cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The influence of tau, amyloid, alpha-synuclein, TDP-43, and vascular pathology in clinically normal elderly individuals.

Abstract Many individuals live to older ages without clinical impairment. It is unknown whether brain pathologies in these individuals are associated with subtle clinical deficits. We analyzed the brains of 161 clinically normal (Clinical Dementia Rating score = 0) older individuals enrolled in the Mayo Clinic Patient Registry or Study of Aging. We assessed for the presence and burden of beta-amyloid, tau, alpha-synuclein, TDP-43, and vascular pathology. We investigated whether pathologies were associated with antemortem cognitive and motor function, depression, MRI volumetric measures, or the apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 allele. Eighty-six percent had at least 1 pathology, and 63% had mixed pathologies. Tau and vascular pathology were associated with poorer memory scores. Tau was also associated with poorer general cognition scores and smaller amygdala, hippocampi, and entorhinal cortex volumes. Beta-amyloid neuritic plaque burden was associated with greater depression scores. The presence of a greater number of pathologies was associated with APOE e4 carrier status and with poorer memory performance. Some dementia-related pathologies are associated with poorer performance in clinical measures and brain atrophy in the unimpaired elderly.
Medieval pedagogical writings: an epitome

Sarah B. Lynch’s Medieval Pedagogical Writings: An Epitome focuses on 15 educational texts ranging from the pagan Roman author Quintilian in the first century AD to the fifteenth-century Italian hu...
An IoT-based Common Platform Integrating Robots and Virtual Characters for High Performance and Cybersecurity

Two humanoid robots are developed. Both robots are human-like in appearance though one is more human-like than the other. A virtual human with human-like appearance is also developed. Various similar functionalities and interaction modalities for the robots and the virtual human are developed. Various technologies are incorporated with them to make them intelligent and autonomous. A common platform in the form of an internet of things (IoT) is developed that can integrate the robots and the virtual human for their real-world collaboration. Then, the collaboration between each robot and the virtual human is separately implemented via the common platform based on some control algorithms for finding a hidden object in a homely environment. The collaboration between the robot and the virtual human is evaluated. The status of cybersecurity in the IoT is briefly analyzed. The results show that the collaboration is satisfactory in various terms, which justify their social integration in the form of an IoT. Two robots with different appearance are actually used to investigate the effects of anthropomorphism on the interaction. The results can help employ artificial intelligent agents of heterogeneous realities to perform real-world tasks through their cooperation in the form of IoT that can provide high performance and cybersecurity.
Full In-Place Printing of Flexible Electrolyte-Gated CNT-TFTs

The vast majority of research in the printed electronics space is invested into the development of RFID antennae, sensors, and transistors to facilitate the growth of ubiquitous electronics for the Internet-of-Things (IoT) [1]. Despite an intensive research effort over the past 20 years, a streamlined, direct-write, print-on-demand fabrication process, similar to the likes of today's 3D printing technologies (where the substrate never leaves the printing stage), has yet to be developed. The challenges preventing printed electronics from reaching such a point today are, in part, the high process temperature requirements imposed by inorganic nanoparticle-based inks. Recent work has shown that increasing the aspect ratio of nanostructures in an ink results in the reduction of its process temperature requirements [2], which is a major step towards the development of print-on-demand electronics. Utilizing these findings, in past work we have demonstrated substrate-gated, partially in-place printed thin-film transistors (TFTs) at low-temperatures using rigid Si substrates for gate and dielectric [3]. However, the demonstration of a fully in-place printed flexible TFT technology, where the source, drain, gate, dielectric, and semiconductor are all printed, is necessary for the further development of print-on-demand electronics. In this work, we demonstrate fully in-place printed TFTs on flexible substrates. This is achieved using materials and inks amenable to low-temperature processing, which include semiconducting carbon nanotubes (s-CNTs), conductive silver nanowires (AgNW), and an ionic gel (IG) dielectric, resulting in high-performance, low-voltage devices with a maximum process temperature of only 80°C.
Parameter Estimation Bounds Based on the Theory of Spectral Lines.

Recent methods in the machine learning literature have proposed a Gaussian noise-based exogenous signal to learn the parameters of a dynamic system. In this paper, we propose the use of a spectral lines-based deterministic exogenous signal to solve the same problem. Our theoretical analysis consists of a new toolkit which employs the theory of spectral lines, retains the stochastic setting, and leads to non-asymptotic bounds on the parameter estimation error. The results are shown to lead to a tunable parameter identification error. In particular, it is shown that the identification error can be minimized through an an optimal choice of the spectrum of the exogenous signal.
Differences Between Races in Health Information Seeking and Trust Over Time: Evidence From a Cross-Sectional, Pooled Analyses of HINTS Data.

Purpose:Assessed racial disparities in health information-seeking behavior and trust of information sources from 2007 to 2017.Design:Pooled cross-sectional survey data.Setting:Health Information Na...
Biomolecular Structure and Interactions

At a molecular level, organic structures come about from electromagnetic interactions and from nature’s quantum behavior. Humans now have a successful, accurate, and predictive description of atoms and molecules, applying the theory of quantum electrodynamics. Included in the theory is all of chemistry, which includes the biochemistry of life. Our instruments for probing the micro-world have recently undergone revolutionary advancements, even to the point of being able to observe the progression of biological actions at the molecular level. We can see viral structure and actions, and the damage of radiation on our DNA.
Soil cone index and bulk density of a sandy loam under no-till and conventional tillage in a corn-soybean rotation

Abstract Tillage practices may have a profound impact on both soil environment and agricultural productivity. A field study was carried out from 2013 to 2019 to investigate the effect of no-till (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) on soil cone index (CI), bulk density (ρb), and gravimetric water content (θm) in a 2-yr corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max [L.]) rotation on a Lihen sandy loam. The study was arranged in a randomized complete block design with five replications. Soil CI was measured with a digital penetrometer to a depth of 0−30-cm after planting in crop rows within each plot. Undisturbed soil cores were sampled at 0–15 and 15–30 cm depths to measure ρb and θm under each tillage. Soil CI was significantly impacted by tillage in the 0–30 cm depth for the period of the study under both corn and soybean. Averaged across 0–30 cm, soil CI values were smaller in CT compared with NT in all 7 years. Soil CI averaged across 0–30 cm depth and 7 years resulted in greater CI of 2.027 and 2.030 MPa for NT compared to 1.118 and 1.137 MPa for CT under corn and soybean, respectively. Tillage had inconsistent effect on bulk density and gravimetric water content at 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm depths under both corn and soybean over a period of six years. Averaged over a 7-year period (2013−19), soil ρb values in the 0–30 cm layer were significantly lower in CT (1.557, 1.578 Mg m–3) that in NT (1.631, 1.635 Mg m–3) under corn and soybean, respectively. There were no differences in soil θm between two tillage systems under both corn and soybean. Smaller CI and ρb values in CT under both corn and soybean may be related to soil disturbance caused by intensive tilling compared to NT management practices.
Integrity Fees in Sports Betting Markets.

Sports leagues have requested state legislatures to pass so-called integrity fees or taxes on the entire amount bet on their games, ostensibly to provide resources to protect against game fixing and other corrupt behavior. These fees might just augment league revenues. Integrity fees have different consequences if they are placed on a sports book’s handle or hold. We model one possible consequence of an integrity fee placed on the handle, that sports books might be motivated to avoid pushes, after which they have no hold but face a tax liability. One approach moves to half-point lines which eliminate pushes but might be second best in terms of betting market efficiency. As a case study, we describe the characteristics of recent betting lines in four North American sports. Based on predicted pushes, actual pushes, half-point lines, and the intertemporal correlation between the annual number of pushes and the annual number of half-point lines, it appears that sports books already actively set lines that avoid pushes and could easily adjust to half-point lines motivated by integrity fees.
“I Can’t Reply with That”: Characterizing Problematic Email Reply Suggestions

In email interfaces, providing users with reply suggestions may simplify or accelerate correspondence. While the “success” of such systems is typically quantified using the number of suggestions selected by users, this ignores the impact of social context, which can change how suggestions are perceived. To address this, we developed a mixed-methods framework involving qualitative interviews and crowdsourced experiments to characterize problematic email reply suggestions. Our interviews revealed issues with over-positive, dissonant, cultural, and gender-assuming replies, as well as contextual politeness. In our experiments, crowdworkers assessed email scenarios that we generated and systematically controlled, showing that contextual factors like social ties and the presence of salutations impacts users’ perceptions of email correspondence. These assessments created a novel dataset of human-authored corrections for problematic email replies. Our study highlights the social complexity of providing suggestions for email correspondence, raising issues that may apply to all social messaging systems.
Introducing Raymond T. Chung, M.D., Our 2021 AASLD President.

Teachers enjoy no higher reward than being surpassed by their students. For his teachers, Ray Chung's multifaceted success and academic versatility have been a rich source of pride. How often have we heard the refrain that the traditional "triple-threat" academic physician is extinct? They forgot to check with Ray! Combining excellence in research, patient care, and teaching, Ray represents the finest example of a physician-scientist. I am honored to introduce him to the AASLD community.
Asymmetric Relations and the Friendship Paradox

The friendship paradox says that your friends have more friends than you. The result assumes symmetric relations: if two people are friends, then each is the other's friend. For social networks that satisfy this assumption (e.g., Facebook), the friendship paradox implies that firms can potentially achieve faster and more widespread diffusion of information by seeding it with the friends of a group of people than with people in the group itself. We generalize the result to allow one-sided (leader/follower) relations and examine the implications for seeding in social networks where messages can be sent only by a leader to his/her followers. We obtain necessary and sufficient conditions under which the highest number of followers is obtained by seeding with (1) leaders, (2) followers, and (3) individuals chosen by ignoring the distinction between leaders and followers. We examine the seeding implications of the results for a subset of Twitter users.
Autonomous detection and mapping of meta-events using distributed control agents

Swarm robotics research describes the study of how a group of relatively simple physically embodied agents can, through their interaction collectively accomplish tasks which are far beyond the capabilities of a single agent. From this information they are able to decide their behavior and take the appropriate action. A global behavior can then be witnessed that is derived from the local behaviors of each agent. The presented research introduces the novel method for optimizing the communication and the processing of communicated data for the purpose of detecting large scale meta-object or event, denoted as meta-event, which are unquantifiable through a single robotic agent. The ability of a swarm of robotic agents to cover a relatively large physical environment and their ability to detect changes or anomalies within the environment is especially advantageous for the detection of objects and the recognition of events such as oil spills, hurricanes, and large scale security monitoring. In contrast a single robot, even with much greater capabilities, could not explore or cover multiple areas of the same environment simultaneously. Many previous swarm behaviors have been developed focusing on the rules governing the local agent to agent behaviors of separation, alignment, and cohesion. By effectively optimizing these simple behaviors in coordination, through cooperative and competitive actions based on a chosen local behavior, it is possible to achieve an optimized global emergent behavior of locating a meta-object or event. From the local to global relationship an optimized control algorithm was developed following the basic rules of swarm behavior for the purpose of meta-event detection and recognition. Results of this optimized control algorithm are presented and compared with other work in the field of swarm robotics.
Effect of High Dose Vitamin C on Urinary Oxalate Levels

AbstractThe effect of high dose ascorbate on urinary oxalate levels in healthy adults was investigated using a modified ion chromatography method. Subjects ingested 1, 5 and 10gm. supplemental ascorbate per day for 5 days, separated by 5 days of no supplementation. Urine ascorbate levels demonstrated variable increases with ascorbate supplementation. Ascorbate added directly to urine in vitro resulted in statistically significant but modest increases in measured oxalate. Addition of 5.68mmol./l. ascorbate increased measured urinary oxalate by 36μmol./l, implying conversion of ascorbate to oxalate during analysis. Measurement of 24-hour urinary oxalate levels with 5 and 10gm. ascorbate per day showed similar, modest increases, which could be entirely accounted for by oxalate production during analytical procedures. Thus, no genuine increase in urinary oxalate was demonstrable despite a greatly increased ascorbate intake.
Comparison of Methods to Trace Multiple Subskills: Is LR-DBN Best?.

A long-standing challenge for knowledge tracing is how to update estimates of multiple subskills that underlie a single observable step. We characterize approaches to this problem by how they model knowledge tracing, fit its parameters, predict performance, and update subskill estimates. Previous methods allocated blame or credit among subskills in various ways based on strong assumptions about their relation to observed performance. LRDBN relaxes these assumptions by using logistic regression in a Dynamic Bayes Net. LR-DBN significantly outperforms previous methods on data sets from reading and algebra tutors in terms of predictive accuracy on unseen data, cutting the error rate by half. An ablation experiment shows that using logistic regression to predict performance helps, but that using it to jointly estimate subskills explains most of this dramatic improvement. An implementation of LR-DBN is now publicly available in the BNT-SM student modeling toolkit.
Experiencing the "west" through the "east" in the margins of Europe: Chinese food consumption practices in postsocialist Bulgaria

AbstractGlobalization often assumes a directionality that is associated with a one-way flow of commodities and ideas from the “West” to the “East.” As a result, Western food practices and symbols such as McDonald's and Starbucks have become symbolic markers of globalization. Non-Western commodities such as Chinese food or Japanese sushi, however, have also been associated with globalization. In postsocialist Bulgaria, Chinese food has become very popular and has been considered “exotic,” and paradoxically a symbol of “Western-ness.” This paper traces the changing consumption practices of Chinese food in Sofia, Bulgaria over the past decade to show that the experience of eating “other” cuisines is not simply to imagine and romanticize the experience of the “other.” Rather, Bulgarians use Chinese food to evaluate their political and economic position within the global hierarchy during intensive social transformation. Chinese food consumption in Bulgaria, therefore, engages with debates on normalcy and authe...
Hydroelectric relicensing: An optimal approach

Abstract In the next decade, several hydroelectric licenses will expire under the terms of the Federal Power Act; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has determined that economic efficiency is a reasonable criterion to use when granting a license to competing utilities and has granted a disputed hydroelectric facility to the company with the higher avoided cost. At first glance, this avoided cost criterion seems appropriate. However, the standard that FERC prescribed is theoretically appropriate only if a utility sells power to ultimate customers at marginal cost rates, which is often not true. This paper suggests a second-best allocation rule for allocating the disputed capacity.
Global Imbalances and Liquidity-Induced Bubbles: The Need for International Monetary Reform

Economic analyses vary with respect to the extent to which deregulation contributed to the financial crisis of 2008-2009, but coalesce on one major cause: excessive leverage and risk-taking. Yet, excessive risk-taking was nearly ubiquitous and occurred despite different levels of regulatory stringency across nations, suggesting that regulatory failure, though a contributing factor, ought not to be singled out as the sole cause of the current crisis. This commentary discusses how some features of the international trade and monetary regime have played a major role in producing the recent crisis. It maintains that persistent underlying global imbalances in exchange rates, trade, savings and consumption create the liquidity conditions ideal for the development of bubbles in several countries. Because the existing WTO/IMF legal infrastructure was designed to address balance-of-payment crises in narrow contexts, only a set of cooperative, multinational exchange rate adjustments would prevent the destabilizing effect that accumulation of massive currency reserves can have on world trade flows and national economies. Such global macroeconomic coordination would require surplus and deficit countries to accept monetary, budgetary and geopolitical trade-offs if they wish to forestall the rise of protectionism and promote a stable international economic environment.
Ideology, Conflict, and Leadership in Groups and Organizations

In this book a psychoanalytic clinician and theoretician of world renown integrates current knowledge of the psychodynamics of individuals, groups, and organizations into a new theoretical framework. Dr. Otto F. Kernberg shows how the interplay of libidinal and aggressive impulses enacted within the dynamic unconscious of the individual also occurs at the level of groups and social organizations. He sheds new light on the turbulent nature of human interactions in groups, suggests how this understanding may help to resolve conflicts at the group and institutional levels, and provides a model for achieving effective institutional change. Dr. Kernberg applies his integrative frame to the analysis of the regressive processes in groups, the nature of institutional leadership, and the conditions of rational functioning that may protect the organization from the most dangerous consequences of regressive group processes. To illustrate the therapeutic uses of the model, he considers its applications to group therapy and the therapeutic community; to illustrate its consultative potential, he includes a section on problems in psychoanalytic organizations. In conclusion, the author extends his theoretical framework to the social sciences, proposing contributions to the psychology of ideology formation, bureaucracy, conventionality, and the political process.
Amethopterin in abdominal pregnancy

ginning of the last menses 8 weeks before testing. However, when the 24, hour samples were used, both gave positive results. The explanation is not definite. It may be that early during pregnancy in some individuals the concentration of urinary gonadotropin is not significantly increased during the night or that the Placental secretion of this hormone in some women is not too high in the very early stages of gestation. The Burdick pregnancy test is an exceedingly valuable tool not only in the diagnosis of normal or abnormal gestation but apparently in the study of such pathologic conditions as hydatidiform mole and choriocarcinoma. Because of its validity, it may serve the specialist in the study of many unknown problems of normal and abnormal placental secretion,
Built-in stepped-sine measurements for digital control systems

Mechatronic systems are a class of systems in which the mechanics and electronics are closely intertwined. Examples range from small scale mechanics such as hard disk drives, optical disk drives, and atomic force microscopes (AFMs) [1] to large scale mechanisms such as wind turbines [2]. Mechatronic systems often include multiple lightly damped resonances and/or anti-resonances. The control of these systems involves either restricting the bandwidth to being roughly a quarter of the frequency of the first system resonance or identifying these dynamics and finding a way to mitigate them with the control algorithm [3], [4]. This paper describes a stepped-sine or sine dwell algorithm (also known as swept-sine in the industrial literature) which is built into the realtime controller for precise identification of highly resonant mechatronic systems.
Local and long-range functional connectivity is reduced in concert in autism spectrum disorders

Long-range cortical functional connectivity is often reduced in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but the nature of local cortical functional connectivity in ASD has remained elusive. We used magnetoencephalography to measure task-related local functional connectivity, as manifested by coupling between the phase of alpha oscillations and the amplitude of gamma oscillations, in the fusiform face area (FFA) of individuals diagnosed with ASD and typically developing individuals while they viewed neutral faces, emotional faces, and houses. We also measured task-related long-range functional connectivity between the FFA and the rest of the cortex during the same paradigm. In agreement with earlier studies, long-range functional connectivity between the FFA and three distant cortical regions was reduced in the ASD group. However, contrary to the prevailing hypothesis in the field, we found that local functional connectivity within the FFA was also reduced in individuals with ASD when viewing faces. Furthermore, the strength of long-range functional connectivity was directly correlated to the strength of local functional connectivity in both groups; thus, long-range and local connectivity were reduced proportionally in the ASD group. Finally, the magnitude of local functional connectivity correlated with ASD severity, and statistical classification using local and long-range functional connectivity data identified ASD diagnosis with 90% accuracy. These results suggest that failure to entrain neuronal assemblies fully both within and across cortical regions may be characteristic of ASD.
ARO: Geographic Information Systems-Based System for Optimizing Airport Runway Orientation

Determination of a runway orientation is a critical task in the planning and design of an airport. The direction of the runway controls the layout of the other airport facilities, such as passenger terminals, taxiways/apron configurations, circulation roads, and parking facilities. This paper presents a geographic information systems (GIS)-based system called airport runway optimization (ARO) that determines the best runway orientation for the effective layout of airport facilities. The paper first provides an overview of the previous research efforts with regards to runway orientation and investigates Federal Aviation Administration standards, wind conditions, airspace obstructions, topographic settings, and other factors that apply to runway design. It then addresses a GIS-based wind rose method that automates the determination of runway placement. The ARO system uses the GIS-based wind rose method and customized GIS functions and database management tools to successfully solve the ’partial coverage’ problem. The ARO system significantly improves the current efforts of using ’trial and error’ and computation-intensive methods to determine runway alignment. (Presented at the 2001 ESRI’s Aunnual user conference, July 8-12, 2001, San Diego.)
Deadlock free buffer allocation in closed queueing networks

Blocking queueing networks are of much interest in performance analysis due to their realistic modeling capability. One important feature of such networks is that they may have deadlocks which can occur if the node capacities are not sufficiently large. A necessary and sufficient condition for the node capacities is presented such that the network is deadlock free. An algorithm is given for buffer allocation in blocking queueing networks such that no deadlocks will occur assuming that the network has the special structure called cacti-graph. Additional algorithm which takes linear time in the number of nodes, is presented to find cycles in cacti networks.
Genetic Epidemiology of Psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory, immune-mediated skin condition with a prevalence of 0–11.8 % across the world. It is associated with a number of cardiovascular, metabolic, and autoimmune disease comorbidities. Psoriasis is a multifactorial disorder, influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Its genetic basis has long been established through twin studies and familial clustering. The association of psoriasis with the HLA-Cw6 allele has been shown in many studies. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified a large number of other genes associated with psoriasis. Many of these genes regulate the innate and adaptive immune system. These findings indicate that a dysregulated immune system may play a major role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. In this article, we review the clinical and genetic epidemiology of psoriasis with a brief description of the pathogenesis of disease.
β-Sheet nanocrystalline domains formed from phosphorylated serine-rich motifs in caddisfly larval silk: a solid state NMR and XRD study.

Adhesive silks spun by aquatic caddisfly (order Trichoptera) larvae are used to build both intricate protective shelters and food harvesting nets underwater. In this study, we use 13C and 31P solid-state NMR and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) as tools to elucidate molecular protein structure of caddisfly larval silk from the species Hesperophylax consimilis. Caddisfly larval silk is a fibroin protein based biopolymer containing mostly repetitive amino acid motifs. NMR and X-ray results provide strong supporting evidence for a structural model in which phosphorylated serine repeats (pSX)4 complex with divalent cations Ca2+ and Mg2+ to form rigid nanocrystalline β-sheet structures in caddisfly silk. 13C NMR data suggests that both phosphorylated serine and neighboring valine residues exist in a β-sheet conformation while glycine and leucine residues common in GGX repeats likely reside in random coil conformations. Additionally, 31P chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) analysis indicates that the phosphates ...
Lipid modifications of G proteins

Covalent attachment of lipids is a near-universal mechanism through which eukaryotic cells direct and, in some cases, control membrane localization of G proteins. Studies conducted over the past year have substantially advanced our understanding of both the molecular mechanisms and the functional consequences of these modifications. Of particular note are the processes of palmitoylation of the alpha-subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins, and prenylation of members of the Ras superfamily of monomeric G proteins, where recent findings point to unexpected roles for lipid modifications in signaling through these proteins.
Nuisance and alarming bleeding do not correlate with on-treatment platelet reactivity.

Abstract Aims We hypothesized that patients with a history of either alarming or nuisance bleeding events, compared to those with no history of bleeding, would have lower levels of on-treatment platelet reactivity (aspirin and a thienopyridine). Methods and Results In total, 42 patients with no bleeding, 34 with nuisance bleeding, and 14 with alarming bleeding underwent platelet reactivity testing 1 month to 1 year after PCI with light transmission aggregometry (LTA 5 and 20 μM adenosine disphosphate [ADP]), vasodilator stimulated phosphoprotein phosphorylation (VASP) and VerifyNow P2Y12. Clinical and demographic characteristics of the 3 groups were generally similar, except that patients with alarming bleeding were less likely to be Caucasian; only 6 patients (6.7%) were taking prasugrel. There was considerable overlap between no bleeding, nuisance bleeding and alarming bleeding groups with respect to on-treatment platelet reactivity. Furthermore, there was no difference in the median platelet reactivity values for all assays. Prevalence of high on-treatment platelet reactivity did not differ among the 3 groups; 32.6% of patients had high on-treatment platelet reactivity as measured by LTA with 5 μM ADP ( P =.91); 40.0% as measured by VASP ( P =.35); and 35.6% as measured by VerifyNow P2Y12 ( P =.61). Conclusion The use of platelet reactivity assays to identify patients on thienopyridine therapy at higher risk of bleeding is an unfounded strategy.
Optimum particle size distribution for reduced sintering shrinkage of a dental porcelain.

Abstract Objectives. The purpose of this investigation was to develop a systematic method for obtaining an optimum particle size distribution for a given dental porcelain and compaction method that had a low sintering shrinkage. Methods. Particles of coarse, medium and fine size were obtained from a commercial dental porcelain using a sedimentation method. Particle sizes were chosen so that the smaller particles would fit into the interstices between the next larger size. The different-sized powders were mixed in various proportions and compacted into a cylindrical mold. The specimens were fired and their linear firing shrinkages determined. An equation was developed to predict optimum proportions. The shrinkage of these mixed powders was compared to the shrinkage of the component powders, to the as-received commercial porcelain, and to predictions based on theoretical equations. These comparisons were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Fisher's Protected Least Significant Differences (PLSD). Results. Mixing specific proporations of different-sized particles significantly reduced sintering shrinkage (p = 0.01) for all mixtures except for one trimodal mixture having the smallest particles. These reductions in shrinkage were obtained for the proportions predicted by the developed equation. Sintering shrinkages for predicted proportions of a three-component mixture and two two-component mixtures were significantly less than that of the original powder (p = 0.01). Significance. A systematic method was developed for producing dental frits with low firing shrinkage. Mixing of different-sized particles produced frits with lower sintering shrinkage. The optimum proportions of the sized particles were given by an equation. The results of this study suggest that optimum particle size distributions for frits are dependent upon compaction methods.
Pragmatic considerations in semantic analyses

In this paper I argue against a sharp separation of semantics from pragmatics. While it may be useful to consider semantics independently of pragmatics, in some cases this strategy may lead us astray. First, I make a methodological point. Competing semantic analyses are often presented as supported by competing semantic intuitions of native speakers. Functional considerations are pragmatic considerations which should affect our choice of semantics. These are inferences from the linguistic goals the speakers actually achieve to the meanings their expressions must therefore have. Second, there are linguistic expressions whose semantic (literal) meaning is a function of their pragmatic uses.I consider two examples. First, the logicians' debate over the universal analysis of conditionals in natural language. The participants in the debate all ignore conditional forms other than the assertoric and subjunctive. In particular they ignore the conditional speech-act reading. The meaning of the conditional is related to its function: to restrict the commitment of a given speech-act to special conditions. A functional proof of the existence of such conditionals (even in the assertoric mood) is given, thus showing that the different semantics account only for part of the relevant facts. The second example concerns vague terms. I claim that one of their main uses is to help us identify objects by reference not to their absolute properties but relative to their background. This function cannot be performed by the use of non-vague terms. Vague terms are context dependent and may in some contexts be used non-vaguely and refer to distinct objects in the discourse domain. In a way, what these terms end up denoting is a function of the use of predicates to partition a given domain.
The effect of physical activity on 18-month weight change in overweight adults

Few studies have been conducted that have examined the long-term effect of different doses of physical activity (PA) on weight change in overweight adults without a prescribed reduction in energy intake. This study examined the effect of different prescribed doses of PA on weight change, body composition, fitness, and PA in overweight adults. Two hundred seventy-eight overweight adults (BMI: 25.0-29.9 kg/m²; age: 18-55 years) with no contraindications to PA were randomized to one of three intervention groups for a period of 18 months. MOD-PA was prescribed 150 min/week and HIGH-PA 300 min/week of PA. Self-help group (SELF) was provided a self-help intervention to increase PA. There was no recommendation to reduce energy intake. MOD-PA and HIGH-PA were delivered in a combination of in-person and telephone contacts across 18 months. 18-month percent weight change was -0.7 ± 4.6% in SELF, -0.9 ± 4.7% in MOD-PA, and -1.2 ± 5.6% in HIGH-PA. Subjects were retrospectively grouped as remaining within ±3% of baseline weight (WT-STABLE), losing >3% of baseline weight (WT-LOSS), or gaining >3% of baseline weight (WT-GAIN) for secondary analyses. 18-month weight change was 0.0 ± 1.3% for WT-STABLE, +5.4 ± 2.6% for WT-GAIN, and -7.4 ± 3.6% for WT-LOSS. 18-month change in PA was 78.2 ± 162.6 min/week for WT-STABLE, 74.7 ± 274.3 for WT-GAIN, and 161.9 ± 252.6 min/week for WT-LOSS. The weight change observed in WT-LOSS was a result of higher PA combined with improved scores on the Eating Behavior Inventory (EBI), reflecting the adoption of eating behaviors to facilitate weight loss. Strategies to facilitate the maintenance of these behaviors are needed to optimize weight control.
Calcium carbonate dissolution history in late quaternary deep sea sediments western gulf of mexico

Abstract Calcium carbonate dissolution has been studied in eight piston cores from the western Gulf of Mexico ranging in depth from 965 to 3630. The degree of dissolution throughout the cores was determined by studies of foraminiferal test fragmentation, benthonic foraminiferal abudance, calcium carbonate concentration, and various relationships between solution-resistant and solution-susceptible species. The paleoclimatic history recorded in these cores is similar to those defined previously in the Gulf of Mexico and equatorial Atlantic. Two mesgascopically distinct ash layers and well-defined planktonic foraminiferal subzones permit precise intercore correlation of dissolution horizons. All cores demonstrate intense dissolution during several subzones, especially during the early-middle Y, X1, and W1. Other less consistent dissolution horizons occur in various cores. Sedimentation rates increase while calcite concentrations decrease during glacial episodes suggesting increased dilution by terrigenous materials. Despite this, glacial episodes show greater dissolution and worse preservation of foraminiferal tests. Therefore, increased dissolution of calcium carbonate during glacial episodes must be a function of some mechanism that more than compensates for the increased rate of burial by terrigenous sediments. Dissolution is dissolution processes are not responsible for the observed effects. The oxidation of organic material may be the primary mechanism controlling the dissolution of calcium carbonate in the western Gulf of Mexico.
Innovative Seismic Performance Enhancement Techniques for Steel Building Moment Resisting Connections

Abstract This study develops and experimentally validates an innovative technique for enhancing the seismic performance of steel beam to column moment connections. The technique involves reducing the strength of specified regions of the beam flanges by exposing them to high temperatures followed by slow cooling. Analogous to the reduced beam section (RBS) connection, yielding and plastic hinge formation is promoted in the heat-treated beam section (HBS). Moreover, because the elastic and inelastic modulus of the steel is unmodified by the heat-treatment and the beam cross section is not altered, an HBS connection does not sacrifice elastic stiffness or buckling resistance as does the RBS. Design of the HBS connection was performed through detailed finite element analysis and material testing. Two large scale connections modified with the HBS technique were tested in this study. The test program showed that the proposed heat-treatment technique was successful in the promotion of yielding and plastic hinge development in the heat-treated regions with specimens attaining interstory drifts as high as 6% without weld or near weld fracture. Strength degradation due to beam buckling within the HBS was the observed failure mechanism in both specimens. Detail analyses of strain and beam deformation data are presented to explain the HBS connection plastic hinge formation and gradual strength degradation. Broader applications of the technique to other structural components are identified.
Aire Controls Mesenchymal Stem Cell-mediated Suppression in Chronic Colitis

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are emerging as a promising immunotherapeutic, based largely on their overt suppression of T lymphocytes under inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. While paracrine cross-talk between MSCs and T cells has been well-studied, an intrinsic transcriptional switch that programs MSCs for immunomodulation has remained undefined. Here we show that bone marrow-derived MSCs require the transcriptional regulator Aire to suppress T cell-mediated pathogenesis in a mouse model of chronic colitis. Surprisingly, Aire did not control MSC suppression of T cell proliferation in vitro. Instead, Aire reduced T cell mitochondrial reductase by negatively regulating a proinflammatory cytokine, early T cell activation factor (Eta)-1. Neutralization of Eta-1 enabled Aire−/− MSCs to ameliorate colitis, reducing the number of infiltrating effector T cells in the colon, and normalizing T cell reductase levels. We propose that Aire represents an early molecular switch imposing a suppressive MSC phenotype via regulation of Eta-1. Monitoring Aire expression in MSCs may thus be a critical parameter for clinical use.
Unexpected action of platelet activating factor antagonism after fluid resuscitation from traumatic shock

Abstract Background. We have shown that therapy directed at polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) CD18 receptors attenuates sequelae associated with a post-trauma endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide [LPS]) challenge. Platelet activating factor (PAF) stimulates PMNs by CD18-independent pathways, and WEB-2086, a PAF receptor antagonist, blunts septic symptoms in many experimental models. This study tested the hypothesis that the blockade of non-CD18 dependent PMN adherence attenuates trauma- and LPS-evoked pulmonary dysfunction. Methods. We performed three experiments. First, anesthetized swine were subjected to hind-limb trauma and 30% hemorrhage. After 1 hour animals were resuscitated with shed blood, lactated Ringer's solution (LRS), and WEB-2086 (10 mg/kg/hr) or vehicle. After a 72-hour recovery period, LPS was administered. LPS was then administered without an earlier episode of traumatic shock to animals treated with WEB-2086 or vehicle. Finally, PAF was infused before and after trauma and a dose response curve was obtained. Results. Surprisingly, PAF blockade increased mortality after trauma (5 of 11 WEB-2086 animals versus 1 of 9 vehicle animals; p = 0.15) and depressed cardiac index and O2 delivery at 72 hours (p Conclusions. Because WEB-2086 had unexpected and fundamentally opposite properties before and after trauma, PAF may have a previously undescribed homeostatic role in the compensatory response to injury. These results also suggest that blockade of endogenous inflammatory mediators can have a positive or negative action, depending on the timing of administration and the preexisting condition.
Hannah Arendt: The burden of anticreedal culture

'Comprehension,' Hannah Arendt wrote in the first Preface to The Origins of Totalitarianism (originally titled The Burden of Our Time), 'does not mean denying the outrageous, deducing the unprecedented from prece? dents, or explaining phenomena by such analogies and generalities that the impact of reality and the shock of experience are no longer felt.' Rather, she insisted, comprehension means 'bearing consciously the burden which our century has placed upon us ... the unpremeditated, attentive facing up to, and resisting of, reality whatever it may be' (1973: viii). Few thinkers, if
A Design Approach for the Systematic Improvement of Support Locations for Vibrating Circuit Cards

This paper approaches the problem of improving an initial guess at support locations for a vibrating circuit card so as to increase the first natural frequency of the card. The finite element method and structural dynamic modification techniques are combined with a simple sequential search algorithm to systematically improve the location of point supports for a circuit card populated with components. It is found that the proposed methodology can be useful for determining the support locations of a circuit card so as to increase its fundamental natural frequency. A case study is presented in which the original support locations on an existing commercial power supply circuit card are systematically improved giving a better than two fold increase in the natural frequency. Additionally, finite element modeling approaches for determining the modal characteristics of a circuit card are compared with experimental results.
Contaminants and bilateral asymmetry in yellow perch

Several studies have shown that contaminants can induce bilateral asymmetry in fishes. In this study five bilateral meristic characters from seven populations of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from Ohio and Wisconsin were enumerated to determine if there were any relationships among the asymmetries for each character and the body burdens of contaminants. Bilateral characters included scales on, above and below the lateral line, pectoral fin rays and gill rakers. Contaminants found in yellow perch were primarily polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and dieldrin. All populations were asymmetrical for each bilateral character, but the degree of asymmetry was not related to contaminant levels. Unless a direct relationship between asymmetry and contaminants can be shown, we do not believe that this phenomenon will be a useful biological monitor.
Dimensional analysis in mathematical biology. II

The application of dimensional analysis in biology is further illustrated by functional equations composed of dimensionless numbers and dealing with renal physiology, lung physiology and plant leaf shape. Dimensional variables and dimensionless numbers are examined from the viewpoint of numerical invariant properties of a certain physical system. Utilization of the method for problems such as design of an artificial kidney is considered briefly. A tabulation of variables useful in biology is given, with suggestions for a number of new dimensional entities. A continuation of the list of dimensionless invariants from Part I (Bull. Math. Biophysics,23, 355–376, 1961) is provided and includes terms pertaining to general physiology, geometric growth, metabolism, ecological interactions, muscle kinetics and other areas. It is pointed out that use of dimensionless ratios (similarity criteria) makes possible a direct comparison of form or shape factors and relative growth ratios with a variety of physical ratios, through the use of functional equations containing only dimensionless entities. Organismal similarity during growth and development, and between genetically related species, may be analyzed in terms of “automodel” or “self-similar” systems governed by certain dimensionless invariants. Tables of biological variables and dimensionless groupings are included.