cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tailored sonochemical synthesis of V2O5|graphene nanoplatelets composites and its enhanced Li-ion insertion properties

Abstract Ultrasound-assisted surface modification of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) has made possible for in situ growth of V2O5 nanoparticles; homogeneously decorating inter-connected two-dimensional GNPs. The as-fabricated One-Step V2O5|GNPs nanocomposite exhibited enhanced electronic conductivity and facilitates higher Li+ ion insertion/ extraction kinetics, attained the high capacity of 297 mA h g−1 (10 mA g−1) corresponding to ∼2 Li+ ion insertion/ extraction. Consequently, the sonochemically tailored One-Step V2O5|GNPs nanocomposite delivered the specific capacity of 248 mA h g−1 at 50 mA g−1 with 83% capacity retention and 98.4% coulombic efficiency for the cycling studies. In addition, the rate capability studies were extended to One-Step V2O5|GNPs cathode at different current density from 10 to 200 mA g-1. On the other hand, the Two-Step (sonochemical synthesis of 200 nm V2O5 particles followed by its deposition on GNPs) V2O5|GNPs composite cathode yielded less specific capacity of 225 mA h g−1 (10 mA g-1) than the One-Step V2O5|GNPs nanocomposite cathode.
The making of America’s culture regions

The Making of America’s Culture Regions, by Richard Nostrand, is an accessible, unpretentious distillation of the massive body of research cultivated by Donald W. Meinig and a number of traditional...
Ethical Issues in Surgical Research

In the twentieth century, ethical evaluation of human subject research was dependent on various guidelines, each developed in response to unethical behavior to avoid repetition of past misdeeds. This piecemeal system left gaps that continued to permit ethical flaws and failure in research. In 2001, Emanuel et al. proposed a set of requirements that now serves as the “gold standard” for ethical conduct of human subject research. These guidelines apply to all forms of investigation, including surgical interventions. Investigators must be familiar with these guidelines and the context in which they arose to prevent future ethical violations.
Steady state considerations for designing minimum energy control strategies for a dividing wall distillation column with trace components

Abstract A dividing wall distillation column is a separations technology in the field of process intensification that promises energy and capital savings. Though the technology has been around for many years, dividing wall columns (DWC) have yet to gain widespread industrial acceptance. This paper examines an experimentally validated rigorous model scaled to the size of an industrial column. The model includes heat transfer both through the dividing wall and to the atmosphere. A response surface that captures the minimum reboiler duty necessary to meet product specifications for various liquid and vapor split values is presented. Steady state considerations are used to investigate potential controlled variables for minimizing energy use. Though conclusions are specific to the particular chemical system and column design investigated, this paper highlights a general method on how dividing wall column design and control can be rigorously explored.
Enamel microstructure and morphometric discrimination of sympatric species of Microtus (Rodentia)

Abstract Prairie (Microtus ochrogaster) and woodland (Microtus pinetorum) voles, which exhibit distinctly different ecological preferences (grassland versus forest), commonly co-occur in paleontological deposits in eastern North America. Despite their ecological differences, their molar morphology is similar. Assuming that those ecologic differences occurred in the past, differentiation of these two taxa is important for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. A sample of 51 lower first molars from living populations were viewed via scanning electron microscope to qualify and quantify schmelzmuster (enamel microstructure) to species-specific standards applicable to the fossil record. The most obvious differences between schmelzmuster of the two taxa are the relatively thicker bands of radial enamel on the leading edges of triangles of M. ochrogaster, as well as the consistent retention of tangential or primitive tangential enamel on the trailing edges and posterior enamel band of the posterior loop of M. pinetorum. Discriminant analysis of landmark data from the same 51 specimens established morphological boundaries for these taxa and successfully separated the recent m1s of M. ochrogaster from those of M. pinetorum. To test identification confidence from previous work, and to add an independent means of identification for future work (at any site), both techniques were applied to a sample of three-closed triangle (“M. ochrogaster” type) m1s from the late Pleistocene Wapsipinicon Local Fauna of Jones County, Iowa. Identifications of the specimens from the Wapsipinicon l.f. based on schmelzmuster and morphometric analysis are consistent with those reached using traditional morphology. Such methods serve as independent “check” of traditional (qualitative) identification, highlight new species-level characters, and quantify previously described features, for discrimination of these taxa.
Conservative high-order discontinuous Galerkin remap scheme on curvilinear polyhedral meshes

Abstract A data transfer (remap) between two meshes is an important step of each arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) simulation. We develop a conservative scheme for remapping high-order discontinuous Galerkin fields on high-order polytopal meshes with curved faces. This scheme uses a virtual element function to define the remap velocity. We show that the optimal accuracy is achieved when the remap problem is written and is solved as a coupled system of two conservative equations. The properties of the proposed scheme are studied numerically for smooth and discontinuous fields on cubic and prismatic meshes.
Nuclear Spin Hyperpolarization of NH2 and CH3-substituted Pyridine and Pyrimidine Moieties by SABRE.

Hyperpolarization of N-heterocycles with Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange (SABRE) induces NMR sensitivity gains for biological molecules. Substitutions with functional groups, in particular in the ortho-position of the heterocycle, however result in low polarization using a typical Ir-catalyst with bis-mesityl N-heterocyclic carbene ligand for SABRE, presumably due to steric hindrance. With the addition of allylamine or acetonitrile as coligands to the precatalyst chloro(1,5-cyclooctadiene)[4,5-dimethyl-1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene] iridium, the 1 H signal enhancement increased in several substrates with ortho NH 2 -substitutions. For example, for a proton in 2,4-diaminopyrimidine, the enhancement factors increased from -7 ± 1 to -210 ± 20 with allylamine or to -160 ± 10 with acetonitrile. CH 3 substituted molecules yielded maximum signal enhancements of -25 ± 7 with acetonitrile addition, which is considerably less than the corresponding NH 2 substituted molecules, despite exhibiting similar steric size. With the more electron-donating NH 2 substitution resulting in greater enhancement, it is concluded that steric hindrance is not the only dominant factor in determining the polarizability of the CH 3 substituted compounds. The addition of allylamine increased the signal enhancement for the 290 Da trimethoprim, a molecule with the 2,4-diaminopyrimidine moiety serving as a widespread antibacterial agent, to -70.
Optimal dynamic Control Allocation with guaranteed constraints and online Reinforcement Learning

Abstract This paper introduces a new formulation of dynamic control allocation as a dynamic optimization problem. This optimal control formulation allows us to develop allocation with guaranteed actuator constraints, and to learn the optimal control allocation online using measured data and without knowing the system dynamics. The general solution to this problem is provided in the form of an H ∞ controller. Current results for static control allocation are shown to be a special case of the general dynamic optimization solution. Reinforcement learning is used to find the optimal solution for the constrained actuators problem. The methods proposed in the paper are tested on a F-16 flight simulation.
Si-matched BxGa1−xP grown via hybrid solid- and gas-source molecular beam epitaxy

The growth of BxGa1−xP alloys by hybrid solid/gas-source molecular beam epitaxy, with B supplied via the BCl3 gas precursor, is demonstrated. Compositional control ranging from pure GaP to B0.045Ga0.955P has thus far been achieved. Slightly tensile-strained B0.031Ga0.969P grown on nearly pseudomorphic, compressively strained GaP/Si was used to produce an effectively strain-free (0.06% tensile misfit at growth temperature) 160 nm total III–V thickness BxGa1−xP/Si virtual substrate with a threading dislocation density of <3 × 105 cm−2, at least 4× lower than comparable GaP/Si control samples. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy reveals that subsequent GaP overgrowth undergoes epilayer relaxation via dislocation introduction and glide at the upper GaP/B0.031Ga0.969P interface, rather than the lower GaP/Si interface, confirming the strain-balanced nature of the B0.031Ga0.969P/GaP/Si structure and its potential use as a III–V virtual substrate.
Protocol for the Prognosticating Delirium Recovery Outcomes Using Wakefulness and Sleep Electroencephalography (P-DROWS-E) study: a prospective observational study of delirium in elderly cardiac surgical patients.

Introduction Delirium is a potentially preventable disorder characterised by acute disturbances in attention and cognition with fluctuating severity. Postoperative delirium is associated with prolonged intensive care unit and hospital stay, cognitive decline and mortality. The development of biomarkers for tracking delirium could potentially aid in the early detection, mitigation and assessment of response to interventions. Because sleep disruption has been posited as a contributor to the development of this syndrome, expression of abnormal electroencephalography (EEG) patterns during sleep and wakefulness may be informative. Here we hypothesise that abnormal EEG patterns of sleep and wakefulness may serve as predictive and diagnostic markers for postoperative delirium. Such abnormal EEG patterns would mechanistically link disrupted thalamocortical connectivity to this important clinical syndrome. Methods and analysis P-DROWS-E (Prognosticating Delirium Recovery Outcomes Using Wakefulness and Sleep Electroencephalography) is a 220-patient prospective observational study. Patient eligibility criteria include those who are English-speaking, age 60 years or older and undergoing elective cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. EEG acquisition will occur 1–2 nights preoperatively, intraoperatively, and up to 7 days postoperatively. Concurrent with EEG recordings, two times per day postoperative Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) evaluations will quantify the presence and severity of delirium. EEG slow wave activity, sleep spindle density and peak frequency of the posterior dominant rhythm will be quantified. Linear mixed-effects models will be used to evaluate the relationships between delirium severity/duration and EEG measures as a function of time. Ethics and dissemination P-DROWS-E is approved by the ethics board at Washington University in St. Louis. Recruitment began in October 2018. Dissemination plans include presentations at scientific conferences, scientific publications and mass media. Trial registration number NCT03291626.
A Peripheral Field. Meditations on the Status of Jewish Philosophy

Using biblical text and rabbinic commentary on the law of “gleanings” (Lev 23:22) as example and metaphor, this essay locates the taxonomic place of Jewish philosophy on the margins of Jewish existence, arguing that the marginal, while not central, remains “as it ought to be.” It indicates boundaries and limits, but also demarcates transitions and intersections between particular and universal. Like the law of gleanings, which obliges the agriculturist to be mindful of those in need and limits landownership and possession, Jewish philosophy directs attention of an otherwise introverted community toward an outside that is to benefit from, as well as benefits, Jewish life. Traditionally skeptical, but in its modern version constructive and apologetic, Jewish philosophy fosters Jewish mindfulness of its own correlativity and intersectionality with a world beyond the boundaries of the covenant. In one direction, Jewish philosophy, while marginal in comparison with religiously constitutive fields such as biblical commentary and legal studies, thus remains anchored within, but also anchors, the law and its meanings. In the other direction, Jewish philosophy articulates the values of Jewish spirituality–from inside the Jewish experience–in universally accessible terms. Something similar may be said of the philosophies embedded in other religious traditions.
Nonunion of Distal Radius Fractures

Abstract Distal radius fractures are a commonly encountered injury in orthopedic surgery, representing the most common upper extremity fracture encountered in the emergency department and accounting for approximately 20% of all fractures occurring in adults. Common complications include median nerve neuropathy, extensor pollicis longus tendon rupture, flexor pollicis longus tendon rupture, radiocarpal arthrosis, infection, and malunion. A less commonly observed complication of distal radius fractures is nonunion of the fracture site, estimated to occur in 0.03%–1.6% of cases. Though rare, nonunions can be a devastating complication, resulting in severe pain and functional limitation. Additionally, even those that are able to be successfully treated often require multiple operative interventions, resulting in increased healthcare costs, time away from work, and risk of infection or other complications. We aim to discuss the current options in the surgical management of this difficult problem.
Silk films with nanotopography and extracellular proteins enhance corneal epithelial wound healing.

Corneal wound healing depends on extracellular matrix (ECM) and topographical cues that modulate migration and proliferation of regenerating cells. In our study, silk films with either flat or nanotopography patterned parallel ridge widths of 2000, 1000, 800 nm surfaces were combined with ECMs which include collagen type I (collagen I), fibronectin, laminin, and Poly-d-Lysine to accelerate corneal wound healing. Silk films with 800 nm ridge width provided better cell spreading and wound recovery than other size topographies. Coating 800 nm patterned silk films with collagen I proves to optimally further increased mouse and rabbit corneal epithelial cells growth and wound recovery. This enhanced cellular response correlated with redistribution and increase in size and total amount of focal adhesion. Transcriptomics and signaling pathway analysis suggested that silk topography regulates cell behaviors via actin nucleation ARP-WASP complex pathway, which regulate filopodia formation. This mechanism was further explored and inhibition of Cdc42, a key protein in this pathway, delayed wound healing and decreased the length, density, and alignment of filopodia. Inhibition of Cdc42 in vivo resulted in delayed re-epithelization of injured corneas. We conclude that silk film nanotopography in combination with collagen I constitutes a better substrate for corneal wound repair than either nanotopography or ECM alone.
Sustainable Diets: Aligning Food Systems and the Environment

The need to ensure sufficient nutritious diets for all the world’s people without putting further undue pressure on the environment presents a monumental challenge for the global community. Food systems depend on natural resources and the environment, yet agriculture is a major driver of environmental degradation and climate change. Given the impending challenges posed by population growth, migration, and climate change, securing a sustainable future will require dietary patterns to shift significantly over the coming decades. The concept of “sustainable diets” attempts to achieve these goals by bridging the divide between agriculture and the environment. This chapter discusses the history of sustainable diets, as well as the health and environmental outcomes, ethical conundrums, research limitations, and policy implications associated with these diets.
Magnetoelectric composites for medical application

Magnetoelectric (ME) composites with magnetic-mechanical-electrical coupling have recently found numerous applications in sensors, actuators, and energy harvesters. As a magnetic field sensor, the ME composite can be used to develop energy harvesters and microrobot localization techniques. The ME transducers can generate displacement with a high degree of precision wirelessly in response to the applied external magnetic field. Power generated by ME energy harvesters from an ambient magnetic field or vibration can be used to control the embedded medical components. In this chapter, we describe the promising nature of ME composites for the wireless endoscopy, brain imaging, and surgical tools. Wireless capsule endoscopy can provide automated and continuous monitoring of the human body and, combined with ME sensors, it can be used to precisely monitor the region of interest. Miniature ME sensors with high sensitivity have the promise of performing biomagnetic measurements and are being targeted for noninvasive brain imaging. An example demonstration of a brain-controlled robotic hand is presented that illustrates the futuristic concept of brain-controlled machines. Lastly, a conceptual surgical tool utilizing self-sensing ME composites is proposed that could increase the safety in performing surgical procedures.
Metabolism and Genotoxicity of Dihaloalkanes

Publisher Summary The most thoroughly studied of the dihaloalkanes is ethylene dibromide. Considerable evidence now exists to support the view that glutathione (GSH) conjugation is critical to mutagenicity and probably tumorigenesis. The major DNA adduct is S-[2-(N7-guanyl)ethylglutathione and this adduct is most likely to be responsible for the mutations. Several indirect lines of evidence support this view but direct proof is still not available. Three minor guanyl and adenyl adducts have been shown to be present in DNA as well. The events described for ethylene bromide are probably also generally relevant to ethylene dichloride and any other 1,2-dihaloalkanes. 1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) is activated by GSH conjugation involving similar chemical reactions (i.e., episulfonium ion formation) and N7-guanyl DNA adducts have been characterized. However, the low levels of these formed in vivo make their relevance unclear at this time. Methylene dihalides react with GSH, forming HCHO, but the relevance of this reaction to the mutagenicity of the compounds and their weak carcinogenicity in mice is still unclear. Recent evidence suggests the reaction of a GSH conjugate with DNA to yield the base-pair mutations.
Project Adam: building an efficient and scalable deep learning training system

Large deep neural network models have recently demonstrated state-of-the-art accuracy on hard visual recognition tasks. Unfortunately such models are extremely time consuming to train and require large amount of compute cycles. We describe the design and implementation of a distributed system called Adam comprised of commodity server machines to train such models that exhibits world-class performance, scaling and task accuracy on visual recognition tasks. Adam achieves high efficiency and scalability through whole system co-design that optimizes and balances workload computation and communication. We exploit asynchrony throughout the system to improve performance and show that it additionally improves the accuracy of trained models. Adam is significantly more efficient and scalable than was previously thought possible and used 30x fewer machines to train a large 2 billion connection model to 2x higher accuracy in comparable time on the ImageNet 22,000 category image classification task than the system that previously held the record for this benchmark. We also show that task accuracy improves with larger models. Our results provide compelling evidence that a distributed systems-driven approach to deep learning using current training algorithms is worth pursuing.
Treatment of unresectable cholangiocarcinoma using yttrium-90 microspheres: results from a pilot study.

BACKGROUND. The objective of this report was to present data from an open-label cohort study in which patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) underwent radioembolization with yttrium-90 (90Y) microspheres. METHODS. Twenty-four patients with histologically proven ICC were treated. The planned target dose was 120 Gray. Patients were stratified according to Eastern Cooperation Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, tumor morphology (infiltrative vs peripheral), tumor distribution (solitary vs multifocal), and the presence or absence of portal vein thrombosis (PVT). Before and after the procedure, the following variables were assessed: 1) biochemical and clinical toxicity, 2) imaging (computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging) response according to World Health Organization and European Association for the Study of Liver Disease (EASL) criteria, and 3) median survival after the first treatment using Kaplan-Meier methodology. RESULTS. In total, 48 90Y treatments were administered to hepatic segments or lobes. Fatigue and transient abdominal pain were reported in 18 patients (75%) and 10 patients (42%), respectively. One patient (4%) developed grade 3 bilirubin toxicity. One patient (4%) developed a treatment-related gastroduodenal ulcer. On imaging follow-up of 22 patients, tumors demonstrated a partial response in 6 patients (27%), stable disease in 15 patients (68%), and progressive disease in 1 patient (5%). By using EASL guidelines, 17 patients (77%) showed >50% tumor necrosis on imaging follow-up. Two patients (9%) demonstrated 100% tumor necrosis. The median overall survival for the entire cohort (n = 24) was 14.9 months. The median survival for patients with an ECOG performance status of 0, 1, and 2 was 31.8 months, 6.1 months, and 1 month, respectively (P < .0001); the median survival for patients without and with PVT was 31.8 months and 5.7 months, respectively (P = .0003); and the median survival for patients with peripheral versus periductal-infiltrative tumors was 31.8 months and 5.7 months, respectively (P = .0005). CONCLUSIONS. Radioembolization with 90Y may be a therapeutic option for the treatment of unresectable ICC. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.
Trajectory optimization and guidance law development for transatmospheric vehicles

The problems of on-board trajectory optimization and real-time guidance law synthesis are addressed for an air-breathing, single-stage-to-orbit vehicle. The particular objective of fuel-optimal ascent is examined in the hypersonic regime using a simple vehicle model representative of the aerospace plane concept. This model includes a dual-mode propulsion system composed of SCRAMJET and rocket engines. An energy state approximation is applied to a four-state dynamic model for flight of a point mass in a vertical plane over a spherical non-rotating Earth. Optimal climb profiles for the unconstrained and dynamic pressure constrained cases result from further reduction in model order. An analytic switching condition is derived for optimal transition to rocket powered flight as orbital velocity is approached. Simple feedback guidance laws for both the unconstrained and dynamic pressure constrained cases are derived via a combination of singular perturbation and feedback linearization techniques. Lastly, the performance of the resulting nonlinear feedback guidance laws is presented in a numerical simulation of ascent to orbit.
Inactivation of phospholipase A2 by manoalide: Localization of the manoalide binding site on bee venom phospholipase A2

The marine natural product manoalide (MLD), a potent inhibitor of phospholipases, completely inactivates bee venom phospholipase A2 (PLA2) by an irreversible mechanism. It has been proposed [K.B. Glaser and R.S. Jacobs, Biochem. Pharmac. 36, 2079 (1987)] that the reaction of MLD with PLA2 may involve the selective reactivity of MLD to a peptide sequence, possibly a Lys-X-X-Lys peptide. Localization of the MLD binding site on bee venom PLA2 demonstrated that upon MLD modification of bee venom PLA2 the only change in amino acid content was an apparent loss of Lys, corresponding to approximately three of the eleven Lys residues present. Selective chemical modification of Lys residues with [14C]maleic anhydride demonstrated that all eleven Lys residues on bee venom PLA2 were accessible to this reagent (11.6 mol maleyl group incorporated/mol of PLA2). Pretreatment of PLA 2 with MLD(<0.7% residual activity) resulted in a molar ratio of 8.7, also consistent with the loss of three Lys residues upon modification by MLD. Reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) of the cyanogen bromide (CNBr) digestion product of MLD-treated PLA2 produced three peaks (A280). The second peak showed the most intense absorbance at 434 nm. This material corresponded to residues 81–128, as determined by gas-phase microsequence analysis. Sequencing failure was observed at Lys-88 in the MLD-treated fragment. The control carboxy-methylated-PLA2 fragment corresponding to residues 81–128 sequenced beyond Lys-88 without significant change in the expected yield. These data suggest that Lys-88 may correspond to one of the three MLD-modified Lys residues. The minor absorbance at 434 nm of the CNBr fragments containing residues 42–80 and 1–36 as compared to the fragment of residues 81–128 suggests that the major MLD binding fragment resides in residues 81–128.
A new generation of wire enamel for the production of magnet wires with outstanding corona resistance

Corona discharges affect the lifetime of a multitude of electrical devices. The present paper will introduce Voltron/spl trade/, a new generation of wire enamel with outstanding corona resistance. This new magnet wire enamel is suitable for applications in inverter fed motors, transformers, electrical hybrid vehicles, simply, everywhere corona discharges can occur.
Considerations for D‐Optimal Sequential Design

Classical D-optimal design is used to create experimental designs for situations in which an underlying system model is known or assumed known. The D-optimal strategy can also be used to add additional experimental runs to an existing design. This paper demonstrates a study of variable choices related to sequential D-optimal design and how those choices influence the D-efficiency of the resulting complete design. The variables studied are total sample size, initial experimental design size, step size, whether or not to include center points in the initial design, and complexity of initial model assumption. The results indicate that increasing total sample size improves the D-efficiency of the design, less effort should be placed in the initial design, especially when the true underlying system model isn't known, and it is better to start off with assuming a simpler model form, rather than a complex model, assuming that the experimenter can reach the true model form during the sequential experiments. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A methodological analysis of dependency theory: Explanation in Andre Gunder Frank

Abstract The explanatory structure of Andre Gunder Frank's version of dependency theory is analyzed in terms of three forms of explanation: structural, functional, and intentional. Structural explanation is further analyzed in terms of a six-fold warrant that might serve as the basis of an assessment of the success of any such explanation. The nature and legitimacy of functional explanation is examined in reference to current philosophical debates. Finally, the arguments of an important methodological critic of Frank, Robert Brenner, are discussed as a means of further clarifying issues concerning the explanatory structure in Frank.
Cathepsin Q, a Novel Lysosomal Cysteine Protease Highly Expressed in Placenta

The complete nucleotide sequence of a novel cathepsin cDNA derived from rat placenta was determined and is termed cathepsin Q. The predicted protein of 343 amino acid is a member of the family C1A protease related to cathepsin L. Rat cathepsin Q and its mouse counterpart were found highly expressed in placenta, whereas no detectable levels were found in lung, spleen, heart, brain, kidney, thymus, testicle, liver, or embryonic tissues. It is predicted that cathepsin Q will differ in catalytic specificity to another placental-specific protease, cathepsin P, indicating that these enzymes will have unique proteolytic functions in extra-embryonic tissues.
Community policing: training, definitions and policy implications

This study surveyed 198 police officers of a single police department in Texas regarding their attitudes about the practice of community‐oriented policing (COP) and its characteristics. Training on COP, rather than training duration, was found to affect officers’ attitudes toward accepting COP programs. Using Cordner’s four definitive dimensions of community policing (i.e. philosophical, strategic, tactical, and organizational) as a model, findings indicate that officers have familiarized themselves with the tactical dimension the most, especially the police‐citizen partnership and problem‐solving elements, while giving lowest priority to the information element of the organizational dimension. Others including the broader police function, personal service, and positive interaction elements are also less emphasized. The study reveals several problems the officers see as setbacks in implementing community policing and concludes that all of the COP characteristics must be looked at in the context of a whole system rather than as separate individual elements.
Disease-modifying activity of progesterone in the hippocampus kindling model of epileptogenesis

Abstract Progesterone (P) is an endogenous anticonvulsant hormone. P is being evaluated as a treatment for epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, and other complex neurological conditions. Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that P appears to interrupt epileptogenic events. However, the potential disease-modifying effect of P in epileptogenic models is not widely investigated. In this study, we examined the effects of P on the development of hippocampus kindling in female mice. In addition, we determined the role of progesterone receptors (PR) in the P′s effect on the kindling epileptogenesis utilizing PR knockout (PRKO) mice. P, at 25 mg/kg, did not affect seizures and did not exert sedative/motor effects in fully-kindled mice. P treatment (25 mg/kg, twice daily for 2 weeks) significantly suppressed the rate of development of behavioral kindled seizure activity evoked by daily hippocampus stimulation in wild-type (WT) mice, indicating a disease-modifying effect of P on limbic epileptogenesis. There was a significant increase in the rate of ‘rebound or withdrawal’ kindling during drug-free stimulation sessions following abrupt discontinuation of P treatment. A washout period after termination of P treatment prevented such acceleration in kindling. PRKO mice were kindled significantly slower than WT mice, indicating a modulatory role of PRs in seizure susceptibility. P′s effects on early kindling progression was partially decreased in PRKO mice, but the overall (˜2-fold) delay in the rate of kindling for the induction of stage 5 seizures was unchanged in PRKO mice. Moreover, the acute anticonvulsant effect of P was undiminished in fully-kindled PRKO mice. These studies suggest that P exerts disease-modifying effects in the hippocampus kindling model at doses that do not significantly affect seizure expression and motor performance, and the kindling-retarding effects of P may occur partly through a complex PR-dependent and PR-independent mechanism.
High-order nonlinear boundary value problems admitting multiple exact solutions with application to the fluid flow over a sheet

We frame a hierarchy of nonlinear boundary value problems which are shown to admit exponentially decaying exact solutions. We are able to convert the question of the existence and uniqueness of a particular solution to this nonlinear boundary value problem into a question of whether a certain polynomial has positive real roots. Furthermore, if such a polynomial has at least two distinct positive roots, then the nonlinear boundary value problem will have multiple solutions. In certain special cases, these boundary value problems arise in the self-similar solutions for the flow of certain fluids over stretching or shrinking sheets; examples given include the flow of first and second grade fluids over such surfaces.
Introduction to Confocal Microscopy

Conventional microscopy requires viewing a thin-cut “section” of fixed or frozen tissue, and therefore cannot be used to view thick tissue samples or for in vivo investigations. In vivo microscopy requires a virtual, rather than a physical, section of the specimen. Confocal microscopy, developed and patented by Marvin Minsky in 1955, uses optical imaging to create a virtual slice or plane, many micrometers deep, within the tissue. It provides very-high-quality images with fine detail and more contrast than conventional microscopy. In addition, the imaging technique allows for reconstruction of virtual 3-dimensional (3-D) images of the tissue when multiple sections are combined.
French vices and British liberties: Gender, class and narrative competition in a late Victorian sex scandal*

(1997). French vices and British liberties: Gender, class and narrative competition in a late Victorian sex scandal. Social History: Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 1-26.
Estimating the efficiency of consumer choices of new automobiles

Abstract The available literature indicates that consumers are likely to be less than perfectly informed when confronted with a choice situation. But whether the costs to consumers of imperfect information are large enough to warrant public intervention in markets is still an open question. By studying the optimality of new car choices, we attempt to shed light on this question in this study. We use individual-level preference data to rank the alternatives in each respondent's choice set on the basis of quality. Defining a non-optimal choice as one in which the consumer could have purchased a brand of higher estimated quality for a lower price than the actual choice, we estimate the cost savings that would have resulted from buying the higher quality brand at the lower price. We go on to relate these estimated losses due to non-optimal choices to brands purchased and to consumer characteristics.
EVALUATION OF ARRHYTHMIAS IN CHILDREN. EXERCISE TESTING VS. AMBULATORY MONITORING

We previously demonstrated the high degree of reproducibility of exercise testing in detecting and evaluating childhood arrhythmias. We now assess the value of 24 hr. ambulatory monitoring (AMB) as compared to maximal treadmill exercise testing (EX). Sixteen children aged 5 to 16 years (mean 11) with known arrhythmias, but without underlying heart disease were studied by AMB and 2 separate EX. The occurrence, frequency, and severity of arrhythmias and their relationship to heart rate were noted and compared. Of 11 children with known ventricular arrhythmias (VA) [8 with ventricular premature depolarizations (VPD), 2 with ventricular tachycardia (VT), 1 parasystole], 9 were detected during both AMB and EX, while 2 (1 with VPD's and 1 with VT) were detected only during EX. Suppression of VA was observed at similar heart rates during both AMB and EX in 4, while 7 who suppressed during EX did not suppress during AMB due to insufficiently rapid heart rate. Of 5 children with supraventricular arrhythmias [3 with atrial premature depolarizations (APE) and 2 with sinus bradycardia], 1 with APD'u unexpectedly demonstrated marked bradycardia only during AMB. In conclusion, in children: l) EX is more sensitive than AMB in the detection of serious ventricular arrhythmias, 2) AMB is more sensitive than EX in detecting and evaluating bradycardias, 3) AMB and EX each provide specific and unique information. Thus both are useful and complementary in evaluation of arrhythmias.
Homogenization in Stochastic Differential Geometry

It is well known that a diffusion process on Euclidean space can be rigorously considered as the limit of a sequence of transport processes. This idea, which dates at least to Rayleigh's problem of random flight [3] has now received a general treatment by modern probabilistic methods [2, 10]. In addition, we have shown that a suitable transport approximation remains valid for the Brownian motion of any complete Riemannian manifold [11]. In another direction several authors [1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8] have considered "stochastic parallel displacement", i.e. parallel displacement of vectors along Brownian motion curves in a manifold. The purpose of this paper is to show that the stochastic parallel displacement can be rigorously considered as the limit of parallel displacement along the paths of a transport process. The transport approximation introduces an extra velocity variable which disappears in the limit, hence the term homogenizatio7i. In addition to its elementary geometric appeal, our approach has the advantage of producing the following coordinate-free definition of the infinitesimal operator of the stochastic parallel displacement:
The influence of stripe width on the threshold current of double-heterojunction lasers

Experimental measurements of the threshold current of oxide‐isolated stripe lasers as a function of stripe width and p‐layer resistivity are presented. A calculation of the influence of carrier outdiffusion has been made, including the effect of current leakage beyond the stripe edges. The calculated threshold increase is in substantial agreement with experiment for stripe widths down to about 10 μm. The data also yield an effective diffusion length of ∼7 μm for the lasers studied. Deviations between experimental and calculated thresholds occurring at stripe widths of 4–6 μm are represented by an empirical curve which is compared with previously published calculations of threshold gain.
Decreased learning capacity in rats exposed prenatally and postnatally to low doses of mercury.

Our research was designed to assess the effects of low doses of mercury on the maturation and learning ability in the offspring of treated mother rats, and to evaluate the differences between two different diets of mercury in fish, one of natural origin and one artificially contaminated with methylmercury hydroxide. (auth)
Leukocyte complement: Interleukin-like properties of Factor Bb☆

It has been previously shown that the activated form of Factor B (Factor Bb) of the alternative pathway of complement activation stimulates monocyte spreading and killing of xenogenic erythrocytes and staphylococci. Factor Bb also stimulates lymphocyte blastogenesis in vitro, and native (uncleaved) Factor B is a major constitutive product of murine macrophages. To evaluate the possible "monokine" or "lymphokine"-like properties of Factor Bb, a radioimmunoassay was developed to measure the quantities of Factor B in phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-mitogen-stimulated cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Nonstimulated mononuclear cell cultures from human peripheral blood (containing 10-14% monocytes and greater than 85% lymphocytes) at a density of 3 X 10(6) cells/ml (in serum-free medium) released less than 7 X 10(-10) M/liter (60 ng/ml) of Factor B antigen in 24 hr at 37 degrees C, and when mononuclear cells were stimulated with PHA mitogen in serum-free medium, the levels of Factor B antigen in media at 24 hr were significantly higher 1-3 X 10(-8) M/liter (0.9-2.8 micrograms/ml). The molecular size of Factor B in these media was 50-65 kDa by immunoprecipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, a size appropriate for Factor Bb (60 kDa). Since pathological effects of macrophages in autoimmune disease may result from the release of lysosomal hydrolases, the effects of purified Factor Bb on mononuclear phagocytes were investigated in an in vitro system of murine peritoneal exudate macrophages. Factor Bb induced secretion of marker lysosomal hydrolases N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (hexosaminidase) and beta-glucuronidase from thioglycollate-elicited murine peritoneal exudate macrophages in a dose-response and kinetic manner. Hydrolase release was induced in serum-free medium without a known particulate activator at a concentration of 80-200 nM (5-13 micrograms/ml) Factor Bb. Maximal release occurred in 3-5 hr at 37 degrees C and extracellular enzyme activity of hexosaminidase and glucuronidase increased as intracellular enzyme levels decreased, suggesting that Factor Bb triggers release of these enzymes from intracellular lysosomal pools. These results provide an example of a complement protein which is synthesized, released, and activated during mononuclear cell culture and which induces release of lysosomal enzymes from macrophages. In conventional terminology, Factor B or Factor Bb might be termed a "lymphokine," "monokine," or "interleukin".
Investigation of the Ability of MDHS Method 25 to Determine Urethane-Bound Isocyanate Groups

Method 25 for the Determination of Hazardous Substances (MDHS 25) of the Health and Safety Executive of the United Kingdom attempts to identify and quantify all isocyanate species in an air sample. Isocyanate species are derivatized with 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazine (MOPP) and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with tandem ultraviolet/electrochemical (UV/EC) detection. The method identifies peaks as being isocyanate-derived if the EC/UV detector response ratio is between 0.75 and 1.5 times that of the derivatized monomer. This investigation sought to determine if the method correctly identifies and accurately quantifies intermediates created during polyurethane formation that possess free isocyanate groups. Model compounds derived from 2,4-toluene diisocyanate (2,4-TDI) and ethylene glycol were prepared. These urethane species contained two (“dimer”) and three (“trimer”) TDI units and terminal MOPP-derivatized isocyanate groups. Like monomeric 2,4-TDI/MOPP urea, each contained two ...
State-of-the-art insulator and electrode materials for use in high current high energy switching

An investigation into the failure of ceramic insulators that are used in a surface discharge switch (SDS) was conducted. The materials analyzed are Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/-25% SiC, MTF (modified alumina titanate), and CZA 500 (zirconia-alumina composite) ceramics. These insulators were subjected to high-current ( approximately 300 kA) surface discharges in atmospheric air and nitrogen. Energy-dispersive X-ray surface analysis was performed on the insulator surfaces in order to determine the contaminants that are present and the possible failure modes associated with the plasma arc environments mentioned above. Electrode erosion rates have been measured as a function of total charge transfer (up to 50 C/shot) for several in-situ materials including Cu-Nb, Cu-Nb+LaB/sub 6/, and Cu-Ta. Results from comparisons with standard Cu and CuW materials indicate that the in-situ materials represent an efficient method of retaining the copper in the bulk until it vaporizes and thus yield significantly lower erosion rates at high Coulomb transfer rates. >
Evaluation of hydrologically relevant PCM climate variables and large-scale variability over the continental U.S.

The ability of the Parallel Climate Model (PCM) to reproduce the mean and variability of hydrologically relevant climate variables was evaluated by comparing PCM historical climate runs with observations over temporal scales from sub-daily to annual. The domain was the continental U.S, and the model spatial resolution was T42 (about 2.8 degrees latitude by longitude). The climate variables evaluated include precipitation, surface air temperature, net surface solar radiation, soil moisture, and snow water equivalent. The results show that PCM has a winter dry bias in the Pacific Northwest and a summer wet bias in the central plains. The diurnal precipitation variation in summer is much stronger than observed, with an afternoon maximum in summer precipitation over much of the U.S. interior, in contrast with an observed nocturnal maximum in parts of the interior. PCM has a cold bias in annual mean temperature over most of the U.S., with deviations as large as −8 K. The PCM daily temperature range is lower than observed, especiallyin the central U.S. PCM generally overestimates the net solar radiation over most of the U.S, although the diurnal cycle is simulated well in spring, summer and winter. In autumn PCM has a pronounced noontime peak in solar radiation that differs by 5–10% from observations. PCM'ssimulated soil moisture is less variable than that of a sophisticated land-surface hydrology model, especially in the interior of the country. PCM simulates the wetter conditions over the southeastern U.S. and California during warm (El Nino) events, but shifts the drier conditions in the PacificNorthwest northward and underestimates their magnitude. The temperature response to the North Pacific Oscillation is generally captured by PCM, but the amplitude of this response is overestimated by a factor of about two.
Red blood cell zinc protoporphyrin testing for iron-deficiency anemia in pregnancy

The diagnostic value of ferritin, transferrin saturation, and red blood cell zinc protoporphyrin for detecting iron depletion and predicting third-trimester anemia was studied in 87 women attending a private obstetrics clinic. A decline in ferritin and transferrin saturation and an increase in red blood cell zinc protoporphyrin levels were observed in third-trimester measurements when compared with those of the first trimester. Third-trimester anemia (hemoglobin
ADHD: Guides for the perplexed reflect the state of the field

Provides an overview of the major contributions of 11 recent scholarly books on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that provide a wealth of consolidated information to interested readers, and a comment on what their overall foci may indicate as a snapshot of current activity in the field. Recent books serve to provide (a) broad overviews of a range of issues related to ADHD, along with in-depth coverage of (b) the particular problem of comorbidity in ADHD, (c) ADHD in adults, and (d) pharmacological and genetic theory and data. Numerous other specialized issues are addressed in particular chapters in various volumes. In all, these volumes meet a need to consolidate the vast literature on ADHD. They reflect the strong interest in the field in treatment approaches and in such endogenous factors as neurobiological, genetic, and pharmacological advances, along with the relatively weaker interest in exogenous factors and developmental contexts of ADHD expression.
Organizational socialization in accounting firms: A theoretical framework and agenda for future research

Abstract Despite the importance of the socialization of staff members in accounting firms to prospects of organizational success, very little systematic theoretical or empirical work has developed in this area. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for this research by linking socialization to outcomes that pertain to the integration of the individual and by adapting mechanisms from institutional theory. In addition, this paper reviews the contribution of the extant accounting literature and identifies areas that future research should address.