cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Newer Architectures for Clinical Decision Support

In recent years, the general IT community has been moving from a monolithic-type of software architecture to a service-oriented architecture that involves developing systems using independent, well-defined software services that are then coordinated to meet business needs. The main benefit of a service-oriented architecture is the ability to more easily and more rapidly implement needed business capabilities using independent software services. While lagging behind many industries, the healthcare industry has been moving towards a service-oriented architecture, including in the space of clinical decision support. In this chapter, we describe notable efforts in service-oriented clinical decision support and speculate on its potential evolution in the future.
US Rebalancing Strategy and South Korea’s Middle Power Diplomacy

At the same time that the USA has unveiled its rebalance to Asia, South Korean foreign policy strategists have been carefully considering how their country can more effectively use diplomatic, economic, and military capabilities it has accrued as a result of its own rise to prominence as a G-20 member and top-tier trading economy. The discussion within South Korean foreign policy circles regarding its future strategy has been animated primarily by the idea that South Korea is a middle power. Therefore, a deeper understanding and application of attributes of a middle power to South Korea’s situation will assist South Korean policymakers by providing a constructive blueprint for South Korea’s foreign policy.
Presidential Diversionary Attempts: A Peaceful Perspective

This article considers the potential for presidents to attempt to distract the public when faced with difficult domestic conditions. It differs from previous work in the field by examining peaceful diversionary attempts and by including scandals as domestic conditions from which the president may seek to divert attention. The results strongly support the idea of peaceful diversionary behavior through presidential rhetoric. Comparison of economic and scandal events in terms of producing diversion suggests important differences between types of events.
City-Wide Traffic Flow Estimation From a Limited Number of Low-Quality Cameras

We present a new approach to lightweight intelligent transportation systems. Our approach does not rely on traditional expensive infrastructures, but rather on advanced machine learning algorithms. It takes images from traffic cameras at a limited number of locations and estimates the traffic over the entire road network. Our approach features two main algorithms. The first is a probabilistic vehicle counting algorithm from low-quality images that falls into the category of unsupervised learning. The other is a network inference algorithm based on an inverse Markov chain formulation that infers the traffic at arbitrary links from a limited number of observations. We evaluated our approach on two different traffic data sets, one acquired in Nairobi, Kenya, and the other in Kyoto, Japan.
Procrustes Classifier for Marine Day Marker

This conceptual paper examines the computer identification of signs called day markers that commonly appear for navigation purposes in a marine channel waterway. Most people are familiar with these signs when navigating in a boat as they appear either as red triangles, green rectangles or diamonds since they aid navigation through the channel. The paper focuses on a proposed classifier using Procrustes analysis techniques for identification purposes.
Causes and courses of careers

In the glare of the rockets of the "science wars", physicists on the battlefield have come to identify the sociology of science with the sociology of scientific knowledge, where the focus is not just on the scientists themselves, but also on the body of knowledge they strive to create. This often leads to claims about the character of that knowledge that many of us find unconvincing. But The Stars Are Not Enough is firmly almost apologetically, situated in the older tradition, It is about physicists, not about physics.
Process-Structure Linkages Using a Data Science Approach: Application to Simulated Additive Manufacturing Data

A novel data science workflow is developed and demonstrated to extract process-structure linkages (i.e., reduced-order model) for microstructure evolution problems when the final microstructure depends on (simulation or experimental) processing parameters. This workflow consists of four main steps: data pre-processing, microstructure quantification, dimensionality reduction, and extraction/validation of process-structure linkages. Methods that can be employed within each step vary based on the type and amount of available data. In this paper, this data-driven workflow is applied to a set of synthetic additive manufacturing microstructures obtained using the Potts-kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) approach. Additive manufacturing techniques inherently produce complex microstructures that can vary significantly with processing conditions. Using the developed workflow, a low-dimensional data-driven model was established to correlate process parameters with the predicted final microstructure. Additionally, the modular workflows developed and presented in this work facilitate easy dissemination and curation by the broader community.
Pheniqs: Fast and flexible quality-aware sequence demultiplexing

Output from high throughput sequencing instruments often exceeds what is necessary to assay a single sample. To better utilize this capacity, multiple samples are independently tagged with a unique "barcode" sequence and are then pooled, or "multiplexed", and sequenced together. Classifying, or "demultiplexing", the reads involves decoding the barcode sequence. Although instruments estimate the probability of incorrectly calling each nucleobase, available demultiplexers do not consult those estimates or report classification error probabilities. We present Pheniqs, a fast and flexible sequence demultiplexer and quality analyzer. In addition to providing an efficient implementation of the widespread minimum distance decoder, Pheniqs introduces a novel Phred-adjusted maximum likelihood decoder that consults base calling quality scores and estimates the probability of a barcode decoding error. Setting an upper bound on the permissible error provides an intuitive way to control demultiplexing confidence and directly influence precision and recall. Pheniqs supports FASTQ and multiple Sequence Alignment/Map formats and uses auxiliary SAM tags to report both library classification and demultiplexing error probability. Evaluation on both real and semi-synthetic data indicates that Pheniqs is faster than existing demultiplexers, substantially when demultiplexing longer reads, and achieves greater accuracy by correctly reflecting quality measurements. Implemented in multithreaded C++ and available under the terms of the AGPL-3.0 license agreement at http://github.com/biosails/pheniqs. Manual and examples are available at http://biosails.github.io/pheniqs.
Preliminary Desecriptions of 25 New Decapod Crustaceans from the Middle Eocene of the Carolinas, U.S.A.

Twenty-three genera, 14 new, representing 12 families and comprising 25 new species of decapod crustaceans, are described from the middle Eocene Castle Hayne and Santee limestones of North and South Carolina. Of the nine existing genera, members of five, "Paguristes," Cyrtorhina, Lophoranina, Calappilia, and Titanocarcinus, had been reported previously from the Americas. The new taxa are: "Paguristes wheeleri" (Diogenidae); Albunea hahnae, the first American fossil species of the genus (Albuneidae ); Ameridromia, type species A. hyneorum, and Dromidia bedetteae, the first fossil record for the latter genus (Dromiidae); Prohomola katunai, the first record of the genus outside of Japan (Homolidae); Cyrtorhina fuss eli, the first named American species of this genus, Lophoranina raynorae, and L. rossi (Raninidae); Titanodorippe, type species T. eocenica, the largest known member of the Dorippinae (Dorippidae); Calappilia sitzi, Eriosachila, type species E. petiti, Matutites, type species M. anthonyae, and Pseudohepatiscus, type species P marinoi (Calappidae); Wilsonimaia, type species W. ethelae, and W. schneiderorum (Majidae); Santeecarcinus, type species S. harmatuki, and Sarahcarcinus, type species S . campbellorum (Cancridae); Acantholambrus, type species A. baumi (Parthenopidae); Viacarcinus, type species V. druidi, the first fossil eumedonid and the first fossil or Recent eumedonid to be recorded from the Americas (Eumedonidae); Eocarpilius, type species E. carolinensis, Eohalimede, type species E. walleri, Laeuzcarcinus dockeryi, the first record for the genus out side of Hungary and the first American species of the genus, Santeella, type species S. lillyae, Santeexanthus, type species S. wardi, and Titanocarcinus purdyi (Xanthidae). The assemblage, as a whole, has greater affinities with the faunas of the Eocene of Hungary, Italy, and Spain than with known American Eocene faunas.
A Government Sponsored High-Deductible Consumer-Driven (HDCD) National Health Plan Could Provide Universal Health Coverage and Simultaneously Reduce the National Health Expenditures (NHE) in the United States of America

Rather than a tweaking of an inefficient system, why not rethink entirely how the United States (US) Government allocated the $1.155 trillion ($1,815 - $660) spent on non-Medicare healthcare funding in 2016. The US Government could allocate $325 billion to provide every family in the country with a high-deductible consumer-driven (HDCD) health plan limiting each family to an annual out-of-pocket maximum of $14,300. The US Government could then use the remaining $830 billion to provide each family with a $12,205 contribution to a Health Savings Account (HSA). This would leave each family with an annual total out-of-pocket maximum of $2,095 which is about a twelfth of the combined amount that employers and employees are currently paying for health insurance. The portable HSA managed by the employee would incentivize employees to control costs since unused HSA funds, in any given year, could be rolled and available for use in future years. This would reduce administrative costs, likely reduce overall demand for healthcare, and subsequently reduce the cost of care.
Terrestrial–aquatic trophic linkages support fish production in a tropical oligotrophic river

Despite low in situ primary productivity, tropical oligotrophic rivers support highly diverse fish assemblages and productive fisheries. This raises the question, what energy sources support fish production in these ecosystems? We sampled fish and food resources in the floodplain of a nearly pristine, large, oligotrophic river in western Amazonia. We combined data from stomach contents and stable isotopes to test the hypothesis that floodplain forests sustain fisheries in tropical oligotrophic rivers. Analysis of stomach contents from > 800 specimens of 12 omnivorous fish species demonstrated that during the annual flood, forest plant matter dominated diets. Yet, our isotope mixing models estimated that arthropods from the forest canopy made a greater proportional contribution to fish biomass. Most of these arthropods are entirely terrestrial and, therefore, serve as trophic links between forests and fishes. Our results suggest that forest vegetation, particularly fruits, may provide much of the energy supporting metabolism and arthropods contribute significant amounts of protein for somatic growth. Moreover, the importance of terrestrial arthropods in support of fish biomass in oligotrophic rivers depends on interactions between riparian vegetation, terrestrial arthropods and flood pulse dynamics affecting accessibility of arthropods to fishes. The apparent paradox of high fish diversity in an oligotrophic river with low primary productivity may be explained, at least partially, by dynamic terrestrial–aquatic trophic linkages. This study further emphasizes the importance of seasonally flooded forests for sustaining fisheries in the Amazon.
Literature Review of Succession Planning Strategies and Tactics

All organizations have one thing in common. At a certain point, they must deal with shifts of leadership, culture, politics, decision-making, power, and strategies for improvement. Organizations with clearly developed succession plans are the most successful in this transition, regardless of the industry, business model, or type of ownership. This literature review considers theoretical foundations, research on the topic, and best practices. The chapter also illuminates strategies, tactics, and development of future leaders. A common theme of the existing literature is that a successor must be an innovative thinker who influences the organization’s high performance, competitiveness, and sustainability.
Plasmofluidics for Biosensing and Medical Diagnostics

Plasmofluidics, an extension of optofluidics into the nanoscale regime, merges plasmonics and micro-/nanofluidics for highly integrated and multifunctional lab on a chip. In this chapter, we focus on the applications of plasmofluidics in the versatile manipulation and sensing of biological cell, organelles, molecules, and nanoparticles, which underpin advanced biomedical diagnostics.
Evaluation of absorption coefficient based on proper solution space

Abstract This note is concerned with a new method for the evaluation of an unknown coefficient in a parabolic equation. The method starts with an initial guess for the unknown function and obtains corrections to the assumed value at every iteration. The updating step is the new feature of the present algorithm. The method treats the error field which has the appropriate (zero) Dirichlet boundary conditions. The algorithm shows good robustness to noise and can be used to obtain a good estimate of the unknown function. A number of numerical examples are used to show the applicability of the method.
Does depression affect illness beliefs in cancer survivors

156Background: As cancer survivors live longer and many die from their comorbidities rather than from cancer, it is important to understand how a cancer diagnosis may impact survivors’ perception of their other comorbidities. In addition, cancer is associated with increased risk for depression. We aim to assess the relationship between depressive symptoms and illness beliefs in cancer survivors with diabetes (DM). Methods: We recruited 75 patients with DM who were newly diagnosed with early-stage breast, prostate, lung or colon cancer. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale; illness beliefs were assessed with the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. Illness belief questions were dichotomized at the median, and non-parametric analyses were used to assess the relationship between depressive symptom scores and presence of illness beliefs. Results: Seventy-five patients with DM and a new diagnosis of cancer were enrolled. The average age was 61.8 year...
Commentary on the Developing Field of Ecotoxicology

Cairns et al. have speculated that the following factors will lead to a paradigm shift in ecotoxicology: the goal of sustainable development the balance of technological and ecosystem services and the shift in emphasis from basing management decisions upon the absence of indications of deleterious effects to evidence of robust health paralleling the shift in human medicine. The author describes the many ways in which these factors are interrelated. The ecotoxicologist of the future will require large amounts of tutorial time or apprenticeship intensive experience in one or more field sites laboratory experience and the ability to handle both reductionist and integrative science procedures. The following levels of competence will therefore be required: data gatherers quality control specialists and project design and analysis scientists able to synthesize a multidimensional array of information and communicate the results to the general public. Sources of new information in ecotoxicology are noted.
Experiences of Technology Integration in Home Care Nursing

The infusion of health care technologies into the home leads to substantial changes in the nature of work for home care nurses and their patients. Nurses and nursing practice must change to capitalize on these innovations. As part of a randomized field experiment evaluating web-based support for home care of patients with chronic heart disease, we engaged nine nurses in a dialogue about their experience integrating this modification of care delivery into their practice. They shared their perceptions of the work they needed to do and their perceptions and expectations for patients and themselves in using technologies to promote and manage self-care. We document three overarching themes that identify preexisting factors that influenced integration or represent the consequences of technology integration into home care: doing tasks differently, making accommodations in the home for devices and computers, and being mindful of existing expectations and skills of both nurses and patients.
Genomic and expression profiling reveal molecular heterogeneity of disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow of early breast cancer.

Detection of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in bone marrow is an established negative prognostic factor. We isolated small pools of (~20) EPCAM-positive DTCs from early breast cancer patients for genomic profiling. Genome-wide copy number profiles of DTC pools (n = 45) appeared less aberrant than the corresponding primary tumors (PT, n = 16). PIK3CA mutations were detected in 26% of DTC pools (n = 53), none of them were shared with matched PTs. Expression profiling of DTC pools (n = 30) confirmed the upregulation of EPCAM expression and certain oncogenes (e.g., MYC and CCNE1), as well as the absence of hematopoietic features. Two expression subtypes were observed: (1) luminal with dual epithelial–mesenchymal properties (high ESR1 and VIM/CAV1 expression), and (2) basal-like with proliferative/stem cell-like phenotype (low ESR1 and high MKI67/ALDH1A1 expression). We observed high discordance between ESR1 (40%) and ERRB2 (43%) expression in DTC pools vs. the clinical ER and HER2 status of the corresponding primary tumors, suggesting plasticity of biomarker status during dissemination to the bone marrow. Comparison of expression profiles of DTC pools with available data from circulating tumor cells (CTCs) of metastatic breast cancer patients revealed gene expression signatures in DTCs that were unique from those of CTCs. For example, ALDH1A1, CAV1, and VIM were upregulated in DTC pools relative to CTCs. Taken together, analysis of pooled DTCs revealed molecular heterogeneity, possible genetic divergence from corresponding primary tumor, and two distinct subpopulations. Validation in larger cohorts is needed to confirm the presence of these molecular subtypes and to evaluate their biological and clinical significance.
Treatment at Safety-Net Hospitals Is Associated with Delays in Coil Embolization in Patients with Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Background Successful endovascular management of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) requires timely access to substantial resources. Prior studies suggest an association between time to treatment and patient outcome. Patients treated at safety-net hospitals are thought to be particularly vulnerable to disparities in access to interventions that require substantial technologic resources. We hypothesized that patients with aSAH treated at safety-net hospitals are at greater risk for delayed access to endovascular treatment. Methods Adults undergoing endovascular coiling procedures between 2002 and 2011 in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample were included. Hospitals in the quartile with the highest proportion of Medicaid or uninsured patients were defined as safety-net hospitals. A multivariate model including patient-level and hospital-level factors was constructed to permit analysis of delays in endovascular treatment (defined as time to treatment >3 days). Results Analysis included 7109 discharges of patients with aSAH undergoing endovascular coil embolization procedures from 2002 to 2011. Median time to coil embolization in all patients was 1 day; 10.1% of patients waited >3 days until treatment. In multivariate analysis, patients treated at safety-net hospitals were more likely to have a prolonged time to coil embolization (odds ratio = 1.32, P Conclusions After controlling for patient and hospital factors, individuals with aSAH treated at safety-net hospitals from 2002 to 2011 were more likely to have a delay to endovascular coil embolization than individuals treated at non–safety-net hospitals. This disparity could affect patient outcomes.
Cardiac safety profile of patients receiving high cumulative doses of pegylated-liposomal doxorubicin (PLD): Use of left ventricular ejection fraction (EF).

e14026Background: The use of doxorubicin (D) is limited by cardiotoxicity. Cumulative dose is an important risk factor for D-induced heart failure (D-HF). Retrospective studies found a ~7.5% incide...
Kinetic Fingerprints of Catalysis by Subsurface Hydrogen

Mechanisms for catalytic H2–D2 exchange involving subsurface hydrogen, H′ (D′), have been analyzed to predict the ranges of reaction conditions over which the reaction orders, nH2 and nD2, can be u...
Toward Redesigning Hybrid Maize Breeding Through Genomics-Assisted Breeding

The pure line method of corn breeding proposed by George Shull in 1909 provided the foundation for contemporary hybrid breeding. This method involved development of inbreds by self-pollination and their subsequent evaluation in single-cross combinations. Over the past hundred years, this method underwent several modifications to efficiently generate homozygous inbred lines and identify superior hybrid combinations. Nevertheless, identification of promising pairs of lines that produce superior commercial hybrids is still challenging and constitutes the most expensive and critical operation in hybrid breeding. Advances in genotyping, predictive modeling, and computational capacities in recent years led to the development genome-based approaches for prediction of genetic values for complex traits. Simulation and experimental studies of genomic prediction of hybrid performance in maize have shown very promising results. With this background, we describe in this chapter a typical structure of a contemporary phenotypic hybrid maize breeding program; introduce the genomic selection (GS) approach and its application to a hybrid maize breeding pipeline; and review results of genomic prediction studies for hybrid maize, with particular emphasis on prediction of single crosses. We conclude with a discussion on future research needs and potential alternative hybrid breeding schemes in light of the rapidly developing field of genomics-assisted breeding.
Advances in Immunotherapy and Periocular Malignancy

Immunotherapy has significantly advanced the field of oncology in recent decades. Understanding normal immunosurveillance, as well as the ways in which tumor cells have evolved to evade it, has pro...
Fabrication of Solution-Cast Polyacrylonitrile Barriers for Hollow Fiber Sorbents Used in CO2 Removal from Flue Gas

Hollow fiber sorbents for gas separation benefit from the use of a heat transfer fluid transported through their bores for thermal moderation and heat recovery. Additionally, for thermal swing proc...
THE ROLE OF SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGIOUSNESS IN AIDING RECOVERY FROM ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG PROBLEMS: AN INVESTIGATION IN A NATIONAL U.S. SAMPLE.

Background More Americans than ever before are identifying as "spiritual but not religious". Both spirituality and religiousness (S/R) are of interest in the addiction field as they are related to alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems and are central to some recovery pathways. Yet, little is known overall about S/R identification among people in recovery, the role these play in aiding recovery, and whether they play more or less of a role for certain sub-groups (e.g., men/women, different races/ethnicities; those with treatment or 12-step histories). Method Nationally representative cross-sectional sample of US adults (N=39,809) screening positive to the question, "Did you use to have a problem with alcohol or drugs but no longer do?" (final weighted sample n= 2,002). Weighted Chi-Square and Poisson-distributed generalized linear mixed models tested for differences in S/R and for differences across subgroups on extent of: 1) religious, and, 2) spiritual, identification, and the extent to which these had aided recovery. Results Participants reported being mostly moderately spiritual and religious, and that, overall, religion had not helped them overcome their AOD problem. In contrast, spirituality was reported as either not helping at all, or having made all the difference. Substantial differences were observed by race-ethnicity across both spirituality and religiousness, and to a lesser degree between men and women. Black Americans reported substantially more S/R than Whites and that these often made all the difference in their recovery. The exact opposite trend was observed for White and Hispanic Americans. Prior professional treatment and 12-step mutual-aid use were both related to greater spirituality, but not religiousness. Conclusion Overall, spirituality but not religion, appears to play a role in aiding recovery particularly among those with prior treatment or 12-step histories, but women and men, and racial-ethnic groups in particular, differ strikingly in their religious and spiritual identification and the role these have played in aiding recovery. These differences raise the question of the potential clinical utility of S/R in personalized treatment.
Periodic Polymerization and the Generation of Polymer Giant Vesicles Autonomously Driven by pH Oscillatory Chemistry.

Using the radicals generated during pH oscillations, a semibatch pH oscillator is used as the chemical fuel and engine to drive polymerization induced self-assembly (PISA) for the one-pot autonomous synthesis of functional giant vesicles. Vesicles with diameters ranging from sub-micron to ~5 µm are generated. Radical formation is found to be switched ON/OFF and be autonomously controlled by the pH oscillator itself, inducing a periodic polymerization process. The mechanism underlying these complex processes is studied and compared to conventional (non-oscillatory) initiation by the same redox pair. The pH oscillations along with the continuous increase in salt concentration in the semibatch reactor make the self-assembled objects undergo morphological evolution. This process provides a self-regulated means for the synthesis of soft giant polymersomes and opens the door for new applications of pH oscillators in a variety of contexts, from the exploration of new geochemical scenarios for the origin of life and the autonomous emergence of the necessary free-energy and proton gradients, to the creation of active functional microreactors and programmable release of cargo molecules for pH-responsive materials.
The Philadelphia surgery conference: a value analysis of a hands-on surgical skill-building event.

Context Limited opportunities exist to practice technical skills and to be exposed to various surgical specialties during preclinical medical education. Objectives To assess the value of workshop-based educational opportunities to medical students during preclinical training. Methods One hundred and 75 medical and physician assistant students from 10 medical schools attended the 2019 Philadelphia Surgery Conference. All students received STOP THE BLEED® bleeding control training and participated in four workshops, chosen from a list of 23, that demonstrated a variety of surgical skills. Data collection was accomplished using both a pre- and postconference survey to assess changes in confidence of personal capabilities, knowledge base, and opinions regarding preclinical medical training. Results Preconference survey results indicated low baseline confidence in personal surgical skills (mean [SD], 1.9 [1.0], on a Likert scale of 1-5), and knowledge of various surgical specialties (2.7 [1.0]). Students highly valued skill-building experiences (mean [SD], 4.2 [1.1]) and face-to-face interactions with resident and attending physicians (4.4 [0.9]). Postconference survey analysis demonstrated increased confidence in surgical ability by 52.6% (mean [SD], 2.9 [1.0]; p<0.001) and knowledge base by 34.6% (3.5 [0.8]; p<0.001). Value scores increased for both preclinical surgical skill-building opportunities (mean [SD], 4.4 [0.9]; p=0.014) and interactions with resident and attending physicians (4.7 [0.6]; p=0.002). Conclusions The Philadelphia Surgery Conference provided a highly valuable experience to participating students, increasing confidence in personal knowledge base and surgical skills while facilitating a collaboration between students and resident and attending physicians from various surgical specialties.
Genetic trends in Fusarium head blight resistance due to 20 years of winter wheat breeding and cooperative testing in the Northern US.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease of wheat and barley. In the US, a significant long-term investment in breeding FHB resistant cultivars began after the 1990s. However, to this date, no study has been performed to understand and monitor the rate of genetic progress in FHB resistance as a result of this investment. Using 20 years of data (1998 to 2018) from the Northern Uniform (NU) and Preliminarily Northern Uniform (PNU) winter wheat scab nurseries which consisted of 1068 genotypes originating from 9 different institutions, we studied the genetic trends in FHB resistance within the northern soft red winter wheat growing region using mixed model analyses. For the FHB resistance traits incidence, severity, Fusarium damaged kernels (FDK), and deoxynivalenol content, the rate of genetic gain in disease resistance was estimated to be 0.30 ± 0.1, 0.60 ± 0.09, 0.37 ± 0.11 points per year, and 0.11 ± 0.05 ppm per year, respectively. Among the five FHB resistance QTL assayed for test entries from 2012 to 2018, the frequencies of favorable alleles from Fhb 2DL Wuhan1 W14, Fhb Ernie 3Bc, and Fhb 5A Ning7840 was close to zero across the years. The frequency of the favorable at Fhb1 and Fhb 5A Ernie ranged from 0.08 to 0.33 and 0.06 to 0.20 respectively across years, and there was no trend in changes in allele frequencies over years. Overall, this study showed that substantial genetic progress has been made towards improving resistance to FHB. It is apparent that the current investment in public wheat breeding for FHB resistance is achieving results and will continue to play a vital role in reducing FHB levels in growers' fields.
Developmental regulation of the toxin sensitivity of Ca(2+)-permeable AMPA receptors in cortical glia.

We examined the properties of glutamate agonist-induced Ca*+ fluxes in cultured CG-4 and O-2A progenitor cells from rat cortex. Kainate-induced Ca*+ fluxes in these ceils were found to be attributable to the activation of AMPA receptors. Thus, these fluxes were enhanced by cyclothiazide but not by concanavalin A and were blocked completely by GYKI53655. We simultaneously examined kainate-induced Ca’+ entry and Nat currents in these cells under voltage-clamp conditions. Both of these parameters were blocked by Joro spider toxin (JSTx) in undifferentiated cells. However, neither JSTx nor Argiotoxin 636 effectively blocked either parameter in cells differentiated into type II astrocytes. This change in toxin sensitivity occurred slowly over a period of several days. Similar results were obtained in Ca’+-imaging studies. When cells were differentiated into oligodendrocytes, they showed an intermediate sensitivity to block by JSTx as assessed using imaging and voltage-clamp studies. Analysis of the expression of AMPA-receptor subunits showed an increase in the concentration of glutamate receptor-2 (GluR2) in CG-4 cells as they differentiated into type II astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. These results demonstrate that the AMPA receptors in cells of the O-2A lineage flux appreciable amounts of Ca*+ but may contain variable amounts of edited GluR2 subunits.
PDRS: A Performance Data Representation System

We present the design and development of a Performance Data Representation System (PDRS) for scalable parallel computing. PDRS provides decision support that helps users find the right data to understand their programs' performance and to select appropriate ways to display and analyze it. PDRS is an attempt to provide appropriate assistant to help programmers identifying performance bottlenecks and optimizing their programs.
Uniqueness of plane embeddings of special curves

For a family of special affine plane curves, it is shown that their embeddings in the affine plane are unique up to automorphisms of the affine plane. Examples are also given for which the embedding is not unique. We also discuss the Lin-Zaidenberg estimate of the number of singular points of an irreducible curve in terms of its rank. Formulas concerning the rank of the curve lead to an alternate simpler version of the proof of the Epimorphism Theorem.
CONTINUUM DLA: RANDOM FRACTAL GROWTH GENERATED BY A DETERMINISTIC MODEL

We consider from a theoretical and experimental point of view the role of noise in diffusion-limited aggregation. We present a deterministic model which shows fractal growth from random initial has many of the features of DLA.
Viterbi decoder architecture for interleaved convolutional code

Sn area efficient high speed Veterbi decoder architecture, which is based on the state-parallel architecture with register exchange path memory structure, for interleaved convolutional code is proposed By replacing each delay (or storage) element in state metrics memory (or path metrics memory) and path memory (or survival memory) with I delays, interleaved Viterbi decoder is obtained. The decoding speed of this decoder architecture is as fast as the operating clock speed. The latency of proposed interleaved Viterbi decoder is "decoding depth (DD) /spl times/ interleaving degree (I)', which is linearly increased with the interleaving degree I.
Robust point-based feature fingerprint segmentation algorithm

A critical step in automatic fingerprint recognition is the accurate segmentation of fingerprint images. The objective of fingerprint segmentation is to decide which part of the images belongs to the foreground containing features for recognition and identification, and which part to the background with the noisy area around the boundary of the image. Unsupervised algorithms extract blockwise features. Supervised method usually first extracts point features like coherence, average gray level, variance and Gabor response, then a Fisher linear classifier is chosen for classification. This method provides accurate results, but its computational complexity is higher than most of unsupervised methods. This paper proposes using Harris corner point features to discriminate foreground and background. Shifting a window in any direction around the corner should give a large change in intensity. We observed that the strength of Harris point in the foreground area is much higher than that of Harris point in background area. The underlying mechanism for this segmentation method is that boundary ridge endings are inherently stronger Harris corner points. Some Harris points in noisy blobs might have higher strength, but it can be filtered as outliers using corresponding Gabor response. The experimental results proved the efficiency and accuracy of new method are markedly higher than those of previously described methods.
The imidazoline receptor in control of blood pressure by clonidine and allied drugs

Clonidine, moxonidine, and rilmenidine are centrally acting antihypertensive agents that lower arterial pressure by inhibiting the tonic activity of sympathoexcitatory neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla. Competing hypotheses have been put forward by different investigators to explain the sympathoinhibition evoked by “imidazoline drugs”: either via central actions at α2-adrenergic receptors or novel I1-imidazoline receptors. These different perspectives are presented in the accompanying reviews.
Analysis of Botulinum Toxin Products and Litigation in the United States

BACKGROUNDBotulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) has diverse cosmetic and therapeutic applications, spanning multiple medical specialties. Recent lawsuits alleging complications from its clinical use have raised significant questions about medicolegal risk.OBJECTIVETo identify and assess legal cases related to
Reconstruction of a high-resolution image from multiple-degraded misregistered low-resolution images

In applications that demand highly detailed images, it is often not feasible or sometimes possible to acquire images of such high resolution by just using hardware (high precision optics and charge coupled devices). Instead, image processing approaches can be used to construct a high resolution image from multiple, degraded, low resolution images. It is assumed that the low resolution images have been subsampled (thus introducing aliasing) and displaced by sub-pixel shifts with respect to a reference frame. Therefore, the problem can be divided into three sub-problems: registration (estimating the shifts), restoration, and interpolation. None of the methods which appeared in the literature solve the registration and restoration sub-problems simultaneously. This is sub-optimal, since the registration and restoration steps are inter-dependent. Based on previous restoration and identification work using the Expectation-Maximization algorithm, the proposed approach estimates the sub-pixel shifts and conditional mean (restored images) simultaneously. In addition, the registration and restoration sub-problems are cast in a multi-channel framework to take advantage of the cross- channel information. Experimental results show the validity of this method.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A Comparison Between Transitions Induced by Random and Periodic Fluctuations

It is shown that a certain class of nonlinear systems possesses a unique and stable stationary state when subjected to periodic dichotomous modulations of an external parameter. This result enables us to define a probability density for the system and to characterize its shape and support. We compare this probability density with the one obtained in the case that the external parameter fluctuates randomly like a Markovian dichotomous noise and discuss various fluctuation-induced transition phenomena. The effects of these two types of fluctuations are quite dissimilar: the random fluctuations give rise to a richer behavior. The results are applied to the Freedericksz transition in nematic liquid crystals.
Simplified complete dentures.

Complete dentures are as much a part of clinical dentistry today as they were 50 or 100 years ago. Although it is true that the relative percentage of edentulous patients decreased markedly during the later part of the twentieth century, the absolute number of edentulous patients has remained the same or possibly even increased because a higher proportion of the population is over 65 years of age now than at any time in recorded history. Increased lifespan and the aging of the population assures that the average general dental practice will see an increasingly aged patient pool over the next 30 to 40 years. Because tooth loss tends to increase with advancing age, the need for complete dentures should be relatively constant during this timeframe. The practitioner must be able to treat the completely edentulous patient and to offer high-quality complete denture service. This article describes a fabrication technique for a complete denture that is an abbreviation of the technique traditionally taught in dental schools but that should, if carefully followed, yield an acceptable complete denture service for the straightforward edentulous patient. It also attempts to provide the clinician with guidelines that will identify patients who may require a more complex treatment regimen. Referral to a prosthodontist may be indicated for these cases. Diagnosis and treatment planning It is necessary to perform a comprehensive examination of every potential denture patient. Many unsuccessful dentures are the result of the dentist’s failure to identify potential problems before beginning therapy. A thorough examination must be conducted in an organized fashion to avoid
Generation of reactive oxygen species by a novel anthraquinone derivative in the cyanobacterium Planktothrix perornata (Skuja)

A water-soluble anthraquinone derivative (2-[methylamino-N-(1′-methylethyl)]-9,10-anthraquinone monophosphate), previously found to be selectively toxic towards Planktothrix perornata at submicromolar concentrations, was studied to determine its toxic mode of action towards this cyanobacterium. Chlorophyll fluorescence was monitored as an indicator of photosynthetic efficiency, and measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was performed using the ROS-sensitive probe 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate. The effects of the herbicide paraquat (a ROS generator) as well as ascorbate and α-tocopherol (ROS scavengers) on ROS formation by P. perornata were studied. Also, the effects of different concentrations of ascorbate, α-tocopherol, and the herbicide diuron on reducing the toxicity of the water-soluble anthraquinone derivative towards P. perornata were determined. Our results indicate that the water-soluble anthraquinone derivative does not inhibit photosynthetic electron transport directly, but does generate ROS at levels that may cause toxicity towards P. perornata.
EFFECT OF PURINE ANALOGS ON ENCEPHALOMYOCARDITIS AND VACCINIA VIRUS GROWTH IN ANALOG SENSITIVE AND RESISTANT CELLS.

SummaryThe effect of 2 purine analogs, 2,6-diaminopurine (DP) and 8-azaguanine (AZA) on the multiplication of encephalomyocarditis (EMC) and vaccinia viruses in analog-sensitive and -resistant strain L cells has been investigated. It was shown that DP and AZA inhibit the multiplication of both viruses in analog-sensitive cells. DP does not inhibit the replication of EMC and vaccinia viruses in DP-resistant cells. The mechanism of cellular resistance to this analog might prevent the inhibitory action of DP on viral replication. On the other hand, AZA inhibits virus growth in AZA-resistant cells as well as in analog-sensitive cells. The mechanism of cell resistance is not effective in protecting viral replication from the inhibitory effect of the analog. It is suggested that the cell resistance to AZA may be at a step following ribophosphorylation and that virus-specific RNA synthesis might be affected by the antimetabolite, whereas cellular RNA synthesis is not significantly inhibited by the analog nucleotide.
Acute toxicity of combinations of pesticides.

Abstract The acute oral toxicity (LD 50 ) of equitoxic doses of combinations of 15 pesticides was determined in rats and mice. The Expected LD 50 of a “mixture” was compared with the Observed or Actual LD 50 and expressed as a ratio. The compounds studied included the chlorinated hydrocarbons aldrin, Aramite, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, methoxychlor, and toxaphene; the organic phosphates Delnav, diazinon, malathion, parathion, trithion, and V-C 13; and a carbamate, carbaryl. Most of the combinations of two or three of these pesticides induced essentially additive effects in both species, with the exception of the combination of aldrin and chlordane. These two compounds induced an additive effect in rats, while in mice there was a potentiation. Less than additive effects (antagonism or protection) were noted with: aldrin plus diazinon, malathion, V-C 13, Delnav, or trithion (rat); DDT plus malathion, V-C 13, or diazinon (rat); toxaphene plus trithion (rat); endrin plus DDT or Delnav (mouse); and aldrin plus parathion (mouse). More than additive effects (possibly some degree of potentiation) were noted with: endrin plus chlordane or aldrin (mouse); Aramite plus Delnav, diazinon, or parathion (mouse); methoxychlor plus chlordane, dieldrin or Delnav (mouse); aldrin plus chlordane (mouse); and chlordane plus parathion plus malathion (mouse). The data in the combinations of three pesticides did not reveal effects of toxicity which could not have been predicted from the combinations of two compounds.
Boundary integral equation technique with application to freezing around a buried pipe

Abstract In this paper the use of the boundary integral equation method (BIEM) for multidimensional problems with a moving phase-change interface is explored. The method is shown to be suited to heat transfer problems where the field equations are linear in each region and the boundary or interface matching conditions are both highly irregular and non-linear. For moving interface problems the BIE technique both reduces the dimensions of the problem by one, thus decreasing storage requirements, and directly solves for the unknown normal temperature gradient on each side of the interface for the determination of the instantaneous interface velocity. To illustrate the versatility of this technique the BIEM is applied to a previously unsolved problem: the melting/freezing around a pipe buried in a semi-infinite domain where the melting/freezing is initiated at the free surface and the medium is initially not at the phase-change temperature. For simplicity quasi-steady heat conduction is assumed in both the thawed and frozen zones. Solutions are presented for various values of the governing parameters.
Neuropsychological and Psychological Aspects of Malingered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that is frequently encountered in litigation, and as such, there is an increased risk for poor effort on cognitive tests, symptom exaggeration, or frank malingering. These are particularly problematic for accurate diagnosis. This article is divided into four sections. First, we address why individuals malinger PTSD as well as the challenges in detecting an invalid PTSD symptom presentation. Second, we discuss issues of cognitive functioning in PTSD and then the prevalence of and common patterns of poor effort on neuropsychological testing among individuals feigning PTSD. Third, we discuss psychological functioning in PTSD and then the prevalence and patterns of functioning on psychological measures of malingering in this population. Finally, recommendations for detecting invalid PTSD symptom presentations are provided.
El español en los Estados Unidos: E Pluribus Unum? Enfoques multidisciplinarios

Nos encontramos ante un libro con la pregunta en el titulo: “E Pluribus Unum?”, donde el signo interrogativo nos induce a plantearnos la cuestion de la naturaleza y de las caracteristicas del espan...
Assessment and Treatment of Psychological Causes of Chest Pain

Chest pain prompts an estimated 4.6 million people in the United States to seek emergency medical care each year. Chest pain is common in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Chest pain is also common in patients without CAD or other cardiac causes for their chest pain, sometimes called non-cardiac chest pain. Psychological assessment and treatment may clinically aid patients with chest pain in ways that may influence disease onset, maintenance, and progression and may improve quality of life. This article highlights factors important for psychological assessment and treatment of patients with chest pain.