cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Two Infection Assays to Study Non-Lethal Virulence Phenotypes in C. Albicans using C. Elegans

While pathogens can be deadly to humans, many of them cause a range of infection types with non-lethal phenotypes. Candida albicans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen of humans, is the fourth most common cause of nosocomial infections which results in ~40% mortality. However, other C. albicans infections are less severe and rarely lethal and include vulvovaginal candidiasis, impacting ~75% of women, as well as oropharyngeal candidiasis, predominantly impacting infants, AIDS patients and cancer patients. While murine models are most frequently used to study C. albicans pathogenesis, these models predominantly assess host survival and are costly, time consuming, and limited in replication. Therefore, several mini-model systems, including Drosophila melanogaster, Danio rerio, Galleria mellonella, and Caenorhabditis elegans, have been developed to study C. albicans. These mini-models are well-suited for screening mutant libraries or diverse genetic backgrounds of C. albicans. Here we describe two approaches to study C. albicans infection using C. elegans. The first is a fecundity assay which measures host reproduction and monitors survival of individual hosts. The second is a lineage expansion assay which measures how C. albicans infection affects host population growth over multiple generations. Together, these assays provide a simple, cost-effective way to quickly assess C. albicans virulence.
Gender Differences in Sleep Disordered Breathing—a Review of Literature

The purpose of this review is to examine the gender differences in sleep disordered breathing focusing on biochemical, pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, and uncertainties. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form of sleep disordered breathing and a prevalent disease in the general population. Studies on obstructive sleep apnea have included both genders, but women have often been underrepresented. The paucity of recent publications focusing on gender differences in obstructive sleep apnea necessitated that this review explores earlier relevant literature. The data reviewed suggests women have higher than earlier reported prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea and have different pathophysiologic risk factors with various phenotypes such that current scoring criteria might misclassify abnormal breathing events and therefore, women might be underdiagnosed. The clinical presentation of obstructive sleep apnea in women differs from men. Variations in sleep architecture and respiratory events undermine the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea in women, ostensibly facilitating misdiagnoses and misclassification of disease burden.
System-Level Common-Mode EMI Analysis for Drive Applications Using Unterminated Behavioral EMI Models

As wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors continue to establish their superior performance in today’s power electronics industry, it is imperative that they are equipped with electromagnetic interference (EMI) solutions tailored for their performance characteristics. The increased switching frequency and switching speeds in WBG converters facilitates higher power densities but can adversely affect EMI filtering requirements. This study uses Unterminated Behavioral Models (UBM) to estimate the common-mode (CM) emissions of two individual SiC AC drive systems feeding of the same DC bus, i.e. the effective input CM emission of the system. An extraction procedure for calculating the worst-case emission in the CM range is presented, accounting for the asynchronized and independent operation of both drives. The extraction procedure is developed through experimental UBM development and subsequent frequency-domain, MATLAB script analyses. Experimental results to validate both the UBM and combined input CM noise at various operating points are provided along with details of the physical hardware setup used.
Augustine as an Auctoritas in Juan de Torquemada's Apparatus Super Decretum Florentinum Unionis Graecorum (1441)

This essay adds to our knowledge of the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1431–1449) as a complex but significant instance of the many efforts to bring union to the divided Latin West and Byzantine East. In this paper, I explore the role of Augustine as an auctoritas at Ferrara-Florence, examining Juan de Torquemada's Apparatus Super Decretum Florentinum Unionis Graecorum (1441), a programmatic theological treatise written to represent the Latins’ theological perspective as expressed in Laetentur caeli (“Let the heavens rejoice”), the papal bull disseminated by Pope Eugenius IV on July 6, 1439. I argue that Torquemada's use of Augustine corroborates the otherwise circumstantial probability that he composed the Apparatus to explain the theological terms on which Eugenius IV and the Latin papalists declared union with Byzantine Christians and simultaneously to defend the bull against the doubts held among conciliarists and their sympathizers around Europe. Showing how Torquemada used Augustine in this conciliar document also adds greater clarity to the reception of Augustine at the Council of Ferrara-Florence. More specifically, it helps explain the utility of Augustine in Torquemada's attempt to adjudicate the relations between the Latin West and Byzantine East on the one hand and papalist and conciliarist Latins on the other.
"Brachy-mergency!": Developing and Implementing an Effective HDR Emergency Response Training Course.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) A stuck HDR source during brachytherapy (BT) treatments is rare but serious medical emergency. A rapid and coordinated response by providers is necessary to limit exposure and avoid serious injury to the patient. At our institution, previous training consisted of informal verbal instruction and review of the HDR workflow, resulting in considerable variability in preparedness. As a quality improvement project, we developed a standardized BT emergency training program to improve the confidence and preparedness of our staff in responding to and resolving such emergencies. MATERIALS/METHODS We developed an educational course using vendor material, AAPM Task Group publications, reviewed high-profile BT accidents, and integrated suggestions from physics and clinical faculty. Before and after the training session, participants completed an online quiz and survey to assess baseline knowledge and confidence (5-point Likert scale). Participants first underwent a timed simulation that required manual source retraction. This simulation was also repeated at the end of the training session. Next an educational 1-on-1 discussion and presentation was conducted to review the structure, function, and workflow of BT treatments and all equipment involved. We reviewed and virtually drilled the necessary steps for a stuck-source emergency, cardiac arrest, and other medical (e.g., seizure, unstable patient) and technical (aborted check cable run) predicaments. Statistical analysis comparing pre- and post-training quiz scores and simulation times was completed using paired t-tests. RESULTS 10 staff members volunteered to participate in the "brachy-mergency" training course including resident and attending physicians, medical physicists, and medical students. The average quiz score was 68% before training, and significantly increased to 90% (P = 0.002) after training. The average time to resolve the stuck-source simulation was 99 seconds before training, and significantly decreased to 47 seconds (P < 0.001) after training. Only 20% of subjects initially agreed that they were confident in their ability to recognize a stuck-source emergency, and 30% agreed in their ability to resolve the emergency. Post training these measures were 100%. Lastly, 90% of subjects agreed that the training session was a positive learning experience, and 100% agreed that it should be a standard component of radiation oncology training. CONCLUSION We successfully developed and implemented an HDR emergency response training course for our department that significantly improved knowledge, response time, and confidence in resolving stuck-source and other BT emergencies. We plan to refine and expand this program to improve our preparedness for years to come.
Convergence Over Time or Not? U.S. Wages by Sexual Orientation, 2000-2019

Abstract An extensive literature on labor-market outcomes by sexual orientation finds lower wages for men in same-sex couples and higher wages for women in same-sex couples compared to their counterparts in different-sex couples. Previous studies analyzing multiple time periods provide suggestive evidence that the wage penalty for men in same-sex couples is heading toward zero. Using data from the American Community Survey on individuals in couples from 2000 to 2019, we find no evidence that wages, earnings, or incomes of men in same-sex couples are improving relative to married men in different-sex couples. For women in same-sex couples, we see mixed evidence of convergence relative to married women in different-sex couples. The persistence of a wage penalty for men in same-sex couples is concerning in the face of anti-discrimination policies and rising overall tolerance by Americans with respect to sexual orientation.
The Protagoras: A Science of Practical Reasoning

And look: I gave them numbering, chief of all the stratagems. Prometheus, in Aeschylus[?], Prometheus Bound Every circumstance by which the condition of an individual can be influenced, being remarked and inventoried, nothing…[is] left to chance, caprice, or unguided discretion, everything being surveyed and set down in dimension, number, weight, and measure. Jeremy Bentham, Pauper Management Improved They did not want to look on the naked face of luck ( tuchē ), so they turned themselves over to science ( technē ). As a result, they are released from their dependence on luck; but not from their dependence on science. Hippocratic treatise On Science ( Peri Technēs ), late fifth century b.c. The Antigone spoke of a life lived ‘on the razor's edge of luck’. It warned against overambitious attempts to eliminate luck from human life, displaying both their internal failures and their problematic relation to the richness of values recognized in ordinary belief. Its conclusion appeared conservative: human beings had better stay with ‘established conventions’ in spite of the risks these leave in place. Both Aeschylean and Sophoclean tragedy have, in this way, combined a keen sense of our exposure to fortune with an awareness that some genuine human value is inseparable from this condition. This recognition left, it seems, little room for decisive progress on our problems. The late fifth century in Athens, the time of Plato's youth, was a time both of acute anxiety and of exuberant confidence in human power.
Modernism against Modernity

(2008). Modernism against Modernity. Critical Interventions: Vol. 2, Interrogating African Modernity, pp. 245-255.
Techniques for the dynamic randomization of network attributes

Critical infrastructure control systems continue to foster predictable communication paths and static configurations that allow easy access to our networked critical infrastructure around the world. This makes them attractive and easy targets for cyber-attack. We have developed technologies that address these attack vectors by automatically reconfiguring network settings. Applying these protective measures will convert control systems into "moving targets" that proactively defend themselves against attack. This "Moving Target Defense" (MTD) revolves about the movement of network reconfiguration, securely communicating reconfiguration specifications to other network nodes as required, and ensuring that connectivity between nodes is uninterrupted. Software-defined Networking (SDN) is leveraged to meet many of these goals. Our MTD approach eliminates adversaries targeting known static attributes of network devices and systems, and consists of the following three techniques: (1) Network Randomization for TCP/UDP Ports; (2) Network Randomization for IP Addresses; (3) Network Randomization for Network Paths In this paper, we describe the implementation of the aforementioned technologies. We also discuss the individual and collective successes for the techniques, challenges for deployment, constraints and assumptions, and the performance implications for each technique.
Abstract 287: 5-Hydroxydecanoate, a Mitochondrial Selective KATP Antagonist, Blocks the Rescue Action of Lipid Emulsion in Bupivacaine-Induced Cardiotoxicity

Introduction: Lipid emulsion (intralipid) rescues Bupivacaine-induced cardiac toxicity. We have shown previously that glibenclamide, a non selective ATP potassium channel blocker abolishes the rescue action of intralipid. Here we explored the role of 5-Hydroxydecanoate (5-HD), a mitochondrial selective KATP antagonist in the intralipid-mediated rescue of bupivacaine overdose. Methods: Young male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-350 g) were anesthetized intraperitoneally with a mixture of ketamine (80 mg/kg) and xylazine (8 mg/kg), and ventilated with a ventilator. M-mode echocardiography were acquired throughout the experiment. In protocol-1 (n=5), asystole was induced by a single injection of bupivacaine (10mg/kg over 20 seconds, intravenously) and resuscitation with Intralipid 20% (5ml/kg bolus, and 0.5ml/kg/min maintenance) with chest compression was started immediately. In protocol-2 (n=8) rats were pre-treated with 5-HD (5 mg/kg, IV) 30 minutes prior to inducing asystole with bupivacaine. In both protocols the heart rate (HR), ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) were measured before inducing asystole (baseline), and at 1, 5 and 10 min after lipid treatment. A two way repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) model was used for comparison of means. Values are mean ± SEM, n=5 rats/group, p Results: In protocol-1, the baseline HR and EF were 321±21 and 72.3±4.6%. Bupivacaine resulted in asystole and intralipid therapy improved the heart rate and cardiac function within 10 min(HR=86±13beats/min at 1min, 216±10beats/min at 5 min, and 228±14beats/min at 10 min). The left ventricular systolic function fully recovered in all rats within 5 min of intralipid treatment (EF=72±5%, FS=42±4%). In protocol-2, there were no significant differences between HR and EF before (HR=324.6±16.5 beats/min, EF=78.0±2.8%) and 30 min after (HR=340.9±15.6 beats/min, EF=83.3±2.0%) 5-HD adminstration. However, 5-HD (5mg/kg), prevented the intralipid-induced rescue of bupivacaine overdose, as there was no recovery within 10 min of intralipid therapy. Conclusions: Pre-treatment with 5-HD prevents the lipid rescue of bupivacaine-induced cardiotoxicity suggesting that mitochondrial KATP channels are involved.
Positive impact of an emergency department protocol on time to antimicrobial administration in dogs with septic peritonitis

Objective To determine whether the development of a specific antimicrobial protocol for the treatment of canine intra-abdominal sepsis would improve time to appropriate antimicrobial administration following diagnosis of bacterial peritonitis. Design Case controlled observational study. Setting A tertiary referral small animal teaching hospital. Animals Twenty dogs undergoing surgery for septic peritonitis prior to the deployment of the abdominal sepsis protocol served as a case control population and 40 dogs identified as having septic peritonitis after deployment of the protocol served as the study population. Interventions None. Measurements and Main Results Median time from diagnosis of septic peritonitis to antimicrobial administration was 6 hours (range 1–10 h) in the preprotocol group (PRE), and 1 hour (range 1–2 h) in the postprotocol group (POST) (P = 0.001). Five of 20 (25%) culture and sensitivity results yielded negative cultures in the PRE versus 6 of 34 (17.6%) in the POST. Inappropriate empirical antimicrobials were selected 3 of 20 times (15%) in the PRE and 3 of 34 times (8.8%) in the POST. The overall survival to discharge was 60% in the PRE and 70% in the POST (P = 0.425). Conclusions The development of an emergency department antimicrobial protocol significantly decreased time to antimicrobial administration following identification of septic peritonitis in dogs.
Designing high voltage modularized assemblies for high altitude environments

Several important design and analysis criteria for modularizing high-voltage power supplies for traveling wave tubes and klystrons which operate in high-altitude aerospace environments are discussed. Among the criteria discussed are those relating to design for life, thermal coefficient of expansion, thermal conductivity, shielding, and minimizing corona. Thermal conductivity and thermal coefficient of expansion measurements of a silicone material containing alumina filler are presented and compared to values obtained for the original material without filler. >
Void Swelling of Ferritic Alloys Bombarded with Nickel Ions

The dependence of swelling on temperature, dose and composition of simple ferritic alloys bombarded with 5 MeV Ni ions has been investigated. The peak swelling temperature of 550°C (1022°F) is 125°C (257°F) lower than forlow nickel austenitic alloys. The swelling in ferritic alloys is at least an order of magnitude less than in the high swelling, low Ni, austenitic alloys. However, the swelling of simple ferritic alloys at 116 dpa overlaps that in about 40% of the austenitic phase field. The variation of swelling with temperature is due to changes in both void size and void density. The increase in swelling with dose, and the variation with Cr content, are due to the variation in void size. However, the reduction of swelling with Ni addition is due to a reduction in void density, so there is a major qualitative difference in the way Ni and Cr affect the swelling. The voids in ferritic alloys are cube-shaped in contrast to the truncated octahedra in austenitic alloys. The sharp reduction in swelling by Ni indicates that, at high doses, the implanted Ni will lead to errors in the swelling data. It is judged that the semi-quantitative conclusions drawn from the present work are not seriously compromised by the effects of implanted nickel.
Assessing the biological safety profession's evaluation and control of risks associated with the field collection of potentially infectious specimens

Because the origins of the biological safety profession are rooted in the control and prevention of laboratory-associated infections, the vocation focuses primarily on the safe handling of specimens within the laboratory. But in many cases, the specimens and samples handled in the lab are originally collected in the field where a broader set of possible exposure considerations may be present, each with varying degrees of controllability. The failure to adequately control the risks associated with collecting biological specimens in the field may result in illness or injury, and could have a direct impact on laboratory safety, if infectious specimens were packaged or transported inappropriately, for example. This study developed a web-based survey distributed to practicing biological safety professionals to determine the prevalence of and extent to which biological safety programs consider and evaluate field collection activities. In cases where such issues were considered, the data collected characterize the types of controls and methods of oversight at the institutional level that are employed. Sixty-one percent (61%) of the survey respondents indicated that research involving the field collection of biological specimens is conducted at their institutions. A majority (79%) of these field collection activities occur at academic institutions. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of respondents indicated that their safety committees do not consider issues related to biological specimens collected in the field, and only 25% with an oversight committee charged to review field collection protocols have generated a field research-specific risk assessment form to facilitate the assembly of pertinent information for a project risk assessment review. The results also indicated that most biosafety professionals (73% overall; 71% from institutions conducting field collection activities) have not been formally trained on the topic, but many (64% overall; 87% from institutions conducting field collection activities) indicated that training on field research safety issues would be helpful, and even more (71% overall; 93% from institutions conducting field collection activities) would consider participation in such a training course. Results obtained from this study can be used to develop a field research safety toolkit and associated training curricula specifically targeted to biological safety professionals.
Media Conduction: Festivals, Networks, and Boundaried Spaces

This article reports on extended qualitative fieldwork regarding media festivals, including those concerning both film and comic book culture. It is also an initial attempt to shape the trends and patterns suggested by this fieldwork into a theory of media conduction. My interest is in how the festival environment represents a kind of rift through which a normally hidden or out-of-reach area of meaningful activity becomes visible to those not already connected to the event, and how organizers use the value of this access to promote both their event(s) and the media persons and practices with which they stand in symbiotic relationship. The theory of media conduction attempts to account for the power discourses present in the space and time of the media festival, with particular reference to the era of synchronic, interactive, networked electronic communication technology, sometimes referred to as “Web 2.0.”
Designs and Coding Theory

Publisher Summary This chapter gives some general results on the code of design. The chapter discusses some of the applications, in particular the plane of order 10, construction of a (41, 16, 6) design is presented and very recent work on the code of a plane of order 12 over GF(3) is discussed. An important application of codes to designs, if it exists, a projective plane of order 10 is a symmetric (111, 11, 1) design. The code over F2, the binary code C, is of dimension 56 and C⊥ consists of the words of even weight (in fact of weights multiples of 4) in C. From this it is identified that the entire weight distribution is determined once the number of words of weights 12, 15, and 16, through, A12, Al5, and A16, are known.
Mode Selection and Enhancement with a Ruby Laser

Abstract : The angular distribution of the laser output from a ruby rod is determined by the characteristics of the standing-wave pattern inducing the emission. If the angular spread of the pattern is limited by an aperture in an external optical system through which the standing wave must pass, the stimulated emission will be limited to the same angular spread. In addition, the suppression of the standing wave pattern in offaxis directions will increase the intensity of the laser beam along the axis, since that part of the stimulated emission which normally would have gone into the off-axis modes will be channeled into the axial modes. (Author)
Women who served in Iraq seeking mental health services: Relationships between military sexual trauma, symptoms, and readjustment.

Eighteen women who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) sought mental health services at a Veterans’ Affairs (VA) medical center. Ten of the 18 women (56%) reported military sexual trauma (MST) while serving in OIF/OEF. All 10 with MST reported sexual harassment, 6 of the 10 (33% of the sample) reported unwanted physical advances, and 3 (17%) reported completed assault or rape. Fifteen women also completed a questionnaire about their experiences and the Iraq Readjustment Inventory (IRI) developed for this study. High reliability and high correlations with clinician ratings make the IRI a promising measure for future research. A comparison between those with and without MST revealed that those with MST had higher clinician ratings and IRI scores, suggesting greater difficulty with readjustment. And, while MST was significantly correlated with clinician ratings and readjustment scores, the variables “being injured” and “witnessing others injured or killed” were not. These preliminary data suggest that MST OIF/OEF women seeking mental health services is a critical factor for predicting symptoms and difficulty with readjustment to civilian life.
Nonlinear wave solutions to the planar vacuum Einstein equations.

We use the 3+1 split of spacetime and the York splitting into free and constrained variables to set up initial data and solve the vacuum Einstein equations in plane symmetry. We present numerical solutions for free data in the form of traveling waves in both the linear and nonlinear regimes. No evidence of nonlinear wave propagation is found and we demonstrate that for our class of metrics the nonlinearity lies in the Coulomb'' or nonradiative components of the Riemann curvature tensor.
Demonstration of functionally ineffective synapses in the guinea pig spinal cord.

Abstract Hemisection of the spinal cord rostral to the nucleus of the phrenic nerve results in a permanent paralysis of the ipsilateral hemidiaphragm. In several mammalian species, functional recovery of the paretic hemidiaphragm can be achieved by transecting the contralateral phrenic nerve. The phrenicotomy results in an increased medullary respiratory output which activates a functionally latent, crossed medullospinal respiratory pathway. The nerve fibers of the crossed pathway trasmit respiratory impulses across the spinal cord at the level of the phrenic nuclei, thereby generating action potetentials in the phrenic neurons ipsilateral to the paretic hemidiaphragm. This response has been termed the “crossed phrenic phenomenon.” Previous studies in guinea pigs showed that the crossed phrenic phenomenon did not occur if the spinal hemisection was followed immediately by contralateral phrenicotomy, but it did occur if several months elapsed between the two operations. In the present experiment we sought to determine the shortest time interval that would permit development of a crossed phrenic phenomenon in order to decide whether functional recovery in guinea pigs results from the establishment of a new synaptic pathway by collateral sprouting or from the activation of a previously ineffective pathway. The former would require several weeks to occur, whereas the latter might be expected to occur within hours or days. In the present study the crossed phrenic phenomenon occurred within 3.5 h after spinal hemisection. We therefore conclude that, within several hours after spinal hemisection, functionally ineffective synapses become converted to functionally latent ones. The stress of contralateral phrenicotomy is sufficient to activate this functionally latent pathway. The mechanism by which the ineffective pathway is transformed to a latent one is unknown.
Categorical encoding in short-term memory by 4- to 11-year-old children

One hundred and sixty children, ages 4 to 11, were tested in a STM task similar to that used by Wickens, Born, &Allen (1963). Special interest focused on the buildup and release of proactive interference (PI). All age groups show PI when conceptual categories (toys or kitchen utensils) were the to-be-remembered items. In addition, all groups which shifted to a different conventional category on the last trial, show release from PI. The theoretical significance of the presence of PI and its release in preschool children is discussed.
DISPERSION IN DISORDERED POROUS MEDIA

We report results of Monte Carlo investigations of dispersion in one- and two-phase flow through disordered porous media represented by square and simple cubic networks of pores of random radii. Dispersion results from the different flow paths and consequent different transit limes available to tracer particles crossing from one plane to another in a porous medium. Dispersion is found to be diffusive for the process simulated, i.e., a concentration front of solute particles can be described macroscopically by a convective diffusion equation. Dispersivity in the direction of mean flow, i.e., longitudinal dispersivity, is found to be an order of magnitude larger than dispersivity transverse to the direction of mean flow. In two-phase flow, longitudinal dispersivity in a given phase increases greatly as the saturation of that phase approaches its percolation threshold; transverse dispersivity also increases, but more slowly. As the percolation threshold is neared, the backbone of the sublatlice occupied by t...
Development and Initial Testing of a Magnetically Shielded Miniature Hall Thruster

The scaling of magnetically shielded Hall thrusters to low power is investigated through the development and fabrication of a 4-cm Hall thruster. During initial testing, the magnetically shielded miniature Hall thruster was operated at 275 V discharge voltage and 325-W discharge power. Inspection of the channel walls after testing suggests that the outer discharge channel wall was successfully shielded from high-energy ion erosion while the inner channel wall showed evidence of weaker shielding, likely due to magnetic circuit saturation. Scanning planar probe measurements taken at two locations downstream of the thruster face provided ion current density profiles. The ion current calculated by integrating these data was 1.04 A with a plume divergence half-angle of 30°. Swept retarding potential analyzer measurements taken 80-cm axially downstream of the thruster measured the most probable ion voltage to be 252 V. The total thruster efficiency was calculated from probe measurements to be 43% (anode efficiency of 59%) corresponding to a thrust of 19 mN at a specific impulse of 1870 s. Discharge channel erosion rates were found to be approximately three orders of magnitude less than unshielded Hall thrusters, suggesting the potential for a significant increase in operational life.
Dietary restriction and 2‐deoxyglucose administration reduce focal ischemic brain damage and improve behavioral outcome: Evidence for a preconditioning mechanism

Stroke, an age-related disorder involving degeneration of neurons resulting from cerebral ischemia, is a major cause of disability and mortality. Although dietary restriction (DR) extends lifespan and reduces levels of cellular oxidative stress in several different organ systems including the brain, the impact of DR on ischemic brain injury is unknown. We report that maintenance of adult rats on a DR regimen resulted in reduced brain damage and improved behavioral outcome in a middle cerebral artery occlusion-reperfusion (MCAO-R) stroke model. Administration of 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG), a nonmetabolizable analogue of glucose, to rats fed ad libitum resulted in reduced ischemic brain damage and improved behavioral outcome following MCAO-R. 2-DG protected cultured hippocampal neurons against chemical hypoxia, demonstrating a direct protective action on neurons. DR and 2-DG administration resulted in an increase in the level of the stress protein heat-shock protein 70 (HSP-70) in striatal cells in vivo, and 2-DG treatment induced HSP-70 in cultured neurons suggesting involvement of a preconditioning stress response in the neuroprotective actions of DR and 2-DG. The neuroprotective effect of DR and 2-DG in this focal cerebral ischemia model suggests that outcome following stroke may be improved in individuals who follow a regimen of reduced food intake.
Analysis of trace pollutants in the air by means of cryogenic gas chromatography.

The utilization of a laboratory-constructed programmable, cryogenic gas chromatograph (KEDBOR1OIR1) for use in air pollution studies is presented. The instrument (J. Chromatogr., 89 (1974) 1) is modular in design and incorporates many commercially available components as well as a few “scratch-built” parts. A temperature control range of −100 °C to +300 °C, with five programmable rates, is possible using this particular instrument. The instrument is capable of dual-column and dual-detector operation. Data have been gathered from laboratory-prepared samples as well as from samples obtained from an air pollution study in the Philadelphia area. Small amounts (ppm or less) of the gaseous hydrocarbons and the common inorganic gases (NOx, SOx, CO, CO2, H2S, COS) are detected and quantitated. Calibration curves for each gaseous component have been constructed and the analyzed samples compared to them for quantitative data. Data and information from the use of several different columns, sampling sites and their locations are presented. Experimental data agreed favorably with the current findings and discussions of air pollution problems.
Worry as a phenomenon relevant to the elderly.

This paper explores the construct of worry as it pertains to the elderly. Given the characteristics of worry and its facilitating conditions, the elderly seem particularly susceptible to it. The author reports a study of 94 elderly who responded to a variety of questionnaires dealing with worry, anxiety, and demographic variables. Results indicate that respondents were generally a healthy and worry-free group of people. Their primary worries included concern over sensory and motor losses, failing memory, illness or accident affecting close family members, relocation, loss of independence, getting depressed, and losing family and friends. There were no significant sex differences, nor differentiation by socioeconomic status or marital status on the Worry Scale. Only worries about health correlated significantly with increased age. Total Worry Scale scores and each subscale score were correlated significantly with anxiety scale scores. Respondents high in worry were shown more anxious and less healthy, vigorous, and contented than respondents lower in worry. These data have implications for how the elderly cope with stressful prospects in their lives.
Probabilistic models of computer deadlock

Abstract As the number of processes and resources increases within a computer system, does the probability of that system's encountering deadlock increase or decrease? The problem of deadlock in computer systems and a model applicable to the investigation of this problem are presented. The model treats sequences of resource activity as potential members of the set of strings accepted by a probabilistic automaton. This paper, after explaining the model and its application, describes a transformation on the automaton which makes it amenable to calculations of the probability of deadlock. These calculations consist of: 1. 1. Derivation of necessary and sufficient conditions for an automaton to be well-behaved —formally described as accepting a normalized language; 2. 2. Usage of these conditions to yield closed-form equations of deadlock probability under several definitions thereof. Although the automaton model used in these calculations is a probabilistic pushdown automaton, it is indicated that the procedures described can also be applied to other types of probabilistic automata modeling other deadlock situations. Results of calculations on actual computer system models are also described, indicating that within the types of systems considered, the probability of deadlock increases.
Decaying neutrinos as a photoionization source in galactic halos

We propose that the highly ionized carbon (C IV) and silicon (Si IV) observed by IUE several kiloparsecs from the plane of the Galaxy result from a flux of approx.50-eV photons. If neutrinos of rest mass m/sub ..nu../approx.100 eV exist and dominate the galactic halo, their decay into 50-eV photons may produce the observed ionization. The observations then require a decay time tauapprox.10/sup 27/ sec, which exceeds established lower limits by 10/sup 3/, and is in line with model-dependent estimates for 10-eV neutrinos based on theoretical considerations from elementary-particle physics which avoid Glashow-Iliopoulos-Maini suppression (e.g., by invoking a fourth neutrino type).
3D visualization of HIV transfer at the virological synapse between dendritic cells and T cells

The efficiency of HIV infection is greatly enhanced when the virus is delivered at conjugates between CD4+ T cells and virus-bearing antigen-presenting cells such as macrophages or dendritic cells via specialized structures known as virological synapses. Using ion abrasion SEM, electron tomography, and superresolution light microscopy, we have analyzed the spatial architecture of cell-cell contacts and distribution of HIV virions at virological synapses formed between mature dendritic cells and T cells. We demonstrate the striking envelopment of T cells by sheet-like membrane extensions derived from mature dendritic cells, resulting in a shielded region for formation of virological synapses. Within the synapse, filopodial extensions emanating from CD4+ T cells make contact with HIV virions sequestered deep within a 3D network of surface-accessible compartments in the dendritic cell. Viruses are detected at the membrane surfaces of both dendritic cells and T cells, but virions are not released passively at the synapse; instead, virus transfer requires the engagement of T-cell CD4 receptors. The relative seclusion of T cells from the extracellular milieu, the burial of the site of HIV transfer, and the receptor-dependent initiation of virion transfer by T cells highlight unique aspects of cell-cell HIV transmission.
Day-to-Day Relationships among Self-Concept Clarity, Self-Esteem, Daily Events, and Mood

Twice a week for up to 10 weeks, 103 participants provided measures of their daily self-concept clarity (SCC), mood (negative affect [NA] and positive affect [PA]), and self-esteem (SE), and they described the events that occurred each day. Multilevel random coefficient modeling analyses found that daily SCC covaried with daily positive and negative events, with daily NA, and with daily SE. None of these relationships was moderated by trait levels of SE, SCC, PA, NA, or measures of depressogenic self-concept, anxiety, or depressive symptoms. Analyses that simultaneously included SE, mood, and events suggested that relationships between daily SCC and daily events were mediated by daily NA and daily SE. Such mediation suggests that daily events lead to changes in mood and SE, which in turn lead to changes in SCC. Additional analyses found that temporal variability of SE, PA, NA, and SCC was negatively correlated with trait SCC.
Total synthesis of the tylophora alkaloids rusplinone, 13aα-secoantofine, and antofine using a multicatalytic oxidative aminochlorocarbonylation/Friedel–Crafts reaction

Abstract A rapid synthetic approach to the tylophora alkaloids antofine and 13aα-secoantofine is presented that makes use of a multicatalytic oxidative aminochlorocarbonylation/Friedel–Crafts reaction as the key step. This reaction, along with a one-pot, three-step telescoped process offers a three or four-pot sequence to access the title compounds in high overall yield.
Airway basal cell vascular endothelial growth factor-mediated cross-talk regulates endothelial cell-dependent growth support of human airway basal cells

The human airway epithelium is a pseudostratified heterogenous layer comprised of ciliated, secretory, intermediate, and basal cells. As the stem/progenitor population of the airway epithelium, airway basal cells differentiate into ciliated and secretory cells to replenish the airway epithelium during physiological turnover and repair. Transcriptome analysis of airway basal cells revealed high expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), a gene not typically associated with the function of this cell type. Using cultures of primary human airway basal cells, we demonstrate that basal cells express all of the three major isoforms of VEGFA (121, 165 and 189) but lack functional expression of the classical VEGFA receptors VEGFR1 and VEGFR2. The VEGFA is actively secreted by basal cells and while it appears to have no direct autocrine function on basal cell growth and proliferation, it functions in a paracrine manner to activate MAPK signaling cascades in endothelium via VEGFR2-dependent signaling pathways. Using a cytokine- and serum-free co-culture system of primary human airway basal cells and human endothelial cells revealed that basal cell-secreted VEGFA activated endothelium to express mediators that, in turn, stimulate and support basal cell proliferation and growth. These data demonstrate novel VEGFA-mediated cross-talk between airway basal cells and endothelium, the purpose of which is to modulate endothelial activation and in turn stimulate and sustain basal cell growth.
Winding numbers for SU(3) lattice gauge fields

Abstract A method for finding the winding numbers of simplicial complexes in the group space of SU (3) has been developed and tested on 10,000 random complexes. The method may be extended to find the winding numbers of the cell complexes of the Phillips-Stone algorithm for the topological charge of lattice gauge fields. This paper gives the physical motivation for studying the topological aspects of lattice gauge fields, discusses the geometry of the SU (3) group space, and explains the method of finding the winding numbers of complexes in SU (3).
Let There Be Light! Knowledge-Based 3-D Sketching Design Tools:

This paper presents a framework for 3D knowledge-based sketching tools for lighting design and two software prototypes built to illustrate sketch-based interaction with intelligent systems in 3-D domains. Spot supports direct sunlight simulation and visualization in a selected time period and Light Pen supports placement of electric lighting designs to light an intended area in space. In both examples, a 3-D sketching front-end is coupled with a back-end knowledge-based system. This enables a designer to pose a problem by drawing onto a 3-D model to which the knowledge-based system offers a solution – in one case by providing quantitative data analysis; in the other by modifying the 3-D model. Spot and Light Pen's specific domain of architectural lighting design exemplifies a more general class of 3-D interaction with intelligent systems.
Noninvasive Methods to Evaluate Bladder Obstruction in Men

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) commonly affect older men. Fifty percent of men in their sixties and 80% of men in their nineties will be affected. Many of these men will seek care for their bothersome symptoms and decreased quality of life. There is a poor association between LUTS and objective measures such as post void residual, voided volumes, or maximal flow. Pressure flow studies are considered the gold standard for detecting bladder outlet obstruction. These studies tend to be cumbersome, expensive, and have exposure to ionizing radiation. There are several techniques which may offer noninvasive methods of detecting bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) in men.
Lamotrigine Monotherapy Improves Depressive Symptoms in Epilepsy: A Double-Blind Comparison with Valproate ☆

Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent in patients with epilepsy. The antiepileptic drug lamotrigine has been shown to be an effective treatment for the depressive phase of bipolar disorder and to enhance mood and well-being in epilepsy patients. The effects of lamotrigine monotherapy on depressive symptoms in epilepsy have not been evaluated to date in a controlled clinical trial. A recently completed double-blind epilepsy trial comparing the effects of lamotrigine monotherapy and valproate monotherapy on weight change incorporated a battery of standard mood assessments. Mean screening Beck Depression Inventory scores showed that both lamotrigine and valproate groups suffered from mild depression at baseline. Lamotrigine monotherapy was reliably associated with earlier and larger improvements than valproate in mood assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory, the Cornell Dysthymia Rating Scale, and the Profile of Mood States. Considered in the context of other data showing lamotrigine's antidepressant efficacy in bipolar depression, these results suggest that lamotrigine improves mood in mildly depressed patients with epilepsy. Lamotrigine may be particularly useful in treating epilepsy patients with comorbid depression, the most common psychiatric illness in epilepsy.
School segregation in Jefferson County and the affiliated Louisville metropolitan area, USA

This article explores the spatiotemporal patterns of school segregation between blacks and whites in Jefferson County and its affiliated Louisville metropolitan area. The classical dissimilarity index and the GIS-oriented spatial segregation measure – S index are used to estimate school segregation based on public school enrollment data (1987–2008). Findings call for the significance of measuring school segregation from a metropolitan-wide perspective rather than focusing on the urban school district alone. Also, results indicate that between-district segregation represents the majority of overall segregation in the entire Louisville metropolitan area. Most importantly, the GIS-based S Index enriches segregation studies by mapping the dynamic patterns of racial disparities while permitting a statistical estimate of segregation.
Effect of boundary conditions, region length, and diffusion rates on a spatially heterogeneous predator-prey system

Abstract A set of predator-prey, reaction-diffusion equations is used as a case study for graphically, analytically and numerically describing the sensitivity of patchy population dynamics to changes in model parameters and to changes in initial and boundary conditions. Temporally averaged spatial means of predator and prey abundances are found to be relatively robust to changes in diffusion rates, and initial and boundary conditions, while the temporal variances in the spatial means change dramatically under the same sets of conditions.
Reversal of the pattern of respiratory variation of Doppler inflow velocities in constrictive pericarditis during mechanical ventilation.

Abstract Background: Spontaneous inspiration causes a characteristic decrease of the mitral valve (MV) and pulmonary venous (PV) flow velocities obtained by Doppler echocardiography in patients with constrictive pericarditis (CP). This has been explained by the decrement it causes in the intrathoracic pressure. Positive pressure ventilation (PPV) causes an increment of intrathoracic pressure with mechanical inspiration. Therefore the pattern of respiratory variation produced during PPV may differ from that seen during spontaneous breathing. Objective: Our goal was to describe the effect of PPV on the pattern and magnitude of respiratory variation of MV and PV flow velocities in CP. Methods: We performed intraoperative pulsed Doppler transesophageal echocardiography on 15 patients (13 men, mean age 52 ± 15 years) with CP after general anesthesia and before sternotomy and pericardial stripping. The peak velocity and time-velocity integral (TVI) of the mitral inflow E and A waves and the PV systolic and diastolic waves were measured at onset of inspiration and expiration for 3 to 6 respiratory cycles. Respiratory phase was monitored with a heat-sensitive nasal thermistor. The percent change in Doppler flow velocities from mechanical inspiration (INS) to mechanical expiration (EXP) was calculated with the formula %change = INS − EXP / INS × 100. Results: The peak velocity of the mitral inflow E wave was significantly higher during mechanical inspiration than expiration (57 ± 14.5 versus 47 ± 13.9 cm/s, P P =.02). The peak velocity of the PV D wave was higher during mechanical inspiration than expiration (39 ± 17.8 versus 28 ± 14.7 cm/s, P P Conclusions: Positive pressure ventilation reverses the pattern of respiratory variation of the MV and PV flow velocities in CP. The percent change in the peak velocities of the MV and PV flows produced by PPV is the same range reported in CP during spontaneous breathing. (J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2000;13:827-31.)