cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Immunodetection of bovine hemoglobin-containing food ingredients using monoclonal antibody Bb1H9

Abstract Although the use of hemoglobin-containing food ingredients (HCFIs) in meat and non-meat products is increasing, there is no viable method for monitoring their usage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of a ruminant-hemoglobin-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) Bb1H9 as the probe for the immunodetection of bovine HCFIs in a wide range of commercially-processed sausages and dietary supplements containing bovine HCFIs. The effects of various manufacturing processes on the detectability of bovine hemoglobin in food products were also investigated. Results show that low levels (0.2% w/w) of HCFIs could be detected either in competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) or western blot except a dietary supplement containing hydrolyzed hemoglobin. Excessively processed products may affect the sensitivity of the immunodetection, however, the results demonstrate the usefulness of mAb Bb1B9 for monitoring ruminant HCFIs in foods for the protection of those who avoid consuming blood for various reasons.
Characterization of two channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, glucocorticoid receptors and expression following an acute stressor.

Abstract Two channel catfish glucocorticoid receptor genes, ipGR1 (NR3C1_1) and ipGR2 (NR3C1_2) were partially characterized. Identification and analysis of the genomic organization of two channel catfish glucocorticoid (GC) receptors (GRs) revealed differences in the lengths of exons 1 and 2 and the addition of an extra 27-bp exon inserted after exon 2 in the GR1 gene, yielding a 9-aa insert in the receptor protein. Sequence of the 9-aa insert in ipGR1 (WRARQNTHG) is unique compared to other teleost fish GRs. Amino acid sequence alignment of the two channel catfish GRs, revealed 55% sequence identity between them, with a high degree of sequence conservation (82%) in the DNA binding and ligand binding domains. Real-time PCR indicated that ipGR1 and ipGR2 were expressed in all tissues evaluated. Channel catfish GR1 was predominantly expressed in the gills, nearly 25-fold higher than in the liver. GR1 expression was higher than GR2 expression in gills, intestine, head kidney and heart (P 0.05) by the acute stress event. The present study adds to the growing body of information on GR evolution and function and further demonstrates the unique regulation of the GC/GR system in teleost fish.
Eye Care Industry Analysis

Eye care is a large and growing industry in the United States. Demographic and lifestyle trends will spur increased demand in coming years, but industry earnings will depend on the state of regulation and health care reform. Ophthalmologists and optometrists are the two major service providers in the industry. While the markets for both professions are currently fragmented, the wave of consolidation and commoditization in health care will likely catch up to eye care in coming years. Scope of practice legislation continues to be a topic of heated debate. As it evolves, consolidated practices will move toward an integrated model that uses both types of providers to meet demand.
Visual acuity measurement in exceptional children.

BACKGROUND Numerous reports have been published describing the determination of visual acuity in infants using forced-choice preferential-looking (FPL) methods. Results confirm the effectiveness of this technique for evaluating the child who is unable to respond to conventional clinical methods of visual acuity measurement (e.g., Snellen Letter or Symbol Acuity). METHODS Using a FPL acuity apparatus and discrimination paradigm similar to that developed and modified by Held, Gwiazda, Mohindra et al., and also used by Atkinson et al., we used grating acuity assessment with binomial method of rapid endpoint determination as well as luminance matched targets (+/- 3.4 percent) with grating regularity controlled (+/- 2.35 percent) in studies of 105 full-term infants with normally developing vision and six exceptional children. CONCLUSIONS The results of these investigations show that monocular grating acuity thresholds measured in infants in a clinically useful way were also measurable in exceptional children when conventional visual acuity testing failed, thereby enabling the monitoring of improvements in visual acuity and performance for five of the six exceptional children studied.
The GM1 Gangliosidoses

The gangliosidoses are a group of lysosomal storage diseases characterized by the accumulation of these complex glycolipids in multiple organs of the body. They manifest a predominantly neurological phenotype, a fact that is probably related to their high prevalence in nervous tissues. The typical presentation is that of a progressive neurodegenerative disease with onset in early life followed by loss of acquired developmental milestones, dementia, and worsening neurological deficits. Early death is common, except perhaps in late-onset variants. Systemic manifestations in the form of visceromegaly or skeletal deformities are preferentially seen in the aggressive variants of GM1 gangliosidosis (i.e., infantile), whereas they are typically absent in GM2 gangliosidosis (except for Sandhoff’s disease, which may present with mild visceromegaly). Depending upon the severity of the enzymatic defect, they show different rates of clinical progression and involvement, with severe deficiencies leading to the most aggressive forms in an infantile and acute or subacute fashion, whereas milder ones have an onset later in life and slower clinical progression. Gangliosides were first identified in ganglion cells of the brain by the German scientist Ernst Klenk in 1942 (Klenk, 1942). They are present in almost all known types of animal cells and play a wide range of structural and physiological roles (Colombaioni and Garcia-Gil, 2004; Morales et al., 2004; Zhang and Kiechle, 2004; Bektas and Spiegel, 2004). Gangliosides are one of the most complex groups of glycolipids identified so far, showing an unusually large degree of structural variety; more than 160 of them have been identified to date. They can make up to 5 to 10% of total lipid mass (Mikata and Taniguchi, 1985). The typical chemical structure of a ganglioside is that of a ceramide attached to an oligosaccharide chain via a glycosidic bond (Figure 1). Ceramide, in turn, consists of a molecule of sphingosine linked to a long fatty acid (usually stearic acid) via an amide bond: It is the different type of oligosaccharide chain, however, that provides these molecules with such a wide degree of structural and functional variety. These chains, which can be up to eight molecules long, consist of simple hexoses (either glucose or galactose) alternating with more complex ones, such as the amino sugars N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNac), N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNac), or sialic acid (N-acetyl-neuraminic
Structured Bayesian Gaussian process latent variable model: Applications to data-driven dimensionality reduction and high-dimensional inversion

Abstract We introduce a methodology for nonlinear inverse problems using a variational Bayesian approach where the unknown quantity is a spatial field. A structured Bayesian Gaussian process latent variable model is used both to construct a low-dimensional generative model of the sample-based stochastic prior as well as a surrogate for the forward evaluation. Its Bayesian formulation captures epistemic uncertainty introduced by the limited number of input and output examples, automatically selects an appropriate dimensionality for the learned latent representation of the data, and rigorously propagates the uncertainty of the data-driven dimensionality reduction of the stochastic space through the forward model surrogate. The structured Gaussian process model explicitly leverages spatial information for an informative generative prior to improve sample efficiency while achieving computational tractability through Kronecker product decompositions of the relevant kernel matrices. Importantly, the Bayesian inversion is carried out by solving a variational optimization problem, replacing traditional computationally-expensive Monte Carlo sampling. The methodology is demonstrated on an elliptic PDE and is shown to return well-calibrated posteriors and is tractable with latent spaces with over 100 dimensions.
Arousal and Valence in the Direct Scaling of Emotional Response to Film Clips

Contributions of differential attention to valence versus arousal (Feldman, 1995) in self-reported emotional response may be difficult to observe due to (1)confounding of valence and arousal in the labeling of rating scales, and (2) the assumption of an interval scale type. Ratings of emotional response to film clips (Ekman, Friesen, & Ancoli, 1980) were reanalyzed as categorical (nominal) in scale type using consensus analysis. Consensus emerged for valence-related scales but not for arousal scales. Scales labeled Interest and Arousal produced a distribution of idiosyncratic responses across the scale, whereas scales labeled Happiness, Anger, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, Surprise, and Pain, produced consensual response. Magnitude of valenced response varied with both stimulus properties and self-reported arousal.
Differing views of contingencies: How contiguous?

The contingency between environmental events and behavior has proven to be a useful concept in the study of both behavior and cognition. There is common ground in the definition of contingency in both domains, but interpretations of the basis of its action differ. For behavior analysts the contingency acts through both its direct, response-strengthening effect and indirectly through its function as a discriminative stimulus. Cognitive accounts, as represented in the work of both Bower and Watson, focus more on the organism’s detection and interpretation of the contingency as the basis of its action. Despite such conceptual differences, Watson’s quantitative descriptions of contingency effects seem relevant to feedback functions that describe reinforcement schedule performance and, as such, may bear on research involving combinations of response-dependent and response-independent food presentations and on superstitious behavior.
Organization of Enzymes in the Tryptophan Pathway

The reactions which constitute the pathway for tryptophan biosynthesis exhibit an unusual degree of organizational diversity throughout the biological world. The component reactions of this pathway, including those involved in general aromatic biosynthesis, are organized in different patterns of multifunctional complexes; and this diversity is reflected in specific patterns of gene-enzyme relationships. Some of the first reported examples of multifunctional proteins and channelling of intermediates between active sites in multifunctional proteins were uncovered by the extensive biochemical and genetic studies of this pathway. To illustrate the organization of active sites in multifunctional protein complexes, I will review several well-defined examples from this pathway. In this review my emphasis will be on the current status of our understanding of the structure of multifunctional enzymes and the possible functional role of enzyme organization within this pathway.
Membrane Lipids and the Origin of Life

There are two major types of amphiphilic lipids found in the plasma membranes of all living cells. The acylglycerol ester derivatives of ordinary bacteria and eukaryotes,and the isopranyl ether derivatives of Archaebacteria. Due to the importance of membranes in the origin of life and to the limited work done in this field we have undertaken experiments on the prebiotic synthesis of the building blocks of membrane lipids of prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and we have studied the less known membrane lipid components of Archaebacteria. Concerning the former, we have been successful in synthesizing fatty acids, glycerol, glycerophosphate, mono-, di- and tripalmitoyl glycerol esters and the corresponding phosphatidic acids. Glycerol has been obtained by reduction of the products from the formose reaction. Furthermore, under the prebiotic conditions of an evaporating pond model and using cyanamide as a condensing agent we have synthesized glycerol phosphate and all the other complex lipids. These amphiphilic molecules have the ability to self-assemble into stable bilayered microvesicles which show structure and functions similar to cell membrane lipid bilayers. Concerning the Archaebacteria (Methanogens, Halophiles, Sulfolobus and Thermo-plasma) we have analyzed their membrane lipids and found them to be derivatives of diphytanyl glycerol diethers or di-C40-isopranyl diglycerol tetraethers. Such a unique membrane ether lipid composition is ideally suited for stability to the high temperature and other extreme environmental conditions of archaen times. This and other evidence suggests that the extant Archaebacteria evolved from a common anaerobic ancestral line when the primitive Earth was evolving from anoxidic to oxidic conditions at about 3.7 Aeons ago.
Access to injectable biologic medications by medicare beneficiaries: geographic distribution of US dermatologist prescribers.

PURPOSE Injectable biologics (IB) are important in dermatology and we sought to examine the distribution of US IB-prescribing dermatologists. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data: Part D for 2013-2015. The density of dermatologists who prescribe IB (etanercept, adalimumab, ustekinumab, secukinumab) in each US county, represented as number of dermatologists per 100,000 Medicare Part D beneficiaries, was calculated. RESULTS 2,992 dermatologists (26.3% of dermatologists) prescribed IB in this study. The national density of IB-prescribing dermatologists was 7.22. Only 778 counties (24.8%) have at least one IB-prescribing dermatologist. The densities of IB-prescribing dermatologists in metropolitan counties were 8.07-8.12. The densities of IB-prescribing dermatologists were 4.55 and 6.51 for urban populations of greater than 20,000 people adjacent and non-adjacent to metropolitan areas, respectively. Urban counties with populations between 2,500-19,999 and adjacent to a metropolitan area had a density of 2.03 and urban counties with the same population and not adjacent to a metropolitan area had a density of 2.84. Completely rural or urban counties with populations under 2,500 people had densities between 2.31-2.35. CONCLUSIONS There are disparities in the availability of IB-prescribing dermatologists across urban-rural geographic settings in the US.
Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Oral Antibiotic Use in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Retrospective Analysis of a Privately Insured U.S. Population.

A retrospective analysis of administrative claims data from a large U.S. health insurer was performed to study a potential association between oral antibiotic use during early childhood and occurrence of later gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Among 3253 children with ASD, 37.0% had a GI-related diagnosis during the last 2 years of their 5-year health coverage enrollment period, compared to 20.0% of 278,370 children from the general population without an ASD diagnosis. Greater numbers of oral antibiotic fills during the first 3 years of enrollment were found to significantly increase the hazard rate of having a later GI-related diagnosis (adjusted hazard ratio 1.48; 95% confidence interval 1.34, 1.63) in children both with and without ASD.
Membrane distillation driven by intermittent and variable-temperature waste heat: System arrangements for water production and heat storage

Abstract The intermittency and variability inherent to many waste heat sources have largely been overlooked in existing studies of membrane distillation (MD). In the current study, MD system operation with intermittent and variable-temperature waste heat was assessed with two system arrangements: “direct” and “indirect.” In the direct arrangement, the heat exchanger and membrane module are in a single loop; in the indirect arrangement, they are in two separate loops. Modeling results indicate the direct arrangement produced 17.7% more water at 12.5% intermittency and the indirect arrangement produced 21.5% more water at 87.5% intermittency, due to the indirect arrangement's ability to store more heat when the waste heat source is on. Waste heat variability was strongly reflected in water flux profiles, but the indirect arrangement showed significantly less water flux variability – more than two times less in modeling analyses with intermittent waste heat and 30.4% less in variable-temperature experiments. Lower water flux variability in the indirect arrangement translates to better system controllability, even when the direct arrangement produces more water. The advantages of each arrangement identified in the current study give system designers key information to improve water production, heat storage, and/or system control in different waste heat scenarios.
How College Students Use Advanced Placement Credit

Millions of high school students take Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which can provide college credit. Using nationally representative data, I identify a diverse set of higher education outcomes that are related to receipt of AP college credit. Institution fixed effects regression reduces bias associated with varying AP credit policies and student sorting across higher education. Results indicate college credits earned in high school are related to reduced time to degree, double majoring, and more advanced coursework. Bounding exercises suggest the time to degree and double major outcomes are not likely driven by bias from unobserved student characteristics. Policies used to support earning college credits while in high school appear to enhance undergraduate education and may accelerate time to degree.
Impacts of depectinization of pear juice on alcoholic fermentation and indole formation.

Background Recently, a producer of fermented ciders observed 'vinyl' off-odors formed during fermentation of pear juice previously depectinized at ≥ 49 °C but not if depectinized at lower temperatures. The objective of this study was to investigate the source of this spoilage and evaluate factors that affect formation. Results Analysis of untainted and tainted samples obtained from the producer determined the causative agent to be indole, a compound sometimes produced by yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) during fermentation. To mimic commercial depectinization conditions, pectinases were added to pear juices held at 35 °C for 45 min (Treatment A), 49 °C for 45 min (Treatment B), or 49 °C for 90 min (Treatment C). Juice processing conditions did not affect yeast growth nor progress of alcoholic fermentation. Although neither yeast strain (DV10 or MERIT) synthesized indole during fermentation of Treatment A juices, the compound was produced by MERIT in Treatments B (27.05 μg L-1 ) and C (469.9 μg L-1 ). Supplementation of Treatment C juice with pyridoxine (vitamin B6 ) prior to fermentation resulted in no detectable indole formed. However, juices from Treatments A, B, or C contained similar concentrations of pyridoxine and non-detectable amounts of tryptophan, a potential precursor to indole. Furthermore, indole was not detected during fermentations of a synthetic pear juice medium without pyridoxine. Conclusion Supplementation of cider musts with pyridoxine prior to fermentation and choice of yeast strain can lower the risk of formation of off-odors caused by indole. However, other unidentified factors are present which affect its formation in perry. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.
Tetra-kis(1,2-dimethoxy-ethane-κO,O')ytterbium(II) bis-(μ(2)-phenyl-selenolato-κSe:Se)bis-[bis-(phenyl-selenolato-κSe)mercurate(II)].

The title salt, [Yb(C4H10O2)4][Hg2(C6H5Se)6], consists of eight-coordinate homoleptic [Yb(DME)4]2+ dications (DME is 1,2-dimethoxy­ethane) countered with [Hg2(SePh)6]2− di­anions. The cations and anions have twofold rotation and inversion symmetry, respectively. The Yb centre displays a square-anti­prismatic coordination geometry and the Hg centre has a distorted tetra­hedral coordination environment. One phenyl­selenolate anion and one methyl group of a DME ligand are disordered over two positions with equal occupancies. This structure is unique in that it represents a less common mol­ecular lanthanide species in which the lanthanide ion is not directly bonded to an anionic ligand. There are no occurrences of the [Hg2(SePh)6]2− dianion in the Cambridge Structural Database (Version of November 2007), but there are similar oligomeric and polymeric Hgx(SePh)y species. The crystal structure is characterized by alternating layers of cations and anions stacked along the c axis.
Development of severe serotonin syndrome from acute ingestion of vilazodone without co-ingestion.

Abstract Vilazodone is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that was introduced to the market in 2011. It has a novel mechanism combining serotonin reuptake and partial agonism of 5HT-1 receptors. It has gained popularity in treating first generation SSRI-resistant depression. There has been little description in the literature of adult overdose. We are describing a 21-year-old female with an intentional overdose of 400 mg of vilazodone. This patient progressively developed worsening serotonin syndrome, which was resistant to aggressive benzodiazepine administration. The patient required sedation with propofol and phenobarbital to control serotonin syndrome. Patient required continued sedation for 36 h post-ingestion, with subsequent extubation and return to normal mental status. We detail an atypical case of a novel SSRI overdose with the treatment regimen used.
Avukah: Student Zionism on Temple University’s Campus (1925-1941)

The landscape of American Zionism shifted slowly and significantly over the course of the early to mid 20th century, culminating in the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. In that tumultuous period of history, American Zionism was not one single traceable ideology, but a great mass of intersecting and opposing ideologies, formed by American Jews’ desire to assimilate and their response to ongoing and pervasive anti-Semitism in the United States and Europe. One particular student Zionist organization, known as Avukah, cultivated its own Zionist ideology and attempted to spread its message to universities across the country. However, as American Zionism transformed and took root in mainstream American Jewish society, Avukah struggled and ultimately failed to instill its Zionist ideology into the mainstream. Avukah’s strict adherence to a singular, yet ultimately unclear Zionist ideology and its inability to adapt to the shifting tides of American Zionism provide a unique lens into the world of early American Zionist culture and the limitations of organizations founded on strict adherence to ideology. The study of Avukah’s rise and fall through the prism of the Avukah chapter at Temple University offers a close examination and microcosm of the limitations of Avukah’s Zionist ideology in the face of American Zionism’s period of great change.
Deeply Hidden Moving-Target-Defense for Cybersecure Unbalanced Distribution Systems Considering Voltage Stability

A recent proactive defense mechanism, named as moving-target-defense (MTD), has been proposed as a prevailing topic that is capable of actively changing transmission line reactance to preclude cyberattacks. However, the MTD strategy has seldom been studied for the unbalanced AC distribution system in the existing literature. Towards the end, this paper proposes a deeply-hidden MTD (DH-MTD) to elaborately hide both the self and mutual reactance of each phase at the transmission line installed with D-FACTS devices. Both the branch and injection power phasor measurement functions are integrated into DH-MTD in the cyberattack scenario and under the normal operating condition, while the system voltage stability is ensured. The proposed DH-MTD model is solved using a nonlinear least square (NLS) method based on the trust-region algorithm due to the non-Gaussian noise assumption. Also, we cope with the MTD allocation (MTDA) problem using a data-driven normalized PDF peak residual (NPPR) index. The effectiveness of the proposed DH-MTD method is demonstrated in the unbalanced IEEE 123-bus distribution system against both branch and node cyberattacks.
Medicare Accountable Care Organizations and the Adoption of New Surgical Technology

Background Dissemination of new surgical technology is a major contributor to healthcare spending growth. Accountable care organization (ACO) policy aims to control spending while maintaining quality. As a result, ACOs provide incentive for hospitals to selectively adopt newer procedures with high value. Study Design We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a 20% sample of national Medicare claims from 2010 to 2015. We identified hospitals that performed 1 of 6 sets of procedures: abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve replacement, carotid endarterectomy or stent, lung lobectomy, colectomy, and prostatectomy. We identified hospitals participating in a Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO and a set of matched non-ACO control hospitals. We used a difference-in-differences approach to compare rate of surgical treatment and use of newer surgical technology for each set of procedures in ACO and non-ACO hospitals. Results We included 707 ACO-hospitals and 1,770 control hospitals. ACO hospitals performed surgery for carotid stenosis at a lower rate than non-ACO hospitals. There was no difference in the rate of surgical treatment for all other procedure sets. ACO hospitals were less likely to use an endovascular approach for abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (85.2% vs 88.2%, p Conclusions Despite ACO policy incentives to selectively adopt newer surgical technology, ACO participation was not associated with differences in rate of surgery or use of newer surgical technology for 6 major surgical procedures.
Personality-Driven Gaze Animation with Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks.

We present a generative adversarial learning approach to synthesize gaze behavior of a given personality. We train the model using an existing data set that comprises eye-tracking data and personality traits of 42 participants performing an everyday task. Given the values of Big-Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), our model generates time series data consisting of gaze target, blinking times, and pupil dimensions. We use the generated data to synthesize the gaze motion of virtual agents on a game engine.
A 9 to 12.1 GHz Sub-Sampling ADPLL based on a Stochastic Flash TDC and a DCO with a "Folded" Common-Mode Resonator Exhibiting less than 90fs Jitter and a peak FoMj of -248 dB in 16nm FinFet CMOS

This paper presents a power efficient sub-sampling all-digital phase-locked loop with less than 90fsrms jitter performance. A stochastic-flash time-to-digital converter is utilized and obtains sub-picosecond effective resolution. A "folded" common mode resonator is included within the digitally controlled oscillator to enhance performance while maintaining a compact design. The ADPLL covers 9 to 12.1 GHz (29.4% fractional tuning range). Measured phase noise of −105.2/−109/− 124.85 dBc/Hz at 10.6 GHz for 0.1/1/10 MHz frequency offset respectively. Integrated phase noise lower than −45 dBc was recorded for the whole tuning range for an integration range between 10 KHz to 40 MHz. The ADPLL consumes 15.5 mA from a 0.8 V analog supply and 7 mA from a 0.7 V digital supply, for a total power consumption of 17.3 mW and a peak jitter-power figure-of-merit (FoMj) of −248 dB. Fabricated in 16nm FinFet CMOS, the silicon area is 0.24 mm2.
Overrepresentation of English Learners in Special Education Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

The continued concern of English Learners (ELs) being overrepresented in special education coupled with the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic that urged educators to ramp up online instruction, has lef...
THE DIFFRACTION FORCES FOR A SHIP MOVING IN OBLIQUE SEAS

The diffraction problem of a fixed slender ship moving in incident waves is formulated. The waves are assumed to be of the same order as the beam of the ship and are from an oblique heading. The boundary-value problem is linearized with respect to wave amplitude and solved by the method of matched asymptotic expansions. The oscillating forward-speed potential is solved to two orders of magnitude. The first order is just the zero-speed case while the second-order problem involves solving a boundary-value problem with a nonhomogeneous free-surface condition. The solution to this second-order problem is given in terms of three auxiliary potentials, each satisfying a separate part of the boundary conditions. For zero forward speed, the sectional exciting force is calculated and compared with the commonly used integrand of the Khaskind relations. The two give different values, but when integrated over the hull both show the same total exciting force. The pressure distribution on an ore carrier for both zero forward speed and an abbreviated form of the forward-speed case is given and compared with experiments.
Calcium Current Modulation as a Mechanism in the Synaptic Plasticity Underlying Habituation and Sensitization in Aplysia

Habituation and sensitization are two simple forms of learning which occur widely throughout the animal kingdom (26). Habituation is the decline in reflex responsiveness which occurs when a stimulus is presented repeatedly, while sensitization is the increase in responsiveness which results from the transient presentation of a novel stimulus. Although this definition does not exclude the possibility that what happens in sensitization might simply be the opposite of what happens during habituation, earlier work has shown that sensitization is in actuality a distinct process, superimposable on habituation and having its own discernible properties and time course (3,9). In this report, I present experiments which address the question of the cellular mechanisms of both habituation and sensitization, and which confirm, at the level of the biophysics of single neurons, the distinctiveness of sensitization as a process in its own right, independent of habituation. To be more specific, the results of these experiments imply that both habituation and sensitization result from changes in transmitter release consequent to modulation of the influx of calcium ions into the terminals of the presynaptic element in the reflex pathway. They also imply, however, that habituation results from a decrease in calcium influx due to the properties of the calcium channels themselves, whereas sensitization occurs because of an increased calcium influx which results from a change in the properties of a different set of ionic channels in the presynaptic membrane.
The role of the Utah Artificial Ear project in the development of the modern cochlear implant.

The cochlear implant has provided the first substantial restoration of a human sense by a medical intervention. This accomplishment was brought about by the efforts, over a 50+ year period, of many individuals in laboratories around the world. In this paper, we recount the history of one of the early projects – the Utah Artificial Ear project. In 1970 researchers at the University of Utah began work on an auditory prosthesis. A critical early decision was to create a ‘transparent’ link between external signal processing and the electrodes implanted in the cochlea, i.e., a percutaneous pedestal. The pedestal allowed D. Eddington, then a graduate student, to conduct, in 1975–1978, the first thorough, parametric, psychophysical studies of electrical stimulation of the cochlea in multiple human volunteers. The early work by Eddington and colleagues evolved in 1983 into the 4-channel, Ineraid cochlear implant. Many years later, highly effective, modern signal processing algorithms, e.g., continuous interleaved...
Advocacy and ombudswork for children: implications of the Israeli experience

Israel's establishment of what is to be the first in a network of child advocacy councils is discussed in relation to child advocacy efforts in the United States. The work and structure of the Jerusalem Children's Council and its Ombudsman for Children is described. It is suggested that Israel's experience in establishing a well-functioning local child advocacy council provides a model for implementing the recommendation of the Joint Commission on the Mental Health of Children to establish a network of local child advocacy councils in the United States.
Permanent pervenous transseptal atrial pacing: Canine experiments and a clinical case

Abstract Permanent atrial pacing has lain dormant during the last decade because pervenous electrodes usually fail to maintain endocardial contact, and epicardial electrodes require a thoracotomy for implantation. The major advantage is the preservation of synchronized atrioventricular (A-V) contractility. Development of a technique for attaching pacing electrodes to the endocardium through the venous system by an extrathoracic maneuver may permit achievement of reliable long-term atrial pacing pervenously. Canine experiments led to the first clinical application of atrial pacing by way of a transseptal electrode. A Ross needle was modified to carry a 10 mm T-shaped electrode tip across the atrial septum. An intraluminal stylet was used to eject the electrode into the left atrium. The electrode tip was then pulled snugly against the atrial septal endocardium. The hearts of 10 dogs were paced successfully for 3 to 12 months with average thresholds of 6 ma. At autopsy, various degrees of fibrosis constituted the sole pathologic finding. The heart of a 78 year old man with carotid sinus syncope was paced in August 1972, with use of a permanent transseptal atrial electrode and a unipolar pulse generator. The initial threshold was 2 ma and the pacemaker impulse-QRS interval was 180 msec. Consistent long-term atrial pacing may be achieved by attaching a pervenous electrode to the interatrial septum.
An Analytical Method for Evaluation of Impact Damage Energy of Laminated Composites

Abstract : A higher order beam finite element is developed for dynamic response of beams subjected to impact of elastic spheres. Hertzian law is used to evaluate the contact force. A step by step finite difference method is employed to integrate the time variable. The finite elements are first evaluated for homogeneous isotropic beams and excellent results are found. Impact of glass- epoxy laminates are then considered. The total energy imparted from the projectile to the laminate is computed and compared with experimental data. Good agreement is found. The present finite element procedure also allows one to separate the vibrational energy from the damage energy which is to be related to the residual strength of the composite after impact.
Poéticas de la mirada en Frazadas del Estadio Nacional de Jorge Montealegre

This study suggests a close reading of Jorge Montealegre's Frazadas del Estadio Nacional (2003), focusing on the poetics of gaze and visual metaphors. The dialectics of seeing and blindness is studied as the narrator's tool to overcome traumatic experiences of the past, connect it to the present, and rebuild his identity. Montealegre's literary testimony allows exploring a social experience recalled as an intimate and personal event. The text's poetic of gaze allows discerning the past in its complexities and silences.
Psychosocial characteristics of adolescent smokers before they started smoking: evidence of self-selection. A prospective study.

Abstract Evidence of noncomparability of self-formed smoker and nonsmoker groups of adolescents from the Child Health and Development Studies of the University of California, Berkeley, was found in a study of antecedent psychosocial characteristics (observed at age 10) before the adoption of the smoking habit. With possible confounding factors controlled, eventual smokers showed significantly greater prevalence than nonsmokers of Type A personality traits, extraversion, psychoticism, anger, and restless sleep. Eventual smokers were lower in socioeconomic status than nonsmokers, and also exhibited significantly lower mean scores for the Raven Progressive Matrices and Peabody Picture Vocabulary tests. For each trait, the trends of the data were consistent in boys and girls. Since many of these traits are shown to “track” into adult life, where they are then related to coronary heart disease, the role of self-selection requires further consideration in causal inferences about smoking and coronary heart disease.
MCQW intensity optical modulator for InP based MMIC/photonics integrated circuits

Chip level integration of photonic devices and MMICs (monolithic microwave integrated circuits) are discussed. The focus is on an InP-based multicoupled quantum well (MCQW) intensity optical modulator. In the proposed configuration, the microwave field induces a periodic structure via the electrorefractive effect. The interaction of light with the induced grating yielding a modulated optical signal. The structure and expected performance of the device are discussed. Simulations reveal that a 270- mu m-long device, operating at -40 V, has a projected bandwidth of 14 GHz at a modulation depth of 0.5. The optical loss for this device length is only 0.24 dB. >
Constitutionalism and the Reality of Rights

For lawyers and legal scholars, constitutionalism means constitutional law and rights. Familiar stories about constitutionalism, constitutional law and constitutional rights center on the balance between democracy" in the form of majoritarian political processes" and the protection of the individual" in the form of constitutional rights. These rights are often broadly defined and accompanied by lofty rhetoric. But this story is based on notions of the behavior and character of institutions, such as courts and political processes, that are both unsophisticated and unrealistic. As relevant populations have grown in size and as social interaction and social issues have grown more complex, the reality of societal decision-making institutions has out-grown the conventional conceptions of political processes and courts and the rhetoric of rights. Significant growth in the complexity of the decisions facing societal institutions and in the number of people affected by these decisions spawns shallow and fluctuating rights. This is not a characterization limited to fledgling democracies and third-world nations. US and Europe are included. There are essential lessons here for constitutional scholars. We can no longer afford simple stories of constitutionalism and constitutional rights. In particular, we must jettison as useless the grandiose notions of rights that infect common constitutional scholarship and examine the true character of rights and judicial review in the constitutional order. Real rights and real judicial review can play an important even crucial role in some contexts at some times. But real rights and review are strange and scarce. They are resources to be used carefully.
Uranium Powder Ignition Studies

Because ignition temperature is not an intrinsic property of a substance, the investigation reported in this paper was undertaken to measure the ignition behavior of uranium powder under well-defin...
Transcatheter brachial fistula creation for treatment of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) are thought to form as a result of exclusion of hepatic venous blood from part of the pulmonary circulation. Surgical arteriovenous (AV) fistula creation has demonstrated therapeutic potential to reverse PAVM formation. We sought to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of transcatheter AV fistula creation for this indication. Fluoroscopically guided puncture from the basilic vein into the brachial artery using a Brockenbrough needle and sharpened 0.014" wire created a tract between these vessels. After balloon dilation of the tract, a covered stent was deployed, resulting in a functioning brachial AV fistula. The procedure was technically successful, with no clinical complications at 4 months follow-up. Repeat diagnostic catheterization revealed marked improvement in systemic saturation and near-resolution of PAVMs in the pilot patient. This report suggests that transcatheter brachial arteriovenous fistula formation is technically feasible, and may be effective in managing PAVMs in select single-ventricle patients.
Extremal Control and Guidance Solutions for Orbital Transfer with Intermediate Thrust

Mayer’s variational problem of determining optimal trajectories of motion with constant exhaust velocity and limited mass-flow rate in a Newtonian field is considered. Analytical solutions for extremal transfers between two coplanar elliptical orbits via one and two intermediate-thrust arcs are presented. It is shown that in the cases of transfers via one and two intermediate-thrust arcs, the orbital parameters have to satisfy respectively two constraints and one constraint imposed by the continuity conditions formed at the junctions. This means that respectively two and one of these orbital parameters must not be arbitrary. Furthermore, by utilizing the analytical solutions for the intermediate-thrust arcs, the corresponding extremal guidance laws for a transfer between two points with arbitrary position vectors and for a transfer between elliptical orbits are presented. The guidance commands are formulated in terms of commanded thrust angle and commanded mass-flow rate. A numerical example illustrating the proposed trajectory and guidance solutions is discussed. The results of the computations are compared to those of similar one- and two- impulsive transfers, and a low-thrust orbit raising maneuver. It is demonstrated that for some eccentricities of the terminal orbits, the fuel consumption for a transfer via an intermediate-thrust arc is comparable to that of the two-impulsive transfers. Analyses show that a maneuver with such an arc may be fuel-efficient with longer duration and higher thrust than that of the low-thrust maneuver. The trajectory computations and guidance performances are illustrated by graphical relationships.
On Nonlinear Modes of Continuous Systems

We use several methods to study the nonlinear modes of one-dimensional continuous systems with cubic inertia and geometric nonlinearities. Invariant manifold and perturbation methods applied to the discretized system and the method of multiple scales applied to the partial-differential equation and boundary conditions are discussed and their equivalence is demonstrated. The method of multiple scales is then applied directly to the partial-differential equation and boundary conditions governing several nonlinear beam problems.
NudEL targets dynein to microtubule ends through LIS1

Dynein is a minus-end-directed microtubule motor with critical roles in mitosis, membrane transport and intracellular transport. Several proteins regulate dynein activity, including dynactin, LIS1 (refs 2, 3) and NudEL (NudE-like). Here, we identify a NUDEL homologue in budding yeast and name it Ndl1. The ndl1delta null mutant shows decreased targeting of dynein to microtubule plus ends, an essential element of the model for dynein function. We find that Ndl1 regulates dynein targeting through LIS1, with which it interacts biochemically, but not through CLIP170, another plus-end protein involved in dynein targeting. Ndl1 is found at far fewer microtubule ends than are LIS1 and dynein. However, when Ndl1 is present at a plus end, the molar amount of Ndl1 approaches that of LIS1 and dynein. We propose a model in which Ndl1 binds transiently to the plus end to promote targeting of LIS1, which cooperatively recruits dynein.
Galvanomagnetic properties of single-crystal bismuth-antimony thin films

Describes growth of the first thin ( approximately 1 mu m) epitaxial films of pure bismuth-antimony alloys using molecular beam epitaxy techniques. These structures were grown at elevated temperatures on single-crystal barium fluoride substrates of (111) orientation. Electron microscope observations show the films to be featureless and defect-free on the scale of 0.1 mu m. The films grow with their trigonal axis parallel to the (111) axis of the substrate, and Laue-backscattering pictures show that they are epitaxial. Mobilities of alloys with x=0 are of the order of 2 m2 V-1 s-1 at room temperature and increase to over 10 at 20 K and 100 at liquid helium temperatures. These values are far superior to those of other bismuth films grown to data, and approach mobilities observed in single-crystal bismuth. The dependence of energy gap and c axis lattice constant on x is different from that in bulk alloys, which may be due to the effects of strain arising from the 3.6% lattice mismatch between sample and substrate.
Characterization of chemisorption on porous silicon by sum frequency generation

Sum Frequency Generation (SFG) spectra of nanocrystalline porous silicon (por-Si) exposed to different chemical treatments are studied. We report the first SFG studies of por-Si in direct contact with a liquid. SFG is excited by a regeneratively amplified Ti:sapphire system (787 nm, 120 fs, 1 kHz). The sum frequency is generated by combining this light with infrared that is generated with an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) that delivers 100-200 μJ pulses at 1370-1770 nm. Por-Si is made from a 10-20 Q cm p-type Si(001) wafer. Comparisons are made to planar Si(001) as well as GaAs(001). First principle electronic structure theory based on density functional theory (DFT) is used to study the adsorption and optical response functions from the system of ethanol molecule adsorbed on Si(001) and Si(1 11) surfaces. Equilibrium atomic geometries are obtained through molecular dynamics and total energy minimization methods. Electron energy structure and optical properties are calculated using a generalized gradient approximation method with ab initio pseudopotentials. Predicted differential optical absorption spectra for chemisorbed Si(001) and Si(111) surfaces are analyzed in comparison with SFG data measured on differently treated porous silicon. Substantial modifications of the surface atomic and electron energy structures of silicon surfaces due to chemisorption are shown to provide the dominant contributions to the SFG response.
Proton‐pump inhibitor use by coronary artery disease patients is associated with fewer chest pain episodes, emergency department visits and hospitalizations

Summary Background: Patients with coronary artery disease presenting to an emergency department with chest pain are likely to undergo hospitalization in an attempt to elucidate its aetiology. Aim: To examine whether coronary artery disease patients receiving proton-pump inhibitor therapy are associated with fewer chest pain events and evaluations. Methods: A veteran patient population with documented coronary artery disease was identified, and chest pain episodes, emergency department visits and hospitalizations for chest pain were followed over 2 years. Patient outcomes between proton-pump inhibitor use and non-use of proton-pump inhibitor therapy were compared. Results: In 415 male patients, 23% utilized a proton-pump inhibitor and 77% did not. Proton-pump inhibitor therapy was associated with fewer chest pain episodes (12% vs. 26%, P = 0.002), emergency department visits, (12% vs. 24%, P = 0.044) and hospitalizations (13% vs. 24%, P = 0.086). The incidence of adverse events was decreased in the proton-pump inhibitor group: 70% fewer chest pain episodes (P = 0.002, RR = 3.3), 55% fewer emergency department visits (P = 0.049, RR = 2.2) and 53% fewer hospitalizations (P = 0.064, RR = 2.1). By multivariate analysis, proton-pump inhibitor therapy independently predicted a reduced prevalence of patients experiencing chest pain, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations [OR = 0.09 (0.04–0.21); 0.15 (0.06–0.40); 0.14 (0.05–0.40); all P < 0.001]. Conclusions: Proton-pump inhibitor therapy for veteran coronary artery disease patients is associated with fewer chest pain episodes, emergency department visits and hospitalizations for chest pain.