cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Peripheral control and lateralization of birdsong

pends on the action of dorsal syringeal adductor mus- ABSTRACT: Recent studies on several species of cles that, by opening or closing the ipsilateral side oscine songbirds show that they achieve their varied of the syrinx to airflow, determine the amount each vocal performances through coordinated activity of respiratory, syringeal, and other vocal tract muscles side contributes to song. The syringeally generated in ways that take maximum advantage of the acoustic sound is further modified by muscles that control flexibility made possible by the presence of two inde- the shape of the vocal tract. Different species have pendently controlled sound sources in their bipartite adopted different motor strategies that use the left syrinx (vocal organ). During song, special motor pro- and right sides of the syrinx in patterns of unilateral, grams to respiratory muscles alter the pattern of ven- bilateral, alternating, or sequential phonation to achieve tilation to maintain the supply of respiratory air and the differing temporal and spectral characteristics of oxygen to permit songs of long duration, high syllable their songs. As a result, the degree of song lateraliza- repetition rates, or maximum spectral complexity. tion probably varies between species to form a contin- Each side of the syrinx receives its own motor pro- uum from unilateral dominance to bilateral equality. gram that, together with that sent to respiratory mus- q 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Neurobiol 33: 632-652, 1997 cles, determines the acoustic properties of the ipsilat- Keywords: vocalization; respiration; syrinx; oscine; erally produced sound. The acoustic expression of motor control these bilaterally distinct, phonetic motor patterns de-
The Effect of Microgravity on the Growth of Silica Nanostructures

The process of the formation of structures from coagulating ensembles is fundamentally important since the collective behavior of the constituents often results in dramatically improved or unusual mechanical, thermal, chemical, and optical properties. In this study we examine the effect of microgravity on the formation of silica structures, specifically particles and gels.
Reproduction and the renin-angiotensin system

A unique aspect of the circulating renin-angiotensin system and the many independent tissue renin-angiotensin systems is their interactions at multiple levels with reproduction. These interactions, which have received relatively little attention, include effects of estrogens and possibly androgens on hepatic and renal angiotensinogen mRNA; effects of androgens on the Ren-2 gene and salivary renin in mice; the prorenin surge that occurs with but outlasts the LH surge during the menstrual cycle; the inhibitory effects of estrogens on thirst and water intake; the tissue renin-angiotensin systems in the brain, the anterior pituitary, and the ovaries and testes, that is, in all the components of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis; the presence of some components of the renin-angiotensin system in the uterus and the fetoplacental unit; and the possible relation of renin and angiotensin to ovulation and fetal well-being. These interactions are described and their significance considered in this short review.
Genetics of Comorbid Mood Disorder and Alcohol Dependence

Objectives: To assess genetic vulnerability factors related to comorbid mood disorder and alcohol dependence. Methods: We analyzed family studies of bipolar affective disorder for familiality of comorbid alcohol dependence. We then analyzed family studies of alcohol dependence for familiality (and genetic linkage characteristics) of comorbid depression and mania. Results: Alcohol dependence was increased in subjects with mood disorder diagnoses within a series of families ascertained for bipolar illness. Comorbid alcohol dependence was found to be familial (Relative Risk = 1.5, p <.002). Similarly, comorbid depression and mania are familial within a series of families ascertained for alcohol dependence. Alcohol dependence and depression appear to be linked to markers on chromosome 1p; they are also associated with the gene coding for the M2 muscarinic receptor on chromosome 7q (CHRM2). Conclusions: There are specific genetic vulnerability factors related to comorbid alcohol dependence and depression. Family studies suggest that such specific factors may also be identified for alcohol dependence and mania.
Quantitative estimation of phagocytosed herpes simplex virus in mouse peritoneal cells.

Only a minimum amount of virus was detected in phagocytes by plaque assays when herpes simplex virus, freed by centrifugation from cell fragments, was brought in contactin vitro with the peritoneal macrophages of adult mice. Contrariwise, when virus in the same multiplicity but associated with cell fragments was used instead, the amount of active virus detected in phagocytes increased considerably. Two alternate hypotheses were advanced: (a) that phagocytes engulfed indiscriminately the cell fragments, regardless whether they contained virus or not, while the entrance of cell fragment-free virus into the macrophages was merely the result of a chance encounter between the virus and the phagocyte, and occurred only occasionally, and (b) that the cell fragment-free virus was phagocytosed with as an equal rate as the virus enmeshed in cell fragments, but was rapidly destroyed inside the phagocytes. For the interpretation of results an arbitrary index of phagocytosis was formulated by dividing the number of phagocytosed active virus particles by the log of the number of phagocytes used.
In Situ Characterization of Small-Particle Plasma Sprayed Powders

The effect of various small-particle plasma spray powder injection parameters on the in situ particle position, velocity, and temperature is measured for yttria-stabilized zirconia and yttrium-aluminum-garnet powder. Using full-factorial experiments and multiple regression analysis, carrier gas flow, injector angle, and powder feeder disc speed were found to significantly affect the particle properties. Temperature and velocity were inversely related; on average, the cooler particles traveled faster. These properties also correlated to the particle position in the flame, where particles above the centerline of the flame traveled faster. The trends are discussed on the basis of residence time in the flame, as well as in terms of particle size segregation effects. Coating density and splat geometry reflect the temperature and velocity differences between the runs. Slower, hotter particles possessed more intrasplat and intersplat porosity and less splat-substrate contact area, leading to lower overall coating density.
Evolution of fine-scale defects in stainless steels neutron-irradiated at 275 C

Six austenitic stainless steel heats (three heats each of 304SS and 316SS) neutron-irradiated at 275 °C from 0.6 to 13.3 dpa have been carefully characterized by TEM and their hardness measured as a function of dose. The characterization revealed that the microstructure is dominated by a very high density of small Frank loops present in sizes as small as 1 nm and perhaps lower, which could be of both vacancy and interstitial-type. Frank loop density saturated at the lowest doses characterized, whereas the Frank loop size distributions changed with increasing dose from an initially narrow, symmetric shape to a broader, asymmetric shape. Although substantial hardening is caused by the small defects, a simple correlation between hardness changes and density and size of defects does not exist. These results indicate that radiation-induced segregation to the Frank loops could play a role in both defect evolution and hardening response.
Host Mouse Strain Is Not Selective for a Laboratory Adapted Strain of Schistosoma mansoni

Abstract We genotyped pooled adult worms of Schistosoma mansoni from infected CF1, C57BL/6, BALB/c, and BALB/c interferon gamma knockout mice in order to establish if mouse strain differences selected for parasite genotypes. We also compared differentiation in eggs collected from liver and intestines to determine if there was differential distribution of parasite strains in the vertebrate host that might account for any genotype selection. We found that mouse strains with differing immune responses did not differ in resistance to infection and did not select for parasite genotypes. Schistosoma mansoni egg allele frequencies were also equally distributed in tissues and the difference between adult and egg allele frequencies was negligible.
Does avian species richness in natural patch mosaics follow the forest fragmentation paradigm

As one approaches the north-eastern limit of pinyon (Pinus spp.) juniper (Juniperus spp.) vegetation on the Colorado Plateau, USA, woodland patches become increasingly disjunct, grading into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)-dominated landscapes. Patterns of avian species richness in naturally heterogeneous forests may or may not respond to patch discontinuity in the same manner as bird assemblages in fragmented agricultural systems. We used observational data from naturally patchy woodlands and predictions derived from studies of human-modified agricultural forests to estimate the effects of patch area, shape, isolation and distance to contiguous woodland on avian species richness. We predicted that patterns of species richness in naturally patchy juniper woodlands would differ from those observed in fragmented agricultural systems. Our objectives were to (1) estimate the effect of naturally occurring patch structure on avian species richness with respect to habitat affinity and migratory strategy and (2) assess the concordance of the effects to predictions from agricultural forest systems. We used the analogy between populations and communities to estimate species richness, where species are treated as individuals in the application of traditional capture-recapture theory. Information-theoretic model selection showed that overall species richness was explained primarily by the species area relationship. There was some support for a model with greater complexity than the equilibrium theory of island biogeography where the isolation of large patches resulted in greater species richness. Species richness of woodland-dwelling birds was best explained by the equilibrium hypothesis with partial landscape complementation by open-country species in isolated patches. Species richness within specific migratory strategies showed concomitant increases and no shifts in species composition along the patch area gradient. Our results indicate that many patterns of species richness considered to be fragmentation effects may be general consequences of patch discontinuity and are ubiquitous in naturally heterogeneous systems. There was no evidence for the effects of patch shape and distance to contiguous woodland in juniper woodland, suggesting edge effects and dependence upon regional species pools are characteristics of fragmented agricultural systems. Natural patch mosaics may provide benchmarks for evaluating fragmentation effects and managing forests by mimicking natural landscape patterns.
Use of a voltage-responsive timer to quantitate hydroperoxides by the cyclooxygenase activation assay

The importance of lipid hydroperoxides in the interpretations of physiological and pathological processes requires a valid and reliable microanalytical procedure. However, quantitation of the small amounts of lipid hydroperoxides in biological samples is often attempted with methods that have low sensitivity, low validity, and/or low reliability. The highly sensitive and specific enzymatic assay based upon cyclooxygenase activation has many complex kinetic features that have caused it to be cumbersome and unreliable. Analysis of the cyclooxygenase kinetics showed that a fixed percentage (20%) of full reaction accurately substituted for the measurements of the time required to reach optimal velocity. Consequently, a voltage-responsive timer can report endpoints that are dependent upon picomole amounts of lipid hydroperoxide. Additional features of the timer are described which make the hydroperoxide assay simpler, faster, more reliable, and easier to perform than the previous method while still retaining its sensitivity and specificity.
SU-FF-T-39: Mono-Energetic Brachytherapy Sources

Purpose: Determination of the energy dependence of human cell inactivation (i.e., loss of reproductive capacity) following exposure to β radiation. Method and Materials: A dipole magnet was constructed from two 5.08cm × 5.08cm × 2.54cm niobiumpermanent magnets separated by a distance of about 2cm. This dipole has a highly non‐uniform field that reaches about 5 kG at the center. A 1cm × 1cm collimated electron beam exiting a 137 Cs radioactive source (300 Ci, max energy: 662 keV) was placed at the entrance face of the dipole magnet.Separation of the different energies was ensured by placing a second identical collimator perpendicular to the dispersive plane. The setup provides an energy resolution of about 10%. Four normal human fibroblast (AGO1521, AGO1522, GM06419 and WI‐38) and one human breast cancer (MDA231) cell line were exposed to electrons of defined energy for approximately 1 hour (∼3.5 Gy). Radiation induced changes in clonogenic survival were determined and protein samples collected for subsequent proteomic analysis using 2D gel electrophoresis, coupled with Mass Spectroscopic identification of candidate proteins.Results: Examination of the Relative Biological Effectiveness of the various electron beam energies on human cell lines indicates an energy dependence of cell inactivation. The radiation exposure time variation and the type of cell lines play a non‐negligible role in the experimental outcome. Preliminary Monte Carlo simulation data of the process at the molecular level compare fairly well with experimental results. Conclusion: This work indicates the potential efficacy of providing mono‐energetic radioactive sources for Brachytherapy treatments. Characteristic responses of tumor cells to well defined kinetic energies of β particles could reduce the incidence of unwanted side effects associated with ineffective radiation dose. The methodology will be used in future investigations on small animals to establish in‐vivo applicability of the technique.
Haemophilus influenzae lymphadenopathy in a patient with agammaglobulinemia: Clinical-histologic-microbiologic correlation and review of the literature

Abstract Agammaglobulinemia is the most common primary immunodeficiency, with an incidence of approximately 1 in 250 000 males in the United States. These patients are at risk for frequent recurrent infections, which may become fatal if untreated. Patients have increased susceptibility to encapsulated pyogenic bacteria. Haemophilus influenzae is second only to Streptococcus pneumoniae as the bacteria most frequently implicated in infections in these patients. We present a case involving an adolescent boy with X-linked agammaglobulinemia and H influenzae cervical adenopathy, confirmed twice by culture. We correlate the clinical, microbiologic, and histologic findings. Owing to the severity of infections in this population, surgical intervention is more common than in the immunocompetent population. This description may help the pathologist in considering a differential diagnosis when examining a diagnostic lymph node biopsy in these patients.
Adaptive interval model control and application

In many manufacturing processes, an interval model is a useful description of the processes for control. Conditions for the same process can vary widely. Interval models take into account these variations and consequently can have wide applications. However, interval models present problems when their intervals are too wide or not accurate. An adaptive interval model control which alters the interval has been proposed in this paper. Simulations verify its effectiveness. It has been used to successfully control a novel arc welding process.
Examining Strain in a School Context

General strain theory has accumulated a considerable amount of empirical support. Many of these assessments have tested the direct relationship that strain has on crime and delinquency. The research presented here examines the relationship between schools and delinquency within a general strain theory perspective. More specifically, this research examines how schools can not only act as a source of an individual's strain and subsequent delinquency but also be a source for mediating or coping with strain and minimizing delinquency. To test the relationship between schools and delinquency, data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey (NELS:88) are analyzed in a model of general strain that specifies sources of school-based strain and sources of school-based mechanisms for controlling strain.
Active and Healthy Schools.

The Active and Healthy School Program (AHS) can be used to alter the culture and environment of a school to help children make healthier choices. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of AHS to increase physical activity while decreasing total screen time, increase healthy food choices, and improve knowledge about physical activity and nutrition among students. Pedometry quantified physical activity time and steps in 150 children (fifth to eighth grades). Children's Attraction to Physical Activity (CAPA) and Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBSS) dietary behavior questions were also administered. Students participated in 80 ± 10 min of television viewing and/or computer and video game usage per day with no change in behavior observed following the intervention. No differences in step counts at home (prestudy: 5,728 ± 343 steps/day vs. poststudy: 6,583 ± 634 steps/day; p = 0.17) or school (prestudy: 5,405 ± 184 steps/day vs. poststudy: 5,613 ± 533 steps/day; p = 0.17) were observed following the intervention. However, physical activity time during school increased by 10 ± 1 min (p < 0.001) following the intervention. The CAPA score decreased slightly (prestudy: 35.4 ± 1.2 au; poststudy: 33.4 ± 1.4 au, p < 0.01). The frequency of consuming fruit (p < 0.03) and vegetables other than salad (p < 0.03) increased by 31% ± 8% and 43% ± 10%, respectively. AHS is an effective school-based intervention that positively impacts contributing factors of obesity. School administrators should consider implementing many of the AHS components to improve the health of their students.
Reaching Inside the State: International Law and Superior Liability

With the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), the international community has taken the most decisive steps yet to reach inside the state to protect individuals from and prosecute individuals for violations of international humanitarian law. After outlining the key developments in international law on this subject, I turn to the heart of the paper—an analysis of how these developments in international law should affect theory and research in international relations and comparative politics. To what extent should we expect that the international community would hold individuals accountable? Will individual leaders comply with international law? Most importantly, what factors will influence the level of enforcement of and compliance with international law? I conclude with suggestions as to how research on international law on individual liability should advance.
A non-destructive characterization and real time monitor technique for low-loss, polymeric waveguide circuits

Optical polymer waveguide is a key passive component for the optical interconnection. Design, fabrication, and characterization of high performance waveguides have critical importance for the success of optoelectronic integration. In addition, defect effect, coupling, leakages and cross talk etc. are big concerns for the lightwave circuits. We present here a fast, non-destructive, sensitive, and real-time technique for detailed investigation of the propagation properties of planar optical waveguides and lightwave circuits. We use this technique to measure low loss polymer waveguides on printed circuit board (PCB) substrates and have measured the propagation loss of 0.065 dB/cm at 850 nm and 0.046 dB/cm at 980 nm. To the best of our knowledge, these are among the lowest loss data reported for polymer waveguides on PCB substrates to date. A high sensitive CCD camera with a built-in integration function is utilized to observe the light streak in two dimensions through a two lens imaging system. A few seconds to a few ten seconds is required for a complete measurement, compared to several hours for the sliding prism method and even longer for time cutback method. This technique can be used to evaluate not only the overall performance of a waveguide but also the local waveguide performance and the in-situ propagation properties (i.e., defect effect, bending effect, coupling and leakages, etc.). It can be extended to monitor the process of waveguide fabrication and alignment control during the assembly for the lightwave circuit integration.
Highly Precise Shape Mimicry by a Difluorotoluene Deoxynucleoside, a Replication-Competent Substitute for Thymidine.

Until recently, the large majority of studies of the origins of DNA replication fidelity have concluded that complementarity of hydrogen bonding is the chief source of energetic selectivity between the four nucleotides at the transition state for initial insertion.[1,2] As part of this field of study, a wide number of modified nucleoside analogues have been incorporated into DNA in an effort to study the origins of mutagenesis and mechanisms for the fidelity of DNA replication.[3] Virtually all of these differed from natural nucleosides both in their hydrogen bonding arrangement and in their size and shape. While such approaches have led to valuable insights, with such analogues it is extremely difficult to distinguish between steric and hydrogen bonding effects as sources of observed differences in replication properties.[4,5]
FARM: A Prototyping Environment for Tightly-Coupled, Heterogeneous Architectures

Computer architectures are increasingly turning to parallelism and heterogeneity as solutions for boosting performance in the face of power constraints. As this trend continues, the challenges of simulating and evaluating these architectures have grown. Hardware prototypes provide deeper insight into these systems when compared to simulators, but are traditionally more difficult and costly to build. We present the Flexible Architecture Research Machine (FARM), a hardware prototyping system based on an FPGA coherently connected to a multiprocessor system. FARM substantially reduces the difficulty and cost of building hardware prototypes by providing a ready-made framework for communicating with a custom design on the FPGA. FARM ensures efficient, low-latency communication with the FPGA via a variety of mechanisms, allowing a wide range of applications to effectively utilize the system. FARM’s coherent FPGA includes a cache and participates in coherence activities with the processors. This tight coupling allows for realistic, innovative architecture prototypes that would otherwise be extremely difficult to simulate. We evaluate FARM by providing the reader with a profile of the overheads introduced across the full range of communication mechanisms. This will guide the potential FARM user towards an optimal configuration when designing his prototype.
Theoretical investigation of possible low-lying electronic excitations in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations of oxygen 2 p hole states of small CuO clusters representing the chains and planes in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x are reported. The results suggest that the absorption observed at 0.37 eV in reflectivity studies of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x may be due to excitation of these holes between inequivalent oxygen sites.
Calcium affects on vascular endpoints

Calcium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body and its metabolism is one of the basic biologic processes in humans. Although historically linked primarily to bone structural development and maintenance, calcium is now recognized as a key component of many physiologic pathways necessary for optimum health including cardiovascular, neurological, endocrine, renal, and gastrointestinal systems. A recent meta-analysis published in August 2011 showed a potential increase in cardiovascular events related to calcium supplementation. The possible mechanism of action of this correlation has not been well elucidated. This topic has generated intense interest due to the widespread use of calcium supplements, particularly among the middle aged and elderly who are at the most risk from cardiac events. Prior studies did not control for potential confounding factors such as the use of statins, aspirin or other medications. These controversial results warrant additional well-designed studies to investigate the relationship between calcium supplementation and cardiovascular outcomes. The purpose of this review is to highlight the current literature in regards to calcium supplementation and cardiovascular health; and to identify areas of future research.
Learning a Bi-Stochastic Data Similarity Matrix

An idealized clustering algorithm seeks to learn a cluster-adjacency matrix such that, if two data points belong to the same cluster, the corresponding entry would be 1, otherwise the entry would be 0. This integer (1/0) constraint makes it difficult to find the optimal solution. We propose a relaxation on the cluster-adjacency matrix, by deriving a bi-stochastic matrix from a data similarity (e.g., kernel) matrix according to the Bregman divergence. Our general method is named the {\em Bregmanian Bi-Stochastication} (BBS) algorithm. We focus on two popular choices of the Bregman divergence: the Euclidian distance and the KL divergence. Interestingly, the BBS algorithm using the KL divergence is equivalent to the Sinkhorn-Knopp (SK) algorithm for deriving bi-stochastic matrices. We show that the BBS algorithm using the Euclidian distance is closely related to the relaxed $k$-means clustering and can often produce noticeably superior clustering results than the SK algorithm (and other algorithms such as Normalized Cut), through extensive experiments on public data sets.
A multiplier theorem for projections of affine difference sets

Abstract It is shown that every abelian relative ( m, n, m − 1, ( (m − 2) n )-difference set admits m − 1 as a multiplier.
Talk and work: a preliminary report

Developers in Open Source Software (OSS) projects communicate using mailing lists. By convention, the mailing lists used only for task-related discussions, so they are primarily concerned with the software under development, and software process issues (releases, etc.). We focus on the discussions concerning the software, and study the frequency with which software entities (functions, methods, classes, etc) are mentioned in the mail. We find a strong, striking, cumulative relationship between this mention count in the email, and the number of times these entities are included in changes to the software. When we study the same phenomena over a series of time-intervals, the relationship is much less strong. This suggests some interesting avenues for future research.
Cardiac magnetic resonance parameters predict transplantation-free survival in patients with fontan circulation.

Background— Several clinical risk factors for death and heart transplantation have been identified in patients with Fontan circulation. It is unknown whether cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) measurements of ventricular size and function are independently associated with these outcomes and further improve risk stratification. Methods and Results— Data on patients with Fontan circulation who had a CMR study from January 2002 to January 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. The end point was time to death or listing for heart transplantation after the CMR study. The median age of the 215 patients was 18.3 years (25th, 75th percentiles: 14, 26) with a median age at Fontan of 3.6 years (2.3, 7.1). During a median post-CMR follow-up period of 4.1 years (2.6, 6.2), 24 patients (11%) reached the end point: 20 deaths, 3 transplantations, and 1 transplantation listing. In a multivariable Cox regression model with clinical parameters only, protein-losing enteropathy was associated with transplantation-free survival. A multivariable model, including clinical and CMR parameters, showed that in addition to protein-losing enteropathy, ventricular indexed end-diastolic volume >125 mL/body surface area raised to the 1.3 power was associated with transplantation-free survival. A likelihood-ratio test comparing the 2 models showed that the addition of indexed end-diastolic volume resulted in a significantly improved end point prediction ( P <0.001)— C -index increased from 0.63 to 0.79. Conclusions— CMR-derived ventricular indexed end-diastolic volume is an independent predictor of transplantation-free survival in patients late after the Fontan operation and adds incremental value over clinical symptoms alone for risk stratification.
Micro electromechanical systems (MEMS): technology and future applications in circuits

MEMS technology can enable new circuit components. Current examples include RF signal switches, tunable capacitors and inductors, resonant filters, antennas, and relays. These components, all involving micromechanical principles, can provide enhanced performances and reconfigurability, reduced component sizes, and potentially simplified system-level design. I will discuss our DARPA-funded efforts in developing electromechanical RF switches, high-gain antennas, and new types of planar waveguides. Thermal-mechanical RF switches exhibit low on-state insertion loss and high off-state isolation compared with conventional transistor-based counterparts, while operating under IC-compatible bias conditions.
Coexisting desert rodents differ in selection of microhabitats for cache placement and pilferage

Seed caching by desert rodents in the family Heteromyidae is an important behavioral adaptation for animals living in environments with limited and unpredictable food resources. Heteromyids cache seeds throughout their home ranges, either concentrated in 1 location (larder hoard) or in multiple, small seed piles (scatter hoards). To minimize cache pilferage by other rodents, coexisting species may scatter hoard seeds in distinct microhabitats. We examined interspecific differences in caching and pilfering behaviors of 3 coexisting heteromyid rodents, Merriam's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami), the pale kangaroo mouse (Microdipodops pallidus), and the little pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris), to determine if caching microhabitat affects likelihood of pilferage. In outdoor enclosures we tracked cache placement and measured pilferage of artificial caches using radiolabeled Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) seeds. M. pallidus and P. longimembris placed seed caches mostly under shrubs, whereas D. merriami placed caches predominately in open microhabitat. However, D. merriami showed a significant preference for pilfering caches under shrubs, whereas P. longimembris did not show a significant preference for pilfering caches in either open or undershrub microhabitats. The 2 species pilfered similar numbers of caches. Coexisting heteroymid rodent species may contribute to spatial heterogeneity of available resources by caching in different microhabitats, thereby reducing but not eliminating cache pilferage by other species.
Enhanced endothelin-1 system activity with overweight and obesity.

Endothelin (ET)-1-mediated vasoconstrictor tone contributes to the development and progression of several adiposity-related conditions, including hypertension and atherosclerotic vascular disease. ...
A joint classification and compression system: Processing hyperspectral imagery onboard storageless reconnaissance platforms to support real-time decision making

Compressing hyperspectral data such that class discrimination is maintained is a difficult task. In a supervised classification scenario, one has hope of meeting this goal since all information needed to classify the data is present. The challenge then is to determine which subset of features are important for classification and which are not. We summarize our generalized relevance learning vector quantization-improved (GRLVQI) [1], based on Hammer and Villmann's GRLVQ [2], for the joint classification and feature extraction of hyperspectral data. Our previous results show exceptional classification and feature reduction results on 23 and 35 classes of a real hyperspectral data set [1], [3]. We present a scalable architecture for GRLVQI targeted for hardware implementation enabling hyperspectral- based real-time decision making functions. Implementing the GRLVQI system with floating point gate array technology likely provides a means of developing a partial reconfigurable GRLVQI system that allows one add or remove classes on-the-fly without adversely affecting the current state of the classifier or feature extractor.
Plastic Materials Used for Fabrication of Blood Pumps

The various primary plastic materials which have been used for the fabrication of blood pumps since 1957 number less than fifteen. The surface property of these materials can be divided into three general categories: 1) smooth, nonpermeable, 2) porous or rough, and 3) biolized. Among the various factors to be considered for candidate materials, the two most important are mechanical durability and blood compatibility, particularly antithrombogenicity. This paper will present an historical review of plastic materials used for the fabrication of blood pumps, with the emphasis on antithrombogenicity not only in relation to the material itself, but also with respect to its design and fabrication.
Automated pattern recognition—Self-generating expert systems for the future

Chemometrics and pattern recognition had their start in chemistry in the late 1960's. The most recent review of the area by Michael DeLaney listed 438 journal articles and books. The three most important areas of future development will be Expert Systems, Relational Data Bases, and Robotics. It should now be possible to combine existing robotics and artificial intelligence software to create a system which will generate its own expert systems using relational data bases. The data will be in the chemical domain and the system I describe we are calling the Analytical Director. The Analytical Director will be an artificial intelligence/robotic expert system for the analytical laboratory. The Analytical Director will develop, test, implement and interpret chemical analysis procedures. It will learn from its own experience, the experience of others and communicate what it has learned to others. The Analytical Director will be a self-generating Expert System. I believe that such systems will, in the future, provide all the advantages of pattern recognition, expert systems and relational data bases in experimental settings. Problems will continue to be defined by human beings, but more and more, the laboratory will design, execute and evaluate its own experiments.
Coping styles and quality of life in adults with burn.

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the pattern of connections between coping strategies and indices of burn-related quality of life (BRQOL). Method Burn patients (n = 83) were recruited from an outpatient burn clinic in the critical care hospital of a South Atlantic medical college. Participants completed measures of coping and BRQOL while in the waiting room before or after their medical appointment. Results A canonical correlation found that coping strategies and BRQOL were highly correlated with 47.6% overlapping variance. Within this canonical correlation, body image and dysfunctional coping had the largest loadings, suggesting that individuals with burn who exhibit negative perceptions of their body tend to engage in more dysfunctional coping styles. A multiple regression then found that a set of dysfunctional coping styles explained 39.2% of the variance in body image, with self-blame and self-distraction as independent predictors of negative perceptions of their body. Conclusions Targeted intervention research that focuses on the reduction of psychological distress related to body image, self-blame, and self-distraction may have the potential to increase quality of life among individuals with burn.
The natural history of bronchial atresia Serial observations of a case from birth to operative correction

A 10-year-old child presented with a history of intermittent respiratory symptoms since birth. Progressive shift of the mediastinum away from a hyperexpanded left upper lobe to the right side was evident on serial chest films, since birth. Bronchograms demonstrated atresia of the bronchus to the hyperexpanded segment. Xenon washout demonstrated prolonged half-time in the left upper lobe resulting from collateral ventilatory channels. Resection of the apical posterior segment of the left upper lobe was performed without complication. Bronchial atresia with collateral ventilation caused "lobar emphysema" in this patient.
Diffusion Capillary Phantom vs. Human Data: Outcomes for Reconstruction Methods Depend on Evaluation Medium

Purpose: Diffusion MRI provides a non-invasive way of estimating structural connectivity in the brain. Many studies have used diffusion phantoms as benchmarks to assess the performance of different tractography reconstruction algorithms and assumed that the results can be applied to in vivo studies. Here we examined whether quality metrics derived from a common, publically available, diffusion phantom can reliably predict tractography performance in human white matter tissue. Material and Methods: We compared estimates of fiber length and fiber crossing among a simple tensor model (diffusion tensor imaging), a more complicated model (ball-and-sticks) and model-free (diffusion spectrum imaging, generalized q-sampling imaging) reconstruction methods using a capillary phantom and in vivo human data (N=14). Results: Our analysis showed that evaluation outcomes differ depending on whether they were obtained from phantom or human data. Specifically, the diffusion phantom favored a more complicated model over a simple tensor model or model-free methods for resolving crossing fibers. On the other hand, the human studies showed the opposite pattern of results, with the model-free methods being more advantageous than model-based methods or simple tensor models. This performance difference was consistent across several metrics, including estimating fiber length and resolving fiber crossings in established white matter pathways. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the construction of current capillary diffusion phantoms tends to favor complicated reconstruction models over a simple tensor model or model-free methods, whereas the in vivo data tends to produce opposite results. This brings into question the previous phantom-based evaluation approaches and suggests that a more realistic phantom or simulation is necessary to accurately predict the relative performance of different tractography reconstruction methods. Acronyms: BSM: ball-and-sticks model; dODF diffusion orientation distribution function; DSI: diffusion spectrum imaging; DTI: diffusion tensor imaging; GQI: generalized q-sampling imaging; ODF: orientation distribution function.
Bayesian Processing for the Detection of Radioactive Contraband from Uncertain Measurements

With the increase in terrorist activities throughout the world, the need to develop techniques capable of detecting radioactive contraband in a timely manner is a critical requirement. The development of Bayesian processors for the detection of contraband stems from the fact that the posterior distribution is clearly multimodal eliminating the usual Gaussian-based processors. The development of a sequential bootstrap processor for this problem is discussed and shown how it is capable of providing an enhanced signal for eventual detection.
Power and Weaknesses of the Idea of Natural Rights

This chapter presents the classical objections towards the idea of natural rights and continues by discussing an approach that undermines the persistent meaning of the idea of human rights. It will seek to demonstrate the long-lasting meaning of the concept of human dignity according to a important historical stages in debates about human rights and human dignity, i.e. debates of the late Spanish scholasticism.
Editorial: Publishing Suggestions for Potential Authors

This editorial provides several suggestions for authors who are preparing manuscripts for submission to the Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education.
Becoming Makers: Examining "Making" Literacy in the Elementary School Science Classroom

This paper extends the concept of digital literacy and applies it to Making. Through case descriptions, we contribute an understanding of how children can become or fail to become individuals literate in Making within a formal learning context. Our analysis draws from video recordings and other data sources of two 4th grade classrooms in which the students, who had already participated in 1.5 years of more structured 'makified activities', engaged in an open-ended, exploration-based, and playful task that was more in line with the spirit of Making. Student teams were classified as 'high in Making literacy' and 'low in Making literacy', revealing how Making literacy was expressed at the level of skills, mental models, and practices in various ways for different students. Our qualitative analysis demonstrates what burgeoning Making literacy may mean in a public elementary school classroom, paving the way for a vision of a time when Making becomes generalized practice.
Cervical Chondrocutaneous Branchial Remnants

Cervical chondrocutaneous branchial remnants are rare congenital choristomas. These lesions contain a cartilage core surrounded by skin with adnexal structures and subcutaneous fat. Correspondingly, on ultrasound there is a tubular hypoechoic core surrounded by hyperechoic, while on CT there is central intermediate attenuation surrounded by fat attenuation tissues. These features are exemplified in this sine qua non radiology-pathology correlation article. Management includes complete surgical resection and evaluating for potential associated anomalies, such as other branchial apparatus anomalies, as well as cardiac anomalies.
Analysis of high-resolution 3D intrachromosomal interactions aided by Bayesian network modeling

Long-range intrachromosomal interactions play an important role in 3D chromosome structure and function, but our understanding of how various factors contribute to the strength of these interactions remains poor. In this study we used a recently developed analysis framework for Bayesian network (BN) modeling to analyze publicly available datasets for intrachromosomal interactions. We investigated how 106 variables affect the pairwise interactions of over 10 million 5-kb DNA segments in the B-lymphocyte cell line GB12878. Strictly data-driven BN modeling indicates that the strength of intrachromosomal interactions (hic_strength) is directly influenced by only four types of factors: distance between segments, Rad21 or SMC3 (cohesin components),transcription at transcription start sites (TSS), and the number of CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF)-cohesin complexes between the interacting DNA segments. Subsequent studies confirmed that most high-intensity interactions have a CTCF-cohesin complex in at least one of the interacting segments. However, 46% have CTCF on only one side, and 32% are without CTCF. As expected, high-intensity interactions are strongly dependent on the orientation of the ctcf motif, and, moreover, we find that the interaction between enhancers and promoters is similarly dependent on ctcf motif orientation. Dependency relationships between transcription factors were also revealed, including known lineage-determining B-cell transcription factors (e.g., Ebf1) as well as potential novel relationships. Thus, BN analysis of large intrachromosomal interaction datasets is a useful tool for gaining insight into DNA-DNA, protein-DNA, and protein-protein interactions.
Mapping the coupled role of structure and materials in mechanics of platelet-matrix composites

Abstract Despite significant progresses on understanding and mimicking the delicate nano/microstructure of biomaterials such as nacre, decoding the indistinguishable merger of materials and structures in controlling the tradeoff in mechanical properties has been long an engineering pursuit. Herein, we focus on an archetype platelet-matrix composite and perform ∼400 nonlinear finite element simulations to decode the complex interplay between various structural features and material characteristics in conferring the balance of mechanical properties. We study various combinatorial models expressed by four key dimensionless parameters, i.e. characteristic platelet length, matrix plasticity, platelet dissimilarity, and overlap offset, whose effects are all condensed in a new unifying parameter, defined as the multiplication of strength, toughness, and stiffness over composite volume. This parameter, which maximizes at a critical characteristic length, controls the transition from intrinsic toughening (matrix plasticity driven without crack growths) to extrinsic toughening phenomena involving progressive crack propagations. This finding, combined with various abstract volumetric and radar plots, will not only shed light on decoupling the complex role of structure and materials on mechanical performance and their trends, but provides important guidelines for designing lightweight staggered platelet-matrix composites while ensuring the best (balance) of their mechanical properties.
Dynamic Disruption Management in Airline Networks Under Airport Operating Uncertainty

Air traffic disruptions result in flight delays, cancellations, passenger misconnections, and ultimately high costs to aviation stakeholders. This paper proposes a jointly reactive and proactive ap...
β-carotene reduces sister chromatid exchanges induced by chemical carcinogens in mouse mammary cells in organ culture

Present studies in the mammary epithelial cell transformation model in organ culture showed that presence of beta-carotene during the 24 hr treatment (initiation stage) of the glands with the carcinogens, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (DENA) and N-methylnitrosourea (MNU), caused a highly significant (P less than 0.001-0.01) reduction of SCE induced by the same carcinogens. In contrast, 4-hydroxyphenyl retinamide (4-HPR) which is known to act at the promotional stage of carcinogenesis did not show any significant reduction of SCE. Thus findings suggest that beta-carotene can modify the DNA damaging effect of the carcinogens and thereby may also prevent the initiation of the carcinogenic process.
Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange

In the field of protein chemistry, it has become more and more important to be able to determine tertiary as well as secondary and primary structure in order to decide what properties of a given protein determine its functions. One of the techniques introduced in recent years for such purposes is hydrogen-deuterium exchange.
A Pedestrian’s Guide to Interferometry

In the collision of two heavy ions at RHIC or LHC energies, it is thought that a quark-gluon plasma will be formed. The defining characteristic of such a state of matter is a deconfinement region significantly larger than the ∼ 1 fm radii of the individual hadrons. The only direct method of probing the spatial distribution of hadronic collisions is to measure correlations between pairs of emitted particles. This approach, especially when applied to pairs of identical particles, is usually referred to as Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) interferometry, in recognition of the pioneering work of Hanbury-Brown and Twiss[1] in applying this technique to optical astronomy.