cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Toward Generalization of Bipedal Gait Cycle During Stair Climbing Using Learning From Demonstration

Lower limb assistive exoskeletons for rehabilitation is a growing field of study. They allow people with spinal cord injuries and strokes to stand upright and walk. Exoskeleton controls research typically focuses on trajectory generation, motion control over the trajectories, and balance and stability. This work focuses on the generalization of people’s joint trajectories climbing a single stair, for an exoskeleton to be developed for people of all leg lengths and be used on variable stair heights. The motion of subjects of different heights, ages, and genders climbing a single stair was collected using motion capture. By using Gaussian mixed regression and Gaussian mixed models, these trajectories were combined to build a model that generalizes individuals with different leg lengths, genders, ages and stair heights. The variability of the subject’s leg length is accounted for by tracking a marker on the toe of the subject and using inverse kinematics to calculate the joint angles. The analysis in this paper shows that joint angles can be generalized to climb various stair heights. In addition, an open-source database of motion capture climbing data and an open-source framework for generating joint trajectories has been made available for public use.
New Applications a Recent Research

The Kurzweil Reading Machine converts print to speech, and is designed as a reading tool for the blind and visually handicapped. The system handles ordinary printed material–books, letters, reports, memoranda, etc.–in most common styles and sizes of type. The output produced is a synthetic voice using full-word English speech. The reader operates the device by placing printed material face down on the glass plate forming the top surface of the scanning unit; he then presses the "page" button on the contol panel, and listens to the synthetic speech produced as an electronic camera scans the page and transmits its image to a minicomputer housed within the device. The computer separates the image into discrete character forms, recognizes the letters, groups the letters into words, computes the pronunciation of each word, and then produces the speech sounds associated with each phoneme. The machine operates at normal speech rates, about 150 words per minute.
Interference at Influenza Hemagglutinin Antigenic-Sites Determines Antibody Levels and Specificities after Repeat Vaccination

Abstract Background It is recommended that children receive a dose of the influenza vaccine at 6 months of age and a second dose the following season. In some years, the second dose will be the same vaccine formulation, in others years it with be re-formulated to include HA proteins derived from antigenically drifted or shifted circulating influenza strains. In addition, natural exposure to influenza can create permanent changes to the memory B cell repertoire and specificities. The effect that the specificity of pre-existing humoral immunity has on antibody levels and specificity after repeat vaccination is an ongoing research area. Methods We used a computational framework (ssMod.v1) to simulate scenarios that occurred during the 2009 influenza pandemic: children receiving a second dose who have previously exposed to the 2009 influenza HA antigen, children previously exposed to an HA antigen antigenically similar to the 2009 influenza HA antigen, and children previously exposed to an antigenically dissimilar strain. To assess the contribution of pre-existing immunity, two experimental permutations in the sMod.v1 were made: elimination of antibody-mediated antibody clearance of vaccine (HA) antigen by pre-existing antibodies and elimination of the ability of memory B cells to form germinal centers. In the simulation, 30 days after repeat vaccination antibody specificities were examined against 12 antigenically historical vaccine/HA variant influenza strains for each of the five canonical antigenic-sites and the subdominant, conserved, stalk antigenic-site. Results We found that elimination of antibody-mediated antigen clearance significantly increased antibody levels while elimination of the ability of memory B cells to form germinal center reactions significantly decreased the total antibody levels, but this was dependent on the antigenic relationship between the original vaccine and repeat vaccine and the particular antigenic-site. Moreover, highly-cross-reactive antibody was highest when the antigenic distance between original vaccine HA antigen and repeat vaccine HA antigen was larger and antibody-mediated antigen clearance was eliminated.
Seeing meaning even when none may exist: Collectivism increases belief in empty claims.

People often find truth and meaning in claims that have no regard for truth or empirical evidence. We propose that one reason is that people value connecting and fitting in with others, motivating them to seek the common ground of communication and generate explanations for how claims might make sense. This increases the likelihood that people experience empty claims as truthful, meaningful, or even profound. Seven studies (N > 16,000 from the United States and China) support our prediction. People who score higher in collectivism (valuing connection and fitting in) are more likely to find fake news meaningful and believe in pseudoscience (Studies 1 to 3). China-U.S. cross-national comparisons show parallel effects. Relative to people from the United States, Chinese participants are more likely to see meaning in randomly generated vague claims (Study 4). People higher in collectivism are more likely to engage in meaning-making, generating explanations when faced with an empty claim, and having done so, are more likely to find meaning (Study 5). People who momentarily experience themselves as more collectivistic are more likely to see empty claims as meaningful (Study 6). People higher in collectivism are more likely to engage in meaning-making unless there is no common ground to seek (Study 7). We interpret our results as suggesting that conditions that trigger collectivism create fertile territory for the spread of empty claims, including fake news and misinformation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Economic Adjustments from the Standpoint of External Balances

Present discussions of economic development often speculate whether the backward economies can utilize foreign capital so as to alter perceptibly and permanently their comparative cost advantages; and, if so, how intensive must be the impact of foreign capital for this to occur. Historical precedents indicate that foreign capital can be directly applied to expand certain types of exports. In addition to the past and present colonially dependent areas, the United States and Canada are often cited as outstanding examples. In these two countries, however, foreign capital contributed mainly to the expansion of exports of raw materials and agricultural products, while the elimination of the comparative disadvantage in manufactured goods was a long and complex process in which the availability of foreign capital was just one of many favorable factors. The circumstances surrounding economic development today are essentially different. The East European experience might help us to gain a better perspective on the timing and magnitude of capital imports necessary for a permanent modification of a country’s comparative costs. It would be especially enlightening to understand better what is required to expand the share of exports whose value depends mainly on special skills and round-about productive processes, rather than on crude labor and raw materials.
Young children's acceptance of within-species variation: Implications for essentialism and teaching evolution.

Abstract Neglecting within-species variation plays a crucial role in students’ misconceptions about adaptation by natural selection. Prior research on the development of this propensity suggests that this neglect is due to a strong early-arising essentialist bias to treat species as invariant. Across two studies, we examined the strength of this bias by exploring 5- and 6-year-olds’ and 7- and 8-year-olds’ assumptions about variation in contexts similar to those used in a recent early educational intervention teaching adaptation. In Study 1, children heard about fictitious animals’ physical and behavioral traits and their beneficial functions. They then judged whether all other species members would vary or be invariant on those traits. Across age groups, children showed a marginal essentialist tendency to reject variation. In Study 2, the same method was used, but all references to beneficial trait functions were removed. The 5- and 6-year-olds’ responding did not differ from Study 1, but the 7- and 8-year-olds’ acceptance of variation increased to above chance rates. Parental religious and evolution beliefs correlated with younger children’s responses but not with older children’s responses. Together, the findings suggest that under certain facilitative contexts children display greater abilities to represent variation than assumptions of a robust and inflexible essentialist bias would predict. By 7 to 8 years of age, children displayed autonomy from their parents’ beliefs and tended to expect variation. However, priming their teleological intuitions undermined their non-essentialist expectations. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed.
Buster Hill Chased His Dog

ONE AFTERNOON, Buster Hill reached a hand out of his front porch hammock and discovered the bulldog pup he had named Buster, after himself, was no longer there. He awoke with a start and found the pup was running across the front lawn. It stopped by the paved road in front of the house and stood on its hind legs. "Goddamnit, Buster!" Buster Hill shouted. The dog was dancing around eagerly, looking south down the street. Buster Hill looked after him through the unmoving shadows of the cottonwoods toward the hot dust of Main. A long blue Pontiac sedan with California license plates and a woman at the wheel slowed in front of Buster's curb. The door swung open a crack and, as the story goes, that bulldog jumped right in. The blue car sped off down the street. Across the street, Mary Carlson said it wasn't so much the dog barking that made her look up from her iced tea as the sound of Buster Hill lumbering past, grunting like a wounded razorback. The blue car signaled for a left turn onto the Baseline road. It turned again like it would double back along Grove toward Main. Buster Hill broke through Mary Carlson's white picket gate, goring himself as he leaped over the backyard fence. He ran limping through a parking lot behind the house. The car made a right turn onto Main Street toward the, highway. Buster Hill caught up to the car at the intersection. He bounced along beside the fender. He was shouting loudly enough that Deputy Ben Johnson and a few old boys scooted off their stools at The Cove Cafe. They watched through the new picture window of The Cove as Buster Hill was leaping sideways down the street, bouncing high alongside that car like a man on a springboard. He shouted at an unknown, dark haired woman, "That's my dog! My goddamned dog! My damned dog!" He was stricken. He spun around like a quick whirlwind had seized him in mid-air and then released him; his huge bulk heaved face first dead in the middle of the street. Deputy Ben Johnson hustled out of The Cove and made sure Buster Hill was dead. That blue car turned north onto the highway. Deputy Johnson ran off to wake Sheriff Meeker out of his afternoon doze at the municipal saloon. Sheriff Meeker stood for a long time over Buster Hill's immense carcass, still red-faced and sweating. Sheriff Meeker looked unsteadily toward the highway, muttering under his breath. He spat, turned, straightened up reasonably. He walked back across the street for the gun he had left on the hatrack at the saloon. He was still strapping the gun on, standing in the double doors of the saloon, when he stopped a minute, belted down a shot and tossed the glass back in to Delores Moss. When he reached the middle of the street, he stopped again. "Delores!" he shouted. "Delores! Fetch me them keys!" Delores Moss threw
Modulation of Interferon Receptor Expression during Combination βser-Interferon and γ-Interferon Treatment of Human Colon Carcinoma Cells

Abstract Combination treatment of SKCO1 human colon carcinoma cells with β ser -interferon (IFN-β ser ) and γ-interferon (IFN-γ) results in a synergistic antiproliferative effect. The role of IFN-β ser and IFN-γ receptor modulation was investigated as a possible mechanism for this response. IFN-γ (0.05–50 ng/ml) pretreatment of SKCO1 cells for 24 h decreased specific binding of 125 I-IFN-β ser by 35–60%. Scatchard analysis of binding data obtained following 24-h treatment with 5 ng/ml IFN-γ showed that this reduction in binding was due to a decreased receptor affinity (control cells, K d = 46 ± 1.6 pm; IFN-γ-treated cells, K d = 106 ± 6 pm, n = 2) rather than a significant change in receptor number (receptor number/control cell = 1214 ± 471, receptor number/IFN-γ treated cell = 1118 ± 153, n = 2). In contrast, pretreatment of SKCO1 cells with IFN-β ser (5 ng/ml) resulted in slight (10–35%) increases in 125 I-IFN-γ-specific binding. Scatchard analysis of binding data obtained following 24-h treatment with 5 ng/ml IFN-β ser showed a decrease in binding affinity (control cells, K d = 28 ± 7 pm; IFN-β ser -treated cells, K d = 38 ± 7 pm, n = 2) and a 32% increase in IFN-γ receptor sites (receptor number/control cell = 4257 ± 464, receptor number/IFN-β ser -treated cell = 5570 ± 730; n = 2). 125 I-IFN-γ internalization studies performed at 37°C confirmed the cell surface binding assays; IFN-β ser -treated cells internalized 30–50% more labeled IFN-γ than untreated cells. However, it is unlikely that differences in binding and internalization of this magnitude play a primary role in the synergistic antiproliferative effect of IFN-γ with IFN-β ser in SKCO1 cells. Biochemical modulation at sites distal to the ligand receptor interaction should be investigated.
Structural features which control folding of homologous proteins in cell-free translation systems. The effect of a mitochondrial-targeting presequence on aspartate aminotransferase.

When the precursor to mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase (pmAspAT) is synthesized in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate translation system (RRL), its properties are quite unlike those of the purified protein (Mattingly, J.R., Jr., Youssef, J., Iriarte, A., and Martinez-Carrion, M. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 3925-3937). These results suggest that molecular chaperones present in RRL modulate the folding of pmAspAT. To investigate the structural basis for this, we have used protease resistance to monitor the extent of folding for several related AspATs after synthesis in RRL and in wheat germ extract (WGE). In addition to pmAspAT, the following proteins were examined: the mature form of pmAspAT (delta 2-28 pmAspAT), its cytosolic counterpart (cAspAT), a chimeric protein consisting of the presequence of pmAspAT attached to the amino terminus of cAspAT (pcAspAT), and a pmAspAT variant in which the presequence and the amino-terminal domain of the mature enzyme are deleted (delta 2-57 pmAspAT). In RRL, delta 2-28 pmAspAT folds somewhat faster than intact pmAspAT, whereas the truncated delta 2-57 pmAspAT is unable to fold. In contrast, cAspAT and pcAspAT both fold with extreme rapidity. After synthesis in WGE, pmAspAT and delta 2-28 pmAspAT never acquire a protease-resistant conformation, whereas the folding of cAspAT and pcAspAT still occurs rapidly. We conclude that the presequence has only a minor role in determining the folding rate of the pmAspAT mitochondrial precursor protein in RRL or WGE and has no influence on the folding of the homologous cAspAT. Rather, the primary sequence of the mature part of the protein seems to dictate whether or how molecular chaperones regulate folding events.
Introduction to Discrete Event Systems

Introduction to Discrete Event Systems is a comprehensive introduction to the field of discrete event systems, offering a breadth of coverage that makes the material accessible to readers of varied backgrounds. The book emphasizes a unified modeling framework that transcends specific application areas, linking the following topics in a coherent manner: language and automata theory, supervisory control, Petri net theory, Markov chains and queuing theory, discrete-event simulation, and concurrent estimation techniques. This edition includes recent research results pertaining to the diagnosis of discrete event systems, decentralized supervisory control, and interval-based timed automata and hybrid automata models.
An Environmental Experiment with H2

A shift from fossil fuels to hydrogen fuel cells in the transportation sector will change not only the current infrastructure, but also the composition of the atmosphere and the abundances of greenhouse gases. The implications of a "hydrogen economy" therefore need to be investigated not only for its technological, but also for its environmental challenges. In his Perspective, [Prather][1] highlights recent studies, including the report by [ Schultz et al .][2], into the atmospheric consequences of such a shift in the transportation sector. Schultz et al . show that it is particularly important to consider concurrent changes in other transport-related emissions. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/302/5645/581 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/302/5645/624
Cyclooxygenase Inhibition Improves Endothelial Vasomotor Dysfunction of Visceral Adipose Arterioles in Human Obesity

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether cyclooxygenase inhibition improves vascular dysfunction of adipose microvessels from obese humans. Design and Methods In 20 obese subjects (age 37 ± 12 years, BMI 47 ± 8 kg/m2), subcutaneous and visceral fat were collected during bariatric surgery and characterized for adipose depot-specific gene expression, endothelial cell phenotype, and microvascular function. Vasomotor function was assessed in response to endothelium-dependent agonists using videomicroscopy of small arterioles from fat. Results Arterioles from visceral fat exhibited impaired endothelium-dependent, acetylcholine-mediated vasodilation, compared to the subcutaneous depot (P < 0.001). Expression of mRNA transcripts relevant to the cyclooxygenase pathway was upregulated in visceral compared to subcutaneous fat. Pharmacological inhibition of cyclooxygenase with indomethacin improved endothelium-dependent vasodilator function of arterioles from visceral fat by twofold (P = 0.01), whereas indomethacin had no effect in the subcutaneous depot. Indomethacin increased activation via serine-1177 phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in response to acetylcholine in endothelial cells from visceral fat. Inhibition of endothelial nitric oxide synthase with Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester abrogated the effects of cyclooxygenase-inhibition suggesting that vascular actions of indomethacin were related to increased nitric oxide bioavailability. Conclusions Our findings suggest that cyclooxygenase-mediated vasoconstrictor prostanoids partly contribute to endothelial dysfunction of visceral adipose arterioles in human obesity.
Tools for creating portable demonstration programs

This paper describes a collection of software tools called the csdemo package, which is designed to support development of interactive programs that can be used both as lecture demonstrations and as hands-on tools for increasing student comprehension. Because the package is based on a graphics library that has been implemented for a variety of platforms, the programs generated by the csdemo package are highly portable and not restricted to a single computing environment.
Impact of training on cytotechnologists' interpretation of gynecologic thin-layer preparations

This study determines the impact of training on the accurate interpretation of gynecologic thin-layer (TL) preparations. A workshop was developed, implemented and evaluated. Training materials were developed with the assistance of a Delphi panel. Sixty-six self-selected cytotechnologists participated. The experimental group consisted of 40 participants tested before and after an educational intervention, using gynecologic TL preparations. The 26 individuals in the comparison group were given the same pre- and post-tests as the experimental group, but the educational intervention was not offered until after the tests were administered. Data were analyzed using the t-test for independent and dependent samples, McNemar's test, point biserial correlation, and descriptive statistics. No significant difference in test scores was observed between the two groups. A correlation was observed between prior exposure to TL preparations and cytotechnologists' test scores. No correlation between experience and test scores was found.
Comparison of Self-Report and Performance Measures of Attention: A Second Look:

The present study examined the failure of earlier researchers to find relationships between the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style and behavioral measures of attentional processes. Data are presented which illustrate the attenuation in correlations as a result of improper selection of subjects. When this problem is addressed, the predicted relationships between subjective and behavioral measures of attention are obtained. Results provide additional evidence of construct validity for the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style.
Learning curves and lot sizing for independent and dependent demand

Abstract This paper explores the effect of learning curve cost behavior, as opposed to linear, on lot sizing. The first portion of the paper develops optimizing models for the independent demand situation. The second portion examines lot sizing for dependent demand, developing a lot sizing rule similar to Part Period Balancing. After examining the shortcomings of previous attempts at the independent demand lot sizing problem, two models are derived. Excluding material costs (for an assembly operation, the cost of all components), the optimal lot size is seen to vary linearly with demand and inversely with the carrying cost rate. When material costs are included a smaller optimal lot size is derived. The difference between the two, expressed as a fraction of the smaller lot size, equals the material/labor ratio of the last unit produced in the smaller lot size. For dependent demand, the incremental model developed by Freeland and Colley as an improvement on Part Period Balancing is used as a beginning concept. An analogous model, called Assembly Period Balancing, is developed for learning curve cost behavior. The decision rule for combining lots is expressed as a comparison of the material/labor ratio of the lot considered for combining with another expression involving the carrying cost rate, relative lot size and the learning curve exponent. Finally, cost data from an electronics manufacturer are used to examine the cost penalties of failing to recognize learning curve cost behavior. It is shown that optimal lot sizes for learning curve costs can be much larger than those obtained assuming linear costs. It is also shown that much larger lots can be economically combined in the dependent demand case when costs follow a learning curve.
The emergence of inferential rules: The use of pragmatic reasoning schemas by preschoolers

Abstract This study contrasts the pragmatic view with the natural logic view regarding the origin of inferential rules in conditional reasoning. The pragmatic view proposes that pragmatic rules emerge first, and the generalizations of these produce formal rules. In contrast, the natural logic view proposes that the formal rules emerge first and serve as a core that is then supplemented by pragmatic rules. In an experiment, scenarios involving conditional rules in different contexts, permission and arbitrary, were administered to independent groups of preschool children. To rule out the matching bias [Evans, J. St. B. T., & Lynch, J. S. (1973). Matching bias in the selection task. Br J Psychol 64, 391–397] as a possible explanation of reasoning performance, children were given conditional rules with a negated consequent. The results show that in the arbitrary context modus tollens (MT) was unavailable, and the use of modus ponens (MP) was unstable. In contrast, children in the permission context reliably used both MP and MT. In addition, they realized that a conditional rule does not imply a definite answer when the consequent holds. These findings suggest that, in their explicit forms, pragmatic rules emerge earlier than formal rules and in particular, even as basic a rule as MP is generalized from a context-specific form to a context-general one in preschool children.
Moderately concentrated solutions of polystyrene. I. Viscosity as a function of concentration, temperature, and molecular weight

Data on the viscosity η of moderately concentrated solutions of polystyrene are reported. Several solvents were investigated, including cyclopentane solutions over a temperature span between θU = 19.5°C and θL = 154.5°C. The data were analyzed in terms of a relation giving η as a function of αφM, where αφ is the expansion factor for the chain dimensions in a solution with volume fraction φ of polymer with molecular weight M. It is shown that values of αφ so determined decrease as ∂ lnαφ/∂ lnφ = (1 − 2μ)/6μ for φ greater than φ* = 0.2M/s3 for moderately concentrated solutions, where s is the root-mean-square radius of gyration and μ = ∂ ln[η]/∂ lnM with [η] the intrinsic viscosity.
Residual activity of selected insecticides for control of rice stink bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).

The residual activity of commercial formulations of carbaryl, methyl parathion, malathion, and acephate for control of Oebalus pugnax (F.) was determined. Rice was treated in the field, and panicles were removed at various times after application. Panicles were caged with adult O. pugnax in the laboratory, and mortality was recorded. Malathion at 0.56 and 1.12 kg (AI)/ha, methyl parathion at 0.28 and 0.56 kg (AI)/ha and carbaryl at 1.12 kg (AI)/ha had no residual activity 2 d or longer after application to rice panicles. Carbaryl at 1.68 kg (AI)/ha in a final spray volume of 93.5 Iiters/ha had a minimum of 2 d and a maximum of at least 5 d of residual activity. Encapsulated methyl parathion at 0.56 kg (AI)/ha resulted in greater mortality than carbaryl at 1.68 kg (AI)/ha. Acephate at 0.56 kg (AI)/ha gave the longest residual activity (minimum of 5 d and a maximum of at least 9 d).
Mass Media as Agencies of Socialization in Uganda

Could the mass media be agencies of national unity and development in Uganda, the current violent upheavals notwithstanding? This article, adapted from a historical study, shows that Uganda's mass media systems could not effectively play that role, given their structures. Socialization, the process by which people learn to be members of the human race and members of the culture in which they are born, forms the theoretical framework of the study. At issue, therefore, is the extent to which the mass media could be agencies of socializing Ugandans to a common culture whose central elements would be national unity and development. Ugandans have had control of the modem systems of mass media since 1962, when Uganda became independent of Great Britain. But those systems are yet to be reorganized in ways that could make them more responsive and appealing to a broader spectrum of Ugandans. What follows is an assessment of the systems' success or failure as agencies of socialization in Uganda in the context of their historical establishment and development.
Oxidative cyclization of bis(biaryl)acetylenes: synthesis and photophysics of dibenzo[g,p]chrysene-based fluorescent polymers.

Annelation of ﷿-conjugated frameworks has proved to be an effective way to enhance conjugation in ﷿-conjugated polymers by eliminating conformational disorder. Upon the basis of this approach a number of ladder polymers having small band gaps and intense fluorescence have been developed. 1-3 Similarly isolated fused polycyclic aromatics also serve as attractive building units. 4 Considering their rigid structures and symmetrically forbidden or weakly allowed transitions, 5 the incorporation of these units into ﷿-conjugated main chains would realize unique fluorescence properties such as small Stokes shifts and extended excited-state lifetimes. These features may allow for long-range, through-bond exciton migration, a key requisite for amplified sensing of ultra-trace analytes such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 6 using the molecular-wire approach. 7,8 As a proof of this concept, we have recently reported investigations of a series of triphenylene-based polymers. 9 As an extension, we have been interested to incorporate dibenzo[g,p]chrysene, recognized as a benzeno-annelated stilbene, into conjugated polymers. However, the conventional routes to this skeleton have been limited to only a few types of classical syntheses. 10 We report herein a conceptually new oxidative acetylene cyclization method that provides a facile and versatile route to dibenzo[g,p]chrysenes and a demonstration of the utility of the chromophore in the design of novel
The structure of the parietal pleura and its relationship to pleural liquid dynamics in sheep

We studied the parietal pleura of six sheep to obtain information on pleural structure, blood supply, and lymphatic drainage. In the strict sense, the parietal pleura is composed of a single layer of mesothelial cells and a uniform layer of loose, irregular connective tissue (about 23 micron in width) subjacent to the mesothelial cells. The parietal pleural blood vessels are 10-15 micron from the pleural space. Tracer substances put in the pleural space are removed at specific locations. Colloidal carbon and chick red blood cells are cleared by the parietal pleural lymphatics located over the intercostal spaces at the caudal end of the thoracic wall and over the lateral sides of the pericardial sac. In these areas the mesothelial cells have specialized openings, the stomata, that directly communicate with the underlying lymphatic lacunae. Cells and particulate matter in the pleural space are cleared only by the parietal pleural lymphatics. Compared to the visceral pleura, we believe the thinness of the parietal pleura, the closeness of its blood vessels to the pleural space, and its specialized lymphatic clearance pathways, together indicate that the parietal pleura plays a major role in pleural liquid and protein dynamics in sheep.
Self-Injected Retinal Emboli

Twelve patients with bilateral intraretinal talc emboli were examined. Each patient had self-injected large doses of methylphenidate (Ritalin) for one or more years. All fundi showed yellow-white particles in the macular area, and two eyes had reduced vision secondary to retinal vascular occlusion. The clinical syndrome, ophthalmoscopic appearance, and fluorescein angiographic findings of self-injected retinal emboli are presented, and the pathogenesis is discussed.
Deep percutaneous penetration into muscles and joints

The transdermal absorption of drugs and its subsequent deep tissue delivery is a complex process, with many factors influencing the penetration mechanisms. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used in the treatment of joint and muscle diseases. However, the dangers associated with oral medications highlight the need for alternative methods of targeting and retaining drugs; one such means is through topical delivery. The drug's lipophilicity, permeability, and fraction unbound found in the viable skin are some physiochemical factors influencing the delivery mechanism after transdermal absorption. These and other variables play a role in determining whether the drug reaches the deep tissues via direct penetration or from systemic redistribution. Pharmacokinetic models have been developed to help elucidate the penetration routes and efficacy for various drugs. While there are still uncertainties regarding the deep tissue penetration kinetics, improvements to current research methodologies may bring about a greater understanding of percutaneous absorption into the deep muscle and joints.
Effects of Silymarin on Aβ Fibrillization of Alzheimer's Disease

In recent years, research has begun to be conducted on the effects that the compound Silymarin, a component of milk thistle and a current treatment for liver ailments, jaundice, and prostate cancer, has on the neurodegenerative disease of Alzheimer's. These studies have shown promising results with utilizing Silymarin as both a preventative and protecting agent against various neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of this current research is to further examine these possible effects on formation of fibrils in the brains of those afflicted by Alzheimer's. We aim to examine if this compound has any effect at either slowing or stopping the formation of fibrils all together and if so to what extent.
Design and Implementation of a Framework for Assured Information Sharing Across Organizational Boundaries

In this article we have designed and developed a framework for sharing data in an assured manner in case of emergencies. We focus especially on a need to share environment. It is often required to divulge information when an emergency is flagged and then take necessary steps to handle the consequences of divulging information. This procedure involves the application of a wide range of policies to determine how much information can be divulges in case of an emergency depending on how trustworthy the requester of the information is.
Exploring Modeling-based Hypotheses in Preadolescent Girls’ and Boys’ Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression

In a community sample of 163 children (ages 9–12) and their mothers, we explored modeling-based hypotheses that may underlie how cognitive vulnerability components to depression (negative cognitive triad and negative attributional style) are transmitted from mother to preadolescent children. Results found mothers’ negative cognitive triad partially mediated the relation between mothers’ depressive symptoms and children’s negative cognitive triad. Moreover, mothers’ negative cognitive triad was uniquely and significantly related to children’s negative cognitive triad, after statistically adjusting for the effects of mothers’ depressive and anxiety symptoms in our full sample, as well as in a subsample of our mothers with more depressive symptoms. Most importantly, in our full sample and our subsamples with more depressive symptoms, the amount of time that mothers reported spending with their children moderated the relation between mothers’ and children’s negative cognitive triad, with significantly stronger relations found between mothers’ and children’s negative cognitive triad when mothers reported spending higher in comparison to lower amounts of time spent together. Our modeling-based hypotheses with respect to attributional style, and child sex, were not supported. Implications of our findings for further understanding of family-based modeling mechanisms of risk, and directions for future research, are highlighted.
Common sense about qualities and senses

There has been some recent optimism that addressing the question of how we distinguish sensory modalities will help us consider whether there are limits on a scientific understanding of perceptual states. For example, Block has suggested that the way we distinguish sensory modalities indicates that perceptual states have qualia which at least resist scientific characterization. At another extreme, Keeley argues that our common-sense way of distinguishing the senses in terms of qualitative properties is misguided, and offers a scientific eliminativism about common-sense modalities which avoids appeal to qualitative properties altogether. I’ll argue contrary to Keeley that qualitative properties are necessary for distinguishing senses, and contrary to Block that our common-sense distinction doesn’t indicate that perceptual states have qualia. A non-qualitative characterization of perceptual states isn’t needed to avoid the potential limit on scientific understanding imposed by qualia.
The interleukin-1β-mediated regulation of proenkephalin and opioid receptor messenger RNA in primary astrocyte-enriched cultures

Abstract Opioids have been found to modulate the function of the immune system by regulating the biochemical and proliferative properties of its cellular components. The interaction of opioid and immune systems, however, is not unidirectional, but rather, bidirectional in nature. In the CNS, one cellular target of immune system activation is the astrocytes, glial cells known to synthesize proenkephalin. We have recently shown that these cells also express the messenger RNA transcripts for the opioid receptors μ , δ and κ , raising the question of the functional significance of this opioid peptide and the related receptors in the astrocytes. That is, why do astrocytes express proenkephalin and opioid receptors, and are these molecules responsive to a factor to which the astrocytes could be exposed in vivo? Furthermore, do these molecules respond to this factor in a region-specific fashion? In the present study, in order to characterize the astrocytic opioid response to an immune factor, we examined the concomitant regulation of μ , δ , κ and proenkephalin messenger RNAs by interleukin-1 β (1 ng/ml =60 pM, 24 h) in primary astrocyte-enriched cultures derived from the rat (post-natal day 1–2) cortex, striatum, cerebellum, hippocampus and hypothalamus. Interleukin-1 β treatment was found to increase by 55–75% the level of μ receptor messenger RNA in striatal, cerebellar and hippocampal cultures, but not in cultures derived from the cortex or hypothalamus. However, the cytokine had no effect on the level of δ receptor messenger RNA in any of the five cultures examined. In marked contrast to its stimulatory effects on μ receptor messenger RNA levels and its lack of an effect on δ receptor messenger RNA expression, interleukin-1 β reduced to 10–30% of control levels the κ receptor messenger RNA levels in all cultures. Interleukin-1 β had no effect on the level of proenkephalin messenger RNA in cortical, striatal, cerebellar and hypothalamic cultures, but did significantly decrease the expression of proenkephalin messenger RNA in hippocampal cultures to 40% of the control level. Therefore, interleukin-1 β differentially regulated opioid receptor messenger RNA in astrocyte-enriched cultures in a manner dependent upon both the receptor type and the brain region from which the culture was derived. The cytokine also differentially regulated proenkephalin messenger RNA in a region-dependent fashion. These findings suggest a capacity for astrocytes to differentially regulate opioid peptide and receptor messenger RNAs in response to an immune factor, supporting the potential existence of a novel immune-opioid system interaction in the CNS.
Forest production dynamics along a wood density spectrum in eastern US forests

Emerging plant economics spectrum theories were confirmed across temperate forest systems of the eastern US where the use of a forest stand’s mean wood density elucidated forest volume and biomass production dynamics integrating aspects of climate, tree mortality/growth, and rates of site occupancy. As a tree’s functional trait of wood density has been used to refine models of tree competition, it may also aid in evaluating hypotheses of forest production such as declining growth and mortality across a spectrum of increasing wood density. The goal of this study was to examine trends in aboveground live tree production as related to mean wood density using a region-wide repeated forest inventory across eastern US forests. Using quantile regression, the 90th percentile of volume and biomass accretion was negatively related to the mean wood density of a stand’s constituent tree species. This relationship was strongest on forest sites with the highest number of growing season degree days, as growing season length influences the rates of stand development. For these sites, variations in volume and biomass accretion were most pronounced in stands with low mean tree wood density, which also demonstrated the highest rates of site occupancy and mortality. This study confirmed aspects of the emerging theory of “fast–slow” plant economics spectrums across temperate forest ecosystems. Stands with relatively low wood density appear to occupy sites more rapidly leading to a concomitantly higher rate of tree mortality, but with less biomass accretion relative to volume due to allocating biomass or carbon to a greater tree volume. In contrast, stands with higher wood density exhibited slower site occupancy due to high wood density construction costs, but with increased biomass relative to volume accretion. These findings highlight the potential application of the plant economics spectrum theory in refining our understanding of general patterns of forest stand production, the role of plant traits in forest management, and knowledge gaps such a shifts in tree allometry during stand development.
Prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography have multiple uncontrolled coronary artery disease risk factors and high risk for cardiovascular events.

Limited contemporary data exist on the cardiovascular risk of patients with prior coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG) requiring diagnostic coronary angiography. We examined the prevalence and control of coronary artery disease risk factors and the outcomes of 367 prior CABG patients who underwent diagnostic coronary angiography between October 1, 2004 and May 31, 2007 at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Mean age was 65 ± 9 years, 97% were men, and the mean time from CABG to diagnostic angiography was 8.2 ± 6.1 years. Hypertension, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, smoking, and obesity were suboptimally controlled in 70%, 59%, 47%, 33%, and 50%, respectively. Intake of statins and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers was 88% and 81%, respectively. After a mean follow-up of 1.4 ± 0.8 years, the incidence of death and major cardiovascular events was 10% and 32%, respectively. In spite of significant improvement compared to previous studies and good compliance with indicated medications, contemporary prior CABG patients undergoing coronary angiography still have multiple and poorly controlled coronary artery disease risk factors and high risk for cardiovascular events. Novel pharmacologic and behavioral treatment strategies are needed.
Optimal ballistically captured Earth-Moon transfers

Abstract The optimality of a low-energy Earth–Moon transfer terminating in ballistic capture is examined for the first time using primer vector theory. An optimal control problem is formed with the following free variables: the location, time, and magnitude of the transfer insertion burn, and the transfer time. A constraint is placed on the initial state of the spacecraft to bind it to a given initial orbit around a first body, and on the final state of the spacecraft to limit its Keplerian energy with respect to a second body. Optimal transfers in the system are shown to meet certain conditions placed on the primer vector and its time derivative. A two point boundary value problem containing these necessary conditions is created for use in targeting optimal transfers. The two point boundary value problem is then applied to the ballistic lunar capture problem, and an optimal trajectory is shown. Additionally, the problem is then modified to fix the time of transfer, allowing for optimal multi-impulse transfers. The tradeoff between transfer time and fuel cost is shown for Earth–Moon ballistic lunar capture transfers.
Increased inward current in septal neurons from the trisomy 16 mouse, a model for Down's syndrome

We examined the electrophysiological properties of neurons cultured from the septum of the trisomy 16 mouse fetus, an animal model for Down's syndrome. The passive membrane properties were not different between trisomic and diploid septal neurons. We distinguished low-firing and high-firing populations of neurons based on differences in the firing rate evoked during current injection. Low-firing neurons fired three or fewer action potentials, high-firing neurons fired four or more. The membrane currents of low-firing trisomic neurons were not different from those of low-firing diploid neurons. However, high-firing trisomic neurons had an increased inward current and conductance, and a greater inward-to-outward conductance ratio. The increased current and conductance were independent of the passive electrical properties. The increased inward current in high-firing trisomic neurons was correlated with action potentials having faster depolarization rates. This greater excitability among this population of trisomic septal neurons, coupled with a reduced excitation in hippocampal neurons, may compromise septohippocampal and memory function.
STUDIES ON THE VENOUS PULSE II. THE TIME RELATIONS OF THE VENOUS PULSE AND THE HEART SOUNDS.

This investigation comprises a study of venous pulse, carotid, cardiographic, and heart sound records from twenty-one men with normal hearts. The heart sounds were recorded by the method of Einthoven. When correction is made for transmission, the first heart sound begins, on an average, 0.131 of a second before the c-wave of the venous pulse, and has an average duration of 0.128 of a second. The second heart sound begins a few hundredths of a second before the v-wave and has a duration of 0.091 of a second. The third heart sound occurs shortly before or is coincident with the beginning of the h-wave. It has an average duration of about 0.03 of a second. Considerable variation from the average positions are noted in individual cases. This is especially true in the relation between the second heart sound and the v-wave. Measurements of the venous pulse and heart sound intervals show that the a-c, c-v, and v-h venous pulse intervals, the first to second and the second to third heart sound intervals, and systole tend to remain fairly constant in length when cardiac cycles of different length are considered. The v-a, h-a, and x-a venous pulse intervals, the third to first heart sound interval, and diastole tend to vary in length with variations in total length of the cycle. Records of the venous pulse and heart sound obtained from dogs show a similar relation to that found in man. The main difference observed was an earlier occurrence of the first heart sound before the c-wave of the venous pulse.
A NEW SPECIES OF ULMUS (ULMACEAE) FROM SOUTHERN MEXICO AND A SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES IN MEXICO

Botanical exploration in northeastern Oaxaca has revealed an undescribed species ofUlmus. A description and illustration ofUlmus ismaelis highlight its distinctive features. A dichotomous key summarizes morphological differences for allUlmus species in Mexico.
Why psychiatrists in India prescribe so many drugs.

Psychiatrists, though they occupy relatively high status positions, are nevertheless individuals whose motives and attitudes are in large part culturally determined and whose choices are culturally constrained. This paper examines cultural factors that may contribute to the tendency of psychiatrists at two general hospitals in northern India to rely heavily on multiple drug prescriptions and on electroconvulsive therapy (E.C.T.) in the treatment of their clients. What the author describes as an “epidemic” view of psychiatric pathology, the political economy of psychiatric care in India, the need to “sell” psychiatry as a legitimate kind of medicine by satisfying client expectations, and psychiatrists' relationship to other actors in India's pluralistic medical system are all presented as factors that encourage a reliance on pharmaceutical or somatic interventions in psychiatric settings.