cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acquisition of Nicotine Self-Administration in Adolescent Rats Given Prolonged Access to the Drug

As most human tobacco use begins during adolescence and ongoing development of the adolescent central nervous system could affect acquisition of nicotine self-administration (SA), our established rat SA procedure was modified to study adolescent acquisition of SA with prolonged access to nicotine (23 h/day). Postnatal age 43–45 female Lewis rats, without prior shaping, conditioning, or food deprivation, were housed in operant chambers equipped with two levers; pressing the active lever triggered an i.v. injection of nicotine. By the 10th day of SA, rats receiving 7.5, 15, 30, or 60 μg/kg/injection nicotine (free base) obtained 23±16, 50±8, 65±8, or 48±5 injections (mean±SE), respectively. In the 30 μg/kg/injection group, active : inactive ratio was greater than 2 after SA day 4; 92% of injections occurred during the 12-h active (dark) phase of the light cycle. Main effects (analysis of variance) were shown for day and lever (ie active vs inactive) (p<0.001). Adolescent males showed similar dose-dependent nicotine SA. With the increasing workload imposed by raising the fixed ratio (FR), less nicotine was self-administered at FR 5 and 7 compared to FR 1 and 3. In comparison to adult females self-administering 30 μg/kg/injection of nicotine at FR 1, adolescents acquired nicotine SA at an accelerated rate (p<0.05) and received a greater number of injections (p<0.05) by day 10. In conclusion, when given prolonged access to the drug, both female and male adolescent Lewis rats rapidly acquire nicotine SA within the dosage range and FR constraints previously observed in adult Lewis rats. However, adolescent females acquired the behavior more rapidly and attained higher levels of stable nicotine SA than adults.
Molecular approaches to the study of evolution and phylogeny of the Nemertina

Molecular biological tools currently available to us are revolutionizing the way in which we can address questions in evolutionary biology. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of molecular techniques and applications available to biologists who are interested in evolutionary studies but who have little acquaintance with molecular biology. In evolutionary biology, techniques designed to determine degree of nucleic acid similarity are in common use and will be dealt with first. Another approach, namely gene expression studies, has strong implications for evolutionary biology but generally requires substantial familiarity with molecular biological tools. Expression studies provide powerful tools for discerning processes of speciation, as in the selection of genetic variants, as well as discerning lineages, e.g., expression of specific homeobox genes during segment formation. For investigations where either nucleic acid identity or gene expression are the ultimate goal, detailed information, protocols and appropriate controls are beyond the scope of this work but, where possible, recent review articles are cited.
The inhibition of enzyme induction and ammonia assimilation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by sulfhydryl compounds and by cobalt, and its reversal by iron

Abstract Cobalt ions displace iron from cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cobalt also inhibits the induction of urease and of the enzymes for oxidation of putrescine, γ-aminobutyric acid, and benzoate. The assimilation of ammonium ions is also inhibited. In most instances the inhibitions are overcome by inorganic iron salts. Similar inhibitions are obtained with a variety of sulfhydryl compounds, chelating agents, and p-chloromercuribenzoate. The results indicate that iron, probably bound by the cell membrane, is necessary for substrate transport and ammonium ion assimilation.
1110 HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA INDUCED BY ZINC DEFICIENCY

Serum lipid abnormalities have been found to be associated with zinc deficiency (Zn-). We observed that serum triglycerides (TG) responded rapidly to alterations in zinc nutritional status. After 7 days on Zn- diet (Zn 1 ppm), TG were increased by 200%, whereas in rats fed a control (C) diet (100 ppm) no changes in TG levels were recorded. By continuing the Zn- diet the TG increased gradually to 600% of the initial value after day 28, when TG leveled off. Thus, the elevation in TG preceded clinical signs of Zn-, and the elevation in TG is higher in the more severely deficient rats. Zn- rats fed the C diet or a Zn enriched (Zn +) diet (500 ppm) were repleted with Zn rapidly and TG decreased to normal values. Thus, hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) of Zn- is reversible when dietary Zn is increased and body stores of Zn are repleted. The HTG may be related to the decrease in post heparin plasma lipoprotein lipase between Zn- (370 ± 98 DPM glycerol release/mg protein/30 min) and C (510 ± 124). To test the hypothesis that Zn- rats have a higher level of endogenous lipid production, in vitro liver metabolism experiments were undertaken. Liver slices were incubated with (14C) glucose or (14C) palmitate and their utilization for TG synthesis and 14C02 production was measured. The results showed higher incorporation into TG in Zn- rats which may be due to an abnormality in carbohydrate metabolism.
Acute infectious mononucleosis: characteristics of patients who report failure to recover

Abstract PURPOSE: We sought to determine how often acute mononucleosis precipitates chronic illness, and to describe the demographic, clinical, and psychosocial features that characterize patients who report failure to recover. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We enrolled 150 patients with infectious mononucleosis during the acute illness and asked them to assess their recovery at 2 and 6 months. At baseline, we performed physical and laboratory examinations; obtained measures of psychological and somatic functioning, social support, and life events; and administered a structured psychiatric interview. RESULTS: Self-assessed failure to recover was reported by 38% of patients (55 of 144) at 2 months and by 12% (17 of 142) at 6 months. Those who had not recovered reported a persistent illness characterized by fatigue and poor functional status. No objective measures of disease, including physical examination findings or serologic or laboratory markers, distinguished patients who failed to recover from those who reported recovery. Baseline predictors for failure to recover at 2 months were older age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1 to 1.8, per 5-year increase), higher temperature (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1 to 2.2, per 0.5°C increase), and greater role limitation due to physical functioning (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.2 to 1.9, per 20-point decrease in Short Form-36 score). At 6 months, baseline predictors for failure to recover included female sex (OR = 3.3, 95% CI: 1.0 to 12), a greater number of life events more than 6 months before the disease began (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1 to 2.5, per each additional life event), and greater family support (OR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.2, per 7-point increase in social support score). CONCLUSIONS: We were not able to identify objective measures that characterized self-reported failure to recover from acute infectious mononucleosis. The baseline factors associated with self-reported failure to recover at 2 months differed from those associated with failure to recover at 6 months. Future studies should assess the generalizability of these findings and determine whether interventions can hasten recovery.
Solving satisfiability in the tile assembly model with a constant-size tileset

Biological systems are far more complex and robust than systems we can engineer today. One way to increase the complexity and robustness of our engineered systems is to study how biological systems function. The tile assembly model is a highly distributed parallel model of nature's self-assembly. Previously, I defined deterministic and nondeterministic computation in the tile assembly model and showed how to add, multiply, factor, and solve SubsetSum. Here, I present a system that decides satisfiability, a well-known NP-complete problem. The computation is nondeterministic and each parallel assembly executes in time linear in the input. The system requires only a constant number of different tile types: 64, an improvement over previously best known system that uses @Q(n^2) tile types. I describe mechanisms for finding the successful solutions among the many parallel assemblies and explore bounds on the probability of such a nondeterministic system succeeding and prove that probability can be made arbitrarily close to 1.
Diffusion maps for exploring electro-optical synthetic vehicle image data

In this work, we explore low-dimensional representations of high-dimensional data derived from electro-optical synthetic vehicle images. The collection of vehicle images consists of four different vehicle models: Toyota Camry, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Tacoma, and Nissan Sentra. This data contains 3,601 160 × 213 gray-scale vehicle images sampled uniformly over a camera view hemisphere. We use the non-linear manifold learning technique of diffusion maps with Gaussian kernel to explore low-dimensional structure the high-dimensional cloud of vehicle image observations. Diffusion maps have been shown to be a valuable tool in the analysis of high-dimensional data and the technique is able to extract an approximation for the underlying structure inherent to the data. Our analysis includes examining how the diffusion time and kernel width leads to different low-dimensional representations and we present a novel technique to relate the kernel width to the distribution of data in the observation space. In addition, we present initial results for multi-class vehicle classification through low-dimensional embedding coordinates and the out-of-sample extension of unlabeled vehicle images.
The effect of membrane potential on initial velocity of GABA uptake and steady state distribution ratio in rat cortical synaptosomes.

Initial velocity of synaptosomal GABA uptake and steady state distribution ratio (DR) have been measured as a function of medium potassium concentration ([K]o) and in the presence of veratridine. Previous studies of the effect of [K]o and veratridine on membrane potential have been utilized to relate GABA uptake to membrane potential. Both initial velocity of uptake and steady state DR are functions of membrane potential; initial velocity and ln DR are linearly related to membrane potential. Final DR is determined by the electrochemical potential gradient for the transported ions. Previous studies of the relation of [Na]o to uptake have shown that either one or two sodium ions may be translocated with each GABA molecule. Present results are consistent with this assumption if it is also assumed that an anion is co-transported with each GABA molecule.
Evolution of neuropsychological dysfunction during the course of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

BackgroundNeurocognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar (BD) and related disorders represents a core feature of these illnesses, possibly a marker of underlying pathophysiology. Substantial overlap in domains of neuropsychological deficits has been reported among these disorders after illness onset. However, it is unclear whether deficits follow the same longitudinal pre- and post-morbid course across diagnoses. We examine evidence for neurocognitive dysfunction as a core feature of all idiopathic psychotic illnesses, and trace its evolution from pre-morbid and prodromal states through the emergence of overt psychosis and into chronic illness in patients with SZ, BD and related disorders.MethodArticles reporting on neuropsychological functioning in patients with SZ, BD and related disorders before and after illness onset were reviewed. Given the vast literature on these topics and the present focus on cross-diagnostic comparisons, priority was given to primary data papers that assessed cross-diagnostic samples and recent meta-analyses.ResultsPatients with SZ exhibit dysfunction preceding the onset of illness, which becomes more pronounced in the prodrome and early years following diagnosis, then settles into a stable pattern. Patients with BD generally exhibit typical cognitive development pre-morbidly, but demonstrate deficits by first episode that are amplified with worsening symptoms and exacerbations.ConclusionsNeuropsychological deficits represent a core feature of SZ and BD; however, their onset and progression differ between diagnostic groups. A lifetime perspective on the evolution of neurocognitive deficits in SZ and BD reveals distinct patterns, and may provide a useful guide to the examination of the pathophysiological processes underpinning these functions across disorders.
Altimetry for non‐Gaussian oceans: Height biases and estimation of parameters

The effects of a non-Gaussian ocean on satellite altimetry parameter estimation are discussed. The first part of this paper shows how non-Gaussian ocean parameters affect height estimation for satellites of the Seasat/Geosat/TOPEX type. In the second part, the estimation of the altimeter tracker bias and the non-Gaussian ocean parameters from the altimeter return signal is studied. A new convolution model that facilitates the deconvolution of the ocean surface specular point probability density function is introduced. Next, it is argued that it is not feasible in practice to estimate the electromagnetic bias from noisy altimeter returns. It is then shown that the least squares estimation of the surface parameters in the log-frequency domain has several advantages overestimating parameters in the time domain. The maximum likelihood estimation equations for the estimation of the waveform parameters are derived, and their solution is discussed.
High performance liquid chromatography of pigments from guard cell protoplasts and mesophyll tissue of Vicia faba L.

— Pigments extracted from guard cell protoplasts (GCP) and mesophyll tissue from Vicia faba L., were separated by high performance liquid chromatography and identified by absorbance spectroscopy. Water soluble, UV-absorbing pigments, presumably flavonoids, were present in the GCP in large amounts. Chlorophyll and carotenoid content in GCP and mesophyll tissue was qualitatively similar, with both cell types having chlorophylls, xanthophylls and carotenes. Some quantitative differences were found. Beta-carotene was less abundant in the GCP, while some of the xanthophylls, notably violaxanthin and lutein-antheraxanthin, were more abundant. Lutein and neoxanthin occurred in similar amounts. The similarity between the action spectrum for the stimulation of stomatal conductances by blue light and the absorbance spectrum of guard cell carotenoids points to carotenoids as putative photoreceptors in the stomatal response to blue light.
“The Effect of the Sun's Rotation and the Moon's Revolution on the Earth's Magnetism”

THE above was the title of an article by J. Allan Broun, published in NATURE, vol. xiii. p. 328.
The Photochemical Oxidation of GaAs

Abstract : The vacuum ultraviolet photochemical oxidation of GaAs by N2O (wavelengths of 2537 A and 1849 A) was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We believe the model most consistent with our data involves (1) adsorption of molecular N2O, (2) dissociation of the N2O on the surface, and (3) oxidation of the surface by the adsorbed O atoms. The temperature dependence of the overall reaction on the stoichiometric surface is dominated by the temperature dependence of adsorption of N2O. As As-rich surface oxidizes more slowly, and the reaction saturates; in this case the rate-limiting step and the cause of saturation is the oxidation of the surface by adsorbed O atoms. The As-covered surface does not present the proper sites (As atoms surrounded by Ga atoms) for fast, continued oxidation of GaAs.
Predicting capacity of hard carbon anodes in sodium-ion batteries using porosity measurements

Abstract We report an inverse relationship between measurable porosity values and reversible capacity from sucrose-derived hard carbon as an anode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Materials with low measureable pore volumes and surface areas obtained through N2 sorption yield higher reversible capacities. Conversely, increasing measurable porosity and specific surface area leads to sharp decreases in reversible capacity. Utilizing a low porosity material, we thus are able to obtain a reversible capacity of 335 mAh g−1. These findings suggest that sodium-ion storage is highly dependent on the absence of pores detectable through N2 sorption in sucrose-derived carbon.
Priming and constraints it places on theories of memory and retrieval

Associative priming occurs in a large number of memory retrieval tasks, including lexical decisions, naming, item recognition, and judgments of spatial location. Priming has been commonly attributed to the spread of activation or to the construction of compound retrieval cues. This article examines the relative abilities of spreading-activation and non-spreading-activation theories of priming to account for experimental results on multiple-step priming, the effects of different types of primes (e.g., nonwords vs. words), priming that spans an intervening item, priming in the naming task, and priming of associative judgments
Salamanca Statement and IDEA 2004: possibilities of practice for inclusive education

This article offers a comparative analysis of the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, within a critically discursive frame...
Development of adenosine sensor: effect of physiological buffers on activity and sensitivity in adenosine determinations by fast scan voltammetry

A new fast scan voltammetry (FSV) method was tested in the determinations of adenosine in physiological buffers at pH 7.4. The buffers can be used in the determinations of adenosine in vivo and include 7 x 10(-2) M phosphate, Krebs-Henseleit (K-H) and Hanks' Balanced Salts (HBSS). A new method of fabrication of carbon fiber electrodes (CFEs) by polishing, followed by electrochemical pretreatment (ECP) was developed for the determination. After the ECP of CFE, CFE background current was stable in FSV determinations even though an increase in the background current was observed after the ECP in the buffers at pH 7.4. The sensitivity in FSV determinations of adenosine at the pretreated electrodes was tested in the physiological buffers at the potential scan rate of 500 V s(-1) at pH 7.4. Buffer composition and pH was the same during the ECP of CFE and in the FSV determinations. The sensitivity in the FSV determinations of adenosine at the new CFEs was high, compared to that previously reported at CFEs prepared by other methods, and showed a limited dependence on buffer composition. However, a small increase in buffer pH above 7.4 resulted in a decrease in sensitivity in the determinations of adenosine. The decrease in sensitivity was associated with an additional increase in CFE background current at pH > 7.4. At pH 7.4 best sensitivity and limit of detection was obtained in 7 x 10(-2) M phosphate buffer, where the background current was lowest. The sensitivity was half that in K-H and HBSS. Standard deviation of measurements was ca. 1%. The results demonstrate the feasibility of sensitive FSV determinations of adenosine in physiological buffers at pH 7.4 at CFEs.
Restauração, reinvenção e recordação: recuperando identidades sob a escravização na áfrica e face à escravidão no Brasil

O artigo propoe uma leitura criativa e "especulativa" das experiencias dos africanos que, por sua escravizacao, conectaram a Africa a America, e a America a Africa durante a epoca do comercio de escravos. Dialogando com a historiografia da escravidao nas Americas, com especial atencao para os historiadores brasileiros, a discussao focaliza a elaboracao e invencao de identidades para alem da polarizacao simplista do debate entre os partidarios dos "africanismos" e os defensores da "crioulizacao". Tentando compreender a escravidao nos termos em que esta era pensada pelos proprios africanos e seus descendentes e mais como um processo historico do que uma "instituicao" abstrata. Miller mostra que a busca por lacos sociais e constituicao de novas comunidades eram os meios capazes de neutralizar a dispersao, a violencia e o isolamento da escravizacao. Em outras palavras re-estabeleceram os sentimentos de pertencimento e de seguranca pessoal minimos. Das confrarias reliogiosas e das comunidades de refugiados, as maltas de capoeira, aos reinados congos e as associacoes de ajuda mutua, dos anos formativos (seculos XVI ao XVII) da sociedade luso-brasileira, passando pelo seculo XVIII e chegando ao Brasil independente, o artigo acompanha processos complexos de constituicao de conexoes que, segundo Miller, so podem ser lidos numa perspectiva pautada pela compreensao do tema em diferentes contextos e momentos da sociedade escravista e em suas articulacoes com uma Africa de muitos significados.
Common genetic variation in Neuregulin 3 (NRG3) influences risk for schizophrenia and impacts NRG3 expression in human brain.

Structural and polymorphic variations in Neuregulin 3 (NRG3), 10q22-23 are associated with a broad spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders including developmental delay, cognitive impairment, autism, and schizophrenia. NRG3 is a member of the neuregulin family of EGF proteins and a ligand for the ErbB4 receptor tyrosine kinase that plays pleotropic roles in neurodevelopment. Several genes in the NRG-ErbB signaling pathway including NRG1 and ErbB4 have been implicated in genetic predisposition to schizophrenia. Previous fine mapping of the 10q22-23 locus in schizophrenia identified genome-wide significant association between delusion severity and polymorphisms in intron 1 of NRG3 (rs10883866, rs10748842, and rs6584400). The biological mechanisms remain unknown. We identified significant association of these SNPs with increased risk for schizophrenia in 350 families with an affected offspring and confirmed association to patient delusion and positive symptom severity. Molecular cloning and cDNA sequencing in human brain revealed that NRG3 undergoes complex splicing, giving rise to multiple structurally distinct isoforms. RNA expression profiling of these isoforms in the prefrontal cortex of 400 individuals revealed that NRG3 expression is developmentally regulated and pathologically increased in schizophrenia. Moreover, we show that rs10748842 lies within a DNA ultraconserved element and homedomain and strongly predicts brain expression of NRG3 isoforms that contain a unique developmentally regulated 5′ exon (P = 1.097E−12 to 1.445E−15). Our observations strengthen the evidence that NRG3 is a schizophrenia susceptibility gene, provide quantitative insight into NRG3 transcription traits in the human brain, and reveal a probable mechanistic basis for disease association.
Investigations of the Dynamics of the Surface Topography Formation During Abrasive Waterjet Machining

This work describes an investigation of the formation of the surface topography during abrasive waterjet machining. The experiments involved recording of the surface profile and nozzle vibration. The Fourier transform was used to determine the characteristics of the resulting interface show that pattern of the surfaces is uniform and the distinction between the various regions of the generated surface is quantitative (the amplitude of the surface unevenness). It was also found that there is a strong correlation between nozzle vibration and the waviness of the generated surfaces.
Predicting employee reactions to perceived organizational wrongdoing: Demoralization, justice, proactive personality, and whistle-blowing

News reports of organizational wrongdoing often pique interest in the question of how to encourage employees to report it. We used data from a survey of more than 3000 organizational members in the US to test a model of whistle-blowing. As predicted, observation of wrongdoing generally was associated with lower perceived organizational support and lower perceived justice of reporting channels (both procedural justice and distributive justice), suggesting that tolerating wrongdoing has negative effects for the organization itself, but there was also evidence that correcting wrongdoing may be nearly as positive as preventing it. Three previously untested variables – proactive personality, less co-worker invalidation, and leverage in the specific situation – predicted whistle-blowing, as did strength of evidence, a variable for which prior findings were inconsistent. Gender also was related to whistle-blowing. Finally, the predictors of blowing the whistle exclusively to one’s supervisor were similar to thos...
Salmonella enterica Causes More Severe Inflammatory Disease in C57/BL6 Nramp1G169 Mice Than Sv129S6 Mice

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) causes systemic inflammatory disease in mice by colonizing cells of the mononuclear leukocyte lineage. Mouse strains resistant to S. Typhimurium, including Sv129S6, have an intact Nramp1 (Slc11a1) allele and survive acute infection, whereas C57/BL6 mice, homozygous for a mutant Nramp1 allele, Nramp1(G169D) , develop lethal infections. Restoration of Nramp1 (C57/BL6 Nramp1(G169) ) reestablishes resistance to S. Typhimurium; mice survive at least 3 to 4 weeks postinfection. Since many transgenic mouse strains are on a C57/BL6 genetic background, C57/BL6 Nramp1(G169) mice provide a model to examine host genetic determinants of resistance to infection. To further evaluate host immune response to S. Typhimurium, we performed comparative analyses of Sv129S6 and C57/BL6 Nramp1(G169) mice 3 weeks following oral S. Typhimurium infection. C57/BL6 Nramp1(G169) mice developed more severe inflammatory disease with splenic bacterial counts 1000-fold higher than Sv129S6 mice and relatively greater splenomegaly and blood neutrophil and monocyte counts. Infected C57/BL6 Nramp1(G169) mice developed higher proinflammatory serum cytokine and chemokine responses (interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin [IL]-1β, and IL-2 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and chemokine [C-X-C motif] ligand 1, respectively) and marked decreases in anti-inflammatory serum cytokine concentrations (IL-10, IL-4) compared with Sv129S6 mice postinfection. Splenic dendritic cells and macrophages in infected compared with control mice increased to a greater extent in C57/BL6 Nramp1(G169) mice than in Sv129S6 mice. Overall, data show that despite the Nramp1 gene present in both strains, C57/BL6 Nramp1(G169) mice develop more severe, Th1-skewed, acute inflammatory responses to S. Typhimurium infection compared with Sv129S6 mice. Both strains are suitable model systems for studying inflammation in the context of adaptive immunity.
Improving voltage stability by reactive power reserve management

The amount of reactive reserves at generating stations is a measure of the degree of voltage stability. With this perspective, an optimized reactive reserve management scheme based on the optimal power flow is proposed. Detailed models of generator limiters, such as those for armature and field current limiting must be considered in order to utilize the maximum reactive power capability of generators, so as to meet reactive power demands during voltage emergencies. Participation factors for each generator in the management scheme are predetermined based on the voltage-var (V-Q) curve methodology. The Bender's decomposition methodology is applied to the reactive reserve management problem. The resulting effective reserves and the impact on voltage stability are studied on a reduced Western Electric Coordinating Council system. Results prove that the proposed method can improve both static and dynamic voltage stability.
An improved method for mapping cerebrovascular reserve using concurrent fMRI and near infrared spectroscopy with Regressor Interpolation at Progressive Time Delays (RIPTiDe)

Cerebrovascular reserve (CVR) reflects the compensatory dilatory capacity of cerebral vasculature to a dilatory stimulus. Blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) fMRI has been proven to be an effective imaging technique to obtain CVR maps when subjects perform CO(2) inhalation or a breath-holding (BH) task. Here we propose a novel way to process the fMRI data obtained during a blocked BH task by using simultaneously collected near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) data as regressors to estimate the vascular contribution to the BOLD signal. Six healthy subjects underwent a 6min 30s resting state (RS) fMRI scan, followed by a scan of the same duration with a blocked BH task (5 breath holds with 20s durations separated by ~50s of regular breathing). NIRS data were recorded from a probe over the subjects' right prefrontal area. For each scan, the time course of changes in total hemoglobin (Δ[tHb]) was calculated from the NIRS data, time shifted by various amounts, and resampled to the fMRI acquisition rate. Each shifted time course was used as regressor in a general linear model analysis. The maximum parameter estimate across all time shifts was calculated at all voxels in both the BH and RS scans, and then converted into signal percentage changes. The ratio of these signal changes generates a CVR map of the BH response, normalized to the resting state. The NIRS regressor method makes no assumptions about the shape (or presence) of the BH response, and allows direct, quantitative comparison of the vascular BOLD response to BH to the baseline map obtained in the resting state.
Inactive and relict rock glaciers of the Deboullie Lakes Ecological Reserve, northern Maine, USA†

Lobate talus slopes in the Deboullie Lakes Ecological Reserve (DLER) of northern Maine exhibit parabolic profiles characteristic of inactive and relict talus-derived rock glaciers. Vegetated rock glacier surfaces suggest that the landforms are no longer active, and lobes comprising two DLER rock glaciers document periods of past growth. Observations of perennial subsurface ice are supported by datalogger temperature measurements, indicating that sporadic permafrost exists throughout the DLER. We compare the DLER rock glaciers, along with similar features elsewhere in New England and adjacent Quebec, to the modern alpine permafrost distribution. Results indicate that a mean annual temperature cooling of ! 68C is required to promote active rock glacier growth. Ages of plant remains recovered from the basal sediments of a local pond constrain deglaciation to before 11 320 14 C a BP, and core stratigraphy and organic content reveal that a periglacial environment persisted during the early postglacial era. Thus, we hypothesise that the DLER rock glaciers were active during Lateglacial time despite the lack of glacier activity in the region. We take this to suggest that north-eastern US rock glaciers formed in response to mean annual temperatures skewed towards the frigid winters of the Younger Dryas chronozone. Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Relativistic causal ordering a memory model for scalable concurrent data structures

High-performance programs and systems require concurrency to take full advantage of available hardware. However, the available concurrent programming models force a difficult choice, between simple models such as mutual exclusion that produce little to no concurrency, or complex models such as Read-Copy Update that can scale to all available resources. Simple concurrent programming models enforce atomicity and causality, and this enforcement limits concurrency. Scalable concurrent programming models expose the weakly ordered hardware memory model, requiring careful and explicit enforcement of causality to preserve correctness, as demonstrated in this dissertation through the manual construction of a scalable hash-table item-move algorithm. Recent research on relativistic programming aims to standardize the programming model of Read-Copy Update, but thus far these efforts have lacked a generalized memory ordering model, requiring data-structure-specific reasoning to preserve causality. I propose a new memory ordering model, relativistic causal ordering , which combines the scalabilty of relativistic programming and Read-Copy Update with the simplicty of reader atomicity and automatic enforcement of causality. Programs written for the relativistic model translate to scalable concurrent programs for weakly-ordered hardware via a mechanical process of inserting barrier operations according to well-defined rules. To demonstrate the relativistic causal ordering model, I walk through the straightforward construction of a novel concurrent hash-table resize algorithm, including the translation of this algorithm from the relativistic model to a hardware memory model, and show through benchmarks that the resulting algorithm scales far better than those based on mutual exclusion.
Effect of correlations on high-energy processes using nuclear targets

Recently a great deal of effort has gone into the problem of using nuclei as targets with known properties in high-energy scattering processes in order to deduce information on hadron-nucleon amplitudes. All of this work essentially follows from the Glauber scattering theory1 together with a complex optical potential describing the nuclear target. The simplest form of the optical potential is \(\left( {2{{\text{m}}_{\text{p}}}}/{{{\hbar }^{2}}}\; \right){{\text{V}}_{\text{opt}}}\left( \text{x} \right)=-4\pi {{\text{A}}_{\rho }}\left( \text{x} \right)\text{f}\left( 0 \right)\) where ρ is the single nucleon density and f(0) is the elementary scattering amplitude. This result assumes that the ground-state density of the target factors into a product of single-particle densities and neglects correlations. The first correction to this result depends on two-particle correlations in the ground-state density, \(\Delta (\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {x} ,\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {y} ) = {\rho ^{(2)}}(\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {x} ,\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {y} ) - \rho (\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {x} )\rho (\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {y} ) \equiv \rho (\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {x} )\rho (\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {y} )(g(|\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {x} - \underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {y} |) - 1)\) and takes the approximate form $$\frac{2{{\text{m}}_{\text{p}}}}{{{\hbar }^{2}}}{{\text{V}}_{\text{opt}}}\left( \text{x} \right)=-4\pi {{\text{A}}_{\rho }}\left( \text{x} \right)\text{f}\left( 0 \right)\left[ 1+\left( 2\pi \text{i/k} \right){{\text{A}}_{\rho }}\left( \text{x} \right)\text{f}\left( 0 \right)\int_{0}^{\infty }{\left( \text{g}\left( \text{r} \right)-1 \right)\text{dr}} \right]$$ In addition, by summing the cross section for excitation of the nucleus over all final nuclear states, the incoherent cross section in many cases takes the form $$\sum\limits_{\text{f}\ne \text{i}}{{{\left[ {\text{d}\sigma }/{\text{dt}}\; \right]}_{{{\text{f}}_{\text{i}}}}}}={{\text{A}}_{\text{eff}}}{{\left( {\text{d}\sigma }/{\text{dt}}\; \right)}_{1-\text{body}}}+{{\left( {\text{d}\sigma }/{\text{dt}}\; \right)}_{\text{corr}}}.$$ where the correlation cross section depends on this same function \(\Delta (\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {x} ,\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\thicksim}$}}\to {y} )\).
The oligo(A) tail on histone mRNA plays an active role in translational silencing of histone mRNA during Xenopus oogenesis

Metazoan replication-dependent histone mRNAs end in a stem-loop sequence. The one known exception is the histone mRNA in amphibian oocytes, which has a short oligo(A) tail attached to the stem-loop sequence. Amphibian oocytes also contain two proteins that bind the 3' end of histone mRNA: xSLBP1, the homologue of the mammalian SLBP, and xSLBP2, which is present only in oocytes. xSLBP2 is an inhibitor of histone mRNA translation, while xSLBP1 activates translation. The short A tail on histone mRNAs appears at stage II to III of oogenesis and is present on histone mRNAs throughout the rest of oogenesis. At oocyte maturation, the oligo(A) tail is removed and the xSLBP2 is degraded, resulting in the activation of translation of histone mRNA. Both SLBPs bind to the stem-loop with the oligo(A) tail with similar affinities. Reporter mRNAs ending in the stem-loop with or without the oligo(A) tail are translated equally well in a reticulocyte lysate, and their translation is stimulated by the presence of xSLBP1. In contrast, translation of the reporter mRNA with an oligo(A) tail is not activated in frog oocytes in response to the presence of xSLBP1. These results suggest that the oligo(A) tail is an active part of the translation repression mechanism that silences histone mRNA during oogenesis and that its removal is part of the mechanism that activates translation.
Real-time navigation for autonomous vehicles: a fuzzy obstacle avoidance and goal approach algorithm

In this paper, a novel real-time fuzzy navigation algorithm of the off-road autonomous ground vehicle is presented. The navigator's goal is to direct the AGV safely, continuously and smoothly across nature terrain en route to a goal. The proposed navigator consists of two fuzzy controllers, the steering controller and the speed controller. These two controllers are designed separately by mimicking the human performances, yet they work collaboratively. Both the simulation and the demonstration of our AGV in the Grand Challenge 04 justify the performance of our navigator.
Long-term Outcomes of Penile Prostheses for the Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction

Since their introduction 60 years ago, penile prostheses have remained the standard therapy for the management of refractory erectile dysfunction, with multiple long-term series reporting outcomes. A PubMed search was performed from 1990 to present, and outcomes of penile prosthetics were reviewed. Studies with <12 months follow-up were excluded. Overall mechanical survival of three-piece prostheses range from 81–94, 68–89 and 57–76% at 5, 10 and 15 years, respectively. Contemporary infection rates following recent device modifications are 1–2% (low risk) to 2–3% (high risk). Patient satisfaction ranges from 75–100% and varies by prosthetic device. Outcomes are further reviewed among specialized populations (revision surgery, Peyronie’s disease, priapism, corporal fibrosis and neurologic impairments). Penile prostheses remain a viable surgical treatment option with excellent mechanical reliability, low infection rates and significant patient/partner satisfaction.
Evidence for a membrane site of action for 14,15-EET on expression of aromatase in vascular smooth muscle.

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are synthesized in the endothelial cells of vascular tissues. They are released from the endothelial cells and produce relaxation of the smooth muscle cells by hype...
The growth dynamics of Karenia brevis within discrete blooms on the West Florida Shelf

Abstract As part of the ECOHAB: Florida Program, we studied three large blooms of the harmful bloom forming dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. These blooms formed on the West Florida Shelf during Fall of 2000 off Panama City, and during Fall 2001 and Fall 2002 off the coastline between Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor. We suggest that these blooms represent two different stages of development, with the 2000 and 2001 blooms in an active growth or maintenance phase and the 2002 bloom in the early bloom initiation phase. Each bloom was highly productive with vertically integrated primary production values of 0.47–0.61, 0.39–1.33 and 0.65 g C m−2 d−1 for the 2000, 2001 and 2002 K. brevis blooms, respectively. Carbon specific growth rates were low during each of these blooms with values remaining fairly uniform with depth corresponding to generation times of 3–5 days. Nitrogen assimilation by K. brevis was highest during 2001 with values ranging from 0.15 to 2.14 μmol N L−1 d−1 and lower generally for 2000 and 2002 (0.01–0.64 and 0.66–0.76 μmol N L−1 d−1 for 2000 and 2002, respectively). The highest K. brevis cell densities occurred during the 2001 bloom and ranged from 400 to 800 cells mL−1. Cell densities were lower for each of the 2000 and 2002 blooms relative to those for 2001 with densities ranging from 100 to 500 cells mL−1. The 2000 and 2001 blooms were dominated by K. brevis in terms of its contribution to the total chlorophyll a (chl a) pool with K. brevis accounting generally for >70% of the observed chl a. For those populations that were dominated by K. brevis (e.g. 2000 and 2001), phytoplankton C biomass (Cp,0) constituted 72% of the POC. The fraction of the total chl a that could be attributed to K. brevis was most highly correlated with POC, chl a and salinity. Nitrogen assimilation rate and primary production were highly correlated with a greater correlation coefficient than all other comparisons.
A Bayesian Approach for Uncovering Gene Network Motifs

Gene network motifs are the recurring regulatory structural patterns in gene networks. For uncovering gene network motifs, we investigate a novel Bayesian approach based on the popular turbo algorithm. The motivation for using turbo algorithm is based on the subtle similarity between the network motifs detection and turbo decoding in communications. The proposed method has been tested on two types of human cancer microarray data.
Dick Hanson and the Launch of MCP: A Personal Reflection

On February 28, when Richard “Dick” Hanson succumbed, after a protracted battle, to cancer at the age of 78, the world lost a truly remarkable scientist, artist, educator, and leader, and I lost a great friend and kindred spirit. His impressive list of accomplishments and the well-deserved recognition he received in his more-than-50-year career do not do justice to the tremendous impact he had on students, colleagues, and friends alike, and the positive effects of his legacy will continue to be felt by many succeeding generations for a long time to come.
Practical Approach to Management of Retinoblastoma

Objective: To present a simplified approach to management of retinoblastoma using basic clinical features. Design: In a prospective, nonrandomized, singlecenter clinical trial, 158 eyes of 103 patients with retinoblastoma were managed with 6 cycles of chemoreduction(vincristinesulfate,etoposide,andcarboplatin).The eyeswereclassifiedaccordingtotheReese-Ellsworthclassification and were also grouped on the basis of clinical features as follows: group 1, tumor only; group 2, tumorplussubretinalfluid;group3,tumorplusfocalseeds (3a,focalsubretinalseeds;3b,focalvitreousseeds);group 4, tumor plus diffuse seeds (4a, diffuse subretinal seeds; 4b,diffusevitreousseeds);andgroup5,neovascularglaucoma or invasive retinoblastoma. Main Outcome Measure: Treatment success (avoidance of enucleation and external beam radiotherapy). Results: According to the Reese-Ellsworth classification, chemoreduction was successful in 100% of group Ia, 100% of group Ib, 86% of group IIa, 100% of group IIb, 91% of group IIIa, 100% of group IIIb, 50% of group IVa, 77% of group IVb, 50% of group Va, and 27% of group Vb. There was erratic correlation of the ReeseEllsworth classification with treatment success. In contrast, the simplified grouping system displayed a smooth, nonerratic correlation for treatment success, with 100% success for group 1, 91% for group 2, 59% for group 3, and 12% for group 4 (group 5 always managed by primary enucleation). When all 6 subcategory groups were analyzed, there was consistent correlation for treatment success of 100% for group 1, 91% for group 2, 68% for group 3a, 54% for group 3b, 17% for group 4a, and 11% for group 4b. Conclusion: This practical approach to retinoblastoma usingbasicclinicalfeaturesispredictiveoftreatmentsuccess for eyes in which modern conservative therapy for retinoblastoma is used. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004;122:729-735
Removal of endotoxin from protein solutions by phase separation using Triton X-114.

Endotoxin contamination of protein solutions was reduced by a phase separation technique using the detergent, Triton X-114. Protein solutions containing endotoxin were treated with Triton X-114 on ice. The solution was then warmed to 37°C, whereupon two phases formed. The Triton X-114 phase, containing the endotoxin, was precipitated by centrifugation. The first cycle of phase separation produced a 1000-fold reduction of endotoxin from contaminated preparations of cytochrome c, catalase and albumin. Complete removal of endotoxin could be achieved by further cycles of phase separation. Each cycle of phase separation resulted in only a 2% loss of protein, and could be completed within 15 rain. The small amount of detergent (0.018%) that persisted in protein solution could be removed by gel filtration or absorption. Proteins treated by this procedure retained normal functions. This phase separation technique provides a rapid and gentle method for removing endotoxin from protein solutions.
Novel therapy for therapy-resistant mantle cell lymphoma: multipronged approach with targeting of hedgehog signaling.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is one of the most aggressive B-cell lymphomas with a median patient survival of only 5–7 years. The failure of existing therapies is mainly due to disease relapse when therapy-resistant tumor cells remain after chemotherapy. Therefore, development and testing of novel therapeutic strategies to target these therapy-resistant MCL are needed. Here, we developed an in vivo model of therapy-resistant MCL by transplanting a patient-derived MCL cell line (Granta 519) into NOD/SCID mice followed by treatment with combination chemotherapy. Cytomorphologic, immunophenotypic, in vitro and in vivo growth analyses of these therapy-resistant MCL cells confirm their MCL origin and resistance to chemotherapy. Moreover, quantitative real-time PCR revealed the upregulation of GLI transcription factors, which are mediators of the hedgehog signaling pathway, in these therapy-resistant MCL cells. Therefore, we developed an effective therapeutic strategy for resistant MCL by treating the NOD/SCID mice bearing Granta 519 MCL with CHOP chemotherapy to reduce tumor burden combined with GLI-antisense oligonucleotides or bortezomib, a proteosome inhibitor, to target therapy-resistant MCL cells that remained after chemotherapy. This regimen was followed by treatment with MCL-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes to eliminate all detectable leftover minimal residual disease. Mice treated with this strategy showed a significantly increased survival and decreased tumor burden compared to the mice in all other groups. Such therapeutic strategies that combine chemotherapy with targeted therapy followed by tumor-specific immunotherapy are effective and have excellent potential for clinical application to provide long-term, disease-free survival in MCL patients.
Full 3D Simulation of 6T-SRAM Cells for the 22nm Node

T-SRAM cell designs for the 22nm node are compared via full 3-dimensional cell simulation with Sentaurus (v.2008.09), to allow the benefits of advanced MOSFET structures to be accurately assessed. Segmented MOSFET (SegFET) technology provides for enhanced read stability and write-ability, as compared to conventional planar and tri-gate technologies. It also provides for improved SRAM cell yield, primarily because of improved robustness to process-induced variations, and improved immunity to soft errors.