cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Monopole quantum numbers in the staggered flux spin liquid

Algebraic spin liquids, which are exotic gapless spin states preserving all microscopic symmetries, have been widely studied due to potential realizations in frustrated quantum magnets and the cuprates. At low energies, such putative phases are described by quantum electrodynamics in 2+1 dimensions. While significant progress has been made in understanding this nontrivial interacting field theory and the associated spin physics, one important issue which has proved elusive is the quantum numbers carried by so-called monopole operators. Here we address this issue in the “staggered flux” spin liquid which may be relevant to the pseudogap regime in high Tc. Employing general analytical arguments supported by simple numerics, we argue that proximate phases encoded in the monopole operators include the familiar Neel and valence bond solid orders, as well as other symmetry-breaking orders closely related to those previously explored in the monopole-free sector of the theory. Surprisingly, we also find that one monopole operator carries trivial quantum numbers, and briefly discuss its possible implications.
Effect of idomethacin on cardiac β-adrenergic receptors

Abstract Treatment of rats with indomethacin, 1.5 mg/kg per day, for one week, significantly reduced the number of β-adrenoceptors in the heart without altering their affinity for the specific β-adrenergic ligand. In indomethacin-treated rats there was a reduction in the cardiac response to epinerphrine in vivo as indicated by a shift to the right of the epinephrine dose-heart rate response curve. These results support a possibl interference by indomethacin in β-adrenoceptor-mediated effects.
Oxidative Stress–Induced Afterdepolarizations and Calmodulin Kinase II Signaling

In the heart, oxidative stress caused by exogenous H 2 O 2 has been shown to induce early afterdepolarizations (EADs) and triggered activity by impairing Na current ( I Na ) inactivation. Because H 2 O 2 activates Ca 2+ /calmodulin kinase (CaMK)II, which also impairs I Na inactivation and promotes EADs, we hypothesized that CaMKII activation may be an important factor in EADs caused by oxidative stress. Using the patch-clamp and intracellular Ca (Ca i ) imaging in Fluo-4 AM–loaded rabbit ventricular myocytes, we found that exposure to H 2 O 2 (0.2 to 1 mmol/L) for 5 to 15 minutes consistently induced EADs that were suppressed by the I Na blocker tetrodotoxin (10 μmol/L), as well as the I Ca,L blocker nifedipine. H 2 O 2 enhanced both peak and late I Ca,L , consistent with CaMKII-mediated facilitation. By prolonging the action potential plateau and increasing Ca influx via I Ca,L , H 2 O 2 -induced EADs were also frequently followed by DADs in response to spontaneous (ie, non– I Ca,L -gated) sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca release after repolarization. The CaMKII inhibitor KN-93 (1 μmol/L; n=4), but not its inactive analog KN-92 (1 μmol/L, n=5), prevented H 2 O 2 -induced EADs and DADs, and the selective CaMKII peptide inhibitor AIP (autocamtide-2–related inhibitory peptide) (2 μmol/L) significantly delayed their onset. In conclusion, H 2 O 2 -induced afterdepolarizations depend on both impaired I Na inactivation to reduce repolarization reserve and enhancement of I Ca,L to reverse repolarization, which are both facilitated by CaMKII activation. Our observations support a link between increased oxidative stress, CaMKII activation, and afterdepolarizations as triggers of lethal ventricular arrhythmias in diseased hearts.
Regulation of phosphate transport by fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23): implications for disorders of phosphate metabolism

There are a number of hypophosphatemic disorders due to renal phosphate wasting that cannot be explained by elevated levels of parathyroid hormone. The circulating factors responsible for the phosphaturia have been designated as phosphatonins. Studies of patients with tumor-induced osteomalacia and other genetic diseases of phosphate metabolism have resulted in the identification of a number of hormones that regulate phosphate homeostasis, including matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein (MEPE), secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (sFRP-4), dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1), fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF7), fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), and Klotho. Our understanding of the actions of these hypophosphatemic peptides has been enhanced by studies in mice either overexpressing or not expressing these hormones. This review focuses on FGF23 since its regulation is disordered in diseases that affect children, such as X-linked hypophosphatemia, autosomal dominant and recessive hypophosphatemic rickets as well as chronic kidney disease. Recent studies have shown that FGF23 is unique among the FGFs in its requirement for Klotho for receptor activation. Here, we also discuss new potentially clinically important data pointing to the receptor(s) that mediate the binding and action of FGF23 and Klotho.
Elemental abundances of flaring solar plasma - Enhanced neon and sulfur

Elemental abundances of two flares observed with the SMM Flat Crystal Spectrometer are compared and contrasted. The first had a gradual rise and a slow decay, while the second was much more impulsive. Simultaneous spectra of seven bright soft X-ray resonance lines provide information over a broad temperature range and are available throughout both flares, making these events unique in the SMM data base. For the first flare, the plasma seemed to be characterized by coronal abundances but, for the second, the plasma composition could not be coronal, photospheric, or a linear combination of both. A good differential emission measure fit required enhanced neon such that Ne/O = 0.32 +/- 0.02, a value which is inconsistent with the current models of coronal abundances based on the elemental first-ionization potential. Similar values of enhanced neon are found for flaring plasma observed by the SMM gamma-ray spectrometer, in (He-3)-rich solar energetic particle events, and in the decay phase of several long duration soft X-ray events. Sulfur is also enhanced in the impulsive flare, but not as dramatically as neon. These events are compared with two models which attempt to explain the enhanced values of neon and sulfur.
Androstane therapy to treat aplastic anaemia in adults: an uncontrolled pilot study

During the past 9 years, 43 adult patients with severe aplastic anaemia have been treated with a combination of 3 alpha etiocholanolone and nandrolone decanoate in an uncontrolled pilot study. Eleven patients were considered acute and the remainder as chronic severe aplasia. 50% (22 patients) had a haematopoietic recovery and 40% have had a sustained remission varying from 1.5 to 8 years. Three patients who did not respond to 3 alpha etiocholanolone had a haematologic response when treated with the isomer 3 beta etiocholanolone. The recovery did not appear to be associated with age or duration of marrow aplasia. In view of the reproducible chemical structure of these androstanes, we believe this group of steroids should be evaluated further in the treatment of severe aplastic anaemia.
Mechanical properties of components fabricated with open-source 3-D printers under realistic environmental conditions

Abstract The recent development of the RepRap, an open-source self-replicating rapid prototyper, has made 3-D polymer-based printers readily available to the public at low costs (
Error-Correcting Codes and Self-Checking Circuits

Error-control coding techniques, implemented by means of self-checking circuits, will improve system reliability.
Notes on Mythological Psychology: Reimagining the Historical Psyche

T he recovery of mythological language in the interpretation of experience lies at the heart of modern psychological and religious concern. From Wagner to Nietzsche, and from Freud and Jung to Eliade, Ricoeur, and Hillman, it seems that the Western soul is facing the future by recalling from the archaic past the rich tradition of myth and lore. For mythology bears the promise of an existential poetic that can reground modern man and woman's experience in the humus of storytelling and imagination. The following paper involves itself with the task of reimagining the historical psyche within the mythological context. It asks how the individual faces in his or her lifetime the universal questions of meaning that arise in the confrontation with death and suffering in the flow of time. Themes from Greek mythology, Plato and the Renaissance neoPlatonists, and from the archetypal psychology may offer a mythological illustration of the human journey through the "series" of life's seasons. The paper is inspired by the words of Thomas Mann:
Cold-induced accumulation of ribosomal subunits from human reticulocytes

Abstract These studies indicate that ribosomal subunits can be prepared in high yield from human reticulocytes previously incubated at 4°. These ribosomal sub-units are active in stimulating amino acid incorporation upon addition to cell-free systems.
Enteroendocrine tumors other than carcinoid: a review of clinically significant advances.

Only relatively recently has there been an increased clinical recognition and characterization of the heterogenous group of rare gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms. Most have endocrine function and exhibit varying degrees of malignancy. This review summarizes the derivation of these tumors and the advances in their diagnosis and treatment over the past decade and a half. They are varied in their biological behavior and clinical courses and, depending on their cell type, can produce different hormones causing distinct clinical endocrine syndromes (insulinoma [hypoglycemia], gastrinoma [Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES)], vasoactive intestinal peptideoma [VIPoma], watery diarrhea, hypokalemia-achlorhydria [WDHA], glucagonoma [glucagonoma syndrome], and so forth). In addition to surgery for cure or palliation (by excision and a variety of other cytoreductive techniques), they each are treated with antihormonal agents or drugs targeted to each tumor's specific product or its effects. The majority have benefited from the gut hormone-inhibiting action of somatostatin analogs. Because of their usual slow rate of growth it is recommended that, even when they are advanced and incurable, unlike in patients with common and more malignant cancers, patients with neuroendocrine tumors often can be palliated and appear to survive longer when managed with an active approach using sequential multimodality treatment. Advances in these various therapies are reviewed and the beneficial emergence of global self-help patient support groups is noted.
Scanning linear estimation: improvements over region of interest (ROI) methods

In tomographic medical imaging, a signal activity is typically estimated by summing voxels from a reconstructed image. We introduce an alternative estimation scheme that operates on the raw projection data and offers a substantial improvement, as measured by the ensemble mean-square error (EMSE), when compared to using voxel values from a maximum-likelihood expectation?maximization (MLEM) reconstruction. The scanning-linear (SL) estimator operates on the raw projection data and is derived as a special case of maximum-likelihood estimation with a series of approximations to make the calculation tractable. The approximated likelihood accounts for background randomness, measurement noise and variability in the parameters to be estimated. When signal size and location are known, the SL estimate of signal activity is unbiased, i.e. the average estimate equals the true value. By contrast, unpredictable bias arising from the null functions of the imaging system affect standard algorithms that operate on reconstructed data. The SL method is demonstrated for two different tasks: (1) simultaneously estimating a signal?s size, location and activity; (2) for a fixed signal size and location, estimating activity. Noisy projection data are realistically simulated using measured calibration data from the multi-module multi-resolution small-animal SPECT imaging system. For both tasks, the same set of images is reconstructed using the MLEM algorithm (80 iterations), and the average and maximum values within the region of interest (ROI) are calculated for comparison. This comparison shows dramatic improvements in EMSE for the SL estimates. To show that the bias in ROI estimates affects not only absolute values but also relative differences, such as those used to monitor the response to therapy, the activity estimation task is repeated for three different signal sizes.
Excretory pathways of ammonia and urea in the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris L.

1 The earthworm Lumbricus terrestris voids ammonia principally via the gut, while urea is voided via the nephridia. 2 The possible significance of these separate pathways for nitrogenous wastes is discussed.
Fuzzy cluster analysis off positive stress tests, a new method of combining exercise test variables to predict extent of coronary artery disease

Abstract Fuzzy set theory is useful in the analysis of data having a graded degree of abnormality. Previous studies using sharp cutoff points between normality and abnormality have resulted in general guidelines for the interpretation of positive stress tests, but do not enable the clinician to simultaneously combine several stress test variables, each having a range of abnormality. In this study, positive stress test results from 109 patients were reviewed. An angiogram recorded within 1 month of the stress tests showed that 100 patients had coronary artery disease (CAD) (15 had left main CAD, and 27 had 3-vessel, 30 had 2-vessel, and 28 had 1-vessel disease) and 9 were normal. Six variables were selected for fuzzy cluster analysis: ST-segment change, difference between resting systolic ana peak exercise systolic blood pressure, total treadmill time, peak exercise heart rate as a percentage of 100% predicted maximum for age, time to onset of angina, and duration of repolarization abnormalities. The analysis used a similarity measure to compute how closely each stress test resembled a prototypical mildly, moderately, or severely abnormal stress test. Stress tests classified by this method showed better correlation with the extent of CAD than the degree of ST-segment depression alone. Unlike tests with mild degrees of ST depression (0.5 to 1.5 mm), tests classified as mild by the method virtually excluded high-grade CAD. Tests classified as severe were associated with severe CAD, were better in detecting left main and 3-vessel CAD than tests with ≥3 mm ST depression, and were useful in detecting high-grade CAD in patients with mild degrees of ST depression. Combining stress test variables by fuzzy cluster analysis can be useful in managing patients with positive exercise test results.
A Small Helium-Cooled Infrared Telescope For Spacelab 2

A helium cooled telescope of 15 cm aperture is being designed and constructed jointly by the University of Arizona, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Marshall Space Flight Center for high sensitivity infrared astronomical observations from Spacelab 2. A focal plane array of ten detectors provide a total field of view of 3° and cover the wavelength regions 4.5-8.5μm, 6-7μm, 9-16μm, 18-30μm and 80-120μm. A highly redundant all sky survey will be conducted by repeated scanning of the sky during many orbits of the spacecraft. High redundancy will allow discrimination among variable and constant celestial sources and several types of variable nearby sources. The principal astronomical result of the survey will be the absolute flux measurement of low surface brightness, large scale celestial infrared emissions but it will also extend existing IR sky surveys by a factor of 10 in point source sensitivity. The experiment will also make significant engineering measurements of contaminants in the Shuttle environment, test the technology of storage and utilization of large quantities of superfluid helium in space and test mechanical designs for future infrared telescopes for the Space Shuttle.
Neutron beam extraction and delivery at spallation neutron sources

Abstract We address two main issues in neutron beam extraction and delivery at spallation neutron sources: (a) the relatively small divergence of the beams impinging on samples at typical distances of 10–20 m from usual size moderators and (b) the beam losses in long neutron guides used to bridge large distances of the order of 100 m or more between moderator and sample, as required by the desired time-of-flight wavelength resolution or other instrument optimization conditions. Our Monte Carlo simulation results show, that novel neutron optical solutions can substantially enhance neutron fluxes on the sample in both cases, compared to the current practice on existing spallation source instruments. Converging supermirror-coated neutron guides with proper geometry can lead to substantial intensity gains even for wavelengths as short as 0.7 A at short moderator-sample distances typical for hot and thermal neutron inelastic spectrometers. Ballistic guides, consisting of a supermirror-coated diverging section, an Ni-coated uniform portion and a supermirror-coated converging section can deliver much higher beam fluxes over large distances than the conventional supermirror or Ni-coated guides currently in use.
Principles in Case-Based Aneurysm Treatment: Approaching Complex Lesions Excluded by International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT) Criteria

Objective To review notable aneurysm cases that required complex decision making from a single institution and to examine available literature when relevant to highlight evidence-based paradigms for treatment of complex aneurysms. Methods Case illustrations were used to highlight topics in complex aneurysm treatments. Reviews of the literature were conducted to evaluate the evidence for available treatment models. Results Current modalities for treating complex aneurysms involve endovascular and microsurgical tools. Conclusions Innovations in both arms of the cerebrovascular field will continue to advance the field and provide novel approaches to these complex lesions.
"If I had it to do over again...": midlife review, midcourse corrections, and women's well-being in midlife.

Regrets about early adult life choices, expressed in midlife, are examined as a source of motivation for life changes in later midlife in 2 samples of women. Replicated findings with longitudinal data indicate that regret motivates goal setting but is not associated with actually making desired life changes. In both samples, women who had regrets about early adult life choices but did not make relevant life changes were lower in later well-being than both women with regrets who did make such changes and women without regrets. Compared with women who transformed regrets into life changes, women who did not were lower in effective instrumentality and higher in rumination, though they did not appear to face more barriers to change. Analyses with longitudinal data indicated that both rumination and effective instrumentality mediated the relationship between regret and well-being for women who did not translate regret into life changes.
Using Rubber Tubing to Demonstrate DNA Supercoiling and the Action of Topoisomerases

I use a simple rubber-tubing model to demonstrate principles of DNA topology, including DNA twist and supercoil, conservation of linking number, and the action of topoisomerases. The resilience of the rubber mimics the natural response of double-stranded DNA to distorting forces such as strand separation during replication. Teachers can use this demonstration in traditional lecture or adapt it as a group-learning exercise.
Legitimacy, Trust, Social Capital, and Policing Styles A Theoretical Statement

There currently is no consensus about why attitudes toward police vary by neighborhood. An unexplored explanation is that resident trust of police and perceptions of police legitimacy may depend on...
Causes of depression in college students: A cross-lagged panel correlational analysis.

A study was conducted over a 6-wk. period to investigate factors associated with the development of depression among college students. Subjects were 134 first-semester freshmen conscripted from the...
Hormonal regulation of cholinephosphate cytidylyltransferase in human fetal lung

Abstract Cytidylyltransferase (CTP: cholinephosphate cytidylyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.15, CYT) is a regulatory enzyme for synthesis of pulmonary surfactant phosphatidylcholine (PC). The effects of glucocorticoid, T3, and cAMP on CYT activity were studied in explants of human fetal lung (18–22 weeks gestation) cultured for 1–6 days in serum-free medium. Dexamethasone (Dex, 10 nM) treatment for 5 days increased homogenate CYT activity (+ 115%, P l -α-phosphatidylglycerol, PG, 1.1 mM) and tended to increase activity in its absence (+ 77%, P = 0.12). Cytosolic activity was also significantly elevated in the presence of added co-factor (+124%, P
The initiation and development of a group for relatives of patients with chronic emotional disorders

This paper describes the initiation and development of an educational discussion group for relatives of patients with chronic emotional problems and the process by which it became transformed into a group combining a self-help, modified therapy model with a primary focus on the members' interaction with their patientrelatives. The group offered the opportunity to ventilate pent up emotions in a supportive, reality-oriented context and provided information and education about the nature of emotional disorders. Generally this helped family members to effect positive changes in their interactions with their patient-relatives; to accept with greater understanding their relatives' illness; and to better evaluate the quality of treatment their relatives were receiving. The group chose this model over an educational model or traditional psychotherapy model or multifamily model, all of which were phases of this process. The positive results are supported by recent reports in the literature of similar groups.
Early Onset of Drug and Polysubstance Use as Predictors of Injection Drug Use Among Adult Drug Users

Early onset of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use is an indicator of later substance use problems in adulthood such as alcohol or other drug dependence. This paper seeks to address the association between early onset alcohol, marijuana, cigarette, and polysubstance use with injection drug use among recent illicit drug users. The current study used baseline data from the Baltimore site of the NEURO-HIV Epidemiologic Study, an investigation of neuropsychological and social-behavioral risk factors of HIV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C among both injection and non-injection drug users in Baltimore, Maryland. The present study used a subset (N=651) of the larger parent study that identified as White or Black, and reported any drug use in the past 6 months. In the full sample slightly more than half (52.5%) of study participants were IDUs. IDUs differed from non-IDUs on age of initiation for cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol, with IDUs initiating the use of all three substances significantly earlier than non-IDUs. IDUs also had significantly greater proportions of early onset of alcohol (χ(2)=19.71, p<.01), cigarette (χ(2)=11.05, p<.01), marijuana (χ(2)=10.83, p<.01), and polysubstance use (χ(2)=23.48, p<.01) than non-IDUs. After adjusting for age, gender, and race/ethnicity, only participants identified as early onset alcohol users (AOR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.00-2.18) and early onset polysubstance users (AOR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.10-2.38) were more likely to have IDU status than those who reported initiating substance use later. IDU status was then stratified by race/ethnicity. After controlling for age and gender, only early polysubstance use was a significant predictor of IDU status for Whites (AOR=2.06, 95% CI: 1.07-3.93). Consistent with literature on early substance initiation and later illicit substance use, early onset of alcohol and polysubstance use is an important risk factor for IDU in adulthood.
Phononic Amorphous Silicon: Theory, Material, and Devices

The field of phononic-engineered amorphous silicon is introduced. Specifically the construction of devices and waveguides for information conveyance and manipulation via phonons are considered. Typically the phononic properties of a given material are immutable and the phonons have such a limited diffusion length (nanometers) as to be unsuitable for engineering purposes. Crystalline silicon on the other hand has a reasonably large thermal conductivity and phonon diffusion length at sufficiently low temperatures. Phonon diffusion lengths can measure up to centimeters (e.g., crystalline SiO2) at temperature less than 10K but drop to sub microns at room temperature. Amorphous silicon, owing to the inherent scattering structures and owing to localization (of at least some phonon bands), has an anomalously large phonon lifetime [1]. This lifetime maybe indicative of a large phonon diffusion length and/or a fast phonon hop rate from one domain to the next and/or an indication that more than the typical three phonons (umklapp process) are involved in phonon scattering. Techniques involving small-scaled devices and phonon bands to control umklapp phonon-phonon scattering are described. The potential to exploit inherent amorphous silicon structure as well as the engineering (post film deposition) of di-hydride distributions to induce phonon forbidden bands for significantly reducedmore » multi-phonon scattering is explored. The indirect optical band gap of small domain (and possibly amorphous) silicon [3] provides the physical basis for the transduction of phonon and optical energies. Experimental methods for the post-deposition introduction of phonon scattering structure, the transduction of phononic information to optical information, and experimental approaches including the use of micro-Raman to probe phonon spectra and transport are described. The prospects of a fully integrated phononic, photonic, electronic amorphous silicon technology have been described.« less
Rapid Suppression of Growth by Blue Light: OCCURRENCE, TIME COURSE, AND GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

The inhibition of stem elongation in dark-grown seedlings by blue light was studied with marking techniques and with a high-resolution, growth-measuring apparatus. Blue light rapidly suppresses growth in a variety of cultivated species. In some species, the inhibition persists only during the period of irradiation, after which time growth quickly returns to the high dark rate, whereas, in other species, the light response has an additional long-term component which lasts for at least several hours in the dark. The long-term inhibition may be mediated by phytochrome, whereas the rapid, short-term component is specific to a blue-light receptor.The rapid inhibition of growth in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) requires high-energy blue irradiation, which is perceived directly by the growing region of the hypocotyl and inhibits all regions below the hook to the same extent. Detailed investigation of the kinetics of the inhibition in cucumber and in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) shows that, after a short lag period (20 to 30 seconds in cucumber, 60 to 70 seconds in sunflower), the growth rate declines in an exponential fashion to a lower rate, with a half-time of 15 to 25 seconds in cucumber and 90 to 150 seconds in sunflower. Excision of the hypocotyl greatly reduces the sensitivity of the growth rate to blue-light inhibition. Because of the rapid kinetics, the blue-light photoreceptor cannot affect cell enlargement by altering the supply of growth hormone or the sensitivity to hormones but probably operates more directly either on the biochemical process which loosens cell walls or on cell turgor.
Mobility Analysis of Flexure Mechanisms via Screw Algebra

This paper presents a general framework for studying the mobility of flexure mechanisms with an arbitrary topology using screw algebra. The current approach for mobility analysis of flexures is ad hoc and mostly done by intuition. In this methodology, we first build a library of commonly used flexure elements, flexure joints and simple chains. We then apply the screw algebra to find their motion and constraint spaces in the form of twist and wrench matrices. To analyze a general flexure mechanism, we first apply a top-down approach to hierarchically subdivide it into multiple modules or building blocks down to the level of flexure structures that are already provided in the library. We then use a bottom-up routine to study the mobility of each module up to the level of the overall mechanism. Extensive examples and case studies from simple flexure joints, chains to spatial compliant platforms are used to demonstrate the methodology. This systematic methodology is an important tool for guiding the early stages in flexure mechanism design.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Linear correlation of bond strength and contact electrical resistivity between steel rebar and concrete

The bond strength and contact electrical resistivity between steel rebar and concrete were found to be linearly related, due to an interfacial phase of high volume resistivity that helps the bonding. Acetone washing of the rebar increases the bond strength slightly and decreases the contact resistivity slightly, but does not affect the linear correlation, which provides a nondestructive method for bond strength assessment.
Long-run impacts of inflation across sectors in a small sample of countries

This article investigates the long-run effects of inflation on economic output for 10 sectors of the economy, with a sample of 7 countries. The analysis is done using long-run restrictions in a vector autoregression and reports long-run multipliers with bootstrapped confidence bands. The results suggest that some sectors seem to be affected differently than others, as well as significant heterogeneity across countries. The results suggest the strongest effects in the low inflation countries Germany and Japan as has been found in similar studies. In contrast to research using growth regressions, the evidence suggests a positive long-run effect of inflation on output.
Compressive spatial summation in human visual cortex

Neurons within a small (a few cubic millimeters) region of visual cortex respond to stimuli within a restricted region of the visual field. Previous studies have characterized the population response of such neurons using a model that sums contrast linearly across the visual field. In this study, we tested linear spatial summation of population responses using blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI. We measured BOLD responses to a systematic set of contrast patterns and discovered systematic deviation from linearity: the data are more accurately explained by a model in which a compressive static nonlinearity is applied after linear spatial summation. We found that the nonlinearity is present in early visual areas (e.g., V1, V2) and grows more pronounced in relatively anterior extrastriate areas (e.g., LO-2, VO-2). We then analyzed the effect of compressive spatial summation in terms of changes in the position and size of a viewed object. Compressive spatial summation is consistent with tolerance to changes in position and size, an important characteristic of object representation.
KINETICS OF DIOSMACYCLOBUTANE EXCHANGE REACTIONS

Diosmacyclobutanes Os2(CO)8(olefin) undergo facile exchange reactions with olefins and acetylenes. An associative mechanism is excluded by the observation of saturation kinetics as the concentratio...
The microprocessor's impact on society

So microprocessors are everywhere, but how is modern life different as a result? Microelectronics obviously has improved life in many ways: automation of boring and dangerous manual labor, advances in medical technology and weather forecasting, and applications of computing technology to aid the disabled, to name but a few. Indeed, the easy answer is that microprocessors have transformed modern society. They affect the way we work and play, the way we travel and communicate. They offer remarkable processing power at remarkably low cost. Silicon Valley pioneer Jerry Sanders, founder of Advanced Micro Devices, claims that if the automobile's efficiency and cost had improved at the same rate as the microprocessor's, a Rolls-Royce would now cost about three dollars and get three million miles to the gallon. But has the microprocessor fulfilled its earliest promises?.
Magnitude of Potential Biases in a Simulated Case-Control Study of the Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccination

Background. Many influenza vaccine effectiveness estimates have been made using case-control methods. Although several forms of bias may distort estimates of vaccine effectiveness derived from case-control studies, there have been few attempts to quantify the magnitude of these biases. Methods. We estimated the magnitude of potential biases in influenza vaccine effectiveness values derived from case-control studies from several factors, including bias from differential use of diagnostic testing based on influenza vaccine status, imperfect diagnostic test characteristics, and confounding. A decision tree model was used to simulate an influenza vaccine effectiveness case-control study in children. Using probability distributions, we varied the value of factors that influence vaccine effectiveness estimates, including diagnostic test characteristics, vaccine coverage, likelihood of receiving a diagnostic test for influenza, likelihood that a child hospitalized with acute respiratory infection had influenza, and others. Bias was measured as the difference between the effectiveness observed in the simulated case-control study and a true underlying effectiveness value. Results and Conclusions. We found an average difference between observed and true vaccine effectiveness of 211.9%. Observed vaccine effectiveness underestimated the true effectiveness in 88% of model iterations. Diagnostic test specificity exhibited the strongest association with observed vaccine effectiveness, followed by the likelihood of receiving a diagnostic test based on vaccination status and the likelihood that a child hospitalized with acute respiratory infection had influenza. Our findings suggest that the potential biases in case-control studies that we examined tend to result in underestimates of true influenza vaccine effects.
Environmentally Stable, Low Dielectric Polymers from Soluble Intermediates

We have investigated new polymers of poly(phenylene vinylene), PPV and poly(phenylene), PP. Like polyimides, these polymers can be spin-coated from soluble intermediates and converted to their thermally stable forms by elimination of small groups during a heating cycle. As such, these polymers are insulating. Both poly(phenylene vinylene) and poly(phenylene) also have the potential for metallic conductivity when properly doped. During curing, the complete removal of the leaving groups is important in determining the final behavior of the aromatized polymer film. Elimination of the leaving groups was followed by means of Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) and Forward Recoil Spectrometry (FRES) analysis for various curing conditions and environments. We will describe the curing and film-forming properties of these polymers, and discuss both their dielectric characteristics and thermal stability as a function of the curing conditions.
Formats for improving risk communication in medical tradeoff decisions

To make treatment decisions, patients should consider not only a treatment option's potential consequences but also the probability of those consequences. Many laypeople, however, have difficulty using probability information. This Internet-based study (2,601 participants) examined a hypothetical medical tradeoff situation in which a treatment would decrease one risk but increase another. Accuracy was assessed in terms of the ability to determine correctly whether the treatment would increase or decrease the total risk. For these tradeoff problems, accuracy was greater when the following occurred: (1) the amount of cognitive effort required to evaluate the tradeoff was reduced; (2) probability information was presented as a graphical display rather than as text only; and (3) information was presented as percentages rather than as frequencies (n in 100). These findings provide suggestions of ways to present risk probabilities that may help patients understand their treatment options.
Automated image segmentation for synthetic aperture radar feature extraction

Automated segmentation routines may be used to extract scattering features in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. The watershed transform segments real-valued images into regions associated with a local minima. Watershed algorithms suffer from over-segmentation which, for SAR image segmentation, results in many more regions than scatterers. We consider an algorithm called Peak Region Segmentation (PRS). PRS is an inverted version of the watershed transform that seeks to group pixel regions associated with a local maxima. We implement the algorithm to segment one, two, and three-dimensional images. We extend PRS to include region merging to avoid over-segmentation. Threshold settings allow the user to strike a balance between region merging and separation of closely-spaced scatterers. Image segmentation examples are shown for 1D, 2D, and 3D SAR images.
Optimal control of a continuous flow stirred tank chemical reactor

The time optimal control problem for jacket cooled continuous flow stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with an exothermic, irreversible, second-order, homogeneous, liquid-phase reaction (the saponification of ethyl acetate) was solved with the maximum principle and phase plane analysis. Both experimental studies and analogue computer simulation studies were conducted. The overall performance of the experimental system agreed very well with the performance of the corresponding system simulated on an analogue computer. However, there were enough differences in the observed and predicted operating states and switching curves to warrant the conclusion that the experimental performance can be significantly improved if experimental results are used to modify the results predicted with computer analysis. These differences were attributed to uncertainties in the model and the values of the model parameters as well as nonrandom (and unforeseen) measurement errors.
Determination of an effective coefficient of thermal expansion of electronic packaging components: a whole-field approach

Moire interferometry is proposed as a tool for the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) measurement of electronic packaging components. The method is a whole-field displacement measurement technique with a sub-micron sensitivity, which can produce the overall CTE and the local CTE across the entire component with high accuracy. The large dynamic range of the method makes it compatible with CTE evaluation of a broad range of components. Two experimental procedures are suggested for 1) CTE over a fixed temperature range and 2) CTE as a function of temperature. The procedures are implemented for various thin small outline packages (TSOPs) a plastic ball grid array (PBGA) package, and a stacked memory cube. The results emphasize the importance of a whole-field measurement technique. A supplementary thermo-mechanical analyzer (TMA) test on an aluminum alloy is conducted and the results are compared with a Moire measurement to discuss the accuracy of the proposed measurement procedure.
CSF-1 deficiency in mice results in abnormal brain development

Colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) was initially identified as a growth factor for mononuclear phagocytes. This study examines the role of CSF-1 in the development of the central nervous system (CNS). CSF-1 treatment of neurons cultured from embryonic brain promoted survival and process outgrowth in a dose-dependent manner. By contrast, CSF-1 treatment of neurons cultured from the osteopetrotic (op/op) mouse, a null mutant for CSF-1, promoted significantly less process outgrowth, suggesting that there are neural abnormalities in op/op animals. Nuclease protection assays were used to determine whether CSF-1 and its receptor are expressed at times appropriate to regulate neural development. Both CSF-1 and its receptor are expressed in developing mouse brain, with a unique pattern of CSF-1 mRNA splice variant expression encoding secreted, and not membrane-bound, growth factor. To determine whether brain function is altered by null mutation of CSF-1, op/op mice were examined using electrophysiologic assays. Brainstem auditory and visual evoked potentials were both abnormal in op/op mice. Further, intracortical recordings revealed aberrant neuronal function within visual cortex and alterations in the cortical circuitry that balances excitation and inhibition. Daily CSF-1 injection of postnatal op/op mice largely rescued the abnormal neural phenotype, confirming that the absence of CSF-1 during development is responsible for the abnormalities. The effects of CSF-1 on cultured embryonic neural cells, the developmentally appropriate expression of CSF-1 and its receptor, and the neurological abnormalities in op/op mice suggest a role for CSF-1 in brain development.
Inward rectification by polyamines in mouse Kir2.1 channels: synergy between blocking components.

We recently characterized two distinct mechanisms by which the polyamine spermine blocks Kir2.1 channels: (1) by reduction of negative surface charges in the cytoplasmicpore, thereby reducing single-channel conductance, and (2) by direct open channel transmembrane pore block. The extent to which the surface charge reduction component is mediated by passive surface charge screening versus binding of polyamines to these charges, as well as the extent to which the surface charge reduction and pore block mechanisms are synergistic, versus simply additive, was not established. To address these issues, macroscopic currents were recorded from inside-out giant patches from Xenopus oocytes and from single-channel currents from COS7 cells expressing wild-type and mutant Kir2.1 channels, during exposure to polyamines of varying length and charge. The surface charge reduction component was decreased when polyamine charge (at constant length) was decreased from 4 (spermine) to 2 (diamine 10, DA10). Moreover, the surface charge reduction component of block involved more than passive surface charge screening and required binding of polyamines to the cytoplasmic pore, since it was eliminated when polyamine length was shortened below six alkyl groups. Loss of surface charge reduction also dramatically affected open channel pore block. The latter consisted of two subcomponents with fast and slow kinetics, respectively. The slow subcomponent decreased as blocker length decreased (DA10, DA8 and DA6), whereas the fast subcomponent was sensitive to blocker charge (spermine vs. DA10). Neutralization of E224 and E299, which eliminated the surface charge reduction component of block, also eliminated the fast subcomponent of pore block. Neutralization of D172 had no effect on the surface charge reduction component, but weakened both of the subcomponents of pore block. These findings can be accounted for by a model in which the negative charges at E224, E299 and D172 act in a concerted manner to coordinate the surface charge reduction and open channel components of polyamine block. In this model, the binding of polyamines to surface charges E224 and E299 pre-positions them in the cytoplasmic pore in a manner that directly facilitates their entry and exit from a transmembrane pore-occluding site involving D172. A molecular model using the recently reported 1.8 A resolution structure of the inward-rectifier cytoplasmic pore, adapted to Kir2.1, is consistent with longer polyamines binding at their positively charged ends to the E224 and E299 positions in the same subunit, potentially accommodating four polyamine molecules per channel.
Mitral Annular Calcification is Associated with Reduced Left Ventricular Function and Inflammation in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, it is not known whether the increased cardiovascular risk observed in patients with CKD and MAC is related to atherosclerotic burden, because they share common risk factors. Methods Transthoracic echocardiography was performed in patients with CKD undergoing pre-kidney transplantation evaluation. Fasting lipids, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, parathyroid hormone, calcium, and creatinine levels were measured. Results Of 99 participants, the 31 with MAC had higher carotid intima-media thickness ( P = .004), lower left ventricular ejection fraction ( P = .016), and higher high-sensitivity C-reactive protein ( P = .01). MAC was predicted independently by increasing high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, decreasing left ventricular ejection fraction, and not being on dialysis (likelihood ratio 21.8, P Conclusions In patients with CKD, MAC is associated with inflammation, reduced left ventricular function, and treatment with dialysis, independent of the degree of subclinical atherosclerosis.
Filtering Complexity for Observational Errors and Spatial Bias

In Chap. 12, complexity analysis of spatial data is advocated as a preliminary to spatial econometric regime selection, estimation and testing. That approach assumes that the endogenous variable—only a one-equation model was considered—was measure error free. The present chapter is devoted to controlling for that element of the problem.
The Dawn of Pediatric Personalized Therapeutics

Address.correspondence.to.Stephen.P..Spielberg,.MD,.PhD,. Marion.Merrell.Dow.Chair.in.Pediatric.Pharmacogenomics;. Director,.Center.for.Personalized.Medicine.and.Therapeutic. Innovation,.Children’s.Mercy.Hospital,.2401.Gillham. Road,.Kansas.City,.MO.64108,.email:.sspielberg@cmh.edu © 2010 Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group It is a great honor for me to have been awarded the Sumner Yaffe Lifetime Achievement Award in Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology. Dr. Yaffe has been a lifelong mentor and colleague, a true definer of a discipline, creator of the Pediatric Pharmacology Research Units (PPRU) sponsored by the NICHD, and a dear friend. I am tremendously grateful to the PPAG for honoring me with this award in his name. The last years have been important ones for pediatric therapeutics. The scientific basis has been driven by huge advances in pediatric clinical pharmacology, fundamental understanding of the ontogeny of drug disposition and of drug response. United States legislation including the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act and the Pediatric Research Equity Act have changed the drug development process, leading to new knowledge about the safe, effective use of medicines in children. Research networks including the Pediatric Pharmacology Research Units (PPRUs), the Children’s Oncology Group, and now the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) network have increased pediatric investigative activities throughout the country. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have ABBREVIATIONS ADRs,.adverse.drug. reactions;.CTSA,. Clinical. and.Translational. Science. Award;. CYP2D6,. Cytochrome.P2D6.System;.CYP2D9,.Cytochrome.P2D9. System;.EMEA,.European.Medicines.Evaluation.Agency;. FDA,.Food.and.Drug.Administration;.GENDEP,.Genome. Based.Therapeutic.Drugs. for.Depression;.GWAS,.whole. genome.association. studies;.MDD,.major. depressive. disorder;.NICHD,.National. Institute.of.Child.Health.and. Human.Development;.NIH,.National.Institutes.of.Health;. PPRU,. Pediatric. Pharmacology.Research.Units;. SSRIs,. selective.serotonin.reuptake.inhibitors. both played critical roles, with the FDA Critical Path initiative in many ways reflecting scientific thinking about translational medicine driving