cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physical activity and the risk of progression of retinopathy or the development of proliferative retinopathy

Objective: To determine if physical activity is associated with the 6-year risk of progression of retinopathy or incidence of proliferative retinopathy. Research Design and Methods: Participants in the Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy who were free of proliferative retinopathy at the 1984 to 1986 examination and in whom diabetes had developed when younger than 30 years of age (n = 606) were evaluated after a 6-year follow-up period. Stereoscopic fundus photographs were graded for the presence and severity of retinopathy. Physical activity was assessed by a questionnaire. Results: There were no associations between any of the measures of physical activity and two-step progression of retinopathy or the development of proliferative retinopathy during the follow-up period. No associations were seen even for those with more severe preproliferative retinopathy at the 1984 to 1986 examination or for the subset engaging in strenuous activity such as weight lifting. Conclusions: Physical activity does not appear to be associated with either an increased or decreased risk of progression of retinopathy or the development of proliferative retinopathy in people with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
Representational Practices by the Numbers: How Kindergarten and First-Grade Students Create, Evaluate, and Modify Their Science Representations.

A productive approach to studying the role of representations in supporting students’ learning of science content is to examine their actions from a practice perspective. The current study examines kindergarten and first‐grade students’ representational practices across a consistent context—the creation of storyboards—both before and after a curricular intervention in order to highlight those aspects of their practices that changed regardless of a superficially similar task. Analysis of the students’ storyboards reveals considerable improvement in the number of included features after the intervention. Analysis of the students’ practices as they changed over time is also presented by examining the students’ discourse, with a focus on their discussions of the science content and the representations themselves. We demonstrate an increase in accuracy and relevance of the features being discussed, as well as an increase in requesting and providing assessments of students’ representations, particularly between...
Unusual lipid bodies in the red alga Palmaria palmata (= Rhodymenia palmata)

Large inclusions in the outer cortex cells of the marine red alga Palmaria palmata (= Rhodymenia palmata) are concluded to be lipid bodies based on their reaction to osmium and Sudan B. Study by thin-section electron microscopy reveals that many such bodies are surrounded by an apparent reticulum of bifurcating membranes. Freeze etching indicates that the chambers of the reticulate region are filled with material similar in fracturing texture to the lipid core. Apparently most of this reticulum substance is extracted during thin-section preparation, leaving only the bounding membranes intact. The bounding membranes are likely half-membranes, that is, phospholipid monolayers, similar to postulated membranes of spherosomes. When half-membranes of adjacent lipid vesicles are appressed, a unit membrane appearance is produced. Tight packing of many such units results in the appearance of bifurcating unit membranes. Particles, presumably proteins, are abundant on at least one face of the vesicle membrane.
Burke's representative anecdote as a method in media criticism

This essay argues that Kenneth Burke's concept of “literature as equip‐ment for living” is especially useful for media content criticism. An appropriate dramatistic method, the representative anecdote, is illustrated. Its application to selected fictional and nonfictional discourses of the Nineteen‐Fifties and late Seventies which exhibit public concern regarding automation, cloning, foreign affairs, and social regimentation is discussed. Paradigmatic expressions of the anecdote underlying media content is found in the film and book versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Antitakeover Charter Amendments: Impact on Determinants of Future Competitive Position

This research examined the subsequent longterm investment consequences of the adoption of antitakeover charter amendments by U.S. industrial manufacturing firms. Longterm investment a major determinant offuture economic growth and business competitiveness was assessed by analyzing research and development and capital investment intensity levels. In a matchedpair design, analyses were conducted on two separate samples of companies to assess the relationship between antitakeover amendment adoption and future oriented re source allocation decisions. Results fail to indicate the existence of a general main effect of antitakeover amendments on longterm investment for either sample offirms.
Inland Salt Marshes of the Northeastern United States: Stress, Disturbance and Compositional Stability

Inland salt marsh (ISM) is a globally endangered, halophytic plant community occurring where groundwater chemistry is influenced by brine. Our goal is to provide the most comprehensive analysis to date of the physiochemical setting and drivers of spatial and temporal variability of this community in the northeastern United States. Non-native Phragmites australis is a significant threat across the range of northeastern ISMs; hence we aim to characterize the conditions associated with the dominance of this species in ISMs. To our knowledge eight naturally-occurring and relatively unimpacted (or restored) ISMs remain in the Northeast. We evaluated the vegetation composition, soils and hydrology of four sites in Michigan and New York. Perennial species dominated the ISM in Michigan while annuals were dominant in New York’s ISMs that have not been invaded by P. australis. Native ISM species were restricted to areas of high soil salinity, frequent flooding, and low nutrient levels. Periodic droughts and animal disturbances augment these stresses and function to facilitate ISM stability by inhibiting dominance of robust emergent species. Humans have unintentionally created saline habitats throughout the Northeast; such areas may be restored with ISM species and the data provided herein should assist restoration professionals with this application.
RESULTS OF SOME WIND TUNNEL AND FLIGHT STUDIES WITH HELICOPTERS AT NASA

Wind-tunnel tests and analytical studies which indicate power requirements of tandem-rotor helicopters in forward flight
Descriptor and citation retrieval in the medical behavioral sciences literature:retrieval overlaps and novelty distribution

Search results for nine topics in the Medical Behavioral Sciences are reanalyzed to compare the overall performance of descriptor and citation search strategies in identifying relevant and novel documents. Overlap percentages between an aggregate "descriptor-based" database (MEDLINE, EXCERPTA MEDICA, PSYCINFO) and an aggregate "citation-based" database (SCISEARCH, SOCIAL SCISEARCH) ranged from 1% to 26%, with a median overlap of 8% relevant retrievals found using both search strategies. For seven topics in which both descriptor and citation strategies produced reasonably substantial retrievals, two patterns of search performance and novelty distribution were observed: 1) Where descriptor and citation retrieval showed little overlap, novelty retrieval percentages differed by 17-23% between the two strategies; 2) Topics with a relatively high percentage retrieval overlap showed little difference (1-4%) in descriptor and citation novelty retrieval percentages. These results reflect the varying partial congruence of two literature networks and represent two different types of subject relevance.
Linkage results in schizophrenia.

In setting a model for replication studies, the collective effort by the various investigators is praiseworthy. The linkage reported is intriguing, but given the aforementioned caveats it would be premature to dub it {open_quotes}significant -- and, probably, confirmed.{close_quotes} The extent to which a real genetic effect exists on chromosome 6p24-22 remains to be seen. Compelling confirmation, which further study might proffer, would be a welcome boost to a fledgling enterprise, where other findings of promise have faltered or failed to gain unequivocal support. The caution advised in this commentary may guide the design and interpretation of other linkage studies in psychiatric disorders.
Effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on lymphocyte POMC and growth hormone gene expression in the rat

Diabetes in the rat is associated with a change in the profiles of several neuroendocrine hormones resulting in poor growth and decreased immune function. Since lymphocytes can also serve as a source of neuroendocrine hormones, we have examined whether the change in hormone profiles are accompanied by an impairment of lymphocyte GH and POMC gene expression in the immune system. Diabetes was induced by the administration of streptozotocin (STZ; 10 mg/100 g body weight) and 3 days later GH and ACTH protein and mRNA were determined. The results show a modest diminution of GH RNA in the spleen of diabetic animals whereas the expression of POMC mRNA and ACTH by the thymus was enhanced. The expression of POMC in the spleen appeared unaltered while the increase of POMC RNA in the thymus was evident after the first day of STZ treatment. STZ had no direct effect on GH or POMC expression in the spleen or thymus cells in vitro. Insulin does not appear to be involved in the expression of lymphocyte GH or POMC. The administration of insulin to the diabetic animals had no significant effect on the expression of GH or POMC by the immune cells. In addition, lymphocytes do not appear to serve as a source of insulin or are the expression of genes for lymphocyte GH or ACTH altered by insulin in vitro. Taken together, the findings are the first to report on the expression of neuroendocrine genes in lymphocytes during diabetes. The mechanism for the inhibition of GH and stimulation of POMC expression by lymphocytes in diabetic animals is unknown, but it is tempting to speculate an important role in the development of the autoimmunity that characterizes this complex disease.
Drusen in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Pathogenesis, Natural Course, and Laser Photocoagulation–Induced Regression

Drusen are subretinal pigment epithelial deposits that are characteristic of but not uniquely associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Age-related macular degeneration is associated with two types of drusen that have different clinical appearances and different prognoses. Hard drusen appear as small, punctate, yellow nodules and can precede the development of atrophic AMD. Areolar atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), choriocapillaris, and outer retina develop as the drusen disappear, but drusen can regress without evidence of atrophy. Soft drusen appear as large (usually larger than 63 microm in diameter), pale yellow or grayish-white, dome-shaped elevations that can resemble localized serous RPE detachments. They tend to precede the development of clinically evident RPE detachments and choroidal neovascularization. Drusen characteristics correlated with progression to exudative maculopathy include drusen number (five or more), drusen size (larger than 63 microm in diameter), and confluence of drusen. Focal hyperpigmentation in the macula and systemic hypertension also are associated with an increased risk of developing choroidal new vessels (CNVs). Large drusen are usually a sign of diffuse thickening of Bruch's membrane with basal linear deposit, a vesicular material that probably arises from the RPE, constitutes a diffusion barrier to water-soluble constituents in the plasma, results in lipidization of Bruch's membrane, and creates a potential cleavage plane between the RPE basement membrane and the inner collagenous layer of Bruch's membrane through which CNVs can grow. Disappearance of drusen spontaneously and in areas adjacent to laser photocoagulation scars was first noted by Gass (Gass JD: Arch Ophthalmol 90:206-217, 1973; Trans Am Acad Ophthalmol Otolaryngol 75:580-608, 1971). Subsequent reports have confirmed these observations. Photocoagulation-induced drusen regression might prevent patients with drusen from developing exudative maculopathy. The mechanism for spontaneous drusen regression probably involves RPE atrophy. The mechanism for photocoagulation-induced drusen regression is unknown. If photocoagulation-induced drusen regression is anatomically similar to atrophy-associated drusen regression, then the former will be associated with dissolution of basal linear deposit and a residuum of basal laminar deposit. Sarks and coworkers (Sarks JP, Sarks SH, Killingsworth MC: Eye 11:515-522, 1997) proposed that this in turn will eliminate the potential cleavage plane between the RPE basement membrane and inner collagenous layer of Bruch's membrane through which CNVs grow, thus retarding the growth of CNVs.
A Game Theoretic Framework for Communication in Fully Observable Multiagent Systems

Communication is an important element of multiagent systems (MAS). In fully decentralized systems it is needed to allow the agents to coordinate their actions to achieve certain goals. When the agents have no means to coordinate their actions, they generally choose actions that minimize their chance of losses. If the agents were allowed to coordinate, on the other hand, they can choose actions that allow them to get higher rewards instead. In game theory, these concepts are known as risk dominance and payoff dominance. In this paper, we model communication between agents in stochastic games as an extensive form game in which the agents can numerically evaluate the benefit of communicating a piece of information to the other agents. This allows the agent to answer two important questions about the communication process, namely when should an agent communicate, and what should an agent communicate. We also present a more stable way to select between Nash equilibria in multiagent reinforcement learning using NashQ which is used in the calculation of the values for the communication game.
Cardiovascular effects of intracerebroventricular norepinephrine in conscious and anaesthetized monkeys.

Abstract Norepinephrine, infused into the third cerebral ventricle of 7 restrained, unanaesthetized rhesus monkeys, evoked dose-related increases in systemic arterial pressure at each of three different (30 sec, 5 min or 1 hr) infusion times and rates. Anaesthetic doses of sodium pentobarbital blocked, but did not reverse, the presser response. A series of 6-hydroxydopamine injections (31 mg over an 11-day period) given centrally to 3 monkeys led to a steady reduction of basal blood pressures and pulse rates (−18 and −16 mm Hg systolic and diastolic and −34 beats/min during the second week after the last injection) and blocked the effects of centrally, but not intravenously, administered norepine- phrine. The monkeys had intense sympathomimetic response to the initial injection of 1 mg of 6-hydroxydopamine, but became progressively tachyphylactic to subsequent higher doses. The results suggest that noradrenergic nerves near the lateral and third ventricles of primates play an important role in controlling both acute and chronic levels of systemic arterial blood pressure.
Solar variability and terrestrial weather

The present review article indicates that the past four years have been very active in the field of sun-weather research in the U.S. Some quite specific questions which have arisen from recent research include the time variation of the VAL vs SB effect; the nature of the clear-air electric field; the relationship of the ionospheric potential to thunderstorm formation; and the constancy of the solar 'constant' both in terms of the total luminosity on the climatic time scale and for near UV radiation on the time scale of days to 11 years.
General theory of exchange-broadened nmr line shapes II. Exploitation of invariance properties

Abstract In this paper we examine the feasibility of applying group-theoretical and commutation principles to the general quantum-mechanical theory of exchangebroadened high-resolution NMR line shapes, presented in paper I of this series. For exchanging spin systems exhibiting certain permutation symmetry properties the unsaturated steady-state equation of the nuclear spin density vector in a composite Liouville representation may be projected onto smaller Liouville subspaces without loss of information, thus materially simplifying the practical computation of line shapes. Three special cases are treated explicitly: (1) mutual-exchange factorization, (2) magnetic-equivalence factorization, and (3) symmetry factorization for the permutation symmetry group of order 2. A procedure is also described for taking advantage of mutual-exchange factorization simultaneously with magnetic equivalence or symmetry factorization. Applications of the computer program DNMR3, which is based on the formalism of the present paper, are illustrated by several sample calculations.
Voxel-Based Dipole Orientation Constraints for Distributed Current Estimation

Distributed electroencephalography source localization is a highly ill-posed problem. With measurements on the order of $10^2$ , and unknowns in the range of $10^4-10^5$ , the range of feasible solutions is quite large. One approach to reducing ill-posedness is to intelligently reduce the number of unknowns. Restricting solutions to gray matter is one approach. A further step is to use the anatomy of each patient to identify and constrain the orientation of the dipole within each voxel. While dipole orientation constraints for cortical patch-based approaches have been proposed, to our knowledge, no solutions for full volumetric localizations have been presented. Patch techniques account for patch surface area, but place dipoles only on the surface, rather than throughout the cortex. Variability in human cortical thickness means that thicker regions of cortex will potentially contribute more to the EEG signal, and should be accounted for in modeling. Additionally, patch models require cortical surface identification techniques, which can separate them from the extensive literature on voxel-based MR image processing, and require additional adaptation to incorporate more complex information. We present a volumetric approach for computing voxel-based distributed estimates of cortical activity with constrained dipole orientations. Using a tissue thickness estimation approach, we obtain estimates of the cortical surface normal at each voxel. These let us constrain the inverse problem, and yield localizations with reduced spatial blurring and better identification of signal magnitude within the cortex. This is demonstrated for a series of simulated and experimental data using patient-specific bioelectric models.
Predictors of costs for robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy

Objectives Information on the association of perioperative parameters with costs for robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) is lacking. Understanding factors that impact cost may allow reduction in cost of prostate cancer care. We identified factors associated with higher costs in a contemporary series of RALP. Materials and methods Total direct cost and clinicopathologic data were available for 264 patients who underwent RALP at our institution between May 2005 and April 2008. We performed linear regression analyses to identify predictors of direct cost using preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables. Results On univariable analyses, operating room (OR) time, placement of a pelvic drain (both P < 0.001), complications during surgery (P = 0.002) or hospitalization, blood transfusion, and length of stay (all P < 0.001) were associated with higher direct costs. On multivariable analysis, none of the preoperative features were found to predict direct costs. Of the intraoperative factors, OR time (P < 0.001) and pelvic drain placement (P = 0.006) were associated with higher direct costs. A longer OR time, length of stay, and usage of transfusions (all P < 0.001) during the postoperative course were independently associated with higher direct costs. Conclusions Of factors that are available preoperatively, none seems to be useful to predict added costs for individual patients undergoing RALP. Higher costs for RALP are driven by events occurring during the procedure or postoperative hospital stay.
Color as a factor in food choice

Abstract From birth, nature teaches us to make judgements on our environment based in large measure on color. As such, it plays a key role in food choice by influencing taste thresholds, sweetness perception, food preference, pleasantness, and acceptability. Its role is elusive and difficult to quantify, however, which at times has placed color in a secondary role to the other sensory characteristics, a position not entirely consistent with the facts. Color, in a quantitative sense, has been shown to be able to replace sugar and still maintain sweetness perception in flavored foods. It interferes with judgments of flavor intensity and identification and in so doing has been shown to dramatically influence the pleasantness and acceptability of foods. Studies in the literature have used cross‐sectional population panels to study these effects, but a recent investigation of color‐sensory interactions in beverages has compared the response of a college age group with the response of a panel consisting of a mo...
Livestock Bio-Terrorism and the Need for Veterinary Services in a Global Society: Risk Analysis, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)

It can be generally agreed that no one is better informed than the veterinary profession regarding the healthful, wholesome, safe, and efficient production of milk, meat, and fiber of animal origin. However, recent public concern about food safety and the implementation of global regulations and agreements on trade have given rise to questions about the veterinarian’s role and expertise in formally assessing and mitigating risk.
Eliminating the storage tape in reachability constructions

A discrete pushdown timed automaton is a pushdown machine with integer-valued clocks. It has been shown recently that the binary reachability of a discrete pushdown timed automaton can be accepted by a two-tape pushdown acceptor with reversal-bounded counters. We improve this result by showing that the stack can be eliminated from the acceptor, i.e., the binary reachability can be accepted by a two-tape finite-state acceptor with reversal-bounded counters. We also obtain similar results for other machine models. Our results can be used to verify certain properties concerning these machines that were not verifiable before using previous techniques. For example, we are able to formulate a subset of Presburger LTL that is decidable for satisfiability checking with respect to these machines. We also discuss the “boundedness problem” for reachability sets. Finally, we explain how the storage tape elimination technique can be applied to machines with real-valued clocks.
Species diversity and faunal affinities of meiobenthic Copepoda in the deep sea

This first attempt at measuring species diversity of the numerically abundant marine meiobenthos on a vertical gradient into the deep sea supports the stability-time hypothesis developed with the macrofauna. Diversity, as measured by rarefaction, indicated highly evolved, stable and unique assemblages in the deep sea. Shelf samples were consistently dominated by a few species; below 1000 m many of the species were new and few were duplicated from sample to sample. Rarefaction curves are clearly separable for the three environments, with the vertical component of diversity increasing to abyssal depths. Rarefaction analysis of shelf samples above and below the Cape Hatteras zoogeographical boundary further revealed distinct spilits in the faunal assemblages. Faunal affinity analyses indicate that the deep-sea fauna is not homogenously distributed over wide expanses of the ocean floor and are contrary to previously reported macrofaunal findings.
Long-term phenotypic correction in factor IX knockout mice by using phiC31 integrase-mediated gene therapy

Hemophilia B, a hereditary bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency of coagulation factor IX (FIX), is an excellent candidate for gene therapy. However, to date, success in hemophilia gene therapy clinical trials has been limited due to failure to achieve or sustain therapeutic levels of factor expression. The ΦC31 integrase system efficiently integrates plasmid DNA carrying a transgene and an attB site into a limited number of endogenous pseudo attP sites in mammalian genomes, leading to robust, sustained transgene expression. A strategy utilizing plasmid DNA integrated with ΦC31 integrase may offer a facile and safe alternative for sustained human FIX (hFIX) expression. Hydrodynamic tail vein injection was used for delivery of plasmids encoding ΦC31 integrase and hFIX to the liver of FIX knockout mice. We demonstrated prolonged therapeutic levels of hFIX in this knockout mouse model of hemophilia B over a 6-month time course when ΦC31 integrase was used. Additionally, we observed sustained FIX activity in plasma and phenotypic correction of bleeding after tail clip in ΦC31-treated mice. In the livers that received integrase, we also demonstrated prolonged hFIX expression in hepatocytes by immunohistochemistry and documented sequence-specific genomic integration of the hFIX plasmid. These studies suggest the possibility that a similar approach in large animals and humans could lead to a simple and successful gene therapy for hemophilia.
Life satisfaction and sex-role concept

The purpose of the present survey study was to investigate the relationship between life satisfaction and sex-role concept. Two hundred and seventeen respondents completed a two-part questionnaire, which consisted of the Life Satisfaction Survey, designed by the authors, and the Bem Sex Role Inventory. General satisfaction with life was found to be a function of the level of satisfaction derived from various aspects of life, particularly aspects chosen as the most important. Consistent with previous studies, general satisfaction with life is positively associated with education level, income level, and being married. In contrast to previous findings, age is not negatively correlated with overall satisfaction, and a significant difference between males and females showed up. As predicted, sex-role concept was found to be a useful construct in explaining the differential importance of various domains of life as well as the relative contribution of those domains to the individual's overall satisfaction with life. Psychologically masculine people choose as important and enjoy more the instrumental aspects of life; psychologically feminine people choose as important and enjoy more the socioemotional aspects of life; psychologically androgynous people choose as important and enjoy more both the instrumental and socioemotional aspects of life.
Relationships of Objective Measurements to Sensory Components Of Canned Applesauce and Apple Slices

Six cultivars of apples with different processing characteristics were studied in the form of applesauce and apple slices. Newly determined sensory components, developed to account for cultivar to cultivar variations, were used in this study of the relationships between them and various objective measurements. A total of nine models were generated for each of the two products, applesauce and apple slices, based upon stepwise regression analysis.
A Straussian Take on Heterosexuality and Patriarchy? Leon Kass's The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis

Leon Kass's The Beginning of Wisdom is given a close reading. Kass's treatment of heterosexuality and patriarchy is analyzed. It is shown that Kass's interpretation of the biblical text involves contradictions as well as the importation of viewpoints foreign to the authors of Genesis.
Power and weight considerations in small, agile quadrotors

The development of autonomous Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) is significantly constrained by their size, weight and power consumption. In this paper, we explore the energetics of quadrotor platforms and study the scaling of mass, inertia, lift and drag with their characteristic length. The effects of length scale on masses and inertias associated with various components are also investigated. Additionally, a study of Lithium Polymer battery performance is presented in terms of specific power and specific energy. Finally, we describe the power and energy consumption for different quadrotors and explore the dependence on size and mass for static hover tests as well as representative maneuvers.
Early time dynamics in heavy-ion collisions from AdS/CFT correspondence

We study the matter produced in heavy-ion collisions, assuming that this matter is strongly interacting and employing AdS/CFT correspondence to investigate its dynamics. At late proper times τ we show that Bjorken hydrodynamics solution, obtained recently by Janik and Peschanski using gauge-gravity duality [1], can be singled out by simply requiring that the metric tensor is a real and single-valued function of the coordinates everywhere in the bulk, without imposing any constraints on the curvature invariant. At early proper times we use
Mean meridional circulations in the Northern Hemisphere lower stratosphere during 1964 and 1965

Zonally-averaged mean monthly circulations in the meridional plane, which have been forced from momentum and heat sources, are presented for the 100–50 mb, 50–30 mb and 30–10 mb pressure layers, between 25°N latitude and 80°N latitude, during 1964 and 1965. The zonal momentum and continuity equations, written in spherical coordinates, are combined, using an iteration process, to compute mean meridional and vertical motions. Fixed boundary values are required for the vertical component at 10 mb where the downward vertical integration starts and for both components at 22·5°N and 82·5°N latitudes. These values are computed from the initial guess fields, which are based on approximate thermodynamic balance for the vertical component and a momentum balance for the meridional component. The effects of these boundary conditions on the interior motions are discussed. The results of the computed velocity components show a reasonable and consistent pattern, both in time and space. In winter months, motions are much more intense than in summer months and the flow patterns are characterized by cell-like structures, having upward motions over the pole and downward motions over middle latitudes. It appears as though the lower stratospheric motions over mid-latitudes are an extension of the tropospheric indirect mean cell. There is a poleward shift in the motions as winter progresses into spring and an equatorward shift as autumn progresses into winter. In summer, the motions are small and not too well organized. In the January and July 1964 momentum budgets, it is shown that a near balance exists between the Coriolis torque and the convergence of eddy momentum flux, which gives an approximate expression for calculating mean meridional velocities. In the January 1964 heat budget, at middle latitudes, a near balance is shown between adiabatic subsidence and heat sources due to radiation and eddy heat-flux convergence. This balance implies an approximate solution for mean vertical motions. However, this approximation does not appear to be valid near the latitudinal boundaries during January or in certain regions during July.
Top 10 Research Questions Related to Body Composition

An understanding of body composition is crucial to understanding human health, disease, and function. Research in body composition has focused on the development of assessment methods, description of normal changes in body composition with growth and development and aging, and the changes that occur in body composition in response to challenges ranging from illness to planned interventions. Each focus is significant, and in a sense, they are interdependent, because technological advances allow more sophisticated questions to be addressed, which in turn drives the development of better methods. Significant advances have been made in each area, although perhaps surprisingly basic questions remain. For example, growth trajectories are often estimated from cross-sectional data, given the resources needed for long-term observational studies, and thus, longitudinal descriptive data are still needed. Along with advances in laboratory methods, development of field methods remains relevant for screening and clinic...
The influence of steady magnetic fields on the mouse hippocampal evoked potentials in vitro.

Abstract Direct current-generated EM fields modulated evoked potentials recorded from hippocampal slices. Both the synaptic efficiency represented by the slope of EPSP and the number of activated pyramidal cells represented by the population spike were modified by EM fields. While the weak EM fields (2–3 mT) exerted a biphasic effect observed as a transient small depression followed by a long-lasting amplification of the potentials, stronger EM fields (8–10 mT) depressed these potentials. This depression could be partially reversed by increasing the strength of the stimulation. It is suggested that EM-induced fluctuations in the intracellular Ca 2+ concentration are responsible for the observed effect.
Cognitive Science and the Study of Consciousness. Review ofScientific Approaches to Consciousness,by J. D. Cohen and J. W. Schooler

Abstract Jonathan D. Cohen is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. His research interests include the biological mechanisms subsuming attentional and memory processes in normal and schizophrenic individuals. He utilizes PET as well as fMRI measurements and has developed information processing models consistent with a neural network, parallel distributed processing approach. Jonathan W. Schooler has a joint appointment at the University of Pittsburgh as an Associate Professor of Psychology and at the Learning Research and Development Center as a Research Scientist. Schooler's research interests include memory, the relationship between language and thought, problem-solving, decision-making, and consciousness. Sal A. Soraci is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Tufts University, and the Director of the Engineering Psychology/Human Factors Program in Liberal Arts there. He also holds appointments as Lecturer in Neurology at Harvard Medical School and as Research Scientist at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center. His research interests include generative processes in memory, the relationship between perceptual and cognitive processes, and intelligence-related differences in attentional functioning. Kimiyo Murata-Soraci is a Lecturer at Boston University and a Fellow at the Boston University Institute for Philosophy and Religion. Her research interests include continental philosophy, comparative philosophy of religion, and ethics.
Depth-based image registration via three-dimensional geometric segmentation

Image registration is a fundamental task in computer vision and it significantly contributes to high-level computer vision and benefits numerous practical applications. Although many image registration techniques have been proposed in the past, there is still a need for further research because many issues such as the parallax problem remain to be solved. The traditional image registration algorithms suffer from the parallax problem due to their underlying assumption that the scene can be regarded approximately planar which is not satisfied when large depth variations exist in the images with high-rise objects. To address the parallax problem, we present a new strategy for two-dimensional (2D) image registration by leveraging the depth information from a 3D image reconstruction. The novel idea is to recover the depth in the image region with high-rise objects to build an accurate transform function for image registration. We use a geometric segmentation algorithm to partition 3D point cloud to multiple geometric structures and at the same time, estimate the parameters of each geometric structure. Experimental results show that the proposed method is able to mitigate the parallax problem and achieve better performance than the existing image registration scheme.
Wireless Channels that Exhibit "Worse than Rayleigh" Fading: Analytical and Measurement Results

We describe several disparate practical settings in which cases of severe, or "worse than Rayleigh," fading have been encountered. To explain this behavior, we present two physical models. The first model employs a statistically non-stationary random process that switches between two distributions, akin to the multi-state models proposed for land mobile satellite channels. The other model we propose is a multiplicative model of two small scale fading processes. We also describe the analytical pdf for such a multiplicative model using two Weibull random variables as the underlying small scale fading distributions. Measured data is used to corroborate these models, and our computer simulations confirm the ability to replicate the statistics of these severe fading processes. These proposed models can be used by researchers investigating communication system designs in severe fading environments.
Direct Approach to Density Functional Theory: Heaviside−Fermi Level Operator Using a Pseudopotential Treatment

A new method is presented for calculating electron densities in nonperiodic, polyatomic systems using Cartesian coordinates in three dimensions. The method blends a direct approach to spin-density-functional theory and uses (1) the “Heaviside−Fermi level operator” h(EF − Ĥ) rather than solving Schrodinger eigenvalue problems, (2) the distributed approximating functional for discretization and interpolation, (3) a multigrid iteration procedure for accelerating the convergence, (4) a separable, nonlocal form of pseudopotential, and (5) a fast method for solving Poisson's equation in nonperiodic systems. Example calculations of the electronic structure for the Ne atom and the C2 and O2 dimers are presented.
APPLICATIONS OF HYPERBOLIC CONVEXITY TO EUCLIDEAN AND SPHERICAL CONVEXITY

APPLICATIONS OF HYPERBOLIC CONVEXITY TO EUCLIDEAN AND SPHERICAL CONVEXITY DAVID MINDA Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0025, USA 1. Introduction In [8] a reflection principle for the hyperbolic metric was established. One application of this reflection principle was a sufficient condition for hyperbolic convexity. In particular, if a hyperbolic plane region ~ is starlike with respect to some point a in the closure of f2 and A is any disk with center a, then f2 A A is hyperbolically convex as a subset of fL In particular, if s is a euclidean convex region in the complex plane C, then f2 f~ A is hyperbolically convex for any disk A with center a in el(f2). This latter result is sharp: if f2 is a half-plane and A is a disk which does not have its center in el(f2), then ~ f~ A is not hyperbolically convex. These results on hyperbolic convexity lead to applications for regions that are convex in either euclidean or spherical geometry. For example, if f~ is a convex region in C and y is a hyperbolic geodesic in f2, then the center of any circle of curvature for y cannot lie in ~. Other results of this type are known. J~rgensen [5] noted that for a general hyperbolic region in C the circle of curvature must intersect the boundary. Osgood [10] observed that a result of Netanyahu [9] refined this for simply connected regions to the distance between z0 and the center of the circle of curvature for y at z0 must be at least ]8a(zo), where ~(z0) denotes the euclidean distance from z0 to af2. Our result on the center of the circle of curvature leads to several sharp distortion theorems for the hyperbolic metric which refine known facts for simply connected regions. For instance, I V~(z)l < l/8n(z) for a convex region ~, where 2~ denotes the density of the hyperbolic metric on f2, and equality holds if and only if f~ is a half-plane. This has a consequence in univalent function theory. If fEK, the class of normalized convex univalent functions in the unit disk, then ~/~D)(0) If"(0) [ < 1 with equality if and only if f (z) = z/( 1 - e~~ for some 0 E R. For the full class S of normalized univalent functions Netanyahu [9] demonstrated that the analogous sharp upper bound is ~ and that the Koebe function is not extremal. Finally, we consider regions on the Riemann sphere P which are convex in spherical geometry and obtain analogs of all of our results about euclidean convex regions. These lead to an application for the class Ks(a) of all univalent functions 90
Distribution of glutamate in spinal roots of different species: a comparative study.

Abstract 1. 1. Glutamate concentration is greater in dorsal than in ventral lumbar spinal roots of the bullfrog and of the rabbit. 2. 2. Such a gradient was not found in lumbar spinal roots of the rat and of the dog which exhibit the same concentration of this amino acid. 3. 3. These findings do not corroborate the hypothesis that glutamate is an excitatory transmitter released from dorsal root fibers.
Pseudohermitian geometry and interpolation manifolds

We prove a vanishing theorem for interpolation manifolds in the boundary of a Siegel domain and characterize the smooth submanifolds of CPn which arise as projections via of interpolation manifolds in the boundary of a complete circular domain.
Strategy Escalation: An emerging paradigm for safe clinical development of T cell gene therapies

Gene therapy techniques are being applied to modify T cells with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) for therapeutic ends. The versatility of this platform has spawned multiple options for their application with new permutations in strategies continually being invented, a testimony to the creative energies of many investigators. The field is rapidly expanding with immense potential for impact against diverse cancers. But this rapid expansion, like the Big Bang, comes with a somewhat chaotic evolution of its therapeutic universe that can also be dangerous, as seen by recently publicized deaths. Time-honored methods for new drug testing embodied in Dose Escalation that were suitable for traditional inert agents are now inadequate for these novel "living drugs". In the following, I propose an approach to escalating risk for patient exposures with these new immuno-gene therapy agents, termed Strategy Escalation, that accounts for the molecular and biological features of the modified cells and the methods of their administration. This proposal is offered not as a prescriptive but as a discussion framework that investigators may wish to consider in configuring their intended clinical applications.
Evaluation of Stroboscopic Signs

Summary Objective Clinicians interpret the stroboscopic examination by systematically rating several parameters or “signs.” This can be time consuming and experience dependent. The significance of each of these signs is unknown. Some signs may be redundant, whereas others may be more independent, thus reflecting a unique aspect of the exam assessment. We wanted to determine which stroboscopic signs are more independent and clinically relevant. This may lead to a more efficient and reliable method of stroboscopic exam evaluation. Study Design Retrospective. Method One hundred and eighty one consecutive adult patients with dysphonia of various pathologies were studied. Severity of dysphonia was judged, and a set of seven stroboscopic signs for each stroboscopic exam was rated by our voice team. A principal component factor analysis was performed, and the two factors that accounted for the most variance in the original rating data were determined. These two independent factors were then investigated for clinical usefulness. Results Several individual stroboscopic signs of vocal fold vibration correlated with the “Vibration Factor” (VF) (mucosal wave, amplitude, vibratory behavior, and periodicity) and the vocal fold edge correlated with the “Edge Factor” (EF). Scores for VF and EF were used to differentiate between general categories of vocal fold pathology and related to the severity of dysphonia. Severity of dysphonia correlated with the VF to a greater degree than the EF. Furthermore, these two factor scores could be accurately estimated using only three stroboscopic signs (amplitude, vibratory behavior, and edge). Conclusion The results of the study support the concept that a small set of stroboscopic ratings is an adequate representation of the information derived from the original, more comprehensive sign rating protocol. A focused rating system may provide an efficient method for stroboscopic evaluation, contributing to the differentiation of various vocal fold pathologies and correlating to clinician ratings of severity of dysphonia.
Do state motor fuel sales-below-cost laws lower prices?

In recent years a number of US states have imposed sales-below-cost (SBC) laws directed at motor fuel markets. We use panel data over the 1983–2002 period to evaluate the effects of newly imposed motor fuel SBC laws on retail and wholesale gasoline prices, their mark-up, and the structure of motor fuel markets. A unique feature of our analysis is that we utilize transitions in those states that adopted new SBC legislation to evaluate the effects of the laws. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that gasoline prices are about one cent lower five years after the law is imposed. We also find that total number of gasoline outlets is greater in the presence of the law.
Vitamin E in human neural retina and retinal pigment epithelium: Effect of age

Vitamin E levels were measured in retina and retinal pigment epithelium from human eye bank donors of from 12-82 years of age. In comparison to an age group of 12-45 years, humans 59-82 years of age had a higher concentration of vitamin E in both retina and retinal pigment epithelium. Depending on age, the concentration of vitamin E in retinal pigment epithelium was from 4-7 times higher than in retina. Vitamin E accumulated in the human retinal pigment epithelium in an age dependent fashion, so that by 80 years it was from 3-4 times higher than in those 20 years old. The level of vitamin E in young human retinal epithelium, however, was higher than in comparable bovine tissue. The age-related increase in human tissue vitamin E levels does not appear to be affected by postmortem time.
Filterbank Multicarrier and Multicarrier CDMA for Cognitive Radio Systems

Recent works in cognitive radio (CR) have suggested multicarrier communication based on orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) for CR networks. In this paper, we propose two alternative multicarrier techniques. The first one, filterbank-based OFDM-OQAM (OFDM-offset quadrature amplitude modulation), allows to maximize the secondary users' spectral efficiency by eliminating the need for guard bands. Also, OFDM-OQAM's filterbank spectral estimator has greater dynamic range than the conventional fast fourier transform in OFDM, which further reduces the probability of undesirable collisions between the secondary users (SU) and primary users (PU). However, OFDM-OQAM still requires an SU base station for distributed sensing. For cases where such is not available, or when sensing information cannot be conveyed, we suggest another multicarrier technique, namely multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA). While MC-CDMA does not achieve comparably high spectral efficiency as OFDM-OQAM, the spreading gain of MC-CDMA results in graceful degradation in the case of collisions between PUs and SUs. Furthermore, compared to direct sequence (DS) CDMA, MC-CDMA allows to exclude narrowband PU interferers locally at the SU receiver, hence improving SU performance. We show that MC-CDMA makes it possible to operate the SU network without distributed sensing and hence no need for a base station infrastructure and/or a signaling channel.