cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Distinct Microcircuit Response to Comparable Input from a Full and Partial Projection Neuron Population

Neuronal inputs to microcircuits are often present as multiple copies of apparently equivalent neurons. Thus far, however, little is known regarding the relative influence on microcircuit output of activating all or only some copies of such an input. We are examining this issue in the crab (Cancer borealis) stomatogastric ganglion, where the gastric mill (chewing) microcircuit is activated by MCN1, a paired modulatory projection neuron. Both MCN1s contain the same cotransmitters, influence the same gastric mill circuit neurons, can drive the biphasic gastric mill rhythm, and are co-activated by all identified MCN1-activating pathways. Here, we determine whether the gastric mill circuit response is equivalent when stimulating one or both MCN1s under conditions where the pair are matched to collectively fire at the same overall rate and pattern as single MCN1 stimulation. The dual MCN1 stimulations elicited more consistently coordinated rhythms, and these rhythms exhibited longer phases and cycle periods. These different outcomes from single and dual MCN1 stimulation may have resulted from the relatively modest, and equivalent, firing rate of the gastric mill neuron LG during each matched set of stimulations. The LG neuron-mediated, ionotropic inhibition of the MCN1 axon terminals is the trigger for the transition from the retraction to protraction phase. This LG neuron influence on MCN1 was more effective during the dual stimulations, where each MCN1 firing rate was half that occurring during the matched single stimulations. Thus, equivalent individual- and co-activation of a class of modulatory projection neurons will not necessarily drive equivalent microcircuit output.
Night-to-night fluctuations in sleep apnea severity: diagnostic and treatment implications and the need to be less prescriptive in guidelines.

Citation:Hunasikatti M. Night-to-night fluctuations in sleep apnea severity: diagnostic and treatment implications and the need to be less prescriptive in guidelines. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(9):1623.
Analysis of mutual assured destruction-like scenario with swarms of non-recallable autonomous robots

This paper considers the implications of the creation of an autonomous robotic fighting force without recall-ability which could serve as a deterrent to a ‘total war’ magnitude attack. It discusses the technical considerations for this type of robotic system and the limited enhancements required to current technologies (particularly UAVs) needed to create such a system. Particular consideration is paid to how the introduction of this type of technology by one actor could create a need for reciprocal development. Also considered is the prospective utilization of this type of technology by non-state actors and the impact of this on state actors.
Does liquid–liquid phase separation drive peptide folding?

Proline-arginine (PR) dipeptide repeats have been shown to undergo liquid-liquid phase separation and are an example of a growing number of intrinsically disordered proteins that can assemble into membraneless organelles. These structures have been posited as nucleation sites for pathogenic protein aggregation. As such, a better understanding of the effects that the increased local concentration and volumetric crowding within droplets have on peptide secondary structure is necessary. Herein we use Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) spectroscopy to show that formation of droplets by PR20 accompanies changes in the amide-I spectra consistent with folding into poly-proline helical structures.
Learning from Actions Not Taken in Multiagent Systems

In large cooperative multiagent systems, coordinating the actions of the agents is critical to the overall system achieving its intended goal. Even when the agents aim to cooperate, ensuring that the agent actions lead to good system level behavior becomes increasingly difficult as systems become larger. One of the fundamental difficulties in such multiagent systems is the slow learning process where an agent not only needs to learn how to behave in a complex environment, but also needs to account for the actions of other learning agents. In this paper, we present a multiagent learning approach that significantly improves the learning speed in multiagent systems by allowing an agent to update its estimate of the rewards (e.g. value function in reinforcement learning) for all its available actions, not just the action that was taken. This approach is based on an agent estimating the counterfactual reward it would have received had it taken a particular action. Our results show that the rewards on such "actions not taken" are beneficial early in training, particularly when only particular "key" actions are used. We then present results where agent teams are leveraged to estimate those rewards. Finally, we show that the improved learning speed is critical in dynamic environments where fast learning is critical to tracking the underlying processes.
Tearing Fashion Design Protection Apart atthe Seams

Table of ContentsI. Introduction 216II. The Current State of Intellectual Property Law 221A. Failure of Intellectual Property Law to Protect Fashion Designs 2221. Patent Law 2222. Trademark and Trade Dress 2243. Copyright 228B. Failure of "Conceptual Separability" to Meaningfully Protect Fashion Designs 229C. Failure of Courts and Congress to Allow for the Protection of Fashion Designs 233III. The Creation of Fashion Design Protection 239A. Proposed Protection Under the Design Piracy Bills 240B. Current Fashion Design Protection Offered in Japan and the European Union 2451. Japan 2462. The European Union 248IV. The Practical Effects of Enacting Fashion Design Protection....... 252A. The Argument Against Protecting Fashion Designs 252B. Suggestions to Improve Protection for Fashion Design......... 264V. Conclusion 272I see. You think that [fashion] has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select... that lumpy blue sweater.... But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue. It's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? ... And then cerulean quickly showed up hi the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Comer where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room ....-Miranda Priestly, The Devil Wears Prada1I. IntroductionWhile Miranda Priestly's self-important observation in the recent 20th Century Fox film, The Devil Wears Prada, certainly elicits the desired laughter from the viewing audience, it also highlights the influential impact that haute couture fashion designers have on clothing trends.2 In a country that has a well developed system of copyright, trademark, and patent protection and actively punishes violations of those protections, one would expect protection for fashion creations. Thus, the ease with which designers can pass fashion trends to mass consumers may come as a surprise.3 Fashion designs fall into intellectual property's "negative space" and derive virtually zero benefit from current legal protections.4 This lack of protection allows a "design pirate" to look at a photograph or display of a $600 Oscar de la Renta pump, make an exact replica, and sell the shoe on the mass market without violating any law, with very few exceptions.5Without protection, designers can do very little to "prevent the rampant piracy of their fashion designs."6 Such piracy allegedly harms the designer "[b]ecause these knockoffs are usually of such poor quality[;] these reproductions not only steal the designer's profits, but also damage his or her reputation. …
Ultimate Attainment in Second Language Acquisition: A Case Study

Contents: Preface. Some Preliminary Issues in Adult L2 Ultimate Attainment. Introducing Patty. Knowledge of Finiteness. The Acquisition of Past Tense. Clausal Word Order and Movement. Nominal Phrases. Conclusions.
The Emergence of the “Nerd”

AbstractThis study assessed the attitudes of elementary and secondary children (N = 5,971) toward computer technologies through the use of the Draw-A-Computer-User Test. Findings from this study indicate that children do not view technological careers as a mere extension of science but rather as the integration of computer technologies into existing careers. A stereotypical image of a “teenage nerd” emerged in the drawings of secondary students but not in elementary children’s drawings. This negative stereotypical image of a computer user was defined by adolescents as being a person who: (a) is a teenage male, (b) parts his hair in the middle and/or wears slicked-down hair, (c) wears eyeglasses, (d) dons a pocket protector containing mechanical lead pencils, (e) dresses in trousers that don’t meet shoe tops, and (f) wears oversized clothing. Additionally, drawings bearing this negative stereotypical image were typically labeled with the word “nerd” or the name “Urkle.” In this study, a strong distinction ...
Medical and recreational marijuana: commentary and review of the literature

Recent years have seen substantial shifts in cultural attitudes towards marijuana for medical and recreational use. Potential problems with the approval, production, dispensation, route of administration, and negative health effects of medical and recreational marijuana are reviewed. Medical marijuana should be subject to the same rigorous approval process as other medications prescribed by physicians. Legalizing recreational marijuana may have negative public health effects.
A scalable performance 32 b microprocessor

A RISC microprocessor core in a six-layer metal 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS process implements the ARM/sup TM/ V.5TE instruction set. The microprocessor core is 16.77 mm/sup 2/ and dissipates 450 mW at 1.3 V, 600 MHz, scaling between 55 mW, 0.7 V and 200 MHz, and 1.55 W at 1.65 V and 800 MHz.
The weight factor in pregnancy

Abstract Although the series of cases studied was not large, the average gain of 23.2 pounds by healthy pregnant women coincides with that observed by Davis and others. The number of toxemic patients is also small (twelve), but they fall in very definite weight groups. Noted in conjunction with careful urinalyses and the blood pressure readings, the amount and rate of increase in weight should aid materially in foretelling the toxemias of later pregnancy and make it possible to ward them off. With the increase in the number patients who are applying for, and who are interested in, antenatal care, the physician will be placed in a position to study such patients. This being true, no method should be slighted that will aid in reducing the toxemias of late pregnancy to a minimum.
Prior Information and Subjective Probability

As mentioned in Chapter 1, an important element of many decision problems is the prior information concerning θ It was stated that a convenient way to quantify such information is in terms of a probability distribution on Θ. In this chapter, methods and problems involved in the construction of such probability distributions will be discussed.
Attorney deception: The Honorable Lyle E. Strom and Professor Tory L. Lucas

This magazine article is about two things: (1) An attorney, in cooperation with local law enforcement, smuggled cell phones into the correctional center and wore a wire into the attorney-client interview room. The police recorded all calls on those phones and, of course, the conversations off of the interview-room wire. Over defendant's objection, the judge (correctly) admitted the conversations into evidence. (2) A law professor has written an article on the subject of attorney deception. The judge addressed the legal issues. The Professor addresses the ethical issues of attorney deception and, in the end he -- Professor Tory L. Lucas -- suggests an express "investigation deception" exception to the Model Rules of Professional conduct.
Ratchets driven by colored gaussian noise

We consider motion of overdamped Brownian particles in anisotropic, periodic structures (ratchets), that are driven by nonequilibrium fluctuations with finite correlation time (colored noise). Fluctuation-induced transport in such correlation ratchets which are driven by both, additive Gaussian white and additive Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise is studied. As a second example we substitute the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process by Harmonic Noise, which yields a richer structure for directed transport. For constant intensity noise, we depict the current versus the noise parameters. For Harmonic noise, the current exhibits (multiple) current reversals, while for Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise such a current reversal emerges only if the shape of the ratchet potential is chosen appropriately. Moreover, we investigate the detailed behavior of the current carrying multidimensional stationary probability. Apart from maxima reflecting locally stable states, the probability assumes additional colored noise induced maxima. The colored noise induced, directed current is evaluated with the help of matrix continued fractions. This latter method is elucidated here in greater detail, covering also three-dimensional Fokker-Planck structures. These ratchet devices can be utilized to efficiently separate particles of nearly equal mass in nano- and microstructures.
Somatostatin inhibition of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons: mediation by arachidonic acid and its metabolites

We used electrophysiological methods in a slice preparation to study the mechanisms of somatostatin (SS) effects on hippocampal pyramidal neurons. SS hyperpolarizes hippocampal pyramidal neurons in part by augmenting the time- and voltage-dependent M-current (IM), which has been shown to be reduced by muscarinic agonists. The SS effects are abolished by the phospholipase A2 inhibitors 4-bromophenacyl bromide and quinacrine. Arachidonic acid (AA) mimics all the effects of SS on hippocampal pyramidal neurons. The effects of AA and SS on IM are blocked by the lipoxygenase inhibitor nordihydroguaiaretic acid but not by the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin. Prostaglandins E2, F2 alpha, and I2 do not increase IM. However, the specific 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors 5,6-methanoleukotriene A4 methylester and 5,6-dehydroarachidonic acid both blocked the IM-augmenting action of either SS or AA. Leukotriene C4 (but not leukotriene B4) increases IM to the same extent as AA. IM was not altered by the 12-lipoxygenase product 12-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid, and SS effects were not altered by the 12-lipoxygenase inhibitor baicalein. These data implicate 5-lipoxygenase metabolite(s) (probably leukotriene C4) as a mediator for the IM-augmenting effect of SS. In addition, when the IM effect is blocked by lipoxygenase inhibitors, both SS and AA elicit another outward current that is not blocked by either lipoxygenase or cyclooxygenase inhibitors, suggesting a direct role of AA itself distinct from the IM effect. SS did not alter significantly Ca(2+)-dependent action potentials or, in whole-cell recordings, inward currents likely to represent high-threshold Ca2+ currents. The combined results of these studies suggest that SS hyperpolarizes hippocampal neurons by two mechanisms, both mediated through the AA system. However, one mechanism (IM) involves a metabolite of AA and is most effective at slightly depolarized potentials, whereas the other may involve AA itself and be more effective at membrane potentials near rest.
Propranolol for Treatment of Genital Infantile Hemangioma

Purpose: Genital infantile hemangiomas are vascular anomalies that often require complex management and interdisciplinary care. Propranolol was first used to treat patients with infantile hemangiomas in 2008 and has since gained acceptance as first-line therapy.Materials and Methods: We review the presentation, course, management and outcomes of all cases of genital infantile hemangiomas managed by propranolol administration at a single institution from April 2010 to July 2014.Results: During the study period 9 patients with genital infantile hemangiomas were referred to our hemangioma treatment clinic. Propranolol was initially administered under careful outpatient monitoring at a dose of 1 mg/kg daily in 8 patients. One patient, a 700 gm premature infant, was started on therapy in the inpatient setting at 0.5 mg/kg daily, given the history of prematurity. All patients underwent successful increase of dose to at least 2 mg/kg for the observation phase after tolerating the starting doses. One patient disc...
Dynamic Present Values and the Intertemporal CAPM

Merton’s (1973) intertemporal Capital Asset Pricing Model is dicult to reconcile with present value computation when investment opportunities are random and time-varying. Merton assumes a geometric price process, and his equilibrium is constructed by solving for the instantaneous expected rate of return. We argue that this method is generally inconsistent with present value computations. We derive an alternative version of the Intertemporal CAPM based explicitly on present value computation with a strictly exogenous cash ow. Our model is derived without restrictive assumptions about the structure of the equilibrium price process. An essential feature of our model is that prices respond endogenously to shocks in expected return. In an example model, we show that shocks to stochastic volatility is negatively correlated with stock returns in equilibrium. The correlation increases in absolute magnitude with risk aversion.
A short recirculating fiber loop testbed with accurate reproduction of Maxwellian PMD statistics

A short recirculating fiber loop (/spl sim/100 km) that can emulate polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) with Maxwellian statistics is realized by loop-synchronous polarization scrambling inside the loop. The performance of our distribution-correct PMD loop is. compared both experimentally and numerically to that of a distribution-incorrect PMD loop.
Constraint processing incorporating, back jumping, learning, and cutset-decomposition

Researchers in the areas of constraint-satisfaction problems (CSPs), logic programming, and truth-maintenance systems have suggested various schemes for enhancing the performance of backtrack algorithms. The author defines and compares the performance of three such schemes: backjump, learning while searching, and the cycle-cutset method. Backjump and cycle-cutset work best when the constraint graph is sparse, while the learning scheme mostly benefits problem instances with dense constraint graphs. An integrated strategy is proposed which utilizes the distinct advantages of each scheme. Experiments show that in hard problems, the average improvement realized by the integrated scheme is 20-25% over any of the individual schemes. >
Nanoclay reinforced bio-based elastomers: Synthesis and characterization

Abstract A new bio-based elastomer synthesized from soybean oil was filled with nanoclay to generate an elastic nanocomposite. A solubility parameter study was used to select the organoclay for poly(acrylated oleic methyl ester) (AOME). Effects of the nanoclay on the macroscopic and microscopic properties were explored. The morphology varies from fully exfoliated to intercalated structure with different types of clay and clay concentrations. Mechanical properties are significantly improved by the addition of organoclays. The elongation at break increases as well as the tensile strength. A decrease in the crosslink density of this elastic nanocomposite, measured by swelling test, indicates that the clay hinders chemical crosslinking and also confirms the formation of physical crosslinks. Percolation studies show the improvement of the network structure by nanoclays. The onset of the thermal decomposition was hindered by the loading of the nanoclay. Clay effects on biodegradability were studied as well.
Juvenile myopia progression, risk factors and interventions

The development and progression of early onset myopia is actively being investigated. While myopia is often considered a benign condition it should be considered a public health problem for its visual, quality of life, and economic consequences. Nearly half of the visually impaired population in the world has uncorrected refractive errors, with myopia a high percent of that group. Uncorrected visual acuity should be screened for and treated in order to improve academic performance, career opportunities and socio-economic status. Genetic and environmental factors contribute to the onset and progression of myopia. Twin studies have supported genetic factors and research continues to identify myopia genetic loci. While multiple myopia genetic loci have been identified establishing myopia as a common complex disorder, there is not yet a genetic model explaining myopia progression in populations. Environmental factors include near work, education levels, urban compared to rural location, and time spent outdoors. In this field of study where there continues to be etiology controversies, there is recent agreement that children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to become myopic. Worldwide population studies, some completed and some in progress, with a common protocol are gathering both genetic and environmental cohort data of great value. There have been rapid population changes in prevalence rates supporting an environmental influence. Interventions to prevent juvenile myopia progression include pharmacologic agents, glasses and contact lenses. Pharmacological interventions over 1–2 year trials have shown benefits. Peripheral vision defocus has been found to affect the emmetropization process and may be affected by wearing glasses or contacts. Accommodation accuracy also has been implicated in myopia progression. Further research will aim to assess both the role and interaction of environmental influences and genetic factors.
Transition to spatiotemporal chaos via spatially subharmonic oscillations of a periodic front

An unusual sequence of bifurcations is documented in the flow of a viscious fluid inside a partially filled rotating horizontal cylinder. A periodic cellular pattern destabilizes to form a spatially subharmonic pattern that oscillates periodically in time. As the rotation rate is increased, the pattern evolves to spatiotemporal chaos. This state is characterized both by its correlation length and time, and by the fluctuating spatial phase of the pattern. The transition process is similar to that shown by a generalized Ginzburg-Landau model proposed by Daviaud et al. [Physica D 55, 287 (1992)].
Thermodynamics of U(VI) sorption onto Shewanellaputrefaciens

Abstract We have conducted acid–base potentiometric titrations and U(VI) sorption experiments using the Gram negative, facultatively anaerobic bacterium Shewanella putrefaciens . Results of reversed titration studies on live, inactive bacteria indicate that their pH-buffering properties result from the equilibrium ionization of three discrete populations of functional groups. Carboxyl ( p K a =5.16±0.04), phosphoryl ( p K a =7.22±0.15) and amine ( p K a =10.04±0.67) groups most likely represent these three resolvable functionalities, based on their p K a values. Site densities for carboxyl, phosphoryl and amine groups on the bacterial surface were approximately 31.7 μmol sites/g bacteria (0.35±0.02 sites/nm 2 ), 8.95 μmol/g (0.11±0.007 sites/nm 2 ) and 38.0 μmol/g (0.42±0.008 sites/nm 2 ), respectively, based on an estimated bacterial specific surface area of 55 m 2 /g. Sorption experiments showed that U(VI) can reversibly complex with the bacterial surface in the pH 2–8 interval, with maximum adsorption occurring at a pH of ∼5. Sorption is not strongly sensitive to ionic strength (NaCl) in the range 0.02–0.10 M. The pH and ionic strength dependence of U(VI) sorption onto S. putrefaciens is similar to that measured for metal-oxide surfaces and Gram positive bacteria, and appears to be similarly governed by competitive speciation constraints. Measured U(VI) sorption is accounted for by using two separate adsorption reactions forming the surface complexes >COO–UO 2 + and >PO 4 H–UO 2 (OH) 2 . Using S. putrefaciens as a model organism for dissimilatory metal-reducing Gram negative anaerobes, our results extend the applicability of geochemical speciation models to include bacteria that are capable of reductively solubilizing or precipitating a wide variety of environmentally and geologically important metals and metallic species.
A family of dominating minimax estimators of a multivariate normal mean

Abstract Let X have a p-variate normal distribution with mean vector θ and identity covariance matrix I. In the squared error estimation of θ, Baranchik (1970) gives a wide family G of minimax estimators. In this paper, a subfamily C of dominating estimators in G is found such that for each estimator δ1 in G not in C, there exists an estimator δ2 in C which which dominates δ1.
Transcription arrest at DNA damage sites

Transcription arrest by RNA polymerase II at a DNA damage site on the transcribed strand is considered an essential step in initiation of transcription-coupled repair (TCR), a specialized repair pathway, which specifically removes lesions from transcribed strands of expressed genes. To understand how initiation of TCR occurs, it is necessary to characterize the properties of the transcription complex when it encounters a lesion in its path. The analysis of different types of arrested complexes should help us understand how an arrested RNA polymerase may signal the repair proteins to initiate a repair event. This article will review the recent literature describing how the presence of DNA damage along the DNA affects transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II and its implications for the initial steps of TCR.
Deformational episodes recorded in the Skagit Gneiss Complex, North Cascades, Washington, USA

Abstract The crystalline core of the North Cascades is part of a thick (>55 km) 96–45 Ma continental magmatic arc. The highest-grade part of the arc is the Skagit Gneiss Complex that includes partially migmatitic amphibolite-facies orthogneiss, layered biotite gneiss, and paragneiss. The typically NW-striking foliation and gently SE-plunging lineation formed mostly between 69 and 51 Ma. In the study area to the north, four fold generations are recorded some of which formed from 51 to 46 Ma. The upright kilometer-scale folds in the study area are similar to Eocene folds in the southern part of the Skagit Gneiss Complex and implies at least an abbreviated interval of regional shortening during an extended period of overall transtension. Latest ductile deformation is marked by strong subhorizontal constrictional fabrics in granodiorite, which intrudes all other major units and structures at 46–45 Ma. Microstructures record relatively low-temperature (300–400 °C) and medium- to high-temperature (≥450 °C) ductile deformation, which are focused in kilometer-scale domains. Orientation, sequence, and timing of deformation are similar in the northern and southern portions of the Skagit Gneiss Complex, but structures differ in the central portion that apparently do not record the brief interval of shortening.
Sidescan sonar aided inertial drift compensation in autonomous underwater vehicles

We introduce our first work on terrain-based navigation of autonomous underwater vehicles using sidescan sonars and sidescan sonar maps. It consists in estimating the state of the vehicle from its inertial proprioceptions and sidescan exteroceptions using a particle filter. The novelty is the use of sidescan acoustic perceptions and sidescan sonar maps instead of single-beam bottom-looking acoustic perceptions and bathymetric maps. Also, the approach is not landmark-based. Our first simulations, although conducted under simplifying hypotheses, show that the approach is valid and may be applied to more complex situations.
Genetic ecotoxicology: The genotypic diversity approach

Abstract Organismal responses at the genetic level to exposure to environmental genotoxicants have been well documented. An elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved with these responses, as well as an assessment of the changes that may occur to the genetic material, will provide an understanding of the potential for deleterious consequences at higher levels of biological organization. Moreover, modern procedures of molecular biology offer the hope that alterations and changes to genetic material can be readily detected.
Alloplastic tooth implants.

A lloplastic, “tooth-substituting,” semiburied implants range from those which replace a single tooth to those which replace a complete dentition. Obviously, a singletooth alloplastic implant is much less complicated than a multiple-tooth alloplastic implant. However, the prognosis of a single-pontic fixed partial denture is much more favorable than that of a single-tooth alloplastic implant. Implants to replace the entire mandibular dentition in some patients who exhibit extreme resorption of the mandible can be justified. There is no alternative treatment plan for these patients which offers a better prognosis. The multiple-tooth implant is their only hope. An implant for the complete replacement of the dentition in the mandible represents the greatest need in dentistry.
Robot-assisted minimally invasive Kasai portoenterostomy: a survival porcine study

Major enhancements offered by robotic surgery for minimally invasive procedure include tremor filtration, motion scaling, and the addition of a wrist to the instrument. Minor enhancements include indexing as well as safe and rapid instrument exchange. A benefit associated with any endoscopic procedure is magnification. It was hypothesized that these enhancements would allow the performance of complex gastrointestinal surgery. Eight survival pigs (weight, 2.5–8 kg) underwent a robotically assisted minimally invasive portoenterostomy. The procedure was analogous to the Kasai portoenterostomy for biliary atresia usually performed for human patients at the age of 4 to 12 weeks. Five of the eight animals survived for more than 1 month after the operation, returning to normal eating and bowel habits in 2 to 3 days. None were jaundiced. All laboratory values were normal. At 1 month, the animals were killed. There was no anastomotic stenosis at either the end-to-side enteroenterostomy or the portoenterostomy. Histologically, the anastomoses were well healed. Computer-assisted robot-enhanced technology allows complex gastrointestinal surgery to be performed using minimally invasive techniques.
Live Imaging of Synaptic Vesicle Release and Retrieval in Dopaminergic Neurons

Dopaminergic (DA) neurons represent less than 0.01% of neurons in the human brain, but are essential for normal neurological and psychiatric function. The majority of these neurons reside in the ventral midbrain, but they exert their profound influences on brain function through projections to both the cortex and the basal ganglia. These projections secrete dopamine from small clear synaptic vesicles (SVs) in axonal varicosities. DA signaling has unique spatial and temporal characteristics as compared to the fast, focal synaptic transmission of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. However, as with fast acting neurotransmitters, DA SVs must be locally recycled for use following exocytosis. Little is known about these DA SV recycling properties and how they might impact efficacy of DA neurotransmission. Here we used the pH-sensitive fluorescent probe synaptopHluorin (spH) to investigate SV recycling in DA neurons and compared their properties to prototypical fast neurotransmitter synapses of the hippocampus. These measurements showed that DA SVs, like hippocampal SVs, have a resting pH of ~5.6. However, compared to hippocampal neurons, DA neurons show limited depletion of the recycling pool of vesicles as the stimulus frequency is increased from 5 to 30Hz. Additional measurements show that exocytosis rates at this frequency are comparable between hippocampal and DA neurons. Thus, limited vesicle depletion likely arises from a stimulus frequency-dependent acceleration of DA SV endocytosis or re-acidification. Our observations imply differential regulation of endo-exocytic balance in dopaminergic neurons. Finally, our assay can also be used to investigate the effects of genetic and chemical modulation of the synaptic vesicle cycle.
Synthesis of a diverse library of mechanism-based cysteine protease inhibitors.

We report improvements of our method for the solid-phase synthesis of mechanism-based mercaptomethyl ketone inhibitors of cysteine proteases (Lee, A.; Huang, L.; Ellman, J. A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 9907−9914). Specifically, Fmoc-protected chloromethyl ketones were used, rather than the Alloc-protected counterparts. In addition, we further demonstrated that diverse polar functionality can be incorporated at the R1‘, R1, and R2 sites, in contrast to our previous efforts, where primarily hydrophobic groups were incorporated at these positions. On the basis of these results, a 2016-membered library of potential mercaptomethyl ketone inhibitors was prepared that incorporated diverse functionality. The library was screened against cathepsin B, which is implicated in cancer, resulting in the identification of single-digit nanomolar inhibitors. Because of the diverse functionality incorporated in this library, it should be a rich source of potent inhibitors against many other cysteine proteases.
Event components in autobiographical memories

Autobiographical memories contain activity, location, temporal, and participant information (Lancaster & Barsalou, 1997). Our study analysed potential dominance of activity information in autobiographical memories. The results indicated stability in dominance of the activity component, defined as similar occurrence in first and subsequent reports, and a relative absence of the temporal component in these verbal reports. Activity dominance also occurred when activity information from the verbal reports was used as a retrieval cue for a subsequent report. Temporal information demonstrated a greater lack of facilitation as a retrieval cue. These findings can be explained from the perspective of embodied cognition in which underlying perceptual states that contain activity, location, and other participant information are reconstructed during retrieval, whereas temporal information, as a more abstract component, is not.
Long‐term marrow cultures: human and murine systems

The intramedullary control of marrow cell production has been a difficult area to approach experimentally. The introduction by Dr. Dexter and colleagues of long-term stromal dependent culture systems for murine marrow and the adaptation of these systems to human marrow growth have allowed for in-vitro studies of stromal dependent hemopoiesis. Despite some controversy in this area, most studies appear to show that adherent murine or human stromal cells are capable of producing a relatively large number of hemopoietic growth factors including G-CSF, GM-CSF, CSF-1, IL-6 and, at least by PCR analysis, IL-3. Other work indicates that the most primitive hemopoietic cells which appear to be multifactor responsive adhere directly to these stromal cells presumably through mediation of various adherence proteins. An early acting, multilineage factor termed hemolymphopoietic growth factor-1 (HLGF-1) has been isolated from a murine stromal cell line and may be identical to the recently described ligand for the c-kit receptor. This may represent an important early survival/maintenance factor for stem cells in this system. Studies on primitive stem cells, especially the high proliferative potential colony forming cell (HPP-CFC), indicate that they are responsive to varying combinations of growth factors and that with increasing numbers of growth factors, as studied in serum-free systems, decreasing concentrations of the factors may be biologically active. These observations altogether suggest that intramedullary hemopoiesis may be regulated by the positioning of early multifactor responsive stem cells via adherent proteins in juxtaposition to synergistically acting combinations of grwoth factors attached to stromal cell surfaces or the extracellular matrix. In addition, selective production of different growth factors from different subsets of cells may create growth factor gradients and explain the spacial distribution of different cell types within the marrow cavity.
Possible Recurrence of Amiodarone Pulmonary Toxicity Following Corticosteroid Therapy

Amiodarone hydrochloride, a new antiarrhythmic agent, has been associated with pulmonary toxicity characterized by cough, dyspnea and diffuse pulmonary infiltrates. We describe a case of fibrosing alveolitis, diagnosed by lung biopsy, in a patient receiving amiodarone which responded to corticosteroid therapy. The pulmonary symptoms recurred after discontinuing corticosteroids, five months after amiodarone was stopped, and were associated with a persistent amiodarone level. To our knowledge, this recurrence of amiodarone pulmonary toxicity has not been reported previously.
Religion and identity in India’s heritage tourism

Abstract The growing worth of heritage in the renegotiation and dissemination of identities has intensified conflicts over whose voice dominates heritage tourism representations. Therefore, this study compares the way India’s heritage is represented by the Indian government, by the domestic tourism trade media and by the popular tourism media. The findings reveal that India is consistently represented as an ethnically diverse nation in which Hinduism preceded and prevailed over all other ethnicities/religions; a portrayal that consolidates the state’s secular nationalist narrative. Furthermore, the trade and popular media emphasize nostalgic experiences of a sanitized colonial history while the government emphasizes accounts of resistance against colonial powers and of suffering due to Muslim atrocities.
Invariant noncanonical mappings of singular theories

We extend to theories with constraints an earlier result which related noncanonical invariant mappings of classical trajectories in phase space to conserved quantities. In particular we show that the associated constants of the motion may be expressed in a form identical to those of nonsingular theories, making no explicit reference to the constraints, or to gauge or coordinate conditions.
Patterns of fine root mortality in two sugar maple forests

MUCH of the carbon assimilated by plants is allocated to fine root production1–5, and the amount of carbon and nutrients subsequently returned to the soil from fine root turnover equals or surpasses that returned through leaf litter in many forests6–9. Unfortunately, limitations in traditional methods of studying roots have prevented us from thoroughly understanding the dynamic nature of fine root mortality in most forests, and better measurements of fine root longevity are needed to quantify and model more accurately ecosystem carbon and nutrient budgets8–11. We used minirhizotrons12,13 to follow the mortality of contemporaneous fine root cohorts in two sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) forests located 80 km apart (north–south) during 1989 and 1990. We report here that roots in the northern forest consistently lived the longest, principally owing to greater rates of mortality early in the life of roots at the southern site. Differences in site factors suggest that warmer soil temperatures seem to be associated with the more rapid death of roots at the southern site.
Arabidopsis GNARLED Encodes a NAP125 Homolog that Positively Regulates ARP2/3

Abstract In migrating cells, the actin filament nucleation activity of ARP2/3 is an essential component of dynamic cell shape change and motility. In response to signals from the small GTPase Rac1, alterations in the composition [1] and/or subcellular localization [2, 3] of the WAVE complex lead to ARP2/3 activation. The human WAVE complex subunit, WAVE1/SCAR1, was first identified in Dictyostelium [4] and is a direct ARP2/3 activator [5]. In the absence of an intact WAVE complex, SCAR/WAVE protein is destabilized [6–8]. Although the composition of the five-subunit WAVE complex is well characterized, the means by which individual subunits and fully assembled WAVE complexes regulate ARP2/3 in vivo are unclear. The molecular genetics of trichome distortion in Arabidopsis is a powerful system to understand how signaling pathways and ARP2/3 control multicellular development [9–13]. In this paper we prove that the GNARLED gene encodes a homolog of the WAVE subunit NAP125. Despite the moderate level of amino acid identity between Arabidopsis and human NAP125, both homologs were functionally interchangeable in vivo and interacted physically with the putative Arabidopsis WAVE subunit ATSRA1. gnarled trichomes had nearly identical cell shape and actin cytoskeleton phenotypes when compared to ARP2/3 subunit mutants, suggesting that GRL positively regulates ARP2/3 .
Differential training sequence effect upon psychostimulant discrimination

Abstract Martin D. Schechter: Differential Training Sequence Effect Upon Psychostimulant Discrimination. Prog. Neuro-psychopharmacol. & Biol. Psychiat. 1993, 17 : (2) 319–327. 1. 1. Previous studies indicate that rats trained to discriminate either cathinone or cathine from its vehicle have a diminished discriminative performance when tested 24 hours after a drug administration when compared to tests conducted after a vehicle administration. The phenomenon of rapid tolerance may occur to produce a lessened interoceptive cue on the test day following administration of the drug. It would, therefore, be probable that when rats are trained with consecutive cathinone or cathine administrations they would perform less well than if they were trained with these drugs never given in consecutive training sessions. 2. 2. To test this hypothesis, rats were trained with 0.8 mg/kg l -cathinone or 4.8 mg/kg d -cathine in a two-lever, food motivated operant task. Each of these groups were divided into two subgroups with the one receiving consecutive drug administrations and the second never receiving two consecutive administrations of the drug. 3. 3. Results indicate that in the cathine-trained group, there was a significant increase in the time that was necessary to train the animals when consecutive administrations were used in training. This, however, did not occur in the cathinone-treated group. There was, however, no significant difference between the differentially trained groups as to ED50 values. 4. 4. It, thus, appears that there may not be a correlative relationship between speed of acquisition, as documented by sessions-to-criterion, and sensitivity, as indicated by ED50 values.
Multi-analyte multicolor enhanced fluorescent immunoassay on silver island-coated surface

A multi-analyte multi-color immunoassay utilizing enhanced fluorophores fluorescence in the proximity of silver island film (SIF) coated surface is described. A mixture of four different model analyte proteins was immobilized on the surface, and fluorescence signal of four corresponding antibodies labeled with different color fluorophores (emission maxima varied from 570 to 700 nm) was monitored using appropriate cut-off filters. To localize the excitation volume within close proximity of the SIF surface we used the total internal reflection (TIR) mode of excitation. Use of SIF coating resulted in approximately 5-10 fold increase in the intensity of the fluorophores signal if compared to the non-coated glass substrate surface. We suggest application of this methodology for multiplex immunoassays for simultaneous detection of several different analytes in medicine and biotechnology.
Dynamic Dictionary Algorithms for Model Order and Parameter Estimation

In this paper, we present and evaluate dynamic dictionary-based estimation methods for joint model order and parameter estimation. In dictionary-based estimation, a continuous parameter space is discretized, and vector-valued dictionary elements are formed for specific parameter values. A linear combination of a subset of dictionary elements is used to represent the model, where the number of elements used is the estimated model order, and the parameters corresponding to the selected elements are the parameter estimates. In static-based methods, the dictionary is fixed; while in the dynamic methods proposed here, the parameter sampling, and hence the dictionary, adapt to the data. We propose two dynamic dictionary-based estimation algorithms in which the dictionary elements are dynamically adjusted to improve parameter estimation performance. We examine the performance of both static and dynamic algorithms in terms of probability of correct model order selection and the root mean-squared error of parameter estimates. We show that dynamic dictionary methods overcome the problem of estimation bias induced by quantization effects in static dictionary-based estimation, and we demonstrate that dictionary-based estimation methods are capable of parameter estimation performance comparable to the Cramer-Rao lower bound and to traditional ML-based model estimation over a wide range of signal-to-noise ratios.
Urinary reproductive hormone level differences between African American and Caucasian women of reproductive age.

Abstract Objective: To compare urinary levels of reproductive hormones in African American and Caucasian women. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Ten United States Air Force (USAF) bases. Patient(s): African American (n = 33) and Caucasian (n = 65) women of reproductive age from a larger study of USAF women (n = 170). Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Urinary endocrine end points: follicular luteinizing hormone (LH), preovulatory LH, level of LH surge peak, early follicular follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), follicular LH:FSH ratio, midluteal FSH, FSH rise before menses, early follicular estrone 3-glucuronide (E 1 3G), midfollicular E 1 3G, periovulatory E 1 3G peak, midluteal E 1 3G, early follicular pregnanediol 3-glucuronide (Pd3G), follicular Pd3G, rate of periovulatory Pd3G increase, E 1 3G:Pd3G on the day of luteal transition, slope of E 1 3G:Pd3G, and midluteal Pd3G. Result(s): Relative to Caucasians, African American women had significantly lower follicular phase LH:FSH ratios (mean ± SD: 0.7 ± 0.4 vs. 1.0 ± 0.6), lower follicular phase Pd3G levels (1.0 ± 0.5 vs. 1.2 ± 0.8 μg/mg creatinine), and lower rates of periovulatory Pd3G increase (0.5 ± 0.7 vs. 1.0 ± 1.2 μg/mg creatinine). Conclusion(s): Findings of this analysis should be considered preliminary evidence of racial differences in hormone levels. Future studies are needed to determine whether these differences have clinical significance.
Socialization to interdisciplinarity: faculty and student perspectives

Socialization has become a common framework through which to understand the doctoral student experience; however, the framework has predominately been used as a lens through which to understand traditional, single-discipline doctoral student experiences. Interdisciplinary doctoral programs are becoming increasingly common in both the United States and elsewhere but relatively little empirical research exists about this distinct experience. Through multiple interviews with 18 doctoral students and their 35 faculty members, we discuss differences in the socialization process for these students in regard to knowledge acquisition, investment, and involvement. Implications for practice and future research are included.