cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SMART: secure mobile augmented reality for tele-assistance

At the outset, Augmented Reality (AR) technology in mobile applications is heavily leveraged. Mobile AR, as it is called is gaining popularity across all domains. This makes content security a prime area of concern. Hence it is inherent that the security and privacy concerns need to be addressed. In this paper, we propose “SMART” (Secure Mobile Augmented Reality for Tele-Assistance), a system which addresses the security and privacy issues associated with MART (Mobile Augmented Reality for Tele-Assistance) applications. We address the problem of image privacy which is a major concern in AR. This issue is addressed by using Attribute Based Encryption (ABE) method, which ensures a user profile based privacy. The identified privacy regions are encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and the AES keys are protected using ABE. Only the user with a valid access profile will be able to decrypt the image. A Pub-Sub architecture is used to communicate between the field and end users on UDP connection through a broker using MQTT protocol. In this paper, we demonstrate the end-to-end working of the system through prototype implementation. The performance of the system is also evaluated on the criteria of latency and packet size.
Faces of a polyhedron

We survey some results on faces of a convex polyhedron incident at a degenerate extreme point. We discuss applications of these to the problem of enumerating the efficient faces in a multi-objective linear program.
Diethyldithiocarbamate, a novel immunomodulator, prolongs survival in autoimmune MRL-lpr/lpr mice.

Abstract MRL - lpr lpr mice die at an early age from a spontaneously developing systemic lupus erythematosus-like disease and are characterized by massive lymphadenopathy, hyperproliferation of Lyt-2 L3T4 (null) T cells, decreased responses to mitogens, thymic atrophy, and very high serum autoantibody levels. Diethyldithiocarbamate (DTC), an immunomodulator suggested to enhance T cells, was used to treat 12-week-old female MRL - lpr lpr mice (25 mg/kg/week). DTC treatment significantly prolonged survival (50% mortality, 43 weeks vs 20 weeks). Increased survival was associated with decreased lymphadenopathy, decreased proliferation of null cells, restoration of impaired mitogen responses, decreased thymic atrophy, and decreased serum levels of anti-DNA and anti-histone antibodies. Studies of cell surface antigen phenotype demonstrated increased expression of Lyt-2 and macrophage surface antigens. No effect on L3T4 single staining cells was observed. These results show that DTC significantly alters the disease course in these mice and suggest that DTC may be a useful treatment for autoimmune disease.
Caveolin-3 Regulates Protein Kinase A Modulation of the CaV3.2 (α1H) T-type Ca2+ Channels

Voltage-gated T-type Ca2+ channel Cav3.2 (α1H) subunit, responsible for T-type Ca2+ current, is expressed in different tissues and participates in Ca2+ entry, hormonal secretion, pacemaker activity, and arrhythmia. The precise subcellular localization and regulation of Cav3.2 channels in native cells is unknown. Caveolae containing scaffolding protein caveolin-3 (Cav-3) localize many ion channels, signaling proteins and provide temporal and spatial regulation of intracellular Ca2+ in different cells. We examined the localization and regulation of the Cav3.2 channels in cardiomyocytes. Immunogold labeling and electron microscopy analysis demonstrated co-localization of the Cav3.2 channel and Cav-3 relative to caveolae in ventricular myocytes. Co-immunoprecipitation from neonatal ventricular myocytes or transiently transfected HEK293 cells demonstrated that Cav3.1 and Cav3.2 channels co-immunoprecipitate with Cav-3. GST pulldown analysis confirmed that the N terminus region of Cav-3 closely interacts with Cav3.2 channels. Whole cell patch clamp analysis demonstrated that co-expression of Cav-3 significantly decreased the peak Cav3.2 current density in HEK293 cells, whereas co-expression of Cav-3 did not alter peak Cav3.1 current density. In neonatal mouse ventricular myocytes, overexpression of Cav-3 inhibited the peak T-type calcium current (ICa,T) and adenovirus (AdCav3.2)-mediated increase in peak Cav3.2 current, but did not affect the L-type current. The protein kinase A-dependent stimulation of ICa,T by 8-Br-cAMP (membrane permeable cAMP analog) was abolished by siRNA directed against Cav-3. Our findings on functional modulation of the Cav3.2 channels by Cav-3 is important for understanding the compartmentalized regulation of Ca2+ signaling during normal and pathological processes.
An analysis of engineering students' use of instructor feedback and an online writing tutorial during drafting and revision

This study is part of an ongoing research effort to provide every engineering student the opportunity to learn technical communication concepts via an integrated system of learning and feedback tools, including an online technical communication learning resource developed for this population. Students in a junior-level engineering course were presented with two different forms of instructor feedback on their writing tasks: in-line comments embedded in the students' papers, and an “interactive pdf” rubric that included summative feedback based on the in-line comments, as well as hyperlinks that, if clicked, take students directly to pertinent module in our online writing tutorial. Because the online tutorial tracks students' login and access data, we were able to monitor if, whether, and when students were using our online tool during drafting and revision periods. Results indicate that although the interactive pdf increased traffic slightly to the online tutorials (as compared to a previous cohort), students prefer to rely on the instructor's in-line comments as a just-in-time revision strategy.
Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina bauri) on Ancient, Anthropogenic Shell Work Islands in the Ten Thousand Islands Mangrove Estuary, Florida, USA

Abstract We investigated the ecology, distribution, and density of Florida Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri Taylor, 1895) populations in the Ten Thousand Islands (TTI), an estuarine mangrove ecosystem in southwestern Florida. The distribution and ecology of Box Turtles in this region and this habitat type have not been previously investigated. The study area encompassed 18 islands and included five natural islands, 13 man-made shell islands, and adjacent mangrove environments. Two hundred and twenty-nine live Box Turtles and 95 Box Turtle shells were detected a total of 409 times on seven of the 18 islands. The seven islands where Box Turtles were detected ranged in size from 7.3 to 31.0 ha and were ancient shell work sites, apparently constructed by the Calusa or other Prehistoric Indians approximately 1,900 to 900 years before present (ybp). Box Turtles were not detected on natural islands. We detected Box Turtles primarily in subtropical hardwood hammock forests, but we detected 10% of turtles in m...
ARC: a self-tuning, low overhead replacement cache

We consider the problem of cache management in a demand paging scenario with uniform page sizes. We propose a new cache management policy, namely, Adaptive Replacement Cache (ARC), that has several advantages. In response to evolving and changing access patterns, ARC dynamically, adaptively, and continually balances between the recency and frequency components in an online and selftuning fashion. The policy ARC uses a learning rule to adaptively and continually revise its assumptions about the workload. The policy ARC is empirically universal, that is, it empirically performs as well as a certain fixed replacement policy-even when the latter uses the best workload-specific tuning parameter that was selected in an offline fashion. Consequently, ARC works uniformly well across varied workloads and cache sizes without any need for workload specific a priori knowledge or tuning. Various policies such as LRU-2, 2Q, LRFU, and LIRS require user-defined parameters, and, unfortunately, no single choice works uniformly well across different workloads and cache sizes. The policy ARC is simple-to-implement and, like LRU, has constant complexity per request. In comparison, policies LRU-2 and LRFU both require logarithmic time complexity in the cache size. The policy ARC is scan-resistant: it allows one-time sequential requests to pass through without polluting the cache. On 23 real-life traces drawn from numerous domains, ARC leads to substantial performance gains over LRU for a wide range of cache sizes. For example, for a SPC1 like synthetic benchmark, at 4GB cache, LRU delivers a hit ratio of 9.19% while ARC achieves a hit ratio of 20.
Water‐soluble copolymers. XLII. Cationic polyelectrolytes of acrylamide and 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanetrimethylammonium chloride

The new monomer 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanetrimethylammonium chloride (AMP-TAC, M2) has been synthesized. Free radical copolymerization with acrylamide (AM, M1) in feed ratios varying from 10 to 50 mol % AMPTAC gave the cationic ATAM series. Copolymer compositions were determined from 13C-NMR. The reactivity ratio product r1r2 was found to be 0.62. Molecular weights varied from 1.4 to 16.5 × 106 g/mol for the copolymers. Turbidimetric studies showed aqueous solutions of the copolymers to be phase stable in the presence of CaCl2 and Na2CO3 up to 100°C. Solution behavior was independent of pH in the range of 3 to 11, and temperature in the range of 25 to 60°C. Intrinsic viscosities of the cationic copolymers decreased with the addition of electrolytes; however, some samples showed curvature in plots of intrinsic viscosity versus the inverse square root of ionic strength. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Mothers' help seeking as care initiated in a social context

Purpose: To develop from the literature a rationale for a theoretical model of help seeking by mothers of young infants and to explore this model for two mothers. Significance: Components of the help that mothers of young infants often seek concerning caregiving are specified and linked in the theoretical model. This type of model is needed to support research and development of theory concerning help seeking. Organizing framework: Working model includes: (a) the meaning to the mother of a caregiving situation; (b) her goals in seeking help; (c) formal and informal sources of help; and (d) a mother's expectations about accessibility of help and her willingness to seek help. Scope and sources: Forty-six mothers of healthy, full-term infants completed a self-report form 3 months after the infant's birth. Responses of two mothers are used to illustrate the model. Data extraction: Mothers used categorical options to describe the four working model components for four hypothetical infant-care situations derived from mothers’reports in an earlier study. Mothers used ordinal rating scales to describe their help seeking in general. Findings: The two mothers expected help sources to be accessible and were willing to seek help for caregiving from all types of help sources. Although both viewed themselves as having little need of help, both reported they would seek help for all the hypothetical problems. However, the women differed in what they wanted from help and from whom they would seek it and in variability in several working model components across caregiving situations. Conclusions: Examination of the two mothers’responses suggests that the theoretical model provides a base for study of mothers’help seeking. Maternal experience and environmental and personal conditions may shape working model components. Further model development may require a narrative approach to learn about conditions associated with help seeking as well as to obtain a full sense of the meaning and evpectation components of the working model. Implications: Knowledge of a mother's working model of help seeking can aid clinicians in responding sensitively to requests for help and in supporting a mother in seeking help.
A course in the theory of mental tests

An outline for a course in test theory is presented, together with a list of assignments, problems, and a bibliography. The course has been given in the Psychology Department of the University of Chicago. The material is presented in outline form at the present time because of the increased need for training in test theory due to the increase in the use of psychological tests for classification of military personnel, and because much of the material in such a course must be selected from a wide array of articles in the literature. This material is presented in order that an organized body of material for instructional purposes may be readily available to those interested.
Dirac neutrino magnetic moments in the left-right symmetric model

Abstract Voloshin, Vysotski and Okun have suggested that the apparent anticorrelation between the solar-neutrino flux and the sun-spot number can be understood if the electron neutrino has magnetic moment in the range 10 −11 –10 −10 μ B . The conventional left-right symmetric model of electroweak interactions is ideally suited for the electron neutrino o acquire a magnetic moment of this order if the model is supplemented with Zee's charged singlet Higgs. However, the problem of reconciling naturally the large value of the magnetic moment with the neutrino mass in the eV range still persists in the model.
Inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis by the di-n-butyl ester of methotrexate.

Abstract The effects of dibutyl methotrexate (DBMTX) on the incorporation into DNA of labelled deoxynucleosides have been studied in a variety of cultured cell lines. In serum-free conditions DBMTX consistently inhibited thymidine and deoxyuridine incorporation. Prior incubation of DBMTX in 10% mouse serum abolished the inhibition of thymidine incorporation but did not influence the inhibition of deoxyuridine incorporation. Identical results were observed in cell lines resistant to methotrexate because of increased levels of dihydrofolate reductase or altered drug transport characteristics. Citrovorum factor prevented only partially the effects of DBMTX in serum-free cultures.
Objective self-awareness as a nonaversive state: Effect of anticipating discrepancy reduction

The possibility that self-aware subjects in previous objective sell-awareness studies displayed heightened negative affect and avoidance reactions because they were made to focus on permanent negative discrepancies was investigated in the present research. Subjects were first induced to regard a negative real-ideal discrepancy as either permanent or reducible in size, and then were either made or not made objectively self-aware. As expected, those self-aware subjects who anticipated no reduction in discrepancy size were found to be more negative in mood and quicker to exit from the experimental room than were their counterparts in the other three conditions. It was concluded that self-focused attention only generates aversive reactions when it brings to awareness a negative real-ideal discrepancy which the individual feels cannot be altered.
A GAP in Convergent Extension Scores PAR

The process of "convergence and extension" regulates cellular intercalation during gastrulation. An ArfGAP-PAR protein complex is required for the associated cellular polarization. Potential interactions between this complex and relevant planar cell polarity factors in this context are discussed.
WATER‐SOLUBLE VITAMIN CONTENT OF SOME CALIFORNIA WINES

The thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, niacin, biotin, fo- late, pantothenate and vitamin C levels in several American wines were determined. Five types of white wine and eight types of red wine were examined. The levels of the eight B-vitamins were higher in the red wines than in the white. Nutritionally significant levels of riboflavin, vitamin B6 and niacin were found in the red wines. Folate levels of the wines were lower than reported in earlier studies. Statistical evaluation of the thiamine data indicated the presence of inhibition in these as- says.
Crime and Delinquency Control Strategy in Japan: A Comparative Note

The Editor spent the entire summer of 1987 in the Far East. In early June, the Editor visited three universities in the People's Republic of China (PRC)—Henan University in Kaifeng, Zhenjou Light Industry Institute in Zhenjou, and Luoyang Institute of Technology in Luoyang—in the Chinese Henan Province for two weeks. From the middle of June, the Editor was visiting professor in the College of Law, Meiji University in Tokyo, Japan, for five weeks. During this period, the Editor had occasion to lecture at Taisho University, Kokugakuin University, and Kinki University in Osaka. The Editor's earlier visit to Japan occurred in the spring semester of 1982—a sabbatical year—and resulted in collaborative research undertakings with a number of Japanese professors in the correctional field of study, a comparative study on police perceptions, and the relatively new field of “aquatic crime.” (See Hikaku Hosei, Vol. 23, No. 24, March, 1985 article entitled Crime and Delinquency Prevention Strategy in Japan, with Sadah...
Oscillations in the premotor cortex: single-unit activity from awake, behaving monkeys.

We examined single-unit activity in the dorsal premotor cortex for evidence of fast neuronal oscillations. Four rhesus monkeys performed a task in which visuospatial instruction stimuli indicated the direction of forelimb movement to be executed on each trial. After an instructed delay period of 1.5–3 s, movements to either the right or left of a central origin were triggered by a second visuospatial stimulus. From a database of 579 single units, 78 units (13%) contained periodic peaks in their autocorrelation histograms (ACHs), with oscillation frequencies typically 20–30 Hz (mean 27 Hz). An additional 26 units (5%) had oscillatory features that were identified in joint interspike-interval (ISI) plots. Three observations, taken together, suggest entrainment by rhythmic drive extrinsic to these neurons: shuffling ISIs attenuated ACH peaks, indicating a dependency on serial-order effects; oscillation frequency did not change during either increases or decreases in firing rate; and joint ISI plots contained features consistent with a rhythmicity interrupted by intervening discharges. In some cells, oscillations occurred for only one of the two directions of movement. During the delay period, such directional selectivity was observed in 37 units (60% of delay-period oscillators). For at least 17 of these units, we could exclude the possibility that oscillatory directional selectivity resulted from the difficulty in detecting oscillations due to low discharge rates (for one of the two movement directions). Directional selectivity in fast oscillations shows that they can reflect specific aspects of an intended action.
The Bacillus cereus containing sub-branch most closely related to Bacillus anthracis, have single amino acid substitutions in small acid-soluble proteins, while remaining sub-branches are more variable.

Abstract Hoffmaster et al. [Hoffmaster AR, Ravel J, Rasko DA, Chapman GD, Chute MD, Marston CK, et al. Identification of anthrax toxin genes in Bacillus cereus associated with illness resembling inhalation anthrax. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004;101:8449–54; Hoffmaster AR, Hill KK, Gee JE, Marston CK, De BK, Popovic T, et al. Characterization of Bacillus cereus isolates associated with fatal pneumonias: strains are closely related to Bacillus anthracis and harbor B. anthracis virulence genes. J Clin Microbiol 2006;44:3352–60] phylogenetically divided Bacillus cereus strains into 10 branches by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) with Branch F including all Bacillus anthracis strains and pneumonia-causing strains of B. cereus . There are four sub-branches within Branch F, referred to here as F1-A, F1-B, F2-A and F2-B. The B. anthracis strains are found within sub-branch F1-B. Concerning, the currently available B. cereus pneumonia-causing isolates, one was found to categorize within sub-branch F1-B and two within F2-B. In the following work the sequence variation between B. cereus strains was determined by MALDI-TOF MS and MS–MS for each strain of B. cereus in Branch F. ESI-MS was performed on selected strains for confirmation. Small acid-soluble proteins (SASPs) of B. cereus strains found in F1-B showed a single amino acid substitution, while strains in the other three sub-branches were more variable generally showing one or two amino acid substitutions. The single substitutions always occurred in the C-terminus. Double substitutions occurred in both N and C termini. Of the pneumonia-causing strains, one exhibited a single amino acid substitution, while the other two exhibited a two amino acid substitution.
A Proinflammatory, Antiapoptotic Phenotype Underlies the Susceptibility to Acute Pancreatitis in Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator (−/−) Mice

Background & Aims: Cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene mutations are associated with pancreatic insufficiency and pancreatitis. Chronic pancreatitis, including cystic fibrosis-related disease, may exist as a continuum between acute and chronic disease and may manifest as recurrent pain. We hypothesized that cftr m1UNC (−/−) mice, which have no evidence of chronic pancreatitis, are susceptible to developing acute pancreatitis. Methods: We used a cerulein hyperstimulation model of acute pancreatitis and measured histological changes, tissue edema, neutrophil infiltration, inflammatory mediators' mRNA expression, apoptosis markers, and pancreatic trypsin and serum lipase activities. Additionally, we quantitated in vivo pancreatic secretion and pancreatic digestive enzymes. Results: Multiple proinflammatory cytokine genes were constitutively overexpressed in cftr (−/−) pancreas compared with wild-type mice. During acute pancreatitis, cftr (−/−) mice developed more severe acute pancreatitis than wild-type, as indicated by greater pancreatic edema, neutrophil infiltration, mRNA expression of multiple inflammatory mediators, and less apoptotic cell death. In contrast to wild-type mice, cftr (−/−) mice had blunted increases in pancreatic trypsin and serum lipase activities, but similar percentages of pancreatic trypsinogen activation. Finally, cftr (−/−) mice had less in vivo pancreatic secretion in response to cholecystokinin octapeptide and reduced pancreatic digestive enzyme protein and mRNA levels, thus suggesting mild pancreatic insufficiency. Conclusions: A baseline proinflammatory state and an antiapoptotic phenotype may sensitize cftr (−/−) mice to developing more severe acute pancreatitis with an exuberant pancreatic inflammatory response. Cftr (−/−) mice have mild pancreatic insufficiency, which partially explains the blunted increase of pancreatic and serum digestive enzymes during acute pancreatitis. These findings may explain the susceptibility to acute pancreatitis in persons with classic and nonclassic cystic fibrosis.
Effect of molecular weight distribution on fatigue crack propagation in poly(methyl methacrylate)

It is well established that both molecular weight (M) and its distribution (MD) affect many polymer properties such as mechanical behavior. Thus studies have shown that fatigue life is enhanced by increases in M. Research here has shown that with notched specimens fatigue crack propagation (FCP) rates are dramatically decreased by increasing M, even when the M is high enough that the static fraeture energy has essentially reached its asymptotic limit. In this study, specimens of poly(methyl methacrylate) containing either high- or low-M tails were prepared and characterized. The earlier finding that FCP rates are inversely related to average M was confirmed, but specific effects of M distribution were observed. At constant Mn, a low-M tail had little effect on FCP resistance, while a high-M tail improved FCP resistance of polymers whose average M was too low for effective entanglements. Thus with high-M tails, it was possible to test specimens whose average M's were too low to permit machining. It is proposed that the effects noted are due to relative stabilization or destabilization of crazes ahead of the crack.
A Nanoparticle-Based Model Delivery System To Guide the Rational Design of Gene Delivery to the Liver. 1. Synthesis and Characterization

Nonviral gene delivery systems are amenable to forming colloidal particles with a wide range of physicochemical properties that include size, surface charge, and density and type of ligand presented. However, it is not known how to best design these particles without having a set of physicochemical design constraints that have been optimized for the intended gene delivery application. Here, a nanoparticle-based model delivery system is developed that can mimic the surface properties of nonviral gene delivery particles, and this model system is used to define design constraints that should be applied to next generation gene delivery particles. As a test case, a well-defined nanoparticle-based system is developed to guide the rational design of gene delivery to hepatocytes in the liver. The synthetic scheme utilizes monodisperse polystyrene particles and provides for variation of mean particle size and particle size distribution through variation in reaction conditions. The nanoparticles are PEGylated to provide stability in serum and also incorporate targeting ligands, e.g., galactose, at tunable densities. Four nanoparticles are synthesized from uniformly sized polystyrene beads specifically for the purpose of identifying design constraints to guide next generation gene delivery to the liver. These four nanoparticles are Gal-50 and Gal-140, that are galactosylated 50 and 140 nm nanoparticles, and MeO-50 and MeO-140, that are methoxy-terminated 50 and 140 nm nanoparticles. All four particles have the same surface charge, and Gal-50 and Gal-140 have the same surface galactose density. The availability of galactose ligands to receptor binding is demonstrated here by agglutination with RCA_(120).
An Analysis of Motivation Constructs with First-Year Engineering Students: Relationships Among Expectancies, Values, Achievement, and Career Plans

Background Researchers have identified many factors affecting undergraduate engineering students' achievement and persistence. Yet, much of this research focuses on persistence within academia, with less attention to career plans after graduation. Furthermore, the relative influence of expectancy-versus value-related beliefs on students' achievement and career plans is not fully understood. Purpose (Hypothesis) To address these gaps, we examined the relationships among the following motivation constructs for female and male first-year engineering students: (a) expectancy-related constructs that included engineering self-efficacy (i.e., a judgment of one's ability to perform a task in engineering) and expectancy for success in engineering (i.e., the belief in the possibility of success in engineering); (b) value-related constructs that included identification with engineering (i.e., the extent to which one defines the self through a role or performance in engineering) and engineering values (i.e., beliefs related to engineering interest, importance, and usefulness); (c) engineering achievement; and (d) engineering career plans. Design/Method Participants included 363 first-year engineering students at a large state university. The students completed an online survey instrument in the first and second semester of their first year. Results Students' expectancy- and value-related beliefs decreased over the first year for both men and women. Men reported higher levels for expectancy-related beliefs than women. Expectancy-related constructs predicted achievement better than the value-related constructs, whereas value-related constructs predicted career plans better for both men and women. Conclusions Expectancy- and value-related constructs predicted different outcomes. Thus, both types of constructs are needed to understand students' achievement and career plans in engineering.
Improvements in non-verbal cue identification using multilingual phone strings

Today's state-of-the-art front-ends for multilingual speech-to-speech translation systems apply monolingual speech recognizers trained for a single language and/or accent. The monolingual speech engine is usually adaptable to an unknown speaker over time using unsupervised training methods; however, if the speaker was seen during training, their specialized acoustic model will be applied, since it achieves better performance. In order to make full use of specialized acoustic models in this proposed scenario, it is necessary to automatically identify the speaker with high accuracy. Furthermore, monolingual speech recognizers currently rely on the fact that language and/or accent will be selected beforehand by the user. This requires the user's cooperation and an interface which easily allows for such selection. Both requirements are awkward and error-prone, especially when translation services are provided for many languages using small devices like PDAs or telephones. For these scenarios, front-ends are desired which automatically identify the spoken language or accent. We believe that the automatic identification of an utterance's non-verbal cues, such as language, accent and speaker, are necessary to the successful deployment of speech-to-speech translation systems.
Single-unit In vivo Recordings from the Optic Chiasm of Rat

Information about the visual world is transmitted to the brain in sequences of action potentials in retinal ganglion cell axons that make up the optic nerve. In vivo recordings of ganglion cell spike trains in several animal models have revealed much of what is known about how the early visual system processes and encodes visual information. However, such recordings have been rare in one of the most common animal models, the rat, possibly owing to difficulty in detecting spikes fired by small diameter axons. The many retinal disease models involving rats motivate a need for characterizing the functional properties of ganglion cells without disturbing the eye, as with intraocular or in vitro recordings. Here, we demonstrate a method for recording ganglion cell spike trains from the optic chiasm of the anesthetized rat. We first show how to fabricate tungsten-in-glass electrodes that can pick up electrical activity from single ganglion cell axons in rat. The electrodes outperform all commercial ones that we have tried. We then illustrate our custom-designed stereotaxic system for in vivo visual neurophysiology experiments and our procedures for animal preparation and reliable and stable electrode placement in the optic chiasm.
Sensorineural hearing loss in combined modality treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Combined modality therapy has become the standard of care for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, yet the combined ototoxic effects of radiation and cisplatin are poorly understood. The incidence and severity of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) with combined modality therapy was evaluated and the dose–response relation between radiation and hearing loss was investigated. METHODS Patients with newly diagnosed AJCC Stage II–IVB nasopharynx carcinoma treated from 1994–2003 were identified. The records of 44 ears in 22 patients who received a preirradiation pure tone audiogram and followup audiograms 12+ months postirradiation were included in the analysis. All patients were treated with conformal radiotherapy to 70 Gy and received platinum-based chemotherapy similar to the Intergroup 0099 trial. Composite cochlear dose distributions were calculated. Ototoxicity was measured using intrasubject audiogram comparisons and SNHL was defined as per the American Speech and Hearing Association guidelines, with standard range of speech between 2000–4000 Hz. SNHL was analyzed using Fisher exact test and linear and logistic regression models. RESULTS Patient characteristics: median age, 45; 27% Asian; 68% male; 64% WHO III. Median audiologic followup was 29 months (range, 12–76 mos). Mean cochlear dose (Dmean) ranged from 28.4–70.0 Gy (median, 48.5 Gy). SNHL was detected in 25 of the 44 ears (57%) studied. There was an increased risk of SNHL for ears receiving Dmean > 48 Gy compared with those receiving ≤ 48 Gy at all frequencies within the range of speech (P = 0.04). Using univariate logistic regression analysis, Dmean to the cochlea, cycles of cisplatin, and time postradiotherapy were independently significant factors in determining the incidence of SNHL (P = 0.02, P = 0.03, and P = 0.04, respectively). In univariate and multivariate linear regression analysis, Dmean was statistically significant at all frequencies in affecting degree of SNHL, whereas the significance of cisplatin and time was variable. CONCLUSIONS There was a significant increase in risk of SNHL among patients receiving > 48 Gy, suggesting a threshold in cochlear radiation dose–response in the setting of combined modality therapy. This dose should serve as a Dmean constraint maximum for intensity-modulated radiotherapy treatment of nasopharynx carcinoma. Cancer 2006. © 2006 American Cancer Society.
Development of filial attachment to static visual features of an imprinting object

Three experiments investigated the fact that the static visual features of an imprinting object (its color, size, and shape characteristics, as represented by the object remaining stationary during its presentation) can gradually acquire control over filial behavior by virtue of their repeated spatial-temporal pairing with visual motion—an effect that has been interpreted as a process of classical conditioning. Experiment 1 found that the static features can acquire control if they are made conspicuous in some other, nonmovement way (i.e., by manipulating the relative illumination of the imprinting object). Further experiments then failed to find any qualitative difference between the behavioral control developed by conspicuous but static aspects of a duckling’s environment and the control developed by the static features of a moving object, either in terms of persistence of the acquired control (Experiment 2) or in terms of possible restrictions imposed by the sensitive period for imprinting (Experiment 3). Taken together, these results support the plausibility of a perceptual learning hypothesis, although the classical conditioning view was not itself contradicted. The present findings are also relevant to the broader issue of whether any valid distinctions exist between the behavioral control exerted by static aspects of a precocial bird’s environment and the control exerted by animate, presumably social stimuli.
The National Bureau of Standards fresh water lake sediment environmental-level radioactivity standard reference material

The National Bureau of Standards has, for the past five years, been developing natural-matrix, environmental-level radioactivity Standard Reference Materials in large quantities to be available to users over a ten year time period. These materials have been found to be useful for the evaluation of radiochemical methods and analysis, as interlaboratory comparison materials, and as quality assurance materials. To date, six Standard Reference Materials have been issued: River Sediment, Human Lung, Human Liver, Rocky Flats Soil-1, Freshwater Lake Sediment, and Peruvian Soil. The concentrations of twenty radionuclides have been certified in these materials.
Item Parameter Invariance of the Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test Across Male and Female Samples

The Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT™) is an individually administered test of intelligence for individuals ranging in age from 11 to 85+ years. The item response theory—likelihood ratio procedure, based on the two-parameter logistic model, was used to detect differential item functioning (DIF) in the KAIT across males and females in the standardization sample. Root mean squared differences and item parameter differences were used to indicate the magnitude of DIF and identify which group the item parameter favored. A z test of proportion differences was conducted to determine if the number of parameters exhibiting gender DIF exceeded the number expected by chance, estimated by randomly dividing the sample in half and repeating the analyses. Of the 176 item parameters examined, 42 (24%) lacked invariance, with most items reporting uniform DIF. Implications for test score interpretation and future research are discussed.
Modeling user action planning: A comprehension based approach

We review our efforts to model user command production in an attempt to characterize the knowledge users of computers have at various stages of learning. We modeled computer users with a system called NETWORK (Mannes and Kintsch, 1988; 1991) and modeled novice, intermediate, and expert UNIX command production data collected by Doane et al. (1990b) with a system called UNICOM (Doane et al., 1989a; 1991). We use the construction-integration theory of comprehension proposed by Kintsch (1988) as a framework for our analyses. By focusing on how instructions activate the knowledge rele/ant to the performance of the specified task, we have successfully modeled major aspects of correct user performance by incorporating in the model knowledge about individual commands and knowledge that allows the correct combination of elementary commands into complex, novel commands. Thus, experts can be modeled in both NETWORK and in UNICOM. We further show that salient aspects of novice and intermediate performance can be described by removing critical elements of knowledge from the expert UNICOM model. Results suggest that our comprehension-based approach has promise for understanding user interactions and implications for system design are discussed.
Frequency of hypothyroidism in adults with serum total cholesterol levels >200 mg/dl

the fact that group II was slightly older and had a lower male/female ratio than group I, we found that prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation (>20 minutes) by itself does not have to be a contraindication to thrombolytic therapy. Furthermore, although there were no differences in neurologic outcome, we observed a reduction in cardiac morbidity and mortality. We think randomized prospective studies must be undertaken to investigate the effect of thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute myocardial infarction and prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Also, a comparison of advantages and disadvantages of mechanical revascularization with thrombolytic therapy in these group of patients needs to be undertaken.
Cutting balloon inflation for drug-eluting stent underexpansion due to unrecognized coronary arterial calcification

Unrecognized calcification is a cause of stent underexpansion which significantly increases the subsequent risks of restenosis and/or stent thrombosis. We describe the use of cutting balloon inflation within the implanted stent which overcame calcific restraint unresponsive to high pressure inflations with non-compliant balloons.
ANION INFLUENCE ON SOME SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

ABSTRACT Addition of HCl, H 2 SO 4 , and H 3 PO 4 to montmorillonite clay and a montmorillonitic soil had little effect on the liquid limit of these materials over a wide range of concentrations. The liquid limit of a kaolinitic soil clay was reduced markedly by both HCl and H 2 SO 4 , whereas H 3 PO 4 decreased the liquid limit value at lower concentrations and increased it at higher ones. These results are discussed in light of the charge variability and of anion retention by the kaolinitic soil.
Two-dimensional Kinetics Regulation of αLβ2-ICAM-1 Interaction by Conformational Changes of the αL-Inserted Domain

The leukocyte integrin αLβ2 mediates cell adhesion and migration during inflammatory and immune responses. Ligand binding of αLβ2 is regulated by or induces conformational changes in the inserted (I) domain. By using a micropipette, we measured the conformational regulation of two-dimensional (2D) binding affinity and the kinetics of cell-bound intercellular adhesion molecule-1 interacting with αLβ2 or isolated I domain expressed on K562 cells. Locking the I domain into open and intermediate conformations with a disulfide bond increased the affinities by ∼8000- and ∼30-fold, respectively, from the locked closed conformation, which has similar affinity as the wild-type I domain. Most surprisingly, the 2D affinity increases were due mostly to the 2D on-rate increases, as the 2D off-rates only decreased by severalfold. The wild-type αLβ2, but not its I domain in isolation, could be up-regulated by Mn2+ or Mg2+ to have high affinities and on-rates. Locking the I domain in any of the three conformations abolished the ability of divalent cations to regulate 2D affinity. These results indicate that a downward displacement of the I domain C-terminal helix, induced by conformational changes of other domains of the αLβ2, is required for affinity and on-rate up-regulation.
Association of fasting insulin with blood pressure and lipids in young adults. The CARDIA study.

The association of insulin with cardiovascular disease (CVD) may be mediated in part by the associations of insulin with CVD risk factors, particularly blood pressure and serum lipids. These associations were examined in 4576 black and white young adults in the CARDIA Study. Fasting insulin level was correlated in univariate analysis with systolic blood pressure (r = 0.16), diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.13), triglycerides (r = 0.27), total cholesterol (r = 0.10), high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (r = -0.25), and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (r = 0.14), and with age, sex, race, glucose, body mass index, alcohol intake, cigarette use, physical activity, and treadmill duration (all p less than 0.0001). After adjustment for these covariates, insulin remained positively associated with blood pressure, triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B and was negatively associated with HDL, HDL2 and HDL3 cholesterol, and apolipoprotein A-I in all four race-sex groups. Higher levels of fasting insulin are associated with unfavorable levels of CVD risk factors in young adults; these associations, though relatively small, can be expected to increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Demonstration of these relationships in a large, racially diverse, healthy population suggests that insulin may be an important intermediate risk factor for CVD in a broad segment of the U.S. population.
A successful model for citizen scientist involvement in building a statewide at-risk butterfly database

Long-term population trend data are not available for most butterfly species in many areas. Historically, this has meant that many governmental agencies make conservation decisions affecting this group of organisms with limited knowledge about their existing populations. To remedy this situation in Florida, a statewide database containing locations of at-risk butterfly species on conservation lands was developed primarily through the efforts of citizen scientists. This paper describes the data collection methodology that was used and presents several cases studies showing how this database has already made a difference in shaping the decision-making process to help in the conservation of at-risk butterfly species. A discussion of the methodologies used to generate the at-risk butterfly database, relative to more traditional butterfly monitoring surveys, is presented and recommendations are made on ways to optimize the contributions of volunteers to insect conservation and research programs.
Evidence For A Circulating Sodium-Potassium Pump Inhibitor in Low Renin Hypertension

In 1978, we reported that supernate of boiled plasma from acutely volume expanded dogs and rats reduces sodium-potassium pump activity when applied to the tail artery from a normal rat and then in 1980 we reported that the same is the case for plasma supernate from the dog with one-kidney, one wrapped hypertension, a model of low renin hypertension. Since then, we and a number of other investigators have described sodium-potassium pump inhibitory activity in the plasma of animals and humans with hypertension, particularly of the low renin variety. The activity results from a heat stable small molecule, probably the putative natriuretic hormone. It appears to be released from the hypothalamus in response to cardiopulmonary vascular distention subsequent to failure of the kidney to excrete the prevailing sodium and water intake. It probably acts on blood vessels both directly (electrogenic depolarization) and indirectly (inhibition of norepinephrine reuptake into adrenergic nerve terminals). While it may be...
Inorganic phosphate: its effects on Ca exchange and compartmentalization in cultured heart cells.

Abstract Studies have been performed to investigate the effects of inorganic phosphate (P i ) on 45 Ca exchange in cultured myocardial cells. Two effects on Ca exchange can be differentiated by the use of pH variation. Below pH = 7.2 addition of P i to the perfusate augments 45 Ca uptake. This augmentation is blocked by inhibition of mitochondrial respiration (Warfarin or Antimycin A) and is, therefore, attributable to enhanced mitochondrial 45 Ca uptake. Above pH 7.2 and in the presence of 10 m m P i small increases in pH (0.2 units) induce a further 1.8 fold increase in the rate of 45 Ca uptake. This further increase cannot be blocked by inhibition of mitochondrial respiration. The increase is proportional to the concentration of PO 4 3− and is proposed to be dependent upon inhibition of the sarcolemmal NaK pump with subsequent augmented NaCa exchange. Thus small changes inpH disclose two effects of P i on Ca exchange, one in the mitochondria based upon provision of a proton donor and the other at the sarcolemma based upon inhibition of the NaK pump.
Phenanthrene degradation by estuarine surface microlayer and bulk water microbial populations.

Paired surface microlayer and bulk water samples from five sites in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire, were examined with regard to numbers of bacteria,14C-phenanthrene biodegradation potentials, and organic and inorganic chemical characteristics. Microlayer samples were generally enriched in nutrients (N and P), dissolved organic matter, and culturable heterotrophic bacteria compared with their corresponding bulk waters. Microlayer samples from marina environments were also enriched in aromatic hydrocarbons, as determined by UV spectrophotometric and fluorometric analyses, and demonstrated substantial phenanthrene biodegradation activity in the assay employed. Biodegradation activity of marina bulk water samples ranged from nil to levels exceeding those exhibited by microlayer samples. No diminution of biodegradation activity was observed after filtration (1.2 μm effective retention) of microlayer water, indicating that the responsible organisms were not particle-associated. Phenanthrene-degrading bacteria, enumerated by counting clearing zones in a crystalline phenanthrene overlay after colony development on a phenanthrene/toluene agar (PTA) medium, were superior to epifluorescence direct counts or standard plate counts on PTA or estuarine nutrient agar in predicting14C-phenanthrene biodegradative activity.
Maximal transport in the Lorenz equations

Abstract We derive rigorous upper bounds on the transport 〈 X Y 〉 where 〈 ⋅ 〉 indicates time average, for solutions of the Lorenz equations without assuming statistical stationarity. The bounds are saturated by nontrivial steady (albeit often unstable) states, and hence they are sharp. Moreover, using an optimal control formulation we prove that no other flow protocol of the same strength, i.e., no other function of time X ( t ) driving the Y ( t ) and Z ( t ) variables while satisfying the basic balance 〈 X 2 〉 = 〈 X Y 〉 , produces higher transport.