cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical Overview and Considerations for the Management of Opioid-induced Constipation in Patients With Chronic Noncancer Pain.

Objectives:Opioid analgesics may be associated with chronic adverse effects, such as opioid-induced constipation (OIC). Available and emerging prescription medications for OIC in patients with chronic noncancer pain are described, including concerns and challenges associated with OIC management.Meth
An Alternative Approach for Identifying a Hidden Immigrant Population

We propose an alternative method for identifying undocumented immigrants in public use household data. Our approach departs from the commonly used likely unauthorized (LU) method in that we do not resort to classifying individuals on the basis of their specific geographic origin. We instead consider health insurance status of different family members coupled with the Affordable Care Act insurance mandates, referring to this strategy for sorting individuals by documentation status as the Affordable Care Mandate (ACM) approach. The LU method is generally limited to identifying individuals originating from Latin America. By contrast, the ACM approach enables us to identify individuals who are apparently undocumented and originate from all regions of the world. We also compare our results to the Reconstructed Pew Algorithm (RPA). The RPA is not limited in terms of which adults it can classify, but it does involve making a larger number of judgment calls with respect to the final design of the algorithm. The ACM has its limits in that it can only be applied to individuals who have US-born children who currently reside in the household. Using the 2015–2017 March Supplements to the CPS, we test the ACM against the LU and RPA approaches by estimating simple models of labor force participation and fertility by presumed legal status. Using the alternative methods, we obtain similar, though not identical, results and argue that the ACM approach holds promise for studying the behavior of undocumented immigrants that does not resort to ethnic profiling and uses fewer judgment calls.
Qualitative alcoholic and dealcoholized wine vapor-phase stimuli perceptions using a citation frequency-based method

Retronasal and orthonasal wine vapor-phase stimuli perceptions by 57 participants were obtained using a citation frequency-based method. Ariel Chardonnay (35.45%) and Ariel Rouge (35.19%) concentrates were used to create 5 ethanol concentrations (i.e. <0.5% abv, 3.75% abv, 7% abv, 10.25% abv, and 13.5% abv) for each type of wine. Overall, no significant differences were found among Chardonnay wine aromas and Rouge wine aromas. However, an increase in ethanol concentration significantly decreased the response probability for apple (p = 0.030) retronasally and significantly increased the response probability for alcohol (p = 0.013) orthonasally in Chardonnay wine. In Rouge wine, ethanol concentration significantly impacted response probabilities for ginger (p = 0.022) retronasally and bell pepper (p = 0.025) and wood (p = 0.039) orthonasally. Such findings suggest that the contributions of ethanol to the aroma of real wines may be subtle from a consumer perspective and orthonasal and retronasal qualitative descriptions for wines may not be equivalent. With further investigation and some modification, the use of a citation frequency-based method may be used in smell research to collect detailed, qualitative data from consumers or individuals with no or minimal sensory training.
A Case for Antibodies as Mechanistic Correlates of Immunity in Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis infects one quarter of the world’s population and is the leading cause of death by a single infectious agent, responsible for a reported 1.3 million deaths in 2017. While Mycobacterium tuberculosis is treatable with antibiotic therapy, the increased prevalence of drug resistance, coupled with the variable efficacy of the only widely approved vaccine, has highlighted the need for creative approaches to therapeutic and vaccine development. Historically, a productive immune response to M. tuberculosis has been thought to be nearly entirely cell-mediated, with humoral immunity being largely dismissed. However, in this review, we will discuss the historical skepticism surrounding the role of the humoral immune response to M. tuberculosis, and examine more recent evidence suggesting that antibodies may play a valuable role in host defense against the pathogen. Despite the amount of data portraying antibodies in a negative light, emerging data have begun to highlight the unexpected role of antibodies in M. tuberculosis control. Specifically, it has become clear that antibody features of both the variable and constant domain (Fc) ultimately determine the extent to which antibodies modulate disease. Thus, a more precise definition of the antigen-binding and innate immune recruiting functions of antibodies that contribute to M. tuberculosis restriction, are sure to help guide the development of next-generation therapeutics and vaccines to curb this global epidemic.
Ford Motor in Spain

In this chapter, chronicles Ford’s history in Spain, beginning with its complete knockdown operations in Cadiz and Barcelona. The latter is notable because it helped beget Nissan Motor Iberica’s current Barcelona facility in the city’s Zona Franca area. The remainder of the chapter focuses on Ford Valencia, a 400,000-capacity factory that ended the automaker’s 40-year absence in Spain in 1976. The conclusion speculates on the plant’s post-2017 future.
Autologous Serum-Based Eye Drops for Treatment of Ocular Surface Disease: A Report by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Purpose To describe the safety and effectiveness of using autologous serum-based eye drops for the treatment of severe dry eye and persistent corneal epithelial defect. Methods Literature searches of the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases were conducted most recently in March 2019. The searches identified 281 citations, which were reviewed in abstract form. Of these, 48 were selected for a full-text review, and 13 met the inclusion criteria and were assigned a quality-of-evidence rating by the panel methodologist. Eight of these studies were rated level II and 5 were rated level III; there were no level I studies. Results This analysis included 10 studies of the use of autologous serum-based eye drops for severe dry eye disease and 4 studies of persistent epithelial defect. Several studies showed good effectiveness, with some improvement in symptoms, signs, or both. Eight of the studies reported improved symptoms for severe dry eye disease, and all noted improvement in at least 1 clinical sign. For persistent epithelial defects, all of the studies showed improvement, with 3 of the 4 demonstrating an improvement rate of more than 90%. Adverse events were rare. Conclusions Although autologous serum-based tears may be effective in the treatment of severe dry eye and persistent epithelial defect, conclusions are limited owing to the absence of controlled trials.
All-cause and tumor-specific mortality trends in geriatric oligodendroglioma (OG) patients: A surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) analysis.

Abstract Recent efforts have been made to identify mortality risk factors in Oligodendroglioma (OG) patients, however, efforts have fallen short within the geriatric population. The purpose of this study was to identify mortality trends and risk factors within a geriatric cohort of patients with OGs. 762 cases (1973–2012, age at diagnosis 65+ years) within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included. Variables were age at diagnosis, decade of diagnosis, sex, race and whether or not surgery was performed. All-cause mortality was identified prior to stratification, while tumor-specific mortality was identified after stratification of data by the SEER cause of death “Dead (attributable to this cancer dx)”. Before stratification, decade 4 and patients aged 65–74 years at diagnosis had the lowest mortality, while 85+ years had the highest. Furthermore, women had lower mortality than men and surgery performed resulted in lower mortality in the univariate, but not the multivariate analysis. Following stratification, however, multivariate analysis showed less mortality with surgery performed, but differences between decades and sex were no longer detected. Similarly, patients aged 65–74 years at diagnosis continued to have the lowest mortality, while 85+ years continued to have the highest. Although all-cause mortality decreased over time, tumor-specific mortality remained unchanged since 1973 for geriatric patients with OGs. This highlights the need for further research into new therapeutic strategies for this rapidly growing population.
Detecting De Novo Plasmodesmata Targeting Signals and Identifying PD Targeting Proteins

Subcellular localization plays important roles in protein’s functioning. In this paper, we developed a hidden Markov model to detect de novo signals in protein sequences that target at a particular cellular location: plasmodesmata. We also developed a support vector machine to classify plasmodesmata located proteins (PDLPs) in Arabidopsis, and devised a decision-tree approach to combine the SVM and HMM for better classification performance. The methods achieved high performance with ROC score 0.99 in cross-validation test on a set of 360 type I transmembrane proteins in Arabidopsis. The predicted PD targeting signals in one PDLP have been experimentally verified.
Hemolytic Anemia: Sneaky Cause, Leaky Valve.

Intravascular hemolysis is a known complication of prosthetic heart valves. Severe hemolysis is rare (<1%) with the use of newer generation prosthetic valves. This usually occurs due to paravalvular leaks (PVLs). We present a case of hyperbilirubinemia and hemolytic anemia occurring as a result of a PVL of a prosthetic mechanical mitral valve. The patient was a 49-year-old female with a past medical history of rheumatic heart disease status following two mitral valve replacements each with a mechanical prosthesis; she presented with a complaint of worsening fatigue, epigastric pain, nausea, and vomiting. On examination, she had scleral icterus. Heart auscultation revealed a crisp mechanical S1 click and a soft 2/6 systolic murmur in the left lower sternal border. Her abdomen was soft with mild epigastric and right upper quadrant tenderness, and no Murphy's sign. Her labs revealed a white blood cell count of 7.0 x 103/microliter, hemoglobin 10.5 g/dL, hematocrit 29.7%, total bilirubin 6.9 mg/dL, direct bilirubin 0.8 mg/dL, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) 62 U/L, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) 79 U/L, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 56 U/L. An ultrasound of the abdomen revealed cholelithiasis without pericholecystic fluid collection and no ultrasonographic Murphy's sign. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography ruled out acute cholecystitis or intra- or extra-hepatic biliary ductal dilatation. A transesophageal echocardiogram showed a well-seated mitral valve prosthesis with a significant PVL and likely moderate mitral regurgitation. The patient was evaluated for possible hemolysis. Lactate dehydrogenase was 1155 U/L, haptoglobin was <30 mg/dL, and reticulocyte count was 5.2%. She underwent a mitral valve re-replacement with a mechanical prosthesis. An echocardiogram after the surgery showed the mechanical prosthesis mitral valve with no residual PVL.
Liberty Time in Question: Historical Duration and Indigenous Refusal in Post-Revolutionary Bolivia

This article examines revolutionary discourses of national historical transformation in Bolivia and tracks the ways those discourses are appropriated, contested, and recast by farmers in the rural agricultural province of Ayopaya. During fieldwork carried out with Quechua-speaking farmers in Ayopaya between 2011 and 2012, I learned about people's enduring concerns with a recent hacienda past. Against governmental declarations that Bolivia's colonial past was dead or had passed, farmers meditated on the duration of earlier histories of colonial land dispossession and violations of indigenous sovereignty. Talk about the region's oppressive history here allowed people to assess deficient state aid and resources but also to oppose unwelcome state interventions pushing a legal model of bounded collectivity. I trace the ways that farmers and villagers mobilized the hacienda past to address inequitable land tenure, violated sovereignty, and women's marginalization from political life, and thereby raise new questions about the critical possibilities opened up by the re-politicization of this colonial history. Rural support for Bolivia's Movement Toward Socialism party government eroded nearly a decade ago, and this complicates both triumphalist and defeatist accounts of President Evo Morales’ 2019 resignation, which tend to paint Morales’ rural indigenous supporters as innocent and naive.
Long-term drug treatment in multiple sclerosis: safety success and concerns.

The portfolio of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease modifying treatments (DMTs) has significantly expanded over the past two decades. Given the lifelong use of MS pharmacotherapy, understanding their ...
Association of Mortality and Years of Potential Life Lost With Active Tuberculosis in the United States.

Importance Active tuberculosis (TB) disease leads to substantial mortality but is preventable through screening and treatment for latent TB infection. Early mortality after TB diagnosis (≤1 year) is well described, but delayed mortality (>1 year) among patients with active TB is poorly understood. Objective To compare early and delayed mortality and years of potential life (YPL) lost among patients with active TB disease vs an age-, sex-, and year of diagnosis–matched comparison cohort without active TB disease. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study, conducted in the integrated health system of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, included patients with microbiologically confirmed active TB disease from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2017, and a control cohort matched by age, sex, and year of diagnosis. Multivariable models were used to adjust for demographic and clinical characteristics. Patients with active TB disease prior to 1997 were excluded. Data were analyzed from January 1, 2019, to January 31, 2020. Exposure Microbiologically confirmed TB disease. Main Outcomes and Measures Early (≤1 year after TB diagnosis) and delayed (>1 year after TB diagnosis) all-cause mortality. Results A total of 2522 patients who had active TB from 1997 to 2017 were identified, with 17 166 person-years of follow-up. The comparison cohort included 100 880 persons with 735 726 person-years of follow-up. In the active TB and comparison cohorts, similar percentages of persons were male (56.3% vs 55.6%), aged 45 to 64 years (33.7% vs 33.7%), and aged 65 years or older (24.7% vs 24.7%). Both early mortality (7.0%) and delayed mortality (16.3%) were higher among patients with active TB disease compared with those without active TB disease (1.1% and 12.0%, respectively). Patients with active TB disease had a significantly higher risk for early (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 7.29; 95% CI, 6.08-8.73) and delayed (aHR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.61-1.98) mortality compared with the comparison cohort (P Conclusions and Relevance In this study, patients with active TB disease had significantly higher early and delayed all-cause mortality when adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics. These findings suggest that TB prevention through screening and treatment of latent TB infection could reduce mortality and YPL lost due to active TB disease.
THERMAL SCATTERING LAW ENDF LIBRARIES FOR LIQUID FLIBE

Several advanced nuclear reactor concepts have been proposed in the past few years where FLiBe molten salt represents a major constituent of the core. In this case, neutrons produced in fission slow down and moderate in FLiBe (a eutectic with a mixture of 2:1 ratio of LiF and BeF2 ) until they reach low energies (i.e, below 1 eV). At that stage, the thermalization process becomes dominant and the neutrons achieve a quasi-equilibrium energy state that is dependent on the temperature of the moderator. In neutronic simulations, the description of neutron thermalization is captured using the thermal scattering law (TSL), i.e., S(α,β), of the material in which low energy neutrons are interacting. S(α,β) defines the energy-momentum phase space that is available for an incoming low energy neutron. In addition, it is directly proportional to the double differential thermal neutron scattering cross section. In this work, the TSL of molten salt FLiBe is developed based on a generalized density of excitation states (GDOS) derived from atomic trajectories generated using classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations that were performed with the LAMMPS code. The MD simulations utilized a Born-Mayer type atomic potential function that was verified to reproduce the properties of FLiBe including density and viscosity. The FLASSH code was used to evaluate the TSL’s ENDF File 7 in a temperature range extending from 773 K to 1673 K. In addition, ACE type cross section libraries are produced and tested with the objective of contributing the data to the National Nuclear Data Center for inclusion in the ENDF/B-VIII database.
Astro-animation - A Case Study of Art and Science Education

Art and science are different ways of exploring the world, but together they have the potential to be thought-provoking, facilitate a science-society dialogue, raise public awareness of science, and develop an understanding of art. For several years, we have been teaching an astro-animation class at the Maryland Institute College of Art as a collaboration between students and NASA scientists. Working in small groups, the students create short animations based on the research of the scientists who are going to follow the projects as mentors. By creating these animations, students bring the power of their imagination to see the research of the scientists through a different lens. Astro-animation is an undergraduate-level course jointly taught by an astrophysicist and an animator. In this paper we present the motivation behind the class, describe the details of how it is carried out, and discuss the interactions between artists and scientists. We describe how such a program offers an effective way for art students, not only to learn about science but to have a glimpse of "science in action". The students have the opportunity to become involved in the process of science as artists, as observers first and potentially through their own art research. Every year, one or more internships at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center have been available for our students in the summer. Two students describe their experiences undertaking these internships and how science affects their creation of animations for this program and in general. We also explain the genesis of our astro-animation program, how it is taught in our animation department, and we present the highlights of an investigation of the effectiveness of this program we carried out with the support of an NEA research grant. In conclusion we discuss how the program may grow in new directions, such as contributing to informal STE(A)M learning.
Ibn Jubayr: The Rihla

This paper analyzes Ibn Jubayr's travelogue, or rihla, which he wrote about his journey from Moorish Spain to Mecca.
Mutation to Overproduction of Bacteriophage T4 Gene Products

R9 was isolated as one of several mutations that enhanced the growth of a leaky amber ( am ) mutant of bacteriophage T4 gene 62 (product required for phage DNA synthesis) under conditions of partial suppression by ribosomal ambiguity. R9 also enhanced the growth of leaky am mutants of some, but not all, other T4 “early” gene functions. R9 mapped between mutations in genes 43 and 62. By using assays involving polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, we observed the following. (i) R9 resulted in an overproduction of many T4 “early” proteins in infected cells. The most pronounced effects of R9 were observed when phage DNA synthesis and/or the functions of maturation genes 55 and 33 were not expressed. (ii) In rifampintreated infected cells, the capacity to synthesize T4 “early” proteins decayed more slowly in the presence of the R9 mutation than in the presence of the wild-type counterpart of R9. R9 appeared to have no effect on the rates of RNA synthesis either during early or late times after infection. The results suggest that the R9 mutation leads to increased functional stability of T4 “early” messengers. Images
OpenMP on distributed memory via global arrays

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a strategy for implementing OpenMp on distributed memory systems that relies on a source-to-source translation from OpenMP to Global Arrays. Global Arrays is a library with routines for managing data that is declared as shared in a user program. It provides a higher level of control over the mapping of such data to the target machine, and enables precise specification of the required accesses. The chapter introduces the features of Global Arrays, outline the translation and its challenges, and consider how user-level support enables to improve this process. Early experiments are discussed. The chapter discusses some ideas for future work to improve the performance and other approaches to provide OpenMP on clusters and other distributed memory platforms.
Benefits of an exercise wellness program after spinal cord injury

Objective: To describe the initial benefits of a structured group exercise program on exercise frequency and intensity, perceived health, pain, mood, and television watching habits.Design: Pre-test/post-test.Participants/methods: Eighty-nine persons with SCI participated voluntarily in a no-cost, twice weekly physical therapy group exercise class over 3 months. Forty-five persons completed pre- and post-participation interviews on exercise frequency and intensity, perceived health, pain, mood, sleep, and television watching habits.Results: Mean participant age of the respondents was 43.82 years. 49% had AIS C or D injuries, 24% had AIS A,B paraplegia, 9% had AIS A,B C1-C4 and 18% had AIS A,B C5–C8. 75.6% of participants were male and 84.4% had a traumatic etiology as the cause of their SCI. There was a significant improvement in days of strenuous and moderate exercise as well as health state. There was an average decrease in pain scores, depression scores, number of hours spent watching television, and da...
DC ripple current rejection in a bidirectional SiC single-phase AC-DC converter for V2G application

Single phase electric vehicle battery charging converters are bulky due to electrolytic capacitors. These capacitors are used to reduce the voltage ripple in the dc bus. These electrolytic capacitors occupy significant volume and suffer from reliability issues. The required capacitance can be greatly reduced by rejecting the ripple current in the dc bus. The ripple current in the dc bus is rejected at the cost of an additional half-bridge inverter. The half-bridge inverter injects a current out of phase in reference to the dc bus ripple current. The current is injected by applying a voltage across an energy storage element (Inductor). The voltage across the energy storage element is controlled by the dutycyle of the half-bridge. A mathematical relationship between the voltage applied across the energy storage element and the ripple current in the dc bus is derived. Analysis of the ripple current rejection is performed on a Dual Active Bridge (DAB) based SiC single phase AC-DC converter capable of sinking or sourcing real and reactive power. Simulation results are presented verifying ripple current rejection in the dc bus for various operating conditions. Average modeling of the inverter leg currents over a switching cycle is also presented to highlight distinct inverter leg current profiles.
Surface Irrigation Using Kinematic-Wave Method

In the kinematic-wave method, one-dimensional unsteady mathematical model for flow in surface irrigation consists of the equation of continuity for the surface flow, the simplified equation of motion, a uniform-flow formula, for the surface flow, the simplified flow equation for the subsurface flow, the infiltration equation or an empirical formula, and appropriately prescribed initial and boundary conditions. By means of the kinematic-wave method that is only valid for supercritical flow, the model is solved to yield the general solution that depends on the solution form of the cumulative depth of the subsurface flow at the head ditch. A particular solution for a constant infiltration rate reduced from the general solution is shown to be compatible with that obtained from the modified Lewis-Milne equation. The solution has different expressions for laminar and turbulent flows.
Motor Cortex Stimulation

The management of central and peripheral neuropathic pain remains a daunting challenge for pain physicians in general and the functional neurosurgeon in particular. The reasons are manifold. Pharmacological advances in the management of neuropathic pain have been glacial with the only relatively new developments being the use of antiepileptics and antidepressants. Furthermore, the subset of these patients who present to the neurosurgeon have had this distressing pain for a long period of time and, having usually tried and failed numerous pain medications over this period of time, have developed psychological overlays such as depression, hopelessness, anxiety, personality disorders, and substance abuse issues.
Faking B s →μ + μ -

Recent evidence from observation of the flavor-changing neutral current decay B_s to mu+ mu- by the LHCb collaboration B(B_s to mu^+ mu^-) = (3.2 * 10^{-9}), is consistent with the latest standard model prediction B(B_s to mu^+ mu^-) = (3.23 +- 0.27) * 10^{-9}. While New Physics can still affect this decay amplitude, its contribution is certainly not the dominant one. We analyze branching ratios of the decays B_s to mu+ mu- X, with X = a photon or neutrino anti-neutrino pair, which can mimic B_s to mu+ mu- on portions of the parameter space where X is soft. We perform a model-independent standard model calculation of those processes incorporating heavy quark and chiral symmetries of QCD. We show that the considered contributions contribute to B_s to mu+ mu- at a sub-percent level.
Signalment and Clinical Complaints Initiating Hospital Admission, Methods of Diagnosis, and Pathological Findings Associated with Bovine Lymphosarcoma (112 Cases)

Background: Lymphosarcoma in adult cattle has multiple manifestations. Objective: To describe the signalment, clinical complaints, and tumor location, and to evaluate utility of diagnostic tests in cattle with lymphosarcoma. Animals: Adult cattle admitted to Cornell University between January 1980 and December 2008 with a definitive diagnosis of lymphosarcoma. Methods: Retrospective case study was conducted with a search of all medical records at Cornell University for cattle diagnosed with lymphosarcoma. Categorical data were analyzed with a Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Sensitivities of diagnostic tests were calculated. Results: There were 106 cows and 6 bulls (median age 5 years) examined for anorexia (34%), weight loss (16%), and fever (14%). The sensitivities of antemortem diagnostic tests performed were peripheral lymph node (PLN) wedge biopsy, 100%; surgical exploration and biopsy, 100%; pleurocentesis, 80%; pericardiocentesis, 67%; PLN fine-needle aspirate, 41%; abdominocentesis, 33%; and cerebral spinal fluid tap, 19%. Median peripheral blood lymphocyte count was 4,900 cells/μL, 10% of cattle were leukemic and 25% had lymphocytosis according to the Bendixen Key. The most frequently identified tumor locations (% of cattle) were the heart (66%), abomasum (61%), uterus (38%), kidney (32%), and epidural space (26%). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Predilection sites were similar to previously reports but we found a higher incidence of renal tumors and lower incidence of retrobulbar tumors. Knowledge of common clinical presentations, organ involvement, and sensitivities of diagnostic tests will aid informed decisions on the most appropriate tests and interpretation of their results in clinical cases of bovine lymphosarcoma.
Theoretical limits of thermoelectric power generation from exhaust gases

The recovery of energy from exhaust gases using thermoelectric generators is of growing interest. The electrical loading of the thermoelectric system impacts the amount of energy that can be recovered. This paper presents a model for the theoretical limit of electrical power generation that provides optimal electrical loading conditions for a given exhaust stream and system configuration. The analysis of a sample heat recovery configuration indicates that the simple isothermal modeling approach often applied to individual thermoelectric leg pairs is not sufficient to optimize power generation when a significant amount of energy is removed from the exhaust stream via a sequence of leg pairs. The analysis establishes that ZT, the thermoelectric figure of merit, is not a sufficient metric to describe system level performance. The analysis predicts that there is an optimum number of thermoelectric leg pairs that maximize the power extracted for any system, and that adding more leg pairs beyond this optimum can degrade system performance. The theoretical limit for power generation is compared to proposed electrically loading strategies found in the literature. The developed model has low computational load and is suitable for use in system optimization models.
Differential Effects of Somatostatin (SRIH) and a SRIH Analog, SMS 201-995, on the Secretion of Growth Hormone and Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone in Man*

We compared the ability of SRIH and SRIH analog, SMS 201-995 (SMS), to inhibit stimulated GH and TSH secretion in men who received 120-min iv infusions of saline, SRIH (5, 50, and 500 micrograms/h), and SMS (3, 30, and 300 ng/kg.h) together with a bolus iv injection of GHRH (1 microgram/kg) and TRH (500 micrograms). Integrated GH secretion during the 60 min after GHRH plus TRH injection was decreased compared to that after saline by (mean +/- SE) 32 +/- 14% (P = 0.059), 78 +/- 5% (P less than 0.001), and 88 +/- 3% (P less than 0.001) during the 5, 50, and 500 micrograms/h SRIH infusions, and by 13 +/- 7% (P = NS), 50 +/- 15% (P less than 0.05), and 80 +/- 6% (P less than 0.001) during the 3, 30, and 300 ng/kg.h SMS infusions. In contrast, integrated TSH secretion was unaltered during the 5 micrograms/h SRIH and 3 ng/kg.h SMS infusions; it decreased by only 43 +/- 5% (P less than 0.001) and 66 +/- 4% (P less than 0.001) during the 50 and 500 micrograms/h SRIH infusions and by 33 +/- 8% (P less than 0.05) and 50 +/- 3% (P less than 0.001) during the 30 and 300 ng/kg.h SMS infusions. Analysis of the dose-response curves indicated approximately 10- and 5-fold greater potencies of SRIH and SMS, respectively, in inhibiting GH as compared to TSH secretion. These results quantify the effect of SRIH as an inhibitor of GH secretion and suggest that if SRIH has a physiological role in the inhibition of TSH secretion in man, it is limited to conditions associated with marked suppression of GH.
Reliability-dependent contributions of visual orientation cues in parietal cortex

Creating accurate 3D representations of the world from 2D retinal images is a fundamental task for the visual system. However, the reliability of different 3D visual signals depends inherently on viewing geometry, such as how much an object is slanted in depth. Human perceptual studies have correspondingly shown that texture and binocular disparity cues for object orientation are combined according to their slant-dependent reliabilities. Where and how this cue combination occurs in the brain is currently unknown. Here, we search for neural correlates of this property in the macaque caudal intraparietal area (CIP) by measuring slant tuning curves using mixed-cue (texture + disparity) and cue-isolated (texture or disparity) planar stimuli. We find that texture cues contribute more to the mixed-cue responses of CIP neurons that prefer larger slants, consistent with theoretical and psychophysical results showing that the reliability of texture relative to disparity cues increases with slant angle. By analyzing responses to binocularly viewed texture stimuli with conflicting texture and disparity information, some cells that are sensitive to both cues when presented in isolation are found to disregard one of the cues during cue conflict. Additionally, the similarity between texture and mixed-cue responses is found to be greater when this cue conflict is eliminated by presenting the texture stimuli monocularly. The present findings demonstrate reliability-dependent contributions of visual orientation cues at the level of the CIP, thus revealing a neural correlate of this property of human visual perception.
Decentralized control of partially observable Markov decision processes

Markov decision processes (MDPs) are often used to model sequential decision problems involving uncertainty under the assumption of centralized control. However, many large, distributed systems do not permit centralized control due to communication limitations (such as cost, latency or corruption). This paper surveys recent work on decentralized control of MDPs in which control of each agent depends on a partial view of the world. We focus on a general framework where there may be uncertainty about the state of the environment, represented as a decentralized partially observable MDP (Dec-POMDP), but consider a number of subclasses with different assumptions about uncertainty and agent independence. In these models, a shared objective function is used, but plans of action must be based on a partial view of the environment. We describe the frameworks, along with the complexity of optimal control and important properties. We also provide an overview of exact and approximate solution methods as well as relevant applications. This survey provides an introduction to what has become an active area of research on these models and their solutions.
13C NMR spectra of benzofuroxan and related compounds

The 13C n.m.r. spectrum of benzofuroxan at −15°C is assigned on the basis of selective decoupling experiments and by comparison with the 13C chemical shifts of model compounds. The 13C spectra were also measured in trifluoroacetic acid as a solvent. From the temperature dependence of the 13C spectrum of benzofuroxan in CDCl3, a barrier of 14·0 ± 0·2 kcal mol−1 is obtained for the degenerate tautomerism in this compound.
A statistical framework to combine multivariate spatial data and physical models for Hurricane surface wind prediction

Storm surge is the onshore rush of seawater associated with hurricane force winds. Storm surge can compound the effects of inland flooding caused by rainfall, leading to loss of property and loss of life for residents of coastal areas. Numerical ocean models are essential for predicting which coastal areas are most likely to be impacted by storm surge. These numerical physics-based models are driven primarily by the surface wind forcings which are currently specified by a deterministic formula. Although these equations incorporate important physical knowledge about the structure of hurricane surface wind fields, they cannot always capture the asymmetric and dynamic nature of a hurricane. This article develops a new multivariate spatial statistical framework to improve the estimation of these wind field inputs while accounting for potential bias in the observations. We find that this spatial model consistently improves parameter estimation and prediction for surface wind data for a case study of Hurricane Charley of 2004 when compared to the original physical model. These methods are also shown to improve storm surge estimates when used as the forcing fields for a numerical three-dimensional coastal ocean model.
Adaptive enzyme responses in liver of obese hyperglycemic mice

Abstract 1. 1. Obese mice and their lean littermates were fasted and then refed with either a glucose or glycerol supplement in the drinking water. 2. 2. Hepatic activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (E.C.I.1.1.49), lactic dehydrogenase (B.C. 1.1.1.27), malic enzyme (B.C. 1.1.1.40), α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (B.C. 1.1.1.8), and glycerol kinase (E.C.2.7.1.30) increased over corresponding activities in non-treated lean animals. 3. 3. In identically treated obese animals, significant increases were seen only in a-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and glycerol kinase upon refeeding with glucose supplementation. 4. 4. Retention of hepatic glycogen in obese animals may account for the consistently high levels of enzyme activity and the failure to demonstrate the “classical overshoot” of NADPH generating enzymes with fasting-refeeding regimens.
Studies on Intramolecular Coupling of Tricarbonyl(diene)iron Systems with Pendant Olefinic Groups: Configurational Requirements for Reactions of Acyclic Diene Complexes and Mechanistic Implications

A photothermal cyclization reaction, which involves intramolecular coupling between a diene−Fe(CO)3 complex and a pendant olefinic group, has been studied for a number of acyclic diene complexes in which the olefinic group is attached as an ester, amide, keto, or alcohol derivative. While the cyclization will occur for complexes in which a methyl group is in the E stereochemical arrangement about the diene terminus, the transfer of hydrogen from this methyl to the metal, followed by reductive elimination to give a final cyclized material, does not occur. The latter process is shown to require a methyl group at the diene terminus in a Z configuration.
Crystallization of recombinant human growth hormone at elevated pressures: Pressure effects on PEG-induced volume exclusion interactions

Crystallization of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) at elevated pressures was investigated in the presence of 6,000 molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol; PEG-6000). Crystallization of rhGH at atmospheric pressure occurred at a protein concentration of 15 mg/mL in 6% PEG-6000. Crystallization did not occur in the same solutions at 250 MPa. In contrast, at a pressure of 250 MPa in the presence of 8% PEG-6000, rhGH readily crystallized from solutions containing 35 mg/mL rhGH, whereas amorphous precipitate formed in the same solutions at atmospheric pressure. Osmotic virial coefficients were determined from static light scattering measurements and combined with a hard-sphere activity coefficient model to predict rhGH activity coefficients as a function of pressure and PEG concentration. Predicted activity coefficients quantitatively matched those determined from equilibrium solubility measurements. The ability to adjust the thermodynamic non-ideality with pressure provides a valuable tool to study protein crystallization in addition to providing a methodology for obtaining crystals at elevated pressures.
Alliance Coercion and Nuclear Restraint: How the United States Thwarted West Germany's Nuclear Ambitions

When does a nuclear-armed state's provision of security guarantees to a militarily threatened ally inhibit the ally's nuclear weapons ambitions? Although the established security model of nuclear proliferation posits that clients will prefer to depend on a patron's extended nuclear deterrent, this proposition overlooks how military threats and doubts about the patron's intentions encourage clients to seek nuclear weapons of their own. To resolve this indeterminacy in the security model's explanation of nuclear restraint, it is necessary to account for the patron's use of alliance coercion, a strategy consisting of conditional threats of military abandonment to obtain compliance with the patron's demands. This strategy succeeds when the client is militarily dependent on the patron and when the patron provides assurances that threats of abandonment are conditional on the client's nuclear choices. Historical evidence from West Germany's nuclear decisionmaking provides a test of this logic. Contrary to the co...
Using flow relaxography to elucidate flow relaxivity.

Abstract We have investigated the theoretical and experimental linear dependence of the reciprocal of the apparent longitudinal relaxation time [( T * 1 ) −1 ] of the NMR signal from spins in a flowing fluid on the volume flow rate, F v , the so-called inflow effect. We refer to the coefficient of this dependence as the longitudinal flow relaxivity, r 1 F . A very simple model predicts that, under a range of conditions pertinent to modern flow studies and perfusion imaging experiments, r 1 F is controlled by the volume of the fluid in which the magnetization is perturbed by pulsed RF inversion or saturation, not the detection volume, and that it can be approximated as the reciprocal of half of the inversion volume. Phantom sample experiments, using a new, quantitative approach that we call flow relaxography, confirm the general predictions of this simple model. There are two intriguing implications of these findings for general NMR flow studies as well as for medical applications. It should be possible to vary the value of r 1 F by simply (noninvasively) adjusting the inversion slice thickness, and thus measure the value of (blood 1 H 2 O, for example) F v in a vessel without changing F v , from the resultant varying T * 1 values. Also, it should be possible to extrapolate to the intrinsic T 1 value of the fluid signal (as if it were stationary), without altering or stopping the flow. Again, these are quite successful in phantom sample studies. Imaging versions of the flow relaxographic experiments are also possible. The twin goals of flow studies in medical MRI are the quantitative discrimination of the signals from flowing and nonflowing spins, and the accurate measurement of the flow rate of the former.
Epibatidine Binds with Unique Site and State Selectivity to Muscle Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Ligand binding sites in fetal (alpha2betagammadelta) and adult (alpha2betadeltaepsilon) muscle acetylcholine receptors are formed by alphadelta, alphagamma, or alphaepsilon subunit pairs. Each type of binding site shows unique ligand selectivity due to different contributions by the delta, gamma, or epsilon subunits. The present study compares epibatidine and carbamylcholine binding in terms of their site and state selectivities for muscle receptors expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Measurements of binding to alphagamma, alphadelta, and alphaepsilon intracellular complexes reveal opposite site selectivities between epibatidine and carbamylcholine; for epibatidine the rank order of affinities is alphaepsilon > alphagamma > alphadelta, whereas for carbamylcholine the rank order is alphadelta congruent with alphaepsilon > alphagamma. Because the relative affinities of intracellular complexes resemble those of receptors in the closed activable state, the results suggest that epibatidine binds with unique site selectivity in activating the muscle receptor. Measurements of binding at equilibrium show that both enantiomers of epibatidine bind to adult and fetal receptors with shallow but monophasic binding curves. However, when receptors are fully desensitized, epibatidine binds in a biphasic manner, with dissociation constants of the two components differing by more than 170-fold. Studies of subunit-omitted receptors (alpha2betadelta2, alpha2betagamma2, and alpha2betaepsilon2) reveal that in the desensitized state, the alphadelta interface forms the low affinity epibatidine site, whereas the alphagamma and alphaepsilon interfaces form high affinity sites. In contrast to epibatidine, carbamylcholine shows little site selectivity for desensitized fetal or adult receptors. Thus epibatidine is a potentially valuable probe of acetylcholine receptor binding site structure and of elements that confer state-dependent selectivities of the binding sites.
A novel support for the immobilization of lipase and the effects of the details of its preparation on the hydrolysis of triacylglycerides

The lipase from Candida cylindracea was immobilized by its adsorption on the internal surface of hydrophobic microporous poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) supports prepared by the concentrated emulsion polymerization method. The prepared supports have a surface area of the order of 200 m2/g. The immobilized enzyme catalyst is used for the hydrolysis of triacylglycerides. The effects of the amounts of surfactant and divinylbenzene used in the preparation of the hydrophobic support on the adsorption capacity for lipase and on the activity of the immobilized lipase have been investigated. The activity of the immobilized enzyme per enzyme molecule can be higher than that of the free lipase.
Semantic versus formal ingredients distillable from resistance to language shift: The case of Spanishdormir, morir

L'A. propose l'examen des deux verbes espagnols (dormir et morir) et s'interroge sur les roles de l'affinite semantique et de la ressemblance formelle ainsi que sur la distribution de ces deux poles opposes dans le processus du changement de langue.
On Design of the Drawing System to Support Various Styles and Practices

ABSTRACT This paper presents the design of a drawing system which consists a language kernel for tailoring the system to support various styles and practices. This computing environment includes drawing tools with their minimal semantics, and users can add more semantics to the operations later on. The demand for an open-ended set of drawing operations can be satisfied with this setting, and various requirements of operations for different applications can be tailored with the desired semantics. Such design of a drawing system can be further elaborated so that the system is used not only to record geometrical information of the design, but also to build the model for design development.
Information technology, globalization and ethics

This paper illustrates the overlap of computer ethics and business ethics by examining two issues. The first is the lack of fit between digitalized information and copyright protection. Although there are moral arguments that can be used to justify protection of intellectual property, including computer software and digitalized data, the way that copyright protection has developed often reflects vested interests rather than the considered weighing of moral considerations. As a result, with respect to downloading MP3s, among other material, what is ethical is largely determined by the appropriately passed laws in each jurisdiction, and what is ethically permissible in one jurisdiction may be ethically impermissible in another. The second issue is the outsourcing of IT jobs from the U.S. While the practice has been politicized, examining it from an all-things-considered perspective, this paper argues it is ethically justified.
Adult rat and human bone marrow stromal cells differentiate into neurons

Bone marrow stromal cells exhibit multiple traits of a stem cell population. They can be greatly expanded in vitro and induced to differentiate into multiple mesenchymal cell types. However, differentiation to non-mesenchymal fates has not been demonstrated. Here, adult rat stromal cells were expanded as undifferentiated cells in culture for more than 20 passages, indicating their proliferative capacity. A simple treatment protocol induced the stromal cells to exhibit a neuronal phenotype, expressing neuron-specific enolase, NeuN, neurofilament-M, and tau. With an optimal differentiation protocol, almost 80% of the cells expressed NSE and NF-M. The refractile cell bodies extended long processes terminating in typical growth cones and filopodia. The differentiating cells expressed nestin, characteristic of neuronal precursor stem cells, at 5 hr, but the trait was undetectable at 6 days. In contrast, expression of trkA, the nerve growth factor receptor, persisted from 5 hr through 6 days. Clonal cell lines, established from single cells, proliferated, yielding both undifferentiated and neuronal cells. Human marrow stromal cells subjected to this protocol also differentiated into neurons. Consequently, adult marrow stromal cells can be induced to overcome their mesenchymal commitment and may constitute an abundant and accessible cellular reservoir for the treatment of a variety of neurologic diseases.