cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conjugated linoleic acid does not reduce body fat but decreases hepatic steatosis in adult Wistar rats.

The dietary fatty acid conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) reduces hepatic lipid accumulation in some rodent models for obesity and hepatic steatosis. However, these effects are variable and complex due to differences in isomer responses and degree and sensitivity to changes in adiposity. Here, we hypothesized that CLA decreases hepatic steatosis in a diet-induced model of obesity in rats which are resistant to the adipose-lowering effects of CLA. To investigate this, we fed male Wistar rats a high-fat (20%) diet for 4 weeks to induce obesity and hepatic steatosis followed by low-fat (6.5%) experimental diets containing either 6.5% soybean oil (CON) or 1.5% CLA triglyceride mix plus 5% soybean oil (CLA). Dietary CLA significantly lowered hepatic triglycerides without changing weight, adiposity or adipokines, and was associated with significantly lower hepatic fatty acid synthase and stearoyl CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1) mRNA levels and SCD-1 index along with significantly lower sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 mRNA, a transcription factor that regulates lipogenesis. Furthermore, the lower lipogenesis was associated with significantly higher mRNA expression of lipid oxidation gene peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α and acetyl CoA oxidase in the livers of rats fed dietary CLA. The lipid-lowering effects of CLA in the liver were observed in the absence of changes in adipose tissue and body weight. Thus, we conclude that in the Wistar rat model, where adipose levels remain static after feeding dietary CLA, hepatic lipid accumulation is reduced and these effects are not due to an improvement in overall adiposity.
Intravenous urography in the emergency department: when do we need it?

Intravenous urography (IVU) is a useful radiographic study in the detection of renal and ureteral calculi. However, it is time consuming, expensive, and exposes the patient to i.v. contrast and radiation. To determine the impact of utilizing IVU less for the detection of renal calculi, criteria for ordering IVU in the emergency department (ED) were evaluated, and patients with high probability of positive IVU were identified. Variables included presence of acute flank pain with haematuria, prior history of renal calculus, degree of haematuria, and uncontrolled pain. We reviewed patients presenting with acute flank and abdominal pain with haematuria from May 1995 to May 1996 at a large urban university hospital. Charts were abstracted for prior history, reason for ordering IVU, time in the ED, laboratory results, IVU result, final diagnosis, and disposition. Data was analysed with Student's t-test, Wilcoxon rank-sum and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. A total of 302 patients were identified, and 185 underwent IVU during the study period. For patients with prior history of renal calculi 82% had positive IVU (sensitivity 51%, specificity 87%). For patients with both acute flank pain and haematuria, 92% had a positive IVU (sensitivity 93%, specificity 43%), and 19% of patients with abdominal pain of unclear aetiology with haematuria had a positive IVU. All patients with uncontrolled pain had evidence of high-grade obstruction on IVU. Degree of haematuria was not predictive of a positive IVU from ROC curve derivation. IVU is a useful study in the ED but may be overutilized, leading to lengthy patient stays. The combined objective findings of acute flank pain and haematuria are sensitive, and prior history is specific in identifying patients with renal calculi. Degree of haematuria was not useful in predicting renal calculi. By utilizing the criteria of acute flank pain and haematuria as a decision aid, 66% of all IVUs ordered could have been avoided.
PROGRESS IN THE GENETIC ANALYSIS OF FETAL CELLS CIRCULATING IN MATERNAL BLOOD

The presence of fetal cells in maternal blood has been demonstrated by many investigators who continue to refine methods to permit their isolation, identification and genetic analysis. The sensitivity and specificity of this technique for noninvasive aneuploidy detection is currently being addressed in a multicenter clinical trial. Significant advances have also occurred in fetal single-cell and single-gene analysis.
Sequence of ventricular stimulation and contraction in a case of anomalous atrioventricular excitation

Abstract 1. 1. In a case of intermittent anomalous atrioventricular excitation it was found that the interval from the beginning of the P to the end of the QRS was shorter with the anomalous than with the normal beats. 2. 2. These and other data are interpreted to mean that depolarization of the ventricles was mediated entirely through an accessory pathway in the right ventricle, and that there was no conduction through the normal A-V conduction system when the QRS complexes were anomalous. 3. 3. Considerable delay in ejection of the left ventricle compared to the right occurred when the P-R interval was short. 4. 4. It is suggested that in different individuals with the syndrome, and sometimes in the same individual, variations in the relative amounts of ventricular muscle excited by impulses reaching it through the normal pathway on the one hand and through an accessory bundle or bundles on the other, readily explains many observations which have heretofore been regarded as conflicting.
EVALUATION OF ANTHELMINTIC FISHMEAL POLYMER BAITS FOR THE CONTROL OF BAYLISASCARIS PROCYONIS IN FREE-RANGING RACCOONS (PROCYON LOTOR)

Abstract Baylisascaris procyonis is a common gastrointestinal parasite of raccoons (Procyon lotor) and is a zoonotic helminth with the potential to cause severe or fatal infection. Raccoons thrive in human-dominated landscapes, and the fecal-oral transmission pathway and lack of effective treatment make B. procyonis a serious threat to public health. The distribution of medicinal baits has emerged as a socially acceptable and cost-effective method for managing disease in free-ranging wildlife. We assessed the suitability of a mass-producible anthelmintic bait for B. procyonis mitigation by evaluating the willingness of free-ranging raccoons to consume anthelmintic baits and determining whether bait consumption successfully cleared B. procyonis infections from raccoons. Anthelmintic baits were modified from standard fishmeal polymer baits, the food attractant commonly used in oral rabies vaccine baits, with the introduction of 220 mg of pyrantel pamoate into the fishmeal mixture. We captured 16 naturally i...
Energy adaptive mechanism for p2p file sharing protocols

Peer to peer (P2P) file sharing applications have gained considerable popularity and are quite bandwidth and energy intensive. With the increased usage of P2P applications on mobile devices, its battery life has become of significant concern. In this paper, we propose a novel mechanism for energy adaptation in P2P file sharing protocols to significantly enhance the possibility of a client completing the file download before exhausting its battery. The underlying idea is to group mobile clients based on their energy budget and impose restrictions on bandwidth usage and hence on energy consumption. This allows us to provide favoured treatment to low energy devices, while still ensuring long-term fairness through a credit based mechanism and preventing free riding. Furthermore, we show how the proposed mechanism can be implemented in a popular P2P file sharing application, the BitTorrent protocol and analyze it through a comprehensive set of simulations.
Marangoni Convection in Radiating Fluids

The onset of Marangoni convection driven by surface tension gradients in radiating fluid layers is studied. The system considered consists of a fluid layer of infinite horizontal extent which is confined between a free upper surface and a rigid isothermal lower surface. The radiative boundaries of black–black, mirror–mirror, and black–mirror are considered. The critical conditions leading to the onset of convective fluid motions in a microgravity environment are determined numerically by linear stability theory. The perturbation equations are solved as a Bolza problem in the calculus of variations. The results are presented in terms of the critical Marangoni number and optical thickness for a wide range of some radiative parameters, including the Planck number, nongrayness of the fluid, and the emissivity of the boundaries. It is found that radiation suppresses Marangoni convection during material processing in space.
Facilitating message exchange though middle agents

To utilize services provided by other agents, a requesting agent needs to locate and communicate with these service providers. Specifically, in order to interoperate with the providers, the requesting agent should know: 1) the service provider's interface; 2) the ontology that defines concepts used by the provider; and 3) the agent communication language (ACL) the agent uses so that it can parse and understand the communication. Currently deployed Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) encode the interface description and the ontology within a service provider's capability description (or \it advertisement) that is registered with a Middle Agent; however, this assumes a common ACL between communicating agents. We demonstrate how agents can communicate with each other using a template-based shallow parsing approach to constructing and decomposing messages, thus relaxing assumptions on the ACLs and message formats used.
Real Estate Education: Past, Present and Future—The Search for a Discipline

We are making headway, with difficulty, in our understanding and teaching of real estate subject matter. Until about 1960, heavy emphasis was on license preparation, salesmanship and professional development. The Gordon-Howell and Pierson reports led to a complete rethinking of real estate instruction at the university level. A problem solving approach is currently the key to respectability. Two versions of this approach are the (1) multidisciplinary and (2) financial management. Highest and best use promises to provide an acceptable social ethic for real estate education and implies the need for efficient real estate markets for optimum allocation of resources.
Decentralized model predictive control of cooperating UAVs

This paper implements robust decentralized model predictive control (DMPC) for a team of cooperating uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs). The problem involves vehicles with independent dynamics but with coupled constraints to capture required cooperative behavior. Using a recently-developed form of DMPC, each vehicle plans only for its own actions, but feasibility of the sub-problems and satisfaction of the coupling constraints are guaranteed throughout, despite the action of unknown but bounded disturbances. UAVs communicate relevant plan data to ensure that decisions are consistent across the team. Collision avoidance is used as an example of coupled constraints and the paper shows how the speed, turn rate and avoidance distance limits in the optimization should be modified in order to guarantee robust constraint satisfaction. Integer programming is used to solve the non-convex problem of path-planning subject to avoidance constraints. Numerical simulations compare computation time and target arrival time under decentralized and centralized control and investigate the impact of decentralization on team performance. The results show that the computation required for DMPC is significantly lower than for its centralized counterpart and scales better with the size of the team, at the expense of only a small increase in UAV flight times.
Review of vaginitis.

Adisruption of the dynamic equilibrium of the healthy vagina may have significant sequelae, leading to chronic or serious conditions. Therefore, all cases of vaginitis should be accurately diagnosed and appropriately treated.
Phenotypic plasticity of the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus telencephalon in response to experience in captivity

Threespine stickleback were used to examine phenotypic plasticity of telencephala in relation to inferred ecology. Fish from derived, allopatric, freshwater populations were sampled from three shallow, structurally complex lakes with ben- thic-foraging stickleback (benthics) and from three deep, structurally simple lakes with planktivores (limnetics). The telencepha- lon of specimens preserved immediately after capture (field-preserved), field-caught fish held in aquaria for 90 days (lab-held), and lab-bred fish from crosses and raised in aquaria were compared. Field-preserved sea-run (ancestral) stickleback were col- lected from two separate sites, and parents of lab-bred sea-run stickleback were collected from one of these sites. In field-preserved and lab-held fish, the telencephala of limnetics exhibited triangular dorsal shape, while those of benthics and sea-run fish had rounder shapes. No such pattern was detected in lab-bred fish. Within each treatment type, benthics had larger relative telencephalon sizes, using overall brain size as the covariate, than limnetics. Among field-preserved samples, sea-run fish had smaller telencephalon sizes than lake fish. Intra-population analyses of lake samples showed that field-preserved fish consis- tently had larger relative telencephalon sizes than lab-bred fish. The opposite was true of the sea-run population. In a separate study using one benthic population and one limnetic population, samples were preserved in the field immediately or held in the lab for 30, 60, and 90 days before they were sacrificed. In both populations, the telencephalon shapes of lab-held fish were similar to those of field-preserved fish but became progressively more like lab-bred ones over 90 days. In contrast, relative telencephalon size decreased dramatically by 30 days after which there was little change. In freshwater threespine stickleback, the telencephalon exhibits considerable phenotypic plasticity, which was probably present in the ancestor (Current Zoology 58 (1): 189-210, 2012).
Low power microelectronics: retrospect and prospect

The era of low power microelectronics began with the invention of the transistor in the late 1940's and came of age with the invention of the integrated circuit in the late 1950's. Historically, the most demanding applications of low power microelectronics have been battery operated products such as wrist watches, hearing aids, implantable cardiac pacemakers, pocket calculators, pagers, cellular telephones and prospectively the hand-held multi-media terminal However, in the early 1990's low power microelectronics rapidly evolved from a substantial tributary to the mainstream of microelectronics. The principal reasons for this transformation were the increasing packing density of transistors and increasing clock frequencies of CMOS microchips pushing heat removal and power distribution to the forefront of the problems confronting the advance of microelectronics. The distinctive thesis of this discussion is that future opportunities for low power gigascale integration (GSI) will be governed by a hierarchy of theoretical and practical limits whose levels can be codified as: (1) fundamental, (2) material, (3) device, (4) circuit, and (5) system. >
The analytical Monte Carlo method for approximating the distribution of a plant's electrical generation

A method for approximating the distribution of a plant's generation (and, therefore, of its fuel burn) as a function of both uncertainty in load forecasts and the plant's performance. The method is applicable to all-thermal systems. The moments of the distribution of the plant's generation are estimated by combining the statistical method of the generation of system moments with probabilistic production costing in a way that analytically models a Monte Carlo process. The resulting algorithm, referred to as the analytical Monte Carlo method, is evaluated by comparing its estimates of the moments of each plant's generation with that obtained using a Monte Carlo model. Results indicate that the method yields practical estimates for evaluating uncertainty that can be used in long-term studies. >
Preparation and characterization of polymer stabilized polystyrene latex

A polystyrene latex was prepared which was stabilized using the most effective stabilizer, i.e. a graft copolymer of polystyrene-poly(ethylene oxide). The latex and the stabilizer were characterized using infrared, elemental analysis, viscometry, osmometry, electron microscopy and microelectrophoresis techniques. The results show that the polystyrene latex is sterically stabilized and could be used for thermodynamic and kinetic studies.
PROGRESS IN LEARNING: A REVIEW OF CATANIA'S 4TH EDITION

The first edition of A. C. Catania’s Learning was published in 1979. Since that time, it has been a leading textbook for courses on learning and motivation, as well as a resource book for basic and applied researchers. One impetus for writing the first edition was the need to update Keller and Schoenfeld’s comprehensive text, Principles of Psychology, which was published in 1950. Keller and Schoenfeld not only presented what was known at the time about respondent and operant conditioning and related concepts but also entered into experimentally less charted waters on topics such as motivation, emotion, and social behavior (e.g., personality, verbal behavior, consciousness, and understanding). The net effect was to place the science of behavior at the center of psychology by providing a cohesive account of a wide spectrum of topics in psychology from the perspective of a science of behavior. Catania continued this example in the first and subsequent editions of Learning, illustrating that virtually no topic in psychology is outside the scope of behavior analysis. Catania’s (1998) text remains the most comprehensive and authoritative treatment of the subject available. So, for readers looking for their first text on learning, this review strongly recommends the fourth edition of Learning. But for those of us who have an
Evaluation of the combined effects of target size, respiratory motion and background activity on 3D and 4D PET/CT images

Gated (4D) PET/CT has the potential to greatly improve the accuracy of radiotherapy at treatment sites where internal organ motion is significant. However, the best methodology for applying 4D-PET/CT to target definition is not currently well established. With the goal of better understanding how to best apply 4D information to radiotherapy, initial studies were performed to investigate the effect of target size, respiratory motion and target-to-background activity concentration ratio (TBR) on 3D (ungated) and 4D PET images. Using a PET/CT scanner with 4D or gating capability, a full 3D-PET scan corrected with a 3D attenuation map from 3D-CT scan and a respiratory gated (4D) PET scan corrected with corresponding attenuation maps from 4D-CT were performed by imaging spherical targets (0.5-26.5 mL) filled with (18)F-FDG in a dynamic thorax phantom and NEMA IEC body phantom at different TBRs (infinite, 8 and 4). To simulate respiratory motion, the phantoms were driven sinusoidally in the superior-inferior direction with amplitudes of 0, 1 and 2 cm and a period of 4.5 s. Recovery coefficients were determined on PET images. In addition, gating methods using different numbers of gating bins (1-20 bins) were evaluated with image noise and temporal resolution. For evaluation, volume recovery coefficient, signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio were calculated as a function of the number of gating bins. Moreover, the optimum thresholds which give accurate moving target volumes were obtained for 3D and 4D images. The partial volume effect and signal loss in the 3D-PET images due to the limited PET resolution and the respiratory motion, respectively were measured. The results show that signal loss depends on both the amplitude and pattern of respiratory motion. However, the 4D-PET successfully recovers most of the loss induced by the respiratory motion. The 5-bin gating method gives the best temporal resolution with acceptable image noise. The results based on the 4D scan protocols can be used to improve the accuracy of determining the gross tumor volume for tumors in the lung and abdomen.
On coordination in child language

This paper evaluates Lust's (1977) study of coordination in child language, both on its own merits and in the light of my own research. First, particular design weaknesses in Lust's study are noted which render her results questionable. In addition, it is argued that the hypotheses proposed by Lust fail to make any substantive predictions about the types of errors which children make with coordinate structures. Finally, it is shown that Lust's hypotheses cannot account for the results of my own comprehension and non-imitative production experiments. It is concluded that Lust cannot account for a wide range of phenomena concerning coordination in child language, and consequently an alternative set of hypotheses is proposed.
A scalable architecture for distributed shared memory multiprocessors using optical interconnects

Summary form only given. We describe the design and analysis of a scalable architecture suitable for large-scale DSMs (distributed shared memory) systems. The approach is based on an interconnect technology which combines optical components and a novel architecture design. In DSM systems, as the network size increases, network contention results in increasing the critical remote memory access latency, which significantly penalizes the performance of DSM systems. In our proposed architecture called RAPID (reconfigurable and scalable all-photonic interconnect for distributed-shared memory), we provide high connectivity by maximizing the channel availability for remote communication to reduce the remote memory access latency. RAPID also provides fast and efficient unicast, multicast and broadcast capabilities using a combination of aggressively designed wavelength, time and space-division multiplexing techniques. We evaluated RAPID based on network characteristics, power budget criteria and simulation using synthetic traffic workloads and compared it against other scalable electrical networks. We found that RAPID, not only outperforms other networks, but also, satisfies most of the requirements of shared memory multiprocessor design such as low latency, high bandwidth, high connectivity, and easy scalability.
Rising incidence of breast cancer among young women in Washington State.

The prevalence of several known or suspected risk factors for breast cancer is changing among young women. The time trend in incidence of breast cancer among young women in western Washington was analyzed as a possible predictor of trends in future incidence rates. Data were from the Seattle-Puget Sound Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry. For women age 25-44 years (n = 1,869 cases), the incidence of breast cancer increased by 22% (P less than .001) between the time periods 1974-77 and 1982-84. The estimated annual increase was 2.5% (P less than .001). The increase in incidence over time appeared to be greater among those residing in low-income census tracts of urban counties and among black women. Possible relationships between the observed increase in rates and trends of risk factors for breast cancer are discussed.
Replacement models under additive damage

A production system which generates income is subject to random failure. Upon failure, the system is replaced by a new identical one and the replacement cycles are repeated indefinitely. In our breakdown model, shocks occur to the system in a Poisson stream. Each shock causes a random amount of damage, and these damages accumulate additively. The failure time depends on the accumulated damage in the system. The income from the system and the cost associated with a planned replacement depend on the accumulated damage in the system. An additional cost is incurred at each failure in service. We allow a controller to replace the system at any stopping time T before failure time. We will consider the problem of specifying a replacement rule that is optimal under the following criteria: maximum total long-run average net income per unit time, and maximum total long-run expected discounted net income. Our primary goal is to introduce conditions under which an optimal policy is a control limit policy and to investigate how the optimal policy can be obtained. Examples will be presented to illustrate computational procedures.
Genome-wide variation in the human and fruitfly: a comparison

Average levels of nucleotide diversity are ten-fold lower in humans than in the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster. Despite this difference, apparently as a result of a lower population size, patterns of genomic diversity are strikingly similar in being correlated with local rates of recombination, and influenced by similar interactions between positive natural selection and recombination. Both species also show lower levels of variation on average in non-African compared to African populations, reflecting a similar evolutionary history and perhaps both natural selection and founder effects in new environments.
Introduction to knowledge-based neural networks

Attempts have been made to incorporate symbolic knowledge into neural networks, resulting in a class of networks known as knowledge-based neural networks. These constructions inherit the merits of both the knowledge-based and neural network approaches to the modeling of human intelligence, and yet the hybrid holds out a major promise of being more successful than its parents. The paper introduces three kinds of knowledge-based neural network. These are based on production rules, decision trees, and semantic constraints, respectively.
Whitening-rotation-based semi-blind MIMO channel estimation

This paper proposes a whitening-rotation (WR)-based algorithm for semi-blind estimation of a complex flat-fading multi-input multi-output (MIMO) channel matrix H. The proposed algorithm is based on decomposition of H as the matrix product H=WQ/sup H/, where W is a whitening matrix and Q is unitary rotation matrix. The whitening matrix W can be estimated blind using only received data while Q is estimated exclusively from pilot symbols. Employing the results for the complex-constrained Cramer-Rao Bound (CC-CRB), it is shown that the lower bound on the mean-square error (MSE) in the estimate of H is directly proportional to its number of unconstrained parameters. Utilizing the bounds, the semi-blind scheme is shown to be very efficient when the number of receive antennas is greater than or equal to the number of transmit antennas. Closed-form expressions for the CRB of the semi-blind technique are presented. Algorithms for channel estimation based on the decomposition are also developed and analyzed. In particular, the properties of the constrained maximum-likelihood (ML) estimator of Q for an orthogonal pilot sequence is examined, and the constrained estimator for a general pilot sequence is derived. In addition, a Gaussian likelihood function is considered for the joint optimization of W and Q, and its performance is studied. Simulation results are presented to support the algorithms and analysis, and they demonstrate improved performance compared to exclusively training-based estimation.
The EE student's PC toolkit. II. Programs for graphing and plotting

For pt.I see ibid., vol.8, no.3, p.44-8 (1989). Public-domain and shareware application programs useful in electrical engineering coursework are described, focusing on software for graphing and plotting data. The question of graphics compatibility is addressed, and three software packages are described: PC-GRAF, a plotting package intended to produce line graphs on the IBM CGA screen or on a SWEET-P plotter; Mtool, a mathematical tool that can perform several useful functions with respect to an arbitrary well-behaved function of one variable; and CFIT, a program that can be used to try and fit up to 196 different curves to a group of data point pairs by the least-squares method. >
Early Callous-Unemotional Behavior, Theory-of-Mind, and a Fearful/Inhibited Temperament Predict Externalizing Problems in Middle and Late Childhood

Childhood externalizing problems are more likely to be severe and persistent when combined with high levels of callous-unemotional (CU) behavior. A handful of recent studies have shown that CU behavior can also be reliably measured in the early preschool years, which may help to identify young children who are less likely to desist from early externalizing behaviors. The current study extends previous literature by examining the role of CU behavior in very early childhood in the prediction of externalizing problems in both middle and late childhood, and tests whether other relevant child characteristics, including Theory-of-Mind (ToM) and fearful/inhibited temperament moderate these pathways. Multi-method data, including parent reports of child CU behavior and fearful/inhibited temperament, observations of ToM, and teacher-reported externalizing problems were drawn from a prospective, longitudinal study of children assessed at ages 3, 6, and 10 (N = 241; 48 % female). Results demonstrated that high levels of CU behavior predicted externalizing problems at ages 6 and 10 over and above the effect of earlier externalizing problems at age 3, but that these main effects were qualified by two interactions. High CU behavior was related to higher levels of externalizing problems specifically for children with low ToM and a low fearful/inhibited temperament. The results show that a multitude of child characteristics likely interact across development to increase or buffer risk for child externalizing problems. These findings can inform the development of targeted early prevention and intervention for children with high CU behavior.
Cherenkov imaging during volumetric modulated arc therapy for real-time radiation beam tracking and treatment response monitoring

External beam radiotherapy utilizes high energy radiation to target cancer with dynamic, patient-specific treatment plans. The otherwise invisible radiation beam can be observed via the optical Cherenkov photons emitted from interaction between the high energy beam and tissue. Using a specialized camera-system, the Cherenkov emission can thus be used to track the radiation beam on the surface of the patient in real-time, even for complex cases such as volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). Two patients undergoing VMAT of the head and neck were imaged and analyzed, and the viability of the system to provide clinical feedback was established.
Circadian clock, nutrient quality, and eating pattern tune diurnal rhythms in the mitochondrial proteome

Life on our planet evolved under predictable light:dark cycles and dependent rhythms of nutrient availability. Accordingly, a vast majority of living organisms, ranging from archaea to humans, have adopted molecular mechanisms to anticipate and respond to daily metabolic rhythms. Central to this timing mechanism in mammals is a cell-autonomous molecular circadian oscillator based on transcription–translation feedback loops. CLOCK, BMAL, and ROR classes of transcriptional activators, and CRY, PER, and REV-ERB classes of repressors act in concert to generate daily rhythms in their own protein levels as well as thousands of target genes (1). The circadian oscillator in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) functions as a master pacemaker by imposing a daily rhythm on activity–rest and feeding–fasting cycles. The SCN also responds to changes in ambient light in a time-of-day–specific manner (2) that ultimately leads to the activity–rest cycle adapting to seasonal changes in day length. Time-series transcriptome studies in the SCN (2) and liver (3) of WT mice fed a standard diet demonstrated daily rhythms in thousands of transcripts in a tissue-specific manner. These rhythms in liver arising from synergistic action of both the cell-autonomous circadian clock and feeding–fasting driven molecular programs (4) are thought to temporally coordinate metabolism to the appropriate time of the day to sustain metabolic homeostasis. Clock-deficient mice lack both cell-autonomous circadian oscillations and feeding–fasting rhythms, compromising transcriptional rhythms in the liver. As a result, these mice exhibit disrupted metabolic homeostasis, giving rise to metabolic diseases (5). Furthermore, in WT mice chronic ad libitum feeding of a high-fat diet dampens the daily rhythm of both the molecular oscillator and feeding–fasting cycles, leading to metabolic diseases (6). An imposed feeding–fasting rhythm in these high-fat fed mice can prevent or reverse metabolic diseases (7, 8). Taken together, these observations have highlighted the paramount significance of circadian rhythms … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: satchin{at}salk.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Presence of antidiuretic material in blood of hypophysectomized rats.

Conclusion1. The blood of rats hypophysectomized for a month or more contains antidiuretic activity in amounts similar to those found in normal animals. 2. In the blood of animals hypophysectomized for less than one week there is no detectable antidiuretic material. 3. The hypothalami of recently hypophysectomized animals contain less antidiuretic activity than the hypothalami of animals hypophysectomized for a longer time.
New estimates for the relation of the north american datum to a geocentric satellite reference system

On determine les elements de translation et de rotation du systeme geodesique de reference nord-americain (l'ellipsoide de Clarke, point d'origine Meades Ranch) par rapport au systeme geocentrique par satellites; on a utilise les observations des satellites effectuees sur 12 stations SAO et NASA au total, observations qui pour la plupart n'ont pas encore ete disponibles au cours des solutions anterieures [1–4].
On Hydraulically Locking Structure of Robot Joint for Minimally Invasive CT-guided Surgery

The development status and existing problems of the joint locking mechanism of minimally invasive surgery robot guided by computerized tomography(CT) are analyzed.The principle of robot joint friction torque and the in?uence factors on friction torque are discussed.According to the deficiencies existed in the locking structure of current medical robot,three locking structures of minimally invasive surgery robot with CT navigation are presented based on joint friction theory,and their working principles and realization forms are expatiated respectively.Experiments are made on different structures to compare their performance,and the locking structure of robot joint with exterior friction ring is determined.It is validated that robot system with the presented structure can meet the requirements of clinical operation for minimally invasive surgery with CT navigation.
Measuring and analyzing search-redirection attacks in the illicit online prescription drug trade

We investigate the manipulation of web search results to promote the unauthorized sale of prescription drugs. We focus on search-redirection attacks, where miscreants compromise high-ranking websites and dynamically redirect traffic to different pharmacies based upon the particular search terms issued by the consumer. We constructed a representative list of 218 drug-related queries and automatically gathered the search results on a daily basis over nine months in 2010-2011. We find that about one third of all search results are one of over 7 000 infected hosts triggered to redirect to a few hundred pharmacy websites. Legitimate pharmacies and health resources have been largely crowded out by search-redirection attacks and blog spam. Infections persist longest on websites with high PageRank and from .edu domains. 96% of infected domains are connected through traffic redirection chains, and network analysis reveals that a few concentrated communities link many otherwise disparate pharmacies together. We calculate that the conversion rate of web searches into sales lies between 0.3% and 3%, and that more illegal drugs sales are facilitated by search-redirection attacks than by email spam. Finally, we observe that concentration in both the source infections and redirectors presents an opportunity for defenders to disrupt online pharmacy sales.
Factors Influencing Nontarget Bird Occupancy of Restored Wetlands in California’s Central Valley

Intensively managed restored wetlands and flooded croplands of California’s Central Valley support millions of wintering waterbirds. While the benefits to wintering waterfowl are well documented, the effect of intensive management on birds at other times of the year is less clear. Practices such as drainage, mowing, disking and burning may be a nuisance to these nontarget birds at best or life threatening at worst. Alternatively, irrigation over the summer may create habitat that might otherwise be lacking in the dry season. Our objective was to assess the influence of management, adjacent land use, and habitat characteristics on the richness, diversity, and occupancy of birds other than waterfowl in the spring and summer. We conducted 640 bird surveys on restored wetlands managed at varying levels in 2008 (4 April–30 July) and 2009 (19 April–16 July) and used likelihood-based modeling to evaluate occupancy and the relative importance of intensity of management and various environmental factors. Management was not the most important predictor of the richness, diversity, or occupancy of nontarget birds in the summer; rather, variables such as wetland size, vegetation composition, and landscape characteristics were more important for most bird guilds. Contrary to the commonly held view that restored wetlands in California’s Central Valley support only wintering waterfowl, they also support a diverse avifauna year round regardless of how they are managed. Bird occupancy and diversity in restored wetlands may be enhanced by creating and maintaining large, complex mosaics of vegetation. Each year California’s Central Valley hosts the majority of the Pacific Flyway’s wintering waterfowl (Gilmer et al. 1982). Restored wetlands provide critical food and habitat for winter visitors, and there is broad support for programs and initiatives geared toward increasing the extent of wetlands in winter (CVJV 2006). Far less emphasis is placed on the role restored wetlands play in supporting summer breeders, migrants, and year-round residents. Greater than 95% of all depressional wetlands and 98% of riparian wetlands in California were destroyed between 1800 and 1980 (Dahl 1990, CVJV 2006, Garone 2011, Duffy et al. 2016). The passage of the Swamplands Act in 1850 and subsequent revisions led to extensive alterations to natural hydrology through the creation of reservoirs and channelization of the Central Valley’s main rivers. Restoration has been intended to replace the thousands of acres of wetland lost to agriculture and human settlement. Most managed restored wetlands target wintering waterfowl and therefore receive most of their water in the fall and winter. Historically, however, much of the
Activation and Evasion of Inflammasomes by Yersinia.

The innate immune system plays an essential role in initiating the early response against microbial infection, as well as instructing and shaping subsequent responses. Microbial pathogens are enormously diverse in terms of the niches they occupy, their metabolic properties and requirements, and the cellular pathways that they target. Nevertheless, innate sensing of pathogens triggers a relatively stereotyped set of responses that involve transcriptional induction of key inflammatory mediators, as well as post-translational assembly and activation of a multiprotein inflammatory complex termed ‘the inflammasome.’ Along with classical Pattern Recognition Receptors, the inflammasome activation pathway has emerged as a key regulator of tissue homeostasis and immune defense. Components of the inflammasome generally exist within the cell in a soluble, monomeric state, and oligomerize in response to diverse enzymatic activities associated with infection or cellular stress. Inflammasome assembly triggers activation of the pro-enzyme caspase-1, resulting in the cleavage of caspase-1 targets. The most extensively studied targets are the cytokines of the IL-1 family, but the recent discovery of Gasdermin D as a novel target of caspase-1 and the related inflammatory caspase, caspase-11, has begun to mechanistically define the links between caspase-1 activation and cell death. Cell death is a hallmark of macrophage infection by many pathogens, including the gram-negative bacterial pathogens of the genus Yersinia. Intriguingly, the activities of the Yersinia-secreted effector proteins and the type III secretion system (T3SS) itself have been linked to both inflammasome activation and evasion during infection. The balance between these activating and inhibitory activities shapes the outcome of Yersinia infection. Here, we describe the current state of knowledge on interactions between Yersinia and the inflammasome system, with the goal of integrating these findings within the general framework of inflammasome responses to microbial pathogens.
Some comments on Africanising a philosophy curriculum

Students of African philosophy had best beware of two approaches to the subject that have been dismissed as flawed by most philosophers in and of Africa. One has been labelled “ethnophilosophy” bec...
Abstract CN07-01: A phase IIa randomized, double-blind trial of erlotinib in inhibiting EGF receptor signaling in aberrant crypt foci of the colon

Colorectal cancer (CRC) progresses through multiple distinct stages that are potentially amenable to chemopreventative intervention. Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) inhibitors can shrink advanced tumors including CRC. There is significant evidence that EGFR also plays important roles in CRC initiation, and that EGFR inhibitors block tumorigenesis. We therefore performed a double-blind randomized trial (N=45) to test whether the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib (25mg, 50mg and 100mg doses) given for up to 28 days had an acceptable safety and efficacy profile to reduce EGFR signaling biomarkers in colorectal aberrant crypt foci (ACF), a subset of which progress to CRC, and normal rectal tissue. Participants were stratified by NSAID dose. Erlotinib was well tolerated and there were no unanticipated adverse events. Colorectal ACF and normal tissue EGFR signaling changes with erlotinib were modest and there was no clear dose response. However, individuals with high baseline EGFR signaling may potentially constitute a subset that could benefit from this strategy. Overall, our results support the safety of erlotinib in the chemoprevention setting, but efficacy in colorectal EGFR signaling inhibition is likely insufficient to merit further studies without additional pre-screening stratification. Citation Format: Steven Lipkin, Asmita Bhattacharya, Timothy Morgan, Jason Zell, Daniel Gillen, Vanessa Wong, Jinah Chung, Wen Pin Chen, Rachel Gonzalez, Frank Meyskens, Luz Rodriguez, Eva Szabo, Robert Carroll, Richard Benya. A phase IIa randomized, double-blind trial of erlotinib in inhibiting EGF receptor signaling in aberrant crypt foci of the colon. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2013 Oct 27-30; National Harbor, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2013;6(11 Suppl): Abstract nr CN07-01.
Network reactions to banking regulations

Abstract Optimal regulatory restrictions on banks have to solve a delicate balance. Tighter regulations reduce the likelihood of banks’ distress. Looser regulations foster the allocation of funds toward productive investments. With multiple banks, optimal regulation becomes even more challenging. Banks form partnerships in the interbank lending market in order to face liquidity needs and to meet investment possibilities. We show that the interbank network can suddenly collapse when regulations are pushed beyond a critical level, with a discontinuous increase in systemic risk as the cross-insurance of banks collapses.
Early clinical presentations and progression of calciphylaxis.

Background Untreated calciphylaxis is a fatal disease of intra- and extravascular calcification, most commonly presenting in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. While early identification is critical for timely treatment, early-stage clinical and histopathological descriptions have not, to our knowledge, been elucidated. As early clinical recognition is essential to prompt definitive histopathological diagnosis, this study describes a range of clinical and histopathological manifestations of early-stage calciphylaxis. Methods Five patients with clinical photographs of lesions of early-phase calciphylaxis were chosen from a recent database of 101 patients. Their clinical histories were reviewed and correlated with their respective clinical and histopathological images of early-stage disease and progression of the disease. Results Two of the five patients were identified early to have calciphylaxis and were promptly initiated on aggressive, multimodal therapy, resulting in complete resolution and remission of calciphylaxis. The other three patients were also recognized in early stages, one without renal disease, although the disease had progressed to more advanced stages associated with greater morbidity and mortality. Conclusions These cases demonstrate that calciphylaxis may be clinically misdiagnosed due to ill-defined presentations, particularly in the early stages without the characteristic features of livedo racemosa and ulceration. However, recognition in the early stages is critical to implement timely treatment. As such, definitively diagnostic skin biopsy should be considered early in suspected cases to confirm the diagnosis of calciphylaxis and ensure prompt management of this lethal disease.
Agrochemical Mixtures Detected on Wildflowers near Cattle Feed Yards

A variety of veterinary pharmaceuticals and pesticides are used on beef cattle feed yards to enhance growth and health of cattle and to control unwanted pests and parasites. Because growth promoters and antibiotics have recently been detected on particulate matter emanating from feed yards, we examined wildflowers collected near feed yards in the Southern Great Plains for the occurrence of antibiotics, β-agonists, other feed yard-related agrochemicals, and neonicotinoids used on regionally grown row crops. Wildflowers contained detectable concentrations of moxidectin, abamectin, monensin, ractopamine, and neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin). All wildflower samples contained at least one target analyte, while the majority (82%) contained multiple pharmaceuticals and/or pesticides, including 12% of wildflowers containing moxidectin, monensin, ractopamine, and a neonicotinoid. This preliminary survey demonstrates the potential for insect pollinators occurring near feed yards to beco...