cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Contribution of Lipid Layer Movement to Tear Film Thinning and Breakup

PURPOSE. To investigate whether the tear film thinning between blinks is caused by evaporation or by tangential flow of the tear film along the surface of the cornea. Tangential flow was studied by measuring the movement of the lipid layer. METHODS. Four video recordings of the lipid layer of the tear film were made from 16 normal subjects, with the subjects keeping their eyes open for up to 30 seconds after a blink. To assess vertical and horizontal stretching of the lipid layer and underlying aqueous layer, lipid movement was analyzed at five positions, a middle position 1 mm below the corneal center, and four positions respectively 1 mm above, below, nasal, and temporal to this middle position. In addition, in 13 subjects, the thinning of the tear film after a blink was measured. RESULTS. The total upward movement could be fitted by the sum of an exponential decay plus a slow steady drift; this drift was upward in 14 of 16 subjects (P = 0.002). Areas of thick lipid were seen to expand causing upward or downward drift or horizontal movement. The velocity of the initial rapid upward movement and the time constant of upward movement were found to correlate significantly with tear film thickness but not with tear-thinning rate. CONCLUSIONS. Analysis indicated that the observed movement of the lipid layer was too slow to explain the observed thinning rate of the tear film. In the Appendix, it is shown that flow under a stationary lipid layer cannot explain the observed thinning rate. It is concluded that most of the observed tear thinning between blinks is due to evaporation.
Isolation of transporting plasma membrane vesicles from bovine tracheal epithelium

Abstract A method is described for isolating plasma membrane vesicles from bovine tracheal epithelium. The procedure yields highly purified apical membranes which are enriched 19-fold in the marker enzyme, alkaline phosphatase. Contamination of this fraction by other organelles is minimal. Basolateral membranes isolated from the same preparation have a 4-fold enrichment of ( Na + + K + )- ATPase and a 2-fold reduction in alkaline phosphatase specific activity compared to the starting material. Assays of Na+ uptake by the apical membrane vesicles demonstrate their suitability for transport studies. Transport of Na+ into an intravesicular space was demonstrated by (1) a linear inverse correlation between Na+ uptake and medium osmolarity; (2) complete release of accumulated Na+ by treatment with detergent; and (3) a marked temperature-dependence of Na+ uptake rate. Other features of Na+ transport were (1) inhibition by amiloride; (2) insensitivity to furosemide; and (3) anion-dependence of uptake rate with the following selectivity: SCN − > Cl − > gluconate − .
Applying the uncertainty principle to immunology

“Predictions are very difficult, particularly about the future” –Niels Bohr 1885–1962 Immunologists have gone to extraordinary efforts to categorize immune cells according to inflexible taxonomic principles similar to those applied by Linnaeus to catalog animals and plant. Whether circulating in the blood or infiltrating tissues, immune cells are assigned to individual taxa according to highly differentiated and inflexible properties carried through cell-to-cell contact or the production of soluble factors.
Mapping Service Level Agreements in 3-tier settings

A telecom operator ("service provider", SP) offers various services to subscribed customers by partnering with various third party providers ("content provider", CP). The SP acts as a liaison between subscribers and partners. One of the main functions of the SP, therefore, is to match the "demand" of the subscribers with the "supply" of the CPs. Such a matching is a prerequisite for efficient service selection while ensuring customer satisfaction, and is useful for optimisation, such as resource allocation and load balancing. The "demand" requirements and "supply" guarantees can be concretized using service level agreements (SLAs). SLAs can be expressed formally using standards such as WSLA or WS-Agreement. We present a system that automates the task of finding a matching between these two sets, subscriber-SP and SP-CP, of SLAs. First, the SLAs are normalised to a common denominator, then composed if required, and finally the matching engine computes and outputs the map. The matching algorithm, which is of central importance, compares logical expressions involving predicates. The logical expressions are first converted into CNF-form, and instead of naive O(m times n) comparisons, we develop a more efficient approach to solve the problem. As a proof-of-concept, we have implemented a prototype as an Eclipse plugin
AN EXISTING, ECOLOGICALLY-SUCCESSFUL GENUS OF COLLECTIVELY INTELLIGENT ARTIFICIAL CREATURES

People sometimes worry about the Singularity (Vinge 1993, Kurzweil 2005), or about the world being taken over by articially intelligent robots. I believe the risks of these are very small. However, few people recognize that we already share our world with articial creatures that participate as intelligent agents in our society: corporations. Our planet is inhabited by two distinct kinds of intelligent beings | individual humans and corporate entities | whose natures and interests are intimately linked. To co-exist well, we need to nd ways to dene the rights and responsibilities of both individual humans and corporate entities, and to nd ways to ensure that corporate entities behave as responsible members of society.
Detection of Pediococci and Other Nonstarter Organisms in American Cheddar Cheese

Abstract Seventeen aging Cheddar cheese samples were examined for Pediococcus and other nonstarter culture organisms. Very few pediococci were found; of 71 isolates identified 4 were Pediococcus and 67 were Lactobacillus . All of the Pediococcus and 30 of the Lactobacillus isolates contained from one to four plasmids. Bacteriocin production was found in 55% of the Lactobacillus but in none of the Pediococcus isolates; this may have accounted for the paucity of Pediococcus in the cheese samples.
Changing Unethical Organizational Behavior

W A / hat are the implications of Hamlet's question in the context of organizational ethics? What does it mean to be ethical in an organizational context? Should one suffer the slings and arrows of unethical organizational behavior? Should one try to take arms against unethical behaviors and by opposing, end them? The consequences of addressing organizational ethics issues can be unpleasant. One can be punished or fired; one's career can suffer, or one can be disliked, considered an outsider. It may take courage to oppose unethical and lead ethical organizational behavior. How can one address organizational ethics issues? Paul Tillich, in his book The Courage to Be, recognized, as Hamlet did, that dire consequences can result from standing up to and opposing unethical behavior. Tillich identified two approaches: being as an individual and being as a part of a group.' In an organizational context, these two approaches can be interpreted as follows: (1) Being as an individual can mean intervening to end unethical organizational behaviors by working against others and the organizations performing the unethical behaviors; and (2) being as a part can mean leading an ethical organizational change by working with others and the organization. These approaches are not mutually exclusive; rather, depending on the individual, the organization, the relationships, and the situation, one or both of these approaches may be appropriate for addressing ethical issues. Being as an Individual
Rifampin is safe for treatment of pruritus due to chronic cholestasis: a meta-analysis of prospective randomized-controlled trials.

Abstract: Objectives: To determine the safety and efficacy of rifampin for treatment of pruritus associated with cholestasis due to chronic liver disease. Methods: Medical literature was searched systematically using keywords as rifampicin, rifampin, rifamycin, cholestasis, pruritus, itching, and liver disease. Trials that compared the efficacy of rifampin with placebo/alternative for treatment of pruritus due to chronic cholestasis were selected for analysis. Primary outcomes were resolution of pruritus and development of side effects. Association was measured with the odds ratio (OR). Breslow–Day method was used to treat for homogeneity under null hypothesis that OR was consistent across all the trials. Corrected Mantel–Haenszel χ2 test was used to test if OR differed systematically from value of 1. Results: Five prospective randomized-controlled cross-over trials with 61 patients were identified. Treatment with rifampin led to complete or partial resolution of pruritus in 47 (77%) patients as compared with 12(20%) treated with placebo or alternative (OR 15.2, 95% confidence interval 5.2–45.6, P=0.001). Four (7%) patients treated with rifampin suffered side effects, which resolved after its discontinuation. There was no incidence of hepatotoxicity. Test of heterogeneity for primary end points among the trials was not significant (P=0.16). Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that rifampin is safe and effective for treatment of pruritus due to chronic cholestasis. This analysis also suggests that use of rifampin for short duration is associated with a low risk of hepatotoxicity.
Social Representations of AIDS: Pictures in Abnormal Psychology Textbooks, 1984–20051

We identified 129 pictures relating to AIDS/HIV in 94 abnormal psychology textbooks published between 1984 and 2005. Pictures included 189 persons with AIDS/HIV status or risk and 134 AIDS-related objects; they appeared in chapters on stress, sexual issues, substance abuse, and organic brain disorders. Individuals depicted were overwhelmingly male, White, adult, of unspecified sexual orientation, and undiagnosed with mental disorder. The most frequent AIDS-related objects were signs and posters, hospital furnishings, and drug paraphernalia. Thematic motifs across pictures included patient, information source, junkie, support group, celebrity, child victim, protesters, memorials, condom dispensary, and viral attack. Images of AIDS continue to invoke concepts of “the Other,” death, victimization, and culpability. It is difficult to discuss AIDS without accessing its stereotypes.
Including emergency and acute care as a global health priority

A recent important global meeting to set the international action agenda concerning non-communicable diseases (NCDs) failed to draw substantial attention from the emergency medical and surgical community. Advocacy efforts on the part of emergency clinicians should be increased to highlight the critical services we provide and create an approach to addressing NCDs with the most effective balance of preventive and acute care services. Acute care, which encompasses all frontline treatment services for sudden or unexpected injury or illness, can serve as a focal point for the development of the common language and body of research needed to draw the attention of global leaders and policy makers.
Thermal origin of mid‐plate hot‐spot swells

Summary. Additional evidence supports the idea that thc shallow rises surrounding mid-plate, hot-spot volcanoes are caused by a broad-scale reheating of the lithosphere above hot-spots. Firstly, as required by the reheating concept, the rises appear to be supported by a density deficiency within the normal thickness of the lithosphere. The gravity anomalies over the Bermuda, Cape Verde, Hawaii and Cook-Austral swells indicate that the compensation of these swclls is only 40 to 100 km deep. The geoid anomaly over the Hawaiian swell is consistent with these depths. Secondly, as also required by the reheating concept; swells and the volcanoes formed on swells subside at the same rate as younger, hotter lithosphere which is at the same ocean depth. Almost all mid-plate swells rise to an ocean depth of 4250 ni, the depth of normal 25 Myr-old lithosphere. The llawaiian Swell, Emperor Guyots, Cook-Austral Swell and Bikini and Enewetok Atolls all subside as 25 Myr-old lithosphere subsides.
In Vivo and protease-activated receptor-1-mediated platelet activation in patients presenting for cardiac catheterization

Pathways of platelet activation that are not targeted by current antithrombotic therapy may be crucial for the development of ischemic events in patients undergoing coronary angiography. We therefore investigated whether in vivo and thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP)-stimulated platelet activation and monocyte-platelet aggregate (MPA) levels can serve as independent risk markers for adverse outcomes in aspirin-treated patients presenting for cardiac catheterization. In vivo and TRAP-stimulated platelet surface P-selectin, activated glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GPIIb/IIIa) and MPA levels were determined in 682 consecutive patients undergoing cardiac catheterization and in 47 healthy controls. Two-year follow-up data were obtained from 562 patients. In vivo platelet surface P-selectin, activated GPIIb/IIIa and MPA levels were significantly higher in patients with angiographically-proven coronary artery disease than in healthy controls (all p≤0.02). Patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS; n=125) had significantly higher levels of in vivo MPA than patients without ACS (n=437; p=0.01). In the overall study population (n=562) the surface expression of P-selectin and activated GPIIb/IIIa, and the levels of MPA in vivo and in response to TRAP were similar in patients without and with subsequent ischemic events (all p>0.05). Similar results were obtained when only patients with angiographically-proven coronary artery disease (n=459), stent implantation (n=205) or ACS (n=125) were analyzed. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses did not reveal cut-off values for P-selectin, activated GPIIb/IIIa, and MPA levels for the prediction of ischemic events. In conclusion, in vivo and TRAP-stimulated platelet activation and MPA levels did not predict adverse ischemic outcomes in aspirin-treated patients presenting for cardiac catheterization.
Application of genetic algorithm in optimization of advanced photovoltaic devices

The primary goal of multijunction solar cell design is to maximize the output power for a given solar spectrum. The construction of multijunction cells places the individual junction layers in series, thereby limiting the overall output current to that of the junction layer producing the lowest current. The solution to optimizing a multijunction design involves both the design of individual junction layers which produce an optimum output power and the design of a series-stacked configuration of these junction layers which yields the highest possible overall output current. This paper demonstrates the use of Genetic Algorithm in a two-part process to refine a given multijunction solar cell design for near-optimal output power for a desired light spectrum.
Application of relevance vector regression model based on sparse bayesian learning to long-term electricity demand forecasting

In electric power system, long term peak load forecasting plays an important role in terms of policy planning and budget allocation. The planning of power system expansion project starts with the forecasting of anticipated load requirement. Accurate forecasting method can be helpful in developing power supply strategy and development plan, especially for developing countries where the demand is increased with dynamic and high growth rate. This paper proposes a peak load forecasting model using relevance vector machine (RVM), which is based on a probabilistic Bayesian learning framework with an appropriate prior that results in a sparse representation. The most compelling feature of the RVM is, while capable of generalization performance comparable to an equivalent support vector machine (SVM), that it typically utilizes dramatically fewer kernel functions. The proposed method has been tested on a practical power system, and the result indicates the effectiveness of such forecasting model.
Requirements for graphical front ends for visual languages

Although great progress has been made in the development of visual languages, little attention has been paid to how diagrams in such languages should be entered into computers. This issue will have a great impact, however, on users' acceptance of visual languages. We present an analysis of the features of visual languages influencing diagram entry, and also the results of an experiment comparing users' performance on different types of diagram editors. This data is then used to suggest design guidelines for usable visual language front ends. >
RBI: Simultaneous Placement and Routing Optimization Technique

The main goal of this paper is to develop deeper insights into viable placement-level optimization of routing. Two primary contributions are made. First, an experimental framework in which the viability of "predictive" or "probabilistic" models of routing congestion for optimization during detailed placement can be evaluated is developed. The main criterion of consideration in these experiments is how (un)reliably various models from the literature detect routing hot spots. It was concluded that such models appear to be too unreliable for detailed placement optimization. Second, motivated by the first result, a single combinatorial framework in which cell placement and "exact" routing structures are captured and optimized is presented; the framework relies on the "trunk decomposition" of global routing structures, and optimization is performed by generalization of the "optimal interleaving" algorithm. An implementation of this framework is studied in the field-programmable gate array domain. The technique can reduce the number of channels at maximum density by more than 60% on average with maximum reduction of more than 81% for optimized global routing taking only 75% of the Versatile Place and Route (VPR) placement and routing runtime combined. For the standard cell domain, routing-based interleaving, on average, reduces the maximum track count by more than two tracks with a maximum reduction of nine tracks
Milk Lipoprotein Lipases: A Review

Lipoprotein lipase activity has been found in the milks from severals species where it is assumed to result from leakage from the mammary gland into milk. The function of the enzyme in the gland is apparently to assist in the transfer of blood lipoprotein triacylglycerol fatty acids into milk triacylglycerols. Bovine skim milk is one of the richest sources of lipoprotein lipase and this enzyme has been purified extensively (7000 fold) by affinity chromatography. The lipase has a molecular weight of about 62000, is inhibited by protamine sulfate, 1.0 M sodium chloride, apolipoprotein C-I (apolipoprotein-serine), and apolipoprotein C-III (apolipoprotein-alanine). The enzyme is activated by apolipoprotein C-II (apolipoprotein-glutamic acid), serum, and by heparin to which it also binds. The lipase is highly specific for the primary esters of acylglycerols and exhibits a slight stereospecificity for the sn-1 ester in preference to the sn-3-ester. Bovine milk also has separate activity toward 1-monoacylglycerols. Human milk contains a serum stimulated lipoprotein lipase with many of the characteristics of the enzyme in bovine milk, as well as an enzyme stimulated by bile salts which resembles the sterol ester hydrolase of rat pancreatic juice. The assay, function, purification, characteristics, and substrate specificities of these enzyme are discussed.
A new Brevibacterium sp. isolated from infected genital hair of patients with white piedra.

Summary A new aerobic gram-positive non-sporeforming bacillus has been isolated from infected genital hair of patients with white piedra in association with Trichosporon beigelii. This species has been characterised morphologically, nutritionally, by DNA base composition, cell-wall analysis and cellular fatty-acid profile on the basis of 14 isolates. The G + C content of DNA is 63·05 mol%. Cell walls possess meso-diaminopimelic acid (Type IV) and the sugars glucose, galactose, xylose and ribose; mycolic acids are not present. The species has a distinct colonial and microscopic morphology, is strongly proteolytic and produces methanethiol. These findings and the cellular fatty-acid profile are compatible with the genus Brevibacterium. A new species is proposed based on the following characters: Colonial and microscopic growth and morphology; conditions for rod-to-coccus cycle; ribose utilisation; and tellurite reduction. The type strain has been named Brevibacterium mcbrellneri E2cr (ATCC 49030). The strong proteolytic properties may be the mechanism of pathogenesis.
General Ali Fuat Cebesoy and the Kronstadt Revolt (1921): A Footnote to History

The revolt of the Red sailors at the Kronstadt naval base near Petrograd, 1–18 March 1921, constituted a major threat to the new, unstable, and economically destitute Soviet regime in Russia. Although other uprisings against Soviet power had been successfully suppressed, this revolt of the Red sailors, among the foremost supporters of the Bolshevik seizure of authority on 25 October (N.S., 7 November) 1917, was a severe blow to Soviet prestige at home and abroad. Because of their popularity, the government was apprehensive about depending upon regular Soviet troops to suppress the uprising. Its predicament has been substantiated, for the first time, by Soviet Marshal Ivan S. Konev in his ‘Reminiscences’, where he admits that some Soviet trainees and artillerymen refused outright to fire on their rebel comrades.
Korean Households' Clothing Expenditures by Categories

Demand equations are estimated for 10 categories of clothing expenditure using Korean Expenditure Survey data for 1996. Separate equations are estimated with total consumer expenditure and disposal income respectively as proxies for household income. Results reveal sufficient differences in sign and magnitude of regression coefficients between clothing categories to warrant the disaggregation of clothing expenditure. Of particular interest is the demand for Korean traditional costume, which is distinct in several ways. Results are of interest to marketers and others interested in further understanding the Korean market.
Generalization and Adaptation of Learning Strategies to Natural Environments: Part 1 Critical Agents

Educators have long been concerned with generalization of cognitive interventions. Typically, educators view generalization as a stage of instruction that follows acquisition of a new skill. In an effort to shed light on the problem of generalization with regard to learning strategies, this paper presents generalization as a concept that should be addressed prior to, during, and subsequent to instruction in use of a strategy. A model for generalization is described that emphasizes elements of remedial teacher-, regular teacher-, peer-, and student-mediated techniques for facilitating generalization during all phases of instruction. Studies that illustrate components of the model are reviewed, and future research needs in this area are identified. This article is the first of a two-part series.
Perspective on consensus studies in the absence of prospective trials

79 Prospective multicenter trials have become the Holy Grail of medical care. By providing natural history information as well as response to treatment we often find “What we knew” to be unture. Unfortunately true prospective randomized trials of adequate power are extremely uncommon. Nonetheless, the push to true “evidence based medicine” often points out how little we truly know about common disease processes. The lack of evidence based data, however, does not mean that we are not responsible for making appropriate clinical decisions based on analysis of risk benefit ratio with the best material we have available. That is why consensus studies such as “ Evidence-based review of recommendations for visual function testing in patients treated with Vigabatrin” remain important in advising the best clinic practice in the absence of true multi-centered trials. There is of course the possibility that substituting “eminence based “for “evidence based” medicine can be seen as equivalent or at least of equal weight. That unfortunately is not true since even experts are limited by their
Evenness of Cambrian–Ordovician benthic marine communities in North America

Biodiversity has two principal components: richness (the number of taxa) and evenness (the distribution of individuals among taxa). Both of these attributes are critical in defining com- munity composition and structure, but evenness may be particularly important for ecological rea- sons, especially in the context of a possible evolutionary increase in richness. Here I examine abun- dance data in well-preserved Cambrian and Ordovician benthic marine assemblages from mixed carbonate-shale and shale lithofacies deposited below normal wave base in North America. Even- ness increases significantly from the Cambrian to the Ordovician in these assemblage data. The increase cannot easily be attributed to differences in sample size, lithology, water depth, or other sample characteristics. There is relatively little variation in evenness among stages within the Cam- brian and Ordovician periods. Much of the within-period variance in evenness appears to arise from environmental and/or taphonomic differences that may exist between stratigraphic forma- tions, but some variance may also be ascribed to the degree of taxonomic and/or ecological overlap among dominant taxa. Specifically, assemblages that are co-dominated by taxa from the same class or order tend to have lower evenness than assemblages dominated by genera from different higher taxa, but the effect is not strong in these data. The Cambrian and Paleozoic evolutionary faunas show similar, but out-of-phase, patterns of evenness within assemblages. Both faunas have comparably low evenness early in their history but then increase to similar, higher evenness values. In the case of the Cambrian fauna, the increase occurs in the Late Cambrian or Early Ordovician. In the Paleozoic fauna, the increase appears to occur after the lower Arenigian.
You only get so many heartbeats...

These words, attributed apocryphally to Dr. Sam Levine, have been passed along through several generations of his “offspring.” As happened so many times, Dr. Levine's vast and encyclopedic clinical experience allowed him to anticipate and accurately predict what subsequently would be proven in
First Description of the Nest of Whitehead's Spiderhunter (Arachnothera juliae, Aves: Nectariniidae)

ABSTRACT We describe the nest of the endemic Whitehead's Spiderhunter (Arachnothera juliae) from Mt. Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, and compare it to those of the most closely related species, the Yellow-eared Spiderhunter (A. chrysogenys) and the Naked-faced Spiderhunter (A. clarae). The nest was found on 3 August 2014 in lower montane forest at 1,400 m elevation along the summit trail on the western slopes of Mt. Mulu. It consisted of a bowl lined with fine bark material inside a naturally occurring hanging ball of moss 19 m above the ground in a large tree. It contained no eggs, but the pair was observed carrying in nest materials on several occasions.
Can bedside patient-reported numbness predict postoperative ambulation ability for total knee arthroplasty patients with nerve block catheters?

Background Adductor canal catheters offer advantages over femoral nerve catheters for knee replacement patients because they produce less quadriceps muscle weakness; however, applying adductor canal catheters in bedside clinical practice remains challenging. There is currently no patient-reported outcome that accurately predicts patients' physical function after knee replacement. The present study evaluates the validity of a relatively new patient-reported outcome, i.e., a numbness score obtained using a numeric rating scale, and assesses its predictive value on postoperative ambulation. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study pooling data from two previously-published clinical trials using identical research methodologies. Both studies recruited patients undergoing knee replacement; one studied adductor canal catheters while the other studied femoral nerve catheters. Our primary outcome was patient-reported numbness scores on postoperative day 1. We also examined postoperative day 1 ambulation distance and its association with postoperative numbness using linear regression, adjusting for age, body mass index, and physical status. Results Data from 94 subjects were included (femoral subjects, n = 46; adductor canal subjects, n = 48). Adductor canal patients reported decreased numbness (median [10(th)-90(th) percentiles]) compared to femoral patients (0 [0-5] vs. 4 [0-10], P = 0.001). Adductor canal patients also ambulated seven times further on postoperative day 1 relative to femoral patients. There was a significant association between postoperative day 1 total ambulation distance and numbness (Beta = -2.6; 95% CI: -4.5, -0.8, P = 0.01) with R(2) = 0.1. Conclusions Adductor canal catheters facilitate improved early ambulation and produce less patient-reported numbness after knee replacement, but the correlation between these two variables is weak.
Systemic blood flow to sheep lung: comparison of flow probes and microspheres.

Discrepancies exist between experimental measurements of the systemic blood flow to sheep lung by use of microsphere techniques and flow probes on the bronchial artery. In these studies, we simulta...
Abstract A131: Molecular events associated with the anti-tumor effects of black raspberries in N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine-induced rat esophageal carcinogenesis

Abstracts: Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research 2008 A131 We reported that the feeding of a diet containing 5 or 10% freeze-dried black raspberries (BRB) to N -nitrosomethylbenzylamine (NMBA)-treated rats results in a 39-64% reduction in the number of esophageal papillomas when using either anti-initiation or anti-promotion/progression protocols. The molecular events associated with the effects of BRB on NMBA-induced preneoplastic and papillomatous esophageal lesions however, have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, 4-5 week-old male F344 rats were injected s.c. with NMBA (0.3 mg/kg b.w., 3x/wk for 5 wks) after which they were fed either control diet or diet containing 5% BRB until the end of the study (35 wks). Control rats were injected s.c. with a solution of DMSO/water (20:80), the vehicle for NMBA. Esophagi from vehicle control, NMBA- and NMBA + BRB-treated rats were collected at 35 weeks for histologic grading, and for microarray and Real-Time PCR analyses. Treatment with 5% BRB reduced the number of preneoplastic lesions (dysplasias) and the number and size of papillomas in the esophagus of NMBA-treated rats. When compared to esophagi from vehicle control rats, NMBA treatment alone led to the differential expression of 4,807 genes in preneoplastic esophagus and 17,846 genes in esophageal papillomas. Treatment with 5% BRB resulted in a modulation towards control levels of expression of 626 genes in preneoplastic esophagus and 627 genes in papillomas. In both preneoplastic esophagus and in papillomas, the berry-modulated genes were associated with regulation of cell proliferation, inflammation and receptor-mediated pathways. Twenty-five genes were commonly modulated (down- or up-regulated) by BRB in both preneoplastic lesions and in papillomas. Interestingly, several of these genes are associated with matrix metalloproteinases involved in tissue invasion and metastasis, cell-cell adhesion and with calcium signaling. This is the first report suggesting that berries might influence genes involved in tissue invasion and metastasis in the rat esophagus. (Supported by NCI grant No. CA103180) Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):A131.
ROBUST DAMAGE-MITIGATING CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES

1Abstract This paper presents the concept and a design methodology for robust damagemitigating control (DMC) of aircraft. The goal of DMC is to simultaneously achieve high performance and structural durability. The controller design procedure involves consideration of damage at critical points of the structure, as well as the performance requirements of the aircraft. An aeroelastic model of the wings has been formulated and is incorporated into a nonlinear rigid-body model of aircraft flight-dynamics. Robust damage-mitigating controllers are then designed using the H^-based structured singular value (n) synthesis method based on a linearized model of the aircraft. In addition to penalizing the error between the ideal performance and the actual performance of the aircraft, frequencydependent weights are placed on the strain amplitude at the root of each wing. Using each controller in turn, the control system is put through an identical sequence of maneuvers, and the resulting (varying
Targeting State Aid To Distressed Rural Communities

Recent rural economic problems have prompted some states to target economic development assistance to distressed rural areas. The most common way to target these programs has been to allocate aid based on unemployment rates. This may be a questionable practice, however, because the unemployment rate is a poor indicator of economic difficulty in many rural areas. This article assesses the strengths and weaknesses of alternative economic, social, and fiscal indicators that are available for allocating aid to distressed rural communities. It concludes with some specific suggestionsfor improving the effectiveness of state aid for distressed rural areas. Background information is provided concerning rural economic and fiscal difficulties in the 1980s and recent state initiatives.
A New Form of Hesperia Colorado Scudder (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae)

During the study of hundreds of specimens of the complex western species that takes Scudder‗s name of Colorado a few have been laid aside because of their conspicuously ochreous under surface. These specimens have been accumulated from several sources and many of them are from the catches of the older collectors, notably Bruce and Oslar, and from localities in Colorado. Typically the form presents a very distinct habitus but it is evidently only a form of Colorado occurring at intermediate altitudes. Its unique appearance, however, seems to justify a distinguishing name, and with this last addition a satisfactory treatment of this variable species seems possible.
Thermal diffusivity of orthopyroxenes and protoenstatite as a function of temperature and chemical composition

The phonon component of thermal diffusivity ( D ) was measured up to temperatures ( T ) of ~1000–1500 K from laser-flash analysis from four chemically distinct, gem quality single crystals and six cleavage flakes or mats of orthopyroxenes, plus synthetic protoenstatite. From electron microprobe analysis, Mg/(Mg + Fe) varies from 0.65 to 1.0 and Al, Mn, Cr, Ti, and Na occur as minor impurities. From visible spectroscopy, Fe 3+ content is small to negligible. From near-IR spectroscopy, hydroxyl contents range from ~ 0 to 600 ppm. Heating large crystals redistributes H + among various sites: thus, thermal history influences speciation. For Mg/(Mg + Fe) ~ 0.9, at 298 K, D is 1.8, 1.9, and 3.2 mm 2 s −1 along [010], [100], and [001]. For all samples, D decreases with increasing T. Roughly, anisotropy is independent of T , and unaffected by transition to the protoenstatite structure, which causes D to drop by ~10 %. Low-order polynomials describe D −1 ( T ) for orthopyroxenes. A second-order polynomial describes the dependence of D 298 on Mg content. Only 300 ppm OH suffices to lowers D by ~10 % whereas Fe 3+ makes D decrease more rapidly with T but coupled Al substitution has the opposite effect. Available heat capacity and volumetric data were used to calculate orthopyroxene and protoenstatite thermal conductivity.
Uniting Mountain and Plain: Cities, Law, and Environmental Change along the Front Range

Tracing the birth of Denver and its sister cities Colorado Springs and Pueblo, this book recounts an important chapter in the transformation of the United States from a nation of traditional agricultural communities to a modern, urban, industrial society. Standing at the intersection of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, Denver shaped the regional economy that grew out of the discovery of gold in 1858. As Denver grew, Colorado Springs and Pueblo developed economic niches to complement the metropolis. Challenging the idea that front-range entrepreneurs acted as conduits for outside dollars, Kathleen Brosnan explores the sources of their capital and how they invested it across the region, showing how they remained independent of the outside economy for over forty years. Market values influenced the region, but farmers, miners, state officials, and others created regulatory schemes and other quasi-legal systems to advance the interests of local communities vis-a-vis larger corporate interests. By linking widely separated ecosystems in the urban-based economy of the Front Range, Brosnan notes, entrepreneurs created irrevocable environmental change and restructured the relations of the region's inhabitants with the land and with each other. Hispanic and Native American people who had lived in Colorado since long before the gold rush found themselves marginalised or displaced, foreshadowing the subsequent surrender of regional industries to the Goulds, Guggenheims, and Rockefellers by the early twentieth century.
Perspectives for Adjuvant Therapy

Future trends in adjuvant therapy appear to be directed toward better selection of patients by more sophisticated and sensitive methods, improved selection and integration of adjuvant modalities, prediction of the toxicity associated with adjuvant therapy, and the introduction of new agents and modalities to treat minimal residual neoplastic disease.
Bisphenol-A and sleep adequacy among adults in the national health and nutrition examination surveys

STUDY OBJECTIVES To evaluate bisphenol-A (BPA) level and its relationship to sleep adequacy in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. METHODS A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted using 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey whereby data were collected using in-person interviews, physical examination and laboratory testing. BPA level was measured in urine samples and analyzed as loge-transformed variable and in quartiles ( 8 h); (< 5 h, 5-6 h, 7-8 h, ≥ 9 h). Linear, binary, and ordinal logistic regression models were constructed. RESULTS Loge-transformed BPA level was inversely related to sleep duration defined, in hours, as a continuous variable, a dichotomous variable (≥ 6, < 6), or an ordinal variable (≥ 9, 7-8, 5-6, < 5), after adjustment for confounders. Help-seeking behavior for sleep problems and diagnosis with sleep disorders were not significantly associated with loge-transformed BPA level in fully adjusted models. CONCLUSIONS Loge-transformed BPA level may be associated with fewer hours of sleep among U.S. adults, with implications for prevention. Further research involving diverse populations are needed to confirm these study findings.
A recurrent neural network for nonlinear control of a fixed-wing UAV

Application of echo state network (ESN) for the nonlinear control of a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is presented. The data required for the network training is generated using a validated flight dynamics model of the UAV. The ESN is used for both offline and online training. The offline training realizes the inversion required for the feedback linearlization. The online training is then used to reduce the inversion error that results due to the modeling deficiencies. The data required for the online training is obtained in real-time from the FlightGear flight simulator while the UAV is flying in the simulation. The FlightGear model of the UAV is based on the flight validated nonlinear model of the UAV. Results show that the ESN performs very well for the nonlinear control of the UAV with significantly less computational time and simplicity.
Input-versus output-oriented instructions on a compensatory tracking task : support for control theory

According to control theory, the purpose of behavior is to minimize discrepancies between perceptual inputs and internally generated reference signals which represent the desired or ideal state of the perceptual input signals. The present experiment was designed to test the hypothesis, derived from control theory, that input-oriented instructions, as opposed to output-oriented instructions, should facilitate performance on a compensatory tracking task. Volunteer freshman attempted to keep stationary a cursor on a computer screen, using a joystick controller to oppose a sinusoidal disturbance pattern. Subjects receiving input-oriented instructions did significantly better on early trials and, as a group, reached the criterion level of performance in significantly fewer trials than did subjects receiving output-oriented instructions.
High fidelity DSRC receiver model for ns-3 simulation using large-scale field data

Vehicle-to-vehicle communications (V2V) has attracted the interest of research community in recent years because of its potential to increase safety and efficiency of roads and make connected-vehicles a reality. DSRC based vehicular networks are already standardized by IEEE 802.11 which supports communication among vehicles and road-side infrastructures. Different safety applications need to be tested and validated for numerous road scenarios to show the benefit of DSRC based networks. Simulation tools come in handy where a sizable number of tests are required to substantiate the performance of safety applications. ns-3 is a network simulator that offers a rich set of libraries for modeling mobility, communication channel, and many other network components. Although ns-3 is designed for simulating Wi-Fi networks, some enhancements are still required to make the simulations more realistic for vehicular networks. Large-scale field tests reveal that some of the substantial details are missing in existing ns-3 implementation of physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layers that play a major role in defining the network behavior. This paper is a step toward an exhaustive and higher fidelity simulation of IEEE 802.11. We validate our proposed receiver model by comparing its simulation results with large-scale field data.
Optimized use of hemicellulose within a biorefinery for processing high value-added xylooligosaccharides

Abstract Wheat straw was used to produce xylooligosaccharides (XOS) for its prebiotic effect. Steam explosion (SE) pre-treatment has been used to separate the main components of lignocellulosic material: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. SE conditions used gave a cellulose recovery as solid fraction (91%) and a xylan recovered in the liquid fraction (LF) (36%). Previously to XOS production by enzymatic hydrolysis of xylan, the LF was subjected to a cleaning step with ion exchange resin to remove soluble inhibitors. The commercial enzyme endo -1,4-β-xylanase was used individually and in combination with β-glucosidase to produce compounds with a low degree of polymerization (DP2-DP6). The process achieved a conversion rate of 91% to XOS with 5 h of hydrolysis supplementation, whatever generated 8.9 g of XOS per 100 g of raw material.
An Approach for All in Pharmacy Informatics Education

Computerization is transforming health care. All clinicians are users of health information technology (HIT). Understanding fundamental principles of informatics, the field focused on information needs and uses, is essential if HIT is going to support improved patient outcomes. Informatics education for clinicians is a national priority. Additionally, some informatics experts are needed to bring about innovations in HIT. A common approach to pharmacy informatics education has been slow to develop. Meanwhile, accreditation standards for informatics in pharmacy education continue to evolve. A gap remains in the implementation of informatics education for all pharmacy students and it is unclear what expert informatics training should cover. In this article, we propose the first of two complementary approaches to informatics education in pharmacy: to incorporate fundamental informatics education into pharmacy curricula for all students. The second approach, to train those students interested in becoming informatics experts to design, develop, implement, and evaluate HIT, will be presented in a subsequent issue of the Journal.
Thermal Photonics and Energy Applications

Summary The ability to control thermal radiation plays a fundamentally important role in a wide range of energy technology. Here I review the development of thermal photonics, which utilizes structures where at least one of the structural features is at a wavelength or subwavelength scale, for the control of thermal radiation. Thermal photonic structures have emission properties that are drastically different from those of conventional thermal radiators. These properties lead to new application opportunities in energy technologies, such as daytime radiative cooling.
Designing Diagnostic Studies

Research and investigation are important components of the practice of pathology. Pathologists are mainly involved in two types of clinical research: diagnostic or prognostic. Diagnostic research is conducted to improve diagnostic procedures and tests with the aim of improving diagnostic accuracy. Prognostic research mainly aims to identify and quantify factors that dictate the prognosis in patients.
The Physics Underlying High-T c Superconductivity: Novel vs Exotic*

Abstract: The parent compounds of high temperature oxide superconductors are antiferromagnetic. The nature of hole excitations in the parent compounds is discussed in both the weak coupling or spin density wave (SDW) regime and the strong coupling, or t-J model limit. One finds that the hole becomes dressed by a cloud of antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations which describe the reduction of the staggered antiferromagnetic order parameter in the vicinity of the hole. In addition a twist of the spin quantization axis occurs near the hole. As the hole concentration x increases, long range antiferromagnetic order is suppressed with finite range spin fluctuations occuring in the superconducting phase. The nature of the hole-like excitations in this regime is discussed. One finds that as in the ordered antiferromagnetic regime, the one particle spectral function is dominated by two peaks centered near the SDW or Mott Hubbard upper and lower bands. In addition, there appears a third peak of fundamental importance in understanding the position of the chemical potential as a function of doping. This peak located between the upper and lower bands corresponds to a fully dressed quasi particle with very small weight z k which is populated by doping and can be probed by photoemission spec- troscopy. This split off band removes spectral weight from both the lower and upper bands and leads to structure of the photoemission intensity versus binding energy curve in the gap as seen experimentally. For increased doping the spin fluctuations are reduced in amplitude as the spin-spin correlation length becomes of order the atomic spacing. In this regime the Landau quasiparticle scheme is restored. It is argued that spin bags or spin polarons evolve smoothly from the weak coupling SDW to the strong coupling large U regime.
Laura L. Vidler, «Performance Reconstruction and Spanish Golden Age Drama. Reviving and Revising the Comedia»

Review of Laura L. Vidler, Performance Reconstruction and Spanish Golden Age Drama. Reviving and Revising the Comedia , Palgrave Macmillan, New York and Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK, 2014, xvi + 187 pp. ISBN: 9781137439758.
A Deeper Glimpse into the National Core Arts Standards for General Music.

The National Core Arts Standards in general music provide some exciting possibilities for music growth and understanding among our students. For those of us who are still unsure of how to read the ...