cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differential Item Functioning Based on Autism Features, IQ, and Age on the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) Among Youth on the Autism Spectrum

Anxiety commonly occurs among youth on the autism spectrum, yet measurement of anxiety in this population is complicated by a number of factors, including potentially overlapping symptomatology, the child's intellectual functioning, and changes in anxiety across development. Moreover, few studies have examined the psychometric properties of anxiety measures in this population, and no study to date has tested whether there are systematic differences in the measurement of anxiety, or differential item functioning (DIF), across the high degree of heterogeneity and the developmental course of autism. To test this possibility, data were combined across multiple studies using the National Database for Autism Research, an NIH-funded data repository. Parent-report on the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) and Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) were used as measures of anxiety and autism features, respectively. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated good fit of the literature standard five-factor structure. Moderated nonlinear factor analysis (MNLFA) revealed multiple items with intercept and loading DIF based on level of autism features, IQ, and age, especially for items related to social behavior. Therefore, although the measure's factor structure is consistent with that found in the general population, the SCARED may not capture differences in anxiety equivalently for all children on the spectrum and across their development. Clinicians and researchers need to be especially vigilant in measuring anxiety symptoms in children with autism by removing items flagged for DIF from the SCARED and/or by using multiple measures and informants. LAY ABSTRACT: Autistic youth often experience clinical levels of anxiety. Many tools used to measure anxiety were developed for the general population, but not for use with autistic youth. This study found that the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) measures the same five dimensions of anxiety as in the general population. Parents, however, may respond differently to questions on the SCARED based on their child's autism features, intellectual functioning, and age, which impacts our ability to accurately measure anxiety among autistic youth.
Visual Sequence Repetition Learning is Not Impaired in Signing DHH Children

The auditory scaffolding hypothesis states that early experience with sound underpins the development of domain-general sequence processing abilities, supported by studies observing impaired sequence processing in deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. To test this hypothesis, we administered a sequence processing task to 77 DHH children who use American Sign Language (ASL) and 23 hearing monolingual children aged 7-12 years and found no performance difference between them after controlling for age and nonverbal intelligence. Additionally, neither spoken language comprehension scores nor hearing loss levels predicted sequence processing scores in the DHH group, whereas ASL comprehension scores did. Our results do not indicate sequence processing deficits in DHH children and do not support the auditory scaffolding hypothesis; instead, these findings suggest that factors related to experience with and/or proficiency in an accessible language during development may be more important determinants of sequence processing abilities.
The Marketers' Prismatic Palette: A Review of Color Research and Future Directions

Color carries meaning and can influence consumers’ thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Many disciplines, such as neuroscience, psychophysics, visual cognition, and biology have used new technologies to gain insights in understanding the complexities of color perception, yet there exists relatively little research in the field of marketing. This paper aims to reestablish the importance of color research in marketing, draw attention to the complex nature of this research and to fuel further investigation and the development of new insights about color as it relates to marketing. The authors offer an integrated conceptual framework centered on the embodied and referential meanings of color, and highlight the complexities and nuances that researchers must consider in order to develop this area. Insights from and gaps in the extant literature are highlighted to present a set of questions and propositions for future research in this area of investigation.
Constraining Ice Sheet Basal Sliding and Horizontal Velocity Profiles Using A Stationary Phase Sensitive Radar Sounder

The full velocity structure of glacial ice is critical to understanding glacier dynamics, but such measurements are rare. We propose a novel data processing method to resolve the horizontal and vertical velocity profile of an ice column using existing autonomous phase-sensitive radio echo sounder (ApRES) systems. The availability and relatively low cost of these systems can enable more widespread measurement of the 3D velocity structure of ice, with important implications for observational constraints on ice dynamics and basal drag.
Runtime verification in context: can optimizing error detection improve fault diagnosis?

Runtime verification has primarily been developed and evaluated as a means of enriching the software testing process. While many researchers have pointed to its potential applicability in online approaches to software fault tolerance, there has been a dearth of work exploring the details of how that might be accomplished. In this paper, we describe how a component-oriented approach to software health management exposes the connections between program execution, error detection, fault diagnosis, and recovery. We identify both research challenges and opportunities in exploiting those connections. Specifically, we describe how recent approaches to reducing the overhead of runtime monitoring aimed at error detection might be adapted to reduce the overhead and improve the effectiveness of fault diagnosis.
Risks and Opportunities in Gender Gaps to Access Shelter: A Platform for Intervention

In the context of the current global trends such as polarization of social groups and intensified poverty, there is a serious risk that gender gaps in access to shelter widen among the poor to the detriment of women's social, economic, and personal well-being. Paradoxically, these conditions also provide certain opportunities for women, including their greater community-based mobilization and leadership role. This paper examines these risks and the opportunities they bear upon and stresses the need for intervention in four areas of rights, access, security, and empowerment. The paper draws on a participatory research project carried out by the United Nations Gender and Habitat program in 1992 to 1999 in low-income settlements of Africa, South Asia, and Latin America.
Impact of Potroom Work Practices on Roofline Fluoride Emissions and Wet Scrubber Efficiency

Roofline wet scrubbers are employed at aluminum smelters to provide significant reduction in fluoride emissions from the potrooms. Roofline wet scrubbers are most useful at locations that have emission performance constraints owing to hooding efficiency limitations or pot technology issues that increase fluoride losses to the potroom. Unfortunately, roofline wet scrubbers are quite cost intensive to install, operate and maintain, which intensifies scrutiny regarding the value of these systems. This talk will present in-plant data showing real-time continuous monitoring of wet scrubber HF capture efficiency and the impact of work practices on the efficiency of the roof scrubbers for capturing gaseous fluoride from aluminum smelter potroom rooflines.
Insulin activation of protein kinase C: a reassessment

Although insulin is known to activate several protein serine/threonine protein kinases, its ability to activate protein kinase C remains controversial. We reinvestigated this question, taking advantage of several technical advances such as the development of fibroblast cell lines that overexpress normal human insulin receptors, and the development of antibodies to and expression vectors for the myristoylated, alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) protein, a major cellular substrate for protein kinase C. In HIR 3.5 cells, a mouse 3T3 cell derivative that expresses about 6 x 10(6) human insulin receptors/cell, insulin (70 nM for 10 min) stimulated phosphorylation of the MARCKS protein by approximately 2-fold (p less than 0.005). This phosphorylation was not further increased by different times of insulin exposure, different insulin concentrations, or longer periods of serum deprivation. The insulin stimulation represented about 14% of the response to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and about 17% of the response to 10% fetal calf serum. No significant stimulation of MARCKS protein phosphorylation was seen in four other insulin-sensitive cell lines, in which insulin is known to activate other protein serine/threonine kinases: HIRC-B, BC3H-1, 3T3-L1 adipocytes, and H35 rat hepatoma cells made to stably express the MARCKS protein. In these four cell lines, serum and/or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate exerted a large stimulatory effect on MARCKS protein phosphorylation. We conclude that insulin may activate protein kinase C to a minor extent in certain cell types that vastly overexpress insulin receptors; however, we believe that this effect of insulin is unlikely to be of physiological importance.
Listening for a Life: A Dialogic Ethnography of Bessie Eldreth through Her Songs and Stories

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Patricia Sawin Year: 2004 Pages: xiv + 254 Publisher: Utah State University Press ISBN: 0-87421-582-X Prices: $19.95 US
Fine needle aspiration biopsy. Has its time come

Fine needle aspiration biopsy has been undergoing a revival in the United States, but a recent survey showed that many clinicians were uncertain how to utilize this test. The scope of fine needle aspiration biopsy as practiced at the University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco General Hospital is described. The relevant accuracy data available in the world literature on this procedure are also reviewed.
Developing a framework of Eco-Approach and Departure application for actuated signal control

The Eco-Approach and Departure application for fixed-time traffic signals, which uses the signal phase and timing information from the upcoming traffic signal to better guide a driver through the intersection in an environmentally-friendly way, has shown promising results in terms of fuel savings and carbon emissions reduction. However, there is very limited research on the development and evaluation of such application for actuated traffic signals. This paper proposes a framework for the Eco-Approach and Departure application for actuated signals which takes into account uncertainties in count-down information, preceding vehicle's state, and potential driver's distraction issues. The framework has been evaluated with numerical experiments. The results indicated that the proposed framework is effective at reducing energy consumption and emissions of the equipped vehicle, especially when the initial entry speed is relatively low.
The Gravitational Interaction Between Inclined, Elliptical Rings

An expression for the potential for two elliptical, inclined rings is derived from a model in which the gravitational torque between two wide rings or within a ring of finite width can prevent differential precession caused by planetary oblateness. The model was proposed to explain the observed eccentricity and width variations of the Uranian epsilon ring. The stationary solutions and stability of this system are examined.
Empirical Research on Program Comprehension

Computer programmers are required to perform a number of different software tasks. Fundamental to most of these is software comprehension–the ability to understand what a program does and how it does it. It has argued that the costs arising from the process of program comprehension represents the majority of maintenance costs, which themselves account for a large proportion of the costs involved in the total software life cycle. As a result, there has been a fair amount of research devoted to understanding the process of software comprehension and even more work examining the factors affecting performance on various software tasks. This article describes existing models of comprehension, a summary of measures that have been used to measure comprehension, and problems with these measures. The chapter also describes empirical research on factors influencing software comprehensibility. Keywords: software comprehension models; integrative models; complexity; measures; program engineering; program form; documentation; problem type
Size Matters: Molecular Weight Specificity of Hyaluronan Effects in Cell Biology

Hyaluronan signaling properties are unique among other biologically active molecules, that they are apparently not influenced by postsynthetic molecular modification, but by hyaluronan fragment size. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the generation of hyaluronan fragments of different size and size-dependent differences in hyaluronan signaling as well as their downstream biological effects.
A New Integrable Shallow Water Equation

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses about a new integrable shallow water equation. Completely integrable nonlinear partial differential equations arise at various levels of approximation in shallow water theory. Such equations possess soliton solutions-coherent (spatially localized) structures that interact nonlinearly among themselves and then re-emerge, retaining their identity and showing particle-like scattering behavior. This chapter discusses a newly discovered, completely integrable dispersive shallow-water equation found by Camassa and Holm in 1993. This equation is obtained by using a small-wave-amplitude asymptotic expansion directly in the Hamiltonian for the vertically averaged incompressible Euler's equations, after substituting a solution ansatz of columnar fluid motion and restricting to an invariant manifold for unidirectional motion of waves at the free surface under the influence of gravity. Section II of the chapter derives the one-dimensional Green–Naghdi equations. Section III uses Hamiltonian methods to newly discovered equation for unidirectional waves. Section IV analyzes the behavior of the solutions of the equation and shows that certain initial conditions develop a vertical slope in finite time. It is also shown that there exist stable multisoliton solutions. Section V demonstrates the existence of an infinite number of conservation laws for the equation that follow from its bi-Hamiltonian property.
Current Therapy and New Directions in the Treatment of Hairy Cell Leukemia: A Review

Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a chronic B-cell leukemia noted for an indolent course that ultimately results in cytopenias and massive splenomegaly. Whereas treatment with the nucleoside purine analogues cladribine and pentostatin results in lengthy remissions in nearly all patients with HCL, most patients will experience relapse while a small percentage of patients' disease fails to respond to therapy in the first place. Retreatment with a purine nucleoside analogue often leads to an effective but limited response. For decades, few other viable therapeutic options were available to these patients who required retreatment. Recently, new insights into the mechanism of disease of HCL have led to research in new potential treatment agents, either alone or with a purine nucleoside analogue. Clinical trials with rituximab, bendamustine, and conjugate immunotoxins will reveal what role these therapies will have in HCL treatment. A better understanding of the BRAF/MEK/ERK pathway and the B-cell signaling pathway has allowed further exploration into the novel drugs vemurafenib, dabrafenib, trametinib, and ibrutinib.
Concerning the Sixth Edition of Garriott's Medicolegal Aspects of Alcohol

To Randall Baselt’s excellent review of Garriott’s Medicolegal Aspects of Alcohol, 6th edition, wewish to provide an addendum. We would like to acknowledge an essential misunderstanding between the Editors and Professor A.W. Jones, the author of chapters 3 and 4 in the 5th edition of Garriott’s Medicolegal Aspects of Alcohol. Acting on our understanding that it was Professor Jones’ wish not to revise his chapters for the 6th edition, and while exercising traditional publishers’ copyright and editorial prerogatives, we believed that we were respecting his wishes by assigning his two chapters from the 5th edition to new authors. Chapter 3 in the 6th edition, entitled ‘Disposition and Fate of Ethanol in the Body’ with R.B. Forney, Jr. as the author, was virtually identical to Professor Jones’ chapter 3 from the 5th edition of the book. This comprehensive treatise included the chapter outline, the entire text, 44 original figures, 17 tables of data and more than 600 literature references. Dr. Forney, after review and validation of Professor Jones’ work, only added 9 historical citations to the list of references, papers by R.B. Forney, Sr. Chapter 4 in the 6th edition, entitled ‘Biomarkers of Acute and Chronic Alcohol Ingestion’, which was specifically lauded by Dr. Baselt in his review, was a revised and updated version prepared by Drs. Roger Bertholf and Lindsay Bazydlo. The outline, much of the text, figures, tables and references in the original chapter by Professor Jones, remained unchanged in the 6th edition. Updates included the discussion of glucuronide and sulfate metabolites of ethanol measured in urine to detect ethanol use within the previous several days, and a broader discussion of statistical parameters applied to laboratory methods used to detect drug use. But in large part, the extensively referenced chapter 4 represented the exceptional work of Professor Jones. Although Professor Jones’s authorship of Chapters 3 and 4 in the 5th edition is acknowledged as a footnote on the title page of the 6th edition chapters, this attribution did not provide sufficient credit to his original work. We deeply regret any discourtesy to Professor Jones that may have occurred as a result of our oversight.
Sexual differentiation and the neuroendocrine hypothesis of autism

The phenotypic expression of autism spectrum disorders varies widely in severity and characteristics and it is, therefore, likely that a number of etiological factors are involved. However, one finding which has been found consistently is that there is a greater incidence of autism in boys than girls. Recently, attention has been given to the extreme male hypothesis-that is that autism behaviors are an extreme form of typical male behaviors, including lack of empathy and language deficits but an increase in so-called systemizing behaviors, such as attention to detail and collecting. This points to the possibility that an alteration during sexual differentiation of the brain may occur in autism. During sexual differentiation of the brain, two brain regions are highly sexually dimorphic-the amygdala and the hypothalamus. Both of these regions are also implicated in the neuroendocrine hypothesis of autism, wherein a balance between oxytocin and cortisol may contribute to the disorder. We are thus proposing that the extreme male hypothesis and the neuroendocrine hypothesis are in fact compatible in that sexual differentiation of the brain towards an extreme male phenotype would result in the neuroendocrine changes proposed in autism. We have preliminary data, treating developing rat pups with the differentiating hormone 17-β estradiol during a critical time and showing changes in social behaviors and oxytocin, to support this hypothesis. Further studies should be undertaken to confirm the role of extremes of normal sexual differentiation in producing the neuroendocrine changes associated with autism.
Highly oriented carbon fiber–polymer composites via additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing, diverging from traditional manufacturing techniques, such as casting and machining materials, can handle complex shapes with great design flexibility without the typical waste. Although this technique has been mainly used for rapid prototyping, interest is growing in using this method to directly manufacture actual parts of complex shape. To use 3D-printing additive manufacturing in wide spread applications, the technique and the feedstock materials require improvements to meet the mechanical requirements of load-bearing components. Thus, we investigated the short fiber (0.2 mm to 0.4 mm) reinforced acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene composites as a feedstock for 3D-printing in terms of their processibility, microstructure and mechanical performance; and also provided comparison with traditional compression molded composites. The tensile strength and modulus of 3D-printed samples increased ~115% and ~700%, respectively. 3D-printer yielded samples with very high fiber orientation in printing direction (up to 91.5 %), whereas, compression molding process yielded samples with significantly less fiber orientation. Microstructure-mechanical property relationships revealed that although the relatively high porosity is observed in the 3D-printed composites as compared to those produced by the conventional compression molding technique, they both exhibited comparable tensile strength and modulus. Furthermore, this phenomena is explained based on the changes in fiber orientation, dispersion andmore » void formation.« less
Kaposiform Hemangioendothelioma: Atypical Features and Risks of Kasabach-Merritt Phenomenon in 107 Referrals

Objective To examine the presentation characteristics of patients with Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) to describe the spectrum of disease and risk factors for Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (KMP). Study design A retrospective review of 163 patients referred to the Vascular Anomalies Center at Children's Hospital Boston for KHE between 1991 and 2009 identified 107 patients with sufficient data for inclusion. Results The prevalence of KHE in Massachusetts is ∼0.91 case per 100 000 children. KHE manifested in infancy in 93% of cases, with 60% as neonates. Common presenting features included enlarging cutaneous lesion (75%), thrombocytopenia (56%), and musculoskeletal pain or decreased function (23%). Cutaneous KHE favored the extremities, especially overlying joints. In our cohort, 71% developed KMP (11% after initial presentation), and 11% of patients lacked cutaneous findings. Retroperitoneal and intrathoracic lesions, though less common, were complicated by KMP in 85% and 100% of cases, respectively. Compared with superficial lesions, KHE infiltrating into muscle or deeper was 6.3-fold more likely to manifest KMP and 18-fold higher if retroperitoneal or intrathoracic. KHE limited to bone or presenting after infancy did not manifest KMP. Conclusion An enlarging cutaneous lesion is the most common presenting feature of KHE in infancy. Older patients with KHE or those lacking cutaneous manifestations present with musculoskeletal complaints or atypical symptoms. The risk of KMP increases dramatically when tumor infiltrates muscle or when KHE arises in the retroperitoneum or mediastinum.
Demographic patterns of the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus along a latitudinal gradient, 1985–1987

The abundant center model of geographic distribution has been tested for the purple sea urchin by others who found highest densities and reproduction towards the southern end rather than in the center of the range and so rejected the model. A question is whether size, growth, and survival data would yield other or contrary results. Intertidal densities and size structures were measured for purple sea urchins along the Pacific coast of North America during 1985-1987 from 29.93 to 50.47° N, covering about 65% of the reported geographic range; these historical data were used to explore lat- itudinal patterns. Recruitment was based on the fractions of individuals in the smallest mode of the size distributions. Growth was determined by tagging with tetracycline and survival was estimated using size distributions and growth. Density of purple sea urchins was highest between 35 and 37° N and the samples with the highest numbers of recruits occurred between 34 and 38° N. Maximum diameter was largest at 43 to 44° N and smallest at about 34° N. There was no latitudinal pattern to growth or survival. Patterns of population traits did not fit simple models or previously published results. The interplay of coastal topography and currents are suggested as the primary determinants of density and recruitment. No general models for describing geographic distributions predict the observed patterns. The southern range limit is best explained by thermal tolerance and the northern limit by development times of larvae at low temperatures.
Photoabsorption of atomic oxygen in the vicinity of the K-edge

Ab initio cross section calculations using the R-matrix approach have been performed for the inner-shell photoabsorption of atomic oxygen in the photon energy region 520-555 eV. The prominent (1s2(P)np ) resonance series, converging to the series limit of atomic oxygen, dominate the cross section in the vicinity of the K-edge. A comparison of the calculations with two recent sets of experimental measurements taken at the Advanced Light Source and at the Wisconsin synchrotron facility is made.
Growth of Clostridium sporogenes and Staphylococcus aureus at different temperatures in cooked corned beef made with reduced levels of sodium chloride

Cooked corned beef made with normal (ca.2.5%) or a reduced (ca.1.5%) level of salt were inoculated with either clostridial spores or with staphylococci and incubated at temperatures ranging from 5 - 30°C. Growth of indigenous microflora, staphylococci, or clostridia was similar at both salt levels at a given incubation temperature. However, increasing the abuse temperature greatly increased the growth of all organisms. Outgrowth of clostridial spores occurred in ground cooked corned beef which contained the normal residual nitrite of 40 - 45 ppm; readdition of nitrite to 150 ppm at the time of inoculation markedly reduced growth. Gas production was not a good indicator of clostridial growth.
The right kind of risk

More young scientists should dedicate a portion of their attention to high-risk research despite the potential downside, argues Abraham Loeb.
Josephson-junction circuit analysis via integral manifolds

Using a second-order circuit model the complex dynamical behavior of a typical Josephson-junction circuit is rigorously analyzed using integral manifolds. The key idea is to prove that under certain small-parameter assumptions, the nonautonomous circuit has a stable integral manifold. Moreover, this manifold is doubly periodic so that steadystate behavior of the Josephson-junction circuit reduces to the analysis of its dynamics on a torus. Well-known experimental phenomena, such as the existence of hysteresis in the dc Josephson circuit and voltage steps in the ac Josephson circuit, are rigorously derived and explained.
Inventing a city: cultural citizenship in ‘Słubfurt’

This article is an in-depth exploration of local efforts to build a transnational sense of cultural citizenship in the border cities of Frankfurt(Oder), Germany and Slubice, Poland. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2004 and 2006, this article focuses on the various strategies and activities of ‘Slubfurt’, a community-based NGO with the goal of redefining Slubice and Frankfurt(Oder) as a unified social space. In pursuing this goal, Slubfurt engages with European Union-wide social and political dynamics aimed at enhancing international cooperation and integration by de-emphasizing national borders and promoting a transnational sense of ‘European’ identity. This article therefore addresses the interplay between local cultural politics and the tactics and techniques of supranational forms of governmentality, and examines attempts to establish new symbols, events, practices and traditions that support the development of a cross-border community identity and cultural citizenship within the two ...
From Criminal to Civil Penalities in the History of Health and Safety Laws

When a corporation or corporate executive is caught polluting the water, selling adulterated food, or creating hazardous working conditions, the penalty is typically civil; criminal penalities are rarely imposed for these kinds of acts. Criminologists have assumed that this is because the corporate sector has used its political influence to insulate corporations and executives from criminal stigma and imprisonment. This conflict model explanation has never been substantiated. Nor can it be substantiated that the corporate sector has been primarily responsible for the adoption of civil penalties for the transgressions of corporations and executives. After examining the development of penalties in health and safety law, I find that civil penalties have been adopted because many people believed that criminal penalties were inappropriate under the circumstances. The problem of strict liability was raised consistently as a reason for adopting civil rather than criminal penalties.
Closing the gap between energy research and modelling, the social sciences, and modern realities

Abstract Disregard or ignorance of history, the overlooking of energy issues in standard economic growth theory, and failure to recognise the role which declining marginal returns on energy exploitation has played in the decline of earlier complex societies, are evident in academic and more general discourse. Excessive resort to equations, modelling, and standard economic theories, have instead clouded imagination and focus on reality, while hindering focus on complicating factors as we consider future possibilities. This paper provides an overview of these issues and their potential implications now and for the future.
The exchange rate and fiscal consolidation episodes in emerging market economies

Abstract An analysis of fiscal consolidations in emerging market economies during 1970–2004 suggests that exchange rate depreciation raises the probability of a fiscal consolidation being successful, including when controlling for debt, growth, the composition of the consolidation, and degree of democracy.
THE USE OF A PROTON-PROTON SPIN DECOUPLING METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE CHEMICAL SHIFTS

Proton-proton spin decoupling method for the determination of nuclear magnetic chemical shifts
GLYCOLYTIC ENZYMES OF THE AQUATIC SNAIL PHYSA HALEI LEA.

Abstract 1. 1. The enzymes of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway and the initial reactions of the hexose monophosphate shunt were studied in cell-free preparations of the aquatic snail Physa halei Lea. 2. 2. Both glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconic dehydrogenase were demonstrated and found to resemble the mammalian enzymes in co-factor specificity. The presence of these two enzymes suggests a functional hexose monophosphate shunt in P. halei. 3. 3. Measurements on the glycolytic enzymes, phosphoglucomutase, phosphoglucoisomerase, aldolase, triosephosphate isomerase, α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglyceric kinase, phosphoglyceric mutase, enolase, phosphopyruvic kinase and lactic dehydrogenase are presented. Most of the enzymes have characteristics that are similar to mammalian enzymes, however, aldolase was found to be sensitive to cyanide and lactic dehydrogenase functions as well with NADP as with NAD.
Adaptive multi-histogram equalization using human vision thresholding

Image enhancement is the task of applying certain alterations to an input image such as to obtain a more visually pleasing image. The alteration usually requires interpretation and feedback from a human evaluator of the output resulting image. Therefore, image enhancement is considered a difficult task when attempting to automate the analysis process and eliminate the human intervention. Furthermore, images that do not have uniform brightness pose a challenging problem for image enhancement systems. Different kinds of histogram equalization techniques have been employed for enhancing images that have overall improper illumination or are over/under exposed. However, these techniques perform poorly for images that contain various regions of improper illumination or improper exposure. In this paper, we introduce new human vision model based automatic image enhancement techniques, multi-histogram equalization as well as local and adaptive algorithms. These enhancement algorithms address the previously mentioned shortcomings. We present a comparison of our results against many current local and adaptive histogram equalization methods. Computer simulations are presented showing that the proposed algorithms outperform the other algorithms in two important areas. First, they have better performance, both in terms of subjective and objective evaluations, then that currently used algorithms on a series of poorly illuminated images as well as images with uniform and non-uniform illumination, and images with improper exposure. Second, they better adapt to local features in an image, in comparison to histogram equalization methods which treat the images globally.
Standing ophthalmic surgeries in horses.

Standing ophthalmic surgery without general anesthesia allows for several routine ophthalmic procedures including eyelid lacerations and enucleations to be performed in the horse, but does contain increased risk of causing tissue damage arising from the inability to eliminate eye and head movements. Heavy sedation and local nerve blocks of the involved motor and sensory nerves are essential in achieving a good outcome from ophthalmic surgery in the nonanesthetized horse. The inability to use an operating microscope in standing surgery in horses prevents performing precise corneal and intraocular microsurgeries.
A derivation for the energy dependence of the density of band tail states in disordered materials

Abstract Variational arguments are employed to present the first explicit derivation of the behavior of band tail states and localization length over most of the tail region of a random alloy. Exponential tails are shown to exist near the mobility edges, in conformity with the observation in disordered systems. The character of the states forming the band tails is discussed and, for random alloys, the localization length is shown to exhibit a minimum as a function of energy between band edge and mobility edge.
Listening and Legos

This simple exercise, performed in teams, gives students practice in listening to instructions, particularly when there are restrictions for the communication. The teams compete in a limited amount of time to build a Lego™ structure based on the instructions of one team member. Which team listens the best and is most successful?
Racial disparities in outcomes of persons with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.

Background:Although racial differences in hospital outcomes are well known for medical conditions (eg, cardiovascular disease), it is unknown whether differences exist for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI).Research Design:Using the National Trauma Data Bank, we examined racial and ethnic di
Traveling Waves of a Singularly Perturbed System of Integral–Differential Equations Arising from Neuronal Networks

A nonlinear nonlocal model arising from synaptically coupled neuronal networks with two integral terms is considered. The existence and stability of several traveling wave solutions are established by using ideas in differential equations and functional analysis. Steady-state solutions of some inhomogeneous integral–differential equations are also investigated. We consider several types of kernel functions: (I) positive functions, such as $$K(x)={\rho \over \pi}\exp(-\rho |x|)$$ and $$K(x)=\sqrt{{\rho\over \pi}}\exp(-\rho x^2)$$ , where ρ>0 is a constant; (II) nonnegative kernels with compact supports, for examples, (i) $$K(x)={1\over 2} \hbox{ for } |x|\leq 1 \hbox{ and } K(x)=0 \hbox{ for } |x|>1$$ , and (ii) $$K(x)={1\over 2}\cos x \hbox{ for } |x|\leq {\pi\over 2} \hbox{ and } K(x)=0 \hbox{ for } |x|>{\pi\over 2}$$ ; (III) Mexican hat type kernel functions, such as $$K(x)=A\exp(-a|x|)-B\exp(-b|x|)$$ and $$K(x)=A\exp(-ax^2)-B\exp(-bx^2)$$ , where A>B>0 and a>b>0 are constants.
The transthyretin amyloidoses: from delineating the molecular mechanism of aggregation linked to pathology to a regulatory-agency-approved drug.

Transthyretin (TTR) is one of the many proteins that are known to misfold and aggregate (i.e., undergo amyloidogenesis) in vivo. The process of TTR amyloidogenesis causes nervous system and/or heart pathology. While several of these maladies are associated with mutations that destabilize the native TTR quaternary and/or tertiary structure, wild-type TTR amyloidogenesis also leads to the degeneration of postmitotic tissue. Over the past 20 years, much has been learned about the factors that influence the propensity of TTR to aggregate. This biophysical information led to the development of a therapeutic strategy, termed “kinetic stabilization,” to prevent TTR amyloidogenesis. This strategy afforded the drug tafamidis which was recently approved by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of TTR familial amyloid polyneuropathy, the most common familial TTR amyloid disease. Tafamidis is the first and currently the only medication approved to treat TTR familial amyloid polyneuropathy. Here we review the biophysical basis for the kinetic stabilization strategy and the structure-based drug design effort that led to this first-in-class pharmacologic agent.
FILIP: A fuzzy intelligent information system with learning capabilities

Abstract FILIP (fuzzy intelligent learning information processing) system is designed with the goal to model human information processing. The issues addressed are uncertain knowledge representation and approximate reasoning based on fuzzy set theory, and knowledge acquisition by “being told” or by “learning from examples”. Concepts that can be “learned” by the system can be imprecise (fuzzy), or the knowledge can be incomplete. In the latter case, FILIP uses the concept of similarity to extrapolate the knowledge to cases that were not covered by examples provided by the user. Concepts are stored in the Knowledge Base and employed in intelligent query processing, based on flexible inference that supports approximate matches between the data in the database and the query. The architecture of FILIP is discussed, the learning algorithm is described, and examples of the system's performance in the knowledge acquisition and querying modes, together with its explanatory capabilities are shown.
Lipoprotein and apolipoprotein distribution in Zucker rats following an endurance running program

Abstract We examined the response to 12 weeks of endurance running of the obese Zucker rat and its lean littermate with regard to changes in serum lipids, lipoproteins and apoproteins. The obese Zucker rat is hyperlipoproteinemic, characterized by elevated serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels primarily associated with the very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) fraction. In lean Zucker rats, training did not affect the concentrations of serum lipids or apolipoproteins. In marked contrast, obese Zucker rats that were trained had significant decreases in serum concentrations of triglycerides, free and esterified cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B compared to their sedentary counterparts. Training obese rats caused an increase in the serum concentration of apolipoprotein E (HDL fraction). In contrast, training did not affect the concentration of Apo E in lean rats. The VLDL fraction was most affected by training obese rats showing marked 50–65% decreases in VLDL triglyceride and VLDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol was unchanged in lean rats whereas training prompted a 29% increase in obese rats. These data show that exercise training altered the metabolic abnormalities of obese Zucker rats which are responsible for the accumulation in serum of VLDL, lipids and apolipoproteins.
Current perspectives on antibiotic use in the treatment of surgical infections

Infections that involve the attention of the surgeon include those that require operations for cure as well as those that complicate emergency and elective surgical procedures. Mechanical correction is of paramount importance in the eradication of such infections with antibiotics serving an adjuvant role, primarily to clear lymphatics and prevent bacteremia and seeding of distant sites. Review of the current hospital antibiotic susceptibility profile is important to determine likely sensitivity to expected pathogens. Infection of the urinary tract remains the most common nosocomial infection, but in surgical patients the severe infections are pneumonia, fasciitis, and peritonitis. Often caused by the gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae, empiric broad spectrum antibiotic therapy is initiated after cultures are obtained. Bacterial infection of the respiratory tract is often difficult to diagnose in severely ill patients because the underlying fever, leukocytosis, and chest X-ray changes are often nonspecific. Reliance on sputum gram stain and culture is important to guide antibiotic therapy. Empiric treatment of peritonitis requires knowledge of the normal enteric flora and the likely pathogenic organisms. The most lethal agent against obligate anaerobic organisms is atmospheric oxygen, yet antibiotic coverage against these organisms appears wise, particularly when debridement or resection will be delayed or not performed. Staphylococcus aureus is still the most commonly cultured organism from our Surgical Intensive Care Unit and Burn Unit and S. aureus is often responsible for central line and burn wound infection. For patients in septic shock, we favor administration of a broad-spectrum penicillin or cephalosporin combined with an aminoglycoside, with subsequent narrowing of the antibiotic spectrum based on culture results. Antibiotic efficacy, toxicity, efficiency, and cost all must be weighed in the decision-making process.
Designing Oversight for Nanomedicine Research in Human Subjects: Systematic Analysis of Exceptional Oversight for Emerging Technologies

The basic procedures and rules for oversight of U.S. human subjects research have been in place since 1981. Certain types of human subjects research, however, have provoked creation of additional mechanisms and rules beyond the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Common Rule and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) equivalent. Now another emerging domain of human subjects research - nanomedicine - is prompting calls for extra oversight. However, in 30 years of overseeing research on human beings, we have yet to specify what makes a domain of scientific research warrant extra oversight. This failure to systematically evaluate the need for extra measures, the type of extra measures appropriate for different challenges, and the usefulness of those measures hampers efforts to respond appropriately to emerging science such as nanomedicine. This article evaluates the history of extra oversight, extracting lessons for oversight of nanomedicine research in human beings. We argue that a confluence of factors supports the need for extra oversight, including heightened uncertainty regarding risks, fast-evolving science yielding complex and increasingly active materials, likelihood of research on vulnerable participants including cancer patients, and potential risks to others beyond the research participant. We suggest the essential elements of the extra oversight needed.
Computer renormalization-group calculations of 2 k F and 4 k F correlation functions of the one-dimensional Hubbard model

We calculate $2{k}_{F}$ and $4{k}_{F}$ charge-density wave (CDW) and spin-density wave (SDW) autocorrelation functions for the one-dimensional Hubbard model using a computer renormalization-group technique previously developed by us. We describe the method and expected accuracy of the results. The correlation functions are calculated for Hubbard parameter $\frac{U}{t}=2,10,50$ and for two different band fillings. We obtain, describe, and compare for the first time the magnitudes and temperature dependences of the correlation functions. We find, inter alia, that the $4{k}_{F}$ instability arises at very large $U$ and that the $2{k}_{F}$ SDW and $4{k}_{F}$ CDW dominate at large $U$.
Regional variations in the effects of monocular deprivation on area 18 of the cat

We have studied the effects of monocular deprivation (MD) on area 18 in the cat. Our intention was to determine whether the degree of vulnerability to MD varies regionally within area 18. Single units were recorded in animals used as normal controls (77 cells) and in MD cats (467 cells) from anterior and posterior regions of area 18 representing peripheral and central-paracentral fields, respectively. Recordings from the deprived cats were made from both hemispheres. Overall, around 27% of the cells from the MD group retained input from the deprived eye. Most of these cells (77%) were located in the hemisphere contralateral to the deprived eye. Furthermore, the majority of these cells (96%) were located in the anterior region of area 18 and had receptive fields at eccentric locations (greater than 10 deg). About one third of the cells driven by the deprived eye had diffuse receptive field borders, and most of these units were binocular. In addition, these cells were generally non-oriented. Our main result, that susceptibility to MD decreases with increasing receptive field eccentricity, may be accounted for on the basis of corresponding changes of spatial frequency selectivity of cortical cells.
Autogenous regulation of gene expression.

A new term, autogenous regulation, is used to describe a phenomenon that is not a new discovery but rather is newly appreciated as a mechanism common to a number of systems in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. In this mechanism the product of a structural gene regulates expression of the operon in which that structural gene resides. In many (perhaps all) cases, the regulatory gene product has several functions, since it may act not only as a regulatory protein but also as an enzyme, structural protein, or antibody, for example. In a few cases, this protein is the multimeric allosteric enzyme that catalyzes the first step of a metabolic pathway, gearing together the two most important mechanisms for controlling the biosynthesis of metabolites in bacterial cells—feedback inhibition and repression. Autogenous regulation may provide a mechanism for amplification of gene expression (84); for severe and prolonged inactivation of gene expression (85); for buffering the response of structural genes to changes in the environment (45, 52); and for maintaining a constant intracellular concentration of a protein, independent of cell size or growth rate (86). Thus, autogenous regulation provides the cell with means for accomplishing a number of different regulatory tasks, each suited to better satisfying the needs of the organism for its survival.
A general method for producing random variables in a computer

Many random variables can be approximated quite closely by c(M + U1 + U2 + U3), where c is constant, M is a discrete random variable, and the U's are uniform random variables. Such a representation appears attractive as a method for generating variates in a computer, since M + U1 + U2 + U3 can be quickly and simply generated. A typical application of this idea will have M taking from 4 to 7 values; the required X will be produced in the form c(M + U1 + U2 + U3) perhaps 95--99% of the time, and occasionally by the rejection technique, to make the resulting distribution come out right. This paper describes the method and gives examples of how to generate beta, normal, and chi-square variates.