deteriorating function. The NCMRR's model for viewing research and development in technology and aging comprises five levels of intervention (or research and development) with each level focusing on a different area. The cellular level focuses on pathophysiology, the organ level on impairment, the action level on functional limitation, the task-role level on disability, and the social-limitations level on barriers resulting from attitudes and policies.
Behavior problems of 9-16 year old preterm children: Biological, sociodemographic, and intellectual contributions

Background Preterm children are at risk for behavior problems. Studies examining contributions of intellectual and environmental factors to behavior outcomes in preterm children are mixed.
1-D Air-snowpack modeling of atmospheric nitrous acid at South Pole during ANTCI 2003

A 1-D air-snowpack model of HONO has been developed and constrained by observed chemistry and meteorology data. The 1-D model includes molecular diffusion and mechanical dispersion, windpumping in snow, gas phase to quasi-liquid layer phase HONO transfer and quasi-liquid layer nitrate and interstitial air HONO photolysis. Photolysis of nitrate is important as a dominant HONO source inside the snowpack, however, the observed HONO emission from the snowpack was triggered mainly by the equilibrium between quasi liquid layer nitrite and firn air HONO deep down the snow surface (i.e. 30 cm below snow surface). The high concentration of HONO in the firn air is subsequently transported above the snowpack by diffusion and windpumping. The model uncertainties come mainly from lack of measurements and the interpretation of the QLL properties based on the bulk snow measurements. One critical factor is the ionic strength of QLL nitrite, which is estimated here by the bulk snow pH, nitrite concentration, and QLL to bulk snow volume ratio.
Volume image reconstruction from a straight-line source trajectory

In cone-beam computed tomography (CT) it is theoretically possible to obtain exact volume image reconstruction using an infinite line X-ray source trajectory. An approximate reconstruction algorithm, based on the infinite line trajectory, is derived for finite length linear scanning. Such a configuration may prove useful for medical imaging, and for industrial purposes. The finite line configuration is compared with results for the widely used circular, cone-beam scan
Corticosteroids in brain cancer patients: benefits and pitfalls

Glucocorticoids have been used for decades in the treatment of brain tumor patients and belong to the most powerful class of agents in reducing tumor-associated edema and minimizing side effects and the risk of encephalopathy in patients undergoing radiation therapy. Unfortunately, corticosteroids are associated with numerous and well-characterized adverse effects, constituting a major challenge in patients requiring long-term application of corticosteroids. Novel anti-angiogenic agents, such as bevacizumab (Avastin®), which have been increasingly used in cancer patients, are associated with significant steroid-sparing effects, allowing neuro-oncologists to reduce the overall use of corticosteroids in patients with progressive malignant brain tumors. Recent experimental studies have revealed novel insights into the mechanisms and effects of corticosteroids in cancer patients, including modulation of tumor biology, angiogenesis and steroid-associated neurotoxicity. This article summarizes current concepts ...
Case Study: A Monte Carlo Investigation of Assessment Center Construct Validity Models

Three major reviews of the assessment center (AC) construct-validity literature have disagreed as to the most appropriate analytic model for AC postexercise dimension ratings. We report a Monte Car...
Development of pellet injection systems for ITER

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been developing innovative pellet injection systems for plasma fueling experiments on magnetic fusion confinement devices for about 20 years. Recently, the ORNL development has focused on meeting the complex fueling needs of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). In this paper, we describe the ongoing research and development activities that will lead to an ITER prototype pellet injector test stand. The present effort addresses three main areas: (1) an improved pellet feed and delivery system for centrifuge injectors, (2) a long-pulse (up to steady-state) hydrogen extruder system, and (3) tritium extruder technology. The final prototype system must be fully tritium compatible and will be used to demonstrate the operating parameters and the reliability required for the ITER fueling application.
Development and Social Goals: Balancing Aid and Development to Prevent ‘Welfare Colonialism’

The current development policy focus on poverty reduction is erroneous. Historically, successful development policy—from the late fi fteenth century until the beginning of the twenty-fi rst—has achieved structural change away from dependence on raw materials and agriculture, adding specialized manufacturing and services subject to increasing returns with a complex division of labour. In contrast, the Millennium Development Goals are heavily biased in favour of palliative economics: alleviating the symptoms of poverty, rather than attacking its real causes. This creates a system of 'welfare colonialism' increasing the dependence of poor countries, thereby hindering, rather than promoting, long-term structural change. JEL classifi cation: F02 (International Economic Order; Economic Integration: General), F13 (Commercial Policy; Protection; Promotion; Trade Negotiations, O10 (Economic Development: General), O19 (International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations).
Bridge Dynamic Tests: Implications for Seismic Design

A five span, 400 ft (120m) long, reinforced concrete box girder bridge supported on single column piers, which are pile founded, was subjected to extensive dynamic tests. The pullback and quick release method of excitation was used. Two D-8 crawler tractors were used to apply total release loads which had a magnitude of about one-quarter of the earthquake design loads. System identification techniques were used to extract the experimental in situ dynamic stiffness of the pier pile group foundations from the suite of field data. An independent geotechnical analysis of the bridge's pile foundations yielded pile group stiffness which were in acceptable to good agreement with the experimentally determined values. Moreover, this analysis indicated that for design level seismic loadings the pile group stiffnesses are quite deflection dependent. It was further shown that it is essential to include the soil-structure interaction effect in the analytical model if correct distributions of seismic loads are to be obtained.
k-volume in Rn and the Generalized Pythagorean Theorem

(1996). k-volume in Rn and the Generalized Pythagorean Theorem. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 103, No. 3, pp. 252-256.
The Enigma of Multiple Sclerosis

A critical review of factors that may be involved in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis suggests that the disease may be a viral infection or an autoimmune disease. If the cause is autoimmunity, a viral infection may trigger the reaction; if it is a viral infection, a delayed hypersensitivity reaction to the foreign matter undoubtedly would contribute greatly to nervous system damage. There is no universally accepted treatment. The measures used vary from vitamins and diet to steroids and immunosuppressives.
The surgical approach to strokes.

The high degree of effectiveness of the surgical approach to strokes has been demonstrated in a series of more than 2000 patients who have undergone operations to remove occlusive lesions in arteries supplying blood to the brain, e.g., carotid endarterectomy, or to restore an adequate cerebral blood flow by other means, such as by use of a bypass graft. The key to proper diagnosis and treatment is arteriographic visualization of all the major vessels supplying blood to the brain.
A Note on Working Memory in Agent Learning

An important dimension of system and mechanism design, working memory, has been paid insufficient attention by scholars. Existing literature reports mixed findings on the effects of the amount of working memory on system efficiency. In this note, we investigate this relationship with a computational approach. We design an intelligent agent system in which three agents, one buyer and two bidders, play an Exchange Game repeatedly. The buyer agent decides whether to list a request for proposal, while the bidders bid for it independently. Only one bidder can win on a given round of play. Once the winning bidder is chosen by the buyer, a transaction takes place. The two parties of the trade can either cooperate or defect at this point. The decisions are made simultaneously and the payoffs essentially follow the Prisoner’s Dilemma game. We find that the relationship between working memory and the efficiency of the system has an inverted U-shape, i.e., there seems to be an optimal memory size. When we mixed agents with different memory sizes together, agents with the same amount of working memory generate the most efficient outcome in terms of total payoffs.
Consequences of Enlightenment: The consequences of Enlightenment

There has always existed in the world, and there will always continue to exist, some kind of metaphysics. Immanuel Kant Philosophy, which once seemed obsolete, lives on because the moment to realize it was missed. The summary judgment that it had merely interpreted the world, that resignation in the face of reality had crippled it in itself, becomes a defeatism of reason after the attempt to change the world miscarried … Having broken its pledge to be as one with reality or at the point of realization, philosophy is obliged ruthlessly to criticize itself. Theodor Adorno We have art – lest we perish of the truth. Friedrich Nietzsche The present volume represents an attempt to reassess the relationship between certain issues in contemporary critical theory and the question of Enlightenment. I take my bearings by reference to claims about the self-canceling nature of Enlightenment rationality as formulated in the opening essay of Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno's Dialectic of Enlightenment (“The Concept of Enlightenment”), and move conceptually from there to address the ways in which their concerns can be reevaluated in light of an aesthetic critique modeled along lines sketched out in Kant's Critique of Judgment . More broadly, I hope to account for the predominantly “aesthetic” forms in which a critical self-consciousness carried forward from the Enlightenment has survived the critique of enlightened reason that seemed to have reached an impasse in Horkheimer and Adorno's essay.
Foreign Trade, Foreign Direct Investments and Privatization in Eastern Europe

During the past few years we have witnessed some of the most dramatic political and economic changes in human memory with the collapse of the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the USSR. All the nations of Eastern Europe and the USSR are now struggling to restructure their economies along market lines. The required restructuring and privatization of these economies are on a scale larger than anything that has been attempted in the past. Even the reconstruction of Europe after the devastation of World War II was to some extent easier since it involved the reestablishment of functioning markets rather than the creation of a brand new market system after 50 years of Communism as in Eastern Europe today and more than 70 years in the USSR. Western economists also found themselves at a loss, for the most part, when it came to advising Eastern European governments on the best road to a market economy. Only some general broad principles are agreed upon. The most important of these is the need to privatize the economy. But when it came on how to do it and on how rapidly to proceed (for example, gradually or all at once) disagreements abound.
Mandarin wh-conditionals as interrogative conditionals

This paper examines wh-conditionals in Mandarin Chinese. It argues that wh-conditionals involve embedding two questions within a conditional, one in the antecedent and one in the consequent. Transition from a Hamblin/Karttunen question meaning to a conditional semantics is achieved by answerhood operators. The meaning obtained in this way is simple and intuitive: answers to the antecedent question already contains information to answer the consequent question.
Practical Issues in Developing a Culturally Tailored Physical Activity Promotion Program for Chinese and Korean American Midlife Women: A Pilot Study

Background: With advances in computer technologies, Web-based interventions are widely accepted and welcomed by health care providers and researchers. Although the benefits of Web-based interventions on physical activity promotion have been documented, the programs have rarely targeted Asian Americans, including Asian American midlife women. Subsequently, culturally competent Web-based physical activity programs for Asian Americans may be necessary. Objective: The purpose of our study was to explore practical issues in developing and implementing a culturally competent Web-based physical activity promotion program for 2 groups of Asian American women—Chinese American and Korean American midlife women—and to provide implications for future research. Methods: While conducting the study, the research team members wrote individual memos on issues and their inferences on plausible reasons for the issues. The team had group discussions each week and kept the minutes of the discussions. Then, the memos and minutes were analyzed using a content analysis method. Results: We identified practical issues in 4 major idea categories: (1) bilingual translators’ language orientations, (2) cultural sensitivity requirement, (3) low response rate, interest, and retention, and (4) issues in implementation logistics. Conclusions: Based on the issues, we make several suggestions for the use of bilingual translators, motivational strategies, and implementation logistics. [J Med Internet Res 2016;18(11):e303]