cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Footstep detection in urban seismic data with a convolutional neural network

Abstract Seismic data for studying the near surface have historically been extremely sparse in cities, limiting our ability to understand small-scale processes, locate small-scale geohazards, and d...
Neurochemical and neurobiological weapons

Nerve agents and neurobiological weapons are among the most devastating and lethal of weapons. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors act by increasing the amount of acetylcholine in the neuromuscular junction, resulting in flaccid paralysis. Tabun, VX, soman, and sarin are the major agents in this category. Exposure to nerve agents can be inhalational or through dermal contact. Neurotoxins may have peripheral and central effects on the nervous system. Atropine is an effective antidote to nerve agents. Neurobiological weapons entail using whole organisms or organism-synthesized toxins as agents. Some organisms that can be used as biological weapons include smallpox virus.
Welfare effects of public procurement of medicines: Evidence from Ecuador

Abstract This article evaluates the welfare implications of a public procurement program, where the Ecuadorian government procures medicines used for cancer treatment and distributes it to patients for free with the aim to benefit the poor. Using a unique dataset on Ecuador’s pharmaceutical market, we estimate a structural model of demand and supply, and focus on two research questions related to this program. First, we consider a targeting strategy commonly implemented in various developing countries, where patients below a given income threshold qualify for the free drug. We compare this with a simpler drug distribution mechanism where every patient is a potential recipient of the free drug and the patients are served on first-come-first-serve basis. Our results show that the poor patients do self-select into the program, and the first-come-first-serve strategy does benefit the poor more compared to the relatively rich. However, the targeting strategy does a much better job in serving the poorest patients. Second, we study the supply side implications of this program. Our counterfactual exercises show that when the government procures low-cost drugs and provides them for free, it distorts the supply side incentives, and hence, market prices of similar low-cost drugs may increase by about 7% in response. Prices of the high cost drugs remain mostly unaffected. Therefore, the policy may end up negatively affecting near-poor patients that did not qualify for the free government drug.
Health Technology Assessment With Diminishing Returns to Health: The Generalized Risk-Adjusted Cost-Effectiveness (GRACE) Approach.

Abstract Objectives Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) embeds an assumption at odds with most economic analysis–that of constant returns to health in the creation of happiness (utility). We aim to reconcile it with the bulk of economic theory. Methods We generalize the traditional CEA approach, allow diminishing returns to health, and align CEA with the rest of the health economics literature. Results This simple change has far-reaching implications for the practice of CEA. First, optimal cost-effectiveness thresholds should systematically rise for more severe diseases and fall for milder ones. We provide formulae for estimating how these thresholds vary with health-related quality of life (QoL) in the sick state. Practitioners can also use our approach to account for treatment outcome uncertainty. Holding average benefits fixed, risk-averse consumers value interventions more when they reduce outcome uncertainty (‘insurance value’) and/or when they provide a chance at positively skewed outcomes (‘value of hope’). Finally, we provide a coherent way to combine improvements in QoL and life expectancy (LE) when people have diminishing returns to QoL. Conclusion This new approach obviates the need for increasingly prevalent and ad hoc exceptions to CEA for end-of-life care, rare disease, and very severe disease (eg, cancer). Our methods also show that the value of improving QoL for disabled people is greater than for comparable non-disabled people, thus resolving an ongoing and mathematically legitimate objection to CEA raised by advocates for disabled people. Our Generalized Risk-Adjusted Cost-Effectiveness (GRACE) approach helps align HTA practice with realistic preferences for health and risk.
And Then There Were Three: Effects of Pretransplant Dialysis on Multiorgan Transplantation.

Background Simultaneous liver-kidney (SLK) and simultaneous heart-kidney (SHK) transplantation currently utilize 6% of deceased donor kidneys in the United States. To what extent residual kidney function accounts for apparent kidney allograft survival is unknown. Methods We examined all adult SLK and SHK transplants in the United States during 1995-2014. We considered the duration of dialysis preceding SLK or SHK (≥90 d, 1-89 d, or none) as a proxy of residual kidney function. We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate the difference in the adjusted likelihood of 6- and 12-month apparent kidney allograft failure between the no dialysis versus ≥90 days dialysis groups. Results Of 4875 SLK and 848 SHK recipients, 1775 (36%) SLK and 449 (53%) SHK recipients received no dialysis before transplant. The likelihood of apparent kidney allograft failure was 1%-3% lower at 12 months in SLK and SHK recipients who did not require pretransplant dialysis relative to recipients who required ≥90 days of pretransplant dialysis. Among 3978 SLK recipients who survived to 1 year, no pretransplant dialysis was associated with a lower risk of apparent kidney allograft failure over a median follow-up of 5.7 years (adjusted hazard ratio 0.73 [0.55-0.96]). Conclusions Patients with residual kidney function at the time of multiorgan transplantation are less likely to have apparent failure of the kidney allograft. Whether residual kidney function facilitates function of the allograft or whether some SLK and SHK recipients have 3 functional kidneys is unknown. Sustained kidney function after SLK and SHK transplants does not necessarily indicate successful MOT.
Clinical Experience With Gene Therapy in Older Patients With Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Abstract Background Onasemnogene abeparvovec was recently approved for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in children younger than two years; however, clinical trials were primarily completed in children younger than seven months, so practical experience dosing older children began in summer 2019. Here, we look at the safety and efficacy of onasemnogene in seven infants older than seven months who were treated at our center. Methods Seven patients were included. Results Acute viral symptoms with emesis and/or fever were seen in six of seven patients two to three days after the infusion. Thrombocytopenia occurred in four of seven patients, and six of seven patients had prolonged steroid courses due to persistently elevated liver enzymes, one of whom required escalation to intravenous steroids. All patients demonstrated motor improvements, which were apparent by three months, although with continued progress in those patients followed for longer periods of time. Conclusions Overall, onasemnogene appears to be efficacious in children older than seven months and well tolerated. Side effects were similar to those previously reported, although more common and in some cases more severe and more prolonged than seen in the original trials. The impact of age, weight, and other confounding factors on development of side effects still needs to be elucidated.
Differential Heating of Metal Nanostructures at Radio Frequencies

Nanoparticles with a strong absorption of incident radio frequency (rf) or microwave irradiation are desirable for remote hyperthermia treatments. While controversy has surrounded the absorption properties of spherical metallic nanoparticles, other geometries, such as prolate and oblate spheroids, have not received sufficient attention for application in hyperthermia therapies. Here, we use the electrostatic approximation to calculate the relative-absorption ratio of metallic nanoparticles in various biological tissues. We consider a broad parameter space, sweeping across frequencies from 1 MHz to 10 GHz, while also tuning the nanoparticle dimensions from spheres to high-aspect-ratio spheroids approximating nanowires and nanodisks. We find that, while spherical metallic nanoparticles do not offer differential heating in tissue, large absorption cross sections can be obtained from long prolate spheroids, while thin oblate spheroids offer minor potential for absorption. Our results suggest that metallic nanowires should be considered for rf- and microwave-based wireless hyperthermia treatments in many tissues going forward.
Metal structures embedded with piezoelectric PVDF sensors using ultrasonic additive manufacturing

Abstract Traditional manufacturing approaches to embed active materials, such as piezoelectrics, into metals can be problematic due to their high process temperatures or long curing times of the adhesives utilized to bond the active component to the metal. This paper presents the development and characterization of aluminum embedded with a piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sensor using a low-temperature, solid-state metal joining process called ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM). The embedded sensor is subjected to a pre-compression that is empirically optimized by varying the depth of the pocket and tape foils welded above the sensor, thus eliminating reliance on a bonding medium to mechanically couple the metal and the sensor. The technology presented in this study could enable rapid fabrication of functionalized metal structures that can be used in non-destructive testing, energy harvesting, and load monitoring applications.
A model for trust-based access control and delegation in mobile clouds

Multi-tenancy, elasticity and dynamicity pose several novel challenges for access control in mobile smartphone clouds such as the Android$\textsuperscript\texttrademark$ cloud. Accessing subjects may dynamically change, resources requiring protection may be created or modified, and a subject's access requirements to resources may change during the course of the application execution. Cloud tenants may need to acquire permissions from different administrative domains based on the services they require. Moreover, all the entities participating in a cloud may not be trusted to the same degree. Traditional access control models are not adequate for mobile clouds. In this work, we propose a new access control framework for mobile smartphone clouds. We formalize a trust-based access control model with delegation for providing fine-grained access control. Our model incorporates the notion of trust in the Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) model and also formalizes the concept of trustworthy delegation.
Introduction to Polymer Science

Polymer science is concerned with the composition and properties of a large number of substances classed as “polymer,” which include rubbers, plastics, and fibers. The meaning of the term “polymer” will become clear during the course of this chapter, but it does involve some understanding of basic chemistry. The science of chemistry concerns itself with the composition of matter and with the changes that it undergoes. To the layman, the methods and processes of chemistry appear quite baffling and difficult to comprehend. Yet these are essentially based on a simple, logical development of knowledge about the substances which comprise our physical world. Since this book is not intended exclusively for readers trained in chemistry, the subject of polymer chemistry will be developed from the type of first principles comprehensible to anyone.
Symmetrical distribution of energy in initially unsymmetrically excited products

Abstract When spiropentane is formed in the gas-phase through the addition of dideuteriomethylene to methylenecyclopropane, the enthalpy of reaction must be unsymmetrically distributed at the instant of reaction. Nonetheless, the methylenecyclobutane, which is a secondary product of rearrangement of the initially formed excited spiropentane, manifests a statistically random distribution of deuterium, consistent with rapid flow of vibrational energy through a molecule. The lower homologue of this reaction, the addition of dideuteriomethylene to allene, also leads to a product, methylenecyclopropane, in which deuterium is randomly distributed (in pairs). An attempt to extend the study to the higher homolog, vinylcyclopropane, failed to produce significant results since the product of further rearrangement was the symmetrical molecule, cyclohexene.
What Can Antitrust Contribute to the Network Neutrality Debate

Over the course of the last year, policymakers have begun to consider whether antitrust can play a constructive role in the network neutrality debate. A review of both the theory and the practice of antitrust suggests that it does have something to contribute. As an initial matter, antitrust underscores that standardization and interoperability are not always beneficial and provides a framework for determining the optimal level of standardization. In addition, the economic literature and legal doctrine on vertical exclusion reveal how compelling network neutrality could reduce static efficiency and show how mandating network neutrality could impair dynamic efficiency by deterring investment in alternative last-mile technologies. As such, network neutrality is better suited to the ex post, case-by-case approach associated with the rule of reason than the ex ante, categorical approach associated with per se illegality and regulation. To say that the substantive principles of antitrust offer insights that can inform the debate is not to say that antitrust courts represent the ideal institutional locus for enforcing a network neutrality mandate. Lingering questions about courts' institutional competence to supervise access regimes suggest that to the extent that antitrust enforcement authorities wish to take a more active role with respect to network neutrality, they would be better served by focusing their efforts on disclosure and consumer education rather than attempting to use antitrust to impose access requirements on network owners.
Calcareous nannofossil evidence for the existence of the Gulf Stream during the late Maastrichtian

[1] Upper Maastrichtian calcareous nannofossil assemblages, from eight cores on the South Carolina Coastal Plain (onshore set) and three deep sea drilling sites from the continental slope and abyssal hills (offshore set), were analyzed by correlation and principal component analysis to examine the ancient surface water thermal structure. In addition, a temperature index derived from independently published paleobiogeographic information was applied to the sample data. All three methods indicate a strong separation of the samples into onshore and offshore sets, with the offshore data set exhibiting significantly warmer paleotemperatures. The great disparity between these two sample sets indicates that there was a strong thermal contrast between the onshore and offshore surface water masses that persisted throughout the late Maastrichtian despite evident short-term changes in fertility, productivity, and community structure. This suggests the Gulf Stream was present as a major oceanographic feature during the late Maastrichtian.
Computer-Aided Typesetting

Publisher Summary The use of computers is one more step in the progress of printing, which started over five hundred years ago with the use of hand cut movable type on a hand-operated press, and has progressed through many improvements in typesetting and press design to modern automated keyboards and high-speed multicolor presses. The magnetic tape from the computer can be used to punch a paper tape that will operate a hot-metal typesetting machine, which produces lines of type, such as the Linotype or Intertype machine. Another method for obtaining computer output in a form suitable for publication is to punch the paper tape for use on a phototypesetting machine. These machines produce high quality photographic images of the type in either galley or page form. The judicious use of computers and automation may be a necessary step for many newspapers and printing and publishing companies to enable them to reduce the economic squeeze between rising costs and low enough prices to maintain profitable sales volumes.
Global banking: origins and evolution

This article reviews the origins and evolution of global banking and addresses the emerging patterns for the year 2000 and beyond.
A method for assessing diversity competency and relating it to organizational effectiveness

Summary form only given as follows. This paper explores the relationship between diversity competency, business complexity and their impact on organizational effectiveness using a systems approach. It offers a practical method for measuring key system variables, helping a management team understand their business systems better and how to leverage their investments more effectively.
Extreme Values of Artin L-Functions and Class Numbers

Assuming the generalized Riemann hypothesis (GRH) and Artin conjecture for Artin L-functions, we prove that there exists a totally real number field of any fixed degree (>1) with an arbitrarily large discriminant whose normal closure has the full symmetric group as Galois group and whose class number is essentially as large as possible. One ingredient is an unconditional construction of totally real fields with small regulators. Another is the existence of Artin L-functions with large special values. Assuming the GRH and Artin conjecture it is shown that there exist an Artin L-functions with arbitrarily large conductor whose value at s = 1 is extremal and whose associated Galois representation has a fixed image, which is an arbitrary nontrivial finite irreducible subgroup of GL(n, ℂ) with property Gal T .
Human Rights Contention in Latin America: A Comparative Study

This paper reports original data on contentious challenges, especially protests, focused on human rights in seven Latin American countries from 1981 to 1995. An analysis reveals that human rights contentious challenges are most prevalent where human rights abuses are worse and authoritarianism is present and in countries that are more urbanized. However, the incidence of such human rights contentious challenges is not related to the number of human rights organizations (HROs) in the country. Results also suggest two different types of human rights contention. National human rights movements, present in Argentina and Guatemala, involved HROs and demanded improvements in the national human rights situation. The other form is ancillary human rights protest, in which human rights challenges are led by a variety of groups, focus on repression particular to the groups involved and are either short-lived or part of a more general wave of opposition. This form of contention was more prevalent in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
Reduced and total ascorbate in guinea pig eye tissues in response to dietary intake

Guinea pigs were fed 5 different levels of dietary ascorbate representing a 65-fold range (0.8-52 mg animal-1 day-1). After two months on the diets, levels of reduced and total ascorbate were determined in aqueous humor, vitreous humor, lens and plasma. At low-dietary levels, proportionally higher levels of ascorbate are found in the lens than in other eye tissues. Tissue ascorbate levels began to plateau at dietary intake of approximately 11 mg animal-1 day-1. This is the amount suggested for optimal health, but it is ten times the level needed to prevent scurvy. Over 75% of the eye tissue ascorbate is in the reduced form in animals fed diets which provided 11 mg ascorbate. However, there was less than 50% reduced ascorbate in the eye tissues of the animals fed about 1mg ascorbate per day.
Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Promotes Chondrogenic Progenitor Cell Migration via Focal Adhesion Kinase Pathway

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has been studied frequently for its beneficial effects on the repair of injured articular cartilage. We hypothesized that these effects are due to stimulation of chondrogenic progenitor cell (CPC) migration toward injured areas of cartilage through focal adhesion kinase (FAK) activation. CPC chemotaxis in bluntly injured osteochondral explants was examined by confocal microscopy, and migratory activity of cultured CPCs was measured in transwell and monolayer scratch assays. FAK activation by LIPUS was analyzed in cultured CPCs by Western blot. LIPUS effects were compared with the effects of two known chemotactic factors: N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLF) and high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein. LIPUS significantly enhanced CPC migration on explants and in cell culture assays. Phosphorylation of FAK at the kinase domain (Tyr 576/577) was maximized by 5 min of exposure to LIPUS at a dose of 27.5 mW/cm(2) and frequency of 3.5 MHz. Treatment with fMLF, but not HMBG1, enhanced FAK activation to a degree similar to that of LIPUS, but neither fMLF nor HMGB1 enhanced the LIPUS effect. LIPUS-induced CPC migration was blocked by suppressing FAK phosphorylation with a Src family kinase inhibitor that blocks FAK phosphorylation. Our results imply that LIPUS might be used to promote cartilage healing by inducing the migration of CPCs to injured sites, which could delay or prevent the onset of post-traumatic osteoarthritis.
AEA, Bold or Timid?

Credentialing and certification are processes that can help the field of evaluation establish a clearer identity as a profession. They will help AEA further establish its presence as the premier organization in evaluation. Altschuld (this issue) proposes a sensible approach, focusing first on credentialing. I argue that we should proceed now.
Psychophysiologic Remodeling of the Failing Human Heart

Autonomic imbalance is a therapeutic target in heart failure patients. Overactivation of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system has for years been treated with beta-adrenergic blocking drugs, although it cannot be long before invasive therapies such as renal sympathetic denervation, currently being tested for resistant hypertension, make their way to the heart failure arena. Insufficient parasympathetic input to the heart is already being augmented with implanted vagal nerve stimulators. It is our contention that biofeedback training could provide much of the same benefit as these more invasive therapies in improving autonomic imbalance, with the added advantage of increasing patient self-efficacy. This article describes a pilot study of biofeedback training in patients with end-stage heart failure awaiting heart transplantation. It was our goal to show not only that patients would appreciate this training and benefit from it but also that patient-controlled autonomic modulation could actu...
Collapse of braced tubes under impact loads

Abstract The dynamic response of diametrically braced metallic tubes under impact loading conditions is investigated both experimentally and numerically. The effects of strain rate and the initial collapsing mode configuration on the resulting force (acceleration) levels at the impacted end of the tube are discussed. Differences in energy dissipation characteristics of the braced tubes under quasi-static and impact loading conditions are described as functions of the bracing orientation.
Mediators of male violence toward female intimates

The purpose of this study was to compare perceived life stressors, alcohol usage, and perceived quality of the intimate relationship of a group of males who have abused their female intimate with a group who have no history of abuse toward their partner. Interviews were conducted with 42 men who were defined as violent and 50 men who were defined as nonviolent. Interviews consisted of various demographic and health questions as well as standardized instrumentation (Michigan Alcoholism Screen Test, Autonomy/Relatedness Scale, Life Experiences Survey, and Conflict-Tactics Scale). Student's t tests indicated that the two groups differed as a function of perceived life Stressors, perceived quality of the intimate relationship, race, and depression. Stepwise logistic regression indicated that higher perceived quality of the intimate relationship, black race, and greater depression were significant predictors of male violence toward female intimates.
Luteotropic role of the decidual tissue in the rat: dependency on intraluteal estradiol.

The decidual tissue (DT) of pregnant and pseudopregnant rats maintains progesterone secretion in the absence of PRL. However, the luteotropic activity of the decidua disappears in the absence of the pituitary or LH. Since the role of LH in the pregnant rat is mediated by estradiol, it was of interest to determine whether the luteotropic role of the DT is dependent upon intraluteal estradiol. Pseudopregnant rats, either hysterectomized or bearing DT, were hypophysectomized on day 9. Within 24 h, a precipitous reduction in serum progesterone was observed in the two groups. The intraluteal concentration of estradiol on day 12 also dropped after hypophysectomy from 4 ± 1 and 2.8 ± 0.5 pg/mg in DT-bearing and hysterectomized animals to 0.4 ± 0.3 and0.2 ± 0.1 pg/mg, respectively. Three days after hypophysectomy, the average weight of the decidualized uteri was 1.1 ± 0.3 g compared to 3.9 ± 0.3 g in intact controls. Insertion of a 1-cm testosterone (T1) capsule in DTbearing rats 24 h before hypophysectomy increa...
Atmospheric transport of elemental carbon

from 23 to 60 mg/m 3 , and at Whiteface Mountain they ranged from 17.5 to 49 mg/m 3 . Similarly, the peak EC concentrations at Mayville ranged from 0.74 to 1.63 mg/m 3 , and they ranged from 0.26 to 0.89 mg/m 3 at Whiteface Mountain. The HYSPLIT4 air trajectories and elemental signatures showed that the high concentrations were associated with the air masses reaching the sampling sites after traveling through the Midwest. The concentrations of EC, SO4, and Se were highly correlated during the episodes. The sector analysis using EC concentrations in 104 samples at Mayville and 162 at Whiteface Mountain showed that � 77% of the total EC at Mayville and � 87% at Whiteface Mountain was contributed by the upwind sources in the Midwestern United States. When airflow was from the north, the mean concentrations at Whiteface Mountain were very low, <0.03 mg EC/m 3 and 0.32 m gS O4/m 3 . The sources close to Whiteface Mountain contributed little EC. The EC data from this site should be considered as representative of the regional EC emissions. Measurements of EC in the samples collected over two decades at Whiteface Mountain should be useful in calculating radiative forcing and testing models predicting atmospheric EC burden on the basis of emissions.
Simulation And Preliminary Performance Characteristics Of A Computed Tomography Device For Industrial Applications

A computed tomography system designed to function in an industrial environment is being constructed. The modular design maintains the flexibility necessary in an environment where source strength and energy, as well as detector type, could change with each application. The static nature of industrial objects also allow economies of design not possible where dynamic objects are to be analyzed. Simulation of the device has been completed and expected image qualities obtained.
Current status of robotics in female urology and gynecology.

Currently, there has been limited reporting and research in the female urology and gynecological literature concerning the use of robotics. To date, robotics have been utilized only for the treatment of three benign gynecologic conditions: benign hysterectomy; repair of vesicovaginal fistula; and sacrocolpopexy which is a treatment for posthysterectomy vaginal vault prolapse. We describe a novel minimally invasive technique of vaginal vault prolapse repair and present our initial experience. The surgical technique involves placement of five laparoscopic ports: three for the daVinci® robot and two for the assistant. A polypropylene mesh is then attached to the sacral promontory and to the vaginal apex using Gortex sutures. Thirty-one patients underwent a robotic-assisted laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy at our institution in the past 24 months for severe symptomatic vaginal vault prolapse. Complications were limited to mild port site infections in two patients, which resolved with oral antibiotic therapy. While our early experience utilizing robotic repairs in female urology and gynecology is encouraging, long-term data are needed to confirm these findings and establish longevity of the repair.
Stability and electrostatic assembly of au nanorods for use in biological assays.

The structure, stability, and aggregation potential of short Au nanorods under biological-based solution conditions have been studied. These attributes were studied using UV−vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ζ-potential analysis, and dynamic light scattering. The stability and aggregation potential of the materials depended strongly upon both the purity and the solvent used to prepare Au nanorod solutions. When the Au nanorods were dissolved in Tris buffer at concentrations less than 10.0 mM, no aggregation was observed; however, when the solvent was comprised of Tris buffer with concentrations between 10.0 and 100 mM, significant aggregation of the materials occurred. This effect resulted in a dramatic broadening and shift in the absorbance maxima of the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance. At Tris buffer concentrations of greater than 100 mM, minimal to no aggregation of the materials in solution was observed. Such an ability is based upon electrostatic aggregation of the materials ...
Micromechanical Predictions of Crack Initiation, Propagation and Crack Growth Resistance in Boron/ Aluminum Composites

An elastoplastic, axisymmetric finite element model has been used to predict the initiation and propagation of a crack in a composite model consisting of a single broken boron fiber embedded in an annular sheath of aluminum matrix. The accuracy of the axisymmetric finite element model for crack problems has been established by solving the classical problem of a penny-shaped crack in a thick cylindrical rod under axial tension. Also, the stress intensity factors predicted by the present numerical model are compared with continuum results. A constant displacement boundary condition applied during an increment of crack growth permits a substantial amount of stable crack growth in the matrix material. The concept of Crack Growth Resistance Curves (KR-curves) has been used to determine the point of crack instability
On the electrical function of dendritic spines

Dendritic spines mediate most excitatory inputs in the brain, yet their function is still unclear. Imaging experiments have demonstrated their role in biochemical compartmentalization at individual synapses, yet theoretical studies have suggested that they could serve an electrical function in transforming synaptic inputs and transmitting dendritic spikes. Recent data indicate that spines possess voltage-dependent conductances and that these channels can be spine-specific. Although direct experimental investigations of the electrical properties of spines have not yet taken place, spines could play a significant electrical role, greatly influencing dendritic integration and the function of neural circuits.
In the search for new anticancer drugs XVIII. Various mono- and bis-anthraquinone hydrazones containing the N,N;N′,N′-bis(1,2-ethanediyl)phosphoric diamide moiety

Abstract The structure-anticancer activity and the activity-lipophilicity relationship of 8 mono- and bis-anthraquinone hydrazones containing the N,N;N′,N′-bis-(1,2-ethanediyl) phosphoric diamide moiety were evaluated. These compounds were tested in vivo, using murine lymphocytic leukemia P388. Seven of these compounds were active and one was marginal at optimum doses. The highest activity was exhibited by the bis[N,N;N′,N′-bis(1,2-ethanediyl)-[N2-(1′,4′,5′,8′-tetrahydroxy anthracenylidene)-N1-methyl hydrazin-1-yl]]-phosphoric triamide, bis[N,N;N′,N′-bis(1,2-ethanediyl)-[N2-(1′,4′-dihydroxy anthracenylidene)-N1-methylhydrazin-1-yl]]phosphoric triamide and bis- [N,N;N′,N′-bis(1,2-ethanediyl)-[N2-(1′,4′,5′,8′-tetrahydroxy anthracenylidene)-N1-phenylhydrazin-1-yl]]phosphoric triamide as is evidenced by their percent T C of 183, 175 and 172, respectively. The correlation of the anti-cancer activities of these compounds with their lipophilicities leads to the general hypothesis that the intercalating and alkylating capabilities of a potential drug may play only a secondary role as compared to the selective permeability of the drug through normal and cancerous membranes.
Biogeography of Mariana Trough hydrothermal vent communities

Abstract Although the Mariana Trough back-arc basin contains a spreading center geographically remote from the global mid-ocean ridge system, 59% of the 27 identified Mariana vent species (out of a total 30–31 species) show affinity at a generic level with the fauna of mid-ocean ridge vents and suggest a history of interchange between them. Other western Pacific back-arc spreading centers harbor vent communities, and preliminary evidence indicates the likelihood that there has been dispersal within this entire back-arc complex. The segments of the global mid-ocean ridge system that are closest to this western Pacific complex are the Juan de Fuca Ridge, 7600 km to the northeast, and the Southeast Indian Ridge, 3200 km to the south. However, two now-extinct portions of the mid-ocean ridge system were closer and could have allowed comparatively easy interchange 43 and 55 million years ago. Hydrothermal vents at isolated volcanoes, cold-water seeps and rotting whale carcasses are potential ‘stepping stones’ that might bridge larger gaps; however, there is little information to document their relative importance.
Kyphectomy Improves Sitting and Skin Problems in Patients with Myelomeningocele

Background Progressive kyphosis occurs in up to 20% of patients with myelomeningocele. Severely affected patients can develop recurrent skin breakdown, osteomyelitis, sitting imbalance, and poor cosmetic appearance.
Bloch–Siegert Shift Compensated and Cyclic Irradiation Sidebands Eliminated, Double-Adiabatic Homonuclear Decoupling for13C- and15N-Double-Labeled Proteins

A Gaussian-shaped, offset-independent adiabatic decoupling is adopted to decouple 13CO from 13C alpha or vice versa for 13C- and 15N-double-labeled proteins, together with a compensating decoupling applied on the opposite side of the 13C alpha resonance frequency. In a quite broad range, the double-adiabatic decoupling eliminates efficiently the cyclic sidebands caused by direct irradiation of the adiabatic decoupling and reduces significantly the Bloch-Siegert shift. The remaining Bloch-Siegert shift, which is almost a linear function of offset, can be removed by a dilated evolution time. The decoupling sequence is also quite insensitive to the RF field intensity or inhomogeneity due to the reduced transverse components of RF field at 13C alpha, leading to an efficient decoupling even under unfavorable conditions.
Diltiazem potentiates mechanical activity in mammalian skeletal muscle

The calcium antagonist drug diltiazem produces a concentration dependent increase in twitch amplitude and a decrease in the mechanical threshold in mouse and rat skeletal muscle fibers in vitro. The greater potency of the d-cis isomer of diltiazem over the 1-cis isomer suggests that the effects of diltiazem are specific and may result from its binding to a specific receptor.
Molecular level investigation of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione on Si(1 0 0)-2 × 1: Spectroscopic and computational studies

Abstract The molecular level chemistry of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione (dpmH) has been investigated on a Si(1 0 0)-2 × 1 surface. The dpmH compound is a β-diketone, whose deprotonated form is used as a ligand in chemical precursors for metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). A combination of multiple internal reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (MIR-FTIR), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and density functional theory (DFT) were employed to analytically detect and monitor surface species under different thermal conditions. Upon adsorption at cryogenic temperatures dpmH was shown to be present in the enolic form, while primarily OH dissociation and [2 + 2] carbonyl cycloaddition were revealed at room temperature. Upon heating from room temperature to 900 K, isobutene evolution into the gas phase was found to be a minor reaction pathway. The remainder of dpmH decomposes on the surface to release hydrogen into the gas phase.
Comparison of gene order in the chromosome region containing a TERMINAL FLOWER 1 homolog in apricot and peach reveals microsynteny across angiosperms

Abstract The TERMINAL FLOWER 1 ( TFL1 ) plays crucial roles in regulating the vegetative to reproductive phase transition and maintaining the inflorescence meristem. We characterized one apricot (Pa_GBa141J23) and one peach (Pp_NBa103A15) BAC clone harboring a TFL1 gene. Sequence analysis revealed that the apricot and peach TFL1 (PaTFL1 and PpTFL1) genes display a similar exon–intron organization to homologs from other eudicot species and the defined amino acid domains are preserved. Phylogenetic analysis grouped PaTFL1 and PpTFL1 with the Arabidopsis ortholog. Numerous cis -elements present in the upstream regulatory region of the Arabidopsis TFl1 were identified in the PaTFL1 and PpTFL1 promoter regions. Two TFL1 alleles involving SSR polymorphism exist in the ‘Nemared’ peach cultivar. All nine genes annotated in the apricot Pa_GBa141J23 BAC have the same gene order in the peach genome. Syntenic regions are present in angiosperm species around the TFL1 locus, with the size of syntenic region decreasing from eudicots to monocots.
A parametric study of electroshock-induced retrograde amnesia in mice☆

Abstract Transcorneal electric current of varying intensity and duration was administered to mice after training in a step-through passive-avoidance apparatus. Retrograde amnesia, expressed as decreased retest step-through latencies 24 hours later, varied in a graded manner over a small range of intensity and duration. Significant amnesia could be detected even when electroshock produced little or no gross neurologic effect, and maximal amnesia was observed in the absence of tonic extensor convulsions. Increasing the duration of supramaximal electroshock did not alter the temporal gradient of amnesia. The results suggest a direct action of the electric current on the brain.
Single breath-hold whole-heart MRA using variable-density spirals at 3T

Multislice breath-held coronary imaging techniques conventionally lack the coverage of free-breathing 3D acquisitions but use a considerably shorter acquisition window during the cardiac cycle. This produces images with significantly less motion artifact but a lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). By using the extra SNR available at 3 T and undersampling k-space without introducing significant aliasing artifacts, we were able to acquire high-resolution fat-suppressed images of the whole heart in 17 heartbeats (a single breath-hold). The basic pulse sequence consists of a spectral-spatial excitation followed by a variable-density spiral readout. This is combined with real-time localization and a real-time prospective shim correction. Images are reconstructed with the use of gridding, and advanced techniques are used to reduce aliasing artifacts.
FACILITATED DIFFUSION OF OXYGEN THROUGH HAEMERYTHRIN SOLUTIONS.

HAEMOGLOBIN present in water solution facilitates the steady-state diffusion of oxygen through that solution1,2; the total oxygen flux is greater than the flux through an equivalent protein solution, for example, a solution of methaemoglobin. The haemoglobin-mediated oxygen flux may be considered to be additive to the simple diffusion flux of oxygen. Fig. 1, which although obtained with the protein haemerythrin is entirely typical of results obtained with haemoglobin, reveals that the flux mediated by an oxygen-binding protein is constant in amount for a particular protein concentration and independent of the oxygen partial pressure difference across the solution at oxygen partial pressures sufficient to saturate largely the carrier. This property has the interesting consequence that at the low oxygen partial pressure presumably existing in tissue the haemoglobin mediated flux would be expected to make up the largest part of the total oxygen flux. Quite possibly the facilitation of oxygen diffusion in the interior of muscle cells is a major function of myoglobin.
A Flux-Pinned Magnet-Superconductor Pair for Close- Proximity Station Keeping and Self-Assembly of Spacecraft

We propose that spacecraft modules be constructed with interfaces consisting of combinations of magnets and Type II superconductors, establishing a non-contacting interaction between the modules thanks to magnetic flux pinning. This stable action-at-adistance interaction overcomes the limit Earnshaw’s Theorem places on other spacecraft positioning strategies involving electromagnetic fields, allowing fractionated or modular spacecraft to fix their relative positions and orientations without any mechanical connection, active control, or power expenditure. We report two experiments investigating the mechanical properties of the magnetostatic interaction to evaluate its utility. First is an experiment to find the 6DOF linear restoring forces and torques on a flux-pinned magnet and superconductor for small displacements from a set of static equilibria. Second is an transient experiment that permits the use of system identification techniques to characterize the modal damping and stiffness. Our results indicate that flux pinning is promising for modular spacecraft assembly and station-keeping applications, providing mechanical stiffnesses over 200 N/m at small (5 mm) magnet-superconductor separations and potentially useful nonzero stiffnesses at larger (over 3 cm) separations, with significant damping. We find that increasing the magnetic flux density at the superconductor surface strengthens the flux pinning forces, suggesting the possibility that higher stiffness can be obtained over larger distances by increasing or focusing the magnetostatic field.
Continuous and Automatic Propagation of Dairy Cultures

Summary A small fermentation system was devised for continuous automatic propagation of dairy cultures. The fermentor is a circulatory, 1-in. diameter, stainless steel pipe assembly of 1,000-ml. capacity, in which skimmilk is continuously and slowly circulated. Acidity is controlled with a pH meter and meter-relay which activates a solenoid valve controlling the skimmilk inflow. The fermentation system has been operated for 12 wk., but not without contamination and undesirable fementations. Successful trials free from contamination have been conducted for 3 wk. These have provided information regarding the throughput rate at various temperatures between 50 and 90° F. At 90° F. the retention time or growth rate was 30 min. The critical pH level was 5.3, below which the rate of growth was reduced. Dairy cultures can be propagated continuously at maximum growth rates without impairment of flavor or activity, with constant temperature and pH (above 5.3 for maximum rate) and in continuous motion.
An exploratory study of the impacts of an employer-supported child care program

Abstract Although employer-sponsored child care programs have become more common, there is little empirical research on whether these programs affect employees’ satisfaction with child care or their work-life balance, and if effects vary across employee characteristics. In this exploratory study, we administered a survey to employees with children at one large university to gather information on their child care arrangements and experience with their employer's child care voucher program (N = 776). Satisfaction with child care varied with employee and child care characteristics, but not with voucher receipt. Families with preschool children, White families, and those using paid home-based care were more satisfied with their child care arrangements than those with school-age children, minority families, and those using center-based or before/afterschool care. Nearly half of voucher recipients (47%) reported benefits in work-life balance as a result of the voucher. Although demand-side vouchers appear to be a promising employer approach to address child care challenges, these results suggest that attention must also be given to the structure of child care supply as satisfaction and work-family stress are affected by more factors than child care cost only.
Information use of service technicians in difficult cases

Service technicians in the field often come across difficult service problems that are new to them. They have a large number of resources that they can draw on to deal with such problems, including both people and documents. We have undertaken a detailed study of technicians' everyday work, and have discovered two distinct types of information use, reflecting two different problem-solving practices. The less frequently used problem-solving practice is instruction following, where technicians follow company-documented Repair Analysis Procedures (RAPs). The second, more common practice is gleaning, where the information is gathered from many sources -- including other technicians and informal tips, which are documents written by technicians describing their invented solutions to hard service problems. Our observations show how the informational and interface affordances of the system for accessing the tips support their easy incorporation into the gleaning approach for problem solving in difficult cases. We also recommend ways that RAPs can be augmented to provide affordances for gleaning, and more effective instruction following.
Progestin permeation through polymer membranes III: Polymerization solvent effect on progesterone permeation through hydrogel membranes

Hydrogels prepared from poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) are biocompatible and highly permeable to low molecular weight solutes. Permeation rates can be varied by altering the cross-linker concentration or using copolymers; the latter are chosen to alter the hydrogel equilibrium hydration. These factors suggest that hydrogels are good candidates for controlled-release drug delivery devices. Hydrogels may be synthesized using various temperatures, initiators (nature and concentration), and solvents (nature and concentration). This study demonstrated that progesterone permeation through poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) films is independent of polymerization solvent (nature and concentration) for the solvents, water, ethanol, and tert-butyl alcohol. The importance of hydrogel equilibrium hydration in progesterone permeation is emphasized.
Solvation Free Energy Reaction Curves for Electron Transfer in Aqueous Solution: Theory and Simulation

The solvation free energy curves for electron transfer between several types of ions in aqueous solution are studied by molecular dynamics computer simulations and by simple theoretical models. By using models of increasing complexity, contributions of different physical effects are evaluated. The theoretical models are for two ions at infinite separation in a dielectric continuum: the first is based on the Born solvation free energy, which assumes a linear response of the solvent and thus is basically Marcus theory, and the second is based on a nonlinear response model of ionic solvation by Hyun, Babu, and Ichiye (HBI), which includes the effects of dielectric saturation. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations of ions at infinite and finite separations describe the molecular nature of the solvent, with the latter including the influence of the solutes on each other. The focus here is on the orientational rather than electronic polarization, although the latter also will contribute. Previously, comparis...