cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Activation of NMDA receptor-channels in human retinal Müller glial cells inhibits inward-rectifying potassium currents

Although it is well known that neurotransmitters mediate neuron-to-neuron communication, it is becoming clear that neurotransmitters also affect glial cells. However, knowledge of neuron-to-glial signalling is limited. In this study, we examined the effects of the glutamate agonist N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) on Muller cells, the predominant glia of the retina. Our immunocytochemical studies and immunodetection by Western blotting with monoclonal antibodies specific for the NMDAR1 subunit provided evidence for the expression by human Muller cells of this essential component of NMDA receptor-channels. Under conditions in which potassium currents were blocked, NMDA-induced currents could be detected in perforated-patch recordings from cultured and freshly dissociated human Muller cells. These currents were inhibited by competitive and non-competitive blockers of NMDA receptor-channels. Extracellular magnesium reduced the NMDA-activated currents in a voltage-dependent manner. However, despite a partial block by magnesium, Muller cells remained responsive to NMDA at the resting membrane potential. Under assay conditions not blocking K+ currents, exposure of Muller cells to NMDA was associated with an MK-801 sensitive inhibition of the inward-rectifying K+ current (IK(IR)), the largest current of these glia. This inhibitory effect of NMDA appears to be mediated by an influx of calcium since the inhibition of IK(IR) was significantly reduced when calcium was removed from the bathing solution or when the Muller cells contained the calcium chelator, BAPTA. Inhibition of the Muller cell KIR channels by the neurotransmitter glutamate is likely to have significant functional consequences for the retina since these ion channels are involved in K+ homeostasis, which in turn influences neuronal excitability.
Strengthening forensic investigations of child pornography on P2P networks

Measurements of the Internet for law enforcement purposes must be forensically valid. We examine the problems inherent in using various network- and application-level identifiers in the context of forensic measurement, as exemplified in the policing of peer-to-peer file sharing networks for sexually exploitative imagery of children (child pornography). First, we present a five-month measurement performed in the law enforcement context. We then show how the identifiers in these measurements can be unreliable, and propose the tagging of remote machines. Our proposed tagging method marks remote machines by providing them with application- or system-level data which is valid, but which covertly has meaning to investigators. This tagging allows investigators to link network observations with physical evidence in a legal, forensically strong, and valid manner. We present a detailed model and analysis of our method, show how tagging can be used in several specific applications, discuss the general applicability of our method, and detail why the tags are strong evidence of criminal intent and participation in a crime.
Beyond Market Signals: Negotiating Marketplace Politics and Corporate Responsibilities

AbstractIn the face of stiff resistance to their legislative efforts in national and multilateral arenas, nongovernmental organizations, unions, and others are engaging in marketplace politics to press their social and environmental concerns. While important criticisms of market-based regulation abound, recent research has suggested that this form of politics is not restricted to simple market signals or a singular market logic, so the question of what drives corporate responsiveness remains. Drawing on a statistical analysis of a large data set of marketplace campaigns and in-depth interviews with campaign proponents, consultants, and targeted executives, this article proposes a relational framework for understanding marketplace politics, situating campaign strategies in relation to targeted firms’ brand vulnerabilities and corporate social responsibility (CSR) “absorptive capacity,” on the one hand, and parallel actions of key intermediaries—including investment advisory firms and pioneering competitors...
Educational Barriers of Rural Youth: Relation of Individual and Contextual Difference Variables

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of several individual and contextual difference factors to the perceived educational barriers of rural youth. Data were from a broader national investigation of students’ postsecondary aspirations and preparation in rural high schools across the United States. The sample involved more than 7,000 rural youth in 73 high schools across 34 states. Results indicated that some individual (e.g., African American race/ethnicity) and contextual (e.g., parent education) difference factors were predictive while others were not. Extensions to, similarities, and variations with previous research are discussed. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also discussed.
Methods in Algorithmic Analysis

Accompanied by more than 1,000 examples and exercises, this comprehensive, classroom-tested text presents numerous theories, techniques, and methods used for analyzing algorithms. It includes basic material on combinatorics and probability that can be used for students with weak backgrounds. It presents information on asymptotics not usually found in similar books, including Rices method, the Euler and Boole summation formulas, and recurrences. The author also offers tutorials throughout the text on topics as diverse as continued fractions, functions of a complex variable, numerical calculations, and Stieltjes integration. An appendix contains a comprehensive collection of useful formulas.
Demobilization and Reintegration

Since 1989, international efforts to end protracted conflicts have included sustained investments in the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of combatants. Yet while policy analyst...
An efficient numerical tank for non-linear water waves, based on the multi-subdomain approach with BEM

An efficient 2D non-linear numerical wave tank called LONGTANK has been developed based on a multi-subdomain (MSD) approach combined with the conventional boundary element method (BEM). The multi-subdomain approach aims at optimized matrix diagonalization, thus minimizing the computing time and reserved storage. The CPU per time step in LONGTANK simulation is found to increase only linearly with the number of surface nodes, which makes LONGTANK highly efficient especially when simulating long-time wave evolutions in space. Appropriate treatment of special points on the boundary ensures high resolution in LONGTANK simulation beyond initial deformation and breaking, which allows detailed study of breaking criterion, breaker morphology, breaking dissipation, vorticity generation, etc. Detailed numerical implementation has been given with demonstration of LONGTANK simulations.
Is auricular acupuncture beneficial in the inpatient treatment of substance-abusing patients? A pilot study

Patients with comorbid substance abuse problems who were admitted to a psychiatric unit of a general hospital over an 11-month period were offered treatment with auricular acupuncture. Subsequently and retrospectively, the medical records of these patients were examined to assess compliance, side effects, impact on course, and acceptance of discharge recommendations. Patient's continuation of treatment in destination programs was also followed. Seventy-seven patients were offered acupuncture: 30 patients refused or had four or fewer treatments (control group), and 47 had acupuncture five or more times (treatment group). The treatment group did significantly better than the control group as indicated by the following findings: compliance with psychiatric/substance abuse treatment on the unit was 75% in the treatment group vs. 20% in the control group, noncompliance or AMA discharge rate was 2% in the treatment group vs. 40% in the control group, acceptance of staff's discharge recommendations was 77% in the treatment group vs. 37% in the control group, and 58% of the treatment group patients remained in follow-up treatment for at least 4 months, vs. only 26% of the control group patients. Average inpatient length of stay was 22 days for the treatment group patients compared to 16 days for the control group patients. Side effects in the treated patients were negligible. Auricular acupuncture thus appears to be a safe and inexpensive treatment modality that is easily administered and produces significant results. Its wider application in substance abuse treatment appears warranted.
ProOnE: a general-purpose protocol onload engine for multi- and many-core architectures

Modern high-end computing systems utilize specialized offload engines to enhance various aspects of their processing. For example, high-speed networks such as InfiniBand, Quadrics and Myrinet utilize specialized hardware to offload network processing to help improve performance. However, such hardware units are expensive, and their manufacturing complexity increases exponentially depending on the number and complexity of tasks they offload. On the other hand, the proliferation of multi- and many-core processors into the general desktop and laptop markets is increasingly driving their cost down due to the economies of scale. To take advantage of the obvious benefits of multi/many-core architectures, we propose, design and evaluate ProOnE, a general purpose Protocol Onload Engine. ProOnE utilizes a small subset of the available cores on a multi-core CPU to ‘‘onload’’ various tasks in a dedicated manner instead of ‘‘offloading’’ them to specialized hardware. The general purpose processing capabilities of multi-core architectures allow ProOnE to be designed in a flexible, extensible and scalable manner, while benefiting from the reducing costs of general-purpose CPUs. In this paper, we onload onto ProOnE, several tasks relevant to communication sub-systems such as MPI that are too complex for current hardware offload engines to support, and demonstrate significant benefits in terms of overlap of computation and communication and improved application performance.
Measurements of the Stratospheric Plume from the Mount St. Helens Eruption: Radioactivity and Chemical Composition

Gas measurements made in the stratospheric plume from the eruption of Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 were not consistent with a reported large injection of radon-222 into the atmosphere. No enrichment in the volatile element polonium was found in filter samples, and the ratio of polonium-210 to lead-210 was not different from background values. Data obtained with an experimental impactor, flown shortly after the eruption, showed an increase of 10(3) in the stratospheric number concentration of submicrometer sulfate particles compared to concentrations before the eruption.
ECOLOGICAL AND FITNESS CONSEQUENCES OF SPECIES COEXISTENCE: A REMOVAL EXPERIMENT WITH WOOD WARBLERS

Local guilds define groups of species that share common resources and coexist in space and time. Local guilds have historically been a major focus of community ecology; however, studies of local guilds rarely measure consequences of coexistence for fitness-related traits or test predictions of alternative hypotheses for how species may in- teract. We studied consequences of coexistence for Orange-crowned Warblers (Vermivora celata) and Virginia's Warblers ( V. virginiae), which have overlapping breeding territories in central Arizona. We used reciprocal removal experiments to examine (1) whether co- existence results in ecological consequences with respect to access to nest sites, access to food resources, nest predation, and adult female predation, and (2) whether ecological consequences result in fitness consequences with respect to reproductive success (clutch size, number of young fledged per nest), or adult female survival (within a breeding season). When we removed Virginia's Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers experienced reduced nest predation rates compared with control plots where Virginia's Warblers were present. When we removed Orange-crowned Warblers, Virginia's Warblers (1) shifted their nest sites to sites indistinguishable from Orange-crowned Warbler nest sites, (2) increased feeding rates during both the incubation and nestling periods, and (3) suffered reduced nest predation rates, compared with control plots where Orange-crowned Warblers were present. When the two species coexist, increased nest predation rates for both species appear to result from density-dependent functional shifts in nest predator behavior (short-term apparent competition). Reduced access to preferred nest sites for Virginia's Warblers coexisting with Orange-crowned Warblers appears to result from both Orange-crowned Warbler interference during nest site selection and building periods, and from Orange-crowned Warbler pre- emption of nest sites preferred by both species. The mechanisms whereby Orange-crowned Warblers may reduce access to food resources for coexisting Virginia's Warblers, however, are not yet fully understood. Both Orange-crowned and Virginia's Warblers fledged between 78% and 129% more young per nest on plots where the opposite species had been removed, indicating that both species suffer substantial fitness costs of coexistence. Overall, results illustrate that (1) Orange-crowned and Virginia's Warblers do not coexist independently of each other, (2) interactions between the two species are complex and asymmetrical, (3) interactions between the two species result in substantial fitness costs of coexistence for both species, and (4) ecological interactions between the two species extend far beyond competition for food resources which has dominated studies of terrestrial vertebrate com-
Alcohol Mixed with Energy Drink Use and Sexual Risk-Taking: Casual, Intoxicated, and Unprotected Sex

Objective: This study examined the confluence of several behaviors common to U.S. young adults: caffeinated energy drink use, alcohol use, and sexual risk-taking. The author examined relationships between the use of energy drinks mixed with alcohol (AmEDs) and three sexual risk behaviors: casual sex (i.e., intercourse with a nonexclusive and/or nonromantic partner), intoxicated sex (i.e., intercourse while under the influence of alcohol and/or illicit drugs), and unprotected sex (i.e., intercourse without use of a condom). Method: Logistic regression analyses were employed to analyze data from a cross-sectional survey of 648 sexually active undergraduate students at a large public university. Results: After controlling for risk-taking norms and frequency of noncaffeinated alcohol use, AmED use was associated with elevated odds of casual sex and intoxicated sex but not unprotected sex. Conclusions: Although further studies are needed to test for event-level relationships, AmED use should be considered a po...
Lost in Trans-Lation Interpreting Systems of Trauma for Transgender Clients

Transgender clients frequently experience multiple types of violence (Mizock & Lewis, 2008), including interpersonal (violence that occurs between, at least, two people), self-directed (violence that is self-inflicted), and collective (violence that is inflicted by larger groups of people/institutions; Krug et al., 2002). Transgender clients who experience any of these types of violence are at a higher risk for developing psychiatric symptoms that may require the attention of a mental health care provider (Mizock & Lewis, 2008). Thus, it is crucial that clinicians understand how transgender clients respond to such violence and how these reactions relate to the clinical needs of transgender clients (Lev, 2004). In this article, we will summarize and cluster the types of violence that have been documented in the transgender literature. We will then highlight PTSD and complex PTSD as conceptual frameworks for working with transgender clients. Furthermore, we will examine how the binary notion of gender ignor...
Recovery of drug-resistant influenza virus from immunocompromised patients: a case series.

Influenza virus with resistance to antiviral drugs emerges with increased frequency in immunocompromised patients and can limit the benefit of M2 and neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors. We document 3 cases of influenza in severely immunocompromised patients from whom virus variants with molecular markers of resistance to anti-influenza drugs were recovered. Virus variants recovered from 2 patients had mutations in the M2, NA (with a previously recognized Glu119Val NA substitution), and hemagglutinin genes. We describe a novel Asp198Asn NA mutation in an influenza B virus and its decreased susceptibility to both oseltamivir and zanamivir. Influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality in patients with compromised immune systems. Influenza virus infection in transplant recipients is associated with a higher rate of pulmonary complications (particularly viral pneumonia), extrapulmonary manifestations, an increased risk of graft dysfunction and rejection, and high attributable mortality [1]. In addition, transplant recipients have prolonged shedding of influenza virus, often despite antiviral therapy [2], which promotes the emergence of antiviral resistance [3]. This is a wellrecognized problem with the use of the M2 inhibitors amantadine and rimantadine [1] but is an uncommon
Evidenced-based cognitive rehabilitation for persons with multiple sclerosis: a review of the literature.

Abstract O'Brien AR, Chiaravalloti N, Goverover Y, DeLuca J. Evidenced-based cognitive rehabilitation for persons with multiple sclerosis: a review of the literature. Objectives To conduct evidence-based review of cognitive rehabilitation intervention research conducted in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), to classify level of evidence, and to generate recommendations for interventions in this area. Data Sources An open (no year limits set) search of Medline, PsychInfo, and CINAHL (eliminating repetitions) using combinations of the following terms: attention , awareness , cognition , cognitive , communication , executive , executive function , language , learning , memory , perception , problem solving , reasoning , rehabilitation , remediation , training , and working memory . Reference sections of articles found through the sites were also searched. Study Selection Studies were chosen based on criteria from previous evidence-based reviews such that articles are excluded from the review if (1) the study was not an intervention, (2) it was a theoretic article, (3) it was a review article, (4) detail was lacking to fully evaluate the intervention, (5) it was not MS-specific, (6) it included a pediatric sample, (7) it was a case report without empirical data to evaluate outcomes, (8) it was not peer-reviewed (also excludes book chapters), (9) it was a pharmacologic intervention, or (10) it was not available for review in English. Data Extraction Articles were categorized into interventions for attention, learning and memory, executive functioning, or nonspecified/combined cognitive domains. There were 4 reviewers in the current study. All articles were reviewed independently by at least 2 persons and abstracted according to predetermined criteria. There was a final total of 16 articles, which underwent a full review and classification of a level of evidence based on previously published peer-reviewed methodology used for evidence-based reviews. Data Synthesis The current review yielded 16 studies of cognitive rehabilitation for persons with MS, including 4 class I studies, 5 class II studies, 2 class III studies, and 5 class IV studies. Two intervention methodologies in the area of verbal learning and memory received support for a practice guideline and practice option, respectively. Conclusions Cognitive rehabilitation in MS is in its relative infancy. More methodologically rigorous research is needed to determine the effectiveness and efficacy of various cognitive rehabilitation interventions. Specific recommendations for future research are given.
Some results on robust data quantization

A minimax approach to designing quantizers which are robust over classes of input statistics is considered. Several recent results pertaining to this problem are surveyed. These results include an asymptotic (as the number of levels approaches infinity) design formulation in which minimax distortion quantizers are derived on the basis of the so-called "companding" approximations. Some new results for this problem are also presented, including one result which demonstrates a possible shortcoming of this asymptotic approach. In particular it is demonstrated that the maximization and limiting operations cannot generally be interchanged in this problem because of its discrete nature.
Subject selection in applied behavior analysis.

Past researchers have commented on the role of specifying relevant subject characteristics in determining the generality of experimental findings. Knowledge of subject selection criteria is important in interpreting and replicating research results. Such knowledge, as compared with many other historical and demographic characteristics of the subject, is likely to be related to a procedure’s effectiveness. Data indicated that the majority of articles published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis do not provide an adequate description of subject selection criteria. The failure to provide detailed information concerning subject selection criteria can prevent systematic replication of research results. The relatively low cost inclusion of complete descriptions of subject selection criteria would enhance the generality of applied behavior analysis research by facilitating systematic inductive manipulations and replications.
THE ROLE OF AIRBORNE AND SUBSTRATE CUES FROM NON-ENVENOMATED MICE DURING RATTLESNAKE (CROTALUS OREGANUS) POST-STRIKE TRAILING

Rattlesnakes are highly adept at following substrate chemosensory trails left by struck (envenomated) prey. However, there are other sources of chemical information that may be present in the post-strike environment, such as odors from unstruck mice, that could either confound or aid predatory success. Rattlesnakes can follow airborne chemosensory trails of a struck prey, but the ability of rattlesnakes to use airborne chemosensory cues of unstruck prey has not been examined. Therefore, our purpose was to examine the abilities of rattlesnakes to locate prey using substrate and airborne cues from unstruck mice and compare this with their success with airborne odors from struck mice. We used a Plexiglas Y-maze through which paired airborne and/or substrate odor choices were presented to northern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus). In one treatment, snakes given a choice of odor from an unstruck mouse (substrate) versus a control (unscented air) showed a significant preference for the unstruck, substrate odor trail. In a second treatment, snakes given a choice of unstruck mouse odor (airborne) versus a control (unscented air) showed no significant preference for the airborne odor. In a third treatment, snakes given a choice of unstruck mouse (airborne) versus struck mouse odor (airborne) again showed no preference for either odor. This last result suggests that one cue used during airborne trailing is a general chemical cue and is most likely not associated with a distinct post-strike searching image (as is the case in substrate trailing). Snakes also exhibited certain behaviors within the maze (i.e., turning behavior, emergences) more often when exposed to airborne cues than when exposed to substrate cues. These observations indicate that a different system of behaviors is used when rattlesnakes follow airborne compared to substrate odor cues during post-strike trailing.
Experimental evidence showing that physician guidance promotes perceptions of physician empathy

ABSTRACTBackground: This article reports a study that assessed the link between physician guidance and perceptions of empathy. Previous literature suggests that patients prefer medical decision making to be a collaborative process. However, no study has specifically tested how physician guidance affects the way the patient perceives his or her physician's empathy. As a period of laissez-faire autonomy appears to be drawing to a close, it will be important to understand what kinds of guidance have positive effects on the physician-patient relationship. Methods: This study used a matched-vignette design to investigate whether individuals perceive a physician who provides an opinion on the best course of action for a patient as more empathic than one who does not. Surveys were administered at local YMCAs to capture the widest demographic possible, with participants randomly assigned to one of two vignettes. Results: Findings suggest that patients may indeed view physicians who guide medical decision making a...
Classifying Illusory Contours: Edges Defined by “Pacman” and Monocular Tokens

Westheimer, Gerald and Wu Li. Classifying illusory contours: edges defined by “pacman” and monocular tokens. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 731–736, 1997. Thresholds for the discrimination of orientation wer...
The Wilson Effective Kähler Potential For Supersymmetric Nonlinear Sigma Models

Renormalization group methods are used to determine the evolution of the low energy Wilson effective action for supersymmetric nonlinear {sigma} models in four dimensions. For the case of supersymmetric CP{sup N{minus}1} models, the K{umlt a}hler potential is determined exactly and is shown to exhibit a nontrivial ultraviolet fixed point in addition to a trivial infrared fixed point. The strong coupling behavior of the theory suggests the possible existence of additional relevant operators or nonperturbative degrees of freedom. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
Pharmacotherapy in rehabilitation of post-acute traumatic brain injury

There are nearly 1.8 million annual emergency room visits and over 289,000 annual hospitalizations related to traumatic brain injury (TBI). The goal of this review article is to highlight pharmacotherapies that we often use in the clinic that have been shown to benefit various sequelae of TBI. We have decided to focus on sequelae that we commonly encounter in our practice in the post-acute phase after a TBI. These symptoms are hyper-arousal, agitation, hypo-arousal, inattention, slow processing speed, memory impairment, sleep disturbance, depression, headaches, spasticity, and paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity. In this review article, the current literature for the pharmacological management of these symptoms are mentioned, including medications that have not had success and some ongoing trials. It is clear that the pharmacological management specific to those with TBI is often based on small studies and that often treatment is based on assumptions of how similar conditions are managed when not relating to TBI. As the body of the literature expands and targeted treatments start to emerge for TBI, the function of pharmacological management will need to be further defined. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI:Brain injury and recovery.
Computer-Aided Optimal Design of Gears

This research is directed toward the development of a computer-based methodology for optimal design of spur gears. To achieve this, a two stage design framework including preliminary design and design optimization is proposed. In this paper, we focus on the design optimization stage.
Neutron reactions in the hohlraum at the LLNL National Ignition Facility

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is designed to drive deuterium-tritium (DT) inertial confinement fusion targets to ignition using indirect radiation from laser energy captured in a hohlraum. The projected yields at NIF suggest that interactions of neutrons with the hohlraum can directly probe the neutron spectrum. Different physical parameters of the burning capsule can be probed by different neutron reactions. We suggest a variety of neutron reactions on the gold and uranium present in National Ignition Campaign hohlraums that will be useful for both neutron diagnostics and dosimetry at the NIF. The radiochemical daughter products may then be used to infer the neutron spectrum from the capsule. The downscattered neutrons may be studied by the $(n,\phantom{\rule{-0.16em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\gamma})$ and $(n,\phantom{\rule{-0.16em}{0ex}}{n}^{\ensuremath{'}})$ reactions to infer the areal density of the capsule. The 14 MeV neutron fluence may be measured by $(n,\phantom{\rule{-0.16em}{0ex}}2n)$ daughter products for comparison to neutron spectrometer data. The hydrodynamical mix in the capsule can be studied with RIF neutrons, which are probed by $(n,\phantom{\rule{-0.16em}{0ex}}3n)$ reactions.
Novel Acyclic Diaminocarbene Ligands with Increased Steric Demand and Their Application in Gold Catalysis

Sterically demanding and conformationally stable N,N′-ditertiaryalkyl-N,N′-diphenyl acyclic diaminocarbenes (ADCs) were developed. Bulky ADC−Au catalysts not only showed competitive reactivities in hydroamination and enyne cyclization but also demonstrated unique ligand properties different from bulky N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) counterparts.
Special Track on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Informatics

Healthcare informatics focuses on the efficient and effective acquisition, management, and use of information in healthcare.
Videos, pairs, and peers: What connects theory and practice in teacher education?

Abstract This article reports on the use of videos to address a long-standing problem in preparation for many professions: how to help novices bridge the gap between abstract bodies of professional knowledge and the “craft knowledge” of practitioners. The study focuses on the use of videos of experienced high school teachers to help pre-service teachers to deepen their understanding of key pedagogical strategies in social studies and to apply what they learn in a student teaching seminar to their classroom practice. The findings demonstrate the kinds of scaffolding needed to encourage pre-service teachers to challenge and deepen their initial conceptions.
Power, Ethics, and Ecology in Jewish Late Antiquity: Rabbinic Responses to Drought and Disaster

Rabbinic tales of drought, disaster, and charismatic holy men illuminate critical questions about power, ethics, and ecology in Jewish late antiquity. Through a sustained reading of the Babylonian Talmud's tractate on fasts in response to drought, this book shows how Bavli Taʿanit challenges Deuteronomy's claim that virtue can assure abundance and that misfortune is an unambiguous sign of divine rebuke. Employing a new method for analyzing lengthy talmudic narratives, Julia Watts Belser traces complex strands of aggadic dialectic to show how Bavli Taʿanit's redactors articulate a strikingly self-critical theological and ethical discourse. Bavli Taʿanit castigates rabbis for misuse of power, exposing the limits of their perception and critiquing prevailing obsessions with social status. But it also celebrates the possibilities of performative perception - the power of an adroit interpreter to transform events in the world and interpret crisis in a way that draws forth blessing.
Their graves are green

Like many of Wordsworth’s poems in the Lyrical Ballads (1798/1800), “We Are Seven” dramatizes an encounter between a middle-class traveler and the rural poor. The dialogic structure of the poem pits a little girl with a “rustic, woodland air” (LB 9), who is physically and emotionally attached to a local graveyard, against an adult male traveler who attempts to sever her attachment to her dead kin. The encounter begins as the traveler asks the girl how many brothers and sisters she has. She replies that there are seven in all. Seeing no other children with her, the traveler asks of her siblings’ whereabouts. She replies that two lie under a tree in the churchyard, two are in Conway, two are gone to sea, and she lives with her mother. The traveler immediately corrects the child’s reckoning, “If two are in the church-yard laid, / Then ye are only five” (35-6), thus arguing that the only family members who should be counted are those whose “limbs they are alive” (34). As the traveler repeatedly attempts to persuade the little girl to relinquish what he sees as her unreasonable attachment to the dead, she unequivocally replies, “Their graves are green, they may be seen” (37), and describes how she sits, sings, eats, and plays on their graves. Thus, while her brother and sister are no longer alive, she nevertheless continues to live with her kin and the past through her imagination, which is grounded in a localized environment “Twelve steps or more from my Mother’s door” (39).
A New Privacy-Preserving Distributed k-Clustering Algorithm

We present a simple I/O-efficient k-clustering algorithm that was designed with the goal of enabling a privacy-preserving version of the algorithm. Our experiments show that this algorithm produces cluster centers that are, on average, more accurate than the ones produced by the well known iterative k-means algorithm. We use our new algorithm as the basis for a communication-efficient privacy-preservingk-clustering protocol for databases that are horizontally partitioned between two parties. Unlike existing privacy-preserving protocols based on the k-means algorithm, this protocol does not reveal intermediate candidate cluster centers.
Experimental Evidence for Olfactory Imprinting by Sockeye Salmon at Embryonic and Smolt Stages

AbstractAnadromous salmonids have an extraordinary ability to migrate back to their natal streams to spawn as adults, but the mechanisms underlying this ability are not completely known. Many experiments indicate that salmon imprint on natal odors at the smolt stage prior to seaward migration, but the life history and population genetics of some species, notably Sockeye Salmon Oncorhynchus nerka, suggest that imprinting also occurs during the period between hatching and emergence from the gravel as fry. To test the hypothesis that Sockeye Salmon imprint during this period, we exposed juveniles to a mixture of odorants during either the alevin or smolt stage. The smolt exposure group was further divided into different exposure durations (6 weeks, 1 week, and 1 d) to evaluate the duration of odor exposure needed for imprinting during that stage. Imprinting was assessed by testing fish as mature adults in two-choice mazes containing unfamiliar water with and without the mixture of odorants. Fish exposed eith...
Gene Transfer to Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells As a Novel Approach for Immunotherapy Against B-Lineage Malignancies: In Vivo Xenograft Model,

Abstract 4168 Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CAR) against CD19 have been shown to direct T cells to specifically target B-lineage malignant cells in animal models and clinical trials, with efficient tumor cell lysis. But, there has been insufficient persistence of effector cells, limiting the clinical efficacy. We propose gene transfer to hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC) as a novel approach to ensure persistent production of effector cells targeting B-lineage malignant cells, exponentially increasing the number of effectors that may be generated against tumor cells. Experiments were performed using NOD-SCID-IL2 receptor gamma chain null (NSG) mice engrafted with human CD34+ HSPCs transduced with lentiviral vectors carrying first and second generations of CD19-specific CAR. There was efficient and stable transduction with 1–2 copies of CAR/cell as determined by qPCR. Differentiation of modified HSPC in vivo was not impaired by gene transfer, as observed in vitro . Results of in vivo studies showed that CAR-transduced human HSPC successfully differentiated into all lineages, with CAR-expressing T, NK and myeloid cells populating bone marrow, spleen and peripheral blood. The human CD19+ B cell populations normally formed in the xenografted NSG mice were significantly reduced when the transplanted HSPC were transduced with the anti-CD19 CAR, demonstrating in vivo biological activity. Cells harvested from bone marrow and spleen of mice engrafted with modified HSPC lysed CD19-positive cell targets ex vivo . Leukemic challenges of engrafted mice are in progress. Our results provide evidence for the feasibility and efficacy of the modification of HSPC with CAR as a protocol for generation of effector cells for immunotherapy against B-lineage malignancies. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Relationships between circadian measures, depression, and response to antidepressant treatment: A preliminary investigation

Few studies have examined relationships between circadian rhythms and unipolar major depressive disorder. Further, no study to date has examined circadian markers as predictors of response to depression treatment. In the present study, we examined associations between circadian timing and its alignment with sleep and depression severity in 30 adults with major depressive disorder who completed a randomized controlled trial of two weeks of time in bed (TIB) restriction administered adjunctive to fluoxetine, with a focus on sex differences. Thirty adults with major depressive disorder received 8 weeks of fluoxetine 20-40 mgs and were randomized to 8h TIB or 6h TIB for the first 2 weeks. Participants in the 6h TIB condition were further randomized to a delayed bedtime or advanced risetime group. Circadian measures included dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) and the difference between DLMO and midsleep point (i.e., phase angle difference). Depression was assessed using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. For females, a phase delay after 2 weeks of fluoxetine and the experimental TIB manipulation was associated with a poorer response to fluoxetine, and depression severity was negatively correlated with phase angle difference, whereas males showed a positive correlation between depression severity and phase angle difference.
Direct numerical simulation of scalar transport in turbulent flows over progressive surface waves

The transport of passive scalars in turbulent flows over progressive water waves is studied using direct numerical simulation. A combined pseudo-spectral and finite-difference scheme on a wave-surface-fitted grid is used to simulate the flow and scalar fields above the wave surface. Three representative wave ages (i.e. wave-to-wind speed ratios) are considered, corresponding to slow, intermediate and fast wind-waves, respectively. For each wave condition, four Schmidt numbers are considered for the scalar transport. The presence of progressive surface waves is found to induce significant wave-phase-correlated variation to the scalar field, with the phase dependence varying with the wave age. The time- and plane-averaged profiles of the scalar over waves of various ages exhibit similar vertical structures as those found in turbulence over a flat wall, but with the von Karman constant and effective wave surface roughness for the mean scalar profile exhibiting considerable variation with the wave age. The profiles of the root-mean-square scalar fluctuations and the horizontal scalar flux exhibit good scaling in the viscous sublayer that agrees with the scaling laws previously reported for flat-wall turbulence, but with noticeable wave-induced variation in the viscous wall region. The profiles of the vertical scalar flux in the viscous sublayer exhibit apparent discrepancies from the reported scaling law for flat-wall turbulence, due to a negative vertical flux region above the windward face of the wave crest. Direct observation and quadrant-based conditional averages indicate that the wave-dependent distributions of the scalar fluctuations and fluxes are highly correlated with the coherent vortical structures in the turbulence, which exhibit clear wave-dependent characteristics in terms of both shape and preferential location.
Reduced-Concentration Clavulanate for Young Children with Acute Otitis Media

Amoxicillin-clavulanate (A/C) is currently the most effective oral antimicrobial in treating children with acute otitis media (AOM), but the standard dosage of 90 mg amoxicillin/6.4 mg clavulanate/kg of body weight/day commonly causes diarrhea. We examined whether an A/C formulation containing lower concentrations of clavulanate would result in less diarrhea while maintaining plasma levels of amoxicillin and clavulanate adequate to eradicate middle-ear pathogens and to achieve clinical success. We conducted an open-label study in children with AOM who were 6 to 23 months of age. In phase 1, we treated 40 children with a reduced-clavulanate A/C formulation providing 90 mg amoxicillin/3.2 mg clavulanate/kg/day for 10 days. In phase 2, we treated 72 children with the same formulation at a dosage of 80 mg amoxicillin/2.85 mg clavulanate/kg/day for 10 days. We compared the rates of protocol-defined diarrhea (PDD), diaper dermatitis, and AOM clinical response in these children with rates we had reported in children who received the standard A/C regimen, and we obtained plasma levels of amoxicillin and clavulanate at various time points. Outcomes in phase 1 children and in children who had received the standard regimen did not differ significantly. Rates of PDD in children receiving phase 2 and standard regimens were 17% and 26%, respectively (P = 0.10). The corresponding rates of diaper dermatitis were 21% and 33% (P = 0.04) and of AOM treatment failure were 12% and 16% (P = 0.44). Symptomatic responses did not differ significantly between regimens; both gave clavulanate levels sufficient to inhibit β-lactamase activity. In young children with AOM, clavulanate dosages lower than those currently used may be associated with fewer side effects without reducing clinical efficacy. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under registration no. NCT02630992.).
Self-organizing Complex Networks: individual versus global rules

We introduce a form of Self-Organized Criticality (SOC) inspired by the new generation of evolutionary game theory, which ranges from physiology to sociology. The single individuals are the nodes of a composite network, equivalent to two interacting subnetworks, one leading to strategy choices made by the individuals under the influence of the choices of their nearest neighbors and the other measuring the Prisoner's Dilemma Game payoffs of these choices. The interaction between the two networks is established by making the imitation strength K increase or decrease according to whether the last two payoffs increase or decrease upon increasing or decreasing K. Although each of these imitation strengths is selected selfishly, and independently of the others as well, the social system spontaneously evolves towards the state of cooperation. Criticality is signaled by temporal complexity, namely the occurrence of non-Poisson renewal events, the time intervals between two consecutive crucial events being given by an inverse power law index miu = 1.3 rather than by avalanches with an inverse power law distribution as in the original form of SOC. This new phenomenon is herein labeled self-organized temporal criticality (SOTC). We compare this bottom-up self-organization process to the adoption of a global choice rule based on assigning to all the units the same value K, with the time evolution of common K being determined by consciousness of the social benefit, a top-down process implying the action of a leader. In this case self-organization is impeded by large intensity fluctuations and the global social benefit turns out to be much weaker. We conclude that the SOC model of this paper fits the requests of a manifesto recently proposed by a number of European social scientists.
Economic Depression and the Silver Question in Nineteenth-Century China

In the early nineteenth century, China descended into a prolonged economic decline commonly referred to as the ‘Daoguang Depression’ (1820–1850). It has been argued that the chief cause of this deflation in silver prices was a massive outflow of silver during these years, a reversal of the centuries-long pattern of silver flowing into China. But the ‘drain of silver’ thesis is flawed on both theoretical and empirical grounds. Price deflation in the early nineteenth century cannot be correlated either with population trends or fluctuations in silver imports or in foreign trade generally. Instead, the causes of the Daoguang Depression must be found in the domestic economy, and especially in the growing regional economic autarky that reversed the eighteenth-century trend towards national market integration.
Moderate OSAS and turbinate decongestion: surgical efficacy in improving the quality of life and compliance of CPAP using Epworth score and SNOT-20 score.

SUMMARY Drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) is an important procedure in diagnostic pathway of patients affected by moderate OSAS. However, the Italian National Health System does not provide any compatible Diagnosis-related-group (DRG) code codification for DISE, which makes it impossible to obtain regional reimbursement. In order to overcome this problem, DISE is usually associated with other codified surgical procedures. The aim of our study is to assess the association of turbinate decongestion (TD) and DISE in order to combine in a single operating session diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The objective of our work is to assess the role of nasal surgery on symptoms of moderate OSA. Recent studies have confirmed that isolated nasal surgery improves quality of life (QOL), but not the apnoea hypopnoea index (AHI) during polygraph registration. We enrolled 30 patients, aged between 29 and 64 years (mean 50.53 ± 9.20), 26 males and 4 females, with a mean BMI of 26.07 ± 2.81 kg/m2, who were affected by moderate OSAS. All patients underwent otolaryngologycal pre-operative evaluation, home respiratory polygraph and subjective evaluation through Sino-Nasal-Outcome Test (SNOT-20) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). During the same surgery session, they underwent DISE and TD. Patients were re-evaluated six months later using the same questionnaires. We observed a significant improvement (p #x003C; 0.05) in both the mean ESS index (6.03 ± 2.75 vs 4.16 ± 4.63) and total SNOT score (22.53 ± 12.16 vs 13.23 ± 10.82). Significant differences (p #x003C; 0.05) were also identified for partial SNOT questions 1-11 (9.1 ± 5.11 vs 6.13 ± 4.12) and 11-20 (13.36 ± 10.20 vs 7.13 ± 9.644). The results of the present study confirm that TD alone can improve sleepiness, QOL and nasal symptoms. Thus, in absence of a National Health System recognition for DISE, the association of this procedure with TD can be useful for diagnostic and therapeutic management of OSAS, improving CPAP compliance and adherence, reducing sleepiness, ameliorating nasal symptoms and therefore QOL.
Venous thrombosis: mechanisms and treatment.

The role of Virchow’s triad in the etiology and treatment of venous thrombosis, the natural history of postoperative thrombosis, and methods for monitoring venous embolism are described. In patients with hip joint replacements the effects of several drugs or drug combinations or placebos on wound hematoma and the effects of age, obesity, and activity and several drug combinations on venous embolism are reported.
Estimates on Subspaces

As a consequence of Theorem 2.7.2, if E = M ⊕ N is a decomposition of a Banach space into closed subspaces such that M ≠ E, N ≠ E, dim N < ∞ and $$\mathop {\sup }\limits_N G - \infty ,$$ (6.1.1) then there is a sequence {u k } ⊂ E such that $$G\left( {u_k } \right) \to c,G'\left( {u_k } \right) \to 0.$$ (6.1.2)