cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pacinian representations of fine surface texture

Subjects were presented with pairs of finely textured stimuli and were instructed to rate their dissimilarity, using free magnitude estimation. The subjects also rated the stimuli along each of four textural continua: roughness, hardness, stickiness, and warmth. In subsequent experimental sessions, we used a Hall effect transducer to measure the vibrations produced in the subjects’ fingertip skin as the stimuli were scanned across it. We wished to assess the extent to which the perceptual dissimilarity of the textures could be explained in terms of the perceptual dissimilarity of the vibrations they elicited in the skin. To that end, we invoked a model characterizing the Pacinian representation of a vibratory stimulus. From the model, we computed the difference in the vibratory representations of the two stimuli in each pair. We found that the bulk of the variance in perceived dissimilarity of the textures was accounted for by differences in the Pacinian representations of the vibrations they produced. Our results further suggested that the textural information conveyed by the Pacinian system concerns surface roughness and, possibly, stickiness.
Supervisor attributions and reponses for multicausal workplace accidents

Abstract DeJoy, D.M., 1987. Supervisor attributions and responses for multi-causal workplace accidents. Journal of Occpuational Accidents , 9: 213–223. An experimental study was conducted to examine how those in supervisory roles perceive and respond to multi-causal workplace accidents. Subjects were presented with industrial accident reports in which the immediate cause was either internal or external to the involved worker and where the prior cause was internal, external, or not specified. The results showed that regardless of whether the immediate cause was internal or external to the worker, introducing a same type prior cause added little to the information provided by the immediate cause. However, introducing an opposite prior cause cancelled the effects of the immediate cause, but only when the prior cause was internal. An external prior cause did not reverse the effects of an internal immediate cause. In general, the temporal position of the cause was less critical than its internality-externality. Viewed together, the findings suggest that supervisors attach greater significance to internal causes in explaining subordinate safety performance, and that they are likely to resolve conflicting causal data by focusing on internal causes.
Personality and mate preferences : Five factors in mate selection and marital satisfaction

Although personality characteristics figure prominently in what people want in a mate, little is known about precisely which personality characteristics are most important, whether men and women differ in their personality preferences, whether individual women or men differ in what they want, and whether individuals actually get what they want. To explore these issues, two parallel studies were conducted, one using a sample of dating couples (N = 118) and one using a sample of married couples (N = 216). The five-factor model, operationalized in adjectival form, was used to assess personality characteristics via three data sources-self--report, partner report, and independent interviewer reports. Participants evaluated on a parallel 40-item instrument their preferences for the ideal personality characteristics of their mates. Results were consistent across both studies. Women expressed a greater preference than men for a wide array of socially desirable personality traits. Individuals differed in which characteristics they desired, preferring mates who were similar to themselves and actually obtaining mates who embodied what they desired. Finally, the personality characteristics of one's partner significantly predicted marital and sexual dissatisfaction, most notably when the partner was lower on Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, and Intellect-Openness than desired.
In situ Ca2+ imaging of the enteric nervous system.

Reflex behaviors of the intestine are controlled by the enteric nervous system (ENS). The ENS is an integrative network of neurons and glia in two ganglionated plexuses housed in the gut wall. Enteric neurons and enteric glia are the only cell types within the enteric ganglia. The activity of enteric neurons and glia is responsible for coordinating intestinal functions. This protocol describes methods for observing the activity of neurons and glia within the intact ENS by imaging intracellular calcium (Ca2+) transients with fluorescent indicator dyes. Our technical discussion focuses on methods for Ca2+ imaging in whole-mount preparations of the myenteric plexus from the rodent bowel. Bulk loading of ENS whole-mounts with a high-affinity Ca2+ indicator such as Fluo-4 permits measurements of Ca2+ responses in individual neurons or glial cells. These responses can be evoked repeatedly and reliably, which permits quantitative studies using pharmacological tools. Ca2+ responses in cells of the ENS are recorded using a fluorescence microscope equipped with a cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. Fluorescence measurements obtained using Ca2+ imaging in whole-mount preparations offer a straightforward means of characterizing the mechanisms and potential functional consequences of Ca2+ responses in enteric neurons and glial cells.
Bottomless determination: How Yablo can get proportionality from gunk

To escape epiphenomenalism, Stephen Yablo (1992) appeals to the principle that causes be proportional to their effects. Consider Sophie, a pigeon trained to peck at red triangles to the exclusion of all other colours. Sophie will peck at a scarlet triangle. But that does not mean that the triangle being scarlet is the cause of Sophie’s pecking. She would have pecked at any red triangle. The cause is the most specific property that makes a difference. Red is a determinable of scarlet. Determinables necessitate systematic resemblances between their determinates – as detailed by a sequence of studies inaugurated by W. E. Johnson (1921) and most recently refined by Eric Funkhouser (2006). This organization of determinable properties makes them more plausible causes than disjunctive properties. Sophie’s peck was not caused by the triangle being either scarlet or burgundy. That would be double-counting causes. After all, scarlet was doing all the work. Given the Eleatic principle that only causes exist, many go further and deny that there are any disjunctive properties. This parsimony stops the proliferation of disjunctive properties. The determination relation is relative. Red is a determinable of scarlet but it is a determinate of colour. Aside from those who think reality might be vague, such as David Sanford (1970), all experts on the determination relation assume that all chains of determination bottom out with superdeterminate properties. Metaphysicians such as Tim Crane (2008) latch on to these superdeterminate properties as the only causally efficacious properties. From this lemma, Carl Gillett and Bradley Rives (2005) go on to apply the Eleatic principle. They conclude that only superdeterminate properties are real. This consensus that determination relations are always grounded in superdeterminate properties is jeopardized by the analogy between superdeterminates and atoms. Atoms sit at the bottom of the constitution relation. They are parts that lack proper parts. But physicists respect the possibility of gunk (objects with parts that always have proper parts). There is no guarantee that there are super-constituents. Accordingly, Ted Sider (1996) reasons that since there may be no atoms and yet there is something rather than nothing, physical constitution must be possible. If objects can be composed of gunk, then they can be composed of atoms. And once we permit a little composition, why not help ourselves to as much as is suggested by common sense and science?
Cigarette Smoking and Coronary Artery Disease: A Macroscopic and Microscopic Study

Vascular changes in the coronary arteries and intramyocardial arteries and arteriole were studied in 1,056 men in relation to the effects of cigarette smoking and to age. The analysis was based on both macroscopic and microscopic studies, and the pathologist was unaware of the identity of the cases. The macroscopic study found a greater association with atheroma than a previous study taken from autopsies. The microscopic study found moderate and advanced fibrous intimal thickening of the coronary arteries to be more frequent in smokers and related to the amount or degree of cigarette smoking. The increase in fibrous intimai thickening was greater for intramyocardial arteries than for subepicardial arteries. The most marked difference by smoking habits was found in the myocardial arterioles. Advanced hyaline thickening was found in 90.7 percent of those smoking two or more packs of cigarettes per day, in 48.4 percent of those smoking less than one pack per day, and not in any of those who never smoked regularly.
Bounds on response variability of stochastic finite element systems : effect of statistical dependence

A methodology to evaluate the spectral distribution-free upper bounds of the response variability of stochastic finite element systems characterized by statistical dependence among the stochastic fields of differept finite elements is developed. The structural systems examined consist of linearly elastic frames subjected to static loads. The computation of these bounds is achieved by extending the notion of the variability response function' of a stochastic system to frames analyzed by the finite element method. Until now, the variability response function had only been established for stochastic finite element systems characterized by statistical independence among the stochastic fields of different finite elements. However, the assumption of statistical dependence is more suitable for the analysis of certain structures, like reinforced concrete ones cast in one step. It was concluded that the assumption of statistical dependence produces larger values for the upper bounds of the response variability of the structure, when compared to the corresponding values under the assumption of statistical independence.
Semen characteristics of the adult male chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).

The chimpanzee, because of its similarities to the human, is especially valuable in studies of reproductive function. However, relatively little is known about the physiology of reproduction in the adult male chimpanzee. This study provides, for five adult male chimpanzees, baseline values for testicular volume without and with pressure and for cellular and biochemical characteristics of ejaculates collected by artificial vagina (AV). There was no correlation between body weight and testicular volume measured without or with pressure. The ratios of mean testicular volume without and with pressure were not statistically different among animals. Statistical analysis of penetration of denuded hamster oocytes by ejaculated chimpanzee sperm revealed no correlations between sperm count and percentage of eggs penetrated. There was significant variability in concentrations of protein and fructose and in activities of alpha-glucosidase and acid phosphatase among samples from different animals. Computer-assisted motion analysis (CAMA) of sperm provided baseline data on motion parameters necessary for future evaluation of this technique for semen analysis in the chimpanzee. The level of demonstrated inter-animal variation mandates use of each animal as its own control for studies on normal and altered reproductive function. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Variability and accuracy of coronary CT angiography including use of iterative reconstruction algorithms for plaque burden assessment as compared with intravascular ultrasound-an ex vivo study.

To systematically assess inter-technique and inter-/intra-reader variability of coronary CT angiography (CTA) to measure plaque burden compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and to determine whether iterative reconstruction algorithms affect variability. IVUS and CTA data were acquired from nine human coronary arteries ex vivo. CT images were reconstructed using filtered back projection (FBPR) and iterative reconstruction algorithms: adaptive-statistical (ASIR) and model-based (MBIR). After co-registration of 284 cross-sections between IVUS and CTA, two readers manually delineated the cross-sectional plaque area in all images presented in random order. Average plaque burden by IVUS was 63.7 ± 10.7% and correlated significantly with all CTA measurements (r = 0.45–0.52; P 0.05). Increased overestimation was associated with smaller plaques, eccentricity and calcification (P 0.05). In ex vivo coronary arteries, plaque burden by coronary CTA had extremely low inter-/intra-reader variability and correlated significantly with IVUS measurements. Accuracy as well as reader reliability were independent of CT image reconstruction algorithm. • IVUS is deemed the gold standard in-vivo coronary plaque assessment • But coronary CT angiography findings correlate strongly with IVUS results • Coronary CT angiography now allows plaque quantification close to IVUS • Iterative image reconstruction algorithms do not alter accuracy or reproducibility • Plaque quantification is more challenging in smaller eccentric calcified lesions
Effects of retained diaphyseal plates on forearm bone density and grip strength.

Numerous complications have been attributed to elective plate removal following successful treatment of both bone diaphyseal forearm fractures, yet the effects of retained implants are not known. Fourteen patients were reviewed for residual forearm grip strength (FGS) and bone mineral density (BMD) following uneventful union. Patients were analyzed in two groups based upon time from fixation: group I, > 2 years but 5 years. In group I, mean 2.6 years follow-up (n = 6), mean FGS ratios (patient values/age matched general population means) were 0.65 and 0.77, respectively, for plated and normal limbs (p = 0.08). The mean BMD ratios of plated/normal sides adjacent to the plate were 0.99 (ulna) and 1.02 (radius); these values were not significantly different from more proximal forearm BMD ratios (p = 0.92 ulna; p = 0.44, radius). In group II, mean 8.4 years (n = 8), mean FGS ratios were 0.97 and 1.09, respectively, for plated and normal limbs (p > 0.05). The BMD ratio was 1.04 adjacent to the plate; this was not significantly different from the ratios measured away from the plate (p > 0.4). We conclude that retained forearm plates can be well tolerated and that their routine removal is not indicated based on FGS or BMD.
Application of Electrohydrodynamic Atomization to Two-Phase Impingement Heat Transfer

The effect of electric fields applied to two-phase impingement heat transfer is explored for the first time. The electric field applied between a capillary tube and heated surface enhances the heat transfer by controlling the free boundary flow modes from discreet drops to jets, to sprays. Through an experimental study, the impingement heat transfer was evaluated over a range of operating conditions and geometrical parameters with subcooled ethanol used as the working fluid. The ability to change the mode of impinging mass did change the surface heat transfer. The characteristics of the impinging mass on heat transfer were dependent on flow rate, applied voltage, capillary tube to heated surface spacing, capillary tube geometry, heat flux, heater surface geometry, and capillary tube array configuration. Enhancement occurred primarily at low heat fluxes (below 30 W/cm 2 ) under ramified spray conditions where the droplet momentum promoted thin films on the heated surface resulting in 1.7 times enhancement under certain conditions. Higher heat fluxes resulted in greater vapor momentum from the surface, minimizing the effect of different impingement modes. The use of capillary tube array allowed for electrohydrodynamics atomization enhancement and higher liquid flow rates, but electrostatic repulsive forces diverted the spray from the heater surface. This reduced the mass flux to the surface, leading to premature dryout under certain conditions.
Improving the use of research-based evidence in policy making: effective care in pregnancy and childbirth in the United States.

The rigorous syntheses in Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth (ECPC) raise the question of how these and future recommendations can effectively be used to influence the decisions of policy makers and to improve the care we receive. The fragmentation of U.S. health care is especially striking for pregnancy and childbirth care. Although the U.S. context does not contain an obvious focal point for ECPC, several organizations have leverage or influence over different facets of policy making in this area: professional associations, consumer advocates, regulatory bodies, and third-party payers. An alternative to current independent activities is the organization of a network to facilitate implementation of ECPC. The intention would be that, through interaction, members would strengthen their interest and improve their effectiveness in implementing ECPC. An initial activity might be to evaluate alternative methods for implementing a specific recommendation.
Family matters: control and conflict in online family history production

Findagrave.com and Ancestry.com are sites that support the cooperative creation of public historical resources. These sites of cooperative production have attracted tens of thousands and millions of contributors respectively, yet they embrace content standards, social norms, and models of editorial control that differ radically from the well-studied exemplar of Wikipedia. In this study, we investigated how Ancestry.com and Findagrave.com support production of historical resources through analysis of message boards and interviews with participants. We found that these sites are not only places for building a historical resource, but simultaneously serve as opportunities for public memorialization and familial identity construction. Notably, we found that contributors to these websites embrace the idea of familial oversight of biographical information in order to maintain high standards of quality, and they harbor a corresponding skepticism of the open editing practices that have become a hallmark of many open collaboration projects.
Observation of h/e Aharonov–Bohm interference effects in submicron diameter, normal metal rings

Clear evidence of Aharonov–Bohm oscillations with respect to the flux quantum Φ0=h/e has been observed in the magnetoresistance of single, submicron diameter, normal metal rings. The rings were fabricated using contamination nanolithography in a personal computer controlled, high resolution, scanning transmission electron microscope. The magnetoresistance oscillations developed below T≂1 K, and, surprisingly, persisted without attenuation for more than 1000 periods.
Dielectric relaxation in ethylene–methacrylic acid copolymers and their salts

Dielectric relaxation data have been obtained for two ethylene–methacrylic acid copolymers (containing about 4 mole-% methacrylic acid units and about 8 mole-% methacrylic acid units, respectively) and the lithium, sodium, and calcium salts prepared by partial neutralization of the polyacids. The frequency range employed was from 50 Hz to 10 kHz and the temperature range was from −130°C to 100°C. Attention is focused on three dielectric loss regions labeled β, β and α in order of increasing temperature. The β′ process (−10°C at 100 Hz in the salts only) correlates with a mechanical loss process previously reported and is attributed to microbrownian motion taking place in an amorphous hydrocarbon phase. The β′ process (20°C at 100 Hz) has also been observed mechanically and is attributed to the same mechanism as the β process. The higher temperature of this relaxation compared to the β relaxation is attributed to the presence of acid groups which form crosslinks composed of interchain hydrogen bonds. The α process (>50°C at 100 Hz in the salts only) correlates with dielectric and NMR data previously reported for a sodium salt and is assigned to motions within ionic domains formed by the clustering of salt groups.
Change detection for hyperspectral imagery

Change Detection (CD) is the process of identifying temporal or spectral changes in signals or images. Detection and analysis of change provide valuable information of transformations in a scene. Hyperspectral sensors provide spatial and spectrally rich information that can be exploited for Change Detection. This paper develops and analyzes various CD algorithms for the detection of changes using single-pass and multi-pass Hyperspectral images. For the validation and performance comparisons, changes obtained are compared for the conventional similarity correlation coefficient as well as traditional change detection algorithms, such as image differencing, image ratioing, and principle component analysis (PCA) methods. Another main objective is to incorporate Kernel based optimization by using a nonlinear mapping function. Development of nonlinear versions of linear algorithms allows exploiting nonlinear relationships present in the data. The nonlinear versions, however, become computationally intensive due to the high dimensionality of the feature space resulting in part from application of the nonlinear mapping function. This problem is overcome by implementing these nonlinear algorithms in the high-dimensional feature space in terms of kernels. Kernelization of a similarity correlation coefficient algorithm for Hyperspectral change detection has been studied. Preliminary work on dismount tracking using change detection over successive HSI bands has shown promising results. CD between multipass HSI image cubes elicits the changes over time, whereas changes between spectral bands for the same cube illustrate the spectral changes occurring in different image regions, and results for both cases are given in the paper.
The interpretation of site-directed mutagenesis experiments by linear free energy relations

Fersht and co-workers have applied a linear free energy relation (Bronsted equation) to analyze site-directed mutagenesis experiments involving the enzyme tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase and have suggested that the Bronsted exponent is linearly correlated with the value of the reaction coordinate at the transition state. We point out that when the mutants differ solely through the formation or deletion of a hydrogen bond away from the reaction center, a linear free energy relation is expected only in limiting cases for which the Bronsted relation exponent is 0, 1 or infinity. The results may be correlated with a conformational coordinate but not with the development of the reaction coordinate per se.
Evaluation Of Fiber Optics Faceplates For Application In Space Photography

The slow-scan vidicon television camera is one of the principal instruments used by NASA in the unmanned exploration of the planets. Cameras of this type have already mapped the surface of Mars and will soon be sent to photograph Venus and Mercury. The unaided vidicon, however, lacks the sensitivity required for further improving the surface resolution at these inner planets, or for maintaining the present level of performance when missions are flown to planets further from the sun. Therefore, we have recently considered the use of a first generation image intensifier as a means for increasing the sensitivity of these cameras.© (1973) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Growing Crisis in the Strategic and Critical Minerals of the United States

The public needs to be aware of four major problem areas involved in the development of our national minerals policy. First, the U.S. must confront the fact that its mineral industries are financially insecure and require government actions to increase the financial strength of the industry as a whole. Second, our country must recognize that government regulations, although vital, have become so burdensome as to place often insurmountable obstacles in front of mineral development. Third, we must acknowledge government responsibility in withdrawing potential sources of mineral supplies from domestic production. And fourth, the US must understand that nonfuel minerals, such as oil, have a large if subtle impact on our national security. With this recognition, the US can make a serious commitment to a national minerals policy.
Influence of device geometry on tunneling in the ν=(5)/(2) quantum Hall liquid

Two recent experiments [Radu et al., Science 320, 899 (2008); Lin et al., Phys. Rev. B 85, 165321 (2012)] measured the temperature and voltage dependence of the quasiparticle tunneling through a quantum point contact in the $\ensuremath{\nu}=5/2$ quantum Hall liquid. The results led to conflicting conclusions about the nature of the quantum Hall state. In this paper, we show that the conflict can be resolved by recognizing different geometries of the devices in the experiments. We argue that in some of those geometries there is significant unscreened electrostatic interaction between the segments of the quantum Hall edge on the opposite sides of the point contact. Coulomb interaction affects the tunneling current. We compare experimental results with theoretical predictions for the Pfaffian, $\mathrm{SU}{(2)}_{2}$, 331, and $K=8$ states and their particle-hole conjugates. After Coulomb corrections are taken into account, measurements in all geometries agree with the spin-polarized and spin-unpolarized Halperin 331 states.
The Unequal Burden of Weight Gain: An Intersectional Approach to Understanding Social Disparities in BMI Trajectories from 1986 to 2001/2002

The implications of recent weight gain trends for widening social disparities in body weight in the United States are unclear. Using an intersectional approach to studying inequality, and the longitudinal and nationally representative American's Changing Lives study (19862001/2002), we examine social disparities in body mass index trajectories during a time of rapid weight gain in the United States. Results reveal complex interactive effects of gender, race, socioeconomic position and age, and provide evidence for increasing social disparities, particularly among younger adults. Most notably, among individuals who aged from 25-39 to 45-54 during the study interval, low-educated and low-income black women experienced the greatest increase in BMI, while high-educated and high-income white men experienced the least BMI growth. These new findings highlight the importance of investigating changing disparities in weight intersectionally, using multiple dimensions of inequality as well as age, and also presage increasing BMI disparities in the U.S. adult population.
Light-induced changes of the non-Gaussian 1/f noise statistics in doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Abstract The influence of metastable photo-induced conductance changes (the Staebler-Wronski effect) on the 1/f noise power spectra of co-planar current fluctuations in n-type doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is studied. The average magnitude and spectral slope of the 1/f noise are not altered significantly due to illumination, when measured with identical d.c. currents passing through the film before and after light exposure. The conductance noise in the annealed state is strongly non-Gaussian, which is reflected in large noise power correlation coefficients between different octaves, a noise power distribution which is much broader than the expected x 2 distribution and a 1/f-like second spectrum. Following light exposure, the correlation coefficients decrease, the noise power distribution is well described by a x 2 distribution and the second spectrum becomes frequency independent. Annealing the a-Si:H film to 450K restores the non-Gaussian statistics of the 1/f noise. The non-Gaussian noi...
Six degree-of-freedom haptic rendering using spatialized normal cone search

This paper describes a haptic rendering algorithm for arbitrary polygonal models using a six degree-of-freedom haptic interface. The algorithm supports activities such as virtual prototyping of complex polygonal models and adding haptic interaction to virtual environments. The underlying collision system computes local extrema in distance between the model controlled by the haptic device and the rest of the scene. The haptic rendering computes forces and torques on the moving model based on these local extrema. The system is demonstrated on models with tens of thousands of triangles and developed in an accessibility application for finding collision-free paths.
Changes in vegetative cover on Western Arctic Herd winter range from 1981 to 2005: potential effects of grazing and climate change

The population of the Western Arctic Herd, estimated at 490 000 caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) in 2003, is at its highest level in 30 years. Twenty permanent range transects were established in the winter range of the Western Arctic Herd in 1981 to assess the impacts of grazing. These transects were revisited in 1995 and 1996 (1995/96). Only 18 of the transects were re-located, so an additional 7 transects were established in 1996. In 2005, all 25 remaining transects were revisited. Lichen coverage dropped by a relative 45.1% between 1981 and 1995/96 and by an additional relative 25.6% between 1995/96 and 2005. There was a significant decline in primary forage lichens between 1995/96 and 2005. Caribou use was greater in areas with high lichen abundance. Graminoid cover increased by a relative 118.4% from 1981 to 1995/96 and again by a relative 26.1% from 1995/96 to 2005. Shrub cover increased during the study whereas forb cover declined. The decline in lichen abundance on the winter range of the Western Arctic Herd over 24 years is an index of caribou habitat condition. The observed changes in vegetation cover can be attributed to caribou grazing, fire, and possibly global climate change. Continued declines in lichen cover could lead to population declines within the herd, range shifts, or both.
Induction of immediate and delayed skin reactivity with emulsion of purified ragweed antigen.

Abstract The induction of immediate or delayed skin reactivity in man following the injection of an emulsified whole ragweed pollen extract raised the question of the dependence of this activity on a nonantigenic component as an adjuvant and the possibility that a particular component might be responsible for a particular type of reactivity. Although we could not investigate all fractions of ragweed pollen, the availability of ragweed antigen E of King made possible a comparison of it with the extract of whole short ragweed pollen. Thirty-one nonatopic subjects were injected with an emulsion of 10,000 pollen units of the crude extract of short ragweed pollen, while 32 were given an injection of an emulsion of ragweed antigen E prepared from the same batch of pollen, the dose being comparable to the amount of E present in the crude extract. At approximately weekly intervals, intradermal tests were made with 0.05 ml. of 1:1,000 whole pollen extract and equivalent concentrations of antigen E. Several subjects who had immediate and delayed reactions were subjected to skin titrations with whole extract and antigen E, using serial dilutions of the material. The results indicate that emulsified antigen E is capable of inducing immediate or delayed sensitivity, and that the incidence and degree of this reactivity are not significantly different from that produced by whole extract emulsions. Antigen E and whole ragweed extract are equally capable of eliciting either an immediate or delayed reaction, regardless of the preparation employed in the emulsion. Exceptions to this generalization occur in individuals, and this may depend on other antigens than E in the crude preparation and/or trace heterologous antigens in the preparation of antigen E.
Maternal psychiatric disease and epigenetic evidence suggest a common biology for poor fetal growth

We sought to identify and characterize predictors of poor fetal growth among variables extracted from perinatal medical records to gain insight into potential etiologic mechanisms. In this process we reevaluated a previously observed association between poor fetal growth and maternal psychiatric disease. We evaluated 449 deliveries of >36 weeks gestation that occurred between 9/2008 and 9/2010 at the Women and Infants Hospital in Providence Rhode Island. This study group was oversampled for Small-for-Gestational-Age (SGA) infants and excluded Large-for-Gestational-Age (LGA) infants. We assessed the associations between recorded clinical variables and impaired fetal growth: SGA or Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) diagnosis. After validating the previously observed association between maternal psychiatric disease and impaired fetal growth we addressed weaknesses in the prior studies by explicitly considering antidepressant use and the timing of symptoms with respect to pregnancy. We then evaluated DNA methylation levels at 27 candidate loci in placenta from a subset of these deliveries (n = 197) to examine if epigenetic variation could provide insight into the mechanisms that cause this co-morbidity. Infants of mothers with prenatal psychiatric disease (Depression, Anxiety, OCD/Panic) had increased odds of poor fetal growth (ORadjusted = 3.36, 95%CI: 1.38-8.14). This relationship was similar among those who were treated with antidepressants (ORadjusted = 3.69, 95%CI: 1.31-10.45) and among those who were not (ORadjusted = 3.19, 95%CI: 1.30-7.83). Among those with a history of psychiatric disease but no active disease in pregnancy the ORadjusted was 0.45 (95%CI: 0.09-2.35). A locus near the transcription start site of the leptin receptor (cg21655790) had methylation levels that were decreased in the presence of: 1) SGA/IUGR, and 2) active but not resolved psychiatric disease (among mothers not on antidepressants). These results validate and further characterize the association between maternal psychiatric disease and poor fetal growth. Because the association appears to depend on active psychiatric disease, this suggests a transient and potentially modifiable pathophysiology. The molecular findings in this study suggest that altered leptin signaling may be involved in the biological mechanisms that link prenatal maternal psychiatric symptoms and poor fetal growth.
Burnout: Its Impact on Child Welfare Workers and Their Spouses

aforementioned symptoms of mental and physical distress.3 Nonetheless, the few available empirical studies, which for the most part appeared after Perlman and Hartman's review, tend to support the existence of such relationships.4 In our study, therefore, we addressed this issue first: We hy pothesized that workers who scored high on the burnout scales used in our study would be more likely to report feelings of anxiety, depression, irritability, and somatic complaints and would also be more likely to report less satisfaction with their jobs and lower self-esteem compared to workers who scored low on the burn
Stability Theorems for Fourier Frames and Wavelet Riesz Bases.

In this paper we present two applications of a Stability Theorem of Hilbert frames to nonharmonic Fourier series and wavelet Riesz basis. The first result is an enhancement of the Paley-Wiener type constant for nonharmonic series given by Duffin and Schaefer in [6] and used recently in some applications (see [3]). In the case of an orthonormal basis, our estimate reduces to Kadec’ optimal 1/4 result. The second application proves that a phenomenon discovered by Daubechies and Tchamitchian [4] for the orthonormal Meyer wavelet basis (stability of the Riesz basis property under small changes of the translation parameter) actually holds for a large class of wavelet Riesz bases.
A comparison of voltage-tuned magnetrons with M and O types of backward-wave oscillators

One of the inherent characteristics of the Voltage Tuned Magnetron is its capability of being electronically tuned over a wide range in frequency. It is informative to compare the VTM with M and O backward wave oscillators, which are also capable of wide electronic frequency tuning. The voltage-frequency characteristics, power-frequency characteristics, size, weight, and complexity, will be among the items compared.
Adaptive quantization and fast error-resilient entropy coding for image transmission

There has been an outburst of research in image and video compression for transmission over noisy channels. Channel matched source quantizer design has gained prominence. Further, the presence of variable-length codes in compression standards like the JPEG and the MPEG has made the problem more interesting. Error-resilient entropy coding (EREC) has emerged as a new and effective method to combat catastrophic loss in the received signal due to burst and random errors. We propose a new channel-matched adaptive quantizer for JPEG image compression. A slow, frequency-nonselective Rayleigh fading channel model is assumed. The optimal quantizer that matches the human visibility threshold and the channel bit-error rate is derived. Further, a new fast error-resilient entropy code (FEREC) that exploits the statistics of the JPEG compressed data is proposed. The proposed FEREC algorithm is shown to be almost twice as fast as EREC in encoding the data, and hence the error resilience capability is also observed to be significantly better. On average, a 5% decrease in the number of significantly corrupted received image blocks is observed with FEREC. Up to a 2-dB improvement in the peak signal-to-noise ratio of the received image is also achieved.
Repression of Ccr9 Transcription in Mouse T Lymphocyte Progenitors by the Notch Signaling Pathway

The chemokine receptor CCR9 controls the immigration of multipotent hematopoietic progenitor cells into the thymus to sustain T cell development. Postimmigration, thymocytes downregulate CCR9 and migrate toward the subcapsular zone where they recombine their TCR β-chain and γ-chain gene loci. CCR9 is subsequently upregulated and participates in the localization of thymocytes during their selection for self-tolerant receptor specificities. Although the dynamic regulation of CCR9 is essential for early T cell development, the mechanisms controlling CCR9 expression have not been determined. In this article, we show that key regulators of T cell development, Notch1 and the E protein transcription factors E2A and HEB, coordinately control the expression of Ccr9. E2A and HEB bind at two putative enhancers upstream of Ccr9 and positively regulate CCR9 expression at multiple stages of T cell development. In contrast, the canonical Notch signaling pathway prevents the recruitment of p300 to the putative Ccr9 enhancers, resulting in decreased acetylation of histone H3 and a failure to recruit RNA polymerase II to the Ccr9 promoter. Although Notch signaling modestly modulates the binding of E proteins to one of the two Ccr9 enhancers, we found that Notch signaling represses Ccr9 in T cell lymphoma lines in which Ccr9 transcription is independent of E protein function. Our data support the hypothesis that activation of Notch1 has a dominant-negative effect on Ccr9 transcription and that Notch1 and E proteins control the dynamic expression of Ccr9 during T cell development.
Responses of stream benthic macroinvertebrates to fire

Synthesis of published research on the responses of stream benthic macroinvertebrates to fire in western United States indicates a consistent pattern of response that can guide resource management and future research. Direct effects of fire generally are minor or indiscernible. Indirect effects, resulting primarily from increased rates of runoff and channel alteration, have the greatest impacts on macroinvertebrate community metrics and foodweb responses. Postfire effects are variable in time and space, but in smaller size streams (first to fourth order) that are otherwise undisturbed, changes generally are restricted to the first 5‐10 years following fire and are associated with the more intense burns (crown fires with � 50% of the catchment involved). In unfragmented habitats, initially supporting intact, functioning stream ecosystems, recovery from fire appears to be relatively rapid and to contribute to enhanced aquatic productivity and biodiversity. However, in poorly managed watersheds and those subjected to indiscriminate salvage logging, impacts from fire are expected to be greater and recovery of the macroinvertebrate communities and stream ecosystems more protracted. # 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Fatty acid synthase causes drug resistance by inhibiting TNF-α and ceramide production

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is a key enzyme in the synthesis of palmitate, the precursor of major nutritional, energetic, and signaling lipids. FASN expression is upregulated in many human cancers and appears to be important for cancer cell survival. Overexpression of FASN has also been found to associate with poor prognosis and higher risk of recurrence of human cancers. Indeed, elevated FASN expression has been shown to contribute to drug resistance. However, the mechanism of FASN-mediated drug resistance is currently unknown. In this study, we show that FASN overexpression causes resistance to multiple anticancer drugs via inhibiting drug-induced ceramide production, caspase 8 activation, and apoptosis. We also show that FASN overexpression suppresses tumor necrosis factor-α production and nuclear factor-κB activation as well as drug-induced activation of neutral sphingomyelinase. Thus, TNF-α may play an important role in mediating FASN function in drug resistance.
Database systems as controllers, managers and linguists a study of the relationship of database and operating systems

The study of the relationship of the database system and the operating system can best be characterized in terms of their issues on resource management and language support. In this paper the similarities and differences of these two types of systems (i.e., database systems and operating systems) on resource management and language support are articulated. It is hoped that this articulation can point out the new and future database-system research and development areas.
Analysis of Statistical Sampling in Microarchitecture Simulation: Metric, Methodology and Program Characterization

Statistical sampling, especially stratified random sampling, is a promising technique for estimating the performance of the benchmark program without executing the complete program on microarchitecture simulators or real machines. The accuracy of the performance estimate and the simulation cost depend on the three parameters, namely the interval size, the sample size, and the number of phases (or strata). Optimum values for these three parameters depends on the performance behavior of the program and the microarchitecture configuration being evaluated. In this paper, we quantify the effect of these three parameters and their interactions on the accuracy of the performance estimate and simulation cost. We use the Confidence Interval of estimated Mean (CIM), a metric derived from statistical sampling theory, to measure the accuracy of the performance estimate; we also discuss why CIM is an appropriate metric for this analysis. We use the total number of instructions simulated and the total number of samples measured as cost parameters. Finally, we characterize 21 SPEC CPU2000 benchmarks based on our analysis.
Sudden unexpected death in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the most common cause of death in intractable epilepsies, but physiological mechanisms that lead to SUDEP are unknown. Dravet syndrome (DS) is an infantile-onset intractable epilepsy caused by heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in the SCN1A gene, which encodes brain type-I voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.1. We studied the mechanism of premature death in Scn1a heterozygous KO mice and conditional brain- and cardiac-specific KOs. Video monitoring demonstrated that SUDEP occurred immediately following generalized tonic-clonic seizures. A history of multiple seizures was a strong risk factor for SUDEP. Combined video-electroencephalography-electrocardiography revealed suppressed interictal resting heart-rate variability and episodes of ictal bradycardia associated with the tonic phases of generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Prolonged atropine-sensitive ictal bradycardia preceded SUDEP. Similar studies in conditional KO mice demonstrated that brain, but not cardiac, KO of Scn1a produced cardiac and SUDEP phenotypes similar to those found in DS mice. Atropine or N-methyl scopolamine treatment reduced the incidence of ictal bradycardia and SUDEP in DS mice. These findings suggest that SUDEP is caused by apparent parasympathetic hyperactivity immediately following tonic-clonic seizures in DS mice, which leads to lethal bradycardia and electrical dysfunction of the ventricle. These results have important implications for prevention of SUDEP in DS patients.
Scanning Techniques and Anatomic Considerations

Abdominal ultrasound imaging with realtime instrumentation makes greater use of the operator’s cross-sectional anatomic knowledge than does large-field static ultrasound imaging. This greater exercise of anatomic knowledge results from two characteristics of ultrasound real-time imaging: the smaller field of view of the instruments and the complete flexibility and mobility in placing the transducer at any site on the abdomen.
Epidermidalization of the Cervix Uteri and its Relation to Malignancy

Summary By epidermidalization is meant a process by which the normal cylindrical epithelium of the cervix is replaced by a stratified squamous epithelium. Five theories have been suggested to account for the exact mechanism involved in this change. It was found to occur in fifty-nine instances of chronic cervicitis from a series of 1195 specimens of the cervix and in twenty-nine of 100 cervical mucous polypi. It was also noted in newborn cervices, and there are many references in the literature to the finding of squamouss epithelium in the endometrium. At times the process may lead to the formation of atypical epithelial overgrowths, which may be termed “epidermoidalization.” Careful study of serial sections and repeated biopsies may be necessary to differentiate these findings from an early carcinoma. In rare instances, malignancy can be excluded, but certain features are present which may be considered as “precancerous.” It is not certain that these really represent transitions from a benign to a malignant growth, and there is reason to believe that most of them would probably prove to be harmless.
Domain Size Determination in Heteroepitaxial Systems from LEED Angular Profiles

The angular distribution of intensity in the fundamental beams diffracted from a surface with a lattice gas overlayer consists of two components, a broad “diffuse intensity” distribution reflecting the part of the correlation function resulting from the size distribution of ordered domains at the surface, and a delta-function component reflecting the part of the correlation function due to the order of the clean substrate. The magnitude of the diffuse component depends on electron-beam energy, degree of order, and coverage. We present an investigation of the relative weighting of the two components as a function of these parameters. Results of kinematic and multiple-scattering models are compared with each other and with measurements for GaAs(llO) p(l × l)-Sb.