cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonnegative Matrix Factorization for Interactive Topic Modeling and Document Clustering

Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) approximates a nonnegative matrix by the product of two low-rank nonnegative matrices. Since it gives semantically meaningful result that is easily interpretable in clustering applications, NMF has been widely used as a clustering method especially for document data, and as a topic modeling method.We describe several fundamental facts of NMF and introduce its optimization framework called block coordinate descent. In the context of clustering, our framework provides a flexible way to extend NMF such as the sparse NMF and the weakly-supervised NMF. The former provides succinct representations for better interpretations while the latter flexibly incorporate extra information and user feedback in NMF, which effectively works as the basis for the visual analytic topic modeling system that we present.Using real-world text data sets, we present quantitative experimental results showing the superiority of our framework from the following aspects: fast convergence, high clustering accuracy, sparse representation, consistent output, and user interactivity. In addition, we present a visual analytic system called UTOPIAN (User-driven Topic modeling based on Interactive NMF) and show several usage scenarios.Overall, our book chapter cover the broad spectrum of NMF in the context of clustering and topic modeling, from fundamental algorithmic behaviors to practical visual analytics systems.
White matter changes in corticospinal tract associated with improvement in arm and hand functions in incomplete cervical spinal cord injury: pilot case series.

This is a prospective clinical pilot case series. Improvement of arm and hand functions after spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the major rehabilitation goals. Electrical stimulation of the primary motor cortex via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) coupled with high-intensity repetitive motor training may have potential to facilitate improvement in motor function in chronic, incomplete cervical SCI. We investigated the relationship between motor recovery and changes in white matter integrity in response to treatment intervention. This study was conducted in The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research Memorial Hermann, Houston, USA. Four right-handed adults with chronic, incomplete cervical SCI (age, 36–63 years, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale grade C–D) were enrolled in 10 sessions of anodal tDCS at 2 mA versus sham tDCS followed by 1 h of robotic-assisted arm training. Changes in arm and hand function were measured with Jebsen–Taylor Hand Function Test and Motor Activity Log-Amount of Use. Diffusion tension imaging was used to measure changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) of corticospinal tracts (CSTs). After 10 sessions of treatment, we found greater improvement in hand function and hand usage in patients who received active tDCS treatment versus sham treatment. There was an overall positive change in FA values across all patients. We show changes in arm and hand function associated with changes in CST tractographic mapping to quantify the motor system components in chronic incomplete cervical SCI.
Rational Design of Protein C Activators

In addition to its procoagulant and proinflammatory functions mediated by cleavage of fibrinogen and PAR1, the trypsin-like protease thrombin activates the anticoagulant protein C in a reaction that requires the cofactor thrombomodulin and the endothelial protein C receptor. Once in the circulation, activated protein C functions as an anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory and regenerative factor. Hence, availability of a protein C activator would afford a therapeutic for patients suffering from thrombotic disorders and a diagnostic tool for monitoring the level of protein C in plasma. Here, we present a fusion protein where thrombin and the EGF456 domain of thrombomodulin are connected through a peptide linker. The fusion protein recapitulates the functional and structural properties of the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex, prolongs the clotting time by generating pharmacological quantities of activated protein C and effectively diagnoses protein C deficiency in human plasma. Notably, these functions do not require exogenous thrombomodulin, unlike other anticoagulant thrombin derivatives engineered to date. These features make the fusion protein an innovative step toward the development of protein C activators of clinical and diagnostic relevance.
Geisinger: An Insider's View

At Geisinger Health System, the experience has been that good care can lead to lower costs, but replicating its success might be difficult given its unique history and demographic situation.
The Effects of Computer User Handedness on a Mouse-Clicking Task:

The present study examined computer user handedness on a motor task using Fitts’s Law. Results indicated that right-handed participants were significantly faster than the left-handed participants when performing the motor task as measured by the Index of Performance. This finding could be partially attributed to the mouse design that is inconsistent with differential user handedness. Conversely, this finding could also be partially attributed to the degree of training left-handed participants received relative to their right-handed counterparts. The right-handed users outperformed their counterpart left-handed users perhaps because of physical design biases or relative degree of training. The present findings have practical implications for computer input device such as game controllers, joysticks, or mice that are physically designed for right-handed users.
Novel Insights into the Pathogenesis of Monogenic Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract

Congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT) comprise a large spectrum of congenital malformations ranging from severe manifestations, such as renal agenesis, to potentially milder conditions, such as vesicoureteral reflux. CAKUT causes approximately 40% of ESRD that manifests within the first three decades of life. Several lines of evidence indicate that CAKUT is often caused by recessive or dominant mutations in single (monogenic) genes. To date, approximately 40 monogenic genes are known to cause CAKUT if mutated, explaining 5%-20% of patients. However, hundreds of different monogenic CAKUT genes probably exist. The discovery of novel CAKUT-causing genes remains challenging because of this pronounced heterogeneity, variable expressivity, and incomplete penetrance. We here give an overview of known genetic causes for human CAKUT and shed light on distinct renal morphogenetic pathways that were identified as relevant for CAKUT in mice and humans.
An Evolutionary History of Browsing and Grazing Ungulates

Browsing (i.e., eating woody and non-woody dicotyledonous plants) and grazing (i.e., eating grass) are distinctively different types of feeding behaviour among ungulates today. Ungulates with different diets have different morphologies (both craniodental ones and in aspects of the digestive system) and physiologies, although some of these differences are merely related to body size, as grazers are usually larger than browsers. There is also a difference in the foraging behaviour in terms of the relationship between resource abundance and intake rate, which is linear in browsers but asymptotic in grazers. The spatial distribution of the food resource is also different for the different types of herbage, browse being more patchily distributed than grass, and thus browsers and grazers are likely to have a very different perception of food resources in any given ecosystem (see Gordon 2003, for review). Grass is a relatively recent type of food resource: extensive grasslands only emerged during the later Cenozoic, within the past 25 million years (Ma), while the first ungulates date back to the early Cenozoic, around 55 Ma. Browsing, probably with the incorporation of a fair amount of fruit, is thus the primitive diet of ungulates (Bodmer and Ward 2006). The general evolutionary perspective is that when the grazing species evolved later they eclipsed the browsers (Kowalevsky 1873; Matthew 1926; Perez-Barberia et al. 2001). While this view of the later Cenozoic rise of grazing ungulates, and corresponding demise of browsing ones, is broadly correct, the actual evolutionary picture is of course much more complex. While the most familiar ungulates today (horses, cows, elephants, etc.) are mainly grazers, in fact specialised grazing is a fairly recent evolutionary adaptation: the first true grazers (i.e., animals subsisting primarily on grass year round) are no more than 10 million years old, and a predominance of tropical grazers as is familiar to us in Africa today has a history of only a couple of million years. In order to understand the evolutionary history of diets and feeding adaptations in ungulates we need to first pose several questions. Firstly, what exactly are ungulates, and how are different ungulate groups related to each other? Secondly, how can we deduce the feeding behaviour of extinct species from their fossilised remains? And thirdly, how have differences in the earth’s climate and environment
La argumentación por el ridículo. Instrucciones de uso

According to Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca ridicule is to argumentation as contradiction is to formal proof. Ridicule thus appears as a distinctive concept of argumentation theory in opposition to formal logic. While contradiction refers to the incompatibility of two propositions, which does not require any agency, ridicule is said mainly of an action and therefore of an agent. The move from contradiction to ridicule manifests that the subject matter of argumentation theory are our argumentative practices of asking for, giving and receiving reasons. In this paper I intend to clarify the description of the argument by ridicule, its presuppositions, its foundations, its strength and its different forms.
The Singular Value Decomposition

This chapter covers the singular value decomposition (SVD), one of the greatest results in linear algebra. After proving the SVD theorem, the SVD is used to determine the four fundamental subspaces of a matrix and to develop formula for the Frobenius norm in terms of the singular values of a matrix. A geometric interpretation of the SVD is discussed, followed by a demonstration with a 2 × 2 matrix. The chapter shows how to use the MATLAB svd function, and provides examples. Although it should rarely be computed, the SVD can be used to compute the matrix inverse. One very interesting application is image compression using the SVD. It is shown that any matrix can be written as a sum of rank 1 matrices, each involving one singular value. Image compression is done by converting the image to a matrix, computing the SVD, and forming the rank k approximation to the matrix. This approximates the matrix using only the k largest singular values, and is capable of reasonably good compression. There are many other applications of the SVD including least-squares and principal components analysis.
Crustaceans as Animal Models for Olfactory Research

Crustaceans, in particular lobsters and crayfish, are established animal models for research in olfaction. This chapter provides a brief overview of the role that crustacean research has played in our current understanding of olfaction. It also introduces subsequent chapters that summarize specific research in which crustaceans are used to address fundamental questions in olfaction.
Testing Theories and the Foundations of Statistics

In this paper I examine the extent to which problems in the foundations of probability are relevant to the testing of theories, and what view towards probability, if any, can be inferred from the problems and practices found in the scientific literature. I start with a historical perspective and then consider particular examples in contemporary science. In this latter discussion I confront some of the issues made salient by Bayesians.
Speaker segmentation and clustering for simultaneously presented speech.

This paper proposes a new scheme used to segment and cluster speech segments on an unsupervised basis in cases where multiple speakers are presented simultaneously at different SNRs. The new elements in our work are in the development of new feature for segmenting and clustering simultaneously-presented speech, the procedure for identifying a candidate set of possible speaker-change points, and the use of pair-wise cross-segment distance distributions to cluster segments by speaker. The proposed system is evaluated in terms of the F measure that is obtained. The system is compared to a baseline system that uses MFCC for acoustic features, the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) for detecting speaker-change points, and the KullbackLeibler distance for clustering the segments. Experimental indicate that the new system consistently provides better performance than the baseline system with very small computational cost.
Sedatives: Effects on Memory and Amnesia

This chapter will focus on the memory effects of diverse sedative agents. To best understand the relationship between memory and sedation, an understanding of the physiology underlying not only sedation, but also sleep and memory is needed. This knowledge will not only ground a discussion of drug mechanisms but also will prepare for future developments providing the ability to put research and marketing initiatives into an appropriate context. One might consider the brain as two interacting sets of systems: A deep-seated, lower-level system containing subcortical/brainstem nuclei working in networks to control sleep and/or sedation interacts with a higher level, cortically based system of networks that mediate memory function and consciousness. To provide a contextual framework for understanding sedation, memory processes, amnesia, and sleep, terminology will be tackled. First will be the attempt to distinguish between sedation and anesthesia, only to become apparent through this chapter that there is actually little distinction between the two. The blurry distinction between sedation and anesthesia underlies the difficulty in producing coherent and consistent guidelines to match providers with sedation services. The key difference between sedation and anesthesia principally reflects the dose of drugs administered, and to a lesser extent the drugs administered.
Multi-Domain Design Optimization of d v /d t Filter for SiC-Based Three-Phase Inverters in High-Frequency Motor-Drive Applications

High slew rate of the line voltage $(\boldsymbol {dv}/\boldsymbol {dt})$ has been a concern for power inverters based on the emerging wide bandgap switching devices, such as silicon carbide (SiC) mosfets . Particularly, for SiC-based power inverters feeding electric machines interconnected with long cables, there could be more severe insulation stress on the stator windings in electric machines, due to the higher d v /d t output from the SiC inverters. Compared to the conventional lower voltage electric transportation applications (e.g., 270 V dc), higher dc bus voltage of 500–600 V can dramatically reduce cable weight and systematic copper losses, hence improve the power density and efficiency of power converters. However, high dc bus voltage further increases the $\boldsymbol {dv}/\boldsymbol {dt}$ level in the converter ac line voltages. Driven by the necessity of developing SiC inverters with 500 V dc bus in electric transportation applications while attenuating the $\boldsymbol {dv}/\boldsymbol {dt}$ stress to a low level, this paper presents a multi-domain design approach for d v /d t filters that comprehensively considers the constraints in electrical, magnetic, and thermal domains. Experimental results based on a 75 kW SiC inverter are provided to verify the efficacy of this design approach.
Descending Aortic Dissection, Penetrating Aortic Ulcer, and Intramural Hematoma (Acute and Chronic) Including Kommerell’s Diverticulum

Acute aortic syndromes (AAS) represent a spectrum of acute aortic disruption characterized by the loss of integrity of the aortic wall with the potential for catastrophic complications. Types of aortic disruption include typical aortic dissection (AoD), intramural hematoma (IMH), and penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU). Imaging tests are sensitive and specific; however, timely diagnosis may be delayed due to the relative rarity of AAS and the variability in presenting syndrome. Classification systems facilitate early decision-making aimed at preventing acute catastrophe particularly for patients presenting with involvement of the ascending aorta (Type A). Surgery is the preferred acute treatment in this setting when feasible. Patients presenting with disruptions isolated to the descending aorta (Type B) have variable outcomes based in part from the presence of subsequent development of complications (e.g., organ or limb malperfusion, aneurysm formation, and rupture), the patency and size of the false lumen, and their co-morbidities. Those without complications generally treated medically. The role for intervention for Type B acute aortic syndromes is evolving as endovascular approaches continue to improve and offer an alternative to surgery. Patients with acute aortic syndromes have very high early risk requiring close observation and intensive medical care. For those that survive the acute period, rates of long-term complications are significant necessitating close follow-up and serial imaging. The optimal care of these complex patients may be optimal when delivered through a multidisciplinary team.
Experiential Accessibility Learning Labs for Computing Education

This workshop will introduce our Accessibility Learning Labs (ALL). The objectives of this collaborative project with The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) are to both inform participants about foundational topics in accessibility and to demonstrate the importance of creating accessible software. The labs enable easy classroom inclusion by providing instructors all necessary materials including lecture and activity slides and videos. Each lab addresses an accessibility issue and contains: I) Relevant background information on the examined issue; II) An example web-based application containing the accessibility problem; III) A process to emulate this accessibility problem; IV) Details about how to repair the problem from a technical perspective; V) Incidents from people who encountered this accessibility issue and how it has impacted their life. The labs may be integrated into a wide variety of curriculum at high schools (9-12), and in undergraduate and graduate courses. The labs will be easily adoptable due to their self-contained nature and their inclusion of all necessary instructional material (eg slides, quizzes, etc). No special software is required to use any portion of the labs since they are web-based and are able to run on any computer with a reasonably recent web browser. There are currently four available labs on the topics of: Colorblindness, Hearing, Blindness and Dexterity. Material is available on our website: http://all.rit.edu A laptop is recommended.
A Structured Goal-Setting Process to Promote Functional and Measurable Outcomes in School-Based Physical Therapy: A Knowledge Translation Study

Introduction Goal setting is an important component of school-based physical therapy; however, evidence suggests that therapists may not consistently write goals that are relevant, context specific, and measurable. The aims of this knowledge translation study were to evaluate implementation of a goal-setting method for school-based therapists. Method This study was created to align with the Knowledge to Action framework and included 1-day training and follow-up mentorship. Goals were assessed pre- and posttraining, and questionnaires assessed barriers and facilitators. Results Twenty-two physical therapists participated. Nineteen participants (90%) strongly agreed/agreed that the training helped change their perspectives about goal setting in the school environment. There was a statistically significant difference in goal quality pre- and posttraining. Therapists identified barriers and facilitators to implementation of effective goal setting in practice. Discussion Results indicate that this method may be effective at improving goal writing that is relevant, context specific, and measurable in school settings.
Genome-wide DNA methylation alteration in prenatally stressed Brahman heifer calves with the advancement of age.

Possible phenotypic impairments associated with maternal stress during gestation in beef cattle may be explained by epigenetic effects. This study examined the impact of prenatal transportation str...
Repeated morphine exposure activates synaptogenesis and other neuroplasticity-related gene networks in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex of male and female rats.

Abstract Background Opioid abuse is a chronic disorder likely involving stable neuroplastic modifications. While a number of molecules contributing to these changes have been identified, the broader spectrum of genes and gene networks that are affected by repeated opioid administration remain understudied. Methods We employed Next-Generation RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) followed by quantitative chromatin immunoprecipitation to investigate changes in gene expression and their regulation in adult male and female rats’ dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) after a regimen of daily injection of morphine (5.0 mg/kg; 10 days). Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze affected molecular pathways, gene networks, and associated regulatory factors. A complementary behavioral study evaluated the effects of the same morphine injection regimen on locomotor activity, pain sensitivity, and somatic withdrawal signs. Results Behaviorally, repeated morphine injection induced locomotor hyperactivity and hyperalgesia in both sexes. 90 % of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in morphine-treated rats were upregulated in both males and females, with a 35 % overlap between sexes. A substantial number of DEGs play roles in synaptic signaling and neuroplasticity. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed enrichment of H3 acetylation, a transcriptionally activating chromatin mark. Although broadly similar, some differences were revealed in the gene ontology networks enriched in females and males. Conclusions Our results cohere with findings from previous studies based on a priori gene selection. Our results also reveal novel genes and molecular pathways that are upregulated by repeated morphine exposure, with some common to males and females and others that are sex-specific.
Recent developments in animal venom peptide nanotherapeutics with improved selectivity for cancer cells

Animal venoms are a rich source of bioactive peptides that efficiently modulate key receptors and ion channels involved in cellular excitability to rapidly neutralize their prey or predators. As such, they have been a wellspring of highly useful pharmacological tools for decades. Besides targeting ion channels, some venom peptides exhibit strong cytotoxic activity and preferentially affect cancer over healthy cells. This is unlikely to be driven by an evolutionary impetus, and differences in tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment are probably behind the serendipitous selectivity shown by some venom peptides. However, strategies such as bioconjugation and nanotechnologies are showing potential to improve their selectivity and potency, thereby paving the way to efficiently harness new anticancer mechanisms offered by venom peptides. This review aims to highlight advances in nano- and chemotherapeutic tools and prospective anti-cancer drug leads derived from animal venom peptides.
Transcending the Levels of Leadership in Pharmacy Academia.

The influence of a leader depends on his/her position, the quality of his/her relationships with those he/she is striving to lead, what that individual has done for the organization, what that individual has done for his/her people, and who that person is and what he/she represents. Strong academic leaders who continually refine their leadership style can advance through the levels of leadership: position, permission, production, people development, and ultimately personhood. To do so, one must build relationships, invest in others, and center activities on serving the needs of the people, the organization, and key partners. This necessitates the strategy of, how can administrators, faculty/staff, students, alumni, and site leadership work together in a way that encourages both individual and collective success. In the end, we as leaders should strive to positively impact our profession, our organization, and the lives of those we have been entrusted to lead - transcending the levels of leadership helps us do just that.
Clinical Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Patients With Advanced Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma.

This cohort study examines the clinical efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with advanced malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.
Merkel cell carcinoma in a young man with AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin that can present in immunocompromised patients. Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is an indolent angioproliferative tumor associated with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8). The concurrence of both MCC and KS is rare, and there have been limited cases reported in the literature. We present a rare case of concurrent MCC and KS in an immunocompromised patient. To our knowledge, this is the first report of MCC and KS described in the same histopathological specimen. A 37-year-old Black male with a history of recurrent AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma (KS) involving bilateral lower extremities was evaluated for a tender nodule on the left posterior leg. A punch biopsy was consistent with MCC. MRI brain and full body PET/CT scan were without evidence of distant metastasis. The patient underwent wide local excision with negative margins and completed postoperative radiation therapy. However, he later developed cutaneous metastasis of MCC to the left medial thigh and excision revealed residual MCC with adjacent KS. Treatment is still ongoing with pembrolizumab for both KS and MCC. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Simplifying The Commissioning Process

ABSTRACT This is Part 1 of a three-part series. The original paper was first submitted in the Proceedings of the World Energy Engineering Congress 2006. It has been reformatted into three parts and condensed for publication in Energy Engineering. The complete original paper is available from the author. The success of commissioning depends to a very large extent on the support of the owner, which in turn depends upon the owner knowing what commissioning is. The topic of commissioning (Cx) is often viewed as complex, confusing, and expensive. This article speaks to anyone with interest in the field of commissioning. It emphasizes anticipating and answering questions owners may have, and will have served its purpose if it improves the owner's comfort level with respect to commissioning. This article is divided into three parts. Part 1 – What is Commissioning? Part 2 – Tips for Applying Commissioning Part 3 – Quantifying Commissioning Benefits Part 1, “What is Commissioning?,” will cover the core concepts of...
Influence of porous media and airflow rate on the fate of NAPLs under air sparging.

Nonequilibrium air-water mass transfer experiments using a laboratory-scale single-air channel setup were conducted to investigate the influence of porous media and air velocity on the fate of nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) under air sparging conditions. Benzene was used as a NAPL while silica sand 30/50 (dp 50 = 0.305 mm, uniformity coefficient, UC = 1.41) and silica sand 70/100 (dp 50 = 0.168 mm, UC = 1.64) were used as porous media. Air velocities ranged from 0 to 1.4 cm/s. Mass transfer coefficients for the dissolution of NAPLs were estimated by numerical methods using a two-dimensional dissolution-diffusion-volatilization model. The study showed that the presence of advective airflow in air channels controlled the spreading of the dissolved phase but the overall removal efficiency was independent of airflow rate. Removal efficiencies and dissolution rates of the NAPL were found to be strongly affected by the mean particle size of the porous media during air sparging. More than 50% reduction in the removal rate of benzene was found when silica sand 70/100 was used instead of silica sand 30/50. Mass transfer coefficients for the dissolution of benzene NAPL were estimated to be 0.0041 cm/min for silica sand 70/100 and 0.227 cm/min for silica sand 30/50. Increasing the air velocity from 0.6 to 1.4 cm/s for silica sand 30/50 did not result in a higher removal rate. Quantitative estimation of the dissolution rates of benzene NAPL indicated that the dissolution rates (between 0.227 and 0.265 cm/min) were similar in magnitude for the same porous media but different air flow rates. Based on the visualization study, air sparging may be used to control the spreading of the dissolved phase even when the glob of NAPL is several centimeters away from the air-water interface of the air channels.
Immunoglobulin biosynthesis. II. Four independently isolated myeloma variants.

Abstract Four variant mouse myelomas are described which have lost the ability to produce immunoglobulin. These cell lines were compared with the original immunoglobulin-producing lines with respect to their secreted proteins, karyotype, transplantation characteristics, and intracellular immunoglobulin. Karyotype and transplantation data argue in favor of the derivation of the variants from their respective immunoglobulin-producing lines. One variant, that of MOPC104, secreted a light chain which was indistinguishable from the light chain of the wildtype immunoglobulin; the other three variant lines secreted no unique protein. None of the derivatives has demonstrable intracellular immunoglobulin, indicating that they are not blocked at the secretory step.
Quantum-limited sensitivity of single-electron-transistor-based displacement detectors.

We consider a model of a quantum-mechanical resonator capacitively coupled to a single electron transistor (SET). The tunnel current in the SET is modulated by the vibrations of the resonator, and thus the system operates as a displacement detector. We analyze the effect of the backaction noise of charge fluctuations in the SET onto the dynamics of the resonator and evaluate the displacement sensitivity of the system. The relation between the ``classical'' and ``quantum'' parts of the SET charge noise and their effect on the measured system are also discussed.
Galactic Prominences on the Rise

The same process that creates arches and loops of plasma on the Sun's surface may be the cause of huge molecular loops found in the center of the Milky Way.
Gastric mucosal lesions produced by intravenous infusion of aspirin in cats.

Abstract Aspirin was given by continuous intravenous infusion to 35 intact cats for 7 days in doses ranging from 25 to 200 mg kg −1 day −1 . Gastric mucosal lesions occurred in 50 to 70% of the animals in the various dosage groups, including deep ulcers in 20%. All of the ulcers were in antral mucosa near its border with oxyntic mucosa. The incidence of lesions, including ulcers, showed no apparent relation to the dose of aspirin. With all but the highest dose, plasma salicylate levels were within or below what is regarded as the therapeutic range for man. Aspirin, 100 mg kg −1 day −1 , was given for 7 days to 4 cats with pouches containing all of the antral mucosa plus some oxyntic mucosa. One or more deep ulcers occurred in the antral mucosa of the pouches in each of these 4 cats. The electrical potential difference across the mucosa did not decrease, and net fluxes of hydrogen ions out of the pouch and of sodium ions into the pouch did not increase during the 7 days of aspirin administration despite the occurrence of ulcers in the pouches. It is concluded that intravenous aspirin, in doses giving plasma levels within or below the therapeutic range for man, causes gastric mucosal lesions including deep ulcers within 7 days in cats. These lesions occur without the changes in electrical potential difference and hydrogen and sodium fluxes that are regarded as characteristic of the "broken barrier".
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Home Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis

Following the Great Depression, the federal government was the primary architect of the secondary residential mortgage market. The foremost pillars of this federal involvement were the twin government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In the public debate over the struggling American financial system, opponents of federal involvement in housing finance have persisted in asserting that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac caused the home foreclosure crisis. This symposium essay attempts to provide a brief rebuttal to this surprisingly persistent oversimplification. It begins with historical context necessary for understanding the debate over the GSEs’ responsibility. Next it explains the development of the private, sub-prime home mortgage market, recounts the radical change in the GSEs’ investment and underwriting policies in the mid-2000s, and traces the events leading to the collapse and nationalization of the two companies. Although the GSEs began to engage in unacceptably risky investment decisions, the two companies were only one part of a larger more complex commercial and regulatory pattern that also included monetary policy, regulatory dereliction, judicial passivity, ill-advised borrowing, and reckless (or dishonest) brokering, appraising, lending, servicing, and securitizing by private financial services companies.
Ultrastructural demonstration of a gastric monosynaptic vagal circuit in the nucleus of the solitary tract in rat

Previous light microscopic work in the rat has demonstrated that many dendrites of vagal gastric motoneurons extend beyond the cytoarchitectural boundaries of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) into the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST), where they overlap with the central terminal field of vagal gastric primary sensory neurons (Shapiro and Miselis, 1985a). In the present ultrastructural study, the synaptic relationship of vagal afferent terminals and vagal motor neurons and dendrites was examined. Following injection of cholera toxin-HRP conjugate (CT-HRP) into the dorsal and ventral musculature of the stomach wall, centrally transported tracer was visualized using tetramethylbenzidine or diaminobenzidine histochemistry. Light microscopy confirmed the presence of retrogradely labeled gastric DMV neurons whose dendrites extended into the overlying NST. The subnucleus gelatinosus of the dorsomedial NST at a level just rostral to the obex contained the highest density of vagal motoneuronal dendrites coextensive with transganglionically labeled vagal sensory afferents. Ultrastructural analysis of several NST subfields at this rostrocaudal level revealed many asymmetric synaptic contacts between labeled sensory afferents and labeled motoneuronal dendrites in the subnucleus gelatinosus but not elsewhere. Following CT-HRP injection into the cervical vagus nerve in separate animals, vagovagal synaptic contacts were again observed only in the subnucleus gelatinosus, despite extensive afferent labeling in other NST subnuclei. The demonstration of a monosynaptic gastric vagovagal circuit provides the anatomical substrate for the relay of gastric interoceptive information directly to gastric vagal motoneurons, which may play a unique role in the central regulation of gastric motility and secretion.
Inequalities in Transnational Families

Over the past two decades, interest in the transnational lifestyles of contemporary migrants has grown significantly. In this article, we focus not on transnational identities, processes or structures, but rather on the emergent literature on transnational families in the context of migration to the United States. Transnational family studies broadly fall into two thematic camps: 1) those that describe transnational households as cooperative units in the face of economic, political and legal constraint and 2) those that show how the conditions that lead family members to live apart exacerbate and create new sources of conflict within families. Whether highlighting family conflict or cooperation, contemporary transnational family studies differ theoretically from prior research on immigrant families. Instead of focusing on immigrant incorporation, this literature demonstrates how global structures of inequality at the macro-level affect the everyday lives of transnational family members, as well as how individual action reproduces or challenges these broader social inequalities.
Serum Levels of Vitamin A and Carotenoids as Reflectors of Nutritional Status

Of the total body reserve of vitamin A, the liver is the major repository (greater than or equal to 90%); plasma contains only 1% of the total amount. Although the median liver concentration in well-nourished American adults is approximately 100 micrograms/g, a minimally adequate concentration is suggested to be 20 micrograms/g. Physiologic, nutritional, clinical, and genetic factors affect plasma retinol levels by a variety of mechanisms. Of total body carotenoids, most are associated with adipose tissue (greater than 80%), and a lesser amount is associated with liver (10%). Vitamin A concentrations in the liver are low at birth but then rise to adult levels at 1-4 years of age. Liver carotenoid concentrations are not proportional to liver vitamin A reserves. Total liver retinol is proportional to dietary retinol but not in a purely linear fashion. When liver reserves exceed 30 micrograms/g, the excretion of vitamin A metabolites in bile is much increased. Plasma vitamin A is homeostatically controlled over the physiologic range of liver vitamin A concentrations, e.g., 20-300 micrograms/g. Below 20 micrograms/g liver, plasma vitamin A values tend to fall; above 300 micrograms/g liver, plasma values tend to increase. At very high intakes, plasma vitamin A values can be greater than or equal to 300 micrograms/dl. In such cases most of the plasma vitamin A is in the form of retinyl ester. Thus, except in cases of deficiency or excess, vitamin A levels in the plasma are not good indicators of vitamin A status. Other methods of evaluating vitamin A status include relative dose response, analysis of liver autopsy or biopsy samples, isotope-dilution approach, and pseudoequilibrium approach. The first two of these methods have proven to be very useful in specific circumstances, whereas the others are under development.
Defining Objectives and Criteria for Decision Problems

The first step in analyzing a decision is to define what the decision maker wants to achieve. Generating a broad and comprehensive set of objectives leads to a wider focus in our consideration of alternatives and hence results in better decisions. However, several studies show that decision makers are not good at defining all the objectives that they should consider. This article introduces the concepts that help us understand decision makers' objectives and reviews the literature on the problems encountered in defining objectives and on how to overcome them. Examples from the author's research are used to illustrate the concepts discussed. Keywords: decision making; decision context; means objective; fundamental objective; strategic objective
Identifying Critical Learner Traits in a Dynamic Computer-Based Geometry Program

Abstract The effects of students' working memory capacity, preference for amount of instruction, spatial problem-solving ability, and school mathematics grades on 2 achievement measures were investigated, along with recall of factual information and conceptual understanding after controlling for ability. Eighth-grade students were assigned to dyads and worked through 16 activities in The Geometer's Sketchpad, a dynamic geometry program. Learners who reported a relatively low preference for amount of instruction scored higher than their high-preference counterparts on the conceptual understanding test items. Students with relatively high mathematics school grades scored higher than students with lower grades on the factual recall test items but not on the conceptual understanding items. That low achievers in school mathematics performed relatively better in these nontraditional mathematics activities is an encouraging finding for mathematics educators and designers of open-ended learning environments.
Purification of a WD repeat protein, EMAP, that promotes microtubule dynamics through an inhibition of rescue.

Abstract The major microtubule-associated protein in echinoderms is a 77-kDa, WD repeat protein, called EMAP. EMAP-related proteins have been identified in sea urchins, starfish, sanddollars, and humans. We describe the purification of sea urchin EMAP and demonstrate that EMAP binding to microtubules is saturable at a molar ratio of 1 mol of EMAP to 3 mol of tubulin dimer. Unlike MAP-2, MAP-4, or tau proteins, EMAP binding to microtubules is not lost by cleavage of tubulin with subtilisin. In addition to binding to the microtubule polymer, EMAP binds to tubulin dimers in a 1:1 molar ratio. The abundance of EMAP in the egg suggests that it could function to regulate microtubule assembly. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effects of EMAP on the dynamic instability of microtubules nucleated from axoneme fragments as monitored by video-enhanced differential interference contrast microscopy. Addition of 2.2 μm EMAP to 21 μm tubulin results in a slight increase in the elongation and shortening velocities at the microtubule plus ends but not at the minus ends. Significantly, EMAP inhibits the frequency of rescue 8-fold without producing a change in the frequency of catastrophe. These results indicate that EMAP, unlike brain microtubule-associated proteins, promotes microtubule dynamics.
ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF CULTURE STUDIES ON NEREOCYSTIS LUETKEANA1

SUMMARY Meiospores, gametophytes grown in culture and then fragmented in a blendor, and young sporophytes of N. luetkeana, were grown at varying temperatures, light intensities, photoperiods, and densities. Vegetative growth occurred over a wider range of environmental conditions than did sexuality. Gametophytes matured at 5, 10, and 15 C but not at 20 C. Low light., 15 ft-c (161 lux), and short day photo-periods (8–16) inhibited or greatly retarded sexuality. Saturation intensities for sexuality occurred between 100 and 200 ft-c (1076 and 2152 lux). Maximal rates of sexuality occurred at or above light, intensities of 3200 ft-c hr/day on an alternating (16–8) light-dark cycle. Light was determined to be the single most important factor in sexuality and subsequent sporophyte growth. Increased density did not affect sexuality but significantly reduced sporophyte growth. Field light intensities beneath lower canopy kelps were below minimal light requirements for gametophyte maturation. These data support, the view that light sets the lower limits on vertical distribution and that, temperature is involved in the latitudinal range of N. luetkeana. These and other studies suggest that the anomalous shallow water depth distribution of N. luetkeana in the San Juan Islands is partly the result of competition for light and not light attenuation, per se.
Fabry's Disease

Abstract Fabry's disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by abnormalities in the GLA gene, which leads to a deficiency in α-galactosidase A. The abnormal accumulation of glycosphingolipids, primarily globotriaosylceramide, manifests as serious and progressive impairment of renal and cardiac functions. In addition, patients experience pain, gastrointestinal disturbance, transient ischemic attacks and strokes. Disease presentation in female heterozygotes may be as severe as in males although women may also remain asymptomatic. This review covers all basic aspects of the disease such as epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation by systems, diagnosis, management, prevention, and repercussions on quality of life. With the development of enzyme replacement therapy in the past few years, early initiation of treatment was found to be key for reduction of disease burden in major affected organs with improvement in neuropathic pain, decreased cardiac mass and stabilization of renal function, gastrointestinal symptoms, and hearing. This review aims to raise the awareness of the signs and symptoms of Fabry’s disease as well as to provide guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment.
An efficient entropy rate estimator for complex-valued signal processing: Application to ICA

Estimating likelihood or entropy rate is one of the key issues in many signal processing problems. Mutual information rate, which leads to the minimization of entropy rate, provides a natural cost for achieving blind source separation (BSS). In many complex-valued BSS applications, the latent sources are non-Gaussian, noncircular, and possess sample dependence. Consequently, an effective estimator of entropy rate that jointly considers all three properities of the sources is required. In this paper, we propose such an entropy rate estimator that assumes the sources are generated by invertible filters. With this new entropy rate estimator, we propose a complex entropy rate bound minimization algorithm. Simulation results show that the new method exploits all three properties effectively.
Reduction of silicon halides and alkoxides with diisobutylaluminum hydride. Stereochemistry-rate law correlations for the SNiSi and SN2Si mechanisms

Abstract Stereochemistry-rate law correlations are given for the reduction of R3Si*X compounds with i-Bu2 AlH in either and n-hexane.
Improvements in Blood Pressure Among Undiagnosed Hypertensive Participants in a Community-Based Lifestyle Intervention, Mississippi, 2010

INTRODUCTION Effective strategies are needed to reach and treat people who lack awareness of or have uncontrolled hypertension. We used data from a community-based participatory research initiative, Hub City Steps, to quantify the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension and determine the relationship between hypertension status at baseline and postintervention improvements in blood pressure and health-related quality of life. METHODS Hub City Steps was a 6-month preintervention-postintervention lifestyle intervention targeting hypertension risk factors. Outcome measures were collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Generalized linear mixed models were used to test for effects by time and hypertension status. RESULTS Of the enrolled sample (N = 269), most were overweight or obese (91%), African American (94%), and women (85%). When considering hypertension status, 42% had self-reported diagnosis of hypertension (self-reported subgroup; 84% with antihypertensive medication use); 36% had no self-reported medical history of hypertension, but when blood pressure was measured they had a clinical diagnosis of prehypertension or hypertension (undiagnosed subgroup); and 22% had no self-reported or clinical hypertension diagnosis (no hypertension subgroup). From baseline to 6 months, systolic blood pressure significantly improved for participants with self-reported hypertension [8.2 (SD, 18.2) mm Hg] and undiagnosed hypertension [12.3 (SD, 16.3) mm Hg], with undiagnosed participants experiencing the greatest improvements (P < .001). Effects remained significant after controlling for covariates. Health-related quality of life significantly improved for all 3 hypertension subgroups, with no apparent subgroup differences. CONCLUSION This study reveals advantages of a culturally appropriate community-based participatory research initiative to reach those with undetected hypertension and effectively improve blood pressure status and health-related quality of life.