cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Burden of encephalitis-associated hospitalizations in the United States, 1988-1997.

Analysis of the National Hospital Discharge Survey data for 1988–1997 revealed a substantial disease burden associated with encephalitis in the United States: on average, there were nearly 19,000 hospitalizations (7.3 hospitalizations per 100,000 population), 230,000 hospital days, and 1400 deaths annually. For most encephalitis-associated hospitalizations (59.5%), the etiologic agent was unknown or not recorded; the most common etiologic categories among known causes were “viral” (38.2%) and “other infectious” (34.1%). The most common individual diagnoses with known agents were herpetic and toxoplasmic encephalitides (each associated with an annual average of 2100 hospitalizations). Human immunodeficiency virus infection was listed among discharge diagnoses for 15.6% of hospitalizations. Rates of encephalitis-associated hospitalization were highest for children <1 year old and persons ⩾65 years old. The etiology of encephalitis was unknown for persons ⩾65 years old significantly more often than it was for younger persons. The average cost of an encephalitis-associated hospitalization, as determined by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project for 1997, was $28,151, for an annual national cost of hospitalization of $650 million.
The radiation grafting of acrylamide to polymer substrates in the presence of cupric ion — I. A preliminary study

Abstract Medical applications for synthetic polymers are widespread. They are used as components of therapeutic or diagnostic devices, or tissue substitutes. Since the living body is largely aqueous in nature, much effort has gone into making polymeric biomaterial interfaces as similar to this environment as possible (1, 2). The covalent grafting of hydrophilic polymers to strong hydrophobic polymer supports is one useful and efficient way to deposit such a hydrophilic surface region. Polyacrylamide has shown evidence of being “biocompatibilty” (3), although some controversy exists with respect to its blood compatibility (4). Techniques have been developed for grafting acrylamide to other polymers via ceric ion initiation (5) and plasma polymerization (6). The study reported here is concerned with the radiating of acrylamide to polymer supports for evaluation as a new biomaterial.
Infiltrative basal cell carcinoma occurring in sites of biopsy‐proven nodular basal cell carcinoma

Over 200 basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) are biopsied and subsequently excised each year at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS). A focal infiltrative pattern developed in the region of the biopsy scar in the re-excision specimens of 20 cases out of approximately 400 BCCs (< 5%) examined histopathologically over a 2-year period. The patient population included predominantly male, elderly Caucasians (mean age 71), and all tumors fulfilled clinical and histologic criteria for nodular BCC at the time of initial punch or shave biopsy. No patient showed recurrence of tumor following simple re-excision with 2-3 mm surgical margins, with a mean follow up of 25.4 months after excisional surgery. These neoplasms had a more benign clinical course, possibly related to scar formation in healing sites of previously biopsied nodular BCC, rather than true aggressive-growth BCC. The authors conclude that a focal infiltrative pattern in a re-excision specimen may occur histologically as a scar-induced pattern which mimics an aggressive-growth BCC, but does not appear to have the same prognosis. We believe this is an important histologic observation, as recognition of biopsy scar changes in an excisional specimen of BCC may help to distinguish it from true aggressive-growth BCC.
Topological mass generation in four dimensions.

We show that in a large class of physically interesting systems the mass-generation phenomenon can be understood in terms of topological structures, without requiring a detailed knowledge of the underlying dynamics. This is first demonstrated by showing that Schwinger's mechanism for mass generation relies on topological structures of a two-dimensional gauge theory. In the same manner, corresponding four-dimensional topological entities give rise to topological mass generation in four dimensions. This formulation offers a unified topological description of some seemingly unrelated phenomena, such as two-dimensional superconductivity, and the generation of ${\ensuremath{\eta}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ and axion masses by QCD, and possibly by gravity.
Tubulin and Microtubules in the Early Development of the Axolotl and Other Amphibia

SYNOPSIS. Unfertilized eggs of the axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum , contain a pool of soluble tubulin accumulated during oogenesis. After initiation of cleavage the tubulin pool decreases somewhat and then remains constant through early development. Some properties of tubulin alter during development, but at least some of these changes are not due to changes in tubulin perse. However, the tubulin in axolotl oocytes, eggs, and embryos differs in some electrophoretic properties from tubulin in adult axolotl brain and testis. Equivalent differences were observed in Necturus maculosus tubulins. Heterogeneity of axolotl tubulins was confirmed by peptide mapping: Different patterns of peptides were formed by specific limited proteolysis of soluble tubulin from eggs and testis. The heterogeneity was more marked in the a than in the β subunit. Mobilization of soluble tubulin into the mitotic apparatus depends on the functioning of microtubule organizing centers after activation of the egg at fertilization. In eggs of the nc mutant axolotl there is a lesion in some step of activation, one effect of which is that even though the eggs contain an essentially normal pool of tubulin, microtubules fail to assemble, no mitotic apparatus forms, and embryonic development does not begin. These eggs can be partially corrected by injection of heterologous microtubule fragments, which elicit the mobilization of nc tubulin into arrays of microtubules, followed by initiation of cleavage and development to a partial blastula stage. The results of these experiments are discussed in comparison with other reports in the literature about the function of microtubule organizing centers during amphibian egg development.
The Cholesky approach: A cautionary note

Attention is called to a common misinterpretation of a bivariate Cholesky analysis as if it were a common and specific factor analysis. It is suggested that an initial Cholesky behavior genetic analysis should often be transformed into a different form for interpretation. Formulas are provided for four transformations in the bivariate case.
Psychiatric comorbidity in subgroups of eating-disordered inpatients

Abstract A variety of comorbid psychiatric conditions complicate eating disorders. Typically, emphasis has been on “dual diagnoses,” yet the impression of many clinicians is that such a focus is too narrow and that patients with eating disorders (EDs) often have multiple psychiatric diagnoses. To examine this possibility and to determine differences in the codiagnoses found within different ED subtypes, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Lifetime version (SADS-L) was administered to 20 consecutive inpatients admitted to an eating disorder unit. The mean number of psychiatric codiagnoses was 3.15. The subgroup of food-restricting nonbulimic anorectics had significantly fewer codiagnoses than the group of anorectics with bulimic behavior (2.3 vs. 3.8); the only patients with no comorbid diagnoses were in the former subgroup. The group of normal weight bulimics had an intermediate number of codiagnoses (3.2). The proportion of patients meeting criteria for any affective disorder was high...
Combined sugar yields for dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of corn stover followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of the remaining solids

A number of previous studies determined dilute acid pretreatment conditions that maximize xylose yields from pretreatment or glucose yields from subsequent digestion of the pretreated cellulose, but our emphasis was on identifying conditions to realize the highest yields of both sugars from both stages. Thus, individual xylose and glucose yields are reported as a percentage of the total potential yield of both sugars over a range of sulfuric acid concentrations of 0.22%, 0.49% and 0.98% w/w at 140, 160, 180 and 200 degrees C. Up to 15% of the total potential sugar in the substrate could be released as glucose during pretreatment and between 15% and 90+% of the xylose remaining in the solid residue could be recovered in subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis, depending on the enzyme loading. Glucose yields increased from as high as 56% of total maximum potential glucose plus xylose for just enzymatic digestion to 60% when glucose released in pretreatment was included. Xylose yields similarly increased from as high as 34% of total potential sugars for pretreatment alone to between 35% and 37% when credit was taken for xylose released in digestion. Yields were shown to be much lower if no acid was used. Conditions that maximized individual sugar yields were often not the same as those that maximized total sugar yields, demonstrating the importance of clearly defining pretreatment goals when optimizing the process. Overall, up to about 92.5% of the total sugars originally available in the corn stover used could be recovered for coupled dilute acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. These results also suggest that enhanced hemicellulase activity could further improve xylose yields, particularly for low cellulase loadings.
Mass spectrometric characterization of halogen doped polyacetylene

Abstract Mass spectrometry was used to investigate the volatile species given off when polyacetylene, which had been exposed to I 2 , Br 2 , Cl 2 , or F 2 , was heated in vacuo . A correlation of the conductivity of the samples with the amount of molecular halogen ions (X 2 + ) evolved was observed. These results are consistent with the present concept for the form of the dopant in the polymer. In the I 2 case, two sources of iodine in the (CH) x were found and these were related to the presence of I 3 − and I 5 − in the polymer films.
Characterization of Aerodynamic Performance of Boundary-Layer-Ingesting Inlet Under Crosswind

NASA has been studying future transport concepts, envisioned to be technically realizable in the timeframe of 2020-2030, to meet environmental and performance goals. One concept receiving considerable interest involves a propulsion system embedded into a hybrid wing-body aircraft. While offering significant advantages in fuel savings and noise reduction by this concept, there are several technical challenges that are not encountered in the current fleet and must be overcome so as to deliver target performance and operability. One of these challenges is associated with an inlet system that ingests a significantly thick boundary layer, developing along the wing-body surface, into a serpentine diffuser before the flow meeting fan blades. The flow is subject to considerable total pressure loss and distorted at the fan face, much more significantly than in the inlet system of conventional aircraft. In our previous studies [1, 2], we have shown that through innovative design changes on the airframe surface, it is possible to simultaneously increase total pressure recovery and decrease distortion in the flow, without resorting to conventional penalty-ridden flow control concepts, such as vortex generator or boundary layer bleeding/suction. In the current study, we are interested in understanding the following issues: how the embedded propulsion system performs under a crosswind condition by studying in detail the flow characteristics of two inlets, the baseline and another optimized previously under the cruise condition. With the insight, it is hoped that it can help in the follow-on study by devising effective strategies to minimize flow distortion arising from the integration of an embedded-engine system into an airframe to the level acceptable to the operation and fuel consumption before 2030. To achieve these demanding goals, non-conventional concepts are called for; but technology gap is too big that it requires evolutionary approach by focusing various concepts and technologies needed in the next three generations of aircraft, respectively named as N+1, N+2, and N+3. Noticeably, considerable reduction in each category of 1 is required in N+2 (relative to Boeing 777-200 and GE90 engines) and N+3 (relative to Boeing 737-800 and CFM56-7B engines). In this study, concepts for N+2 is our interest. A concept that has potential to achieve these metrics and has been under intensive study is the hybrid wing body (HWB) airframe with a tightly integrated propulsion system, see Fig. 1. The inlet is non-circular at the entrance and the entering flow, no longer uniform or free of disturbances, and is now carrying with it a boundary layer developing along the fuselage; the inlet is thus known as boundary-layer-ingesting (BLI) inlet.
Bumps in the road

I have two subjects I want to talk about today – one is on some historical experiences, and the other is about mistakes made in the development of high-performance optical systems, develop of functional requirements and flow-downs, identification of design approaches for an instrument, etc. One thing I'm working on relates to polarization and how it affects radiometry and the image quality of an optical system and so we’ll spend a little bit of time talking about that. Finally, though the HST failure has been widely covered, a few additional comments are probably also worthy of mention.
(Na + ,K + )-ATPase activity in tubular systems of mouse cardiac and skeletal muscles.

ATPase activity sensitive to ouabain was examined in both cardiac (ventricular) and skeletal (tibialis anterior) muscle cells of the mouse. Short-term fixation was combined with incubation in a medium designed to reduce artifactual deposition of lead phosphate. With incubation medium containing Na+ and K+, Pb3 (PO4)2 precipitate appears throughout the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of both cardiac and skeletal cells. The precipitate generally is heavier in the junctional SR than in network SR, although the two regions are interconnected. Ouabain (1 mM) eliminates activity in the network SR of myocardial cells, but only reduces it in skeletal muscle cells. The total ATPase activity of junctional cisternae of the SR of myocardial cells does not appear to be reduced by ouabain, whereas the activity of the terminal cisternae of skeletal muscle is substantially diminished. The use of an incubation medium containing zero K+ reduces the level of activity, but not consistently. These data suggest that (Na+, K+)-ATPase is present in the network SR of both cardiac and skeletal muscle cells, and probably in the terminal cisternae of skeletal muscle cells.
Chiral solitons from dimensional reduction of Chern-Simons gauged non-linear Schrödinger equation: classical and quantum aspects☆

The soliton structure of a gauge theory recently proposed to describe two-dimensional chiral excitations is investigated. A new type of non-linear derivative Schrodinger equation emerges as an effective description of the system that supports novel chiral solitons. We discuss the classical properties of solutions with vanishing and non-vanishing boundary conditions (dark solitons) and we explain their relation to integrable systems. The quantum analysis is also addressed in the framework of a semiclassical approximation improved by renormalization group arguments.
New results in strip Kalman filtering

The strip Kalman filtering previously proposed by B.R. Suresh and B.A. Shenoi (ibid, vol.CAS-28, no.4, p.307-19, 1981) for image restoration is reconsidered. It is pointed out that the procedure given there for parameter estimation of the image model does not take into account the vector nature of the image process and as a result can lead to incorrect identification. It is also shown that for the composite dynamic model derived there the standard Kalman filtering equation cannot be applied, as the blur states in this model should be estimated one step ahead. >
Diffusion maps and radar data analysis

Understanding and organizing data, in particular understanding the key modes of variation in the data, is a first step toward exploiting and evaluating sensor phenomenology. Spectral theory and manifold learning methods have been recently shown to offer sever powerful tools for many parts of the exploitation problem. We will describe the method of diffusion maps and give some examples with radar (backhoe data dome) data. The so-called diffusion coordinates are kernel based dimensionality reduction techniques that can, for example, organize random data and yield explicit insight into the type and relative importance of the data variation. We will provide sufficient background for others to adopt these tools and apply them to other aspects of exploitation and evaluation.
Preparation and aromatization of poly‐1,3‐cyclohexadiene and subsequent crosslinking. III

The polymerization of 1,3-cyclohexadiene with n-butyllithium has given white polymers with inherent viscosities up to 0.23 and conversions to 98%. Bromination and pyrolysis of these polymers lead to polyphenyls which can be successfully sulfonated. then fused in molten alkali to give phenols, and finally crosslinked with formaldehyde. The final products display good heat stability, in that there is no weight loss on heating to 400°C. and only 30% loss at 900°C.
Gliding arc discharges as a source of intermediate plasma for methane partial oxidation

Experimental study of intermediate plasma catalyzed partial oxidation of methane is completed and results are presented along with numerical simulations. To establish the best plasma parameters for industrial chemical applications like partial oxidation, the stability mechanism of different plasma sources is reviewed. Various kinds of intermediate plasma sources are discussed for their application to plasma-chemical processes. Diagnostics of gliding arc discharge: electron temperature, gas temperature, current-voltage characteristics, etc. is done. Different configurations of gliding arc such as the gliding arc in tornado and the plasma disc to enhance intermediate plasma properties are presented along with their advantages. Reverse vortex or "tornado" stabilization is used for methane partial oxidation catalysis. For applications where gas velocity is low or gas is stationary, plasma disc can be employed. Analysis of experimental results and comparison with nonplasma system is done to establish clear advantage of intermediate plasma catalysis for the partial oxidation process.
Lipolysis and lipid oxidation in cirrhosis and after liver transplantation.

On the basis of the finding that plasma glycerol concentration is not controlled by clearance in healthy humans, it has been proposed that elevated plasma free fatty acid (FFA) and glycerol concent...
Pathology of the Radial and Internal Thoracic Arteries Used as Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts

Abstract Background. This investigation compared the incidence and the degree of atherosclerosis present in radial artery (RA) and internal thoracic artery segments remaining after coronary artery bypass grafting. Methods. One hundred seventy specimens from 102 patients were histologically analyzed, including 106 RA specimens. Results. The mean degree of pathology for the RA was 0.89 on a 0 (none) to 4 (lumen completely obliterated) scale; the mean grade of pathology for the internal thoracic artery was 0.30 ( p Conclusions. Study of the excess RA and internal thoracic artery segments remaining after coronary artery bypass grafting demonstrated that the RA had a higher degree of atherosclerosis than the internal thoracic artery at the time of harvest. Overall severity of disease in the RA was low. The long-term performance of RA grafts will determine whether this level of atherosclerotic disease has any clinical significance. (Ann Thorac Surg 1997;63:1118–22)
Mitochondrial GFA2 Is Required for Synergid Cell Death in Arabidopsis

Little is known about the molecular processes that govern female gametophyte (FG) development and function, and few FG-expressed genes have been identified. We report the identification and phenotypic analysis of 31 new FG mutants in Arabidopsis. These mutants have defects throughout development, indicating that FG-expressed genes govern essentially every step of FG development. To identify genes involved in cell death during FG development, we analyzed this mutant collection for lines with cell death defects. From this analysis, we identified one mutant, gfa2, with a defect in synergid cell death. Additionally, the gfa2 mutant has a defect in fusion of the polar nuclei. We isolated the GFA2 gene and show that it encodes a J-domain–containing protein. Of the J-domain–containing proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast), GFA2 is most similar to Mdj1p, which functions as a chaperone in the mitochondrial matrix. GFA2 is targeted to mitochondria in Arabidopsis and partially complements a yeast mdj1 mutant, suggesting that GFA2 is the Arabidopsis ortholog of yeast Mdj1p. These data suggest a role for mitochondria in cell death in plants.
Languages for Specific Purposes Curriculum Creation and Implementation in Service to the U.S. Community

Community service learning (CSL) is a type of experiential learning that blends specific course content with real-world applications and ties them together through structured reflection. It is an ideal pedagogy for 21st-century language for specific purposes (LSP) programs. This article frames that argument around sociocultural theory, moves to a discussion of existing models, materials, and research, and describes the relevance of CSL and LSP to the contexts of higher education, communities beyond campus, and professional workplaces. Challenges to the implementation of CSL and LSP programs include resistance to interdisciplinary work, increasing dependence on income-generating models, and historical lack of campus-community engagement. The article concludes with a description of current needs and priorities, such as the development of models and standards for CSL and LSP, as well as an agenda for advancing the disciplines within institutions of higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Extensible programming with first-class cases

We present language mechanisms for polymorphic, extensible records and their exact dual, polymorphic sums with extensible first-class cases. These features make it possible to easily extend existing code with new cases. In fact, such extensions do not require any changes to code that adheres to a particular programming style. Using that style, individual extensions can be written independently and later be composed to form larger components. These language mechanisms provide a solution to the expression problem.We study the proposed mechanisms in the context of an implicitly typed, purely functional language PolyR. We give a type system for the language and provide rules for a 2-phase transformation: first into an explicitly typed λ-calculus with record polymorphism, and finally to efficient index-passing code. The first phase eliminates sums and cases by taking advantage of the duality with records.We implement a version of PolyR extended with imperative features and pattern matching - we call this language MLPolyR. Programs in MLPolyR require no type annotations - the implementation employs a reconstruction algorithm to infer all types. The compiler generates machine code (currently for PowerPC) and optimizes the representation of sums by eliminating closures generated by the dual construction.
Broadcasting Performance Comparison Among IVC MAC Protocol Candidates

Inter-vehicle communication (IVC) is essential for any intelligent transportation system implementation. In North America, dedicated short range communication (DSRC) protocol based on carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) was proposed. At the same time, in Europe, IVC implementation is based on R-ALOHA medium access protocol. In this paper we conduct a performance comparison between CSMA/CA and R-ALOHA protocols in a mobile environment while vehicles broadcast their messages. Computer simulation is used to obtain performance parameters such as delay, throughput, and packet delivery ratio. The results reveal that while the delay performance of both protocols is acceptable, the system throughput of CSMA/CA performs worse when being compared to R-ALOHA. Packet delivery ratio characteristics are also shown through simulation.
A simple protocol for radiation dosimetry based on the order statistics from a poisson process

In this paper problems associated with the sampling and estimation of the background gamma radiation dose-rate are considered. The work described herein has been motivated by the large sampling effort of background gamma radiation undertaken in Western Australia by ALCOA of Australia coupled with the absence of any definitive sampling methodology. Certain best estimators are proposed and results given which permit the construction of [optimal] sampling protocols for radiological investigations.
Structure-Property Relationships of Tin Dioxide Thin Films Grown on Sapphire Substrates by Femtosecond Pulsed Laser Deposition

The sensitivity of semiconductive tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) to reducing gases is determinedby the electrical conductivity change in the material. This change in conductivity strongly dependson the thickness of the electron depletion layer near the oxide film surface. In this paper we study the effect of crystal defects and interfaces on the electrical properties and the gas sensing performance of SnO 2 thin films. SnO 2 thin films with the thickness varying from 15 nm to 100 nm were deposited on sapphire substrates with different surface crystallographic orientations by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition. Films grown on the (10 1 2) sapphire (R-cut) are epitaxial, single crystal. High resolution transmission electron microscopy studies showed the existence of a large number of crystal defects including crystallographic shear planes and misfit dislocations at the film/substrate interface. Films grown on the (0001) sapphire substrates (Ccut) are nanocrystalline with (200) texture. The gas sensitivity of the films was measuredin a gas reactor at high temperature. It was found that the sensitivity to reducing gases increases with decreasing film thickness. Electrical transport properties of the SnO 2 thin films were investigated byHall effect measurements. Models correlating the microstructures of thin films to electrical properties are proposed.
Rich image capture with plenoptic cameras

The plenoptic function was originally defined as a record of both the 3D structure of the lightfield and of its dependence on parameters such as wavelength, polarization, etc. Still, most work on these ideas has emphasized the 3D aspect of lightfield capture and manipulation, with less attention paid to other parameters. In this paper, we leverage the high resolution and flexible sampling trade-offs of the focused plenoptic camera to perform high-resolution capture of the rich “non 3D” structure of the plenoptic function. Two different techniques are presented and analyzed, using extended dynamic range photography as a particular example. The first technique simultaneously captures multiple exposures with a microlens array that has an interleaved set of different filters. The second technique places multiple filters at the main lens aperture. Experimental results validate our approach, producing 1.3Mpixel HDR images with a single capture.
Initiation of somatic embryogenesis from immature zygotic embryos of Oocarpa pine (Pinus oocarpa Schiede ex Schlectendal)

Summary The focus of the current project was to establish somatic embryogenesis protocols for the tropical pine species Pinus oocarpa using immature zygotic embryos (ZEs) as explants. Somatic embryogenesis is best supported by mimicking natural seed–embryo developmental conditions, through a tissue culture medium formulation based on the mineral content of the seed nutritive tissue [megagametophyte (MG)]. A novel culture medium (P. oocarpa medium, PO) was tested in combination with different plant growth regulator (PGR) concentrations and compared with standard Pinus taeda media for the initiation of somatic embryogenesis from immature ZEs of P. oocarpa. Immature MGs containing immature ZEs of two mother trees were used with 12 and 8% extrusion rates for mother tree genotypes 3 and 5, respectively. In both mother trees the percentage capture was 2%. Multiplication of two captured cell lines (T5C2S01 and T5C1S12) was improved by lowering the concentrations of PGRs to 2.5 µM each 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and abscisic acid (ABA) plus 1.0 µM each 6-benzylaminopurine and kinetin. Mature somatic embryos formed on 40 µM ABA, 6% (w/v) maltose, 12% (w/v) PEG 8000 and 0.6% (w/v) Phytagel. While PO medium appeared suboptimal for somatic embryo induction, it did exhibit potential for enhanced culture proliferation and subsequent improved maturation with cell line T5C2S01, where microscopic analysis revealed better embryo morphology on PO medium than on 1250 medium. However, this enhancement was not observed with cell line T5C1S12. Germination was preceded by partial desiccation for a period of 2–3 weeks before transferring the embryos to germination medium. Germination was observed after 7 days under low light, and apical primordia slowly expanded after transfer to ex vitro conditions. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the production of somatic seedlings in P. oocarpa.
Bridging the gap: integrating cellular and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of the hippocampus.

The importance of the medial temporal lobe in memory has been studied extensively at the neuronal, neural ensemble, and systems level. In this report, we discuss recent systems level neuroimaging results in relation to neurophysiological studies of the hippocampus and related structures within the medial temporal lobe. By combining our knowledge across the cellular and systems levels we sought to gain theoretical insight and a better understanding of the function of the hippocampus and related medial temporal lobe structures. The integration of information from studies carried out at the cellular and neural ensemble level with studies at the systems level is difficult because of the vast differences in spatial and temporal resolution of the different research methodologies, differences in neuroanatomy across species, and differences in the types of behavioral and cognitive paradigms used in rat, nonhuman primate, and human studies. Despite these methodological and species-related differences, the neurophysiological studies offer insight into many of the questions raised by recent neuroimaging studies. For instance, there is physiological evidence that suggests that the hippocampal memory system is function- ally heterogeneous, which may explain some of the discrepancies in the location and extent of activation reported by different imaging studies of the medial temporal lobe. In addition, we describe recent computational models of the hippocampus which may be useful for bridging the gap between neurophysiological and neuroimaging data. Hippocampus 1999; 9:45-53. r 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Radiation doses from radiological imaging do not increase the risk of cancer: Author reply

To the Editor Quantifying the effects of low doses of ionizing radiation is certainly not easy, but it is probably not useful to broadly characterize studies whose conclusions are different from one's own views as “outdated, discredited, incomplete or irrelevant”. Dr Doss would like to translate his apparent certainty that low doses of radiation relevant to CT “do not cause any cancer” and indeed are “cancer preventative”, to advocate dropping two of the key contemporary tenets of radiological usage: justification and optimization. Central to justification is the concept that CT scans should be given if and only if there is clear medical justification. Central to optimization is that the lowest radiation dose possible should be given consistent with acquiring the required information. Clearly, if low doses of radiation prevent cancer, as Dr Doss believes, then optimization and justification would both be counterproductive. Over the past decade, there has been a markedly increased emphasis on both CT optimization (e.g. the Image Gently campaign) and CT justification (e.g. improved decision rules). In the context of what we know and, perhaps more importantly, what we do not know about low-dose radiation risks, it would be unfortunate if these improvements in clinical practice were lost.
Electrical control of the thermodiffusive instability in premixed propane–air flames

Abstract This work focuses upon the effects of DC electric fields on the stability of downward propagating atmospheric pressure premixed propane–air flames under experimental conditions that provide close coupling of the electric field to the flame. With the appropriate electrode geometry, modest applied voltages are shown to drive a stable conical flame first into a wrinkled-laminar flamelet geometry, and then further toward either a highly unstable distributed flamelet regime or a collective oscillation of the flame front. Applied potentials up through + 5 kV over a 40-mm gap encompassing the flame front have been used to force the above transition sequence in flames with equivalence ratios between 0.8 and 1.3 and flow velocities up to 1.7 m/s. Experiments are reported that characterize the field-induced changes in the geometry of the reaction zone and the structure of the resulting unstable flame. The former is quantified by combustion intensity enhancement estimates derived from high-speed two-dimensional direct and spectroscopic imaging of chemiluminescence signals. The flame fluid mechanical response to the applied field, brought about by forcing positive flame ions counter to the flow, drives the effective flame Lewis number to values suitable for the onset of the thermodiffusive instability, even near stoichiometric conditions. Possible field-driven flame ion recombination chemistry that would produce light reactants near the burner head and precipitate the onset of the thermodiffusive instability is proposed. Electrical measurements are also reported that establish that minimal electrical power input is required to produce the observed flame instabilities. Current continuity-based calculations allow estimates of the level of deficient light reactant necessary to cause the flame to become unstable. This applied-electric-field-induced modification of the thermodiffusive effect could serve as a potentially attractive means of controlling flame fluid-mechanical characteristics and validating combustion instability models over a wide range of equivalence ratios.
On analytical and similarity-based classification

This paper is concerned with knowledge representation issues in machine learning. In particular, it presents a representation language that supports a hybrid analytical and similarity-based classification scheme. Analytical classification is produced using a KL-ONE-like term-subsumption strategy, while similarity-based classification is driven by generalizations induced from a training set by an unsupervised learning procedure. This approach can be seen as providing an inductive bias to the learning procedure, thereby shortening the required training phase, and reducing the brittleness of the induced generalizations.
Green Tea, Black Tea, and Oolong Tea Polyphenols Reduce Visceral Fat and Inflammation in Mice Fed High-Fat, High-Sucrose Obesogenic Diets

Green tea (GT) and caffeine in combination were shown to increase energy expenditure and fat oxidation, but less is known about the effects of black tea (BT) and oolong tea (OT). This study investigated whether decaffeinated polyphenol extracts from GT, BT, and OT decrease body fat and inflammation in male C57BL/6J mice fed high-fat/high-sucrose [HF/HS (32% energy from fat, 25% energy from sucrose)] diets. Mice were fed either an HF/HS diet with 0.25% of polyphenol from GT, OT, or BT or a low-fat/high-sucrose [LF/HS (10.6% energy from fat, 25% energy from sucrose)] diet for 20 wk. Monomeric tea polyphenols were found in the liver and adipose tissue of mice fed the HF/HS diet with GT polyphenols (GTPs) and OT polyphenols (OTPs) but not BT polyphenols (BTPs). Treatment with GTPs, OTPs, BTPs, and an LF/HS diet led to significantly lower body weight, total visceral fat volume by MRI, and liver lipid weight compared with mice in the HF/HS control group. Only GTPs reduced food intake significantly by ∼10%. GTP, BTP, and LF/HS-diet treatments significantly reduced serum monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) compared with HF/HS controls. In mesenteric fat, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (Mcp1) gene expression was significantly decreased by treatment with GTPs, BTPs, OTPs, and an LF/HS diet and in liver tissue by GTP and BTP treatments. Mcp1 gene expression in epididymal fat was significantly decreased by the BTP and LF/HS diet interventions. In epididymal fat, consistent with an anti-inflammatory effect, adiponectin gene expression was significantly increased by GTPs and OTPs. Angiogenesis during adipose tissue expansion is anti-inflammatory by maintaining adipocyte perfusion. We observed significantly increased gene expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A by GTPs and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 by BTPs and the LF/HS diet and a decrease in pigment epithelium-derived factor gene expression by OTPs and BTPs. In summary, all 3 tea polyphenol extracts induced weight loss and anti-inflammatory and angiogenic effects, although the tissue content of polyphenols differed significantly.
AN UNUSUAL NEW GASTROPOD FROM AN EOCENE HYDROCARBON SEEP IN WASHINGTON STATE

Subduction-related hydrocarbon-seep carbonates in Cenozoic deepwater sediments in western Washington State, USA, yield fossil invertebrate communities that are largely endemic to these localized microhabitats (Goedert and Squires, 1990; Peckmann et al., 2002; Goedert et al., 2003; Kiel, 2006). An unusually large species of the deep-sea gastropod Abyssochrysos Tomlin, 1927 has been described from the oldest of these seep carbonates, which occurs in the Humptulips Formation on the southern slopes of the Olympic Mountains (Goedert and Kaler, 1996). New material of this species was recently collected at this site and shows that this species has a deep notch and a selenizone at the base of the outer lip, a feature that is very unusual among living gastropods, and unknown from Abyssochrysos . This feature is also present on two gastropod specimens, found in the collection of the Burke Museum (UWBM) that are, according to the label, from the Humptulips area but without detailed locality information. Stable isotope analysis of the micritic matrix adhering to the specimens showed δ13C values as low as −37 to −41‰ relative to PDB standard. Such negative values clearly indicate that the carbonate formed under the influence of anaerobic oxidation of biogenic methane (cf. Whiticar, 1999; Peckmann et al., 2002). The isotope analysis was carried out in the same lab using the same methods as described in Kiel (2006). The Humptulips area is currently covered with dense vegetation and attempts to locate the carbonate outcrop where these two specimens could have come from have been unsuccessful. The purpose of this note is to introduce a new genus for this unusual species, to discuss its possible place among the gastropods, and to speculate about the function of the two deep sinuses in the outer lip of the aperture. ### Class GastropodaCuvier, 1797 Subclass Caenogastropoda Cox, …
Survival analysis via transduction for semi-supervised neural networks in medical prognosis

The central challenge in predictive modeling for survival analysis in medical prognostics is managing censored observations. Traditional regression techniques are challenged by these censored samples. In such problems the true target times of a majority of instances are unknown; what is known is a censored target representing some earlier indeterminate time. Such censored samples can be considered as semi-supervised targets; however most efforts in semi-supervised regression do not take into account the partial nature of unsupervised information; samples are treated as either fully labelled or unlabeled. In this work we extend a novel transduction approach for semi-supervised survival analysis to neural networks. The true target times are approximated from the censored times through transduction. For prostate and breast cancer applications, this semi-supervised regression framework yields a significant improvement in performance.
Does Cash Flow Volatility Affect Firm Value? Its Impact on Discretionary Investment and the Costs of Debt and Equity Financing

In this paper, we document that cash flow volatility is associated with underinvestment in capital expenditures, R&D, and advertising. Cash flow volatility also increases the costs of accessing capital markets that could be used to cover cash shortfalls. This more costly access, in turn, exacerbates the underinvestment problem. Together, underinvestment and more costly access to capital markets lead to a negative association between volatility and equity value, as measured by market-to-book ratios. Our findings provide direct evidence about the costs associated with both cash flow and accounting earnings volatility.
Fluid flow in porous media with rough pore-solid interface

Quantifying fluid flow through porous media hinges on the description of permeability, a property of considerable importance in many fields ranging from oil and gas exploration to hydrology. A common building block for modeling porous media permeability is consideration of fluid flow through tubes with circular cross section described by Poiseuille's law in which flow discharge is proportional to the fourth power of the tube's radius. In most natural porous media, pores are neither cylindrical nor smooth; they often have an irregular cross section and rough surfaces. This study presents a theoretical scaling of Poiseuille's approximation for flow in pores with irregular rough cross section quantified by a surface fractal dimension Ds2. The flow rate is a function of the average pore radius to the power 2(3-Ds2) instead of 4 in the original Poiseuille's law. Values of Ds2 range from 1 to 2, hence, the power in the modified Poiseuille's approximation varies between 4 and 2, indicating that flow rate decreases as pore surface roughness (and surface fractal dimension Ds2) increases. We also proposed pore length-radius relations for isotropic and anisotropic fractal porous media. The new theoretical derivations are compared with standard approximations and with experimental values of relative permeability. The new approach results in substantially improved prediction of relative permeability of natural porous media relative to the original Poiseuille equation.
Antibiotics Formed by Species of Emericellopsis

(1958). Antibiotics Formed by Species of Emericellopsis. Mycologia: Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 370-372.
Intraoperative MRI for deep brain stimulation lead placement in Parkinson’s disease: 1 year motor and neuropsychological outcomes

Traditional deep brain stimulation requires intraoperative neurophysiological confirmation of electrode placement. Recently, purely image guided methods are being evaluated as to their clinical efficacy in comparison to surgery using microelectrode recordings. We used the ClearPoint(®) system to place electrodes in both the subthalamic nucleus and globus pallidus internus in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. Off medication UPDRS scores were assessed before and 1 year after surgery as well as pre- and 1 year post-operative neuropsychological outcomes. Targeting precision was also assessed. Patients implanted in the subthalamic nucleus improved by 46.2 % in their UPDRS scores post-operatively (p = 0.03) whereas the globus pallidus group improved by 41 % (p = 0.06). There were no significant adverse neuropsychological outcomes in either group of patients. Mean radial error for the STN group was 1.2 ± 0.7 mm and for the GPi group 0.8 mm ± 0.3 mm. Image guided DBS using the ClearPoint(®)system has high targeting precision with robust clinical outcomes. Our data are in accord with recent studies using the same or similar technologies and provide a rationale for a large comparative study of image-guided versus microelectrode guided DBS.
Cognitive enhancement by transcranial laser stimulation and acute aerobic exercise

This is the first randomized, controlled study comparing the cognitive effects of transcranial laser stimulation and acute aerobic exercise on the same cognitive tasks. We examined whether transcranial infrared laser stimulation of the prefrontal cortex, acute high-intensity aerobic exercise, or the combination may enhance performance in sustained attention and working memory tasks. Sixty healthy young adults were randomly assigned to one of the following four treatments: (1) low-level laser therapy (LLLT) with infrared laser to two forehead sites while seated (total 8 min, 1064 nm continuous wave, 250 mW/cm2, 60 J/cm2 per site of 13.6 cm2); (2) acute exercise (EX) of high-intensity (total 20 min, with 10-min treadmill running at 85–90 % VO2max); (3) combined treatment (LLLT + EX); or (4) sham control (CON). Participants were tested for prefrontal measures of sustained attention with the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and working memory with the delayed match-to-sample task (DMS) before and after the treatments. As compared to CON, both LLLT and EX reduced reaction time in the PVT [F(1.56) = 4.134, p = 0.01, η 2 = 0.181] and increased the number of correct responses in the DMS [F(1.56) = 4.690, p = 0.005, η 2 = 0.201], demonstrating a significant enhancing effect of LLLT and EX on cognitive performance. LLLT + EX effects were similar but showed no significantly greater improvement on PVT and DMS than LLLT or EX alone. The transcranial infrared laser stimulation and acute aerobic exercise treatments were similarly effective for cognitive enhancement, suggesting that they augment prefrontal cognitive functions similarly.
Device Optimization to Assess Losses and Ringing Issues in Integrated Synchronous Buck Converters

In this work integrated power MOSFETs are optimized to improve DC/DC converter performance in Multi-Voltage Smart Power technologies. Hence, lateral and trench-based power MOSFETs are analyzed to integrate 12 V-input and 48 V-input synchronous buck converters in the same technological platform. An extensive investigation on the device architecture for 100 and 24 V power MOSFETs is carried out by measurements and TCAD mixed-mode simulations to determine their internal losses as well as the inherent ringing effects.