cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the Road to Incoherence: Congress, Economics and Taxes

Congress is frequently criticized for social engineering by means of tax provisions. Critics of tax incentives, or tax expenditures, base their objections on equity and economic arguments. This perspective views tax expenditures as an ill-advised deviation from what they view as the tax code's primary purpose of revenue raising. This Article argues that these critics are ignoring the existence of a long economic tradition of using tax penalties and incentives to address externalities that the market fails to price adequately. This economic tradition, which is also called Pigouvian taxation, has generated a significant body of literature demonstrating that taxes can be an optimal solution for correcting externalities where a large number of people are making use of public goods. This is not to say that tax expenditure analysis has no role to play in tax policy, but simply that the economic tradition of Pigouvian taxation also has an important role to play. Unfortunately, when it comes to tax legislation, Congress often ignores both tax expenditure and economic analysis. To illustrate this point, this Article uses as a case study a 1997 tax amendment that expanded the tax benefits accorded to employer-provided transportation. As a result, tax incentives are now generally available that exacerbate urban congestion and air pollution problems. Congress similarly ignored the economics associated with the employment relationship, especially the importance of employment taxes in shaping the behavior of both employers and employees, and as a result it failed to appreciate the likely result of its amendment - that employers would use these expanded tax benefits to reduce their share of employment taxes. What is most troubling about Congress's use of the tax code for social engineering is that Congress is clearly confused about the very nature of how taxes can be used to control externalities and is now using a tax subsidy when it should be using a tax penalty. Because no tax expenditure analysis is required for employment taxes, Congress also was unaware that this provision would result in significant revenue losses for Social Security and Medicare and ignored implications for individuals dependent on Social Security. This Article draws a number of lessons from Congress's use of taxes. Among other reforms, the Article suggests that Congress make intelligent use of Pigouvian taxation by considering first whether an incentive or a penalty is appropriate. Because of the looming importance of employment taxes for our nation's fiscal future, this Article also urges the establishment of a tax expenditure budget for employment taxes similar to that already mandated for provisions affecting income taxes.
Lower hybrid rf heating experiments in the MIT Alcator A, C and Versator II tokamaks

ABSTRACT Experimental results on lower hybrid heating in the Alcator A and the Versator II tokamaks with power levels up to 90 kW are presented. In Alcator A a double waveguide grill, and in Versator II a 4 waveguide grill with arbitrary phasing are used. Also, a 6 waveguide grill experiment in Versator II is described which launches a travelling wave aimed at driving toroidal currents. The. forthcoming lower hybrid heating experiment in Alcator C, utilizing four 4×4 waveguide arrays with power levels up to 4 MW, is also described.
Mechanism of hRev1 polymerase action on G-quadruplex DNA (927.3)

Faithful replication of genomic information is crucial for maintenance of cellular function and integrity. DNA can adopt non-B-form structures in vivo, such as stable G-quadruplex DNA (QDNA). The a...
Sociogenomics Takes Flight

The loss of wings in worker ants has contributed to their spectacular ecological success. In his Perspective, [Robinson][1] discusses new work ([Abouheif and Wray][2]) that analyzes the expression of genes involved in wing development of worker and queen ants of different species. As Robinson explains, the unexpectedly different gene expression profiles that the authors detected highlight how different genomes can achieve the same end in different ways, an important lesson to bear in mind as the new field of sociogenomics develops. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/297/5579/204 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/297/5579/249
Lessons in Rational Drug Design for Protein Kinases

A Holy Grail of marrying bioinformatics with structural biology is the design of drugs that precisely affect specific cellular targets. [Ahn and Resing][1] discuss in their Perspective how combining sequence and structural analysis of the catalytic site of protein kinases allowed one group to rationally design molecules that selectively block p90 ribosomal S6 kinase enzymatic activity in cells. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/308/5726/1266
Creatine Metabolism in Skeletal Muscle III. SPECIFICITY OF THE CREATINE ENTRY PROCESS

Abstract Creatine entry into the rat extensor digitorum longus muscle in vitro is inhibited by β-guanidinopropionic acid, β-guanidinoethanesulfonic acid, N-ethylguanidinoacetic acid, γ-guanidinobutyric acid, and guanidinoacetic acid (listed in order of effectiveness) but not by various amino acids or other compounds that lack an amidine group. β-Guanidinopropionic acid, when administered as 1% of the diet, also inhibits the entry of radioactively labeled creatine into skeletal muscle in vivo. In a study of the effects of three of the inhibitory compounds on the kinetics of creatine entry into the extensor digitorum longus muscle in vitro, each was found to compete with creatine for interaction with the transport site. From this study the Km and Vmax of creatine entry are 0.5 mm and 0.6 mmole per liter of intracellular water per hour, respectively; and the Ki values are 0.2 mm for β-guanidinopropionic acid, 1.0 mm for N-ethylguanidinoacetic acid, and 3.0 mm for guanidinoacetic acid. In a complementary study, β-guanidinopropionic acid was found to enter the extensor digitorum longus muscle by a saturable process with a Km of 0.2 mm and a Vmax of 0.6 mmole per liter of intracellular water per hour. Further, β-guanidinopropionic acid entry is competitively inhibited by creatine (Ki, 0.6 mm) and by guanidinoacetic acid (Ki, 3.3 mm). These data are evidence that creatine enters skeletal muscle via a novel transport site specifically adapted to interact with an amidine group.
Service utilization in a cohort of criminal justice-involved men: implications for case management and justice systems

In the era of re-entry, a great deal of attention has been paid to the ‘risk-need-responsivity’ model. Most attention to the utilization of services designed to meet need has focused on post-release behaviors. However, little attention has been paid to the pre-incarceration utilization of services that might influence receptivity to post-release utilization. Using constructs borrowed from health services utilization, the current paper examines the associations among CJ-involvement, social and health services utilization, and health status in a cohort of CJ-involved men living in the community. Results from the current cohort, combined with those of previous research, suggest that follow-through on services by released individuals’ remains problematic. Suggestions for future research and questions about the role of criminal justice agencies in improving follow-through are raised.
The Anticlerical Articles of the Federal Constitution of 1917 and Their Historical Consequences

The American philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952) cautioned in The Life of Reason, Volume I, that "[t]hose who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Mindful of that admonitory aphorism, this Note from the rising scholar Katherine M. Ryan-McIlhon traces the evolution of anti-clerical Constitutional provisions in Mexico from 1857 to 1917.
Autonomous vehicles in structured and semi-structured environments

We consider real-time decision-making issues regarding the mobility of different classes of autonomous mobile platforms. We discuss the implications of different environments and the development of a unifying control architecture. Such an architecture would make the parameterization of behavior easier, and introduce the possibility of a comparison of intelligence. We report on our development of different autonomous systems working in a coordinated fashion in three different environments: automobiles and automated highway systems, model railroads, and wheeled mobile robots. We identify five basic tasks which are common to these different environments, and we discuss their interpretation and implementation in each environment.
A fisheye viewer for microarray-based gene expression data

Microarray has been widely used to measure the relative amounts of every mRNA transcript from the genome in a single scan. Biologists have been accustomed to reading their experimental data directly from tables. However, microarray data are quite large and are stored in a series of files in a machine-readable format, so direct reading of the full data set is not feasible. The challenge is to design a user interface that allows biologists to usefully view large tables of raw microarray-based gene expression data. This paper presents one such interface – an electronic table (E-table) that uses fisheye distortion technology. The Fisheye Viewer for microarray-based gene expression data has been successfully developed to view MIAME data stored in the MAGE-ML format. The viewer can be downloaded from the project web site http://polaris.imt.uwm.edu:7777/fisheye/ . The fisheye viewer was implemented in Java so that it could run on multiple platforms. We implemented the E-table by adapting JTable, a default table implementation in the Java Swing user interface library. Fisheye views use variable magnification to balance magnification for easy viewing and compression for maximizing the amount of data on the screen. This Fisheye Viewer is a lightweight but useful tool for biologists to quickly overview the raw microarray-based gene expression data in an E-table.
Jane grant, The New yorker, and Ross : A Lucy stoner practices her own style of journalism

Abstract Grant was one of the founders of the New York Newspaper Women's Club, the first wife of publisher Harold W. Ross, and co-founder of The New Yorker. She was the organizing force behind the formation of the Lucy Stone League in the 1920s, a forerunner of the Women's Liberation movement. Grant's contributions to feminist thought formed a pivotal bridge between the feminism of the 1920s and the 1970s. She was a prominent pioneering woman reporter and her views had a significant impact on the future status of women in journalism and women in professional life.
Where Power Projection Ends: Constraints on Japanese Militarization

Recent scholarship analyzing Japanese defense policy has been sensationalistic. Challenging the constructivist argument that an antimilitarism norm has constrained Japanese militarization, realists have called attention to Japan’s technologically advanced military, procurement of sophisticated weaponry, increased public support for the Japan Self-Defense Force, and a strategy of buck-passing as evidence of “normalization,” “militarization,” and the emergence of a “great power.” However, is this really the case? Has Japan embarked on a new aggressive path, negating decades of pacifism? In this paper, I propose a cross-paradigmatic approach for analyzing Japan’s military strength by combining constructivist, liberal, and realist arguments. First, this paper provides a systematic comparison of militaries in East Asia to measure relative power. In context of a rapidly militarizing East Asia and the emergence of new threats, Japan’s military policy has been moderate modernization, not militarization. Second, this paper offers a typology of constraints on the Japanese military. Social, technical, normative, and political factors limit Japanese power projection capabilities in the present, and will become more debilitating in the future.
Intrinsic optical signal imaging of a ratiometric fluorescence oxygen nanosensor

Several imaging techniques and methods have been developed to map the metabolic or electrical changes during brain functions in high spatial and temporal resolutions. Wide-field intrinsic optical signal (IOS) imaging is an excellent method for its spatial resolution of 50-100 /spl mu/m and a wide imaging field of several mm/sup 2/ that cannot be achieved by any microscope. A nano-encapsulated fluorescence dye sensor that is specifically sensitive to oxygen level was fabricated. The fluorescence images of the nanosensor were collected by a wide-field IOS imaging system under two different oxygen concentrations and analyzed by MATLAB software for the nanosensor's oxygen quenching property.
Improved methodologies for the design of maneuver for stability and control simulations

Abstract With many modern fighter aircraft experiencing unpredicted flight dynamics during flight tests, recent research has focused on developing methodologies for incorporating computational fluid dynamics into the aircraft development process. The goal of this approach is to identify configurations susceptible to stability and control issues early in the design process. Previous research has primarily focused on full aircraft configurations, however, to increase the rate of development the current study focused on a two-dimensional NACA0012 airfoil. The two-dimensional NACA0012 airfoil has the advantage of reducing the computational cost by orders of magnitude compared to full scale aircraft simulations, while still providing complicated aerodynamics at high angles of attack. Computationally predicted lift coefficients from a number of newly developed training maneuvers were used to generate reduced order aerodynamic loads models. For evaluation, these models were compared to generated static and dynamic validation data. Methods of improving both the computational training maneuver and the reduced order modeling approach are suggested.
A Hybrid ADI and SBTD Scheme for Unconditionally Stable Time-Domain Solutions of Maxwell's Equations

Based upon the sampling bi-orthogonal algorithm and alternating direction implicit scheme, we present an unconditionally stable time-domain method, SB-ADI. Similar to the ADI scheme, this method is a second-order approximation in temporal discretization. However, theoretically, the new method produces no spatial discretization error due to the sampling property and compact support of the SBTD algorithm. Dispersion and stability analysis are presented. In a numerical example of 2-D electromagnetic bandgap structure, the new method has reduced the error by a factor of 3.5 at 16% increase of CPU time with respect to the standard ADI.
Market Insurance, Public Insurance and the Rate of Technical Change in Medical Care

A distinguishing characteristic of medical goods and services in all developed countries is technical progress. New pharmaceuticals and devices, new diagnostic equipment, new procedures, and ways to use older inputs are continually being introduced. Research indicates that some (though by no means all) of the improvements in population health status in such countries are due to this progress. Research also shows that some (and sometimes almost all) of the reason for growth in real medical spending per capita is due to technological change. Improving health is usually counted as a societal benefit while increasing spending is usually counted as societal cost (although, as we shall see, there are reasons to question both). If this is the case, the optimal rate of growth in spending must be linked to the optimal rate of improvement in health and wellbeing. It will not be a happy country that experiences maximum rates of health improvement but spectacular spending growth, or one which stops spending growth entirely but has lower levels of improvement in health. There are, in short, trade-offs that reflect a balancing of the marginal benefit for health improvement with the marginal cost associated with increased spending. An inordinately self-confident analyst could propose to determine both ideal rates by measuring the value of the benefits and the value of the costs, and comparing them. However, such an exercise is unlikely to succeed because of the difficulty of measuring the value of benefits and costs, and of measuring the variation in the value of benefits across citizens. The alternative strategy is to analyse mechanisms for deciding on resource allocation; in medical care the primary resource allocator is insurance. This insurance can in theory either be chosen in competitive markets or closer in a political choice process. In terms of approximating the ideal rate of growth in spending, which is likely to be better? Analysing the actual behavior of real governments is a difficult problem, and judging the efficiency of public planning and provision is even harder. In this paper I will therefore primarily focus on analysing the impact of hypothetical and actual private insurance markets and spending. I will limit myself to asking how the rate of growth that would emerge for such market arrangements compares to a realistic optimum. I suggest that the answer is that market-based growth rates tend to be less than or equal to the optimum, not excessive. If (as seems to be the case informally) greater public and less market control is associated with lower rates of spending growth, the implication is generally that public insurance falls further short of the ideal, although there are obviously exceptions for particular countries.
51 Characterization of the northwestern gulf of Mexico macroalgae

The upper Northwestern Gulf basin is characterized by a relatively shallow but well developed continental shelf with an extensive system of mid- and outer shelf hard banks formed on unique tectonically created salt diapirs of varying origin and composition. Collections made by our laboratory from ∼30 m depth by SCUBA while participating in monitoring cruises to the National Marine Sanctuaries of the East and West Flower Garden Banks (Texas), Stetson Banks (Texas) and Sonnier Banks (Louisiana), and while dredging off Louisiana at ∼45–90 m depth, reveal a surprisingly different floristic composition among the sites. Several range extensions, new macroalgal records for the Gulf of Mexico, and the establishment of new species for the region indicate that the NW Gulf encompasses complex macroalgal biota. Our ongoing project includes the development of a modern taxonomic, phylogenetic, morphological and genetic database essential to informed management for preservation of biological diversity. It also provides a framework for seasonal algal composition against which long-term trends and anomalies in algal distribution and health of the Gulf of Mexico can be assessed at future dates.
Climatology of the stratospheric polar vortex and planetary wave breaking

The distribution of Ertel's potential vorticity (PV) on the 850 K isentropic surface is used to establish a climatology for the transient evolution of the planetary scale circulation in the Northern Hemisphere winter midstratosphere. PV distributions are computed from gridded NMC daily temperature and height maps for the 10 and 30 mb levels, and show that a very good approximation for 850 K PV can be derived from 10 mb heights and temperatures alone. It is assumed that reversals of the latitudinal gradient of PV, localized in longitude and latitude may be regarded as signatures of planetary wave breaking. Wave breaking identified by such signatures tends to occur mainly in the vicinity of the Aleutian anticyclone, with a secondary maximum over Europe. The area of the polar vortex, defined as the area enclosed by PV contours greater than a certain critical value, is strongly influenced by wave breaking. Erosion of the polar vortex due to transport and mixing of PV leads to a preconditioned state, when defined in terms of vortex area, that always occurs prior to major stratospheric warmings. During winters with little PV transport or mixing, the vortex area evolves rather uniformly in response to radiative forcing. During winters with major sudden warmings, the wave breaking signature as defined here first appears at low values of PV, then rapidly moves toward higher values as the vortex area is reduced and the 'surf-zone' structure becomes well defined.
Ultrasound guidance and monitoring of laser-based fat removal.

Background and Objectives We report on a study to investigate feasibility of utilizing ultrasound imaging to guide laser removal of subcutaneous fat. Ultrasound imaging can be used to identify the tissue composition and to monitor the temperature increase in response to laser irradiation.
Medical decisions and prognostications of pediatricians for infants with meningomyelocele.

To determine how pediatricians' prognostications and decisions about the treatment of infants with meningomyelocele are affected by varying degrees of hydrocephalus, we randomly selected a sample of pediatricians to receive written surveys. This questionnaire assessed the relationship between the decisions and the prognostications, and compared their accuracy with that of outcome studies. Each pediatrician completed a questionnaire for two of three possible cases, which were identically described as infants with meningomyelocele and complete paraplegia varying only in the degree of hydrocephalus at birth from none to moderate to severe. Recommendations for treatment and prognostications (the Prognostics Beliet Scale of impressions of adult functional capabilities and likely residential and vocational placements) were compared. Significantly fewer pediatricians would present information to parents in an encouraging light, and significantly fewer would treat their own child, if the case involved severe hydrocephalus in comparison with no hydrocephalus. Pediatricians' prognostications were the least optimistic for the infant with severe hydrocephalus and most optimistic for the infant without hydrocephalus, and they were considerably less optimistic than seems justified on the basis of follow-up studies. Last, physicians' less-than-optimistic prognoses were significantly related to their decisions concerning surgery for the infants with moderate and severe hydrocephalus. The major import of the findings is that pediatricians' prognoses refiect, in part, a misconception of the impact of hydrocephalus on children born with meningomyelocele and that these prognoses then have an impact on the pediatricians' decisions concerning treatment.
Multiple Tracers of Shallow Ground‐Water Flow and Recharge in Hilly Loess

Vertical profiles of tritium and nitrate pore-water concentrations were determined to {approximately}8 m depth across two loess hillslopes. Mean recharge fluxes, estimated from chloride mass balance, are 5--10 times larger at the mid- and toe-slope positions than at the top-slope; the magnitudes of the values compare reasonably with results from other methods. The tritium and nitrate profiles exhibit multiple peaks which indicate that piston flow is not the sole flow process in this system. Results of a simple 1-D mixing model suggest that infiltration-exfiltration cycles in zones of plant root activity explain the shallow tritium peaks. Deeper peaks result from preferential vertical and/or lateral flow. The importance of these dispersive processes is underlined by great dilution of observed tritium concentrations, relative to expected concentrations assuming piston flow. In this setting, chloride is useful as a recharge estimator while tritium and nitrate serve as tracers of landscape-scale water movement.
INTERDISCIPLINARY LAW AND PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY

The opportunity to do interdisciplinary research and training is both exciting and daunting. As Indiana University forges a partnership between law and psychology, graduate and law students are on the frontlines of the collaboration—present for both the rewards and the challenges of bringing two disciplines together. We are grateful for this chance to represent the voices of students involved in interdisciplinary training and education. As a third-year law student at Indiana School of Law (M.N.) and a first-year graduate student in Clinical Psychology at Indiana University (R.B.), we respond to the following questions about our interdisciplinary experiences in law and psychology.1
A comparison of helical tomotherapy to circular collimator-based linear-accelerator radiosurgery for the treatment of brain metastases.

Purpose: To compare stereotactic radiosurgery treatment plans for the treatment of patients with brain metastases generated using Tomotherapy and a circular collimator-based SRS approach. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients, previously treated with circular collimator-based radiosurgery, were replanned using Tomotherapy treatment planning software. Tomotherapy planning emphasized dose fall off peripheral to the target by allowing for inhomogeneous target coverage. Conformity and dose falloff were compared with the circular collimator-based plans using the following metrics: prescription isodose to tumor volume ratio, conformation number, and homogeneity index to assess effects on targets, whereas a combined conformity gradient index and the volume of the 12-Gy isodose volume were used to assess differences in dose to normal brain. Results: Although a similar homogeneity index was achieved for both sets of plans, plan conformity was generally improved using the tomotherapy system whereas dose falloff at the target periphery was shallower. The 12-Gy isodose volume increased on average by 3.4 mL (range, −1.9 to +12.1 mL), for the 20 patients studied, but in spite of this, based on modeled predictions, the risk for symptomatic radiation necrosis associated with Tomotherapy SRS for each patient still falls within the clinically observed ranges for Gamma Knife SRS. Conclusion: Tomotherapy can be used to create treatment plans that meet the dosimetric and clinical requirements for stereotactic radiosurgery.
Intensity and predictability of background noise as determinants of simple reaction time

This research permits a comparison of the effects of background-noise intensity (105 dB, 70 dB, and no noise) and mode of presentation (unpredictable, predictable, and self-administered) on simple reaction time (RT) to auditory and visual test signals. Each of 112 subjects participated in a 1-h session comprised of 146 RT trials. The background noise was presented during the intertrial interval, and the average exposure duration was 2 sec/trial. It was found that at 105-dB noise levels, intensity was the crucial variable, whereas at 70-dB levels, the predictability of the background noise was of primary importance. It was concluded that background noise debilitates RT performance when the noise is too loud, or, if the noise is moderately intense, because it is temporally unpredictable.
Species reconstruction using pre-image curves

Abstract All chemistry dimension-reduction methodologies, such as quasi-steady-state approximation (QSSA), rate-controlled constrained equilibrium (RCCE), and intrinsic low-dimensional manifolds (ILDM), either implicitly or explicitly, provide a means of species reconstruction. Given a reduced description of the chemical composition (e.g., in terms of some “major” species), species reconstruction is a procedure to estimate the full composition. In this paper, we develop and demonstrate a new species reconstruction methodology, which is based on a pre-image curve of the reaction mapping. By definition, in the composition space, if a reaction trajectory is followed from any point on the pre-image curve, then at some time the reduced composition on the trajectory intersects the given reduced composition. The reconstructed composition is taken to be the full composition on the reaction trajectory at this intersection. The method is tested for a case of methane autoignition in which the detailed mechanism has 27 degrees of freedom, and two reduced descriptions are considered with 4 and 6 degrees of freedom. It is shown that the normalized reconstruction errors are very small; they are two orders of magnitude smaller than those in RCCE; and with 6 degrees of freedom they are smaller than those in QSSA with 12 degrees of freedom. The reconstructed compositions (for all reduced compositions) form the reconstructed manifold. It is shown that, to an excellent approximation, this manifold is inertial (i.e., it is composed of reaction trajectories). In comparison to other dimension-reduction methodologies, this is the first approach which determines, locally, points on a low-dimensional inertial manifold. The combination of in situ adaptive tabulation and species reconstruction can be used to reduce substantially the computational cost of applying detailed chemistry to turbulent combustion calculations.
Mpongwe Origins: Historiographical Perspectives*

The Mpongwe people of the Gabon estuary live today in the immediate area of Libreville, the capital city of the Gabon Republic. Libreville is built on Mpongwe ancestral lands, and its history is only a small and comparatively recent chapter in the longer story of the Mpongwe and their neighbors. In the nineteenth century the expression “les Gabonais” or “the Gaboon people” had only one meaning—the Mpongwe of the estuary who were the coastal trading aristocracy.The Mpongwe are only one of the six peoples belonging to the Myene-speaking group of Gabon. The other five are the Orungu, Nkomi, Galoa, Adyumba, and Enenga. Only the Mpongwe are patrilineal. Myene is purely a linguistic classification, a subdivision of the Bantu language. All six of these societies fit into a circle whose circumference includes the three largest cities in Gabon today—Libreville, Port Gentil (formerly Cape Lopez), and Lambarene (Map 1). From the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, Myene was the coastal lingua franca between the southern Cameroun and Cabinda. The Myene societies in general, and the Mpongwe in particular, have played a key role in Gabon's past, and continue to be an influential minority in modern Gabon. In the early nineteenth century, and for an unknown previous period, the closest non-Myene neighbors of the Mpongwe were the Benga and the related societies to the north, and the Shekiani and Bakele to the east. The Shekiani were the couriers in the Mpongwe trade with the Bakele and other interior societies.
A Practice-Based Approach to Group Identification in Nonverbal Learning Disorders

Evidence-based practice, the rigorous conduct of clinical analysis and intervention, includes practice-based evidence. Here, practice data were the source of three “clinical portraits” used for exploratory analysis of an array of cognitive and social problems in 30 children whose neurobehavioral profiles fulfilled psychometric criteria for a nonverbal learning disability (NLD). Qualitative analysis of the children's academic and adjustment difficulties revealed patterns of dissociable deficits. These findings argue for at least three groups within the NLD construct. Identifying such subgroups is of practical importance: More precise characterization of neuropsychological competencies leads to improved interventions and better outcomes.
Beautiful Faces Have Variable Reward Value: fMRI and Behavioral Evidence

The brain circuitry processing rewarding and aversive stimuli is hypothesized to be at the core of motivated behavior. In this study, discrete categories of beautiful faces are shown to have differing reward values and to differentially activate reward circuitry in human subjects. In particular, young heterosexual males rate pictures of beautiful males and females as attractive, but exert effort via a keypress procedure only to view pictures of attractive females. Functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T shows that passive viewing of beautiful female faces activates reward circuitry, in particular the nucleus accumbens. An extended set of subcortical and paralimbic reward regions also appear to follow aspects of the keypress rather than the rating procedures, suggesting that reward circuitry function does not include aesthetic assessment.
Association of presence and timing of invasive airway placement with outcomes after pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest.

Abstract Background Little data exist regarding the association of presence of an invasive airway before cardiac arrest or early placement of an invasive airway after cardiac arrest with outcomes in children who experience in-hospital cardiac arrest. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of patients aged 1 day to 18 years who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for ≥1 min in any of the three intensive care units (ICUs) at a tertiary care, academic children's hospital between 2002 and 2010. Specific outcomes evaluated included survival to hospital discharge, return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), 24-h survival, and good neurological status at hospital discharge. We fitted multivariable logistic regression models to evaluate the association between the presence of an invasive airway prior to cardiac arrest and timing of placement of an invasive airway with these outcomes. Results Three hundred and ninety-one patients were included. Of these, 197 (51%) patients were already tracheally intubated before the occurrence of cardiac arrest. Median time to intubation was 6 min [interquartile range (IQR): 2, 12] among the 194 patients tracheally intubated following cardiac arrest. We found lower survival to hospital discharge among patients intubated prior to cardiac arrest (intubated vs. non-intubated group, 43% vs. 61%, p p = 0.17], or good neurological outcomes (OR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.34–1.05, p = 0.07). Similarly, early placement of an invasive airway after cardiac arrest was also not associated with an improvement in survival to hospital discharge (OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 0.78–1.42, p = 0.73), or good neurological outcomes (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.77–1.53, p = 0.65). Conclusions Our study demonstrates that presence of an invasive airway prior to cardiac arrest or early placement of an invasive airway after cardiac arrest is not associated with an improvement in survival to hospital discharge or good neurological outcomes. Further study of the relationship between invasive airway management and survival following cardiac arrest is warranted.
FAMILIARITY, MIRROR IMAGING AND SOCIAL DESIRABILITY IN STEREOTYPES : JAPANESE vs AMERICANS1

Abstract L'A. a realise une etude comparative du stereotype de l'Americain et du Japonais dans le New Jersey (sujets americains), a Hawaii (sujets americano-japonais) et au Japon (sujets japonais). L'analyse des correlations montre que c'est par contraste (image en miroir) que l'image des autres est determinee chez les repondants, quand on controle statistiquement la desirabilite sociale des termes dcscriptifs utilises. L'interpretation de ces resultats souleve la question de l'universalite des theories cognitives qui mettent l'accent sur le besoin de coherence.
Low-Dose Aspirin in the Primary Prevention of Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Women’s Health Study

Background Low-dose aspirin may reduce the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) through its effect on cyclooxygenase activity and its anti-oxidant pathways. Previous randomized trial data have demonstrated a beneficial effect of low-dose aspirin in reducing other inflammatory diseases, such as asthma and colorectal adenomas, but no trial has evaluated the role of aspirin in RA prevention.
Supported Pd Catalyst Preparation Using Liquid Carbon Dioxide

Uniform Pd crystallites were formed on native silicon oxide by depositing Pd(hfac)2 from liquid carbon dioxide and subsequently reducing in hydrogen at a relatively low temperature of 150 °C.
Synthesis of high dynamic range motion blur free image from multiple captures

Advances in CMOS image sensors enable high-speed image readout, which makes it possible to capture multiple images within a normal exposure time. Earlier work has demonstrated the use of this capability to enhance sensor dynamic range. This paper presents an algorithm for synthesizing a high dynamic range, motion blur free, still image from multiple captures. The algorithm consists of two main procedures, photocurrent estimation and saturation and motion detection. Estimation is used to reduce read noise, and, thus, to enhance dynamic range at the low illumination end. Saturation detection is used to enhance dynamic range at the high illumination end as previously proposed, while motion blur detection ensures that the estimation is not corrupted by motion. Motion blur detection also makes it possible to extend exposure time and to capture more images, which can be used to further enhance dynamic range at the low illumination end. Our algorithm operates completely locally; each pixel's final value is computed using only its captured values, and recursively, requiring the storage of only a constant number of values per pixel independent of the number of images captured. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), dynamic range, and the motion blur prevention achieved using the algorithm.
Research on the Load on Cutter Head of Hard Rock Tunnel Boring Machine

Study on the load exerted on cutter head is very useful for the design and performance prediction of hard rock tunnel boring machines. A composite model based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics and finite element method was carried out using AUTODYN software to study the rock fragmentation mechanism of constant cross-section disk cutters in cutter head. The normal force, rolling force and side force on the disk cutters with different cutter radius were researched in the numerical simulation study. The results were verified by historical literature data. To obtain the distribution of the forces with different cutter radius, the loading of cutter head of a Ф5.75 hard rock tunnel boring machine were analyzed. The result shows that it is useful for cutter head’s design and its layout optimization.
Interval coding of temperature by CNS neurones in thermoregulation

MODELS describing the central nervous control of thermoregulation1,2 are based at present on the discharge characteristics of temperature rate-sensitive neurones in the preoptic (PO) area and the hypothalamus. These neurones are believed to be involved in thermoregulation because they are anatomically located in an area affecting thermoregulatory control3–5 and respond to both local6–8 and peripheral9–11 temperature change. Examination of the temporal distribution of interspike intervals from PO neurones in our experiments suggests that temperature rate-insensitive PO neurones also process thermoregulatory information.
Repair of Aortic Coarctation in the First Year of Life

Abstract Twenty-five infants under 1 year of age (mean, 10.3 weeks and 4.0 kg) underwent coarctation repair. Eight had ventricular septal defect (VSD), 3 had transposition of the great arteries with VSD, and 5 had severe tubular hypoplasia. One infant required mitral valve replacement, and 1 required repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous return. Fifteen had repair by primary anastomosis. Seven underwent Dacron or subclavian aortoplasty; the advantages and technique of angioplasty are reviewed. Three patients required bypass grafts. Seventeen patients survived operation. All 5 patients who had severe tubular hypoplasia died postoperatively. The mortality for repair of coarctation with VSD by simultaneous pulmonary artery banding was high; for coarctation with VSD we currently recommend repair without banding, followed by VSD closure if indicated. Three infants have been treated successfully in this manner, with early VSD closure in 1 and regression of the VSD during follow-up in 2. The 17 survivors have been followed for a mean of 41 months with 3 late deaths. Of the 17 survivors, all of whom had a primary anastomosis, 3 have residual gradients. Of the 11 survivors who had preoperative hypertension, 6 are still hypertensive; 3 of these have a gradient between the upper and lower extremities. It is striking that 3 have persistent hypertension despite repair under the age of 1 year.
Forced-compliance studies, cognitive dissonance, and self-perception theory

Abstract Self-perception theory has recently been offered as an alternative to dissonance theory to explain data from forced compliance and other experiments. The purposes of this experiment are (1) to replicate a previously reported interpersonal simulation of the Festinger-Carlsmith experiment and (2) to test a major assumption of self-perception theory, viz., that self-reports of attitude under conditions of high incentive will be regarded by an observer as mands rather than tacts. The results indicate that observer subjects cannot reliably replicate involved subject responses. The data further provide negative evidence for the assumption that observer subjects will regard behavior under conditions of high incentive as manding reinforcement, and suggest that greater incentive for attitude-discrepant behavior increases the perceived potency of reward in inducing actual attitude change.
Cardiovascular risk factors associated with immunosuppression in renal transplantation

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among renal transplant recipients with a functioning transplant. The prevalence and severity of CVD in renal transplant recipients are related to numerous factors, most shared with the general population and others specific to transplant recipients, including effects of kidney dysfunction and immunosuppressive drugs. Modern immunosuppressive regimens have allowed a decrease in the dose of corticosteroids, which markedly increase cardio-vascular risk. However, each of the 3 agents commonly used as the base for immunosuppressive regimens, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, and sirolimus, may contribute significantly to 1 or more cardio-vascular risk factors that are already of substantial concern in this population. Cyclosporine has been associated with the greatest hypertensive effect; tacrolimus, with the greatest impact on diabetes and glycemic control; and sirolimus, with the greatest impact on lipid profiles. This review highlights the major causes of CVD in renal transplant recipients, with particular attention to hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, and evaluates the contribution of immunosuppressive agents to cardiovascular risk.
Insulin in the brain: a hormonal regulator of energy balance.

I. Introduction EARLY studies of brain glucose metabolism established the axiom that insulin is not required for utilization of glucose by the central nervous system (CNS) (1). A corollary to this concept was the belief that circulating insulin is incapable of crossing the bloodbrain barrier (BBB) and is therefore without effects in the brain. While the first of these tenets remains unchallenged, the second has been subjected to detailed scrutiny for over a decade, following the identification of both insulin (2) and its receptor (3) in the adult mammalian brain. Early reports of relatively high concentrations of insulin in brain extracts raised the possibility that insulin is synthesized and released locally in the CNS, as had been established for several other peptide hormones (2). Recent investigations, however, indicate that “brain insulin” is derived largely from the circulation (4), and a growing body of evidence suggests that its delivery into the neuropil may be facilitated by a specialized BBB tr...
On the logarithmic stress singularities induced by the use of displacement shape functions in boundary conditions in submodelling

Submodelling of elastic stress concentrations is considered. In particular, the use of displacement shape functions in boundary conditions for submodels is examined. In general, at boundary nodes such displacements contain step discontinuities in their derivatives. These discontinuities are here shown to lead to spurious logarithmic singularities in the boundary stresses. Consequently, it is probably better to use an alternative to displacement shape functions in submodel boundary conditions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Choroid plexus histidine transport

System-N transport plays an important role in l-glutamine uptake into isolated rat choroid plexus but its role in the transport of another System-N substrate, l-histidine, has yet to be determined. Similarly, the possible effects on System-N mediated l-histidine transport of changes in pH and extracellular l-glutamine, such as occur in cerebral ischemia and hepatic encephalopathy, have yet to be examined. In the absence of competing amino acids, l-[3H]histidine uptake in isolated rat choroid plexus was mediated by both Na+-independent and Na+-dependent transport. The former was inhibited by 2-amino-2-norbornane carboxlic acid, indicating System-L transport, while the latter appears System-N mediated as it was inhibited by three System-N substrates but not substrates for System-A and -ASC. The Na+-dependent uptake had a Km of 0.2 mM and a Vmax of 1.4 nmol/mg/min. It accounted for 30% of l-histidine uptake in the presence of physiological concentrations of amino acids. Reductions in pH markedly inhibited Na+-dependent but not Na+-independent transport indicating that, as in liver but not neurons, System-N mediated transport at the choroid plexus is pH sensitive. Increases in l-glutamine concentration in the pathophysiological range reduced l-histidine uptake via both System-L and -N.
Development of portable fuel cell arrays with printed-circuit technology

Abstract Portable hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell power sources were constructed using printed-circuit board (PCB) technology. Multiple iterations of miniature planar fuel cell devices were prototyped, demonstrating fast cycle innovation and dramatic power density improvements in 200 W. The lightweight laminate PCB technology allows the best prototypes to achieve >700 mW/cm 2 area power density and >400 mW/cm 3 volumetric power density. PCB technology offers an intriguing platform for portable fuel cell development below 1 kW. Possibilities for on board diagnostics/control and further power density improvements are envisioned.
The Geochemistry of Gems and Its Relevance to Gemology: Different Traces, Different Prices

In colored gems, minor and trace chemical components commonly determine the difference between a common mineral specimen and a gemstone. Also, these components are often responsible for the color, and may provide a "fingerprint" for determining the provenance of the gemstone. The minor elements that are incorporated will depend on local geologic conditions such as temperature, redox conditions, and, particularly, chemistry.
Tip vortex effects on oscillating rotor blades in hovering flight

In rotor blade flutter studies, the airloads are usually estimated by the use of two-dimensional strip theory, and the effects of tip vortices and trailing vortices are generally neglected. The present paper examines the validity of this method of approach and gives results which reveal to what extent the assumptions made are acceptable. Compressibility and frequency effects are taken fully into account, but curvature effects resulting from the helical nature of the wake are ignored. The latter are assumed to be negligible when the frequency of oscillation of the blades is such that each blade of the rotor oscillates at several cycles per rotation. From the general theory developed, it is concluded that up to tip Mach numbers of about 0.8, the use of two-dimensional strip theory would not lead to serious error provided the blades oscillate at several cycles per rotation. This general conclusion is derived on the basis of a comparison of the downwash induced at points along the blade as given by the usual twodimensional theory and the corresponding values derived by an improved method which takes tip effects into account. In the more accurate theory, the two-dimensional mathematical model of the flow normally adopted is replaced by a modified version in which the trailing vortices are fully represented.