cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Metabolite control of squash nitrate reductase

Abstract Nitrate reductase (EC 1.6.6.1) catalyzes the pyridine nucleotide-linked reduction of nitrate to nitrite in higher plants. We have shown that in squash ( Cucurbita maxima Duchesne var. Buttercup), exogenous nitrate increases nitrate reductase activity by increasing steady-state levels of nitrate reductase protein, while glutamine diminishes nitrate reductase activity both by decreasing steady-state levels of nitrate reductase protein and by decreasing cellular nitrate concentrations in plant cells. Other amino acids affect nitrate reductase similarly to glutamine; other metabolites tested including nitrate did not cause major perturbations in the synthesis of other cellular proteins. Thus, it appears that the effects of nitrate and reduced nitrogen compounds on enzymes of the nitrate assimilatory pathway are highly specific for these enzymes, and have little effect on other cellular proteins.
Stratospheric Ozone Measurements Using A Ground-Based, High-Power Lidar

A lidar facility has been established at the JPL-Table Mountain Observatory at an altitude of 2300 m in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles. This facility uses the laser remote sensing technique of differential absorption lidar (DIAL) to derive atmospheric ozone concentration profiles. Two separate systems are used to obtain the ozone profile: an Nd:YAG based troposphere system will measure from the ground to 20 km and an excimer based system measures from 15 km to 50 km. The systems are designed to make long-term measurements so that small changes in the ozone abundance can be detected. This paper will describe the stratospheric ozone lidar system and present some of the results which have been obtained since it began routine operation in January 1988.
Transgressing planetary boundaries.

The article examines the challenges of population control and food production which the author feels should be addressed in tandem. According to the author, the rising demand for food has had a negative environmental impact. He cites a report in the September 24, 2009 issue of "Nature," by researcher Johan Rockstrom and colleagues defining safe limits of human activity and suggests that population rise and the demand for meat production is exhausting those limits.
Multivariable multipurpose controllers

Abstract In this note, a procedure is presented to design a multivariable system to achieve arbitrary pole-placement, decoupling, asymptotic tracking and disturbance rejection. The procedure is a modification of the one in Wolovich (1981) . The total degree of compensators required in this design is generally smaller than the one there.
n-Type Conjugated Oligoquinoline and Oligoquinoxaline with Triphenylamine Endgroups: Efficient Ambipolar Light Emitters for Device Applications

New n-type conjugated oligomers with p-type endgroups, 2,2‘-bis(triphenylamine)-4,4‘-diphenyl-[6,6‘]biquinoline (TPA-2PQ, 3) and 2,2‘-bis(triphenylamine)-3,3‘-diphenyl-[6,6‘]biquinoxaline (TPA-2PQx, 6), were synthesized, characterized, and found to be efficient ambipolar blue-green and pure green emitters in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In toluene solution, oligoquinoline TPA-2PQ emitted blue-green fluorescence with a quantum yield of 62% and a lifetime of 1.3 ns, whereas the oligoquinoxaline TPA-2PQx emitted green fluorescence with a 34% quantum yield and a lifetime of 5.3 ns. Both oligomers showed ambipolar redox properties, identical HOMO levels at 5.31 eV, and LUMO levels of 2.59 eV for TPA-2PQ and 2.92 eV for TPA-2PQx. Bright green electroluminescence (up to 15 330 cd/m2) with high efficiency (up to 7.9 cd/A and 3.0% external quantum efficiency) were achieved from TPA-2PQx as the emitter in OLEDs. Despite its better fluorescence quantum yield, blue-green electroluminescence with far lower b...
The Geology of Ascension and St. Helena Islands

The writings of Charles Darwin, Renard, Mellis, Reinisch, and others have already made the salient features of lonely Ascension and St. Helena accessible, if not familiar, to geologists— St. Helena has won the surprised interest of biologists, who have long speculated on the origin of its unique species of plants and animals. From each island collections of rocks have been made. Following Renard's well-known contribution to the petrography of Ascension (“Challenger” Reports, Physics and Chemistry, vol. ii, 1889), Reinisch's paper in the Report of the Deutsche Siidpolar Expedition (1901–3) gives a large number of petrographical. descriptions, including a goodly number of chemical analyses. No adequate geological map of either island has, however, been published, nor, indeed, was this really possible before the British Admiralty had issued the greatly improved chart (No. 1691) of Ascension, in 1910, with corrections added to the year 1921, and the British War Office had issued its excellent contour-map of St. Helena, dated 1904. Each map is on a large scale. Even, though lacking contour lines, the Ascension chart was obviously to be of service to anyone attempting a reconnaisance survey of that island.
The role of informal reading inventories in assessing word recognition

In the controversy concerning high-stakes testingin reading, there is one point on which few dis-agree: Such tests provide little or no useful infor-mation to aid teachers in understanding the needsof individual children. In a recent policy brief,Afflerbach (2005) summarized major problemswith high-stakes testing of reading achievementand proposed specific recommendations for im-proving reading assessment. Among them was theadvice to rely on informal assessments to deter-mine developmental trends and identify specific in-structional needs. But which assessments? For more than half a century, reading educatorshave regarded the informal reading inventory as thecomprehensive assessment instrument of choice.Through a combination of graded word lists andpassages, flexibly administered, a teacher can gar-ner valuable information about a child’s independ-ent, instructional, and frustration reading levels;listening level; decoding strategies; sight-word ac-quisition; and reading rate. After administration, ateacher can conduct a specific miscue analysis, in-ferring information about readers’knowledge andstrategies based on their oral reading errors (see,for example, Burns & Roe, 2002; Johns, 2005;Leslie & Caldwell, 2005; Silvaroli & Wheelock,2004; Woods & Moe, 2003). Given these advantages, it is little wonder thatinformal reading inventories (IRIs) have enjoyed astrong appeal. Researchers have long suspected,however, that IRIs often yield results of question-able value. Paris and Carpenter (2003) reached arelatively positive judgment concerning IRIs buthighlighted some specific limitations: the use ofIRI data to track progress over time, problems withassessing comprehension, and the time required toadminister such assessments individually. Theseconcerns are not new. More than two decades ear-lier, researchers had already identified a host ofpsychometric issues that haunt IRIs and that re-main largely unresolved (McKenna, 1983; Pikulski& Shanahan, 1982). These include their reliability,readability of passages, question types employed,design of graded word lists, and others.
Electronic cigarettes: a review of safety and clinical issues.

This clinical case conference discusses 3 cases of patients using electronic cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes, also referred to as electronic nicotine delivery systems or "e-cigarettes," generally consist of a power source (usually a battery) and a heating element (commonly referred to as an atomizer) that vaporize a solution (e-liquid). The user inhales the resulting vapor. E-liquids contain humectants such as propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin, flavorings, and usually, but not always, nicotine. Each patient's information is an amalgamation of actual patients and is presented and then followed by a discussion of clinical issues. Language: en
Storm-generated current in La Jolla Submarine Canyon, California

Abstract Current meters were operating in La Jolla Submarine Canyon at 200 m depth during a period of high seas and onshore winds up to 62 km/h (34 knots). The meters were subsequently extracted from a kelp tangle by use of a deep-diving vehicle 0.5 km downcanyon from their emplacement position. The records show a downcanyon speed up to 50 cm/sec, considerably higher than any of our numerous earlier measurements. This was followed by an abrupt termination of data, evidently due to being engulfed in seaward-moving kelp masses. The record may provide evidence of the initial stages of a turbidity current. The conditions for such a current were provided by the piling up of water at the canyon head by the unusually strong onshore wind.
Simulation and Faculty Time Investment

Abstract Background Little has been reported in the literature about the time it takes nursing faculty to become comfortable utilizing technologically advanced equipment for teaching in the curriculum. The purpose of this survey was to determine the amount of time faculty members in an undergraduate nursing program perceived it would take for them to plan, implement, and evaluate the use of the Laerdal Medical Corporation's SimMan to teach clinical nursing skills in courses they were involved in. Method This was a small descriptive study conducted at a Midwestern college of nursing. The choices for full time equivalent (FTE) release for one semester were .25, .50, .75, and 1.0. Results The majority (55.2%) of the faculty members perceived it would require .50 FTE release time to plan for the utilization of simulation, and a near majority (44.8%) of the faculty members perceived it would require .50 FTE release time to implement high-fidelity simulation into nursing courses. Finally, the majority (60.7%) of the faculty members perceived it would require .25 FTE release time to evaluate the use of high-fidelity simulation in nursing courses.
Intracellular Loop between Transmembrane Segments IV and V of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Is Involved in Regulation of Chloride Channel Conductance State

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) contains two membrane-spanning domains; each consists of six transmembrane segments joined by three extracellular and two intracellular loops of different length. To examine the role of intracellular loops in CFTR channel function, we studied a deletion mutant of CFTR (Δ19 CFTR) in which 19 amino acids were removed from the intracellular loop joining transmembrane segments IV and V. This mutant protein was expressed in a human embryonic kidney cell line (293 HEK). Fully mature glycosylated CFTR (~170 kDa) was immunoprecipitated from cells transfected with wild-type CFTR cDNA, while cells transfected with the mutant gene expressed only a core-glycosylated form (~140 kDa). The chloride efflux rate (measured by 6-methoxyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl) quinolinium SPQ fluorescence) from cells expressing wild-type CFTR increased 600% in response to forskolin. In contrast, Δ19 CFTR-expressing cells had no significant response to forskolin. Western blotting performed on subcellular membrane fractions showed that Δ19 CFTR was located in the same fractions as ΔF508 CFTR, a processing mutant of CFTR. These results suggest that Δ19 CFTR is located in the intracellular membranes, without reaching the cell surface. Upon reconstitution into lipid bilayer membranes, Δ19 CFTR formed a functional Cl- channel with gating properties nearly identical to those of the wild-type CFTR channel. However, Δ19 CFTR channels exhibited frequent transitions to a 6-picosiemens subconductance state, whereas wild-type CFTR channels rarely exist in this subconductance state. These data suggest that the intracellular loop is involved in stabilizing the full conductance state of the CFTR Cl- channel.
Spatial computation performed by simple and complex cells in the visual cortex of the cat.

Abstract Simple and complex cells have been tested with drifting sine-wave and square-wave gratings. Despite the known differences in the response pattern of each cell type to drifting sine-wave gratings, the tuning curves for square-wave gratings for both cell types show a similar secondary response band peaking at one-third the preferred spatial frequency as determined from sine-wave studies. These results establish that both cell types respond predominantly to the third harmonic of square-wave gratings in this frequency range. At the simple cell stage, all the information required to specify the amplitude and phase for a channel at a given orientation, direction and spatial frequency can be conveyed by four cells for a given subsection of visual space. At the complex cell stage, the cell's mean firing rate appears to represent the amplitude of a local Fourier coefficient, but phase information is not conveyed in the action potential code.
Egocentrism and focalism in unrealistic optimism (and pessimism)

People tend to overestimate their comparative likelihood of experiencing a rosy future. The present research suggests that one reason for this error is that when people compare their likelihood of experiencing an event with that of the average person, they focus on their own chances of experiencing the event and insufficiently consider the likelihood of the average person experiencing the event. As a consequence, people tend to think that they are more likely than the average person to experience common events and less likely than the average person to experience rare events. This causes unrealistic optimism in the case of common desirable events and rare undesirable events, but unrealistic pessimism in the case of rare desirable events and common undesirable events (Studies 1 and 2). Study 2 further suggests that both egocentrism and focalism underlie these biases. These results suggest that unrealistic optimism is not as ubiquitous as once thought.
The curiosity of IL-15.

Mice deficient for the cytokine interleukin-15 are unexpectedly protected from sepsis. Orinska and colleagues show that interleukin-15 signals intracellularly in mast cells and limits their recruitment of neutrophils to clear the infection (pages 927–934).
A simulated cooling process for proteins

We have developed a molecular dynamics simulation method to cool proteins in. The method uses a stochastic boundary layer which surrounds the protein and simulates a contact with a coolant. The atoms in this layer are subject to fluctuating and dissipative forces and follow a prescribed temperature schedule. In this arrangement the protein is cooled from the boundary into the interior. The temperature change can be described by the heat conduction equation assuming a thermal diffusivity D=7×10−4 cm2 s−1. We have applied the cooling method suggested to a segment of the photosynthetic reaction center of Rhodopseudomonas viridis. Cooling leads to a contraction of this structure, evidenced by a decrease in the radius of gyration.
Women in Meteorology

Abstract A survey of women atmospheric scientists has been completed in late 1973 and is briefly summarized in this article. Complete results are on file at the Head-quarters of The American Meteorological Society. For the United States, the survey comprised as many as possible of those females either with baccalaureate degrees or higher in atmospheric sciences and those working several years professionally in the field. The names of 247 women who met this definition came to our attention, excluding about 80 more listed as undergraduate majors. The 247 women were subdivided into the following categories. 1) 32 Ph.D.’s; 2) 76 non-student masters’ degrees; 3) 84 non-student bachelor’ degrees or equivalent; 4) 25 Ph.D. candidates and; 5) 30 masters’ candidates. We were able to reach the majority of these women by questionnaire, letter and/or telephone. The main findings were. 1) the high degree of productive employment in the Atmospheric Sciences or a closely related field (101 of 190 non-students) and 2) th...
Effects of Passaging on the Migration Response of Synovium-Derived Stem Cells to an Applied DC Electric Field

Strategies for cartilage tissue engineering and repair have recently focused on cell sources from the surrounding joint tissue as an alternative to chondrocytes. Synovium-derived stem cells (SDSCs) are found in the intimal layer of the synovium, the thin overlying capsule surrounding the joint space [1] and have been found to exhibit a greater chondrogenic potential than stem cells from other origins such as bone marrow stem cells or adipose derived stem cells [2–4]. Under directed cues, these cells have been shown to be capable of migrating from the synovium membrane into articular cartilage defects, though the mechanism behind such movement is unclear. As a first step, we have previously shown that SDSCs expanded in 2D monolayer culture in a growth factor cocktail of TGF-β1, FGF, and PDGF-ββ exhibit directed cathodal migration with perpendicular alignment when under the influence of an applied DC electric field [5]. As cellular behavior and response to an external stimulus can change with exposure to growth factors and passage number, we look here to characterize the effects of passaging on the migration response of SDSCs to an applied electric field. We hypothesize that if these cells develop more chondrocyte-like characteristics with growth factor passaging, their response will mimic that which has previously been reported for chondrocytes, notably directed cathodal (negative pole) migration and perpendicular realignment of the long axis to the direction of applied field [6].Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Suicidal behavior in war veterans

Military veterans represent a unique, heterogeneous population with suicide prevalence rates, risk factors and preventative management needs that differ from those of the rest of community. Veterans worldwide receive high proportions of their healthcare from community providers, and sensitivity to these distinct needs is required for optimized care. An overview of the recent prevalence-study literature, with a focus upon statistical design, is presented in order to provide a critical orientation within this field with high levels of popular media attention. Attention to psychiatric comorbidity, subthreshold symptomology, select signature disorders of contemporary conflicts (namely, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury), and veteran life narratives before, within and beyond military service will guide our review of risk factor assessment and management strategies. This critical review of the literature provides an overview of this active field of neuropsychiatric research with a select...
International income inequality: 1970 and 1978☆

Abstract Cross-country income inequality increased by 10% to 15% between 1970 and 1978. Use of ordinary, rather than ‘real’, exchange rates overstates cross-country inequality by 60% to 75%. Fairly detailed data suggest average within-country inequality is about one-half of inter-country inequality.
A 10-40 GHz 7 dB Directional Coupler in Digital CMOS Technology

We present an integrated wideband directional coupler for millimeter-wave applications implemented in low-cost silicon technologies. It is constructed using broad-side coupled coplanar waveguides (CPW), taking advantage of available multiple metal layers in silicon technologies. A prototype coupler was designed and fabricated using a commercial 0.18?m digital CMOS technology with low-resistivity epi substrate. It achieves a 10-40 GHz frequency range (3-dB bandwidth) with 7 dB to 10 dB coupling and more than 10 dB directivity. Measurement results match well with electromagnetic simulation.
Characterization of conductance under finite bias for a self-assembled monolayer coated Au quantized point contact

Abstract We have demonstrated that an experimental cross-wire junction set-up can be used to measure the I–V characteristics of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) stabilized metal quantized point contact. The increased stability due to the presence of the SAM allows the measurement of the I–V characteristics. However, the SAM also provides additional conductance paths in addition to the pure metal point contact. The presence of the SAM may contribute to the non-integral quantum conductance transition and the non-linear I–V characteristics of the quantum contact. Nonetheless, a straight I–V curve is obtained for the Au quantized point contact from 0 to 1 V with a conductance of approximately 1G0, in contrast to previous work reported in the literature.
Interval least-squares filtering with applications to robust video target tracking

An interval recursive least-squares (RLS) filter is developed to produce state estimation and prediction by narrow intervals, in which true values are contained with high confidence. The interval filter is robust to variations of the filter parameters and state observations. Using this filter, a video target tracking algorithm is proposed to estimate the target position in each frame. The tracking algorithm is robust to both noise in the video sequence and estimation error of the affine model. The experiments show that the tracking algorithm using the interval RLS filter outperforms that using an RLS filter.
Does the Use of Standardized Patients in Maternal-Newborn Simulation Increase Student Confidence Prior to Entering the Clinical Setting?

Professional Issues Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program To evaluate strategies in nursing education simulation when teaching Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students enrolled in a Care of the Childbearing Family course. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if simulation using standardized patients (SPs) improved the students’ level of confidence in their assessment and communication skills before entering the maternal-newborn clinical setting. Proposed Change To evaluate the effect of standardized patients on student confidence. Our hypothesis was that the use of standardized patients for simulation would increase student confidence in the clinical setting. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation BSN nursing students who were participating in required simulations in a senior year childbearing family course were asked to voluntarily participate in the study. Simulation objectives were to complete a postpartum examination on the SP and a newborn assessment using a manikin. Students were asked to complete presimulation and postsimulation self-efficacy surveys adapted from Bandura to identify changes in confidence levels. An additional survey evaluated the students’ perception of the experience of working with the standardized patient. Face validity of both survey tools was established through collaboration with faculty content experts. Thirty nine of 48 students participated. Results indicated a statistically significant increase in students’ self-confidence in their abilities to assess the mother–infant couplet and educate the new mother. Most students strongly agreed that their experience with simulation and debriefing with the standardized patient improved their critical thinking skills and better prepared them to care for the newborn and postpartum woman. Implications for Nursing Practice This pilot study offers strong support for the use of standardized patients in preparation for maternal-newborn clinical practice. Further research is suggested to validate the tool with a larger sample size and to control for course sequencing issues (previous pediatric and critical care experience) and variance in the style of the standardized patients.
Power Delivery, Signaling and Cooling for 3D Integrated Systems

Three-dimensional (3D) integration of ICs provides unique opportunities to improve bandwidth, latency, and power dissipation bottlenecks of interconnects (both on- and off-chip). However, while 3D IC integration improves signal interconnection, it also presents new challenges, especially in power delivery and cooling (“thermal interconnects”). The focus of this paper is on some of the key challenges and promising technologies to address power delivery, cooling, and signaling in a 3D stack of logic ICs.
Corticosteroids as an adjunct to antibiotics and surgical drainage for the treatment of pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis.

Background: Many similarities exist between pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis and other closed-space infections such as septic arthritis. Previous studies have demonstrated that corticosteroids in conjunction with antibiotics considerably improve treatment outcomes in patients with septic arthritis. Using a chicken model, we investigated whether or not corticosteroids in combination with antibiotics and/or surgical drainage could minimize the loss of range of motion typically associated with pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis. Methods: We inoculated the flexor tendon sheath of the right long toe of broiler chickens with Staphylococcus aureus (American Type Culture Collection 29523 NA) (6 × 109 colony-forming units/mL) and twenty-four hours later administered one of six treatments to groups of fourteen or fifteen chickens. Treatment combinations included systemic or intrasynovial antibiotics, surgical drainage with catheter irrigation or no surgical drainage, and local corticosteroid injections or no corticosteroid injections. Measurements of active digital flexion at the proximal and middle interphalangeal joints were performed before inoculation and treatment and at seven, fourteen, and twenty-eight days after treatment. Flexion measurements were compared between groups as well as with similar measurements in the contralateral, uninfected, control long toe. Results: At twenty-eight days, two of three groups treated with locally administered corticosteroids and the group treated with intrasynovial antibiotics alone (without surgery) regained significantly more active flexion in comparison with chickens treated with systemic antibiotics and surgical drainage (the current standard of care). Pooled data revealed that the corticosteroid-treated groups regained significantly more active flexion at all post-treatment time points. Conclusions: Our data support the hypothesis that adding locally administered corticosteroids to the treatment regimen for pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis in a chicken model can significantly decrease loss of motion resulting from the infection. Furthermore, locally administered antibiotics may be effective for the treatment of pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis. Clinical Relevance: Additional clinical studies of the treatment of pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis with locally administered corticosteroids and/or antibiotics are warranted.
A study of singularity formation in a vortex sheet by the point-vortex approximation

The initial-value problem for perturbations of a flat, constant-strength vortex sheet is linearly ill posed in the sense of Hadamard, owing to Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Previous numerical studies of this problem have experienced difficulty in converging when the mesh was refined. The present work examines Rosenhead’s point-vortex approximation and seeks to understand better the source of this difficulty. Using discrete Fourier analysis, it is shown that perturbations introduced spuriously by computer roundoff error are responsible for the irregular point-vortex motion that occurs at a smaller time as the number of points is increased. This source of computational error is controlled here by using either higher precision arithmetic or a new filtering technique. Computations are presented which use a linear-theory growing eigenfunction of small amplitude/wavelength ratio as the initial perturbation. The results indicate the formation of a singularity in the vortex sheet at a finite time as previously found for other initial data by Moore and Meiron, Baker & Orszag using different techniques of analysis. Numerical evidence suggests that the point vortex approximation converges up to but not beyond the time of singularity formation in the vortex sheet. For large enough initial amplitude, two singularities appear along the sheet at the critical time.
Cyclical binding, processing, and functional interactions of neutrophils with leukotriene B4.

Leukotrene (LT) B4 activates human polymorphonuclear neutrophils. (PMN) by binding to plasmalemmal receptors. It stimulates PMN to raise cytosolic calcium and degranulate. Both responses end within 15–30 sec. However, in < 15 sec, LTB4-treated PMN lose the ability to respond further to LTB4; decrease the affinity and number of high affinity receptors available for binding LTB4 sequester LTB4 in plasmalemma-associated sites that are inaccessible to a releasing buffei regi i men; and begin internalizing LTB4. Over the next 90 min, the cells increasingly internalize LTB4 and convert it to less potent metabolites; release the metabolites; recover LTB4 binding sites; and become fully sensitive to LTB4. Contrastingly, during the entire 90 min incubation with LTB4. PMN retained the capacity to bind and respond normally to a second stimulus platelet-activating factor. We therefore suggest the following model. LTB4 receptors, when ligand-bound, initiate function but rapidly lose this capacity as they lower their ligand binding affinity and sequester, internalize, or otherwise uncouple from transducing elements. These LTB4 receptor changes contribute to terminating PMN responses and producing a stimulus-selective state of desensitization. During the desensitization period, PMN progressively process and metabolize LTB4. This removes LTB4 from the environment, thereby allowing PMN to recover functional receptors for and sensitivity to the ligand.
Building Scalable and High Efficient Java Multimedia Collaboration

Java Media Framework (JMF) is platform-independent multimedia programming framework which enables easy and fast development of collaborative applications. This paper describes our work on building a high efficient multimedia collaboration system using JMF. We introduce a new rendering approach to optimize the performance of JMF and add screen capturing capability as well as new codecs. Based on this enhanced framework, a high efficient and platform-independent conferencing client named Global-MMCS AVPortlet is developed. The performance evaluation shows that it outperforms other well-known video collaboration tools.
Effect of vagus nerve stimulation on adults with pharmacoresistant generalized epilepsy syndromes

Abstract Introduction : Although vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy is approved for the treatment of partial onset seizures, its efficacy for generalized seizures has not been fully evaluated. This Investigational Device Exemption assessed the outcome of VNS therapy among patients with generalized epilepsy syndromes. Methods : Sixteen patients with pharmacoresistant generalized epilepsy syndromes and stable antiepileptic drug (AED) regimens were implanted with the VNS therapy device and were evaluated for changes in seizure frequency and type between baseline and follow-up of 12–21 months. Results : The patients experienced a statistically significant overall median seizure frequency reduction of 43.3% ( P =0.002, Wilcoxon signed rank test) after 12–21 months of VNS therapy. Types of seizures that may involve a fall or collapse decreased with reductions in the frequency of myoclonic (60% reduction, n =9; P =0.016, Wilcoxon signed rank test), tonic (75% reduction, n =8, NS), atonic (98.6%, n =3, NS), and clonic seizures (86.7%, n =1, NS). Conclusion : The benefits of reduced seizure frequency and reduced risk of injury merit consideration of VNS therapy for patients with pharmacoresistant generalized seizure syndromes.
Earlj life historj and recruitment of black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) in two South Dakota waters

~We compared the early life history of black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) in Richmond (an impoundment) and Brant (a natural lake) lakes during 1994-1996. We expected variable recruitment (i.e., missing year classes) in the natural lake and more consistent recruitment in the impoundment. Larval black crappie abundance was always higher in Richmond Lake than Brant Lake. Peak abundance of larval black crappie was highest during 1994 in both waters. However, peak larval abundance did not correspond with fall trap-net catch per unit effort (CPUE) of age-0 black crappie, which was highest during 1995. Thus, recruitment of black crappie was not simply a function of the number of larvae hatched. Similar trends in catches of age-0 black crappie with the ichthyoplankton trawl and trap nets for both water bodies during 1994-1996 suggest that broad environmental factors similarly affected reproduction and recruitment in Richmond and Brant lakes.
Tropomyosin inhibits ADF/cofilin-dependent actin filament dynamics.

Tropomyosin binds to actin filaments and is implicated in stabilization of actin cytoskeleton. We examined biochemical and cell biological properties of Caenorhabditis elegans tropomyosin (CeTM) and obtained evidence that CeTM is antagonistic to ADF/cofilin-dependent actin filament dynamics. We purified CeTM, actin, and UNC-60B (a muscle-specific ADF/cofilin isoform), all of which are derived from C. elegans, and showed that CeTM and UNC-60B bound to F-actin in a mutually exclusive manner. CeTM inhibited UNC-60B–induced actin depolymerization and enhancement of actin polymerization. Within isolated native thin filaments, actin and CeTM were detected as major components, whereas UNC-60B was present at a trace amount. Purified UNC-60B was unable to interact with the native thin filaments unless CeTM and other associated proteins were removed by high-salt extraction. Purified CeTM was sufficient to restore the resistance of the salt-extracted filaments from UNC-60B. In muscle cells, CeTM and UNC-60B were localized in different patterns. Suppression of CeTM by RNA interference resulted in disorganized actin filaments and paralyzed worms in wild-type background. However, in an ADF/cofilin mutant background, suppression of CeTM did not worsen actin organization and worm motility. These results suggest that tropomyosin is a physiological inhibitor of ADF/cofilin-dependent actin dynamics.
Detrended UCR and NCS crime rates: Their utility and meaning

In my article in the Journal of Criminal Justice (O’Brien, 1990), I demonstrated that detrended UCR and NCS crime rates exhibit much stronger convergence than undetrended rates. Based on these findings, I made recommendations for those who use undetrended and detrended UCR and NCS crime rates in their research. Menard organizes his concerns about my article into three sections, and I will respond to them section by section (the section titles are Menard’s).
Multigrid acceleration for transonic aerodynamic flow simulations based on a hierarchical formulation

In [1], the authors used a hierarchical formulation based on a Helmholtz velocity decomposition to simulate transonic flows over airfoils. The potential flow formulation is augmented with entropy and vorticity corrections and the numerical results are compared to standard Euler and Navier-Stokes calculations. For many aerodynamic applications, the corrections are limited to relatively small regions; the flow in the near and far fields is irrotational and isentropic. The entropy and vorticity corrections are governed by convection/diffusion equations while the nonhomogeneous potential equation is of mixed type; elliptic in the subsonic domain and hyperbolic in the supersonic one. The forcing function represents the necessary correction for mass conservation. Upwind schemes are used for the convection terms of the scalar equations of the corrections and for the potential equation in the supersonic region. The formulation can be viewed as an implementation of a viscous/ inviscid interaction procedure which is equivalent to Navier-Stokes equations in the inner field.
Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology 89 of Museums

Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums. Michael M. Ames. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1992. 212 pp. $39.95 (cloth).
Evaluation of Vegetable Production on Extensive Green Roofs

Rooftop vegetable gardening is a production system in urban agriculture based on green roof technology. To broaden the scope of this practice, the use of relatively shallow substrate depths must be explored, since most existing flat roofs are unable to support much added weight. Three growing systems—a green roof, raised green roof platforms, and in-ground—were evaluated for vegetable and herb production over three growing seasons (2009–2011). Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), cucumbers (Cucumis sativus), peppers (Capsicum annuum), basil (Ocimum basilicum), and chives (Allium schoenoprasum) were studied because of their common use in home gardens. All plants, except pepper, survived and produced biomass in all growing systems and yielded crops large enough for analysis in 2009 and 2010. Overall, yields and basil biomass were higher and of better quality in-ground during 2009, the only year irrigation was applied, and similar on the roof and platforms. Variability in succes...
Mondrix: memory isolation for linux using mondriaan memory protection

This paper presents the design and an evaluation of Mondrix, a version of the Linux kernel with Mondriaan Memory Protection (MMP). MMP is a combination of hardware and software that provides efficient fine-grained memory protection between multiple protection domains sharing a linear address space. Mondrix uses MMP to enforce isolation between kernel modules which helps detect bugs, limits their damage, and improves kernel robustness and maintainability. During development, MMP exposed two kernel bugs in common, heavily-tested code, and during fault injection experiments, it prevented three of five file system corruptions.The Mondrix implementation demonstrates how MMP can bring memory isolation to modules that already exist in a large software application. It shows the benefit of isolation for robustness and error detection and prevention, while validating previous claims that the protection abstractions MMP offers are a good fit for software. This paper describes the design of the memory supervisor, the kernel module which implements permissions policy.We present an evaluation of Mondrix using full-system simulation of large kernel-intensive workloads. Experiments with several benchmarks where MMP was used extensively indicate the additional space taken by the MMP data structures reduce the kernel's free memory by less than 10%, and the kernel's runtime increases less than 15% relative to an unmodified kernel.
Do Adults With Cochlear Implants Rely on Different Acoustic Cues for Phoneme Perception Than Adults With Normal Hearing

Purpose Several acoustic cues specify any single phonemic contrast. Nonetheless, adult, native speakers of a language share weighting strategies, showing preferential attention to some properties o...
Muscle and Joint Factors Associated With Forefoot Deformity in the Diabetic Neuropathic Foot

Background:Diabetic forefoot joint deformities are a known risk factor for skin breakdown and amputation, but the causes of deformity are not well understood. The purposes of this study were to determine the effects of intrinsic foot muscle deterioration and limited ankle joint mobility on the severity of metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) deformity, and determine the relationships between these potential contributing factors and indicators of diabetic complications (peripheral neuropathy and advanced glycation end products).Methods:A total of 34 participants with diabetic neuropathy (average age, 59 years; range 41-73) were studied. MTPJ angle and intrinsic foot muscle deterioration were measured with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. Maximum ankle dorsiflexion was measured using kinematics. Skin intrinsic fluorescence served as a proxy measure for advanced glycation end product accumulation.Results:Total forefoot lean muscle volume (r = −0.52, P < .01) and maximum ankle dor...
Epoetin alfa use in gynecology. Past, present and future

Perioperative anemia is a common complication of major surgery that may lead to prolonged and debilitating fatigue and reduction in health-related quality of life (QOL). Treatment with recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO, epoetin alfa) has been shown to increase perioperative hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (HCT) levels, thereby facilitating postoperative recovery in orthopedic surgery patients. Treatment with epoetin alfa has also been shown to increase Hb and HCT levels and improve QOL in anemic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The clinical and QOL benefit of using epoetin alfa in these patient populations provides the rationale for its use in patients undergoing gynecologic surgery. Because persistent fatigue is the most common complaint of patients following hysterectomy, the use of epoetin alfa should be considered to preoperatively correct anemia in this patient population. Research has been initiated to increase our understanding of the role of epoetin alfa in treating anemic patients (Hb levels < or = 13 g/dL) undergoing surgery for benign gynecologic disease, especially as it relates to postoperative QOL. Future studies should investigate the use of epoetin alfa in patients with gynecologic cancers. These studies should confirm the role of epoetin alfa in combination with iron supplementation to improve perioperative Hb/HCT levels and overall QOL in patients undergoing gynecologic surgery.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementation in Technical Educational Institutes: Prospects and Challenges

With growing demand of paperless office and transparent business operations, digitization of business processes becomes need of the hour. Starting with manufacturing industries, the digitization has penetrated into the Technical Educational Institutes also. Not only digitization but integration of all the processes has become important for any Institute. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) helps Institutes to digitize its all processes and integrate it too. On the basis of intensive interviews with ERP vendors and few case studies of Technical Educational Institutes Maharashtra State (India), this paper presents the research findings of prospects and challenges of ERP implementation in front of Technical Educational Institutes (TEIs). Keywords: Technical Educational Institutes (TEIs), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Information Communication and Technology (ICT)
Boundaries of Obligation in American Politics: Blurring the Color Line

In 1993, Billings, Montana, suffered a rash of hate crimes. Racist graffiti was painted on the home of a Native American family, skinheads threatened the services of an African American church, and a brick was thrown at a Jewish family's home, breaking a window displaying a menorah. In response, residents of Billings (of different races and religions) volunteered to paint over the graffiti, they went to the church's services to show support and provide protection, and thousands placed menorahs in the windows of their homes. The story of this town is unusual enough that it was made into a documentary film, and it provides a vivid example of how the expanding of community boundaries beyond objective group lines can occur. In Chapter 4, I showed how the shrinking of community boundaries to only “true Americans” leads to attitudes restricting who can enter the country and who should benefit from the rights and opportunities of community membership. The opposite is also possible: an enlarged perception of one's community can prompt greater support for government programs to benefit individuals who are not objective ingroup members. Race provides a good case for studying the potentially shifting boundaries of community and of obligation (Wong 1999). Researchers may understand that race does not exist as an unconstructed reality (Diamond 1994), but they argue that people continue to see it as fixed and objective nonetheless, justifying a continued research focus on issues of descriptive representation, race consciousness, and shared fate, for example.
A Room of One's Own: The Virtual Study Room as an Information Services Delivery Model

Libraries are facing the challenge of innovation to meet user needs. Virtual worlds offer unique opportunities for curated, immersive, integrated, interactive, and flexible spaces. The Virtual Study Room is a unique design concept leveraging these opportunities and supporting information behavior in a virtual world. Participant feedback from a research event in Second Life indicates that the Virtual Study Room is a useful environment for individual and group information problem-solving, and serves as a model for the delivery of online library information services.
High brightness sub-nanosecond Q-switched laser using volume Bragg gratings

The design of Q-switched lasers capable of producing pulse widths of 100’s of picoseconds necessitates the cavity length be shorter than a few centimeters. Increasing the amount of energy extracted per pulse requires increasing the mode area of the resonator that for the same cavity length causes exciting higher order transverse modes and decreasing the brightness of the output radiation. To suppress the higher order modes of these multimode resonators while maintaining the compact cavity requires the use of intra-cavity angular filters. A novel Q-switched laser design is presented using transmitting Bragg gratings (TBGs) as angular filters to suppress the higher order transverse modes. The laser consists of a 5 mm thick slab of Nd:YAG, a 3 mm thick slab of Cr:YAG with a 20% transmission, one TBG aligned to suppress the higher order modes along the x-axis, and a 40% output coupler. The gratings are recorded in photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass, which has a high damage threshold that can withstand both the high peak powers and high average powers present within the resonator. Using a 4.1 mrad TBG in a 10.8 mm long resonator with an 800μm x 400 μm pump beam, a nearly diffraction limited beam quality of M2 = 1.3 is obtained in a 0.76 mJ pulse with a pulse width of 614 ps.
A Hypersonic Vehicle Model Developed With Piston Theory

For high Mach number flows, M ≥ 4, piston theory has been used to calculate the pressures on the surfaces of a vehicle. In a two-dimensional inviscid flow, a perpendicular column of fluid stays intact as it passes over a solid surface. Thus, the pressure at the surface can be calculated assuming the surface were a piston moving into a column of fluid. In this work, first-order piston theory is used to calculate the forces, moments, and stability derivatives for longitudinal motion of a hypersonic vehicle. Piston theory predicts a relationship between the local pressure on a surface and the normal component of fluid velocity produced by the surface’s motion. The advantage of piston theory over other techniques, such as Prandtl-Meyer flow, oblique shock, or Newtonian impact theory, is that unsteady aerodynamic effects can be included in the model. The unsteady effects, considered in this work, include perturbations in the linear velocities and angular rates, due to rigid body motion. This provides a more accurate model that agrees more closely with models derived using computational fluid dynamics or those derived by solving Euler equations. Additionally, piston theory yields an analytical model for the longitudinal motion of the vehicle, thus allowing design trade studies to be performed while still providing insight into the physics of the problem.
Development of DSC127 for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers

Kathleen Rodgers completed her Ph.D. in 1984 and joined the faculty at the University of Southern California in 1986 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship. She has focused her career on drug discovery and preclinical development of therapies for the regeneration of damaged tissue. Currently she has developed several products with marketing approval and several others in clinical development including DSC127. She has published over 120 papers in the fields of toxicology, immunology, device development and exploitation of the renin angiotensin system as a platform for drug discovery. Development of DSC127 for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers
Incentive auctions

Reallocating valuable wireless spectrum can generate billions of dollars in revenue to the U.S. federal government while also benefiting consumers.