cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Entropy of Rotating Misner String Spacetimes

Using a boundary counterterm prescription motivated by the AdS-CFT conjecture, I evaluate the energy, entropy and angular momentum of the class of Kerr-NUT-bolt-AdS spacetimes. As in the non-rotating case, when the NUT charge is nonzero the entropy is no longer equal to one-quarter of the area due to the presence of the Misner string. When the cosmological constant is also non-zero, the entropy is bounded from above.
Radiation effects in new materials for nano-devices

Exposure to radiation poses significant challenges for electronic devices, including parametric degradation, loss of data, or catastrophic failure. The challenges and solutions change significantly as new materials are introduced and feature sizes become smaller. This paper reviews the effects of radiation on electronics, with emphasis on the impact of new materials.
Hemorrhagic Enteritis in Turkeys

Abstract INTRODUCTION AN ACUTE hemorrhagic enteritis was found at the autopsy of 35 turkey poults during the months of June, July and August of 1936. The ages of the affected birds varied from 7 to 12 weeks. The specimens originated from widely separated farms in Minnesota. The disease appeared in small flocks consisting of several hundred birds as well as in larger groups containing several thousand or more birds. The size of the flock apparently made no difference as far as the percent of loss was concerned. The mortality averaged approximately 10 percent. Enteritis in poults is not an uncommon condition. Intestinal disorders may be the result of a large variety of factors: protozoan, bacterial, dietary and possibly climatic. The literature relating to enteric conditions is voluminous. A review of same is not included. SYMPTOMATOLOGY In the majority of instances the birds that were examined were found to be well developed . . .
Traveling Waves in Time Almost Periodic Structures Governed by Bistable Nonlinearities: I. Stability and Uniqueness

Abstract The current series of two papers is concerned with traveling wave solutions of time almost periodic nonlinear evolution equations. In the first of the series, we introduce a definition of almost periodic traveling wave solutions and establish the stability and uniqueness of such solutions to time almost periodic bistable nonlinear equations with one dimensional continuous space variable. We also investigate the stability and uniqueness of such solutions to time almost periodic bistable equations with one dimensional discrete space variable. In the second of the series, we will study the existence of almost periodic traveling wave solutions to time almost periodic bistable equations with continuous as well as discrete space variables.
Long-Term Results of the Medical Treatment of Coronary Artery Disease:

The natural history of patients with ischemic heart disease varies widely depending upon the anatomic lesion and extent of left ventricular dysfunction. Several clinical variables may also be used to help determine the likelihood of long-term survival. Individuals with high-grade isolated disease of the left anterior descending coronary artery, without significant impairment of ventricular function, have little morbidity and mortality for the 2-year period after arteriography. At the other end of the spectrum, medically treated patients with stenosis of the left main coronary artery or three-vessel disease without such involvement have a reduced life expectancy compared with patients treated surgically. Global judgments on long-term results of the medical treatment of coronary artery disease are meaningless. Efforts should be made to delineate optimal treatment for various subgroups of patients under the broad rubric of ischemic heart disease.
Optimizing array bound checks using flow analysis

Bound checks are introduced in programs for the run-time detection of array bound violations. Compile-time optimizations are employed to reduce the execution-time overhead due to bound checks. The optimizations reduce the program execution time through elimination of checks and propagation of checks out of loops. An execution of the optimized program terminates with an array bound violation if and only if the same outcome would have resulted during the execution of the program containing all array bound checks. However, the point at which the array bound violation occurs may not be the same. Experimental results indicate that the number of bound checks performed during the execution of a program is greatly reduced using these techniques.
Site selection in electrode reactions: quinone/hydroquinone redox at submonolayer iodine-coated electrode surfaces

We have in the past [ll investigated the influence of uncharged molecules or atoms chemisorbed in monolayer quantities at electrode surfaces on the redox kinetics of uncharged, unadsorbed electroactive species. In general, the electrontransfer kinetics of redox couples in the solution state is strongly affected by the structure and composition at the electrode-solution interface. Pronounced enhancement or retardation of the electron-transfer rates have been observed; however, the exact causes for such dramatic changes are not completely understood. The electrochemical kinetics of the benzoquinone/hydroquinone [BQ,,,,/ HQ,,,] couple in aqueous solutions is a prototypical example. Early studies [2] suggested a pH dependence of the reaction kinetics, with the minimum at pH 4. Those conclusions were disputed by later work [31 which showed that the redox kinetics were actually pH independent. Our own investigations [ll established that, in the case when species derived from HQ,,,, (or BQ,,,,) are irreversibly adsorbed on the surface, a minimum in the BQ,,,,/HQ,,,, redox kinetics occurs at pH 4. However, in the presence of a full monolayer of adsorbed iodine, which precludes chemisorption of organic intermediates, the reaction rate becomes pH independent. It was initially postulated that the role of the surface iodine was simply to prevent formation of a layer of chemisorbed HQ(,,-derived intermediates which, at pH 4, served to retard the BQ,,,,/HQ,,,, redox rate. We present here new data
Induction of cytochrome P450 enzymes and generation of protein-aldehyde adducts are associated with sex-dependent sensitivity to alcohol-induced liver disease in micropigs

To assess possible links between ethanol-induced oxidant stress, expression of hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, and sex steroid status, we used immunohistochemical methods to compare the generation of protein adducts of acetaldehyde (AA), malondialdehyde (MDA), and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) with the amounts of CYP2E1, CYP2A, and CYP3A in the livers of castrated and noncastrated male micropigs fed ethanol for 12 months. In castrated micropigs, ethanol feeding resulted in accumulation of fat, hepatocellular necrosis, inflammation, and centrilobular fibrosis, whereas only minimal histopathology was observed in their noncastrated counterparts. CYP2A and CYP3A were more prominent in the castrated animals than in the noncastrated micropigs. Ethanol feeding increased the hepatic content of all CYP forms. The most significant increases occurred in CYP2E1 and CYP3A in the noncastrated animals and in CYP2E1 and CYP2A in the castrated animals. Ethanol-fed castrated animals also showed the greatest abundance of perivenular adducts of AA, MDA, and HNE. In the noncastrated ethanol-fed micropigs a low expression of each CYP form was associated with scant evidence of aldehyde-protein adducts. Significant correlations emerged between the levels of different CYP forms, protein adducts, and plasma levels of sex steroids. The present findings indicate that the generation of protein-aldehyde adducts is associated with the induction of several cytochrome enzymes in a sex steroid-dependent manner. It appears that the premature, juvenile, metabolic phenotype, as induced by castration, favors liver damage. The present findings should be implicated in studies on the gender differences on the adverse effects of ethanol in the liver.
Wick-Itô Formula for Gaussian Processes

Abstract A Wick-Ito formula for Gaussian processes is obtained. This is a change of variables formula, which is to Wick-Ito integrals what the usual Ito formula is to Ito integrals. The conditions are weak enough to allow processes with infinite quadratic variation. They are satisfied by fractional Brownian motion with parameter 1/4 < H < 1.
Tuning fluid solvents for chemical reactions

Abstract Remarkable opportunities exist for the fruitful exploitation of the special properties of supercritical and nearcritical fluids as solvents for chemical reactions. Solution properties may be tuned, with thermodynamic conditions or cosolvents, to modify rates, yields, and selectivities, and supercritical fluids offer greatly enhanced mass transfer for heterogeneous reactions. Also, both supercritical fluids and nearcritical water can often replace environmentally undesirable solvents or catalysts, or avoid undesirable byproducts. Furthermore, rational design of solvent systems can also modify reactions to facilitate process separations.
Multilayer optimization and scheduling using model predictive control: application to reentrant semiconductor manufacturing lines

Abstract A two-layer production control method applied to discrete event reentrant semiconductor manufacturing lines is investigated. A modified l 1 -norm predictive controller/optimizer is proposed as a coordinator in the highest layer and a distributed control policy is used as a follow-up controller in the lowest layer. The use of a model predictive control (MPC) formulation allows the scheduling algorithm to simultaneously solve the production optimization and in-process inventory control problems at each sampling time. As an optimizer, the scheduler maximizes production rate and, as a controller, it addresses variability. Using this control-oriented framework, an optimal trade-off between production rate and cycle time is obtained. An l 1 -norm cost function allows the implementation of the optimization layer as a mixed integer linear program (MILP) which is solved at each time shift. The approach is applied to a one-product six-step, five-machine reentrant discrete event semiconductor manufacturing line whose specifications were provided by Intel Corporation.
Optical properties of Stranski–Krastanov grown three-dimensional Si/Si1−xGex nanostructures

Abstract Detailed Raman and photoluminescence (PL) measurements are reported for Si/Si 1− x Ge x nanostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy under near Stranski–Krastanov (S–K) growth mode conditions. In samples with x ranging from 0.096 to 0.53, we observe that an increase in the Raman signal related to Ge–Ge vibrations correlates with (i) a red shift in the PL peak position, (ii) an increase in the activation energy of PL thermal quenching, and (iii) an increase in the PL quantum efficiency. The results indicate that for x >0.5 Ge atoms form nanometer size clusters with a nearly pure Ge core surrounded by a SiGe shell. Time-resolved PL measurements reveal a stretched-exponential long-lived PL component that is associated with compositional and dimensional fluctuations in the SiGe dots.
Nutrition Assessment of Horse-Racing Athletes

Athletes involved in horse racing face weight restrictions like wrestlers and dancers, however, the literature is sparse pertaining to nutritional habits of jockeys. The practice of “making weight” causes these athletes to engage in potentially unhealthy practices. A gap in nutritionally sound practices and methods used by jockeys was identified and a desire for nutrition education was expressed to Cooperative Extension of Delaware by representatives of the riders at Delaware Park Race Track. Nutrition assessment was done using the Nutrition Care Process. Twenty jockeys were interviewed using an assessment form developed to target areas of disordered eating. Body mass index (BMI), mean weight loss on race day, methods of weight loss and ease of weight maintenance were examined. The jockeys were also asked for areas they wished to receive nutrition education on in the future. The BMI of the 20 jockeys ranged from 17.0 to 21.4 during racing season, with only one jockey in the “underweight” category. This range increased to 19.1–24.0 when the riders were not riding. The most common method of weight loss was the use of steam rooms, to lose an average 2.5 lb in 1 day. Eight of 20, the most common response, reported it very easy to maintain their racing weight. The jockeys reported interest in future education sessions on meal planning and healthy food ideas. The assessment was used as the basis to develop nutrition education materials and presentations for the riders at the race track.
Timed-Event Sequential Analysis of Agitation in Nursing Home Residents During Personal Care Interactions With Nursing Assistants

Computer-assisted behavioral observation data were collected from 66 nursing home residents while they received assistance during personal care routines from a certified nursing assistant (CNA). Data were collected both before and after a comprehensive behavior-management and communication-skills training program was delivered to the nursing staff. A total of 30 residents showed 6 or more episodes of disruptive vocalization or other forms of agitation during baseline observations, and timed-event sequential analysis methods were used to test whether certain CNA behaviors either elicited or prevented onsets of agitation in these 30 residents. Simple verbal prompts used by CNAs during personal care routines before staff training were found to elicit agitation onset ( p =.03), whereas positive statements to the resident were found to reduce the likelihood of agitation onset (p =.02). In a previous analysis of the effects of staff training, we found that rates of resident agitation were significantly lower after training compared with baseline and that CNAs increased their rates of positive statements to residents. In the present study, timed-event sequential analyses indicated that the verbal prompts used by CNAs during personal care routines were no longer associated with an increased rate of resident agitation after staff training among the 20 residents who showed 6 or more episodes of agitation both before and after staff training. These findings suggest that the staff training program improved the quality of CNA verbal prompts. The sequential analysis of observational data provides an important method for studying interpersonal interactions, including those of nursing home residents and the nursing staff who care for them.
ICANN, Health Information and the Dot Health Top Level Domain

The problems of poor or biased information and of misleading health and wellbeing advice on the Internet is well known. The recent decision by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to authorize a large number of new generic top-level domains, including some with a clear connection to health or healthcare, presents an opportunity to bring some order to this chaotic situation. In the case of the most general of these domains, ".health", experts advance a compelling argument in favor of some degree of content control. On the opposing side, advocates for Internet freedom counter that this is too valuable to be compromised, and once lost it may never be recovered. The author supports a proposal to bridge the credibility gap in online health information by providing provenance information for websites in the .health domain.
Synthesis of benzobisoxazole-based D-π-A-π-D organic chromophores with variable optical and electronic properties

A series of symmetrical D-π-A-π-D molecules comprised of benzo(1,2-d;4,5- d')bisoxazole (BBO) and various arylenevinylenes was synthesized via a Knoevenagel con- densation of 2,6-dimethyl BBO and the corresponding aryl aldehydes. The resulting com- pounds had energy levels that were easily modulated and broad absorptions in the visible spectrum. They also demonstrated high fluorescence quantum yields in solution. The solva- tochromism of several derivatives was examined in a number of solvents, and it was found that the emission of the triphenylamine derivative varied by almost 100 nm, depending on the polarity of the solvent. Collectively, these results indicate that the optical and electronic prop- erties of benzobisoxazoles are readily tuned through the choice of aryl co-monomer.
Development of a New Measure for Assessing Glucose Monitoring Device-Related Treatment Satisfaction and Quality of Life

Abstract Background: Many different devices are available to patients to measure glucose levels, but there is no validated method to assess treatment satisfaction with glucose monitoring devices and its impact on quality of life and other patient-reported outcomes. To address this problem, we developed the Glucose Monitoring System Satisfaction Survey (GMSS). We describe the construction and validation of the GMSS and examine how key patient factors are associated with glucose device satisfaction. Materials and Methods: Items were developed from interviews with 15 adults with either type 1 diabetes (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) and 10 diabetes healthcare professionals, resulting in an initial pool of 42 items. Separate exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were conducted with adults with T1D (n=254) and with insulin-using T2D (n=206). Construct validity was established with overall well-being (World Health Organization-5), diabetes distress (Diabetes Distress Scale), attitudes toward glucose monitoring (Sel...
Factors influencing community preferences and residential adaptation

The purpose of the study was to examine the factors that influence preretirees' community and residential preferences during retirement. The data were obtained from a mail survey in which the housing and locational retirement decisions of pre-retirees in four states were investigated. Path analysis results indicated that respondents who were Hearing retirement had already moved to a suitable home and were currently in age-mixed communities, and in close proximity to their children. This has implications for community and housing developers, gerontologists, and public policy makers to create a suitable environment for the elderly to age ‘in place’, and to provide them with adequate housing and community services.
Toward an Integrated Theory of IT-related Risk Control

In business today, awareness of risk is growing, and risk management is increasingly seen as a critical practical discipline (Teach 1997). Further, risk is being defined broadly to include anything that could have a significant negative effect on the business.
Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose in Noninsulin-Using Type 2 Diabetic Patients: Right answer, but wrong question: self-monitoring of blood glucose can be clinically valuable for noninsulin users

Given the importance of glycemic control in the development of diabetes complications, the plethora of tools now available to monitor the day-to-day trends in glycemia is remarkable. In this regard, self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) has been considered a key component of patient management. Arguably, there remains almost universal agreement that SMBG should be available to all diabetic patients regardless of current treatment strategy. However, recently there have been reports that have challenged the current paradigm that all patients should use SMBG and concluded that SMBG for type 2 diabetic patients not on insulin may not be beneficial on glycemic control and must be weighed against the expense and inconvenience. In the counterpoint narrative following the contribution by Malanda et al., Drs. Polonsky and Fisher provide a compelling argument suggesting that while it is evident that implementing SMBG in unstructured ways without training patients and clinicians is likely to be a waste of resources, there are effective and powerful ways to use structured SMBG in insulin-naive type 2 diabetic patients. —William T. Cefalu, md Editor in Chief, Diabetes Care
Fibroblast-secreted hepatocyte growth factor mediates epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance in triple-negative breast cancers through paracrine activation of Met.

Introduction Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have shown clinical efficacy in lung, colon, and pancreatic cancers. In lung cancer, resistance to EGFR TKIs correlates with amplification of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor tyrosine kinase Met. Breast cancers do not respond to EGFR TKIs, even though EGFR is overexpressed. This intrinsic resistance to EGFR TKIs in breast cancer does not correlate with Met amplification. In several tissue monoculture models of human breast cancer, Met, although expressed, is not phosphorylated, suggesting a requirement for a paracrine-produced ligand. In fact, HGF, the ligand for Met, is not expressed in epithelial cells but is secreted by fibroblasts in the tumor stroma. We have identified a number of breast cancer cell lines that are sensitive to EGFR TKIs. This sensitivity is in conflict with the observed clinical resistance to EGFR TKIs in breast cancers. Here we demonstrate that fibroblast secretion of HGF activates Met and leads to EGFR/Met crosstalk and resistance to EGFR TKIs in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
Ganciclovir: a promising topical antiviral gel for herpetic keratitis

Ganciclovir (GCV) is a potent broad-spectrum antiviral with proven efficacy against herpes viruses. As it inhibits viral but not cellular DNA, it is expected to avoid the toxicity associated with trifluridine – the only currently approved treatment for herpes simplex keratitis in the USA. Preclinical studies have demonstrated GCV to be as effective as trifluridine against experimental herpes simplex keratitis. Clinical studies conducted in Europe, Asia, and Africa that compared the efficacy and tolerability of GCV ophthalmic gel with acyclovir (ACV) ophthalmic ointment in patients with herpetic keratitis showed that GCV-treated patients had higher overall healing rates and lower relapse rates than ACV-treated patients. The ganciclovir gel formulation was also much better tolerated than the ACV ointment base. Finally, a controlled, masked, randomized series of 18 patients with adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis compared GCV gel with preservative-free artificial tears. Ganciclovir-treated patients experienced ...
Remodeling of somotasensory hand representations following cerebral lesions in humans

There is evidence of reorganization of somatotopic maps following cortical lesions in mammals such as monkeys, raccoons and rats. However, there has been a striking lack of research on somatosensory plasticity following cerebral damage in adult humans. We describe two individuals with left hemisphere damage who misperceive the locations of tactile stimuli whose presence or absence they can readily detect. We find that the mislocalizations preserve the relative topography of pre-lesion experiences, resulting in shifted and compressed representations of the hand surfaces. These results not only provide evidence for systematic remodeling of somatotopic maps in humans, they also reveal that the systematic changes in cortical topography that have been documented using electrophysiological methods may give rise to similarly systematic changes in somatosensory perception itself.
Commercial conflict resolution across the religious divide in the thirteenth-century Mediterranean

Commercial conflict resolution in the medieval Mediterranean has been treated by a number of scholars in recent years, notably through the use of documents from the Cairo Geniza and the archives of the Italian port of Genoa. Recent research on this subject, and more specifically on contract enforcement, has focused on contract reinforcement within the Mediterranean Jewish community, largely because of the sources available. Parallels drawn with medieval Italian mechanisms of conflict resolution emphasize differences between public- vs. private-order responses, that is, the reliance on personalized groups in the Islamic world rather than on public institutions typical of the Italian port-cities. These studies do not, however, examine how commercial conflicts were resolved across religious and political lines, despite the growing role of Italian merchants in the trade networks of Islamic North Africa, a role that inevitably led to trade disputes and occasional uncollected payments. Through close textual ana...
Detecting Sybil attacks in vehicular networks

A Sybil attack consists of an adversary assuming multiple identities to defeat the trust of an existing reputation system. When Sybil attacks are launched in vehicular networks, the mobility of vehicles increases the difficulty of identifying the malicious vehicle location. In this paper, a novel protocol for Sybil detection in vehicular networks is presented. Considering that vehicular networks are cyber-physical systems, the technique exploits well grounded results in the physical (i.e., transportation) domain to detect the Sybil attacks in the cyber domain. Compared to existing works that rely on additional cyber hardware support, or complex cryptographic primitives for Sybil detection, the protocol leverages the theory of platoon dispersion that models the physics of naturally occurring vehicle dispersion. Specifically, the proposed technique employs a certain number of roadside units that periodically collect reports from vehicles regarding their physical neighborhood. Leveraging from existing models of platoon dispersion, a protocol was designed to detect anomalously close neighborhoods that are reflective of Sybil attacks. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is unique in integrating a well established theory in transportation engineering for detecting cyber space attacks in vehicular networks. The resulting protocol is simple, efficient, and robust in diverse attack environments.
THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF FLAGELLAR FIBRILS

The tips of rat sperm tails were slightly frayed by mechanical agitation, thus exposing the fibrils, which were then studied by electron microscopy after negative staining. Only the fibrils survived this treatment. Each fibril proved to be a cylinder with a hollow core. The walls of the cylinders were made up of 10 longitudinally oriented filaments. The filaments had a markedly beaded appearance, with a repeating period of 88 A. The filament thickness (bead width) was approximately 35 to 40 A. Beads of neighboring filaments were in register with each other so that cross-linking bound the filaments together to complete the wall structure of each fibril. The center-to-center spacing from one filament to the next was 55 to 60 A. The periodicity and the diameters of the filaments make it unlikely that the filaments are related to either actin or myosin. From the way the fibrils kinked, it can be inferred that they possessed considerable mechanical strength. It is consistent with present knowledge that fibrils of the mitotic apparatus may have the same basic structure as the flagellar fibrils. Under some circumstances, pairs of fibrils separated from one another along their length, except at their extreme tips. It was apparent that there was special bridging material to be found there. In other preparations, however, the paired fibrils remained together, indicating a powerful coupling mechanism.
Venlafaxine extended-release for depression following spinal cord injury: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance Depression is prevalent and associated with negative outcomes in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Antidepressants are used routinely to treat depression, yet no placebo-controlled trials have been published in this population to our knowledge. Objective To determine the efficacy and tolerability of venlafaxine hydrochloride extended-release (XR) for major depressive disorder (MDD) or dysthymic disorder in persons with chronic SCI. Design, Setting, and Participants Multisite, randomized (1:1), double-blind, placebo-controlled Project to Improve Symptoms and Mood After SCI (PRISMS) trial. All research staff conducting screening, intervention, and outcome procedures were blinded to randomization status. We screened 2536 patients from outpatient clinics at 6 SCI treatment centers in the United States and randomized 133 participants into the trial. Participants were 18 to 64 years old and at least 1 month after SCI, with MDD or dysthymic disorder. Seventy-four percent of participants were male, and participants were on average 40 years old and 11 years after SCI. Forty-seven percent had cervical injuries, 53.4% had American Spinal Injury Association injury severity A (complete injury) SCI, 24.1% had at least 2 prior MDD episodes, and 99.2% had current MDD. Common comorbidities included chronic pain (93.9%), significant anxiety (57.1%), and history of substance dependence (44.4%). Interventions Twelve-week trial of venlafaxine XR vs placebo using a flexible-dose algorithm. Main Outcomes and Measures The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D 17-item version and Maier subscale, which focuses on core depression symptoms and excludes somatic symptoms) over 12 weeks. Results Mixed-effects models revealed a significant difference between the venlafaxine XR and placebo groups in improvement on the Maier subscale from baseline to 12 weeks (treatment effect, 1.6; 95% CI, 0.3-2.9;P = .02) but not on the HAM-D 17-item version (treatment effect, 1.0; 95% CI, −1.4 to 3.4;P = .42). Participants receiving venlafaxine XR reported significantly less SCI-related disability on the Sheehan Disability Scale at 12 weeks compared with placebo (treatment effect, 4.7; 95% CI, 1.5-7.8;P = .005). Blurred vision was the only significantly more common new or worsening adverse effect in the venlafaxine XR group compared with the placebo group over 12 weeks. Conclusions and Relevance Venlafaxine XR was well tolerated by most patients and an effective antidepressant for decreasing core symptoms of depression and improving SCI-related disability. Further research is needed to determine the optimal treatment and measurement approaches for depression in chronic SCI. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT00592384
Rehabilitation drives enhancement of neuronal structure in functionally relevant neuronal subsets

We determined whether rehabilitation after cortical injury also drives dynamic dendritic and spine changes in functionally distinct subsets of neurons, resulting in functional recovery. Moreover, given known requirements for cholinergic systems in mediating complex forms of cortical plasticity, including skilled motor learning, we hypothesized that cholinergic systems are essential mediators of neuronal structural and functional plasticity associated with motor rehabilitation. Adult rats learned a skilled forelimb grasping task and then, underwent destructive lesions of the caudal forelimb region of the motor cortex, resulting in nearly complete loss of grasping ability. Subsequent intensive rehabilitation significantly enhanced both dendritic architecture and spine number in the adjoining rostral forelimb area compared with that in the lesioned animals that were not rehabilitated. Cholinergic ablation markedly attenuated rehabilitation-induced recovery in both neuronal structure and motor function. Thus, rehabilitation focused on an affected limb robustly drives structural compensation in perilesion cortex, enabling functional recovery.
Pullulan: A Suitable Biopolymer for Antimicrobial Food Packaging Applications

The increasing demand for biobased, disposable, biodegradable, and recyclable materials provides the food industry with the opportunity to invest in alternative solutions, such as biopolymers. Of the available biopolymers, pullulan shows excellent high film formability, considerable mechanical strength, the ability to form thin and flexible layers, and unique antimicrobial activity. This chapter begins with an overview of the properties of the extracellular polysaccharide, pullulan. We also will discuss the unique characteristics that make pullulan an excellent alternative to petroleum-based polymers for antimicrobial food packaging solutions. We will provide a summary of the most significant studies conducted with pullulan in foods, as well as published research that addresses ways to improve the film characteristics. We will address recent case studies and commercial applications of antimicrobial pullulan edible coatings and films on fresh and minimally processed produce, fresh meat and poultry products, as well as further processed (including ready-to-eat) meat products, along with trends, opportunities, and challenges for the application of pullulan in the food packaging industry.
Eggs and Wax Secretion of Kermes kingi

The eggs of Kermes kingi Cockerell are located under the female's venter which moves dorsad forming two chambers as eggs are deposited. While the eggs are laid they are covered by wax filaments secreted by multilocular pores on the venter. Eggs are ca. 393 ¼ long and 181 ¼ wide, they weigh ca. 0.0068 mg, and each female deposits an average of 2,820 eggs.
Regional differences in the age and growth of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

1 Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences Louisiana State University Energy, Coast and Environment Building Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 Present address for contact author: IAP Worldwide Services Inc. Southeast Fisheries Science Center National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA 75 Virginia Beach Drive Miami, Florida 33156 2 Department of Biological Sciences Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus 3000 NE 151st Street North Miami, Florida 33181
A longitudinal investigation of selected pesticide metabolites in urine

As part of a longitudinal investigation of environmental exposures to selected chemical contaminants, concentrations of the pesticide metabolites 1-naphthol (INAP), 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPY), malathion dicarboxylic acid (MDA), and atrazine mercapturate (AM) were measured in repeated samples obtained from 80 individuals in Maryland during 1995-1996. Up to six urine samples were collected from each individual at intervals of approximately 8 weeks over a 1-year period (i.e., one sample per participant in each of six cycles). INAP (median=4.2 microg/l and 3.3 microg/g creatinine) and TCPY (median=5.3 microg/l and 4.6. microg/g creatinine) were present in over 80% of the samples, while MDA and AM were detected infrequently (6.6% and <1% of samples, respectively). Geometric mean (GM) concentrations of INAP in urine did not vary significantly among sampling cycles. In contrast, GM concentrations of TCPY were significantly greater in samples collected during the spring and summer of 1996 than in the preceding fall and winter. Repeated measurements of INAP and TCPY from the same individual over time were highly variable. The average range of INAP and TCPY concentrations from the same individual were approximately 200% and 50% greater than the respective population mean levels. Geometric mean (GM) TCPY concentrations differed significantly between Caucasian (n=42, GM=5.7 microg/g creatinine) and African-American (n=11, GM=4.0 microg/g) participants and among education levels, but were not significantly different among groups classified by gender, age, or household income. In future research, environmental measurements of the parent compounds and questionnaire data collected concurrently with the biomarker data will be used to characterize the determinants of variability in the urinary pesticide metabolite levels.
Rhizopogon kretzerae sp. nov.: the rare fungal symbiont in the tripartite system with Pterospora andromedea and Pinus strobus

The first species of Rhizopogon subgenus Amylopogon identified from eastern North America is described here as Rhizopogon kretzerae Grubisha, Dowie, & Mill. sp. nov. In nature, R. kretzerae has been identified only from DNA sequences of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) from mycorrhizal roots of Pinus strobus L. and Pterospora andromedea Nutt. Phylogenetic analyses and nucleotide divergence estimates of Rhizopogon ITS sequences from Pterospora roots from Quebec, Michigan, New York, and New Hampshire combined with ITS sequences of Rhizopogon subgenus Amylopogon species type collections suggest R. kretzerae is a sister-group to Rhizopogon salebrosus A.H. Sm. An absence of shared mutations, two informative sequence gaps, and 12 fixed nucleotide differences differentiate R. kretzerae and R. salebrosus. Furthermore, ITS sequences of 40 Pterospora root samples from five populations in the province of Quebec provided the first record of the distribution of R. kretzerae, a potentially...
Near-Field Directive Beams From Passive and Active Asymmetric Optical Nanoantennas

Core-shell, plasmonic-based nanoantennas have been shown to be resonant, resulting in extremely large enhancements of their scattered power. Nevertheless, they primarily radiate as electric dipoles due to their subwavelength sizes. We report how, through the introduction of asymmetry into these nanoantennas, it is possible to achieve highly directive optical beams in their near fields. In particular, we perforate the outer metallic coating of a core-shell nanoparticle and add gain material into its core region. It is demonstrated that this active holey-coated nanoparticle configuration effectively captures the incident field, amplifies it, and then channels this power into an intense near-field beam. The performance characteristics of these nanobeamers are compared to the nanojet behaviors experimentally realized with multimoded, electrically large dielectric particles. The intensities of the near-field power flow generated by these highly subwavelength nanobeamers are shown to be significantly larger than those produced by their multimode, micron-sized nanojet counterparts. Because of these enhanced field localization properties, a sensor array example is considered to demonstrate the efficacy of augmenting its detector elements with these nanobeamers.
Research progress of volatile organic compounds of indoor air

Volatile organic compounds(VOCs)are the main pollutants of indoor air.The pollution status of indoor air VOCs is introduced.Simulation model and safety value of VOCs are discussed.Furthermore,monitoring and purification technology of VOCs are also analyzed.Finally,the existing problem and development direction of indoor air VOCs in China is provided.
Clinical analysis of the effect of combination of Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis

Objective To investigate the clinical value of combination of Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of smear -positive pulmonary tuberculosis. Methods One hundred and twenty eight cases of early, retreatment smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients were randomly divided into treatment group (64 cases) and control group (64 cases). The treatment group was given China TB control project standard chemotherapy and traditional Chinese medicine anti tuberculosis pill combined with treatment, the control group only received standard chemotherapy regimens. The efficacy of two groups were observed and compared. Results At the end of the treatment, the treatment group of sputum negative conversion rate (90.6%), lesions accumulated absorption rate (85.9%), the cavity closure rate (60.7%), the clinical symptom improvement rate (9.0%) was higher than that in control group of 81.3%, 64.1%, 37.5%, 59.4%. Traditional Chinese medicine anti tuberculosis pill combined with western medicine treatment had not any adverse effects, could improve the patient's symptoms and had obvious effect. Conclusion The combination of Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis, symptoms improve rapidly, curative effect is satisfactory, is a safe, effective, reliable treatment method.
Learned Recognition by Zebrafish and Other Cyprinids

Antipredator behavior is triggered by a combination of internal proximate mechanisms (anatomical receptors and the physiological processes that regulate their function) and external environmental cues that signal the context and timing of when behavior is likely to be effective. Responses to some external environmental triggers, such as the presence of conspecific chemical alarm cue, are governed strictly by genetic templates. Other external environmental triggers are learned through a special type of associative learning called releaser-induced recognition learning. Zebrafish are one of several model systems upon which this body of literature has been developed. Minnows (including zebrafish) associate danger with any novel stimulus (visual, chemical, or auditory) that is correlated with the presence of chemical alarm cue released from damaged epithelial tissue of conspecifics. Alarm cue is released only in the context of predation and serves as a reliable external environmental trigger for associating novel stimuli with predation risk. Minnows use learned recognition to learn about predator identity and about the chemical alarm cues of ecologically similar heterospecifics. Learning also occurs when alarm cues are released indirectly through the digestive tract of the predator. Behavioral and chemical responses to disturbance can also facilitate learned recognition. Learned recognition is an ideal system with which to study the molecular mechanisms that underlie the cognitive processes of learning and memory. Collectively, this suggests that zebrafish are a very promising model organism for future study.
Embedded heterogeneous programming with OpenCL

Modern embedded processors often include graphical processing units (GPUs) that have recently gained to the ability to be programmed with general purpose code. This has resulted in the concept of “heterogeneous programming,” where a program must be conceptualized as separate programs running on processors of different technologies, with one processor controlling the other as a peripheral.
Mastectomy and Immediate Breast Reconstruction for Cancer in the Elderly: A National Cancer Data Base Study

Background Mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction (M+IBR) is performed increasingly for breast cancer treatment, but whether this trend extends to the growing number of women diagnosed at age 65 or older is unknown. We studied the effects of age and comorbidities on the use and outcomes of M+IBR. Study Design Patients undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer were ascertained from the National Cancer Data Base 2004 to 2012. Performance of M+IBR and outcomes were compared by age group ( Results There were 364,767 patients who underwent mastectomy, of whom 127,501 (35.0%) had IBR. Among M+IBR patients, 10.3% were age 65 or older, including 1.5% who were 75 or older. From 2004 to 2012, M+IBR increased from 6.7% to 18.1% in women 65 or older (p 0 (any comorbidity) was more frequent in patients 65 or older having mastectomy alone (27.0%) vs M+IBR (18.4 %) (p 0 in 18.4% of patients 65 or older vs 9.8% among patients less than 65 (p Conclusions Rates of M+IBR rates are increasing, with 10% of M+IBR patients now age 65 or older. Higher 30-day unplanned readmission rates in elderly M+IBR patients with or without comorbidities suggest the need to establish criteria for safe M+IBR in these patients.
Volume of geodesic balls in the complex Stiefel manifold

Volume estimates of geodesic balls in Riemannian manifolds find many applications in coding and information theory. This paper computes the precise power series expansion of volume of small geodesic balls in a complex Stiefel manifold of arbitrary dimension. The volume result is employed to bound the minimum distance of codes over the manifold. An asymptotically tight characterization of the rate-distortion tradeoff for sources uniformly distributed over the surface is also provided.
Building Solutions in Youth: Evaluation of the Human–Animal Resilience Therapy Intervention

The effectiveness of the human-animal resilience therapy (HART) intervention was examined using a randomized comparison group design with youth ages 10–18 (n = 29). Paired samples t-test analyses r...
The Power of Couples Group Therapy

Group work has long been considered an effective and efficient way to provide psychological intervention (Yalom & Leszcz, 2005). There are a multitude of advantages groups provide for members, incl...
Chronic stress and the introduction to captivity: How wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus) adjust to laboratory conditions.

Abstract The conditions of captivity can cause chronic stress in wild animals. Newly-captured animals may experience weight loss, elevated glucocorticoid hormones, increased heart rate, increased resting adrenomedullary activation, and an altered heart rate response to acute stressors. As captivity conditions persist, chronic stress may decrease as animals adjust to the stressors of captivity. In this study, house sparrows (Passer domesticus) were captured from the wild, fitted with heart rate transmitters in a minor surgical process, and individually housed in an indoor bird facility. Mass, baseline corticosterone, resting heart rate, resting adrenomedullary activation, and the acute heart rate response to a sudden noise were measured over the course of the first 6 weeks of captivity. Birds lost weight during the first weeks of captivity, which was regained by week 5. Baseline corticosterone peaked at day 7, decreased sharply by day 11, and continued to decrease throughout the 6 weeks. Although heart rate in the first 24 h could not be collected, daytime heart rate decreased from day 1 through day 20, where it reached a stable plateau. Daytime heart rate variability decreased through the entire 6 weeks, which may indicate a gradual shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system regulation of heart rate. The acute heart rate response to a sudden noise lasted longer at day 6 than earlier or later in captivity. In conclusion, the data indicate that the different physiological systems associated with chronic stress adjust to captivity over different timelines.
Exploring the association of urban or rural county status and environmental, nutrition- and lifestyle-related resources with the efficacy of SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education) to improve food security.

Objective To investigate the association of policy, systems and environmental factors with improvement in household food security among low-income Indiana households with children after a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) direct nutrition education intervention. Design Household food security scores measured by the eighteen-item US Household Food Security Survey Module in a longitudinal randomized and controlled SNAP-Ed intervention study conducted from August 2013 to April 2015 were the response variable. Metrics to quantify environmental factors including classification of urban or rural county status; the number of SNAP-authorized stores, food pantries and recreational facilities; average fair market housing rental price; and natural amenity rank were collected from government websites and data sets covering the years 2012-2016 and used as covariates in mixed multiple linear regression modelling. Setting Thirty-seven Indiana counties, USA, 2012-2016. Subjects SNAP-Ed eligible adults from households with children (n 328). Results None of the environmental factors investigated were significantly associated with changes in household food security in this exploratory study. Conclusions SNAP-Ed improves food security regardless of urban or rural location or the environmental factors investigated. Expansion of SNAP-Ed in rural areas may support food access among the low-income population and reduce the prevalence of food insecurity in rural compared with urban areas. Further investigation into policy, systems and environmental factors of the Social Ecological Model are warranted to better understand their relationship with direct SNAP-Ed and their impact on diet-related behaviours and food security.