cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Image-Based 2D Re-Projection for Attenuation Substitution in PET Neuroimaging.

In dual modality positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), attenuation correction (AC) methods are continually improving. Although a new AC can sometimes be generated from existing MR data, its application requires a new reconstruction. We evaluate an approximate 2D projection method that allows offline image-based reprocessing. 2-Deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose ([18F]FDG) brain scans were acquired (Siemens HR+) for six subjects. Attenuation data were obtained using the scanner’s transmission source (SAC). Additional scanning was performed on a Siemens mMR including production of a Dixon-based MR AC (MRAC). The MRAC was imported to the HR+ and the PET data were reconstructed twice: once using native SAC (ground truth); once using the imported MRAC (imperfect AC). The re-projection method was implemented as follows. The MRAC PET was forward projected to approximately reproduce attenuation-corrected sinograms. The SAC and MRAC images were forward projected and converted to attenuation-correction factors (ACFs). The MRAC ACFs were removed from the MRAC PET sinograms by division; the SAC ACFs were applied by multiplication. The regenerated sinograms were reconstructed by filtered back projection to produce images (SUBAC PET) in which SAC has been substituted for MRAC. Ideally SUBAC PET should match SAC PET. Via coregistered T1 images, FreeSurfer (FS; MGH, Boston) was used to define a set of cortical gray matter regions of interest. Regional activity concentrations were extracted for SAC PET, MRAC PET, and SUBAC PET. SUBAC PET showed substantially smaller root mean square error than MRAC PET with averaged values of 1.5 % versus 8.1 %. Re-projection is a viable image-based method for the application of an alternate attenuation correction in neuroimaging.
Multimodality Approach to Detection and Characterization of Hepatic Hemangiomas

Hemangiomas are the most common benign hepatic tumor and represent a common incidental finding on routine imaging examinations of the liver. The majority of hemangiomas demonstrate classical imaging findings on grayscale ultrasound (US), multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The classic appearance on contrast-enhanced cross-sectional imaging is that of centripetal nodular enhancement with progressive fill-in of the lesion over time with conventional extracellular CT and MR contrast agents. With the advent of new gadolinium-based MR contrast agents such as hepatocyte-specific contrast agents and blood pool contrast agents, some different appearances of hemangiomas are possible and familiarity with these appearances is critical in making the correct diagnosis. There are also variants of the typical hemangioma, including the flash-filling hemangioma, giant hemangioma, sclerosed or hyalinized hemangioma, as well as hemangiomas occurring on a background of hepatic steatosis and cirrhosis. Again, knowledge of these variant types of hemangiomas can prevent against misdiagnosis of these lesions in the clinical setting.
Multi-lingual Entity Discovery and Linking

The primary goals of this tutorial are to review the framework of cross-lingual EL and motivate it as a broad paradigm for the Information Extraction task. We will start by discussing the traditional EL techniques and metrics and address questions relevant to the adequacy of these to across domains and languages. We will then present more recent approaches such as Neural EL, discuss the basic building blocks of a state-of-the-art neural EL system and analyze some of the current results on English EL. We will then proceed to Cross-lingual EL and discuss methods that work across languages. In particular, we will discuss and compare multiple methods that make use of multi-lingual word embeddings. We will also present EL methods that work for both name tagging and linking in very low resource languages. Finally, we will discuss the uses of cross-lingual EL in a variety of applications like search engines and commercial product selling applications. Also, contrary to the 2014 EL tutorial, we will also focus on Entity Discovery which is an essential component of EL.
Asymptotic Analysis of Area Spectral Efficiency in Dense Cellular Networks

Ahstract-This paper studies the asymptotic properties of area spectral efficiency (ASE) of a downlink cellular network in the limit of very dense base station (BS) and user densities. This asymptotic analysis relies on three assumptions: (1) interference is treated as noise; (2) the BS locations are drawn from a Poisson point process; (3) the path loss function is bounded above satisfying mild regularity conditions. When there is no constraint on the minimum operational SINR and instantaneous full channel state information is available at the transmitter, the ASE is proven to saturate to a constant, which we derive in closed form. We provide several familiar case studies for the class of considered path loss models, and demonstrate that our results cover most previous models and results on ultradense networks as special cases.
Clinical factors associated with cutaneous histopathologic findings in dermatomyositis

Background Common histopathologic findings in cutaneous dermatomyositis include vacuolar interface with dyskeratosis, mucin, and perivascular inflammation. Data examining the relationships between these and other histologic abnormalities, or their dependence on biopsy site, and medications are limited. Methods Using 228 dermatomyositis skin biopsies and statistical analyses including Chi-squared analyses, calculations of relative risk, and adjusted generalized estimating equation regressions, we investigated relationships between 14 histopathologic findings and the impact of clinical factors on these findings. Results In biopsies taken from sites of visible rash, interface dermatitis was seen in 91%, and 95% had at least one of perivascular inflammation, mucin, or basal vacuolization. Vascular abnormalities were not closely associated with epidermal or inflammatory findings. Concomitant prednisone significantly decreased the odds of basal vacuolization (odds ratio [OR] = 0.34, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.12-0.98, P-value = 0.05), perivascular inflammation (OR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.07-0.53, P-value = 0.002), and vessel damage (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.68-0.96, P-value = 0.02). Conclusion Vasculopathy and classic findings of interface dermatitis may be driven by unique pathways in dermatomyositis. Corticosteroid use may impact skin biopsy findings. There is a need for clinicopathologic correlation when diagnosing dermatomyositis.
A numerical study of the response of buried steel pipelines undergoing strike-slip fault

Abstract Sudden ground motions resulting from seismic events can cause severe damage to buried pipelines resulting in fuel supply disruption and significant economic losses. The objective of this numerical study is to model and analyze the response of a buried pipeline in a strike-slip fault movement. Here, the interaction of the pipeline with the surrounding soil due to sudden ground movement has been studied by taking into account the contact between the pipeline and the soil, the nonlinear response of soil, and the material and geometrical non-linearities. The pipeline is assumed to be made of APIX65 grade steel. The material behavior is assumed to be governed by J2, rate-independent plasticity theory with strain-hardening included. The onset of buckling-mode failure in the pipeline has been studied for different pipe diameter-to-thickness ratios, the internal pressure, the fault displacement and fault offset rates to better understand the pipeline response due to seismic loads. Study predicts a systematic pre-buckling pattern of a pipe undergoing fault. This study also shows that fault resistance increases with higher diameter to thickness ratio and lower internal pressure. Moreover, the fault resistance counter-intuitively increases with an increase in fault offset rate.
Abstract 1967: Nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy of breast tumors upregulates chemokines that increase chemotaxis of myeloid-lymphatic progenitors

Introduction: Lymph node metastasis is the main prognostic indicator for poor survival of breast cancer patients. Metastasis is promoted by tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis mediated, in part, through recruitment of myeloid-derived lymphatic endothelial cell progenitors (M-LECP). We previously showed that differentiation of M-LECP is induced by activated Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4). The goal of this study was to identify TLR4-induced chemokines produced by tumors alone or in response to nab-paclitaxel (nab-PXL) chemotherapy that enhance bone marrow (BM) differentiation and tumor recruitment of M-LECP. Methods: Profile of BM composition for lymphatic-like, myeloid and progenitor cells was assessed by flow cytometry in normal and tumor-bearing mice treated either with saline or nab-PXL. We used two TLR4 overexpressing tumor models: MDA-MB-231 and HCC1806-TLR4+. RT-qPCR was used to determine differences in expression of 130 cytokines in cultured tumor cells and tumors from mice treated either with saline or nab-PXL. Targets with >2-fold upregulation were analyzed for protein expression by ELISA. ELISA-validated cytokines were tested for their ability to induce migration of M-LECP. Results: Both MDA-MB-231 or HCC1806-TLR4+ tumors significantly increased the levels of differentiated M-LECP in the BM, and that was further enhanced by treatment with taxane chemotherapy. Expression of progenitor markers CD117, CD33, and Sca-1 was increased up to 7-fold in both tested tumor models, and further upregulated by nab-PXL treatment by additional 3 to 9-fold. Out of 23 cytokines measured in tumor lysates by ELISA, 40% were upregulated by nab-PXL. Migration assay showed that several of these cytokines increased chemotaxis of M-LECP with CXCL1 being the strongest. Neutralization of CXCL1 in the conditioned medium of nab-PXL-treated MDA-MB-231 cells inhibited migration of lymphatic progenitors by 75%. Conclusion: Taxane chemotherapy acting presumably as a ligand for TLR4 significantly expanded M-LECP population in the BM. Our analysis suggests that these lymphatic precursors can mobilize to tumors by chemokines such as CXCL1 that are highly upregulated in TLR4-positive tumor cells, particularly when activated by paclitaxel. These data suggest that CXCL1 plays an important role in recruiting myeloid-lymphatic progenitors to breast tumors, which, in turn, promotes lymphatic vessel formation and metastasis. Blocking this cytokine might have clinical utility for prevention of tumor mobilization of M-LECP, and by extension, breast cancer metastasis to lymph nodes. Citation Format: Lisa D. Volk-Draper, Sophia Ran. Nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy of breast tumors upregulates chemokines that increase chemotaxis of myeloid-lymphatic progenitors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1967.
Highly Efficient Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to CO by a Molecular Chromium Complex

Earth-abundant transition-metal catalysts capable of reducing CO2 to useful products have been gaining attention to meet increasing energy demands and address concerns of rising CO2 emissions. Grou...
Effect of lattice defects on the plastic Poisson's ratio of nanoporous gold

Abstract Nanoporous gold (np-Au) exhibits variations in the value of the plastic Poisson's ratio, νp – ranging from negative to positive – often for similar relative densities and ligament diameters. We investigate the effect of pre-existing lattice defects on νp of np-Au using molecular dynamics simulations. Uniaxial compression of np-Au samples that have the same porous morphology, but distinct defect densities, shows that a high density of pre-existing defects reduces νp. We interpret this observation by linking nanoscale tension-compression asymmetry in individual ligaments to the synergistic interplay between defects and surfaces, and ultimately to the plastic transverse coupling in np-Au.
Teaching Chemistry in the Time of COVID-19: Memories and the Classroom

In this communication we compared the challenges, teaching strategies, laboratory methods, and discussion methods used by two different instructors teaching a three-semester chemistry course. The University of Connecticut offers a three-semester general chemistry course geared toward students who lack the confidence or foundational experience for a two-semester sequence chemistry course. This three-semester course is taught at only two out of the four University of Connecticut campuses: Storrs (the main campus) and Hartford.
Association of state tobacco control policies with active smoking at the time of intervention for intermittent claudication

Abstract Objective Active smoking among patients undergoing interventions for intermittent claudication (IC) is associated with poor outcomes. Notwithstanding, current levels of active smoking in these patients are high. State-level tobacco control policies have been shown to reduce smoking in the general US population. We evaluated whether state cigarette taxes and 100% smoke-free workplace legislation are associated with active smoking among patients undergoing interventions for IC. Methods We queried the Vascular Quality Initiative database for peripheral endovascular interventions, infrainguinal bypasses, and suprainguinal bypasses for IC. Active smoking at the time of intervention was defined as smoking within one month of intervention. We implemented difference-in-differences analysis to isolate changes in active smoking owing to cigarette taxes (adjusted for inflation) and implementation of smoke-free workplace legislation. The difference-in-differences models estimated the causal effects of tobacco policies by adjusting for concurrent temporal trends in active smoking unrelated to cigarette taxes or smoke-free workplace legislation. The models controlled for age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance type, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, state, and year. We tested interactions of taxes with age and insurance. Results Data were available for 59,847 patients undergoing interventions for IC in 25 states from 2011 to 2019. Across the study period, active smoking at the time of intervention decreased from 48% to 40%. Every $1.00 cigarette tax increase was associated with a 6-percentage point decrease in active smoking (95% confidence interval, −10 to −1 percentage points; P = .02), representing an 11% decrease relative to the baseline proportion of patients actively smoking. The effect of cigarettes taxes was greater in older patients and those on Medicare. Among patients aged 60 to 69 and 70 to 79 years, every $1.00 tax increase resulted in 14% and 21% reductions in active smoking relative to baseline subgroup prevalences of 53% and 29%, respectively (P Conclusions Cigarette tax increases seem to be an effective strategy to decrease active smoking among patients undergoing interventions for IC. Older patients and Medicare recipients are the most responsive to tax increases.
A monotonicity-based gene clustering algorithm for enhancing clarity in single-cell RNA sequencing data

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technologies and analysis tools have allowed for meaningful insight into the roles and relationships of cells. However, high dimensionality, frequent dropout values, and technical noise remain prevalent challenges for scRNA-seq data, obscuring the already complex expression patterns. To address several shortcomings in commonly used distance metrics, we present a monotonicity-based distance metric designed to enhance the clarity of scRNA-seq data. We apply our metric in a gene clustering algorithm, which we run on several biological datasets. We compare our results to those generated by popular clustering algorithms to demonstrate that our algorithm has substantial ability to improve the accuracy of subsequent cell clustering.
Cathodically protected steel as an alternative to plastic for oyster restoration mats

Abstract Oyster populations in many coastal areas have decreased as a result of overharvesting and habitat degradation. In order to help restore oyster populations and natural water filtration, many restoration efforts utilize plastic mesh to reseed oyster reefs. However, plastics do not break down or mineralize in seawater, instead they break down into smaller and smaller pieces eventually becoming what is termed microplastics. One alternative may be the use of a cathodically protected steel which develops a mineral accretion layer and enhances calcareous marine growth. In order to test the efficacy of this material for oyster restoration and its ability to promote oyster growth, a field experiment was designed to compare it to traditional plastic mats at three locations. At all sites, the steel mats were able to promote the recruitment of oysters at a rate equal to or greater than the plastic mats. The amount of mineral accretion and the total number of oysters present on the mats were dependent on the environmental and ecological conditions of the test site. The steel mats were easy to work with, provided sufficient oyster settlement, and gain in weight over time. This makes them an attractive alternative to plastic oyster restoration mats, with implications for creating artificial reefs or living shorelines.
Individual and Country-Level Factors Affecting Support for Foreign Aid

In recent years donor countries have committed to dramatic increases in the supply of foreign aid to developing countries. Meeting and sustaining such commitments will require sufficient support among donor country voters and taxpayers. The determinants of public opinion in donor countries on foreign aid have received little attention. This paper examines attitudes to foreign aid with a large, multi-level, cross-national study. It outlines a theoretical rationale for support for foreign aid, discussing the importance of both individual factors and economic and social structures. The theory is tested with multi-level models, including both individual-level and country-level variables to predict positive attitudes. Two datasets are used to measure attitudes in donor countries: (1) the 1995 World Values Survey has information from approximately 6,000 individuals in nine countries and asks a rich battery of questions at the individual-level, and (2) the 2002 Gallup "Voice of the People" survey asks fewer questions of individuals but includes 17 donor countries. Using both surveys combines their distinct strengths and allows tests of individual and national-level theories across disparate samples. The results generally support the predictions that attitudes toward aid are influenced by religiosity, beliefs about the causes of poverty, awareness of international affairs, and trust in people and institutions.
RF Energy Harvester Integrated Self-Powered Wearable Respiratory Monitoring System

Recent advancements in energy harvesting technologies have made them potential candidates for development of self-powered biomedical systems. Integration of energy harvesters with wearable and implantable biomedical sensors could open new horizons of medical diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases such as sleep apnea. Continuous monitoring is crucial in order to measure and analyze the breathing signal to detect sleep apnea. In this paper, an RF energy harvester powered wearable respiratory monitoring system is presented. The proposed system is implemented using low-power circuit design techniques and thus possesses the capability to be powered by RF energy harvesters. The fabricated energy harvester device realized in 130 nm CMOS process is very compact and therefore can be used in a wearable respiratory monitoring system for neonatal infants suffering from sleep apnea.
Vectorization for Fast, Analytic, and Differentiable Visibility

In Computer Graphics, the two main approaches to rendering and visibility involve ray tracing and rasterization. However, a limitation of both approaches is that they essentially use point sampling. This is the source of noise and aliasing, and also leads to significant difficulties for differentiable rendering. In this work, we present a new rendering method, which we call vectorization, that computes 2D point-to-region integrals analytically, thus eliminating point sampling in the 2D integration domain such as for pixel footprints and area lights. Our vectorization revisits the concept of beam tracing, and handles the hidden surface removal problem robustly and accurately. That is, for each intersecting triangle inserted into the viewport of a beam in an arbitrary order, we are able to maintain all the visible regions formed by intersections and occlusions, thanks to our Visibility Bounding Volume Hierarchy structure. As a result, our vectorization produces perfectly anti-aliased visibility, accurate and analytic shading and shadows, and most important, fast and noise-free gradients with Automatic Differentiation or Finite Differences that directly enables differentiable rendering without any changes to our rendering pipeline. Our results are inherently high-quality and noise-free, and our gradients are one to two orders of magnitude faster than those computed with existing differentiable rendering methods.
Differences in pediatric cholesterol screening rates between family physicians and pediatricians correlate with conflicting guidelines.

Abstract Conflicting guidelines regarding universal pediatric cholesterol screening were released between 2011 and 2019, but the impact on screening rates remains understudied. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in pediatric cholesterol screening rates within a single institution in the United States and their association with release of national guidelines, local educational tools, and electronic health record (EHR) modifications. Order placement was defined as ordering a high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in a patient aged 9–21 years with ≥1 well visit in prior 3 years. Order placement rate (OPR) was calculated per month using 3 months' moving average smoothing and analyzed based on date, patient age, and specialty of ordering clinician. Timing of educational tools, EHR modifications, and national guideline release were analyzed for changes in OPR. Prior to release of 2011 guidelines recommending universal pediatric cholesterol screening, pediatrician OPR was 35% (95% CI: 29–43%) compared to 8% (7–11%) for family physicians. For both specialties, OPR increased after 2011 guidelines, educational initiatives, and EHR changes, but decreased after 2016, with a larger decrease for family physicians (p
Insights of an AI agent via analysis of prediction errors: a case study of fluence map prediction for radiation therapy planning.

Purpose We have previously reported an artificial intelligence (AI) agent that automatically generates intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans via fluence map prediction, by-passing inverse planning. This AI agent achieved clinically comparable quality for prostate cases, but its performance on Head-and-Neck (HN) patients leaves room for improvement. This study aims to collect insights of the deep-learning-based (DL-based) fluence map prediction model by systematically analyzing its prediction errors. Methods From the modeling perspective, the DL model's output is the fluence maps of IMRT plans. However, from the clinical planning perspective, the plan quality evaluation should be based on the clinical dosimetric criteria such as dose-volume histograms (DVHs). To account for the complex and non-intuitive relationships between fluence map prediction errors and the corresponding dose distribution changes, we propose a novel error analysis approach that systematically examines plan dosimetric changes that are induced by varying amounts of fluence prediction errors. We investigated four decomposition modes of model prediction errors. The two spatial domain decompositions are based on fluence intensity and fluence gradient. The two frequency domain decompositions are based on Fourier-space banded frequency rings and Fourier-space truncated low-frequency disks. The decomposed error was analyzed for its impact on the resulting plans' dosimetric metrics. The analysis was conducted on 15 test cases spared from the 200 training and 16 validation cases used to train the model. Results Most planning target volume (PTV) metrics were significantly correlated with most error decompositions. The Fourier space disk radii had the largest Spearman's coefficients. The low-frequency region within a disk of ~20% Fourier space contained most of errors that impact overall plan quality. Conclusions This study demonstrates the feasibility of using fluence map prediction error analysis to understand the AI agent's performance. Such insights will help fine-tune the DL models in architecture design and loss function selection.
Distance Education at UAS: A Case Study

Increased pressure on the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) to become more involved in distance education compelled UAS to commission a study of the perceptions, problems, and opportunities in the area of distance education as seen by three distinct groups in the university community: students, faculty, and staff (including administrators). The researchers used qualitative methods to gather data from which questionnaires were derived. The results suggest that all three groups see lack of leadership and coordination in distance education as the primary obstacle to improving and expanding offerings. Recommendations propose practices that support the needs of each group and the program in general. L’augmentation de la pression sur l’University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) de mieux contribuer a l’education a distance a incite UAS a commander une etude des perceptions, problemes et possibilites dans le domaine de l’education a distance, tels que percus par trois groupes distincts de la communaute universitaire : les etudiants, la faculte et le personnel (notamment les administrateurs). Les recherchistes ont utilise des methodes qualitatives pour amasser des donnees, menant a la creation de questionnaires. Les resultats indiquent que les trois groupes constatent que le manque de leadership et de coordination en education a distance est le principal obstacle a l’amelioration et a l’expansion des offres. Les recommandations proposent des pratiques qui appuient les besoins de chaque groupe et du programme en general.
Characterizations of Distributions via Conditional Expectation of Generalized Order Statistics

Characterizations of probability distributions by different regression conditions on generalized order statistics has attracted the attention of many researchers. We present here, characterizations of certain continuous distributions based on the conditional expectation of generalized order statistics.
Market Exchange Rates or Purchasing Power Parity: Does the Choice Make a Difference to the Climate Debate?

Critics of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Special Report on Emission Scenarios claim that the use of market exchange rates rather than purchasing power parity has led to a significant upward bias in projections of greenhouse gas emissions, and hence unrealistically high future temperature. Rather than revisit the debate on the choice of exchange rates, we address a much simpler question: does the choice make a difference when it comes to projecting future temperature change? Employing a computable general equilibrium model designed to examine a variety of issues in the climate debate, we find that the answer is yes, but the difference is only minor.
On the design of the dissipative LQG-type controllers

The design of dissipative linear-quadratic-Gaussian-type compensators for positive real plants is considered. It is shown that if the noise covariance matrices (used as weighting matrices) satisfy certain conditions, the compensator has a strictly positive real transfer function matrix. The stability of the resulting closed-loop system is guaranteed regardless of modeling errors as long as the plant remains positive real. In view of this property, the controller is expected to be useful for vibration suppression in large flexible space structures. >
Narrating Violence and Negotiating Belonging: The Politics of (Self-)Representation in an Andean Tinkuy Story

Tinkuys, o �batallas rituales,� son peleas a punetazos que ocurren durante fiestas catolicas en algunas partes de los Andes de Bolivia y Peru. Aunque sus representaciones no circulan abiertamente, luchadores recuerdan sus peleas en dias y, a veces, anos despues de una batalla. Basandome en la narracion de un campeon del tinkuy, sugiero que peleadores pueden producir identidades complejas. En la Bolivia contemporanea pelear tinkuy implica ser �indio,� y ademas que solamente los indios andinos�nunca los �mas civilizados��lo pelean. Pero los peleadores que narran sus historias tambien movilizan asociaciones con muchos grupos, que incluyen a los espanoles, la nacion moderna, el ayllu, y la familia. Este articulo analiza los significados, tanto referenciales como no referenciales, de un relato del tinkuy y por lo tanto clarifica el proceso de la auto construccion del campeon. Indico los mecanismos por los cuales se afirma a la vez raza, genero, etnicidad, y ciudadania. Reflexionar sobre la narracion del tinkuy como instrumento para reclamar masculinidad hegemonia y ciudadania desafia las categorias binarias del indio y blanco; ademas sugiere caminos nuevos para investigar el tinkuy como practica vivida
CONDITIONED HEART RATE AS A FUNCTION OF MANIFEST ANXIETY AND DRUG ACTION

Summary.-This st~dy investigated the effects of anxiety and phenothiazine action on stimulus generalization. Significantly higher conditioning was demonstrated in the higher anxiety groups, as well as enhancement of stimulus generalization in the phenothiazine groups. Explanations of the change in cardiac response were sought in terms of anxiety level and drug accion. A number of studies (Bersh, Notterman, & Schoenfeld, 1953, 1956a; McAllister, Farber, & Taylor, 1954; Wescotc, 1959) have indicated that changes in the human heart rate can be acquired and extinguished. The present study concerned itself with investigation of the conditioned heart rate, in relation to rwo variables that have been shown to influence various forms of conditioned responses: manifest anxiety (Mednick & Freedman, 1960; Notcerman, Bersh, & Schoenfeld, 1952), and phenothiazine administration (Gardner & Celeste, 1960; Pantler, 1960), as well as their relation ro stimulus generalization (Bersh, Notcerman, & Schoenfeld, 1956b). Whenever an organism produces a response regularly to a stimulus and subsequently emits the response to similar scimuli, then stimulus generalization has occurred. This is the concepcion of the "empirical phenomenon of generalizacion'' (Mednick & Freedman, 1960). This investigation was concerned with fundamental information involving attempts co study three questions: does manifest anxiety enhance scirnulus generalization; does phenothizzine enhance scirnulus generalization; and in what order do the four combinarions of these variables enhance scimul~ls generalization.
An experimental study of deflagration to detonation transition supported by dust layers

The roles which dust layers play in severe dust explosions were investigated in a 70-m-long and 30-cm-diameter horizontal Flame Acceleration Tube (FAT) with one end closed and the other end open to the atmosphere. A variety of dusts such as corn dust, cornstarch, Mira Gel starch, wheat dust, and wood flour were layered on the bottom half of the FAT. Flame and detonation propagation parameters were closely monitored at different locations along the FAT. The study demonstrated that the moisture content of the dust, the exposed area of the dust layers to the convective flow, and the physical characteristics of the dust are the factors that most determine the severity of layered dust explosions, indicating that prelayered dust combustion is dominated by the dust/air mixing process. While the dust explosion rate constant K{sub st} can be used to characterize dust explosibility in predispersed dust in constant volume enclosures, it does not appear to characterize the behavior of layered dust explosions. Qualitative measurements of the variation of dust concentration during a layered dust explosion were obtained. The measurements indicated that the dust concentration at the time of flame arrival is highly nonuniform. The maximum pressure rise (P{sub max} {minus} P{sub 0})more » within the FAT during a layered dust explosion was found to vary linearly with the flame velocity V{sub f} when V{sub f} is subsonic. As V{sub f} reaches supersonic values the maximum pressure increase was found to vary with the V{sub f}{sup 2}, the square of the flame velocity. This result was found to be independent of dust type and concentration.« less
Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Effects of Aging for the Secondary Conditions of Spinal Cord Injury

Purpose: This study evaluates the effects of aging and years post injury (YPI) of secondary conditions common in spinal cord injury (SCI). Method: Aging and YPI are parameterized into cross-sectional and longitudinal components to determine whether changes in a particular secondary condition over time are longitudinal in nature or could be modeled using a cross-sectional design. The study also evaluates whether changes in secondary conditions are more attributable to age or YPI and whether the relationship of age and YPI with the outcome is linear or nonlinear. Results: The longitudinal component of aging was the most associated with secondary conditions, indicating that regardless of age or YPI the risk of the secondary condition changed over time. For some conditions, the direction of change for the longitudinal components and crosssectional components was in the same direction, whereas for other conditions the cross-sectional effect was in the opposite direction of the longitudinal effect. Similarly some of the secondary conditions were more associated with cross-sectional age, whereas others were more associated with cross-sectional YPI. Examples of secondary conditions that have a nonlinear association with age and YPI are provided. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that longitudinal study designs are warranted as the crosssectional effects were not able to detect the effects of aging in predicting the risk of secondary conditions in SCI.
Production of rat salivary cystatin S variant polypeptides in Escherichia coli

Cystatins are protein inhibitors of papain and related cysteine proteinases. A series of continuous synthetic peptides corresponding to the entire sequence of rat salivary cystatin was used to localize the binding domains of the cystatin to papain. Several synthetic peptides, one from the aminoterminal sequence (peptide 1-24) and others from the carboxylterminal (peptides 66-79, 66-90, 79-90, 79-114), showed binding to papain, but none of the peptides showed inhibition of papain activity. Three recombinant rat salivary cystatin variants (N-terminal truncated protein lacking amino acid residues 1-9; variant 49-53, in which amino acid residues QVVAG of rat salivary cystatin had been replaced with amino acid residues LVL in mutant protein; and variant 65-78, in which amino acid residues 65-78 had been replaced with amino acids PG in mutant protein) were produced using the Escherichia coli expression system pGex-4T. To generate N-terminal truncated protein the desired coding region of the cystatin gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To produce the variants 49-53 and 65-78, a PCR-based approach of gene splicing by overlap extension was used. Recombinant cystatin proteins were produced as insoluble inclusion bodies as fusion proteins with a glutathione S-transferase (GST) carrier. After solubilization with urea the GST carrier was cleaved from the fusion protein with thrombin and cystatin variants purified by fast liquid chromatography on a MonoQ column. The purified proteins reacted with antibodies to rat salivary cystatin. The N-terminal truncated and variant 49-53 exhibited very little inhibitory activity towards papain, whereas variant 65-78 exhibited papain-inhibitory activity similar to the full-length recombinant cystatin.
Influenza Virus Purification with the Zonal Ultracentrifuge

Sufficient amounts of influenza virus (density, 1.185; size, 722S) can be highly purified (22,000 chicken cell agglutinating units per milligram of protein) with a zonal ultracentrifuge, used first in a rate process followed by isopycnic banding, to permit its detailed biological and physical-chemical evaluation.
High brightness, quantum-defect-limited conversion efficiency in cladding-pumped Raman fiber amplifiers and oscillators

We present a detailed theoretical investigation of cladding-pumped Raman fiber amplification in an unexplored parameter space of high conversion efficiency (> 60%) and high brightness enhancement (> 1000). Fibers with large clad-to-core diameter ratios can provide a promising means for Raman-based brightness enhancement of diode pump sources. Unfortunately, the diameter ratio cannot be extended indefinitely since the intensity generated in the core can greatly exceed that in the cladding long before the pump is fully depleted. If left uncontrolled, this leads to the generation of parasitic second-order Stokes wavelengths in the core, limiting the conversion efficiency and as we will show, clamping the achievable brightness enhancement. Using a coupled-wave formalism, we present the upper limit on brightness enhancement as a function of diameter ratio for conventionally guided fibers. We further present strategies for overcoming this limit based upon depressed well core designs. We consider two configurations: 1) pulsed cladding-pumped Raman fiber amplifier (CPRFA) and 2) cw cladding-pumped Raman fiber laser (CPRFL).
Running with BICEP2: implications for small-scale problems in CDM

Author(s): Garrison-Kimmel, S; Horiuchi, S; Abazajian, KN; Bullock, JS; Kaplinghat, M | Abstract: The BICEP2 results, when interpreted as a gravitational wave signal and combined with other cosmic microwave background data, suggest a roll-off in power towards small scales in the primordial matter power spectrum. Among the simplest possibilities is a running of the spectral index. Here we show that the preferred level of running alleviates small-scale issues within the ΛCDM model, more so even than viable WDM models. We use cosmological zoom-in simulations of a MilkyWay-sized halo along with full-box simulations to compare predictions among four separate cosmologies: a BICEP2-inspired running index model (αs = -0.024), two fixed-tilt ΛCDM models motivated by Planck, and a 2.6 keV thermal WDM model. We find that the running BICEP2 model reduces the central densities of large dwarf-sized haloes (Vmax ~ 30-80 km s-1) and alleviates the too-big-to-fail problem significantly compared to our adopted Planck andWDMcases. Further, the BICEP2 model suppresses the count of small subhaloes by ~50 per cent relative to Planck models, and yields a significantly lower 'boost' factor for dark matter annihilation signals. Our findings highlight the need to understand the shape of the primordial power spectrum in order to correctly interpret small-scale data.
Spectra of particles from laser-induced vacuum decay

The spectrum of electrons and positrons originating from vacuum decay occurring in the collision of two noncollinear laser pulses is obtained. It displays high energy, highly collimated particle bunches traveling in a direction separate from the laser beams. This result provides an unmistakable signature of the vacuum-decay phenomenon and could suggest a new avenue for development of high energy electron and/or positron beams.
Effect of human adrenomedullin on vascular resistance of the canine tibia

An ex vivo model of a perfused canine tibia was used to investigate the effect of human adrenomedullin, a novel peptide with known vasodilator properties, on the vascular resistance of bone. Human adrenomedullin has a potent and long-lasting vasodilator effect in the canine tibia following precontraction of vascular smooth muscle by infusion of prostaglandin F2 alpha. A 0.1 ml bolus injection of 10(-5) M human adrenomedullin suppressed the pressor response of the canine tibia preparation to an infusion of norepinephrine by 43-52% for a duration of 100 minutes. An injection of 10(-6) adrenomedullin suppressed the pressor response to an infusion of norepinephrine by 22-23% for a duration of 40 minutes. These data suggest that human adrenomedullin may be a potent and long-acting vascular smooth-muscle relaxant in bone.
Male–Female Reactions to Variations in Sexual Explicitness in Pornography: An Empirical Test of Predictions of Intra- and Inter-gender Differences

Previous research has established that men and women respond differently to distinctive characteristics of mediated sexual portrayals. The current study experimentally tests a series of predictions derived from both sperm competition, and minimal parental investment perspectives about between- and within-gender responses to content manipulations of sexually explicit videos. Results indicate that men experienced greater post-exposure arousal and less negative affect after viewing sexually explicit videos than did women. Further, men who viewed more explicit sexual depictions tended to report greater post-exposure arousal than those who saw less explicit depictions. No within-gender differences were found for women in terms of content explicitness. Also, regardless of degree of explicitness, women reported lower levels of post-exposure arousal in response to content depicting male ejaculation than content that does not. Men, though expressing greater post-exposure arousal to less explicit content depicting male sexual climax than that which does not, showed no difference in arousal response when they saw more intensely explicit depictions, whether or not male ejaculation was shown. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future application of evolutionary theory in studies of mediated sexual content.
Vagal sensitivity and the production of auricular fibrillation in experimentally hyperthyroid dogs.

Abstract Twelve dogs were made hyperthyroid, ten by feeding of desiccated thyroid, while four, including two of the ten mentioned, were given thyroxin intramuscularly. It was found that, (1) during experimental hyperthyroidism spontaneous auricular fibrillation was not seen, (2) the minimal amount of intravenously injected acetylcholine producing second degree atrioventricular block was not significantly different during euthyroidism and hyperthyroidism, (3) with large intravenous doses of acetylcholine or methacholine an increased tendency for the auricles to fibrillate was detected in only one of fifteen periods of thyroid administration. The findings are interpreted as indicating that no increased cardiac sensitivity to vagus substance is present in canine experimental hyperthyroidism. Since, (a) the relation of age and sex to the incidence of auricular fibrillation in clinical hyperthyroidism resembles that of age and sex to the incidence of coronary atherosclerosis, (b) a large percentage of patients with hyperthyroidism and auricular fibrillation show evidence of organic heart disease, (c) no correlation exists between the height of the basal metabolic rate and incidence of auricular fibrillation in thyrotoxicosis, and in view of the experimental findings presented, it is suggested that the induction of auricular fibrillation in thyrotoxicosis is influenced by increased vagal activity in the presence of some state independent of the thyrotoxicosis. It is speculated that auricular ischemia may be conducive to the development of fibrillation and that coronary vascular disease, not necessarily progressive, may be present and favorable to initiation of the arrhythmia in a large fraction of the thyrotoxic patients with fibrillation, but no other evidence of organic heart disease.
Prediction of Solid + Liquid Equilibrium Diagrams for Binary Mixtures Forming Solid Solutions with an Extremum

Convenient methods of correlation and prediction of S+L diagrams exist only for systems forming eutectics. To deal with solid solutions, we have adopted the model of strictly regular solutions of Guggenheim [3–5]. Our key assumption is that values of the Gibbs function of interchange w are different in the two coexisting phases: w S and w L . The assumption is based on the fact that the average interatomic distances R are also different, and this affects the averages of the interatomic (or intermolecular) potentials. The input parameters are enthalpies and temperatures of melting of pure components and any pair of experimental points on the diagram. For a number of binary alloy systems the agreement with the experiment is good. Since we believe in the basic unity of materials (see Chap. 1 in [7]), calcuations have also been made for organic mixtures, again with good results.
Follow-up on welfare benefits received by Job Club clients

Abstract A follow-up was made of the welfare payments received by AFDC clients who had received job-finding counseling. At the 6th-month follow-up, welfare payments had been reduced by about one-half for the Job Club clients vs 15% for the control group.
Potentially traumatic events and serious life stressors are prospectively associated with frequency of doctor visits and overnight hospital visits.

Abstract Objective Cumulative lifetime exposure to potentially traumatic events and serious life stressors has been linked with both mental and physical health problems; however, less is known about the association between exposure to potentially traumatic events and serious life stressors with health care use. We investigated whether a higher number of potentially traumatic events and serious life stressors were prospectively associated with an increased number of doctor visits and nights spent in the hospital. Methods Participants were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study, a prospective and nationally representative study of adults aged 50 + in the United States (n = 7168). We analyzed the data using a generalized linear model with a gamma distribution and log link. Results A higher number of potentially traumatic events and serious life stressors were associated with an increased number of doctor visits and nights spent in the hospital. On a 10-point scale, each additional potentially traumatic event or serious life stressor was associated with an 8% increase in doctor visits after controlling for sociodemographic factors (RR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.06–1.11; p p Conclusion Exposure to potentially traumatic events and serious life stressors is associated with increased doctor visits and nights spent in the hospital, which may have important implications for the current standard of care.
Advances in dioxin risk management control technologies

Abstract An intrinsic element of managing risk exposure to dioxins and related chemicals is to reduce release into the environment. Such efforts include modifying manufacturing processes and/or adding waste reduction and recovery technologies such as producing hexachlorophene from dichlorophenols, modifying pulp and paper mill bleaching processes, and pyrolyzing chlorinated still bottoms for HCl recovery. The identification, testing, and evaluation of treatment technologies that can be employed prior to or as alternatives to land disposal represent a significant effort in risk reduction. Thermal methods such as rotary kiln incineration, infrared heating, fluidized beds, electric pyrolysis, and pyroplasma are detailed together with chemical methods involving potassium polyethylene glycolate (KPEG) reagent UV-photolysis, UV-oxidation, and other methods, including supercritical oxidation and use of modified clays. Finally, waste management options are discussed, which include in situ stabilization solidification/fixation and vitrification, storage in abandoned surface mines, and biological methods.