cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Generalized Ray Theory for a Layered Sphere

Summary Pulse propagation in a layered sphere can be investigated, in an approximate way, by what has come to be known as Cagniard's method. Classical methods are used in the analysis through the application of the Debye ray expansion. At this stage Lamb's observation, that the eikonal is linear in the frequency, is employed to bypass the usual methods for evaluation of the inverse transform integrals. The transient response for each Debye ray is obtained directly. It is estimated that the method can be applied to mantle S pulses with periods less than 75 s, and to mantle P pulses with periods less than 40 s. Preliminary results on lateral heterogeneity beneath North America are presented. Extension of generalized ray theory to spherical layers The application of generalized ray theory to stratified media has been limited by the requirements that the stratification must be represented by homogeneous layers, and that the interfaces must be plane-parallel. When these two requirements are met, one uses plane-wave reflection and transmission coefficients and time delays to build up the solution to the problem (Weyl 1919; Pekeris 1948; Spencer 1960). In the Cagniard-de Hoop method the time delay, t, ray parameter, p, velocity, v, and horizontal distance, R, are related by the classical formula
Temporal discrimination in the cerebellar cortex during conditioned eyelid responses.

Little is known about mechanisms used by the nervous system to encode time. In light of recent evidence, cerebellar cortex involvement in the learned timing of conditioned eyelid responses shows promise as an area of investigation into neural timing mechanisms. Lesion studies indicate that the cerebellar cortex is necessary for response timing, but do not rule out the possibility that response timing is encoded afferent to the cerebellum. To differentiate between precerebellar and cerebellar cortical timing mechanisms, rabbits were trained by pairing direct stimulation of mossy fibers in the cerebellum as the conditioned stimulus (CS) with an eyeshock unconditioned stimulus (US). We find that individual animals can produce diffently timed conditioned responses when trained with a mossy fiber CS that has been paired with the US at various interstimulus intervals. The fact that differently timed responses can be conditioned using constant-frequency stimulation of an invariant subset of mossy fibers as the CS suggests that timing information in the afferent input to the cerebellum is not essential. Two rabbits trained with single-pulse stimulation in the cerebellum as the CS also learned differently timed conditioned responses; suggesting that fiber recruitment during a stimulus train does not convey the necessary temporal coding to the cerebellar cortex. Together with the lesion data, these findings suggest that the learned timing of conditioned eyelid responses occurs in the cerebellar cortex.
Seasonal and spatial patterns in macro‐ and micronutrient limitation in Joe Pool Lake, Texas

The roles of nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, and trace nutrients in limiting algal growth were studied over a I-yr period in three sites of a recently impounded, warm monomictic reservoir in north-central Texas using factorial dilution assay experiments. When lake temperature was > 15”C, nutrients limited realized growth rates to half or less of potential growth. Nutrient limitation was obliterated in the fall by floods. Density stratification was not a prerequisite to nutrient limitation in spring. Both macro- and micronutrients were important in terms of frequency of experiments showing limitation and in terms of quantitative degree of limitation. Horizontal variability in the degree of limitation was absent; however, shallower sites showed more incidence of multiple nutrient limitation compared to a deep, near-dam site. In spite of the central role that nutrient limitation plays in the functioning and structure of freshwater pelagic ecosystems, a number of major issues remain poorly described, and some points continue to be controversial. To a large extent, this controversy lingers due to lack of data of sufficient resolution to address the questions. This paper is concerned with several such questions: the degree to which macro- and micronutrients limit actual growth rates compared to nutrient-saturated maxima, seasonal and spatial patterns, and the dependence of nutrient limitation on physical habitat structure. Recent literature contains a wide range of opinions about how nutrients limit algae. Some investigators argue that nutrients determine standing algal biomass but growth rates are at or near maximum at all times (Goldman et al. 1979; Harris 1986). Others suggest that nutrient limitation is frequently interrupted or has many shifts in the identity of the limiting element, as in the “contemporaneous disequilibrium” hypothesis (Richerson et al. 1970). Still others characterize nutrient limitation as chronic and in a quasi-steady state that is well represented by the Droop or Monod models (Sommer 1989, 199 1).
A note on a stochastic production‐maximizing transportation problem

A stochastic production-maximizing problem with transportation constraints is considered where the production rates, Rij, of man i — job j combinations are random variables rather than constants. It is shown that for the family of Weibull distributions (of which the Exponential is a special case) with scale parameters λij and shape parameter β, the plan that maximizes the expected rate of the entire line is obtained by solving a deterministic fixed charge transportation problem with no linear costs and with “set-up” cost matrix ‖λij‖.
Regulation of Produced Water by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Among its many responsibilities, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with implementing the Clean Water Act established by Congress in 1972. The major objective of the Clean Water Act is to eliminate or control the discharge of pollutants, particularly toxic pollutants, into the Nation’s waterways. One of the ways EPA is meeting this objective is to develop national technology-based effluent limitations guidelines for the oil and gas exploration and production industry. The development of these effluent guidelines required first an analysis of the performance capability of wastestream pollution control technology, followed by a determination of costs and economic achievability of the implementation of such technology. The final effluent limitations developed are a result of EPA’s determination of the best available technology that is economically achievable for the industry. This paper will describe the effluent limitations regulations specifically for produced water generated by the oil and gas industry in the United States, and will include a description of the technologies that serve as a basis for the regulation, the actual effluent limitations requirements, and the costs of compliance.
Channelized front-ends for broadband signal processing with relaxed anti-aliasing filtering

A digital post-processing approach for reducing the anti-aliasing requirement in a frequency-folding channelizer architecture is described. The channelizer decomposes a broadband spectrum into multiple sub-bands. A signal of bandwidth N/2fLO is downconverted into N paths that are clocked using rectangular, non-overlapping pulse waveforms at a fundamental frequency of fLO with a duty-cycle of 1/N. All portions of the input are aliased onto a baseband signal of bandwidth fLO/2, which is low-pass filtered and applied to N sub-ADCs with identical sampling clocks. Individual sub-bands are selected in the digital domain. Aliasing between sub-bands is also removed after digitization. This is used to reduce the order of the anti-aliasing filters in the analog signal paths, which can potentially reduce power and design complexity. It is shown that a filter-order of at least one is necessary in the analog-domain to apply digital post-processing. The approach is verified in simulation.
Automated Steering of Model-Based Test Oracles to Admit Real Program Behaviors

The test oracle —a judge of the correctness of the system under test (SUT)—is a major component of the testing process. Specifying test oracles is challenging for some domains, such as real-time embedded systems, where small changes in timing or sensory input may cause large behavioral differences. Models of such systems, often built for analysis and simulation, are appealing for reuse as test oracles. These models, however, typically represent an idealized system, abstracting away certain issues such as non-deterministic timing behavior and sensor noise. Thus, even with the same inputs, the model's behavior may fail to match an acceptable behavior of the SUT, leading to many false positives reported by the test oracle. We propose an automated steering framework that can adjust the behavior of the model to better match the behavior of the SUT to reduce the rate of false positives. This model steering is limited by a set of constraints (defining the differences in behavior that are acceptable) and is based on a search process attempting to minimize a dissimilarity metric. This framework allows non-deterministic, but bounded, behavioral differences, while preventing future mismatches by guiding the oracle—within limits—to match the execution of the SUT. Results show that steering significantly increases SUT-oracle conformance with minimal masking of real faults and, thus, has significant potential for reducing false positives and, consequently, testing and debugging costs while improving the quality of the testing process.
The Effect of Novel Research Activities on Long-term Survival of Temporarily Captive Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus)

Two novel research approaches were developed to facilitate controlled access to, and long-term monitoring of, juvenile Steller sea lions for periods longer than typically afforded by traditional fieldwork. The Transient Juvenile Steller sea lion Project at the Alaska SeaLife Center facilitated nutritional, physiological, and behavioral studies on the platform of temporary captivity. Temporarily captive sea lions (TJs, n = 35) were studied, and were intraperitoneally implanted with Life History Transmitters (LHX tags) to determine causes of mortality post-release. Our goal was to evaluate the potential for long-term impacts of temporary captivity and telemetry implants on the survival of study individuals. A simple open-population Cormack-Jolly-Seber mark-recapture model was built in program MARK, incorporating resightings of uniquely branded study individuals gathered by several contributing institutions. A priori models were developed to weigh the evidence of effects of experimental treatment on survival with covariates of sex, age, capture age, cohort, and age class. We compared survival of experimental treatment to a control group of n = 27 free-ranging animals (FRs) that were sampled during capture events and immediately released. Sex has previously been show to differentially affect juvenile survival in Steller sea lions. Therefore, sex was included in all models to account for unbalanced sex ratios within the experimental group. Considerable support was identified for the effects of sex, accounting for over 71% of total weight for all a priori models with delta AICc <5, and over 91% of model weight after removal of pretending variables. Overall, most support was found for the most parsimonious model based on sex and excluding experimental treatment. Models including experimental treatment were not supported after post-hoc considerations of model selection criteria. However, given the limited sample size, alternate models including effects of experimental treatments remain possible and effects may yet become apparent in larger sample sizes.
Baseball and the U.S. Constitution, Circa 1887

Only one sport played a part in the centennial celebration of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia: baseball. On September 15, 1887, while the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court were breakfasting in the Academy of Music building at 240 South Broad Street, a big parade — the centennial’s “Civic and Industrial Procession” — was rolling by outside, past the Academy of Music and the magnificent City Hall under construction at the end of the street. The Marshal of the parade included this entry in his formal report after the event: “KENSINGTON BASE-BALL CLUB. This organization paraded one wagon, handsomely decorated with flags, drawn by two horses, decorated with flags and bells, and carrying the members of the club in their uniform, — light-gray suits, light caps with red band, red stockings and belts, light shoes, and the name of the club upon their shirt-fronts. They were the only representatives of the national game, which for the last quarter of a century has attracted intense interest from admirers of athletic sports.”
The Finite Fourier Series and Elementary Geometry

(1950). The Finite Fourier Series and Elementary Geometry. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 57, No. 6, pp. 390-404.
Purification and immunochemical characterization of dopamine beta-hydroxylase from human pheochromocytoma.

Dopamine β-hydroxylase was purified from a human pheochromocytoma. Following sucrose density gradient centrifugation the enzyme was isolated in three different molecular forms. The bulk of the enzymatic activity was associated with fraction II (approximate mol wt 286,000), which possessed the highest specific activity. The specific activity of dopamine β-hydroxylase in fraction I (approximate mol wt 164,000) and in fraction III (approximate mol wt 524,000) was 4 times lower than in fraction II. A specific antiserum to human dopamine β-hydroxylase isolated from fraction II was produced in rabbits (antiserum H). Electrophoretic and immunological evidence supports the contention that dopamine β-hydroxylase in fraction II was isolated in pure form. The lower homospecific activity of dopamine β-hydroxylase in fraction I as compared with fraction II and the immunological titration data indicated that fraction I contained more enzyme protein than was apparent from the enzyme activity. The immunological titration studies showed that antiserum H, as well as the antiserum to bovine adrenal dopamine β-hydroxylase (antiserum B), reduced the activity of the homologous enzyme more effectively than the activity of the heterologous enzyme. The poor interspecies cross-reactivity suggests that for measurements of human serum dopamine β-hydroxylase levels by radioimmunoassay a homologous system is required.
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act: Implementation of an Administrative Remedy

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is an administrative remedy that has not been fully enforced to protect the voting rights of minority citizens in those jurisdictions covered by the VRA. Failure to enforce Section 5 fully is the result of: (1) the structure of the Section 5 review process, (2) the poor quality of data received by the U.S. Department of Justice, and (3) the cursory analysis of data by the Equal Opportunity Specialists. What is needed to strengthen Section 5 enforcement is a strong presidential commitment to protect the interests of minority voters. Reform of the Section 5 review process can only take place if the president places voting rights enforcement high on his political agenda.
Weight loss reduces basal-like breast cancer through kinome reprogramming

Background Obesity is associated with an aggressive subtype of breast cancer called basal-like breast cancer (BBC). BBC has no targeted therapies, making the need for mechanistic insight urgent. Reducing adiposity in adulthood can lower incidence of BBC in humans. Thus, this study investigated whether a dietary intervention to reduce adiposity prior to tumor onset would reverse HFD-induced BBC.
EGF activates ErbB-2 and stimulates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in human airway smooth muscle cells

The epidermal growth factor (EGF)-receptor (EGFR) family includes four homologous transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinases, EGFR, ErbB-2, ErbB-3, and ErbB-4. This receptor family plays a pivotal role in regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, and transformation. Ligand-induced activation of these receptors results in formation of homo- and heterodimers, which undergo transphosphorylation and transactivation. The aim of this study was to characterize the role of EGFR family members in signaling EGF-induced human airway smooth muscle (HASM) cell proliferation. Here, we show that EGF stimulates activation of EGFR and transactivation of ErbB-2 in quiescent HASM cells. Phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase, a critical signaling enzyme that modulates HASM cell growth, is preferentially associated with ErbB-2, and EGF-stimulated transactivation of ErbB-2 induces PI 3-kinase activation. ErbB-3 and ErbB-4 are present in HASM cells; however, EGF has no effect on their activation. Betacellulin, a ligand for EGFR, ErbB-3, and ErbB-4, induced DNA synthesis of HASM cells and stimulated signaling through the activation of EGFR and ErbB-2 but not of ErbB-3 and ErbB-4. Heregulin, a specific ligand for ErbB-3 and ErbB-4, did not effect DNA synthesis and did not activate its specific receptors. These data suggest that EGF imparts signals that involve activation of ErbB-2 and are associated with ErbB-2 PI 3-kinase activation. Despite the mRNA and protein expression of all members of the EGFR family, ligand-stimulated signaling induced activation of EGFR and ErbB-2 but not of ErbB-3 and ErbB-4.
The 1964 General Strike

As regional and ethnic competition intensified during the census crisis, tension of a wholly different order was gathering explosive force. Wage labourers were beginning to focus their indignation over declining real income and gross economic inequality into militant demands for government attention and higher pay. For a brief but crucial year in Nigerian politics, the severely fractured trade-union movement united in a concerted challenge to the political class. What began as a protest over wages quickly widened into an attack on the very basis of the regime’s authority. Spanning the latter stages of the census crisis and the preliminary manoeuvring of the Federal Election, the conflict peaked in a thirteen-day General Strike that brought the economic life of the nation to a virtual standstill. In the confrontation, Nigerian workers scored a significant victory, while the regime was discredited across a wide and crucial segment of public opinion.
Narrative Ethics and Alterity in Adichie's Novel Americanah

In her article "Narrative Ethics and Alterity in Adichie's Novel Americanah" Nora Berning analyses Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel through the lens of a narrative ethics of alterity. Focusing on the notion of alterity, Berning argues that a specific turn-of-the-century ethics emerges in contemporary fictions of migration in general and in intercultural novels in particular. An ethical genre in its own right, such twenty-first century fictions as Americanah generate a particular kind of ethical knowledge that revolves around questions of identity and alterity and around individual and collective perceptions of self and other. By addressing the interplay of "the ethics of the told" and "the ethics of the telling" in the novel, Berning contributes to a conceptualization of narrative ethics of alterity in fictions of migration highlighting their ethical and political value in an age of migration and globaliza-
The Use of Accessory Portals in Bankart Repair With Posterior Extension in the Lateral Decubitus Position

The Bankart lesion, in which the anteroinferior labrum is detached from the glenoid, is the critical anatomic lesion in the majority of patients with anterior glenohumeral instability. Some patients with anterior glenohumeral instability will have Bankart lesions with posterior extension beyond the 6-o'clock position, and achieving anatomic labral repair in these cases can present a technical challenge. In our experience, the lateral decubitus position and use of accessory portals allow superior visualization of the inferior half of the glenohumeral joint for glenoid and labral preparation, anchor placement, and suture management. The use of double-loaded suture anchors at the inferior glenoid provides multiple points of fixation at this challenging location while limiting the number of anchors required. The purpose of this article is to present a simple and reproducible technique for arthroscopic repair of Bankart lesions with posterior extension, emphasizing the use of accessory 5-o'clock trans-subscapularis and 7-o'clock portals.
Supercomputing on a Chip: Evolution and Challenges.

The last decade saw the emergence of the parallel supercomputer. Based on large array of up to 10,000 high volume microprocessors, these were the first machines to sustain more than one teraFLOPS on scientifically important computations. In a remarkable demonstration of Moore’s Law, the new decade should see the advent of the first single-chip parallel microprocessors whose performance will be comparable to the large-scale machines of the mid-1990s. Not surprisingly, the designers of these future single chip multiprocessors will face many of the same concerns as their predecessors such as the need for high bandwidth, low latency, interconnection networks and verylightweight interprocessor communication protocols. Unlike the earlier supercomputing designs, which were intended for large-scale engineering and scientific computing, these next-generation, single chip parallel machines will be used to deliver “high-value” MIPS that enhance the user’s total computing experience. Applications likely to appear on these micro-scale supercomputers of tomorrow will include the rendering of real-time, 3D graphics, encoding/decoding multiple, HD video streams, and processing real-time voice and video input. This talk will describe several solution strategies, at the architectural, interconnect, and circuit levels, that are suitable for single-chip supercomputers in sub-100nm technology generations. Biography Justin Rattner is an Intel Fellow, Enterprise Platforms Group and Director, Microprocessor Research, Intel Labs. His current responsibilities include advanced circuit, microarchitecture, architecture, and programming systems research, as well as the prototyping and deep analysis of future computer applications and workloads. In 1989, Rattner was named Scientist of the Year by R&D Magazine for his leadership in parallel and distributed computer architecture. In December 1996, Rattner was featured as Person of the Week by ABC World News for his visionary work on the Department of Energy ASCI Red System, the first computer to sustain one trillion operations per second (one teraFLOPS) and the fastest computer in the world between 1996 and 2000. In 1997, Rattner was honored as one of the Computer 200, the 200 individuals having the greatest impact on the U.S. computer industry today, and subsequently profiled in the book Wizards and Their Wonders from ACM Press. Rattner has received two Intel Achievement Awards for his work in high performance computing and advanced cluster communication architecture. He is a longstanding member of Intel’s Research Council and Academic Advisory Council. He currently serves as the Intel executive sponsor for Cornel University where he serves on the External Advisory Board for the School of Engineering. Rattner joined Intel in 1973. He was names its first Principal Engineer in 1979 and its fourth Intel Fellow in 1988. Prior to joining Intel, Rattner held positions with Hewlett-Packard Company and Xerox Corporation. He received the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Cornell University in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1970 and 1972, respectively.
Johannes Walter, Lob und Preis der löblichen Kunst Musica, 1538.: Faksimile-Neudruck. Mit einem Geleitwort von Wilibald Gurlitt. Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag, 1938.

(1940). Johannes Walter, Lob und Preis der loblichen Kunst Musica, 1538. The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory: Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 59-60.
Role of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in Therapeutics and Drug Resistance in Cancer and Bacteria

Evading persistent drug resistance in cancer and bacteria is quintessential to restore health in humans, and impels intervention strategies. A distinct property of the cancer phenotype is enhanced glucose metabolism and oxidative stress. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are metabolic byproducts of aerobic respiration and are responsible for maintaining redox homeostasis in cells. Redox balance and oxidative stress are orchestrated by antioxidant enzymes, reduced thiols and NADP(H) cofactors, which is critical for cancer cells survival and progression. Similarly, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and life-threatening infectious pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are appreciably sensitive to changes in the intracellular oxidative environment. Thus, small molecules that modulate antioxidant levels and/or enhance intracellular ROS could disturb the cellular oxidative environment and induce cell death, and hence could serve as novel therapeutics. Presented here are a collec...
Making Sense of Cities: The Role of Maps in the Past, Present, and Future of Urban Planning

Cities are by definition complex and dynamic physical and social systems. Professionals charged with planning for and building our constantly-changing cities, including urban planners and designers, depend upon a wide range of maps and spatial technologies to make decisions. Planning is essentially a visual and spatial discipline where ideas, plans, arguments and empirical analyses are all expressed through paper and digital maps, including GIS (geographic information systems). This chapter critically explores the way professional and academic planners who work in transportation, community and economic development, international development, environmental conservation, real estate and urban use maps at all scales. Maps will continue to be critical in planners’ efforts to understand the spatial form of cities and how residents conceive of places, make and analyze plans, model social and environmental impacts, engage citizens and hold government officials accountable. The interdisciplinary fields of public health, energy and sustainability and civic engagement are examined as opportunities for future collaboration.
Climate science: Cracking the palaeoclimate code.

The geological record contains evidence of how Earth's climate responded to periodic changes in our planet's orbit and rotation. An investigation reveals how this record can be leveraged to constrain estimates of past climate dynamics.
Spatiotemporal characteristics of habitually shod runners change when performing barefoot running

Habitually shod rear-foot strike (RFS) runners demonstrate changes in spatiotemporal variables when running barefoot; however, it is unknown whether these changes are a function of running barefoot and/or adopting different foot-strike patterns. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine changes in spatiotemporal variables when habitually shod RFS runners transition to barefoot running. Inverse dynamic methodology was used to examine 22 habitually shod RFS runners who performed overground running, shod and barefoot. Runners were grouped according to their novice barefoot foot-strike pattern: RFS, mid-foot strike (MFS) and forefoot strike (FFS). Runners were also grouped to examine differences between shod and barefoot running. Of the 22 RFS shod runners, 5 adopted a FFS, 9 adopted a MFS, and 8 maintained a RFS during novice barefoot running. We report a significant main effect of running barefoot for spatiotemporal variables, but not for foot-strike pattern. Relative to when shod, all groups of runners took shorter strides and steps. RFS and MFS runners also exhibited higher step frequency and exhibited shorter step and cycle times, while RFS and FFS runners both exhibited shorter stance times. These findings indicate that barefoot running has a significant influence on spatiotemporal measures, regardless of utilized foot-strike pattern.
Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation

While catheter ablation (CA) of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) was in the past often only considered after pharmacological options had been exhausted, substantial progress has occurred and CA is now an option that should be considered early when therapy of recurrent arrhythmia is needed. In patients with VAs without structural heart disease CA is highly successful with a low rate of complications. In patients with heart disease efficacy is determined by the nature of the arrhythmia substrate, most often an area of scar. The current ability of mapping to identify substrate during stable sinus rhythm makes CA an option even when multiple and unstable ventricular tachycardias (VTs) are present. Its major role is in controlling of incessant VT and recurrent symptomatic VT in patients with implanted defibrillators. Continued advances in mapping and ablation methods are anticipated to continue to improve efficacy and safety.
Ultra high-resolution optical coherence tomography for ocular imaging of small animals

Accurate in-vivo evaluation of the structural and morphological changes of the ocular structures of small animal models is essential in understanding the disease mechanisms, monitoring the disease progression, and response to therapies. Currently, ocular morphology and structure of animal models can only be examined quantitatively with histology. We present the advances for in vivo non contact three-dimensional (3D) ocular imaging of small animals with ultra high-resolution Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) and quantitative information extraction using 3D segmentation of the OCT images. A SD-OCT system with two dedicated optical delivery systems for imaging the retina and anterior segment of small animals in vivo was built. An advanced 5-axis animal positioning and alignment system was developed for high throughput applications. 3D segmentation algorithm was developed for calculation of the retinal thickness map. An algorithm for automatic segmentation of the tumor boundaries and tumor volume calculation for LHβTag mouse model of retinoblastoma was also developed. The OCT system was applied in imaging mice, rats, rabbits, and raptors in the study of various ocular diseases and treatment procedures. One of the exciting applications is that the retina of Broad-winged hawk, Barred owl and Great-horned owl were imaged in vivo for the first time with high quality. The SD-OCT system accomplished the goal of non-invasive, non-contact, in vivo imaging of small animal retinal structures with high imaging quality and short imaging time (~2 minutes, acquisition time 2.7 seconds). These results make the system suitable for routine high throughput applications. Together with the segmentation algorithms, the acquired 3D data allows quantitative information extraction and provides means for precise comparison of the images acquired at different time, which make possible longitudinal studies of retinal diseases and treatment effects.
Rotational Effects within Nucleosome Core Particles on Abasic Site Reactivity

An abasic (AP) site is a ubiquitous DNA lesion that is produced via several cellular processes. Although AP sites are cytotoxic and mutagenic, cells are protected from them by different DNA damage ...
Taking the Classroom to Town Hall: Advancing Public Affairs Education through University-Municipal Collaborations

English poet John Donne (1624) wrote, “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” These words resonate in today’s complex environment of publi...
Neuronal Tract Tracing with Light and Electron Microscopy

Neuronal tract tracing technique was developed based on two principles, Wallerian degeneration and axon flow theory, and has been enhanced by knocking in an enhancer or inhibitor to a chain of neurons in studying specific pathways with molecular biological functionality. The tract tracing, including anterograde, retrograde, and transganglion tract tracing, can be achieved through axon transportation of tracers. Based on the visibility of the tracers, they are classified as fluorescent and nonfluorescent tracers. As this chapter focuses on the methods that benefit both light microscopy (LM) and electron microscopy (EM) studies, the protocols of fluorescent dye tract tracing are not discussed. Among the nonfluorescent tracers, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) is a marvelous tracer that can be used in all anterograde, retrograde, and transganglion tract tracing; therefore, the protocol of histochemical visualization of HRP is presented herein. Cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) is also well suited for both anterograde and retrograde labeling. Biotinylated dextran amine (BDA), a predominant anterograde tracer, is broadly used in combination with other tracers for identification of pathway connections or convergent innervations. Phaseolus vulgaris Leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) is also a super anterograde tracer that can be applied together with BDA to study convergent projections or combined with any retrograde tracer to explore recipient of the convergent innervations. Fluoro-gold (FG) is a retrograde tracer that can be viewed directly with conventional fluorescent LM or by using anti-FG antibody to modify it and to make any combination as well. The protocols for double labeling either of HRP and BDA, BDA and CTB, or BDA and PHA-L, as well as different combinations of triple labeling with immunostaining of neuroactive substances are also presented. These protocols also summarize methods of histochemical and fluorescent illumination, as well as tissue processing, embedding, and immunostaining methods for EM studies. Two major double labeling combinations used in EM observation are delineated: TMB-ST (Tetramethyl benzidine–sodium tungsten) visualization of HRP combined with ABC (Avidin-biotin-complex) histochemical stain and ABC histochemical stain combined with silver-gold pre-embedding method. Each protocol is supplemented with images to illustrate the expected results by following the related protocols.
Follicle Maturation and Atresia: Morphological Correlates

In most primates studied, the ovary is characterized by its ability to select a single dominant follicle from a pool in which all competing follicles degenerate. This process of follicle maturation and atresia in the adult is cyclic and under control of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (1). In all primate ovaries, the basic components are similar, consisting of the developing and atretic follicles, corpora lutea, interstitial gland tissue and accessory luteal tissue. It is the numbers and arrangement of these components that vary both during the cycle as well as between the types of primates (Fig. 1–6) (2). The cells composing these structures are responsible for the activity. Therefore, the morphological status of the ovary can reveal important information on ovarian function.
Emergency Department Patients are Receptive to Prayer-Based Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Use.

Previous studies show that elements of spirituality, including prayer and religious services, may contribute to reductions in harmful alcohol use. The objective of this study was to assess the acceptability of prayer as a component of emergency department (ED) interventions for risky alcohol use. A 12-question multiple-choice questionnaire was developed, piloted, and refined by the study team. The questionnaire included questions about current beliefs and attitudes toward prayer and assessed interest in various means of delivering prayer or prayer support for reducing alcohol use. The questionnaire was administered to a consecutive sample of 111 patients recruited from the 12-month follow-up of a parent RCT study on reducing alcohol use among injured ED patients (ReDIAL). To qualify for the parent study, participants needed an ASSIST v3.0 alcohol score ≥ 11. 90 participants (81%) consented to answer questions about prayer. The participating sample was 38% female and 29% nonwhite; mean age was 36 years. Of these participants, 64% reported that they currently pray; of those, 88% reported praying daily or weekly; 79% agreed that prayer helps with coping in difficult times; 68% agreed that prayer could assist in achieving difficult goals; and 48% agreed that prayer helps reduce alcohol use. Interest in various means of utilizing prayer to reduce alcohol use was assessed in all participants (regardless of whether they currently prayed or not): 45% were interested in having others pray for them to reduce alcohol use; 40% were interested in receiving text reminders to pray; 42% were interested in receiving text messages with specific prayers to use; and 47% were interested in receiving text messages that someone was praying for them. 33.3% of the entire sample stated that they would attend services if provided information on spiritual or religious groups in the community. The incorporation of prayer in alcohol interventions was considered acceptable by a proportion of our sample of risky alcohol users, even those who do not currently use prayer as a resource in their lives. Given the promising data on ED patients’ perceptions of the significance and acceptability of spiritual practices in reducing alcohol use, prayer may emerge as a useful adjunctive tool in future ED interventions for alcohol use disorders.
The Pulse: An Essential Vital Sign

The objectives of this chapter are to review the pathophysiology, causes, and approach to the treatment of both sinus tachycardia and sinus bradycardia in ICU patients.
Effectiveness of the fun for wellness online behavioral intervention to promote well-being and physical activity: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Fun For Wellness (FFW) is an online behavioral intervention developed to encourage growth in well-being by providing capability-enhancing learning opportunities to participants. Self-efficacy theory guides the conceptual model underlying the FFW intervention. Some initial evidence has been provided for the efficacy of FFW to promote: well-being self-efficacy; interpersonal, community, psychological and economic subjective well-being; and, interpersonal and physical well-being actions. The purpose of this paper is to describe the protocol for a new randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to provide the first investigation of the effectiveness of FFW to increase well-being and physical activity in adults with obesity in the United States of America. The study design is a large-scale, prospective, parallel group RCT. Approximately 9 hundred participants will be randomly assigned to the FFW or Usual Care (UC) group to achieve a 1:1 group (i.e., FFW:UC) assignment. Participants will be recruited through an online panel recruitment company. Data collection, including determination of eligibility, will be conducted online and enrollment is scheduled to begin on 8 August 2018. Data collection will occur at baseline, 30 days and 60 days after baseline. Instruments to measure demographic information, anthropometric characteristics, self-efficacy, physical activity and well-being will be included in the battery. Data will be modeled under an intent to treat approach and/or a complier average causal effect approach depending on the level of observed engagement with the intervention. The effectiveness trial described in this paper builds upon the 2015 FFW efficacy trial and has the potential to be important for at least three reasons. The first reason is based upon a general scientific approach that the potential utility of interventions should be evaluated under both ideal (e.g., more controlled) and real-world (e.g., less controlled) conditions. The second reason is based upon the global need for readily scalable online behavioral interventions that effectively promote physical activity in adults. The third reason is based upon the troubling global trend toward obesity along with evidence for obesity as a risk factor for several major non-communicable diseases. ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: , registered 21 June 2017.
Prospective pilot trial with combination of propranolol with chemotherapy in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer and evaluation on circulating immune cell gene expression.

Abstract Objective To determine the feasibility of pharmacologic beta-adrenergic blockade in women with newly diagnosed stage II-IV epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) throughout primary treatment. Methods Patients initiated propranolol prior to beginning chemotherapy or surgery. Feasibility was assessed as proportion able to complete 6 chemotherapy cycles while on adrenergic suppression. Descriptive statistics summarized surveys, and paired changes were analyzed using signed rank tests. Random-intercept Tobit models examined immune response. Results Median age was 59.9; 88.5% were stage IIIC/IV; and 38.5% underwent primary debulking. Thirty-two patients were enrolled; 3 excluded because they never took propranolol; an additional 3 didn't meet inclusion criteria, leaving 26 evaluable. Eighteen of 26 (69%), 90% credible interval (CI) of 53–81%, completed 6 chemotherapy cycles plus propranolol (an 82% posterior probability that the true proportion of success is ≥60%). Among the 23 patients with baseline and six month follow up data, overall QOL, anxiety, and depression improved (P Conclusion Use of propranolol during primary treatment of EOC is feasible and treatment resulted in decrease in markers of adrenergic stress response. In combination with chemotherapy, propranolol potentially results in improved QOL over baseline.
Palaeoclimatology (Communication arising): Tropical temperatures in greenhouse episodes

Reconstruction from oxygen-isotope data of global sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) that prevailed during periods when greenhouse-gas levels were higher than at present (that is, in the early Eocene and Cretaceous epochs) indicates that temperatures were significantly warmer than present in mid- to high latitudes, but similar to or slightly cooler in the tropics. However, Pearson and colleagues1 claim, on the basis of oxygen-isotope data from planktonic foraminifers recovered from clay beds in Tanzania and other localities, that the tropics were warm during the Eocene, attributing the discrepancy between these and previous tropical SST estimates to the effects of diagenetic overprinting of the latter. Here we note some potential flaws in their interpretation of the new oxygen-isotope data.
Repulsive Casimir force in magnetodielectric plate configurations

The Casimir force between purely dielectric materials is generally attractive and can lead to increased friction and stiction effects in nanoscale devices. While prospective quantum levitating systems have been proposed for high dielectric constant host materials, reversal of the Casimir force with air/vacuum as the intermediate medium remains challenging. Here, the problem of quantum levitation is studied for a system consisting of two parallel magnetodielectric plates. A simple analytical treatment of the problem is provided through the introduction of an upper bound of the force. An explicit sufficient condition for the manifestation of Casimir force repulsion is derived in terms of the plate's material parameters and temperature. The sufficient condition can serve as a useful tool in designing quantum levitating systems with air as the intermediate medium, which is the natural environment for practical microscopic devices.
Whose Justice is it Anyway? Mitigating the Tensions Between Food Security and Food Sovereignty

This paper explores the tensions between two disparate approaches to addressing hunger worldwide: Food security and food sovereignty. Food security generally focuses on ensuring that people have economic and physical access to safe and nutritious food, while food sovereignty (or food justice) movements prioritize the right of people and communities to determine their agricultural policies and food cultures. As food sovereignty movements grew out of critiques of food security initiatives, they are often framed as conflicting approaches within the wider literature. This paper explores this tension, arguing that food security is based on a particular model of justice, distributive justice, which limits the sovereignty and autonomy of communities as food producers and consumers. In contrast, food sovereignty movements view food security as a necessary part of food sovereignty, but ultimately insufficient for creating food sustainable communities and limiting wider harms. Rather than viewing food security and food sovereignty as in conflict, we argue that food sovereignty’s justice framework both encompasses and entails justice claims that guide food security projects.
3 – Brownian Motion

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the Brownian motion. A Brownian motion or a Wiener process is a stochastic process. A Brownian motion is a martingale. Therefore, the martingale inequality can be applied to Brownian motion. There is a continuous version of a Brownian motion. Every separable Brownian motion is continuous. Almost all sample paths of a Brownian motion are nowhere differentiable. Almost all sample paths of a Brownian motion have infinite variation on any finite interval. The chapter provides an account of Brownian motion in n dimensions.
Belief in the American Indian/Alaska Native biological vulnerability myth and drinking to cope: Does stereotype threat play a role?

Objectives: The effects of stereotype threat and internalized alcohol stereotypes on negative affect and negative affect-related drinking have not been examined in American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), despite their frequently being subjected to alcohol stereotypes. The current study examined the association of belief in the myth of an AI/AN specific biological vulnerability (BV) with alcohol consequences through its effect on depression and drinking to cope with negative affect. Method: In this cross-sectional study, a moderated mediation model examined the association of belief in a BV with alcohol consequences via sequential mediators of depression and drinking to cope. It was hypothesized that the positive association of belief in a BV with depression would be stronger among individuals who engaged in more frequent heavy episodic drinking. Participants were 109 female (69.9%) and 47 male (30.1%) AI/AN college students (Mage = 27.1 years, range 18 to 61) who reported having at least 1 drink in the past month. Results: Belief in a BV was positively associated with depression symptoms among participants reporting average or high frequency of heavy episodic drinking. Greater depression symptoms predicted greater drinking to cope, which in turn predicted greater alcohol consequences. Conclusion: Belief in the BV myth may act as a type of stereotype threat, contributing to alcohol consequences by increasing negative affect and drinking to cope. These results suggest that for AI/ANs who drink, there are psychological and behavioral health ramifications of believing in the notion of a BV, and a need to debunk this myth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Exploring lanthanide separations using Eichrom’s Ln Resin and low-pressure liquid chromatography

Analytical methods for separating individual lanthanide elements from each other are needed to support various scientific fields. This work reports a systematic evaluation of analytical separations using Eichrom Industries Ln resin and simple peristaltic pump fed low-pressure chromatography columns. Systematic studies of isocratic elutions over a range of acid concentrations (0.10 to 0.25 M HNO3) and column lengths (15 to 45 cm) show that with careful selection of the separation conditions baseline separation of the majority of the lanthanide elements can be achieved, with the exception Nd, Pr, Pm and Ce which co-elute at low acid concentrations. The employment of a novel Ce3+/Ce4+ oxidation–reduction approach using NaBrO3 and ascorbic acid enables isolation of Ce, however baseline separation of Nd, Pr and Pm could not be accomplished using Ln resin, simple acids, and low-pressure chromatography. A method for rapid separation and preconcentration of fission product lanthanides is also reported based upon the optimized conditions identified in this work; the separation approach enables isolation of lanthanide isotopes in high purity and chemical yield, with final elution fraction volumes of 4 mLs