cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intrathecal baclofen in tetraplegia of spinal origin: efficacy for upper extremity hypertonia

Study design: Retrospective analysis. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of intrathecal baclofen (ITB) for upper extremity spastic hypertonia in tetraplegia of spinal origin. Setting: University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital. Methods: The medical records of 14 individuals with tetraplegia of spinal origin who underwent intrathecal baclofen pump placement were reviewed. The effects of intrathecal baclofen on spasm frequency, deep tendon reflexes, and tone (Ashworth scale) were assessed for the upper and lower extremities for a 1-year follow-up period. Results: There were statistically significant declines in upper extremity spasm scores (1.8 points, P=0.012), reflex scores (1.4 points, P<0.0001) and Ashworth scores (0.6 points, P<0.0001) for the 1-year follow-up period. For the lower extremities, all decreases were significant (P<0.0001). There was also a statistically significant (P<0.0001) increase in intrathecal baclofen dosage requirements during the 1-year follow-up period to maintain the reductions in spasm frequency, reflexes and tone. Conclusions: Intrathecal baclofen is a safe and effective intervention for treating upper extremity hypertonia of spinal origin. In addition, the level of intrathecal catheter placement is felt to be of importance. Spinal Cord (2001) 39, 413–419.
How outpatient substance abuse treatment unit director activities may affect provision of community outreach services.

Aims: Community outreach services play an important role in infectious disease prevention and engaging drug users not currently in treatment. However, fewer than half of US substance abuse treatment units provide these services and many have little financial incentive to do so. Unit directors generally have latitude about scope of services, including the level of outreach provided to the community. The current study examines how directors’ interactions with external stakeholders affect substance abuse treatment units’ provision of community outreach services.Methods: Cross-sectional logistic and Poisson regression analyses were conducted on a national sample of US outpatient substance abuse treatment units (N = 547).Results: Findings suggest that the amount of time directors spent with licensing and monitoring associations was associated with provision of a greater number of community outreach services, while time spent with professional and occupational associations was associated with provision of off-s...
Part I: Heart failure home management: Patients, multidisciplinary health care professionals and family caregivers' perspectives

Using qualitative research study methods, this study identified the key factors that patients, health care professionals, and family caregivers perceived as most helpful in effectively managing heart failure (HF) at home. These key factors were the following: (a) family caregiver involvement, (b) continuous learning about HF, (c) acceptance of and coping with HF diagnosis, (d) learning from other patients with HF, (e) guidance for daily problem solving, (f) lifestyle changes, and (g) financial resources.
Particle size variations in bedload over dunes

Abstract Because bedload samplers typically protrude above the bedload transport zone, they inevitably trap some suspended sediment. For the case of bedload transport over dunes, sediment carried over the separation zone in suspension may be trapped by a bedload sampler that is placed in or near the trough. This sediment does not contribute to the downstream movement of the dune, and is consistently finer and better-sorted than at other locations over the dune. It causes distinctive temporal variability in the particle size distribution of bedload and may complicate the estimation of bedload transport rates.
Improving student performance and retention via supplemental instruction

Abstract Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a cooperative learning model designed to improve student performance and retention in courses with a history of high failure and withdrawal rates. This paper describes the SI model and provides descriptive data on student performance, failure, and withdrawal rates for 132 introductory accounting classes from 21 four-year colleges and universities that have adopted SI. Participants in SI programs were observed to have higher average course grades, and lower failure and withdrawal rates. In addition, for a subsample of nine schools, course attrition rates (Ds, Fs, and withdrawals) were lower after implementing SI. Descriptive data presented in the paper indicate that SI is effective in improving student performance and retention in introductory accounting.
Home-based therapy for severe acute malnutrition with ready-to-use food

Severe acute malnutrition is a devastating condition afflicting under-5 children in many developing countries, but concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper examines the development of home-based lipid-nutrient therapeutic foods for the treatment of acute malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa and the adoption of these therapies as a standard of care for non-complicated cases of acute malnutrition. Several of the early key clinical and operational effectiveness trials are discussed as well as the adoption of home-based treatment as a standard operating procedure in regions where malnutrition is present.
Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: domain, definition, fundamental issues and foundational premises

This paper proposes a domain statement for strategic marketing as a field of study and delineates certain issues fundamental to the field. It also proposes a definition for marketing strategy, the focal organizational strategy construct of the field, and enumerates a number of foundational premises of marketing strategy. The domain of strategic marketing is viewed as encompassing the study of organizational, inter-organizational and environmental phenomena concerned with (1) the behavior of organizations in the marketplace in their interactions with consumers, customers, competitors and other external constituencies, in the context of creation, communication and delivery of products that offer value to customers in exchanges with organizations, and (2) the general management responsibilities associated with the boundary spanning role of the marketing function in organizations. At the broadest level, marketing strategy can be defined as an organization’s integrated pattern of decisions that specify its crucial choices concerning products, markets, marketing activities and marketing resources in the creation, communication and/or delivery of products that offer value to customers in exchanges with the organization and thereby enables the organization to achieve specific objectives. Chief among the issues that are fundamental to strategic marketing as a field of study are the questions of how the marketing strategy of a business is influenced by demand side factors and supply side factors.
Paper thickness as factor in autoradiography of carbon-14

Abstract many chromatographers appear to have independently concluded that little or no loss of sensitivity results when thicker papers are used for chromatograms which are examined by techniques such as X-ray film exposure, or ultraviolet light fluorescence. For this, one valid explanation is the ability to obtain more compact chromatographic spots on thicker papers. But the present study shows that part of the explanation lies in the tendency of chromatographed materials to migrate to the surfaces of the paper as the papers dry.
Defeminization and social class

The hypothesis that there might occur selective defeminization by social class between childhood and adulthood among homosexual men was explored. Interview data on 686 homosexual men were employed. It was found that there is a greater tendency for cross-gender propensities to persist into adulthood among respondents from blue-collar backgrounds. Effeminate respondents from such backgrounds were found to be disproportionately involved in same-sex sexual activities during adolescence. They were also sexually responsive to same-sex persons earlier. The interpretation is offered that early homosexual experiences reinforce crossgender propensities among blue-collar respondents because of the greater gender role dichotomization found in blue-collar culture. Such reinforcement may explain the tendency for there to be greater persistence of crossgendering among blue-collar men.
On the use of nonuniform grids in finite-difference equations

Abstract A study of the truncation errors introduced by the use of nonuniform grids is presented. It is shown that the use of certain stretched coordinates has several advantages for the numerical study of flows with boundary layers.
Mating competition in an asocial ground squirrel spermophilus tridecemlineatus

Male thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) are subject to three forms of intrasexual competition: competition over location of spatially scattered females, overt conflict over access to those females, and sperm competition. The likelihood of both overt conflict and sperm competition varies between seasons; changes in male density, female density, and breeding synchrony were investigated as possible sources of that variability. Male density was artificially reduced mid-way through one mating season. The results of that experiment, as well as subsequent between-season comparisons, indicate that fluctuations of male density have hardly any effect on levels of overt conflict and sperm competition. By contrast, those forms of intrasexual competition are influenced strongly by female density and/or breeding synchrony.
Effect of stress on cochlear glucocorticoid protein. II. Restraint

Abstract The effect of restraint stress via immobilization on rat cochlear glucocorticoid receptor (GR) levels was determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results demonstrated that GR levels in cochlear tissues exhibited tissue-specific and time-dependent responses to immobilization (6 hours daily). Similar responses of the GR were observed in rats restrained during two different times of the day. A significant quadratic trend (P = 0.019, R2 = 0.58) was observed in levels of GR in spiral ligament tissues of rats restrained from 10:00 to 16:00 h; levels of GR were elevated by day 2, and by day 21 GR levels had returned to near normal levels. GR levels in the spiral ligament tissues also were found to increase significantly after 2 days in response to repeated restraint stress administered from 06:00 to 12:00 h (P = 0.017, R2 = 0.34). Interestingly, a subtle, but statistically significant, decreasing trend in the organ of Corti's GR levels was detected when the daily restraint stress was applied from 06:00 to 12:00 h for up to 7 days. No significant trends (P > 0.05) were observed in GR levels of stria vascularis tissues regardless of the time of the restraint protocol. Stress has been implicated as an etiological factor in Meniere's disease and other ear pathologies. The data presented here indicate that the effect of stress is specific to tissue region and that, as in tissues of other systems, the GR of cochlear tissues are responsive to stress.
Sum–product theorems and exponential sum bounds in residue classes for general modulus

Abstract The purpose of this Note is to extend (in the appropriate formulation) the sum–product theorem in Z q = Z / q Z (established in [J. Bourgain, N. Katz, T. Tao, A sum–product estimate in finite fields and applications, GAFA 14 (2004) 27–57; J. Bourgain, A. Glibichuk, S. Konyagin, Estimate for the number of sums and products and for exponential sums in fields of prime order, J. London Math. Soc. 73 (2006) 380–398] for q prime, in [J. Bourgain, M. Chang, Exponential sum estimates over subgroups and almost subgroups of Z q ∗ , where q is composite with few factors, GAFA 16 (2) (2006) 327–366] for q composite with few factors and in [J. Bourgain, A. Gamburd, P. Sarnak, Sieving and expanders, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 343 (3) (2006) 155–159] for q square free) to the case of arbitrary modulus. Consequences to exponential sum bounds (mod q) are given. To cite this article: J. Bourgain, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 344 (2007).
Contemporary appraisal of radical perineal prostatectomy.

ABSTRACT Purpose: In the age of minimally invasive surgery there has been renewed interest in the perineal approach for the surgical treatment of prostate cancer. We reviewed recent publications regarding radical perineal prostatectomy (RPP) in an effort to define its role in the current management of localized prostate malignancy. At the same time we reviewed the relevant perineal anatomy and surgical approach necessary to perform this operation. Materials and Methods: We performed a review of the literature with respect to RPP and included our own extensive experience with this operation, emphasizing patient selection, the current role of pelvic lymph node dissection, surgical anatomy, oncological outcomes and complications. Results: RPP is an effective treatment for localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate with oncological outcomes similar to those of the retropubic technique. In comparison to RRP, patients undergoing RPP have less postoperative discomfort, more rapid return of bowel function, more rapid return to work and a decreased transfusion rate. In addition, RRP is now often performed with cavernous nerve sparing. Prostate specific antigen screening has made the rate of lymph node metastasis low enough to omit lymphadenectomy in many cases. Conclusions: There is still a role for RPP in the treatment of localized prostate cancer. Erectile dysfunction after nerve sparing and incontinence rates are similar to those of RRP. In addition, it is less morbid then RRP without being as technically challenging as laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.
Monkeying around with HIV vaccines: using rhesus macaques to define ‘gatekeepers’ for clinical trials

Rhesus macaques are an important animal model for the study of human disease and the development of vaccines against HIV and AIDS. HIV vaccines have been benchmarked in rhesus macaque preclinical challenge studies using chimeric viruses made up of parts of HIV and simian immunodeficiency viruses. However, the lack of efficacy in a recent clinical trial calls for a re-evaluation of the scientific assumptions regarding the predictive value of using data generated from rhesus macaques as a 'gatekeeper' for the advancement of candidate vaccines into the clinic. In this context, there is significant consensus among HIV vaccinologists that next-generation HIV vaccines must generate 'better' immunity in rhesus macaques than clinically unsuccessful vaccines generated using validated assays. Defining better immunity is the core challenge of HIV vaccine development in this system and is the focus of this Review.
Obstetrics and Gynecology Residencies: Education in Preventive and Primary Health Care for Women

Abstract Objective: To test the hypothesis that the Residency Review Committee program requirements for obstetrics and gynecology residencies, when properly followed, will result in residents being educated in preventive and primary ambulatory health care for women during their residency training program as specialists in obstetrics and gynecology. Methods: The 60 requisite residency training competencies identified as essential to educate generalist physicians, and viewed by some educators as a benchmarking standard, each were evaluated to determine whether residents in obstetrics and gynecology are now being educated in each of these areas. The answer was considered affirmative if any of the following pertained: 1) the Residency Review Committee program requirements indicate that the competency “must” or “should” be taught, 2) the Residency Review Committee requests numerical verification related to the competency on the accreditation review application, or 3) by virtue of a specific rotation required by the Residency Review Committee it can be assumed that the resident will be educated in the competency. To make our assessment, we identified and listed the section of the Residency Review Committee for Obstetrics-Gynecology program requirements, which, when properly followed, would result in education in the particular competency. Results: Fifty-seven of the 60 competencies were considered applicable to obstetrician-gynecologists (care of infants, care of children, and infant/child preventive care were not), and residents in obstetrics and gynecology were found to be educated in 54 (95%). Conclusion: During their residency training programs as specialists in obstetrics and gynecology, residents are being educated to be able to be providers of preventive and ambulatory primary health care for women.
G protein βγ11 complex translocation is induced by Gi, Gq and Gs coupling receptors and is regulated by the α subunit type

G protein activation by Gi/Go coupling M2 muscarinic receptors, Gq coupling M3 receptors and Gs coupling β2 adrenergic receptors causes rapid reversible translocation of the G protein γ11 subunit from the plasma membrane to the Golgi complex. Co-translocation of the β1 subunit suggests that γ11 translocates as a βγ complex. Pertussis toxin ADP ribosylation of the αi subunit type or substitution of the C terminal domain of αo with the corresponding region of αs inhibits γ11 translocation demonstrating that α subunit interaction with a receptor and its activation are requirements for the translocation. The rate of γ11 translocation is sensitive to the rate of activation of the G protein α subunit. α subunit types that show high receptor activated rates of guanine nucleotide exchange in vitro support high rates of γ11 translocation compared to α subunit types that have a relatively lower rate of guanine nucleotide exchange. The results suggest that the receptor induced translocation of γ11 is controlled by the rate of cycling of the G protein through active and inactive forms. They also demonstrate that imaging of γ11 translocation can be used as a non-invasive tool to measure the relative activities of wild type or mutant receptor and α subunit types in a live cell.
A Survey on Machine-Learning Techniques in Cognitive Radios

In this survey paper, we characterize the learning problem in cognitive radios (CRs) and state the importance of artificial intelligence in achieving real cognitive communications systems. We review various learning problems that have been studied in the context of CRs classifying them under two main categories: Decision-making and feature classification. Decision-making is responsible for determining policies and decision rules for CRs while feature classification permits identifying and classifying different observation models. The learning algorithms encountered are categorized as either supervised or unsupervised algorithms. We describe in detail several challenging learning issues that arise in cognitive radio networks (CRNs), in particular in non-Markovian environments and decentralized networks, and present possible solution methods to address them. We discuss similarities and differences among the presented algorithms and identify the conditions under which each of the techniques may be applied.
FACTORS INFLUENCING FLOW PATTRENS, TEMPERATURE FIELDS AND CONSEQUENT DRYING RATES IN SPRAY DRYING

ABSTRACT The PSI-Cell model is used to predict flow patterns and drying rates for laboratory-scale spray dryers. The liquid feed is water, with atomization producing a spectrum of droplet sizes. An analysis of the cause-and-effect relationships determining droplet trajectories, temperature fields, the location and magnitude of the backflow recirculation effect, and drying rates provides insight into the factors governing spray-air contacting and dryer performance. Independent effects are assessed for spray angle, dryer column diameter, initial droplet size distribution and droplet velocity (separately and as linked through atomizer pressure), air/water flow ratio, and liquid volatility. Inferences are made for effective dryer design, selection of operating conditions, and logic for scale-up.
Simultaneous Dielectrophoretic Separation and Impedimetric Detection of Microbeads using Interdigitated Electrodes Array

This paper presents a polymer microfluidic biochip integrated with interdigitated electrodes arrays (IDAs), which is used for simultaneous separation, accumulation, and detection of microbeads using dielectrophoresis (DEP) and electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. The DEP response of silica microspheres has been characterized, and microspheres with different sizes (1.8 mum and 3.5 mum) have been successfully separated and individually trapped in different microchambers with IDAs. Simultaneously, the impedance variation caused by captured microspheres at IDAs has been analyzed.
The Treatment of Adolescents and Young Adults with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Intensive chemotherapy regimens for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have greatly improved, and the majority of children with precursor B-cell ALL are able to achieve a complete remission (CR), with an induction rate approaching 98% and a 5-year estimated event-free survival rate (EFS) of approximately 80%. Although there have been dramatic improvements over the last several decades in both the EFS and overall survival (OS) rates in young children with ALL, the results in adult clinical trials have not kept pace. Current adult treatment regimens result in CR rates in the 80% range, with EFS at 5 years of only 30%-40%. Adolescents and young adults represent a minority of patients enrolled onto either adult or pediatric clinical trials. As a result, little information is available regarding CR, EFS, and OS rates for this age group, and the appropriate treatment regimen for this group of patients remains elusive. Recent studies suggest that young adult patients have far superior outcomes when treated on more intensive pediatric regimens. In addition, new insights into the molecular pathogenesis of T cell ALL have led to new therapeutic strategies.
Machiavelli and Xenophon on Princely Rule: A Double-Edged Encounter

One of the puzzling aspects of Machiavelli's political philosophy is the prominent place occupied in it by Xenophon. Machiavelli goes much further than including Xenophon with Plato, Aristotle and Cicero, as was common in the Renaissance "mirror of princes." Rather, he discusses Xenophon in The Prince and the Discourses more frequently than Plato, Aristotle and Cicero combined. In this essay, I argue that the explanation lies in Machiavelli's need to refute, at what for him is exceptional length, the classical author whose views of politics most closely resembled his own.
The capacity region of the symbol-asynchronous Gaussian multiple-access channel

An equivalent discrete-time Gaussian channel parametrized by the signal cross-correlations is derived to obtain an equivalent channel model with discrete-time outputs. The main feature introduced by the lack of symbol synchronism is that the channel has memory. This is due to the overlap of each symbol transmitted by a user with two consecutive symbols transmitted by the other user. It is shown that if the transmitters are assigned the same waveform, symbol asynchronism has no effect on the two-user capacity region of the white Gaussian channel which is equal to the Cover-Syner pentagon, whereas if the assigned waveforms are different (e.g., code division multiple access), the symbol-asynchronous capacity region is no longer a pentagon. An alternative representation of the capacity region which results in a particularly compact characterization of the fundamental limits of the multiple-access channel in the region of signal-to-noise ratios is also considered. >
SIFAR: Self-Identification of Lags of an Autoregressive TSK-based Model

In this work, a Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) model is used for time series analysis and some important questions about the identification of this kind of models are addressed: the identification of the model structure and the set of the most influential regressors or lags. The main idea behind of the proposed method resembles to those techniques that prioritize lags evaluating the proximity of nearby samples in the input space in relation to the closeness of the corresponding target values. Clusters of samples are generated and the consistence of the mapping between the predicted variable and the set of candidate past values is evaluated. Afterwards, a TSK model is established and the redundancies in the rule base are avoided. Simulation experiments were conducted for 2 synthetic nonlinear autoregressive processes and for 4 benchmark time series. Results show a promising performance in terms of forecasting error and in terms of ability to find a proper set of lags of a given autoregressive process.
Spatial critical points of solutions of a one-dimensional nonlinear parabolic problem

The number of spatial critical points is nonincreasing in time, for positive, analytic solutions of a scalar, nonlinear, parabolic partial differential equation in one space dimension. While proving this, we answer the question: What happens to a critical point which loses simplicity?
Managing Foodborne Risk

This article discusses quantitative risk assessment (QRA) for foodborne risks, focusing primarily on risk from disease-causing bacteria in food. QRA can support improved risk-management decisions for food safety by predicting the probable consequences for human health of alternative interventions, such as different standards for the maximum times and temperatures at which ready-to-eat foods may be refrigerated before being disposed of. Even when QRA is impracticable, process quality improvement ideas and methods can often be used to reduce microbial loads at critical control points, as emphasized in hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) programs, leading to safer food even without quantitative risk estimates. Keywords: microbial risk assessment; food safety; HACCP; quality control; farm-to-fork model
Linear unipolar pulse-shaping networks: current technology

The current usage of linear pulse-shaping filters is reviewed. It is shown that pulse amplifiers with different shaping networks are best compared for spectral resolution and count-rate capability at a shaped-pulse width measured at a specific fraction of peak height, preferably 50% (t/sub 1/2/). With this normalization, it is shown that the best tradeoff between noise and resolving time is obtained with the quasi-triangular waveform, the worst with the cusp. Noise, resolving time, and ballistic deficit are compared through graphs and tables for the cusp, true Gaussian, true triangle, CR-(RC)/sup n/, sine/sup n/, and quasi-triangular shapes for normalizations at t/sub p/, t/sub 1/2/, and t/sub 0.01/. Rules are given for estimating the effect of pulse shape on noise performance. >
A relational algebra for assertion management

Extends the established relational theory of stored data to encompass logic assertions. Since the truth table for an assertion is a virtual relation, relational database theory can be extended to include assertion management. The author establishes a correspondence between the relational algebra, as applied to the management of stored data, and the same algebra, as applied to the management of logical assertions, and thus presents a single comprehensive framework for the management of these two important types of information. >
Effect on Daphnia pulex (de geer) of daily pulse exposures to copper or cadmium

The most recent U.S. EPA water quality criteria indicate that chronic exposures to pulses of the LC50 concentration of a metal will cause no damage to freshwater animals as long as the average daily concentration does not exceed the chronic, no-observable-effect concentration. We have tested this concept by exposing Daphnia pulex to such pulses of copper and cadmium. The exposures to cadmium for periods of up to 70d, caused no adverse effects. However, 70-d exposures to daily pulses of copper resulted in significant reductions in survival, growth and reproduction. Although the two-number criterion has not been tested for other chemicals, it is probable that the success of this approach in protecting freshwater animals from chronic exposures to chemicals will be as variable among other chemicals as we have shown it to be between copper and cadmium.
Systematic Approach to Design Higher Temperature Composite PEMs

The design of higher temperature composite proton-exchange membranes ~PEMs! with adequate performance under low relative humidity ~RH! is discussed here based on experimental and theoretical considerations. The approach is based on enhancing the acidity and water sorption of a conventional polymer electrolyte membrane by incorporating in it a solid acidic inorganic material. A systematic investigation of the composite Nafion/inorganic additive PEMs based on characterization of water uptake, ionexchange capacity ~IEC!, conductivity, and fuel cell polarization is presented. The effects of particle size, chemical treatment, additive loading, and alternate processing methodologies are investigated. The most promising candidate investigated thus far is the nanostructured ZrO2/Nafion PEM exhibiting an increase of ;10% in IEC, ;40% increase in water sorbed, and ;5% enhancement in conductivity vs. unmodified Nafion 112 at 120°C and 40% RH. This appears to be an attractive candidate for incorporation into a membrane-electrode assembly for improved performance under these hot and dry conditions.
Elementary Embeddings and Infinitary Combinatorics

One of the standard ways of postulating large cardinal axioms is to consider elementary embeddings, j, from the universe, V, into some transitive submodel, M. See Reinhardt–Solovay [7] for more details. If j is not the identity, and κ is the first ordinal moved by j, then κ is a measurable cardinal. Conversely, Scott [8] showed that whenever κ is measurable, there is such j and M. If we had assumed, in addition, that , then κ would be the κth measurable cardinal; in general, the wider we assume M to be, the larger κ must be.
Sexuality in Children and Adolescents With Cancer: Pediatric Oncology Nurses' Attitudes and Behaviors

It is essential that health professionals openly discuss how cancer may affect the developing sexuality of childhood cancer patients. This study was conducted to explore nurses' attitudes and behaviors regarding sexuality in cancer patients. Results are reported for a subset of a larger study (N = 937) from subjects who indicated that their practice included children and/or adolescents (N = 156). The Williams-Wilson Sexuality Survey was used to measure attitudes towards sexuality in cancer patients, behavior in nursing care related to the sexuality of a cancer patient, and attitudes towards sexuality in the child and/or adolescent with cancer. The majority of subjects agreed that sexuality should be a routine component of nursing care, yet less than half had actually discussed an alternation in sexuality with an adolescent patient. More than one third said they were not comfortable in initiating such discussions. However, they were comfortable in discussing sexuality concerns when these discussions were initiated by the patient and/or family.
Aging, Exercise, and Phytochemicals Promises and Pitfalls

Phytochemicals are emerging comprehensive and versatile sources of antioxidants to be consumed to enhance the body's defenses against harmful reactive oxygen species generated endogenously or exogenously. Tocols, favonoids, and phenolic acids compose the majority of this class of antioxidants, although more complex compounds may also be involved, such as ginsenosides. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated convincingly that dietary supplementation of phytochemicals has beneficial effects against certain types of pathogenesis, disease, cancer, and aging. There is evidence that these effects are related to the ability of phytochemicals to promote the antioxidant defense system and reduce oxidative stress and damage in the cell. However, due to their structural and chemical diversity and complexity, many of the benefits as well as potential adverse effects remain to be examined.
Postnatal experience modulates functional properties of mouse olfactory sensory neurons

Early experience considerably modulates the organization and function of all sensory systems. In the mammalian olfactory system, deprivation of the sensory inputs via neonatal, unilateral naris closure has been shown to induce structural, molecular and functional changes from the olfactory epithelium to the olfactory bulb and cortex. However, it remains unknown how early experience shapes the functional properties of individual olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), the primary odor detectors in the nose. To address this question, we examined the odorant response properties of mouse OSNs in both the closed and open nostril after 4 weeks of unilateral naris closure, with age-matched untreated animals as control. Using a patch-clamp technique on genetically tagged OSNs with defined odorant receptors (ORs), we found that sensory deprivation increased the sensitivity of MOR23 neurons in the closed side, whereas overexposure caused the opposite effect in the open side. We next analyzed the response properties, including rise time, decay time, and adaptation, induced by repeated stimulation in MOR23 and M71 neurons. Even though these two types of neuron showed distinct properties with regard to dynamic range and response kinetics, sensory deprivation significantly slowed down the decay phase of odorant-induced transduction events in both types. Using western blotting and antibody staining, we confirmed the upregulation of several signaling proteins in the closed side as compared with the open side. This study suggests that early experience modulates the functional properties of OSNs, probably by modifying the signal transduction cascade.
Notes on the position of the true freshwater crabs within the brachyrhynchan Eubrachyura (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura)

Cladistic and phenetic relationships of 51 eubrachyuran crab genera, comprising 36 genera of marine crabs and 18 genera of true freshwater crabs from 7 families, were investigated using 121 parsimony-informative adult morphological characters. The data matrix was subjected to four different treatments: (1) a cladistic analysis with a combination of unordered and ordered characters, (2) a cladistic analysis with all characters unordered, (3) neighbour-joining, and (4) UPGMA phenetic analyses. The parsimony analysis conducted with a combination of ordered and unordered characters produced a set of hypotheses which supported monophyly of a Pseudothelphusidae+Potamoidea clade. Furthermore, exemplar genera of the Bythograeidae and Pinnotheridae formed an unresolved polytomy with the Pseudothelphusidae+Potamoidea group, the Thoracotremata. The trichodactylid freshwater crabs were positioned as the sister taxon of the basal portunoid Carcinus, but were unresolved relative to other portunoids and geryonids. Second, the parsimony analysis conducted with all characters unordered resulted in a [bythograeid, pseudothelphusid+potamoid, pinnotherid, thoracotreme] group with no hierarchical resolution, which in turn formed a polytomy with a goneplacid+portunoid clade and a polyphyletic Xanthoidea. And third, phenetic groupings of the eubrachyuran genera invariably placed the pseudothelphusids with the potamoids, and this clustered with a group containing the thoracotremes (either in whole or part). Support was thus found for morphological connections among the nontrichodactylid freshwater crabs, thoracotremes, bythograeids, and pinnotherids, and for the placement of the trichodactylids within the Portunoidea. These two latter findings (that used a range of genera from each family) are broadly congruent with a previous cladistic analysis of selected eubrachyuran familial groundpatterns that used a basal exemplar of each marine and freshwater crab family (Sternberg et al., 1999). However, it is clear that the large scale homoplasy identified here may nullify any reliable hypothesis of brachyrhynchan groupings at this stage.
Multisensory stimuli elicit altered oscillatory brain responses at gamma frequencies in patients with schizophrenia

Deficits in auditory and visual unisensory responses are well documented in patients with schizophrenia; however, potential abnormalities elicited from multisensory audio-visual stimuli are less understood. Further, schizophrenia patients have shown abnormal patterns in task-related and task-independent oscillatory brain activity, particularly in the gamma frequency band. We examined oscillatory responses to basic unisensory and multisensory stimuli in schizophrenia patients (N = 46) and healthy controls (N = 57) using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Time-frequency decomposition was performed to determine regions of significant changes in gamma band power by group in response to unisensory and multisensory stimuli relative to baseline levels. Results showed significant behavioral differences between groups in response to unisensory and multisensory stimuli. In addition, time-frequency analysis revealed significant decreases and increases in gamma-band power in schizophrenia patients relative to healthy controls, which emerged both early and late over both sensory and frontal regions in response to unisensory and multisensory stimuli. Unisensory gamma-band power predicted multisensory gamma-band power differently by group. Furthermore, gamma-band power in these regions predicted performance in select measures of the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) test battery differently by group. These results reveal a unique pattern of task-related gamma-band power in schizophrenia patients relative to controls that may indicate reduced inhibition in combination with impaired oscillatory mechanisms in patients with schizophrenia.
Feasible region for a countercurrent cascade of vapor-liquid CSTRS

The attainable region approach for reaction-mixing systems was applied to systems with simultaneous reaction and separation. A model developed for a countercurrent cascade of two-phase CSTRs can be considered as a surrogate for the stripping or rectifying sections of a reactive distillation column. An overall composition vector defined satisfies the same geometric properties as the reaction vector. The necessary conditions for the reaction-mixing attainable region were applied to the cascade of two-phase CSTRs. This article focuses only on the countercurrent cascade of two-phase CSTRs; therefore, the region identified is a feasible region, which is a subset of the attainable region for reaction-separation systems. For consecutive reactions, the boundary of the feasible region is given by the trajectory for a cocurrent cascade of two-phase CSTRs. The overall composition vector for the cocurrent cascade of two-phase CSTRs is tangent to the trajectory. For single reversible reactions, the attainable region for single-phase reactors is significantly expanded by using a countercurrent cascade of vapor-liquid CSTRs. Two examples used are transalkylation of toluene and the synthesis of isopropyl acetate.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone immunization for the treatment of urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence in ovariectomized bitches

We have investigated GnRH immunization for the treatment of urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence in ovariectomized bitches. It has been reported that decreasing LH secretion through the use of GnRH agonists temporarily restores continence in some bitches. Therefore, decreasing the circulating LH concentrations by immunizing against GnRH might temporarily maintain continence in incontinent dogs. Sixteen incontinent dogs given phenylpropanolamine (PPA) to control incontinence were recruited for this study. Eleven dogs were immunized against GnRH (novel treatment group) at week 0, and nine dogs were vaccinated again 4 weeks later. Five dogs (standard treatment group) were vaccinated with a placebo twice at 4-week intervals. PPA was discontinued in the novel treatment group 2 weeks after revaccination, and standard-treatment dogs were given PPA for the duration of the study. Blood samples were collected before each treatment and at 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks and owners recorded episodes of incontinence throughout the study. Ten of the eleven dogs in the novel treatment group experienced side effects as a result of vaccination; two of these dogs experienced more severe side effects after the first vaccination and were withdrawn from the study as a result. Of the nine dogs that completed the vaccination series, four dogs remained continent after PPA was discontinued. For these four dogs, there was no difference in incontinent episodes when they were given PPA versus treatment with the vaccine. All nine novel-treatment dogs developed a GnRH antibody titer and experienced a significant decrease in circulating LH concentrations. In conclusion, GnRH immunization was effective in maintaining continence in four of the nine incontinent ovariectomized dogs, and in these dogs, treatment with the vaccine was comparable with treatment with PPA.
Model-based face tracking for view-independent facial expression recognition

Facial expression recognition is necessary for designing any realistic human-machine interfaces. Previous published facial expression recognition systems achieve good recognition rates, but most of them perform well only when the user faces the camera and does not change his 3D head pose. We propose a new method for robust, view-independent recognition of facial expressions that does not make this assumption. The system uses a novel 3D model-based tracker to extract simultaneously and robustly the pose and shape of the face at every frame of a monocular video sequence. There are two main contributions. First, we demonstrate that the 3D information extracted through 3D tracking enables robust facial expression recognition in spite of large rotational and translational head movements (up to 90 degrees in head rotation). Second, we show that the Support Vector Machine is a suitable engine for robust classification. Recognition rates as high as 91 percent are achieved at classifying 5 distinct dynamic facial motions (neutral, opening/closing mouth, smile, raising eyebrow).
A NEW SPECIES OF GALINSOGA (ASTERACEAE: MILLERIEAE: GALINSOGINAE) FROM NORTHWESTERN MEXICO

Galinsoga crozierae from the state of Durango, northwest Mexico is de­ scribed and its salient morphological features compared to those of other species in the genus. The genus Galinsoga Ruiz & Pav. con­ tains between 10-25 species depending on taxonomic authority and is centered about central Mexico. The genus is circumscribed by its trilobed, white-rayed corollas, oppo­ site leaves, and narrowly obconical cypselae. The delimitation of the genus from its clos­ est relatives, the genera Alloispermum Willd., Sabazia Cass., and Stenocarpha S. F.. Blake is not satisfactory and has led to con­ siderable confusion in the taxonomy and composition of Galinsoga. Results from molecular studies of subtribe Galinsoginae show that Galinsoga is not monophyletic and that some of its species are of hybrid origin (Panero and Plovanich-Jones, un­ publ. data). My taxonomic preference at this point in the molecular phylogenetic study of subtribe Galinsoginae is to recog­ nize a more inclusive Galinsoga by placing in its synonymy the genera Alloispermum, Sabazia, and Stenocarpha. This preference is subjective but pragmatic because these studies reveal a polyphyletic Galinsoga with some of the species sampled sister to Sa­ bazia, others sister to Alloispermum and a few splitting sequentially and basal to these clades. To maintain Alloispermum and Sa­ bazia as distinctive genera would require erecting several new genera to accommo­ date the species of Galinsoga not nested with the type species of the genus, G. par­ viflora Cav. Some of these new genera would be monotypic and difficult if not im­ possible to differentiate from typical Gal­ insoga.
Falling with Style: Bats Perform Complex Aerial Rotations by Adjusting Wing Inertia

The remarkable maneuverability of flying animals results from precise movements of their highly specialized wings. Bats have evolved an impressive capacity to control their flight, in large part due to their ability to modulate wing shape, area, and angle of attack through many independently controlled joints. Bat wings, however, also contain many bones and relatively large muscles, and thus the ratio of bats’ wing mass to their body mass is larger than it is for all other extant flyers. Although the inertia in bat wings would typically be associated with decreased aerial maneuverability, we show that bat maneuvers challenge this notion. We use a model-based tracking algorithm to measure the wing and body kinematics of bats performing complex aerial rotations. Using a minimal model of a bat with only six degrees of kinematic freedom, we show that bats can perform body rolls by selectively retracting one wing during the flapping cycle. We also show that this maneuver does not rely on aerodynamic forces, and furthermore that a fruit fly, with nearly massless wings, would not exhibit this effect. Similar results are shown for a pitching maneuver. Finally, we combine high-resolution kinematics of wing and body movements during landing and falling maneuvers with a 52-degree-of-freedom dynamical model of a bat to show that modulation of wing inertia plays the dominant role in reorienting the bat during landing and falling maneuvers, with minimal contribution from aerodynamic forces. Bats can, therefore, use their wings as multifunctional organs, capable of sophisticated aerodynamic and inertial dynamics not previously observed in other flying animals. This may also have implications for the control of aerial robotic vehicles.
Addressing the Conceptual Challenges of Equity Work: A Blueprint for Getting Started.

This chapter provides an introduction to and description of educational equity. It outlines common traps to avoid when engaging equity-oriented practices in community college contexts.
Perceptual Learning of Spatial Localization: Specificity for Orientation, Position, and Context

Crist, Roy E., Mitesh K. Kapadia, Gerald Westheimer, and Charles D. Gilbert. Perceptual learning of spatial localization: specificity for orientation, position, and context. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 28...
A Unified Model for System Security Engineering Support

In the course of performing their duties, system security engineers must develop a detailed understanding of cyber systems, the missions those systems support, the associated cyber threat, and the risk the threat poses to mission. They use this information to specify and track cyber requirements, security controls, and the architectural aspects that allow the controls to be coordinated and implemented across the cyber environment. When attempted manually, the process of gathering, interrelating, verifying, querying, analyzing, sharing, and reusing this information can be an overwhelming data management and cognitive challenge. While models exist that focus on isolated portions of the system security engineering process, this paper puts forward a unified model as a first step towards a common platform to manage this information. The model facilitates the development of analytics to assist with activities such as threat modeling, risk assessment, security requirements development, and control tracking and tailoring.