cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Art and Science of Constructing a Memristor Model: Updated

This chapter is updated from an earlier version [63]. In the few years since that book chapter was written, there have been several thousand papers published on the topic of memristors, but very few new compact memristor models have appeared. This is not a reflection of the maturity of the field but rather the difficulty of constructing an accurate and predictive compact mathematical model for an electronic circuit element that displays memristor behavior. Given the rapid advances in the field in general, it is time to provide another snapshot of the state of memristor modeling, even though any such attempt will be incomplete. Such models are essential for designing and simulating complex integrated circuits that contain memristors, and the types of applications being considered are increasing significantly. Although the fundamental equations that specify the device physics may be known, they usually comprise a set of coupled nonlinear integro-differential equations that are extremely challenging to solve in three dimensions, and standard multi-physics solvers may not have all the components needed for an accurate model. A numerical solution of the physics equations can require supercomputers and long execution times, which makes this approach useless for interactive simulation of large circuits that contain many such elements. Thus, the equations must be simplified dramatically, and it is not always clear which terms are the most important for the behavior of the device. On the other hand, a purely black box approach of fitting a set of experimental measurements to a convenient functional form runs the risk of poorly representing the behavior of the device in operating regimes outside the range in which the data were collected. Thus, a hybrid approach is necessary, in which the mathematical formalism for a memristor provides the framework for the model and knowledge of the device physics defines the state variable(s), operating limits and asymptotic behavior necessary to make the model useful. After describing the challenge, the art and science of constructing a memristor model are illustrated by three examples: a completely rewritten description of a locally active and volatile device based on a thin film of niobium dioxide that undergoes both a thermal instability and an insulator to metal transition because of Joule heating, the original description of a nonvolatile memory device based on titanium dioxide in which the effective width of an electron tunnel barrier is determined by oxygen vacancy drift caused by an applied electric field, and the recent detailed examination of the transport properties and identification of the primary state variable for tantalum oxide.
1.131 – Superporous Hydrogels for Drug Delivery Systems

Superporous hydrogels (SPHs) are cross-linked hydrophilic water-swellable polymers, which, regardless of their size in a dry state, can reach their equilibrium swelling capacity in minutes. A few generations of these porous hydrogels have been evolved to address the needs of different drug delivery applications. This chapter reviews the different aspects of SPH materials, including their synthesis, properties, generations, scale up, and safety. From the stability standpoint, the identity, purity, and potency of SPH products are discussed in detail. The chapter discusses SPH applications in drug delivery, including gastric retention and peroral intestinal absorption. The chapter concludes with the potential use of SPHs as a diet aid, superdisintegrant, and cell scaffolding.
Novice Middle School Teachers’ Preparedness for Teaching, and the Helpfulness of Supports: A Survey of One State

Novice teachers’ readiness for teaching may affect the quality of the classroom environment and teachers’ likelihood of remaining in teaching. Using a survey of novice teachers in one state, we examine teachers’ preparedness for teaching, the supports offered, and the perceived helpfulness of those supports. Even novice teachers often had some type of prior experience: particularly substitute teaching (64%) and as a teacher aide or assistant (44%). Still, they often did not feel well prepared. Sixty percent of teachers felt well prepared in their subject area, but only 34% in using appropriate pedagogical strategies, 28% in managing their classrooms, and 17% in reaching all students. Teachers typically received multiple types of supports and received them multiple times over the first year, with a mean of 163 instances of supports. Teachers most often viewed supports as helpful if the supports were in the areas that teachers felt least prepared and provided at least monthly. The supports most related to teachers’ perceptions of helpfulness were mentoring, planning lessons, using student assessment data to make decisions about instruction, using appropriate pedagogical strategies, professional development for new teachers, teacher networks, and regular collaboration with other teachers.
Anion pathways in CLCF fluoride/proton antiporters

Abstract The CLCF F–/H+ antiporters can quickly reduce the intracellular F– concentration in the bacterial cells where these proteins are expressed. However, their operating mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report the first computational study of the anion pathways in the prototypical CLCF antiporter from Enterococci casseliflavus. Our results suggest that the crystal structures of WT and E118Q are inward-open-outward-occluded, while that of V319G is inward-closed-outward-occluded. We further propose a mechanism to explain the unexpected reversal in the F–-over-Cl– selectivity in mutants where the H+ gating glutamate residue E118 is neutralized.
Diffusive subsurface propagation of Rayleigh mode induced by embedded ultrasonic waveguide

Surface degradation in the wood surface has generated unwanted variation in the ultrasound and reduced the efficacy of ultrasonic based non-destructive evaluation (NDE). This study proposes a novel alternative by inserting a waveguide into the wooden medium to eliminate the impact of surface variation on the characteristics of the ultrasonic propagation. This technique creates a small circular insertion of 2 cm depth with 5 mm in diameter, which has been accepted by many utility inspection firms for structural health monitoring (SHM) of wooden utility grids. This work develops a closed-form analytical solution of the elastodynamic problem using the proposed embedded waveguide technique. The resulted solution based on the Navier's formulation discovered two interfering wave modes embedded in the displacement field. These two modes termed fast and slow induce diffusive displacement propagation as a function of the Poisson's ratio of the medium. The analytical result also shows a greater elastic energy penetration as a function of the insertion depth. Resulted wave characteristics are different from the traditional contact-based Rayleigh excitation. A developed numerical model using the semi-explicit differential-algebraic equation (DAE) technique with both steady-state and transient load conditions is demonstrated. The simulated displacement fields are analyzed and compared with the analytical result.
Utilizing Subword Entities in Character-Level Sequence-to-Sequence Lemmatization Models

In this paper we present a character-level sequence-to-sequence lemmatization model, utilizing several subword features in multiple configurations. In addition to generic n-gram embeddings (using FastText), we experiment with concatenative (stems) and templatic (roots and patterns) morphological subwords. We present several architectures that embed these features directly at the encoder side, or learn them jointly at the decoder side with a multitask learning architecture. The results indicate that using the generic n-gram embeddings (through FastText) outperform the other linguistically-driven subwords. We use Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Arabic as test cases, with up to 22% and 13% relative error reduction, respectively, from a strong baseline. An error analysis shows that our best system is even able to handle word/lemma pairs that are both unseen in the training data.
The role of dissociation in ketamine's antidepressant effects

Ketamine produces immediate antidepressant effects and has inspired research into next-generation treatments. Ketamine also has short term dissociative effects, in which individuals report altered consciousness and perceptions of themselves and their environment. However, whether ketamine's dissociative side effects are necessary for its antidepressant effects remains unclear. This perspective examines the relationship between dissociative effects and acute and longer-lasting antidepressant response to ketamine and other N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists. Presently, the literature does not support the conclusion that dissociation is necessary for antidepressant response to ketamine. However, further work is needed to explore the relationship between dissociation and antidepressant response at the molecular, biomarker, and psychological levels.
Manipulation of Partial Derivatives and Sample Problems

The material presented in this lecture is adapted from Chapter 5 in T&M. Continuing with the material introduced in Lecture 13, first, we will discuss two additional restrictions which need to be imposed on the internal energy fundamental equation, U, including presenting the Corollary to Postulate I. Second, we will discuss how to reconstruct the fundamental equation, U, if we know the (n + 2) first-order partial derivatives of U. Third, we will motivate the need to manipulate partial derivatives of thermodynamic functions in order to calculate changes in these thermodynamic functions when the system evolves from an initial state i to a final state f. To this end, we will discuss how to devise useful integration paths which connect state i with state f. Fourth, we will discuss various useful methods to relate an unknown partial derivative to other partial derivatives which can be calculated or determined experimentally. Fifth, among the useful methods to relate a desired partial derivative to others, we will discuss the triple product rule then add another variable rule, the derivative inversion rule, and Maxwell’s reciprocity rule. In addition, we will discuss Jacobian transformations. Finally, we will solve Sample Problems 14.1 and 14.2 to illustrate the use of some of the methods presented to calculate partial derivatives.
The frequency distribution of reported THC concentrations of legal cannabis flower products increases discontinuously around the 20% THC threshold in Nevada and Washington state.

Cannabis laboratory testing reliability is a scientific and policy challenge in US states with legal cannabis. Greater reported THC concentration yields higher prices, and media reports describe a well-known consumer and dispensary preference for flower products containing a minimum 20% THC content—an economically meaningful but biologically arbitrary threshold. This paper examines the frequency distribution of reported THC concentration in legal cannabis flower products in Nevada and Washington state for unusual shifts around the 20% threshold suggestive of potential manipulation of reported THC results. THC concentration test results for 142,000 Chemotype 1 flower products from Washington state between June 2014 and May 2017 and 55,000 flower products from Nevada between December 2017 and January 2020 were analyzed for changes in the frequency distribution around the 20% threshold using the McCrary density test. Analyses were performed among all labs in each state, the highest volume lab in Washington, and two labs in Washington which had their licenses suspended for testing irregularities during the study period. Comparing just above the 20% THC threshold with just below it, the frequency of test results increased by about 43% in Nevada (z = 15.6, p < 0.001) and by about 17% in Washington (z = 11.0, p < 0.001). In Washington’s highest volume testing lab, frequency increased by only about 1% (z = 0.39, p = 0.70), while it increased by about 47% (z = 12.7, p < 0.001) among the two suspended labs. Subset to those growers which sent products to both sets of labs, frequency of flower products just above the 20% threshold increased by 2% in Washington’s largest lab (z = 0.50, p = 0.62) and by 52% among the two suspended labs (z = 12.8, p < 0.001). There is a statistically unusual spike in the frequency of products reporting just higher than 20% THC in both states consistent with economic incentives for products to contain at least 20% THC. This “bunching” of reported THC levels exists among some, but not all, cannabis testing labs, suggesting that laboratory differences (rather than precise manipulation by growers) drive this potential manipulation in reported THC content. These findings elaborate on prior research highlighting unexplained interlaboratory variation in cannabis testing results and highlight ongoing irregularities with legal cannabis testing. These findings highlight the need for industry oversight and cautions researchers working with reported cannabis THC concentration data, which may be biased by economic incentives to report higher THC.
Application of genetic programming for model-free identification of nonlinear multi-physics systems

This study provides a general methodology based on genetic programming (GP) to identify nonlinear multi-physics systems. The proposed GP-based method aims to discover governing equations for the systems, characterized by a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), solely from the measured data. The GP-based methodology employs expression trees, having mathematical components in their nodes, to randomly construct candidate models (i.e., ODEs) for the systems and fits them into the measured data set by applying evolutionary processes (e.g., crossover and mutation) over consecutive generations. To enhance the convergence of the identification process, the model fitness is evaluated by computing model outputs that are numerical solutions of the ODEs (i.e., candidate models) under the measured input, and comparing them to the measured output. The proposed generalization of the GP-based method leads to an additional computational burden which is resolved with parallel processing on high-performance computing systems. We demonstrate the applicability of the methodology to two distinct models originating from different physical systems: a Bouc–Wen model from mechanics and an environmental soil-moisture model from ecohydrology. For the Bouc–Wen model, governing equations that are close to the reference model were discovered. The GP-identified models yielded output errors less than 8%, regardless of errors embedded in training data, up to 5%. For the soil-moisture model, relatively simple models are identified with output errors similar to, or less than, 10%. It is shown that the method under discussion is useful in providing some physical insight into the equations that govern complex, nonlinear, multi-physics systems.
Controls on range shifts of coastal Californian bivalves during the peak of the last interglacial and baseline predictions for today

As the most recent time in Earth history when global temperatures were warmer than at present, the peak of the last interglacial (Marine Isotope Substage [MIS] 5e; ∼120,000 years ago) can serve as a pre-anthropogenic baseline for a warmer near-future world. Here we use a new compilation of 22 fossil localities in California that have been reliably dated to MIS 5e to establish baseline expectations for contemporary bivalve species movements by identifying and analyzing bivalve species with “extralimital” ranges, that is, species that occupied the California region during MIS 5e but are now restricted to adjacent regions. We find that 15% of species (n = 142) found in MIS 5e localities have extralimital ranges and currently occupy warmer waters to the south of the California region. The majority of extralimital occurrences occur in paleo-embayments, suggesting that these sheltered habitats were more suitable habitats for warm-water species than exposed coasts during the MIS 5e. We further find that extralimital species now tend to occur in cooler, more seasonally productive coastal waters and to occupy more offshore islands when compared with the broader species pool immediately south of California. These findings suggest that high dispersal potential and preexisting tolerances to environmental conditions similar to California's comparatively cool and seasonally productive environments may have enabled extralimital bivalves to colonize the California region during MIS 5e.
Modulation of Sirt1 and FoxO1 on Hypothalamic Leptin-Mediated Sympathetic Activation and Inflammation in Diet-Induced Obese Rats.

Background Hypothalamic leptin‐mediated signaling contributes to the exaggerated sympatho‐excitation and increased blood pressure in obesity‐associated hypertension. The aim of the study was to inv...
Trump and the “deep state”

Donald Trump and his loyalists invoked the concept of the deep state when confronted with resistance to the president’s agenda. The hazy concept of the deep state was tied to the long-standing cons...
Principled Standards versus Boundless Discretion: A Tale of Two Approaches to Intermediary Liability Online

Over the past decade, courts have developed two distinct approaches in evaluating trademark claims against online intermediaries. In one – contributory infringement – courts struggle with the tension between preserving legitimate, non-infringing uses of technologies, on the one hand, and minimizing infringement, on the other. In the other – direct infringement – liability turns on perceived wrongdoing by intermediaries whose own behavior increases the risk of consumer confusion. This second type of liability boasts neither a clear doctrinal framework nor a coherent normative vision. Most troublingly, the scant case law has paid little attention to issues at the core of secondary liability analysis – namely, the need to strike a balance between infringing and non-infringing uses, and the worry that liability might threaten legitimate uses of trademarks that enhance competition and increase consumer choice. This brief essay compares these two visions of intermediary liability as reflected in recent case law. It contends that, if direct infringement is here to stay, it must accommodate market actors’ right to make non-infringing uses of trademarks, and intermediaries’ right to help them.
Respect for Human Vulnerability: The Emergence of a New Principle in Bioethics

Vulnerability has become a popular though controversial topic in bioethics, notably since 2000. As a result, a common body of knowledge has emerged (1) distinguishing between different types of vulnerability, (2) criticizing the categorization of populations as vulnerable, and (3) questioning the practical implications. It is argued that two perspectives on vulnerability, i.e., the philosophical and political, pose challenges to contemporary bioethics discourse: they re-examine the significance of human agency, the primacy of the individual person, and the negativity of vulnerability. As a phenomenon of globalization, vulnerability can only be properly addressed in a global bioethics that takes the social dimension of human existence seriously.
Change Partners and Dance

growing ungainly as you set it to paper?going lank, loose, cowardly?a succession of phrases you couldn't honor on your best day. Forget it. Forget the drag and claim of what will not yield, what stays heavy as millstone, constricting as tourniquet. Sit, instead, ruthless, eager, pushing at boundaries, at junctions of synapses, giving names to limits, to hesitations, to the breakneck stutter of your human voice. Language didn't ask for you, isn't waiting for you to carve it solid, to hack away until there's nothing but truth, the heft and weight of it all you can offer up, send forth.
VARIABLES AFFECTING THE ACCEPTABILITY OF RADAPPERTIZED GROUND BEEF PRODUCTS

A series of experiments were conducted to determine the effect of different variables on the quality of an irradiated ground beef product. Factors studied included: different food-grade phosphates; NaCl content; fat content; and size of grind. The influence of these variables on the cooking loss (moisture retention), shear press values and sensory scores was studied. The addition of phosphates and NaCl was desirable in controlling cooking losses. The most effective phosphate was tetra-sodium pyrophosphate. The addition of NaCl decreased the shear press force required to penetrate the beef patty, i.e., it tenderized the product. Phosphate addition did not affect the shear press force. Increased fat content increased the cooking losses, but did not affect the shear press force. Irradiation with sterilizing doses had a marked effect on decreasing the shear press force.
Serial administration of a modified richmond agitation and sedation scale for delirium screening

OBJECTIVES: Because delirium is a common yet frequently unrecognized condition, this study sought to design a brief screening tool for a core feature of mental status and to validate the instrument as a serial assessment for delirium. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Tertiary VA Hospital in New England. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 95 veterans admitted to the medical service. METHODS: A consensus panel developed a modified version of the Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale (RASS) to capture alterations in consciousness. Upon admission, and daily thereafter, patients were screened with a modified RASS (mRASS) and independently underwent a comprehensive mental status interview by a geriatric expert, who determined whether the criteria for delirium were met. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive likelihood ratio (LR) of the mRASS for delirium are reported. RESULTS: As a single assessment, the mRASS had a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 93% for delirium (LR, 9.4). When used to detect change, serial mRASS assessments had a sensitivity of 74% and a specificity of 92% (LR, 8.9) in both prevalent and incident delirium. When prevalent cases were excluded, any change in the mRASS had a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 92% for incident delirium (LR, 10.2) CONCLUSION: When administered daily, the mRASS has good sensitivity and specificity for incident delirium. Given the brevity of the instrument (<30 seconds), consideration should be given to incorporating the modified RASS as a daily screening measure for consciousness and delirium. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2012; © 2012 Society of Hospital Medicine
Takings and Public Choice: The Persuasion of Price

The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution concludes, “nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.” What is known as the “just compensation” or “eminent domain” or “takings” clause is also present (or judicially construed to be present) in every state constitution and in the officially-proclaimed practice of most governments around the world. Yet the takings issue remains controversial, as is suggested by the many treatments of it by scholars who reflect the public-choice tradition (Ellickson, 1977; Epstein, 1985; Farber, 1992; Fischel, 1995; Levmore, 1991; Miceli and Segerson, 1996; Siegan, 1980; Wyeth, 1996). This essay will illustrate how a public choice approach can illuminate some of the important issues. The plan is to explain how the present distinction between physical takings and regulatory takings causes governments to choose too much regulation.
Optimization of β-Quantification Methods for High-Throughput Applications

Background: Risk of cardiovascular disease is assessed, in part, by laboratory measurement of the concentrations of several lipoproteins. β-Quantification is a method of lipoprotein measurement that uses ultracentrifugation to partially separate lipoprotein classes. Although β-quantification is used largely in clinical and basic research, methods have not been described to allow the analysis of a large number of small-volume specimens with a short turnaround time. We report two variations of the traditional 5-mL method used by the Lipid Research Clinics Program that overcome these shortcomings. Methods: Two lower-volume modifications of the traditional 5-mL β-quantification method were developed. The methods used either 1 or 0.23 mL of specimen and required substantially less time for analysis (20 and 6 h, respectively) than the 5-mL method (2.5 days). The goal was to develop ultracentrifugation methods such that the concentration of cholesterol in the bottom fraction, from which LDL-cholesterol concentration is calculated, agreed with the 5-mL method. Fresh serum specimens (n = 45) were analyzed by the three methods to determine comparability of the methods based on the recovery of cholesterol in the bottom fraction after ultracentrifugation. To evaluate intrarun precision, replicate specimens (n = 17) were analyzed in a single run for each method. This experiment also evaluated how quickly the fractions would remix after separation by ultracentrifugation. For the 1-mL method, accuracy of the measurement of LDL- and HDL-cholesterol concentrations and the interrun precision were established by analysis of frozen serum specimens provided by the CDC, which established target values for the pools using reference methods. Results: No clinically significant differences in cholesterol concentrations in the bottom fraction were observed for the 1- and 0.23-mL methods, which had mean biases of 0.8% and 1.5% relative to the 5-mL method, respectively. Intra- and interrun variability was acceptable for each method, e.g., <1.8% for cholesterol in the bottom fraction. Ultracentrifuged specimens were stable for at least 4 h with no evidence of contamination of cholesterol in the bottom fraction. For comparison specimens provided by the CDC, the 1-mL method met the accuracy and precision goals of the National Cholesterol Education Program for the measurement of HDL- and LDL-cholesterol concentrations (goals: total error <13% and <12%, respectively), with total errors of 6.45% and 5.43%, respectively. Conclusions: Both the 1- and 0.23-mL β-quantification methods are suitable substitutes for the traditional 5-mL method for use in clinical and basic research for the determination of LDL-cholesterol concentration. Both methods provide much higher throughput and require substantially less specimen volume. The 0.23-mL method can be performed in 1 day, but it is slightly less precise than the 1-mL method. In our laboratory setting, as many as 80 specimens are routinely processed per day using the 1-mL method.
Application of ontology modularization to human-web interface design for knowledge sharing

An ontology is an explicit semantic network instead of a hierarchy of concepts.Ontology can be a tool for human-web interface design for knowledge sharing.Modularization is a key subject of ontology for human-web interface design.The usefulness of ontology modularization for human-web interface design is demonstrated. Ontology has received considerable attention in the semantic technology community. This paper discusses the roles of ontology modularization in human-web interface design for knowledge sharing. It stresses that ontology can support human-web interaction as a key component of knowledge sharing on the Internet. The paper proposes an approach of ontology modularization to navigating and searching web portals for the purposes of knowledge sharing. A case study of human-web interface design using ontology modularization for a commercial software web portal is used to illustrate the application of the proposed approach.
A general framework for achieving integral control in chemotactic biological signaling mechanisms

The ability to sense gradients is important for proper functioning of single cell organisms and multi-cellular systems. Most known chemotactic systems are capable of perfect adaptation to spatially uniform changes in the chemoattractant concentration. In control-theoretic terms, this amounts to a step disturbance rejection problem. Thus, cells must be able to implement integral control mechanisms for rejecting these steps. We describe two general frameworks for achieving integral control in signal transduction pathways.
Context maps-classifying contextual influence for decision support system design

Modern decision support systems (DSS) are expected to be designed to be more ‘pro-active’ and provide ‘context aware’ decision support. To develop a context aware DSS, designers must first be able to measure and model context. Therefore, this paper presents a methodology for constructing context maps from interviews and focus groups of potential DSS operators, which map the breadth of scenarios faced by operators and what context features combine to form those scenarios. An example context map was generated from an interview of general aviation pilots during the planning and re-planning tasks due to weather.
Failure of naloxone to reverse apomorphine effects in humans.

Abstract Twelve male volunteers given apomorphine (20 μg/kg/hr) for 40 min by i.v. infusion had significant changes in growth hormone, prolactin, vasopressin, pulse rate, sedation and nausea. Naloxone, (20 mg i.v.) or placebo given in a double-blind manner 10 min before the end of the apomorphine infusion as a concealed bolus did not alter the effects of apomorphine. Vasopressin rise correlated significantly with nausea intensity. We conclude that acute opiate receptor blockade does not reverse most apomorphine effects.
Comparative analysis of activator-Eσ54 complexes formed with nucleotide-metal fluoride analogues

Bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) containing the major variant σ54 factor forms open promoter complexes in a reaction in which specialized activator proteins hydrolyse ATP. Here we probe binding interactions between σ54-RNAP (Eσ54) and the ATPases associated with various cellular activities (AAA+) domain of the Escherichia coli activator protein, PspF, using nucleotide-metal fluoride (BeF and AlF) analogues representing ground and transition states of ATP, which allow complexes (that are otherwise too transient with ATP) to be captured. We show that the organization and functionality of the ADP–BeF- and ADP–AlF-dependent complexes greatly overlap. Our data support an activation pathway in which the initial ATP-dependent binding of the activator to the Eσ54 closed complex results in the re-organization of Eσ54 with respect to the transcription start-site. However, the nucleotide-dependent binding interactions between the activator and the Eσ54 closed complex are in themselves insufficient for forming open promoter complexes when linear double-stranded DNA is present in the initial closed complex.
Diet-induced obesity reduces the responsiveness of the peripheral taste receptor cells.

Introduction Obesity is a growing epidemic that causes many serious health related complications. While the causes of obesity are complex, there is conclusive evidence that overconsumption coupled with a sedentary lifestyle is the primary cause of this medical condition. Dietary consumption is controlled by appetite which is in turn regulated by multiple neuronal systems, including the taste system. However, the relationship between taste and obesity has not been well defined. Growing evidence suggests that taste perception in the brain is altered in obese animals and humans, however no studies have determined if there are altered taste responses in the peripheral taste receptor cells, which is the initiation site for the detection and perception of taste stimuli. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, we used C57Bl/6 mice which readily become obese when placed on a high fat diet. After ten weeks on the high fat diet, we used calcium imaging to measure how taste-evoked calcium signals were affected in the obese mice. We found that significantly fewer taste receptor cells were responsive to some appetitive taste stimuli while the numbers of taste cells that were sensitive to aversive taste stimuli did not change. Properties of the taste-evoked calcium signals were also significantly altered in the obese mice. Behavioral analyses found that mice on the high fat diet had reduced ability to detect some taste stimuli compared to their littermate controls. Conclusions/Significance Our findings demonstrate that diet-induced obesity significantly influences peripheral taste receptor cell signals which likely leads to changes in the central taste system and may cause altered taste perception.
Increases in vocalization and motor reflex thresholds are influenced by the site of morphine microinjection: comparisons following administration into the periaqueductal gray, ventral medulla, and spinal subarachnoid space.

The relative influence of morphine microinjected into the periaqueductal gray, ventral medulla (nucleus raphe magnus or nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis), or spinal subarachnoid space on the thresholds of responses organized at spinal (spinal motor reflexes, SMRs), medullary (vocalizations elicited during shock, VDSs), and rhinencephalic-diencephalic (vocalization afterdischarges, VADs) levels of the neuraxis was assessed. Dose-dependent increases in response thresholds differed with the site of morphine injection. These results indicate that u,-opiatereceptor-linked systems in the mesencephalon, medulla, and spinal cord exert differential antinociceptive effects on pain behaviors organized at different levels of the neuraxis. A hypothesis is offered regarding the mechanisms through which morphine inhibits nociceptive transmission through various levels of the CNS. VADs are promoted as a model system for analyzing the affective-motivational dimension of the pain experience. It is well established that the administration of morphine into the periaqueductal gray, ventral medulla, or spinal subarachnoid space suppresses an animal's reaction to noxious stimulation (Bodnar, Williams, Lee, & Pasternak, 1988; Dickenson, Oliveras, & Besson, 1979; Takagi, Satoh, Akaike, Shibata, & Kuraishi, 1977; Yaksh & Rudy, 1977; Yaksh, Yeung, & Rudy, 1976). Pain behaviors that are organized either at spinal or supraspinal levels of the central nervous system (CNS) are susceptible to the antinociceptive action of these morphine treatments. Several studies have attempted to gauge the relative influence of these treatments on behaviors organized at spinal or supraspinal levels (Jensen, 1986; Jensen & Yaksh, 1986a, 1986b, 1989). The radiant heat/tail flick and hot plate/paw lick tests were used to assess spinally and supraspinally organized behaviors, respectively. I have previously detailed the difficulties in comparing the results from these tests (Borszcz, Johnson, Anderson, & Young, 1992; Borszcz, Lichtman, & Hughes, 1990). Briefly, these tests assess the animal's reaction to different stimuli (radiant heat vs. contact heat from the hot plate), applied to different locations on the animal that are composed of different skin types with different nociceptor distributions (tail-nonglabrous skin vs. foot pad-glabrous skin), either at different times following morphine treatment or in different groups of animals. In addition it is unlikely that these tests reflect morphine's
Tracking the leviathan

Bringing the State back in? I didn't know it was ever out. Albion Small, a pioneer of American sociology and the first chairman of the Chicago Department of Sociology wrote a treatise on The Camaralists, the German eighteenth-century founders of state administration. A good number of American sociologists of the first and second generation studied in Germany under such state-oriented "Sociologists of the Chair" as Gustav Schmoller and Adolf Wagner. Later generations of American sociologists knew that for Max Weber the study of social phenomena without reference to the state would be like writing about Hamlet without mentioning the Prince. Even though the title of this volume is misleading, it makes a lot of sense in relation to Marxist sociology. Marx developed his doctrine in principled opposition to Hegel, who stressed the predominant specific weight of the state; as opposed to Hegel's state-centered science, Marx argued for the centrality of civil society in capitalist civilization. Until fairly recently, the bulk of Marxist scholarship counterposed the anatomy of civil society to state theory, minimizing the important of the latter and maximizing that of the former. To the extent that the contributors to this book are former Marxists, the title of this book makes good sense. Marxist scholarship has discovered the "relative autonomy of the state" only in the last few decades. For those of us who have gotten rid of much Marxist baggage earlier, some of this work looks a bit like reinventing the wheel. We have known for a long time that the
Continuous flow left ventricular assist device technology has influenced wait times and affected donor allocation in cardiac transplantation

Objective Bridge to transplantation patients with continuous flow left ventricular assist devices (cfLVADs) are assigned United Network for Organ Sharing status 1A or 1B priority while awaiting orthotopic heart transplantation. We investigated the influence of cfLVAD on the waitlist times and organ allocation. Methods The United Network for Organ Sharing database was examined from 2005 to 2012 for patients with cfLVAD and pulsatile flow LVAD (pLVAD). These 2 cohorts were compared with patients who did not receive LVAD. Results Of 16,476 total orthotopic heart transplantations, 3270 (19.8%) were performed on patients with an LVAD as a bridge to transplantation. The cfLVAD group had the longest total waitlist time (259.6 days) compared with the pLVAD (134.6 days) and non-LVAD (121.7 days) groups ( P P P P = .12). Conclusions Despite being older, less favorable recipients, the cfLVAD patients spent more time in status 1A and had greater waitlist survival. This might allow cfLVAD patients to receive preferred donor hearts, which might allow for better post-transplant survival.
The role of occlusal stress and gingival infection in the formation of exostoses on mandible and maxilla from Neolithic China

Exostoses on the mandible and maxilla is a frequently observed bone growth of controversial aetiology. The aim of this study is to analyse environmental factors that may stimulate the formation of exostoses on different regions of the maxilla and mandible. Sixty-six well-preserved crania from Neolithic China were studied for the presence of buccal exostoses on the maxilla (BE) and lingual exostoses on the mandible (LME). Other oral health indicators, such as occlusal wear on molars, pathology of temporomandibular joint (TMJ), carious lesions, calculus accretion, periodontal disease, and antemortem tooth loss were recorded. Buccal maxillary exostosis was unusually common on the Neolithic skulls from China, which thus resemble the Sinantropus crania described by Weidenreich (1943). We report a significant Spearman correlation between BE and LME (rho = 0.54, P < 0.00001), suggesting a partially shared aetiology of these two types of exostoses. The highest correlations between either form of exostoses and any oral indicator of stress were found for pathology at TMJ (rho = 0.46, P < 0.0001 for both types of exostoses). Smaller but significant correlations were observed between LME and the age adjusted wear rate on lower molars, as well as between BE and indicators of oral/dental pathology, e.g. caries, calculus, periodontoses, and antemortem tooth loss. Both types of exostoses tended to increase in frequency with age, although a significant trend was observed only for BE. We conclude that formation of exostoses is a complex process that can be invoked by any agent causing damage and inflammation of gingival tissue. However, severe occlusal stress, which is often manifested in TMJ disorder, is the main environmental factor leading to exostosis development in genetically pre-disposed individuals.
Entitlement, Justification, and the Bootstrapping Problem

According to the bootstrapping problem, any view that allows for basic knowledge (knowledge obtained from a reliable source prior to one’s knowing that that source is reliable) is forced to accept that one can utilize a track-record argument to acquire justification for believing that one’s belief source is reliable; yet, we tend to think that acquiring justification in this way is too easy. In this paper I argue, first, that those who respond to the bootstrapping problem by denying basic knowledge succumb to over-intellectualizing epistemology, and secondly, reliabilist views avoid over-intellectualization only at the expense of sanctioning bootstrapping as a benign procedure. Both of these outcomes are difficult to bear. To ward off each of these unsavory outcomes, I propose an alternative solution that draws on a distinction between two separate epistemic concepts: entitlement and justification.
Electrostatic Shielding of a Charged Conducting Sphere by a Fine-Mesh Grounded Screen

The physical system considered is a charged conducting sphere held at a fixed absolute potential via a battery or some other power source. Another sphere, concentric with and larger than the first, is fabricated out of a fine-mesh screen and this outer screen is grounded. The objective is to calculate the effectiveness of the screen in reducing the electrostatic field at points outside of the system. A derivation based on elementary principles of electrostatics will show that the shielding effectiveness of the screen can be expressed in terms of the separation between the two spheres and another quantity, represented in the paper by B, that is an intrinsic property of the screen. Approximations will be used that require the screen to have a mesh size that is fine compared to other dimensions of the system. In particular, characteristic distances between mesh wires must be smaller (by an amount that was not numerically evaluated in this paper) than the separation between the charged sphere and the spherical screen shield. For a sufficiently simple mesh weave, B can be calculated. More generally, B for a given screen can be measured by measuring the capacitance per unit area and separation between a flat piece of the screen and a parallel metal plate. This method of measuring B is described in the report.
A Crisis of Confidence

The spread of gas centrifuge technology continues to undermine faith in nonproliferation's future. Is it time to throw in the towel?
Contextual control of appetitive conditioning: influence of a contextual stimulus generated by a partial reinforcement procedure.

Three experiments with rat subjects examined the effects of a context switch after conditioning treatments in which the conditioned stimulus (CS) was either paired with food on every presentation (continuous reinforcement) or on some of its presentations (partial reinforcement). In each experiment, a target CS was given one of these treatments in Context A, and another CS was given a treatment during sessions that were intermixed in Context B. Final tests of the target CS in Context A and Context B often revealed no loss of responding with the switch to B. However, a loss was observed when partial reinforcement had been associated with Context A and continuous reinforcement had been associated with Context B. Those conditions caused equal decrements in responding to partially reinforced and continuously reinforced targets. The results suggest that under the present conditions partial reinforcement can generate a contextual stimulus that becomes associated with the physical context and controls responding ...
Research summary of a scheme to ascertain the availability of speech information in the myoelectric signals of neck and head muscles using surface electrodes

The availability of speech information in the myoelectric signals (MES) of neck and head muscles was observed during five experiments conducted on two subjects. The MES of four channels, obtained using surface electrodes, was analog amplified, filtered and enhanced prior to digitization. Information was extracted at the rate of 20 points per second per channel using an average magnitude algorithm. The presence of speech related information was statistically verified with a pattern recognition algorithm based on the maximum likelihood algorithm. The results indicated that statistically significant (p = 0.01) information was present and that this scheme might be valuable in the future development of a vocal prosthesis.
Selectivities in biomimetic atom abstraction reactions

Abstract Selectivities of oxometalloporphyrin complexes towards hydrogen atom abstraction from substituted toluenes decrease in the order CrO > FeO > MnO, which is in accord with the force constants of the MO bonds in these model oxygenases.
Dynamical model for light composite fermions

A simple dynamical model for the internal structure of the three light lepton and quark generations (${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{e}$,$e$,$u$,$d$), (${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}$,$\ensuremath{\mu}$,$c$,$s$), and (${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\tau}}$,$\ensuremath{\tau}$,$t$,$b$) is proposed. Each generation is constructed of only one fundamental massive generation $F=({L}^{\ensuremath{\circ}},{L}^{\ensuremath{-}},U,D)$ with the same ${(\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{U}}_{3})}_{c}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{U}}_{2}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{\mathrm{U}}_{1}$ quantum numbers as the light generations, bound to a core of one or more massive Higgs bosons $H$, where $H$ is the single physical Higgs boson necessary for spontaneous symmetry breaking in the standard model. For example, ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}=[{L}^{\ensuremath{-}}H]$, ${\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}=[{L}^{\ensuremath{-}}HH]$, ${\ensuremath{\tau}}^{\ensuremath{-}}=[{L}^{\ensuremath{-}}HHH]$. It is shown that the known binding force due to $H$ exchange is attractive and strong enough to produce light bound states. Dynamical calculations for the bound-state composite fermions using the Bethe-Salpeter equation, together with some phenomenological imput, suggest ${M}_{H}\ensuremath{\sim}16$ TeV and ${M}_{F}\ensuremath{\sim}100$ GeV. It is likely that such bound states can have properties compatible with the up to now apparently elementary appearance of known fermions, for example, their Dirac magnetic moments and absence of intergeneration radiative decays (such as $\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}e\ensuremath{\delta}$). Phenomenological consequences and tests of the model are discussed.
Environmental contaminants and pregnancy outcomes

Objective To review selected environmental, occupational, and other important risk factors for the following adverse pregnancy outcomes: low birth weight (LBW), intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), and preterm delivery (PTD). Design The evidence is explored in greater detail for environmental tobacco smoke, drinking water disinfection byproducts, and organochlorine (DDT) and organophosphate pesticides, partly using a weight of evidence approach. Main Outcome Measure(s) Low birth weight and IUGR are surrogate measures of fetal growth that are determined at delivery. Low birth weight is defined as Result(s) Numerous factors are associated with these endpoints that may be important to consider in studies of environmental exposures, such as young or old maternal age, race/ethnicity, multiple births, low socioeconomic status, inadequate prenatal care, low maternal weight gain, and infections and premature rupture of the membranes. Environmental contaminants found associated with increased risk of one or more of the endpoints include: tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide, air pollutants, heavy metals, pesticides, chlorination byproducts, and solvents. Conclusion(s) Future research directions include measurement of exposure biomarkers during critical windows and consideration of genetic polymorphisms.
Mixed-element capture agents: a simple strategy for the construction of synthetic, high-affinity protein capture ligands.

Demonstration of a simple strategy to generate synthetic high-affinity protein capture agents of practical utility for protein-detecting microarrays. The model study highlights capture of the MBP−Mdm2 fusion protein on a solid support by a linear sequence of peptides that bind to the two individual polypeptide chains.