cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Apple Counting using Convolutional Neural Networks

Estimating accurate and reliable fruit and vegetable counts from images in real-world settings, such as orchards, is a challenging problem that has received significant recent attention. Estimating fruit counts before harvest provides useful information for logistics planning. While considerable progress has been made toward fruit detection, estimating the actual counts remains challenging. In practice, fruits are often clustered together. Therefore, methods that only detect fruits fail to offer general solutions to estimate accurate fruit counts. Furthermore, in horticultural studies, rather than a single yield estimate, finer information such as the distribution of the number of apples per cluster is desirable. In this work, we formulate fruit counting from images as a multi-class classification problem and solve it by training a Convolutional Neural Network. We first evaluate the per-image accuracy of our method and compare it with a state of the art method based on Gaussian Mixture Models over four test datasets. Even though the parameters of the Gaussian Mixture Model based method are specifically tuned for each dataset, our network outperforms it in three out of four datasets with a maximum of 94% accuracy. Next, we use the method to estimate the yield for two datasets for which we have ground truth. Our method achieved 96-97% accuracies. For additional details please see our video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le0mb5P-SYc.
Cross-Domain and Viral Interactions in the Microbiome

SUMMARY The importance of the microbiome to human health is increasingly recognized and has become a major focus of recent research. However, much of the work has focused on a few aspects, particularly the bacterial component of the microbiome, most frequently in the gastrointestinal tract. Yet humans and other animals can be colonized by a wide array of organisms spanning all domains of life, including bacteria and archaea, unicellular eukaryotes such as fungi, multicellular eukaryotes such as helminths, and viruses. As they share the same host niches, they can compete with, synergize with, and antagonize each other, with potential impacts on their host. Here, we discuss these major groups making up the human microbiome, with a focus on how they interact with each other and their multicellular host.
Bridging VA ECMO to Durable MCS: Keys to Success

Purpose There is limited data in the literature defining criteria for bridging advanced cardiogenic shock (ACS) patients supported by veno-arterial (VA) ECMO to durable Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS). We evaluated our screening process on outcomes for all patients at our center bridged from VA ECMO to durable MCS. Methods From September 2014 to October 2018, 153 patients received VA ECMO for treatment of ACS greater than 24 hours. Care was withdrawn from 64 (42%) patients, 68 (44%) were successfully weaned from VA ECMO, 4 (3%) were bridged to extracorporeal biventricular assist device, and 14 (9%) were bridged to durable MCS, which were included in this retrospective analysis. All 14 patients accepted for durable support implantation underwent a multidisciplinary screening process. Criteria for candidacy included 1) acceptable end organ function, 2) extubation, 3) negative infection surveillance, and 4) neurologically intact. To compare clinical status pre VA ECMO and pre MCS, end organ function was assessed by Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, lactic acid, renal, and hepatic markers. Outcomes assessed included survival and post durable MCS implant hospital length of stay (HLOS). Results As of October 2018, 11 of the 14 patients bridged to durable MCS are still alive (79%). Mean duration of support on VA ECMO before transition was 11 days ± 5 (4-22), and a mean of 343 days ± 312 (28-1041) on durable MCS. The mean post MCS HLOS was 29 days ± 20 (9-90). Of the 14 patients, 11 were transitioned to LVAD. One patient was explanted due to cardiac recovery, 1 received a heart transplant, 1 deceased, and 8 are still on LVAD support. In 2 patients, temporary RVAD support was required post LVAD. Three of the 14 were bridged to Total Artificial Heart, of which 2 have died. Conclusion Applying a thorough screening process to INTERMACS level 1 patients bridged with VA ECMO to durable MCS is a highly successful strategy and yields excellent long-term survival. Our screening process might be a useful guide to bridge select VA ECMO patients to cardiac transplantation.
Writing African American History Into Wikipedia

As the world’s largest information database, Wikipedia is a familiar resource for many people. Given the ubiquity of Wikipedia articles on various topics, it has become a first stop for conducting online searches. However, there is a gap of information within Wikipedia related to African American history, and addressing Wikipedia’s well-documented racial bias should be a priority for librarians and archivists (“Racial bias on Wikipedia,” 2019). In February of 2019, Oregon State University Libraries and Press hosted a Wikipedia Editathon, “Writing African American History into Wikipedia.” In the early fall of 2018, we began planning for the Wikipedia Editathon. Two librarians and one archivist, the authors of this article, formed a small team to decide on workflows and individual roles. The team initially discussed various ideas for an editathon theme, but quickly settled on African American history in the Pacific Northwest, which could be incorporated into OSU’s annual African American History Month activities in February. In addition, we all felt that Pacific Northwest African American history is not well known, even among residents of the Pacific Northwest, and so we focused on local history. None of the team members identify as African American, which made the first step, establishing partnerships, vitally important.
The Anesthetic Effectiveness of J-Tip Needle-Free Injection System Prior to Trigger Finger Injection: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial:

Background: The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a J-tip needle-free injection system (JNFS) to reduce pain associated with corticosteroid injection of the tendon sheath for treatment of trigger finger. Methods: Thirty-four consecutive trigger fingers occurring in 28 unique patients who met inclusion/exclusion criteria were consented and enrolled into this double-blind randomized controlled study. Patients were randomly assigned to the control (JNFS loaded with sterile normal saline) or treatment group (JNFS loaded with buffered 1% lidocaine). Both the fellowship-trained hand surgeon and patient were blinded to the allocation group. Prior to each trigger finger injection, each patient rated pain associated with stubbing toe and papercut on the visual analog scale (VAS), in addition to a postprocedure VAS pain score. Results: A total of 28 patients and 34 digits were enrolled in this study. There was no difference in patient demographics or preintervention pain perception between the control and treatment groups. The use of JNFS demonstrated lower mean pain VAS score when comparing the control group (n = 17) with the treatment group (n = 17), with VAS pain scores of 49 (SD = 31) and 39 (SD = 36), respectively. However, this difference was not statistically significant (P = .389). Conclusions: The use of JNFS loaded with 1% buffered lidocaine may reduce pain associated with trigger finger injections, although our results did not find a statistically significant difference. We hypothesize that the pain caused by the acidity of lidocaine is the primary driver of pain and discomfort during injection, and the pain from the needle stick is secondary. As a result, any pain reduction from JNFS is masked by the most painful part of injection-the delivery of injectate. Based on the findings and experience obtained from this study, we hypothesize that a follow-up study using buffered lidocaine may be able to better reveal the benefits of JNFS.
Fluorescence detection sensitivity of chemophototherapy drug assessed by spatial frequency domain imaging endoscope

We investigated fluorescence detection limit of our chemophototherapy drug with custom design spatial frequency domain endoscope in phantoms and in mice. Our results indicate that the scope can quantify ~1ug/mL Doxorubicin and 0.25ug/mL porphyrin with sufficient SNR.
Automated contouring and planning pipeline for hippocampal-avoidant whole-brain radiotherapy.

Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) remains an important treatment for over 200,000 cancer patients in the United States annually. Hippocampal-avoidant WBRT (HA-WBRT) reduces neurocognitive toxicity compared to standard WBRT, but HA-WBRT contouring and planning are more complex and time-consuming than standard WBRT. We designed and evaluated a workflow using commercially available artificial intelligence tools for automated hippocampal segmentation and treatment planning to efficiently generate clinically acceptable HA-WBRT radiotherapy plans. We retrospectively identified 100 consecutive adult patients treated for brain metastases outside the hippocampal region. Each patient’s T1 post-contrast brain MRI was processed using NeuroQuant, an FDA-approved software that provides segmentations of brain structures in less than 8 min. Automated hippocampal segmentations were reviewed for accuracy, then converted to files compatible with a commercial treatment planning system, where hippocampal avoidance regions and planning target volumes (PTV) were generated. Other organs-at-risk (OARs) were previously contoured per clinical routine. A RapidPlan knowledge-based planning routine was applied for a prescription of 30 Gy in 10 fractions using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) delivery. Plans were evaluated based on NRG CC001 dose-volume objectives (Brown et al. in J Clin Oncol, 2020). Of the 100 cases, 99 (99%) had acceptable automated hippocampi segmentations without manual intervention. Knowledge-based planning was applied to all cases; the median processing time was 9 min 59 s (range 6:53–13:31). All plans met per-protocol dose-volume objectives for PTV per the NRG CC001 protocol. For comparison, only 65.5% of plans on NRG CC001 met PTV goals per protocol, with 26.1% within acceptable variation. In this study, 43 plans (43%) met OAR constraints, and the remaining 57 (57%) were within acceptable variation, compared to 42.5% and 48.3% on NRG CC001, respectively. No plans in this study had unacceptable dose to OARs, compared to 0.8% of manually generated plans from NRG CC001. 8.4% of plans from NRG CC001 were not scored or unable to be evaluated. An automated pipeline harnessing the efficiency of commercially available artificial intelligence tools can generate clinically acceptable VMAT HA-WBRT plans with minimal manual intervention. This process could improve clinical efficiency for a treatment established to improve patient outcomes over standard WBRT.
Eigen-CAM: Visual Explanations for Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

The adoption of deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) is growing exponentially in wide varieties of applications due to exceptional performance that equals to or is better than classical machine learning as well as a human. However, such models are difficult to interpret, susceptible to overfit, and hard to decode failure. An increasing body of literature, such as class activation map (CAM), focused on understanding what representations or features a model learned from the data. This paper presents novel Eigen-CAM to enhance explanations of CNN predictions by visualizing principal components of learned representations from convolutional layers. The Eigen-CAM is intuitive, easy to use, computationally efficient, and does not require correct classification by the model. Eigen-CAM can work with all CNN models without the need to modify layers or retrain models. For the task of generating a visual explanation of CNN predictions, compared to state-of-the-art methods, Eigen-CAM is more consistent, class discriminative, and robust against classification errors made by dense layers. Empirical analyses and comparison with the best state-of-the-art methods show up to 12% improvement in weakly-supervised object localization, an average of 13% improvement in weakly-supervised segmentation, and at least 15% improvement in generic object proposal.
Background Note – What's Your Problem?

One of the most important skills a public sector leader must cultivate is the ability to frame a problem. While this may seem trivial, in practice – it’s vitally important to clearly understand which problem you are trying to solve, the key aspects of its context, and the available solution space. This Background Note explains the kinds of questions that must be answered to properly frame a problem. When used as part of a public sector course in management (where the course has a term paper/project component), students can submit a short mid-course paper (the Problem Definition Memo) that explains the problem they intend to solve/address in their final paper, using this Background Note as a guide for the mid-course paper.
Each phospholipase A2 type exhibits distinct selectivity toward sn-1 ester, alkyl ether, and vinyl ether phospholipids.

Glycerophospholipids are major components of cell membranes and have enormous variation in the composition of fatty acyl chains esterified on the sn-1 and sn-2 position as well as the polar head groups on the sn-3 position of the glycerol backbone. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzymes constitute a superfamily of enzymes which play a critical role in metabolism and signal transduction by hydrolyzing the sn-2 acyl chains of glycerophospholipids. In human cell membranes, in addition to the conventional diester phospholipids, a significant amount is the sn-1 ether-linked phospholipids which play a critical role in numerous biological activities. However, precisely how PLA2s distinguish the sn-1 acyl chain linkage are not understood. In the present study, we expanded the technique of lipidomics to determine the unique in vitro specificity of three major human PLA2s, including Group IVA cytosolic cPLA2, Group VIA calcium-independent iPLA2, and Group V secreted sPLA2 toward the linkage at the sn-1 position. Interestingly, cPLA2 prefers sn-1 vinyl ether phospholipids known as plasmalogens over conventional ester phospholipids and the sn-1 alkyl ether phospholipids. iPLA2 showed similar activity toward vinyl ether and ester phospholipids at the sn-1 position. Surprisingly, sPLA2 preferred ester phospholipids over alkyl and vinyl ether phospholipids. By taking advantage of molecular dynamics simulations, we found that Trp30 in the sPLA2 active site dominates its specificity for diester phospholipids.
Identifying Diagnostic MicroRNAs and Investigating Their Biological Implications in Rectal Cancer.

Importance Accurate clinical staging is important in rectal cancer because it determines the appropriate treatment and prognosis. Despite the use of multiple diagnostic imaging tools, it is sometimes difficult to clinically distinguish stage I tumors from stage II or III locally advanced disease. Identification of differentiating microRNAs (miRNAs) between these 2 groups may improve the clinical diagnostic power and provide insight into the biology of tumor progression. Objectives To investigate differences in the expression of miRNAs in stage I vs stage II or III rectal cancers and integrate matched mRNA profiling data to identify possible functional roles of these miRNAs. Design, Setting, and Participants The primary tumor specimens from patients who were enrolled in 2 prospective clinical trials between March 24, 2004, and November 16, 2012 (American College of Surgeons Oncology Group [ACOSOG] Z6041 and Timing of Rectal Cancer Response to Chemoradiation [TIMING]) were sequenced to arrive at a set of 127 cases (41 stage I and 86 stage II or III tumors) with matched miRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) profiling data. These findings were also evaluated in an independent cohort of 127 patient specimens (29 stage I and 98 stage II or III tumors) from The Cancer Genome Atlas Rectum Adenocarcinoma (TCGA-READ) that also had matched miRNA and mRNA data. Data analysis was performed from September 1, 2019, to September 1, 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures Alterations in miRNA expression between stage I and stage II or III tumors and their potential gene targets. Results A total of 254 pretreatment rectal adenocarcinoma specimens were analyzed in this study as 2 distinct cohorts: 127 samples in the ACOSOG/TIMING (stage I group: 27 [66%] male; mean [SD] age, 64.4 [10.8] years; stage II or III group: 47 [55%] male; mean [SD] age, 57.0 [11.4] years), and another 127 samples from TCGA-READ (stage I group: 17 [59%] male; mean [SD] age, 63.6 [12.0] years; stage II or III group: 48 [49%] male; mean [SD] age, 64.5 [11.4] years). A total of 19 miRNAs were overexpressed in stage II or III vs stage I tumors in both cohorts. This miRNA signature had an excellent discriminative value for distinguishing stage II or III from stage I rectal tumors (area under the curve, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.83-0.94 in ACOSOG/TIMING cohort and area under the curve, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.77-0.91 in the TCGA-READ cohort). Integrative analysis revealed 3 miRNA-mRNA pairs that exhibited significant correlations in both cohorts: miR-31-5p-SATB2, miR-143-3p-KLF5, and miR-204-5p-EZR. Conclusions and Relevance This diagnostic study found that many of the dysregulated miRNAs in stage II or III vs stage I rectal cancers have biological implications for tumor progression. The results of this study suggest that these miRNAs could assist as diagnostic biomarkers to better identify patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.
Improving Offset Assignment for Embedded Processors

Embedded systems consisting of the application program ROM, RAM, the embedded processor core, and any custom hardware on a single wafer are becoming increasingly common in application domains such as signal processing. Given the rapid deployment of these systems, programming on such systems has shifted from assembly language to high-level languages such as C, C++, and Java. The processors used in such systems are usually targeted toward specific application domains, e.g., digital signal processing (DSP). As a result, these embedded processors include application-specific instruction sets, complex and irregular data paths, etc., thereby rendering code generation for these processors difficult. In this paper, we present new code optimization techniques for embedded fixed point DSP processors which have limited on-chip program ROM and include indirect addressing modes using post-increment and decrement operations. We present a heuristic to reduce code size by taking advantage of these addressing modes. Our solution aims at improving the offset assignment produced by Liao et al.'s solution. It finds a layout of variables in RAM, so that it is possible to subsume explicit address register manipulation instructions into other instructions as a post-increment or post-decrement operation. Experimental results show the effectiveness of our solution.
Online Learning Activities: Beginning An International Collaboration

Early Sunday morning, April 1, 2001, a U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet, causing the death of the Chinese pilot and forcing an emergency landing by the U.S. aircraft on Hainan Island, in the People’s Republic of China. Political relations between the United States and China had been deteriorating for months during the Spring of 2001 –it was the stated intention of newly-elected President George W. Bush to move American policy toward China from “strategic partnership” to “strategic competition.”
Resolving over-constrained probabilistic temporal problems through chance constraint relaxation

When scheduling tasks for field-deployable systems, our solutions must be robust to the uncertainty inherent in the real world. Although human intuition is trusted to balance reward and risk, humans perform poorly in risk assessment at the scale and complexity of real world problems. In this paper, we present a decision aid system that helps human operators diagnose the source of risk and manage uncertainty in temporal problems. The core of the system is a conflict-directed relaxation algorithm, called Conflict-Directed Chance-constraint Relaxation (CDCR), which specializes in resolving over-constrained temporal problems with probabilistic durations and a chance constraint bounding the risk of failure. Given a temporal problem with uncertain duration, CDCR proposes execution strategies that operate at acceptable risk levels and pinpoints the source of risk. If no such strategy can be found that meets the chance constraint, it can help humans to repair the over-constrained problem by trading off between desirability of solution and acceptable risk levels. The decision aid has been incorporated in a mission advisory system for assisting oceanographers to schedule activities in deep-sea expeditions, and demonstrated its effectiveness in scenarios with realistic uncertainty.
Market-Based Assets

Market-based assets are intangible assets that arise from the commingling of the firm with entities in its external environment. Brands, customer relationships, distribution channel, and other partner relationships are all examples of market-based assets. These assets create value for a firm because they allow the firm to (i) accelerate cash flow, (ii) enhance cash flow, (iii) reduce the volatility and vulnerability of cash flows, and (iv) increase the residual value of cash flows. The ultimate goal of the marketing function within a firm can be defined as increasing the value of the market-based assets of the firm. By conceptualizing market-based assets as a significant portion of the goodwill earned by a firm over time, marketing researchers and practitioners can better understand how marketing creates value. The relationship between marketing and finance, two critical functions in any business, can be better managed using the common language of market-based assets. Finance personnel can now understand the value created by marketing in a language that they are familiar with. Marketers, in turn, can use this common language to ensure that the firm makes appropriate investments in the marketing function and marketing activities Keywords: market-based assets; intangibles; marketing; finance; cash flow
Diver Selection for Deep Dives (below 300 msw)

Diver selection up to current working depths in the North Sea (200 msw) has been predominantly determined by a process of self-selection. Successful completion of training requirements, strong motivation, establishment with a diving contractor and efficient underwater performance are perhaps the essential ‘selection’ criteria used for contemporary saturation diving. The safety record is at present good in the North Sea and this in itself vindicates the ‘selection’ process which has evolved through some natural form of diver attrition and ascendancy of the most competent.
Pregnancy Intention and Pregnancy Happiness: Are They Different?

Objectives: This study examines the relationship among pregnancy intention and attitudes, inconsistent contraceptive use, and plans for potential pregnancy among 311 women who presented at local health departments to seek a pregnancy test and for whom a pregnancy would be unintended. Methods: Women were surveyed prior to receiving pregnancy tests. Pregnancy intention was measured using traditional classifications of mistimed and unwanted pregnancies. Frequency distributions and chi-square tests were computed to examine and compare rates of happiness about the pregnancy among women with mistimed or unwanted pregnancy and to compare rates of inconsistent contraceptive use and plans for the pregnancy by intention and level of happiness. Results: Although all of the women selected for our sample stated that their pregnancies would be unintended, almost half (46%) were inconsistent contraceptive users. Further, 48% reported that they would be somewhat or very happy about a pregnancy. The proportion of women who were uncertain about the future of a pregnancy and who considered adoption or abortion was highest among those for whom a potential pregnancy was mistimed and who were unhappy about the pregnancy. Conclusions: Differentiating between pregnancy intention and happiness has practice implications for family planning and prenatal providers. Additional research should further elaborate these distinctions.
Public health and the aging family.

The role of the family in the health of its members is critical from birth to death. This review focuses on the aging family, recognizing that the family is one of the earliest and longest lasting contexts influencing health. In particular, we emphasize the changing demographics of the family including the increased numbers of older family members and the decreased number of children. We consider how best to adapt to the changing family so that its critical role in maintaining individual and public health can be retained and enhanced. We begin by highlighting the importance of taking both a life span and life course perspective, recognizing that individuals develop and change over their lifetime. At the same time, they are members of groups and organizations, which shape their life course. We next consider the dramatically changing demographics of the population generally and within families specifically. We reflect on how these changes impact public health both positively and negatively, taking into account the potential of the family as a resource and a risk factor. We next consider five life course epidemiological models of health: the immediate effects model, the social trajectory model, the cumulative biological model, the sensitive period or latency model and the physiological effects of trajectory model. We explicitly consider the relevance of these models for the family and its aging members. Finally, we highlight what we consider the most important implications of these issues for the health and well-being of older adults and families in an aging society.
A summary of the NSTAR 2007 Workshop

A summary of the talks presented at the NSTAR 2007 workshop is given which is organized into three parts: an outline of new experimental results, results from analyses, and upcoming experimental developments; a description of theoretical work on the spectrum of baryons and their properties; and developments in the analysis of reactions involving baryons.
Spatial Capture-recapture with Partial Identity

We develop an inference framework for spatial capture-recapture data when two methods are used in which individuality cannot generally be reconciled between the two methods. A special case occurs in camera trapping when left-side (method 1) and right-side (method 2) photos are obtained but not simultaneously. We specify a spatially explicit capture-recapture model for the latent "perfect" data set which is conditioned on known identity of individuals between methods. We regard the identity variable which associates individuals of the two data sets as an unknown in the model and we propose a Bayesian analysis strategy for the model in which the identity variable is updated using a Metropolis component algorithm. The work extends previous efforts to deal with incomplete data by recognizing that there is information about individuality in the spatial juxtaposition of captures. Thus, individual records obtained by both sampling methods that are in close proximity are more likely to be the same individual than individuals that are not in close proximity. The model proposed here formalizes this trade-off between spatial proximity and probabilistic determination of individuality using spatially explicit capture-recapture models.
Guinea Pigs as Models for Cholesterol and Lipoprotein Metabolism

Guinea pigs carry the majority of their plasma cholesterol in LDL, making them a unique animal model with which to study hepatic cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism. In this review, the benefits and advantages of using this particular model are discussed. How dietary factors such as soluble fiber, cholesterol and fatty acids that vary in saturation and chain length affect hepatic cholesterol homeostasis and influence the synthesis, intravascular processing and catabolism of lipoproteins is reviewed. In addition, alterations in hepatic cholesterol metabolism and plasma lipoproteins as affected by treatment with cholestyramine or 3-hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, exercise, marginal intake of vitamin C, ovariectomy (a model for menopause) and similarities to the human situation are addressed. A review of guinea pigs as models for early atherosclerosis development is also presented.
Folding by Consensus

Abstract Recent design efforts have produced folded linear repeat proteins from duplicated consensus sequences with stabilities exceeding those of naturally occurring repeat proteins.
Efficient production of vibrationally excited NO using a pulsed molecular beam discharge source

Abstract An efficient way of producing vibrationally excited, but rotationally cold NO molecules is described. A dc-discharge is incorporated into a piezoelectric pulsed molecular beam valve of the Gerlich design. Efficiencies larger than 10% are achieved for the production of vibrationally excited NO( v ′′=1) characterized by a rotational temperature of 4 K. At lower backing pressures, a population ratio NO( v ′′=1)/NO( v ′′=0)=0.5 is found with rotational temperatures around 30 K. Population of NO in higher vibrational states, e.g. v ′′=2, is generated with smaller but still significant density. Even highly vibrationally excited NO molecules with 7⩽ v ′′⩽19 have been detected.
A Study on the Volumetric Expansion of Benzoxazine-Based Phenolic Resin

Benzoxazine-based phenolic resin has recently attracted a great deal of attention due to its versatile properties. This paper explores yet another interesting property shown by this class of phenolic resin: volumetric expansion upon polymerization. It is proposed that the volumetric expansion of the benzoxazine resin is mostly due to the consequence of molecular packing influenced by inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonding. The role of hydrogen bonding on the volumetric expansion has been studied by systematically changing the primary amine used in the benzoxazine monomer synthesis. In comparison to the other known expanding monomer, spiroortho compounds, this resin has been shown to have a high potential for structural/engineering applications. The homopolymers of this resin have a high glass transition temperature (Tg).
The influence of diazepam on the activity of secondary vestibular neurons in the rabbit.

Abstract We have studied the influence of intravenously administered diazepam on the activity of single secondary vestibular neurons in unanesthetized, paralyzed rabbits evoked by sinusoidal angular accelerations about the vertical and longitudinal axes. Intravenous injections of diazepam (20–100 μg/kg) caused a decreased sensitivity of all secondary vestibular neurons which were tested. The reduction in sensitivity was sometimes preceded by a transient increase in excitability which lasted 10–40 sec. The duration of the decreased sensitivity to vestibular stimulation following intravenous injections of diazepam was dose-dependent, lasting 15–60 min. These data suggest that the diazepam-induced reduction of vestibuloocular reflexes is caused, at least in part, by the depressant action of diazepam upon secondary vestibular neurons.
Post–conflict administration and reconstruction

Book reviewed in this article: Richard Caplan, A new trusteeship? The international administration of war–torn territories
NMDA receptor antagonist AP5 and nitric oxide synthase inhibitor 7-NI affect different phases of learning and memory in goldfish.

Abstract The present study investigated the amnestic effects of N-methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist AP5 and nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor 7-NI in avoidance conditioning in goldfish. The results showed that both AP5 and 7-NI, without impairing performance processes, produced anterograde amnesia when given before training. Furthermore, 7-NI produced retrograde amnesia when given immediately following training while AP5 did not. Thus, AP5 and 7-NI affected different phases of learning and memory.
Anomalous Electromechanical Behavior of Portland Cement: Electro‐osmotically‐lnduced Shape Changes

The electromechanical behavior of hardened portland cement paste has been investigated as a function of measurement frequency and dc electrical bias, using an interferometric technique. Large field-induced shape changes on the order of 100 {angstrom} have been found in millimeter-thick specimens exposed to moisture. In addition, strong hysteresis effects were found on cycling a large ac field. Dry samples were found to exhibit no field-induced deformations. The mechanism underlying this anomalous behavior is believed to be an electro-osmotically induced swelling of the pore structures. Evidence in support of this hypothesis was found by corresponding investigations of porous silica gels.
The effect of temperature on digestive efficiency in the herbivorous lizard,Dipsosaurus dorsalis

1. There is a significant correlation between body temperatures of the lizardDipsosaurus dorsalis and the proportion of ingested food utilized. 2. At temperatures of 33, 37, and 41° C apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) were 54.3%, 62.8% and 69.5% respectively. Lizards kept at 28° C did not pass food beyond the stomach and died, while lizards cycled between 28° C and 41° C had an ADC predicted for the mean of those temperatures. 3. When corrected for fibrous material, these values became 70%, 82% and 89% which agree well with other herbivorous lizards on a low fiber diet. 4. Field passage rates of lizards fed markers correspond to recorded laboratory passage time of two to three days. 5. The data indicate that thermoregulation byDipsosaurus dorsalis at higher body temperatures within its activity range increases the digestive efficiency. The net energetic advantage of this relationship remains uncertain because of unknown routine energetic costs and energy processing rates at different temperatures.
The Divorce of Marriage and Parenthood

Marriage is a template for domestic life and the problems that arise in it. The patterned assumptions that traditionally defined marriage gave substance to the family. These assumptions have become less compelling over the course of a century. In this paper, I suggest how and why this has happened. I focus on the meaning of parenthood and its relationship to marriage. In the course of a century, parenthood has been redefined as a rational choice governed by calculation. As a result, childbearing, pregnancy, marriage and parenthood have been redefined. Their relationships to one another have, to varying degrees, been altered. Marriage is an institutionalized way to care for the babies that once came, inevitably, as a result of sexual intercourse. What becomes of marriage when sex no longer produces babies? The answer is that everything about marriage and the family changes. Such changes help explain the rise of professional family therapy and related fields.
Activation of molecular hydrogen by a nido-metalloborane

Reaction of quaternary ammonium salts of [(B10H12)Ir(CO)(PPh3)2]− in dichloroethane with dideuterium at ambient temperature and pressure leads to reversible HD exchange at two terminal BH sites in the B10H12 ligand. Exchange is thought to occur at the 5–10 boron atoms.
Noise characteristics of x-ray differential phase contrast CT

The noise characteristics of x-ray differential phase contrast computed tomography (DPC-CT) were investigated. Both theoretical derivation and experimental results demonstrated that the dependence of noise variance on spatial resolution in DPC-CT follows an inverse linear law. This behavior distinguishes DPC-CT from conventional absorption based x-ray CT, where the noise variance varies inversely with the cube of the spatial resolution. This anomalous noise behavior in DPC-CT is due to the Hilbert filtering kernel used in the CT reconstruction algorithm, which equally weights all spatial frequency content. Additionally, we demonstrate that the noise power of DPC-CT is scaled by the inverse of spatial frequency and is highly concentrated at the low spatial frequencies, whereas conventional absorption CT increases in power at the high spatial frequencies.
Comparisons of paleoclassical based pedestal model predictions of electron quantities to measured DIII-D H-mode profiles

Accurately predicting the pedestal structure in high-(H-)confinement mode plasmas is of great importance for the modelling of future tokamak plasmas. The main predictions of a model of pedestal structure based on paleoclassical transport as the main transport mechanism are presented. Numerical evaluations of this model are compared with a database of measured DIII-D H-mode pedestal profiles. Across the database, the electron temperature gradient is overpredicted by a factor of 1.7 ± 1.1 and the electron density by a factor of 2.1 ± 0.7. These results are consistent with paleoclassical transport producing the minimum level of electron transport. Trends in the predictions indicate that some additional transport may be operative, especially in high βp and low confinement plasmas.
Manual thinking: John Mombaer's meditations, the neuroscience of the imagination and the future of the humanities

This essay uses recent findings in the neurosciences, particularly the notion of human brain plasticity, as a model through which to understand the goals of later medieval meditative practices. Instructors of meditation, it shows, sought to provide scripts through which a pupil might come to incorporate the subjectivity of another – another person, such as Christ or the saints, or another object, such as a text. These acts of meditative incorporation, of association, were designed ultimately to lead to new ethical, emotional and physical dispositions. The essay examines in particular the instructional works of John Mombaer, Thomas of Cantimpre, Berengario of Donadio and Ludolph of Saxony in order to recommend a rethinking of the pedagogy and research methods practiced in contemporary humanistic disciplines.
The effectiveness of an ombudsman

Most people in our colleges and universities believe that the concept of an ombudsman, developed in the political area, could have a significant influence in institutions of higher education. In this article the author, himself a full-time ombudsman at a large urban college, attempts to correct some prevailing misconceptions about the office and indicate the source of an ombudsman's effectiveness.
The natural history, pathology and treatment of chronic bronchitis.

1.Chronic bronchitis is the major cause of loss of working time and the third most important cause of death in England. It occurs in 36 per cent of men over age 30 and is four times as common in men as in women, being more common in the working classes. 2.Important in the pathogenesis are: atmospheric pollution and cigarette smoking, both of which lead to an excess of mucus. 3.There is an obliterative bronchiolitis together with a varying degree of super-added infection mostly due to H. influenzae and pneumococcus. 4.Pulmonary emphysema is the main complication of chronic bronchitis. The most important symptom is dyspnea of effort. 5.Cor pulmonale is the end result of emphysema and is due to respiratory failure together with changes in the pulmonary vascular bed. Right ventricular hypertrophy is always present due to pulmonary hypertension. 6.The main treatment of chronic bronchitis is the abolition of cigarette smoking and atmospheric pollution. In the well-established case, pathogens must be prevented from reaching the bronchioles by using appropriate antibiotics.
Doing all they can: physicians who deny medical futility.

The House of God found it difficult to let some young terminal guy die without pain, in peace. Even though Putzel and the Runt had agreed to let the Man With Agonal Respirations die that night, his kidney consult, a House red-hot slurper named Mickey who'd been a football star in college, came along, went to see the Agonal Man, roared back to us and paged the Runt STAT. Mickey was foaming at the mouth, mad as hell that his “case” was dying. I mentioned the end-stage bone cancer, and Mickey said, “Yeah, but we've got an eight grand dialysis shunt in his arm and every three days the dialysis team gets all his blood numbers smack back into line perfect.” Knowing there was going to be a mess, I left…. I thought of the bones in multiple myeloma: eaten away by the cancer until they're as brittle as Rice Krispies. In a few minutes the Man With Agonal Respirations would have a cardiac arrest. If Mickey tried to pump his chest, his bones would crunch into little bitty bits. Not even Mickey, seduced by the Leggo's ...
Excess enthalpies and excess volumes of each of the mixtures: (n-dodecane+an isomer of hexane) at 298.15 K☆

Abstract Calorimetric measurements of excess enthalpies and dilatometric measurements of excess volumes were carried out for each of the five mixtures: ( n -dodecane + an isomer of hexane) at 298.15 K. The Flory theory of mixtures provides a reasonable correlation of the results.
Stress intensity factors for cross-ply composites

Cracks parallel to one family of fibers in orthogonally reinforced materials under plane stress or plane strain are considered. The body's shape and its boundary conditions are arbitrary, and the crack is traction free. Except in boundary layers, the fibers are assumed to be inextensible. A singular perturbation method shows how the two stress intensity factors corresponding to the opening mode and the sliding mode are expressed in terms of the tensile forces in the three singular fibers through the crack tip.
Scaling of the conductivity of insulating Si : B: A temperature-independent hopping prefactor

For insulating Si:B with dopant concentrations from 0.75nc to the critical concentration nc, the conductivity ranging over five orders of magnitude collapses using a single scaling parameter T* onto a universal curve of the form ?(T) = ?0f(T*/T) with a prefactor ?0 that is independent of temperature and dopant concentration. The function f(T*/T) = e?(T*/T)? with ? = 1/2 when T*/T > 10, corresponding to Efros-Shklovskii variable-range hopping. For T*/T < 8 the exponent ? = 1/3, a value expected for Mott variable-range hopping in two rather than three dimensions.
The expression of the sex steroid-synthesizing enzymes CYP11A1, 3beta-HSD, CYP17, and CYP19 in gonads and adrenals of adult and developing zebra finches.

Songbirds have emerged as important animal models for understanding how sex steroids influence brain and behavior, particularly how they direct the sexually dimorphic development of the neural circuits controlling song and then activate adult song behavior. Presumably, sex steroids synthesized in the gonads are responsible for these actions on brain. However, experiments do not always reveal a direct relationship between gonadal function, circulating sex steroids, and activation and/or organization of song. Thus, it is critical that we understand more about the sites and mechanisms of sex steroid synthesis in this group of birds. Toward this end, we have established the use in zebra finches of chicken cDNA probes to the principal androgen synthetic enzymes, CYP11A1, 3beta-HSD, and CYP17. On Northern blots, these probes recognized bands of the appropriate size and in tissues similar to those seen in chickens. With these probes, and a probe to CYP19 specific to the zebra finch, we used in situ hybridization to examine the cellular expression of these enzymes in gonads and adrenals of adult and developing zebra finches (1 to 20 days posthatching). In adults, we identified significant expression of CYP11A1 and CYP17 in large ovarian follicles, particularly the thecal cell layer and over the testicular interstitial area. 3beta-HSD was expressed by both theca and granulosa and in testicular interstitial and seminiferous tubular cells. In adrenals, CYP11A1 and 3beta-HSD are abundant with lesser amounts of CYP17. Developmentally, we identified high expression of CYP11A1 and 3beta-HSD in the adrenals, CYP17 in both testes and ovaries, and CYP19 in ovaries only. These results suggest that the ovaries but not the testes may secrete estrogen developmentally and the adrenals may contribute precursors for gonadal steroidogensis.
Design and fabrication of a simple, versatile cryomicroscopy stage

Abstract A new cell freezing stage for cryomicroscopy is described with the intention of providing information adequate to enable easy duplication by other investigators. The stage is designed to be constructed from commonly available stock materials and to be fabricated with a minimal investment of time using simple techniques with standard machine tools. Provisions are made both for convective cooling with a chilled refrigerant gas and for heating with a transparent electrical resistance coating applied to a glass plate on which the specimen is mounted. The specimen temperature and its time rate of change can be regulated independently by continuously adjusting the balance between the cooling and heating fluxes. A temperature controller may be interfaced to the stage to regulate the specimen temperature automatically according to a preprogrammed protocol. Thermal performance capabilities of the stage satisfy most general cryomicroscopy requirements. Cooling and warming rates can be effected up to several hundred degrees Kelvin per minute across a temperature range in excess of 120 to 375 K. Thermal gradients within the viewing aperature of the stage are kept small by creating a tortuous convective flow path for the refrigerant fluid.
Methods and strategies in evaluating equity research

The thesis of this paper is that evaluation methods are strongly correlated to strategies employed in equity programming and research. Without attempting to settle the issue of specific advantages that might accrue to any particular approach, the paper nonetheless does aim to demonstrate that ends-in-view often determine choices in methods selected. A series of such broad-gauged methods are examined: evaluation research; cost-benefit analysis; quality of life measures; substitution strategies; microanalytic simulation; and in each instance evidence is adduced that the methods and procedures of research adopted — sometimes through scholarly initiatives, other times through government directives — serve quite specific epistemological and valuational premises of the researchers and agencies involved. One might say that the basic purpose of this exploratory study is to link problems in social policy to the style of analysis pioneered by the sociology of knowledge.
College health in the national blueprint for a healthy campus 2000

Beginning in 1985, an ACHA task force studied national health objectives to determine how well colleges and universities were achieving nationally defined health goals. The task force found that the college-aged population was not specifically recognized as a concern among health planners and that little consistent data on the health status of students existed. The task force worked closely with federal agencies in identifying relevant issues and focusing on the higher education community's commitment to disease promotion and positive health behaviors.
Repetition and the arcuate fasciculus

According to the traditional model of language organization, repetition deficits arise following damage to the arcuate fasciculus of the dominant hemisphere (conduction aphasia). Conduction aphasia may result from lesions that spare the arcuate fasciculus. However, these patients have atypical language organization. We describe a man with normal language architecture who underwent a resection of the anterior portion of his arcuate fasciculus and retained his ability to repeat words and sentences. We propose that the arcuate fasciculus is not necessary for speech repetition by the lexical route.