cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Minimally invasive posterior fixation

Significant advances have been made in the contemporary management of thoracolumbar spinal deformities, including improved segmental bony fixation, techniques for osteotomy, and mechanically powerful reduction maneuvers, which now allow the spinal surgeon to correct severe, complex, and rigid spinal deformities. However, one of the major limitations of surgical intervention has been the high complication rates associated with these surgical endeavors. Much of the morbidity associated with posterior deformity surgery relates to the extensive soft tissue destruction necessary to gain access to multiple segments of the axial skeleton. The open exposures for long-segment fixation result in additional blood loss, increased rates of infection, and prolonged immobilization caused by postoperative pain. Minimally invasive techniques attempt to overcome these drawbacks of the open exposures, and this report reviews preliminary experience in treating spinal deformities with long-segment minimally invasive internal fixation.
Synapses made by myelinated fibers running to teleost and elasmobranch retinas.

Myelinated fibers are described in teleost (carp, goldfish) and elasmobranch (dogfish) retinas which make synapses onto amacrine cell bodies and bipolar cell terminals. The fibers run in parallel with bundles of optic nerve fibers radiating from the optic disk until at some point they traverse the inner plexiform layer, turning again horizontally to course under the layer of amacrine cell bodies for 0.5–0.75 mm. En route each fiber makes several en passant synapses characterized by a cessation of the myelin sheath, a local increase in axonal diameter, an accumulation of agranular vesicles 300–400 A in diameter and increased densification of pre- and post-synaptic membranes. These fibers are not post-synaptic to any retinal element. The evidence that the myelinated fibers described form an efferent system is based on their resemblance in many particulars to the centrifugal fiber system innervating the pigeon retina. Degeneration experiments, however, could not distinguish conclusively between a true efferent system, originating in some central nucleus, and a recurrent collateral system branching from afferent optic nerve axons.
An approach to hybrid power systems integration considering different renewable energy technologies

Hybrid power systems need to be evaluated based on the requirements of high penetration renewable energy technology applications. Additionally, modeling and analysis storage systems integration are also necessary to increase the effectiveness of hybrid power configurations. In the present talk, a software based simulation to understand the hybrid power systems response considering various renewable energy technologies and energy storage options is presented, the solution to the problem allows the decision maker to quickly reach an optimal decision when considering the introduction of renewable energy sources to a micro-grid when taking into account the proper mathematical forecasts of both wind and solar resources, as well as considering accurate demand predictions and possible future economic scenarios. The paper explores the limitations of the software as well as its capabilities when modeling different sizes of hybrid micro-grids.
THE COLOR APPEARANCE OF STIMULI DETECTED VIA SHORT-WAVELENGTH-SENSITIVE CONES: COMPARISONS WITH VISUAL ADAPTATION AND VISUAL FIELD DATA FOR PERI- OR POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN UNDER 70 YEARS OF AGE

Dynamics of foveal light adaptation for vision mediated via short-wavelength-sensitive (SWS) cones were compared for two groups of healthy amenorrheic (peri- or post-menopausal) women not using hormonal medication. Each subject was assigned to a group based on the color name – “lavender” (~2/3 of all subjects) or “white” (~1/3 of all subjects) – chosen in a forced-response paradigm to best describe a threshold-level 440-nm test presented on a larger 3.6 log td 580-nm background that had been viewed for ~5 minutes. During the first 20–30 seconds after this 3.6 log td background abruptly replaced a much dimmer background, the threshold elevations (relative to the steady-state levels measured at ~5 minutes) were significantly greater for the lavender-naming subjects than for the white-naming subjects. However, exponential rates of recovery were indistinguishable for the two groups. A viable interpretation is that the gain of the visual response at background onset is greater for lavender-naming subjects than for white-naming subjects at or distal to a site where responses from middle-wavelength-sensitive and long-wavelength-sensitive (MWS and LWS) cones oppose responses from SWS cones. In addition, the color names derived from foveal testing were related systematically to extrafoveal sensitivities measured with Short Wavelength Automated Perimetry (SWAP), in a manner suggesting that response gain and/or response speed may be greater for lavender-naming subjects in the direction of increased SWS response also. Evidence from other subject populations suggests that the choice of color name and the dynamics of visual response each can be affected by alterations (particularly reductions) of estrogen synthesis and response.
Effects of dexamethasone and multiple-dose methylprednisolone on infarct size in experimental infarction.

Abstract We have found that maximum salvage of peri-infarct myocardial tissue can be achieved by administration of pharmacological doses of corticosteroids within the first hour following coronary occlusion. DMSP and MPSS are equally effective when given 1 hr after coronary artery occlusion. DMSP has some effect as late as 3 hr postocclusion but maximum effect at 1 hr. Multiple-dose MPSS within the first 3 hr may have some beneficial hemodynamic effects but results in no increased reduction in infarct size over a single dose given at 1 hr. The mechanism of action of the glucocorticoids remains unclear and further investigations are needed for determination of the intracellular changes that take place when steroids are given early after an induced myocardial infarct.
Surface integral equations for scattering by pec scatterers in isotropic chiral media

Abstract Maue obtained surface integral equations for a perfect electrically conducting (PEC) scatterer immersed in free space. His work has been extended here to the case when the scatterer is immersed in an isotropic chiral medium. En route, equivalent boundary conditions have been discussed and the equivalence principle has been formulated.
Ultrafast Time-Resolved Carotenoid to-Bacteriochlorophyll Energy Transfer in LH2 Complexes from Photosynthetic Bacteria

Steady-state and ultrafast time-resolved optical spectroscopic investigations have been carried out at 293 and 10 K on LH2 pigment−protein complexes isolated from three different strains of photosynthetic bacteria: Rhodobacter (Rb.) sphaeroides G1C, Rb. sphaeroides 2.4.1 (anaerobically and aerobically grown), and Rps. acidophila 10050. The LH2 complexes obtained from these strains contain the carotenoids, neurosporene, spheroidene, spheroidenone, and rhodopin glucoside, respectively. These molecules have a systematically increasing number of π-electron conjugated carbon−carbon double bonds. Steady-state absorption and fluorescence excitation experiments have revealed that the total efficiency of energy transfer from the carotenoids to bacteriochlorophyll is independent of temperature and nearly constant at ∼90% for the LH2 complexes containing neurosporene, spheroidene, spheroidenone, but drops to ∼53% for the complex containing rhodopin glucoside. Ultrafast transient absorption spectra in the near-infrar...
Cell type-specific transactivation of the VCAM-1 promoter through an NF-kappa B enhancer motif

Cytokine activation of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) gene expression by endothelial cells is an important feature in a variety of vascular inflammatory responses. Cytokines transcriptionally activate the VCAM-1 promoter in endothelial cells at least in part through two closely linked NF-kappa B enhancer motifs, kappa L-kappa R (positions -77 and -63). However, cytokine activation of the dimeric NF-kappa B transcriptional factor (p50+p65 subunits) occurs in almost all cell types, whereas VCAM-1 gene expression exhibits a cell type-specific pattern of expression. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha markedly transactivated a transiently transfected minimal kappa L-kappa R motif-driven VCAM-1 promoter, p85VCAMCAT, in passaged human vascular endothelial cells but not in the human epithelial cell line, HeLa suggesting that cell type-specific factors may function through the kappa L-kappa R motif. Both cell types exhibited similar inductions of NF-kappa DNA binding activity and transcriptional activity. However, co-transfection of HeLa cells with p65 and p50 expression vectors demonstrated that the minimal VCAM-1 promoter was effectively transactivated by p65 alone but that additional co-expression of p50 blocked this activity. Furthermore, cytokine activation of the minimal VCAM-1 promoter in HeLa cells was recovered by inhibition of p50 expression using antisense oligonucleotide. These studies suggest that the NF-kappa B(p50+p65 heterodimer) does not support transactivation of the VCAM-1 promoter with the p50 subunit potentially playing a significant inhibitory role in suppressing cytokine activation of VCAM-1. In addition, p65 associated transcriptional factors other than NF-kappa B may serve as positive, cytokine-inducible, cell type-specific regulators of VCAM-1 gene expression.
Laser Physical and Laser Chemical Vapor Deposition of TiN and TiNxOy Films

We have investigated the formation of polycrystalline TiN and amorphous TiN x O y films using laser physical (LPVD) and laser chemical (LCVD) vapor deposition techniques. The LPVD method involved the ablation of a TiN hot pressed pellet and Ti in the presence of nitrogen plasma using nanosecond XeCl excimer laser pulses (wavelength 308nm, pulse duration 45×10 −9 seconds, and energy density ∼4-5 Jcm −2 ). The films were polycrystalline (average grain size ∼100A) with face-centered-cubic structure and lattice constant of 4.25A. The average grain size remained constant as the substrate temperature ranged from 25 to 550°C. In the LCVD method, a pulsed CO 2 laser beam was used to crack TiCl 4 and NH 3 and form TiN films. Amorphous TiN x O y films were formed under poor vacuum conditions in the LPVD techniques. These amorphous TiN x O y films often exhibited explosive recrystallization with characteristic star patterns. Resistivity and microhardness measurements were made on these films and these results have been correlated with microstructure and chemical composition.
Wyner-Ziv video coding: A motion estimation perspective

Wyner-Ziv video coding has gained considerable interests in the research community. In this paper, we examine the Wyner-Ziv video coding performance and compare it with conventional motion-compensated prediction (MCP) based video coding. Theoretical and simulation results show that although Wyner-Ziv video coding can achieve as much as 6dB gain over conventional video coding without motion search, it still falls 6dB or more behind current best MCP-based INTER-frame video coding. We further investigate the use of sub-pixel and multi-reference motion search methods to improve Wyner-Ziv video coding efficiency.
Biomarkers in assessing residential insecticide exposures during pregnancy and effects on fetal growth.

The Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health is using a combination of environmental and biologic measures to evaluate the effects of prenatal insecticide exposures among urban minorities in New York City. Of the 571 women enrolled, 85% report using some form of pest control during pregnancy and 46% report using exterminators, can sprays, and/or pest bombs. Chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and propoxur were detected in 99.7-100% of 48-h personal air samples collected from the mothers during pregnancy (n = 394) and in 39-70% of blood samples collected from the mothers (n = 326) and/or newborns (n = 341) at delivery. Maternal and newborn blood levels are similar and highly correlated (r = 0.4-08, P 0.8). Results support recent regulatory action to phase out residential uses of these insecticides.
Dynamic and steady state flow of polypropylene/mica systems

Six compositions containing commercial polypropylene, PP, and monodispersed, untreated phlogopite mica were prepared. Their rheological properties were determined at 180°C in dynamic and capillary flows. The results are discussed in terms of strain-induced orientation of mica flakes. Two critical volume fractions were found to affect the flow: ψc defined as a concentration of flakes overlap and ψm as a concentration of maximum packing of freely sedimenting particles. At ψ > ψc yield stress and at ψ > ψm non-linearity in dynamic response were observed.
Effects of red and far-red light on the fluorescence yield of chlorophyll in vivo

Abstract The fluorescence of chlorophyll a and C-705 in green leaves has been investigated during the induction period of photosynthesis in air and in nitrogen. A brief illumination of a leaf with red light causes an increased yield of chlorophyll a fluorescence which persists for a longer period in nitrogen than air. The increased fluorescence yield, produced by red light, can be inhibited by a subsequent irradiation with far-red light. The action spectrum for the effect of far-red light shows a maximum near 705 mμ. The effects of red and far-red light on the fluorescence yield of chlorophyll a are thought to be another manifestation of the second Emerson effect.
Enhancing High-Order Above-Threshold Dissociation of H+2 Beams with Few-Cycle Laser Pulses

High-order (three-photon or more) above-threshold dissociation (ATD) of H(2)(+) has generally not been observed using 800 nm light. We demonstrate a strong enhancement of its probability using intense 7 fs laser pulses interacting with beams of H(2)(+), HD(+), and D(2)(+) ions. The mechanism invokes a dynamic control of the dissociation pathway. These measurements are supported by theory that additionally reveals, for the first time, an unexpectedly large contribution to ATD from highly excited electronic states.
CORPORATE MAKAHIKI: THE GOVERNING TELOS OF PEACE

Lono presided over the annual makahiki celebrations, which where held on the island for four consecutive months, usually from October or November through February or March. This was a time of ritual, sports competition, offerings to the chiefs, divination of the fruitfulness of the coming year, and much feasting and hula. During the makahiki war was forbidden, people did little work and enjoyed themselves.1
From Online Dialogue towards Critical Practice: Beginning School Administrators' Reflections

This paper reports on a case study of aspiring Canadian school leaders participating in a postgraduate online course in which the instructional approach was grounded in critical social theory. The focus was on using dialogue, questioning and critique as a means of uncovering assumptions, values and tensions as participants related their lived experiences as learners to those of students in their own educational settings. Initially, the critical approach induced feelings of vulnerability and ‘not measuring up’. Final outcomes were participants’ deeper understanding of how they learned, how their assumptions about education impacted their actions, and how their actions impacted their own students.
Breastfeeding structure as a test of parental investment theory in Papua New Guinea

Evolutionary parental investment theory predicts that parents invest preferentially in offspring best able to translate investments into fitness payoffs. It has also been proposed that where the reproductive prospects of offspring are directly correlated with parental investment and variance in fertility is higher for males than females parents in better condition should bias investment toward males while those in poorer condition should bias investment toward females. Lactation is arguably among the costliest forms of investment expended by mothers and is thus expected to be allocated in ways consistent with fitness payoffs. Quantitative data collected among 110 Papua New Guinean mother-infant pairs during 470 h of focal follows on nursing frequency and duration and responses to infant demands by maternal and offspring characteristics are presented to provide empirically-based descriptions of infant care and tests of evolutionary parental investment theory. Results indicate that mothers show very high levels of investment in offspring. However although breastfeeding in developing countries is often characterized as on-demand fussing and crying by infants were only attended to with breastfeeding about 30% of the time. Contrary to expectations of parental investment theory that parents should invest less in poorer quality offspring mothers increased investment in offspring in poorer condition. The expectation that mothers in better condition would bias investment toward male offspring was also not supported; better nourished mothers biased investment toward female offspring. This study illustrates how infant feeding data may be used for testing larger evolutionary questions such as those derived from parental investment theory.
Clinical practice. Early Alzheimer's disease.

A 72-year-old man seeks consultation at the urging of his wife for increasing difficulty with memory over the past 2 years. Clients at his brokerage firm have expressed concern about his occasional lapses in memory. His wife reports that he frequently repeats questions about social appointments and becomes angry when she points this out. The physical examination is normal, but the patient has difficulty remembering elements of a brief story and difficulty in adding a small amount of change. Alzheimer's disease is suspected. How should this patient be evaluated and treated?
Chronic renal failure: assessing the Fatigue Severity Scale for use among caregivers

Background. Quality of life for caregivers of end-stage renal disease patients has not been well addressed yet the physical and psychological status of this overlooked group can be important in the recovery or adaptation of patients with chronic renal failure, not to mention the caregivers themselves. One particular feature of the overall quality of life of such caregivers is that of fatigue. Aims and objectives. The purpose of the study was to test the Fatigue Severity Scale for potential usefulness in assessing fatigue among a non-medical population, caregivers of end-stage renal disease patients. Methods. Subjects completed a short battery of measures at either a dialysis centre or at home. Results. The Short Form-12 of the Short Form-36 and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale accounted for 56% of the variance on the Fatigue Severity Scale. The results suggest that physical fatigue may be more prominent than mental fatigue as a feature of caregiver quality of life. Conclusions. The Fatigue Severity Scale which has been used for multiple sclerosis patients may prove to be useful as a short assessment of fatigue among the non-medical population of end-stage renal disease caregivers. This may result in improved interventions for the population of caregivers. Relevance to clinical practice. Physicians, nurses and allied health professionals will be called on more frequently to assess and intervene with fatigued and overburdened caregivers in addition to patients themselves. A more thorough understanding of the nature of caregiver fatigue may drive changes or innovations with caregivers who are too often overlooked in the current era of scarce resources. Accordingly results of the study suggest that the direction in intervention may focus more on rest and respite as opposed to a need for psychosocial support or counselling. While there are various modes for assessing end-stage renal disease caregivers’ fatigue, a simple measure like the Fatigue Severity Scale is brief enough to be administered without undue demand on practitioners or caregivers.
Troubling Adult Learning in the Present Time

This chapter raises the prospect of a newly emerging epistemological ecotone where adult learning has characteristics of both foundational (modern) and postmodern ways of knowing.
Differences between public relations and corporate social responsibility: An analysis

Abstract This article compares corporate social responsibility and corporate public relations by reviewing their origins, theories, processes, and primary responsibilities and found them to be quite similar in these respects. By comparing the two disciplines, theorists and practitioners can gain greater insight into each field. The comparison reveals a key difference whereby effective communication methods are largely absent from the social responsibility literature; yet by including such techniques, one can enhance the development and overall impact of managing corporate–stakeholder relationships. A communication management approach, which is linked to stakeholder analysis, is offered. Cynthia Clark is an assistant professor in the College of Communication at Boston University where she teaches Corporate Communication.
A route to wear resistant PTFE via trace loadings of functionalized nanofillers

Abstract A fluorosilane nanoparticle surface treatment of alumina nanoparticles was studied to test a hypothesis that reduced surface energy would improve dispersion and extend wear resistance of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to trace nanoparticle loadings. Dry sliding wear tests were performed on PTFE nanocomposites with 0.00, 0.13, 0.50 and 1.00% untreated and treated 40 nm α phase alumina nanoparticles. The untreated alumina reduced the wear of PTFE by 10–100× at 0.13% loading with variability typical of lightly loaded PTFE nanocomposites. The treated nanoparticles reduced the wear of PTFE by 6000× at 0.13% loading and demonstrated no evidence of variability; wear was improved 6000–10,000× with 0.13–1% nanoparticle loading. AFM morphology studies revealed that the α phase alumina nanoparticles altered the PTFE morphology. Correlation between PTFE wear resistance and morphology was demonstrated as far less effective δ:γ phase alumina had no appreciable effect on PTFE morphology. During TEM dispersion characterization, the untreated nanoparticles were found primarily in clusters while treated nanoparticles were found individually dispersed. It is believed that the surface properties of the α phase particles induce a wear resistant PTFE morphology, while the fluorosilane treatment facilitated dispersion and extended the beneficial effects of the nanoparticles to significantly lower loadings.
The effects of a 4-week after-school program on motor skills and fitness of kindergarten and first-grade students.

Abstract Purpose To examine the effects of an after-school NutriActive program on anthropometric measurements, motor skills, and fitness levels of young children. Design In this quasi-experimental study, anthropometric, motor skill, and fitness measurements were compared between intervention and control students at baseline, following a 4-week intervention, and after a summer break (4 months). Setting Two intervention and two control microurban elementary schools. Subjects Forty-two intervention and 28 control kindergarten and first-grade students (50% boys, 82% Caucasian). Intervention A 4-week program consisted daily of a morning walk and an after-school physical activity lesson with an emphasis on motor skill development, nutrition/health lesson, snack, and nonstructured active play. Measures Body mass index, waist circumference, and fitness and motor skill levels. Analysis Repeated-measures analysis of variance, t-test, and stepwise regression. Results The intervention group scored significantly bette...
A review of the taphonomy of plant remains in lacustrine sediments

Abstract Lacustrine sediments contain rich plant fossil assemblages because of rapid accumulation rates and the often close proximity of lakes to wetland and upland vegetation. An understanding of modern sedimentological processes that control accumulation of plant remains in lakes enhances the interpretation of ancient plant assemblages recovered from lacustrine rocks. The abundances of taxa in Holocene sediments and the degree of preservation are related to the distance and mode of transportation and to biological and mechanical degradation. These facts and the natural diversity of lacustrine sediments complicate the interpretation of fossil assemblages. Nevertheless, careful analysis of several factors increases the probability of correctly deciphering an ancient lacustrine assemblage of plant remains: (1) observation of mega- and microfossils; (2) analysis of faunal remains in context with plant remains and sediments; and (3) traditional bed-form and sedimentary structure analyses. Studies of the remarkable fossil occurrences from the Eocene of western North America, the Triassic of the eastern U.S., and the Permo-Triassic of South Africa provide an especially valuable body of paleofloristic data. Classic paleobotanical sites in the U.S., in particular, now require reinvestigation in the light of improved appreciation of the complexity of lacustrine phytotaphonomy.
Amplification of a squeezed-quadrature using a cascaded traveling-wave phase-sensitive optical parametric amplifier

We demonstrate a two-stage system of cascaded traveling-wave phase-sensitive optical parametric amplifiers, achieving 3.6dB squeezed-quadrature amplification (0.9dB deamplification) on top of 1.3 dB squeezing provided by the first stage.
The Celution® System: Automated Processing of Adipose-Derived Regenerative Cells in a Functionally Closed System

Objective: To develop a closed, automated system that standardizes the processing of human adipose tissue to obtain and concentrate regenerative cells suitable for clinical treatment of thermal and radioactive burn wounds. Approach: A medical device was designed to automate processing of adipose tissue to obtain a clinical-grade cell output of stromal vascular cells that may be used immediately as a therapy for a number of conditions, including nonhealing wounds resulting from radiation damage. Results: The Celution® System reliably and reproducibly generated adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs) from tissue collected manually and from three commercial power-assisted liposuction devices. The entire process of introducing tissue into the system, tissue washing and proteolytic digestion, isolation and concentration of the nonadipocyte nucleated cell fraction, and return to the patient as a wound therapeutic, can be achieved in approximately 1.5 h. An alternative approach that applies ultrasound energy ...
Applications of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) in biological research: a review.

SUMMARY Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a potentially valuable but not fully exploited technique for problems in biological research. It is valuable because of: (1) detection of all elements and isotopes from mass 1, hydrogen; (2) high sensitivity for physiologically important elements, Na, K, Mg, Ca; (3) ion imaging of elements in areas as large as 250 μm in diameter with a lateral resolution of 0·5 μm; (4) promising efforts at quantitation at levels as low as 0·1 mmol/kg; (5) ability to analyse sequential layers to form a three-dimensional analysis. The problems which complicate its use are primarily variations in ion emission, presence of polyatomic interferences and tissue preparation. Examples are cited of SIMS analysis of biomineralization, botany, toxicology and physiology, mostly by ion imaging techniques. SIMS has not yet been fully exploited for any single biological problem. In particular, studies using isotope discrimination, quantitative analysis and depth profiling will enhance the usefulness of SIMS as a technique for biological research.
Recovery and Viability of Edwardsiella ictaluri from Great Blue Herons Ardea herodias Fed E. ictaluri‐Infected Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus Fingerlings

. Feeding activities of great blue herons Ardea herodias in catfish ponds during outbreaks of enteric septicemia of catfish have been implicated as a mechanism for the transmission of the disease from infected to uninfected ponds. Although Edwardsiella ictaluri, the causative agent, has been identified in gastrointestinal tracts of great blue herons, the role of these birds as a vector of E. ictaluri is not well documented. The potential of these birds to contaminate catfish ponds with E. ictaluri was investigated by feeding captive herons over a 4-d period with catfish fingerlings injected intraperitoneally with live E. ictaluri. Daily fecal samples, throat and rectal swabs, and feather samples were collected, cultured and examined for E. ictaluri using both a selective media and a monoclonal indirect fluorescent antibody test specific for E. ictaluri. Gastrointestinal tracts sampled at the conclusion of the feeding trial were similarly examined. While E. ictaluri was detected using the indirect fluorescent antibody test, no viable E. ictaluri was cultured from either feces, gastrointestinal tracts or feathers. Growth of E. ictaluri was not observed at 40 C, the rectal temperature observed in captive great blue herons. Prior incubation at 40 C suppressed the growth of E. ictaluri at 24 C, an optimal temperature for growth of this bacterium. These results indicate that great blue herons appear to play little or no role in the transmission of E. ictaluri among catfish ponds.
An Urban View: Catherine Bauer's Five Questions

Catherine Bauer, recently designated a "planning pioneer" by the American Institute of Certified Planners, was a major theorist in the field of planning between 1934 and 1964, a critical era for the profession. Her influence rested on a variety of positions that she took in her writing. This paper surveys this work and shows how she focused on five questions treating housing, urban redevelopment, regional planning, suburbanization, social planning, and urbanization in the third world. No one in the profession today is duplicating Bauer's role as an observer and critic of the urban world.
Retroactive interference in rat radial maze performance: The role of point of delay interpolation and the similarity and amount of interpolated material

The conditions necessary for producing retroactive interference (RI) were examined in a 12-arm radial maze. Rats were first given either three or nine forced choices in a to-be-remembered maze. During a 2-h delay, they received one or two trials in a second 12-arm maze, located either in a different room or the same room as the to-be-remembered maze. During the postdelay memory test, RI from the interference trials was produced only when nine choices had been made in the to-be-remembered maze and two interference trials had been conducted during the delay interval. RI was not found when only three forced choices had to be retained or after a single interference trial. The similarity between the interpolated and to-be-remembered mazes had no effect on choice accuracy. It was concluded that two conditions are required for the production of RI in the radial maze. First, a “large amount” of information should be resident in working memory. Second, a substantial number of interpolated trials or choices must be made during the delay.
2010 Special Issue: Detecting contingencies: An infomax approach

The ability to detect social contingencies plays an important role in the social and emotional development of infants. Analyzing this problem from a computational perspective may provide important clues for understanding social development, as well as for the synthesis of social behavior in robots. In this paper, we show that the turn-taking behaviors observed in infants during contingency detection situations are tuned to optimally gather information as to whether a person is responsive to them. We show that simple reinforcement learning mechanisms can explain how infants acquire these efficient contingency detection schemas. The key is to use the reduction of uncertainty (information gain) as a reward signal. The result is an interesting form of learning in which the learner rewards itself for conducting actions that help reduce its own sense of uncertainty. This paper illustrates the possibilities of an emerging area of computer science and engineering that focuses on the computational understanding of human behavior and on its synthesis in robots. We believe that the theory of stochastic optimal control will play a key role providing a formal mathematical foundation for this newly emerging discipline.
Acquisition of timing and Doppler-shift in a direct-sequence spread spectrum system

The paper presents a model for acquisition of a spread-spectrum signal distorted by Doppler shifts. The authors attempt a joint acquisition of both the time delay and the distorting Doppler velocity. They consider the case where the ratio of platform to propagation velocity, v/sub r//c is large enough to generate time compression of the pseudo-noise (PN) sequence itself. A Doppler effect of this type may be encountered in underwater acoustic or intersatellite communications. The simultaneous presence of the unknown Doppler shift and timing necessitates a substantial modification of conventional acquisition strategies. A two-dwell system, using a short duration correlation to acquire the timing information, with a subsequent longer correlation to acquire the Doppler velocity is proposed. The joint acquisition process is modeled by a finite state Markov chain, and the performance of the system is characterized by the mean and variance of the acquisition time. Two systems of linear equations that can be solved for the mean and variance, respectively, are developed. The matrices specifying the systems can be solved efficiently. As a particular example, the authors analyze the performance of systems with spread-spectrum signals having sequence lengths of 15 and 63 chips. It is shown that the two-dwell system can acquire timing and Doppler shifts in a reasonable time period. Although the system studied is not well-suited to multiple-access or antijam applications, the analysis techniques developed may prove useful in evaluating the performance of more complex acquisition techniques. >
Effective Beginning Reading Instruction

I argue that the National Reading Panel was too narrow in its presentation of scientifically-valid reading instructional research. Although the findings summarized by the Panel were valid, they were but a sampling of the many instructional practices that enjoy scientific support, most emphatically, in experiments and quasi-experiments (i.e., in the types of studies favored by the Panel). A sampler of practices that enjoy support but were ignored by the Panel is presented, as is discussion of qualitative research that was out of bounds because of the methodological strictures of the Panel. I conclude that most of the cutting edge of the scientific study of reading is entirely missing from the Panel's report, which emphasized findings massively supported by data, findings that are generally accepted by the scientific community concerned with reading instruction.
Depression, Hopelessness, and the Desire for Life-Saving Treatments Among Elderly Medically Ill Veterans

During a serious medical illness, several factors, including perceived quality of life, social support, functional disability, severity of illness, and presence of depressive symptoms, influence desire for life-saving treatments such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), mechanical ventilation, tube feeding, and intravenous fluids. The authors examined the influence of depression and hopelessness on preferences for life- saving treatment in older, medically ill male patients in the medical service of a Veterans Administration Medical Center. Subjects with high levels of hopelessness desired less life-saving treatment during their current illness; they were at least five times more likely to refuse CPR if required during the current hospitalization. This effect remained statistically significant after removing confounds of race, education, and religiosity. The diagnosis of major depression did not significantly influence the desire for life-saving treatment. Our findings suggest that psychiatrists should assess patients for severity of hopelessness when evaluating decision-making capacity in the context of intervention refusal.
Use of Gas Chromatography and Alcohol Dehydrogenase in a Routine Procedure for the Determination of Ethanol in Postmortem Blood

A routine procedure for determination of ethanol in postmortem blood utilizing both gas chromatography (GC) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is presented. A single analysis by each method was performed on 727 postmortem blood specimens containing ethanol. Good correlation between GC and ADH results were obtained for specimens containing ethanol In the ranges of 14-100 rag% (r = 0.948) and 101-300 rag% (r = 0.934). Twenty-one specimens analyzed in triplicate by each method gave highly correlated ethanol concentrations, r = 0.997. When Wilcoxon's signed-ranks test was applied to the data, values obtained using the ADH method were found to be slightly higher than those obtained by GC, (P<~ 0.05).
PREPARATION OF CAFFEIC AND DIHYDROCAFFEIC ACIDS BY METHODS SUITABLE FOR INTRODUCTION OF C14 INTO THE β-POSITION

3,4-(Dibenzyloxy)-benzoyl chloride (m.p. 95°) was prepared from the corresponding acid, and reduced to 3,4-(dibenzyloxy)-benzaldehyde (m.p. 86°) by Rosenmund's method. The over-all yield of this al...
Our element: Flesh and democracy in Merleau-Ponty

Although Merleau-Ponty’s early phenomenology of perception and his essays on art, politics, and language already showed an affinity between the aesthetic phenomena of expression and style and the political and cultural dynamics of society at large, this paper specifically focuses on his late theorizing of the notion of flesh and its relevance to his late understanding of politics and democracy. The emergence of flesh as a concept was contemporary to Merleau-Ponty’s break with Marxism as a philosophical model and with revolutionary dialectics as a political project. It is by showing that such a break was consistently grounded on his theorizing of the being flesh of both the body and of society that this paper shows Merleau-Ponty’s unique contribution to democratic theory and to contemporary political philosophy. In the course of this analysis, it will become clear that in philosophically breaking with the position of a “no that is a yes”—i.e. the model of the revolution, which implies a total negation of the given that becomes a total affirmation of the new order (dictatorship) once in power—he would politically embrace the Weberian “heroic liberalism”—or his “non-communist left”—of parliamentary democracy.
Maximum isometric moments generated by the wrist muscles in flexion-extension and radial-ulnar deviation.

Abstract Maximum isometric and passive moments about the wrist were measured for a range of flexion-extension and radial-ulnar deviation angles in 10 healthy adult males. Each subject was seated in a test apparatus with his shoulder abducted 90°, elbow flexed 90°, and body and forearm constrained. Peak flexion moments ranged from 5.2 to 18.7 N m (mean = 12.2, SD = 3.7), while peak extension moments ranged from 3.4 to 9.4 N m (mean = 7.1, SD = 2.1). The average flexion moment peaked at 40° of flexion, whereas the average extension moment was relatively constant from 30° flexion to 70° extension. Peak moments generated by the radial and ulnar deviators ranged from 7.9 to 15.3 N m (mean = 11.0, SD = 2.0) and 5.9 to 11.9 N m (mean = 9.5, SD = 2.2), respectively. Passive moments in flexion-extension were near zero in the central 150° of motion, but increased at the end of the range of motion. The average passive moment was 0.5 N m in 90° flexion and 1.2 N m in 90° extension. Average passive moments about the radial-ulnar deviation axis were near zero with the wrist radially deviated and at neutral, but increased to 0.9 N m in full ulnar deviation.
Maximum Likelihood Wavelet Density Estimation With Applications to Image and Shape Matching

Density estimation for observational data plays an integral role in a broad spectrum of applications, e.g., statistical data analysis and information-theoretic image registration. Of late, wavelet-based density estimators have gained in popularity due to their ability to approximate a large class of functions, adapting well to difficult situations such as when densities exhibit abrupt changes. The decision to work with wavelet density estimators brings along with it theoretical considerations (e.g., non-negativity, integrability) and empirical issues (e.g., computation of basis coefficients) that must be addressed in order to obtain a bona fide density. In this paper, we present a new method to accurately estimate a non-negative density which directly addresses many of the problems in practical wavelet density estimation. We cast the estimation procedure in a maximum likelihood framework which estimates the square root of the density , allowing us to obtain the natural non-negative density representation . Analysis of this method will bring to light a remarkable theoretical connection with the Fisher information of the density and, consequently, lead to an efficient constrained optimization procedure to estimate the wavelet coefficients. We illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithm by evaluating its performance on mutual information-based image registration, shape point set alignment, and empirical comparisons to known densities. The present method is also compared to fixed and variable bandwidth kernel density estimators.
Einstein relation for electron diffusion on arrays of weakly coupled quantum dots

The transport of electrons on arrays of weakly coupled quantum dots is studied using computer simulations. Distinct minima in the conductivity of the arrays are found for conditions that correspond to filled shells and to integer charging of the quantum dots when the size distribution of the dots is sufficiently small. It is found that the Fickian diffusion coefficient for electrons deviates strongly from that predicted using the Einstein relation, especially in regions where the conductivity spectrum of the array shows minima due to a Coulomb blockade or shell filling.
When Higher Quality Does Not Translate to Higher Prices: A Case of Quality and Specialty Coffees from the Cup of Excellence Auctions

This study investigates the Cup of Excellence coffee auctions and explains with behavioral economics observed intransitives in choice sets. Buyers are selecting lower quality coffees and paying higher prices for these coffees because they receive a higher rank. The estimates suggest that the representativeness and the framing heuristics explain the price premium for higher ranked coffees.
Student violence and the moral dimensions of education

Student violence has started to appear in schools in extreme forms. Various causes have been suggested, including TV violence, dysfunctional families, grinding poverty, child abuse, domestic violence, poor emotional and cognitive development, drugs, gangs, inequitable educational opportunity, and latchkey homes. A number of programs have been initiated to deal with this problem which focus on limiting the entry of weapons into the schools and managing aggressiveness. Unfortunately many of these programs fail to address the more fundamental causes of violence and aggression. A more effective means of prevention involves helping children become more responsible members of families, schools, and neighborhoods. School counselors and school psychologists have an important leadership role in helping reduce violence by promoting the moral dimensions of education, including the development of effective learning communities and encouraging school experiences which help children become more resilient in meeting the challenges they face each day without resorting to violence. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Specific antibody in gingiva and submandibular nodes of monkeys with allergic periodontal disease.

Gingiva and submandibular lymph nodes from 12 squirrel monkeys that had been sensitized to ovalbumin, and from 4 unsensitized monkeys, were studied for the presence of cells containing specific antibody after intracrevicular challenge with ovalbumin-soaked thread. Immunofluorescent methods were used to identify antibody to ovalbumin in cells in these tissues. The chronic allergic response in the gingiva of sensitized animals that had been challenged three times per week for three months did include cells containing antibody to the antigen used for sensitization and challenge. Such cells were not found in gingiva from similarly treated unsensitized monkeys, or from sensitized monkeys challenged for a shorter time. A few antibody-containing cells were found in the submandibular lymph nodes ipsilateral to chronic intracrevicular placement of antigen in unsensitized animals, indicating active sensitization by gingival absorption of antigen. Antibody formation by cells in submandibular nodes, induced by systemic sensitization, was continued in nodes ipsilateral to gingival challenge, but tended to disappear in contralateral nodes.
Cooperative effects of fibronectin matrix assembly and initial cell-substrate adhesion strength in cellular self-assembly.

Abstract The cell-dependent polymerization of intercellular fibronectin fibrils can stimulate cells to self-assemble into multicellular structures. The local physical cues that support fibronectin-mediated cellular self-assembly are largely unknown. Here, fibronectin matrix analogs were used as synthetic adhesive substrates to model cell–matrix fibronectin fibrils having different integrin-binding specificity, affinity, and/or density. We utilized this model to quantitatively assess the relationship between adhesive forces derived from cell–substrate interactions and the ability of fibronectin fibril assembly to induce cellular self-assembly. Results indicate that the strength of initial, rather than mature, cell–substrate attachments correlates with the ability of substrates to support fibronectin-mediated cellular self-assembly. The cellular response to soluble fibronectin was bimodal and independent of the integrin-binding specificity of the substrate; increasing soluble fibronectin levels above a critical threshold increased aggregate cohesion on permissive substrates. Once aggregates formed, continuous fibronectin polymerization was necessary to maintain cohesion. During self-assembly, soluble fibronectin decreased cell–substrate adhesion strength and induced aggregate cohesion via a Rho-dependent mechanism, suggesting that the balance of contractile forces derived from fibronectin fibrils within cell–cell versus cell–substrate adhesions controls self-assembly and aggregate cohesion. Thus, initial cell–substrate attachment strength may provide a quantitative basis with which to build predictive models of fibronectin-mediated microtissue fabrication on a variety of substrates. Statement of Significance Cellular self-assembly is a process by which cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins spontaneously organize into three-dimensional (3D) tissues in the absence of external forces. Cellular self-assembly can be initiated in vitro, and represents a potential tool for tissue engineers to organize cells into modular building blocks for artificial tissue fabrication. Fibronectin is an ECM protein that plays a key role in tissue formation during embryonic development. Additionally, the cell-mediated process of converting soluble fibronectin into insoluble, ECM-associated fibrils has been shown to initiate cellular self-assembly in vitro. In this study, we examine the relationship between the strength of cell–substrate adhesions and the ability of fibronectin fibril assembly to induce cellular self-assembly. Our results indicate that substrate composition and density play cooperative roles with cell-mediated fibronectin matrix assembly to control the transition of cells from 2D monolayers into 3D multicellular aggregates. Results of this study provide a quantitative approach to build predictive models of cellular self-assembly, as well as a simple cell-culture platform to produce biomimetic units for modular tissue engineering.