cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Limited collateralization of neurons in the rat prefrontal cortex that project to the nucleus accumbens

Abstract The specificity and selectiveness of a neuronal message depends in part on the number of recipient neurons that simultaneously receive this message. Hence, projections involved in higher order cognitive processes might be expected to exhibit a lower degree of collateralization than projections that mediate more basic brain functions. This study sought to determine the degree to which neurons projecting from the prefrontal cortex to the nucleus accumbens collateralize to major cortical and subcortical regions: the contralateral prefrontal cortex, the basolateral amygdala or the ventral tegmental area. Fluoro-Gold and cholera toxin-b were used to label prefrontal cortex neurons that project to these targets, and the proportion of neurons singly and dually labeled by immunofluorescence for these tracers was determined. The prefrontal cortex neurons projecting to these regions exhibited a partially complementary laminar distribution. Furthermore, of the neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens, 13% sent a collateralized projection to the contralateral prefrontal cortex, 7% collateralized to the basolateral amygdala, and 3% sent a branched projection to the ventral tegmental area. No differences were observed in the degree of collateralization of neurons in superficial versus deep layers. Thus, the degree of collateralization of corticoaccumbens neurons was overall limited, but significantly greater to a cortical target than to subcortical regions. These branching patterns provide anatomical substrates for temporal and spatial coordination of activity in limbic circuits.
Cladophora in the Great Lakes: impacts on beach water quality and human health

Cladophora in the Great Lakes grows rapidly during the warm summer months, detaches, and becomes free-floating mats as a result of environmental conditions, eventually becoming stranded on recreational beaches. Cladophora provides protection and nutrients, which allow enteric bacteria such as Escherichia coli, enterococci, Shigella, Campylobacter, and Salmonella to persist and potentially regrow in the presence of the algae. As a result of wind and wave action, these microorganisms can detach and be released to surrounding waters and can influence water quality. Enteric bacterial pathogens have been detected in Cladophora mats; E. coli and enterococci may populate to become part of the naturalized microbiota in Cladophora; the high densities of these bacteria may affect water quality, resulting in unnecessary beach closures. The continued use of traditional fecal indicators at beaches with Cladophora presence is inadequate at accurately predicting the presence of fecal contamination. This paper offers a substantial review of available literature to improve the knowledge of Cladophora impacts on water quality, recreational water monitoring, fecal indicator bacteria and microorganisms, and public health and policy.
Searching for hierarchical clusters of disease: spatial patterns of sudden infant death syndrome.

Abstract This paper presents simple and inexpensive methods of recognizing patterns of epidemicity of varying intensity in geographical areas, and of testing for clusters. These methods are designed for available data which are reported on a county (or other geographical unit) basis. The methods are based on a simulated distribution of county “adjacencies”. An interesting pattern of the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome is recognized.
IL-4 Knock Out Mice Display Anxiety-Like Behavior

Inflammation is a recognized antecedent and coincident factor when examining the biology of anxiety. Little is known, however, about how reductions in endogenous anti-inflammatory mediators impact anxiety. Therefore, mood- cognition- and anxiety-associated/like behaviors were examined in IL-4 knock out (KO) mice and wild-type (WT) mice. In comparison to WT mice, IL-4 KO mice demonstrated decreased burrowing and increased social exploration. No differences were seen in forced swim or saccharine preference testing. IL-4 KO mice had similar performance to WT mice in the Morris water maze and during object location and novel object recognition. In the elevated zero-maze, IL-4 KO mice, in comparison to WT mice, demonstrated anxiety-like behavior. Anxiety-like behavior in IL-4 KO mice was not observed, however, during open-field testing. Taken together, these data indicate that IL-4 KO mice display state, but not trait, anxiety suggesting that reductions in endogenous anti-inflammatory bioactives can engender subtypes of anxiety.
Differential Transcriptional Responses to Interferon-α and Interferon-γ in Primary Human Hepatocytes

Interferon (IFN) plays a central role in the innate and adaptive antiviral immune responses. While IFN-α is currently approved for treating chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C, in limited studies, IFN-γ has not been shown to be effective for chronic hepatitis B or C. To identify the potential mechanism underlying the differential antiviral effects of IFN-α and IFN-γ, we used cDNA microarray to profile the global transcriptional response to IFN-α and IFN-γ in primary human hepatocytes, the target cell population of hepatitis viruses. Our results reveal distinct patterns of gene expression induced by these 2 cytokines. Overall, IFN-α induces more genes than IFN-γ at the transcriptional level. Distinct sets of genes were induced by IFN-α and IFN-γ with limited overlaps. IFN-α induces gene transcription at an early time point (6 h) but not at a later time point (18 h), while the effects of IFN-γ are more prominent at 18 h than at 6 h, suggesting a delayed transcriptional response to IFN-γ in the hepatocytes. These findings indicate differential actions of IFN-α and IFN-γ in the context of therapeutic intervention for chronic viral infections in the liver.
Possibilistic Risk Aversion and Coinsurance Problem

The coinsurance problem is an important topic in insurance decisions. A risk-averse agent should choose a coinsurance rate maximizing the expected final wealth. In this paper, we propose a possibilistic model of coinsurance problem. A decision problem whose solution is the optimal coinsurance is formulated. Some of its properties, the calculation modality and its behavior towards the changes of risk aversion are studied.
Defining the appropriate threshold of creatine kinase elevation after percutaneous coronary interventions

The threshold of creatine kinase elevation after coronary interventions has been set at levels ranging in different studies from 2 to > 5 times the laboratory's upper limit of normal. This high variability is caused by the absence of any systematic evaluation of the prognostic implications of cardiac-enzyme elevation in this setting. This study was undertaken to evaluate the clinical, morphologic, and procedural correlates, and the long-term follow-up of two commonly used thresholds of creatine kinase (CK) elevation after successful percutaneous coronary interventions, in an attempt to define the level of postprocedural cardiac enzymes that correlates with adverse clinical outcome. We examined 4664 consecutive patients who underwent successful coronary angioplasty or directional atherectomy at the Cleveland Clinic. Group I (4480 patients) had CK > or = 2 times control levels after the procedure (i.e., 900 IU/L with positive myocardial isoenzymes (CK-MB > 4%). Elevation of cardiac enzymes was associated with distinct clinical, morphologic, and procedural characteristics, including coronary embolism, recent infarction, transient in-laboratory closure, hemodynamic instability, vein graft procedures, and large dissections. Clinical follow-up was available in 4644 (99.6%) patients, with a mean follow-up of 36 +/- 22 months. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis adjusted with Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that cardiac-enzyme elevation was an important correlate of cardiac death (risk ratio, 2.19; p < 0.0001). The groups with elevated cardiac enzymes had a higher incidence of cardiac death compared with group I (p < 0.0001). There was also a trend toward more cardiac hospitalizations in the same groups (p = 0.15). The incidence of cardiac death and cardiac hospitalization on follow-up was not different between groups II and III, This study shows that CK elevations between 2 and 5 times control values after successful coronary interventions are associated with an adverse long-term outcome. The findings suggest that an appropriate CK threshold that has prognostic implications would be twice the upper limit of normal.
Amazonian agriculturalists bound by subsistence hunting

As rural Amazonian caboclo households transition from subsistence to increasingly market-based economies with systems of individualized production and consumption, the non-market exchanges of cooperative labor and game meat integral to the practice of subsistence hunting maintain bonds between households in the community. Further, subsistence hunting strengthens kinship ties across households wherein both men and women are important actors, an additional important component of local resource management. This study conducted in Brazil's first sustainable development settlement, Projecto de Desenvolvimento Sustentavel (PDS) Sao Salvador, suggests that not only are use rules important in the local management of natural resources, but also that inter-household relations of social conflict and social cohesion expressed in subsistence hunting reinforce community social structure while simultaneously impacting the natural resource base. In the effort to link social with ecological sustainability, conservation an...
Immune function in chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection

The spectrum of illness attributed to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) includes patients with symptoms persisting for more than 1 year without any other obvious underlying disease. High titers of antibodies to EBV, either IgG antiviral capsid antigen or anti-early antigen, can be demonstrated. In this study, 13 patients diagnosed as having chronic active EBV infection were examined to determine aspects of their immunologic status. Morphological examination and fluorescent antibody analysis revealed no abnormalities in the phenotypes of peripheral blood white cells present in these patients. Compared to those from healthy control individuals, mononuclear cells from the patients showed a markedly depressed ability to produce both interleukin-2 and interferon after stimulation with mitogen and a phorbol ester. Studies of natural killer (NK) cell activity revealed that unfractionated mononuclear cells from patients with chronic active EBV infection were significantly lower in killing activity compared to the control group. Fractionation procedures to enrich for large granular lymphocytes resulted in an increase in NK activity for all individuals, but killing activity still remained slightly lower in the patients than in the control group. The dysfunctions which were found in patients with chronic active EBV infection may reflect a primary defect in natural immune functions of the patients predisposing them to a chronic or intermittent clinical disease rather than a self-limiting illness. Alternatively, the abnormalities detected in these experiments may be a result of the viral infection itself.
Comparative effects of dehydroepiandrosterone and related steroids on peroxisome proliferation in rat liver

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is known to induce peroxisome proliferation and peroxisomal enoyl-CoA hydratase/3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (PBE) mRNA in the rat liver. We have compared the effects of 6 intermediate metabolites of DHEA on the induction of peroxisome proliferation and PBE mRNA. Administration of epiandrosterone, etiocholanolone, androstenedione, estrone or estradiol for 2 weeks in the diet at 0.45% concentration to adult male F-344 rats failed to induce significant increases in peroxisome proliferation and PBE mRNA when compared to the parent compound DHEA. Dietary administration of 5-androstene-3 beta,17 beta-diol (ADIOL) for 2 weeks at 0.45% concentration caused an increase in PBE mRNA and peroxisome proliferation but to a lesser extent than DHEA. Following a single intragastric dose of DHEA an increase in PBE mRNA level was observed in the liver at 1 hr and continued to 16 hrs., but not with its metabolites. These results strongly suggest that DHEA or possibly another yet to be identified metabolite might be responsible for peroxisome proliferation.
Acute major prosthetic aortic valve dehiscence secondary to Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis presenting as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

![Figure][1] ![Figure][1] [Video 1][2] Sitting Position ![Figure][1] [Video 2][3] Supine Position An 86-year-old woman presented as an emergency with chest pain and breathlessness. An electrocardiogram recorded by the paramedics showed anterior ST-segment elevation, and
Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome: A rare cause of severe headache

Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome (KTS) is a rare condition characterized by the triad of capillary malformations (port-wine stains), venous malformations, and soft tissue and/or bony hypertrophy. Many patients with KTS have pain of the affected area of the body. We report a unique KTS patient with multiple intraosseous calvarial venous malformations producing severe chronic headaches.
Recursive computation of discrete Legendre polynomial coefficients

Discrete Legendre polynomials play an important role in image processing, signal processing, and control. This paper presents two new recursive methods to compute Legendre polynomials' coefficients. One method computes the coefficients of the (m + 1)th order term using the coefficient of themth order term of the same degree plynomial. The other method computes thenth order coefficient of a higher degree polynomial using themth order coefficient of a lower degree polynomial.
Proteomic interactions in the mouse vitreous-retina complex.

Purpose Human vitreoretinal diseases are due to presumed abnormal mechanical interactions between the vitreous and retina, and translational models are limited. This study determined whether nonstructural proteins and potential retinal biomarkers were expressed by the normal mouse vitreous and retina. Methods Vitreous and retina samples from mice were collected by evisceration and analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Identified proteins were further analyzed for differential expression and functional interactions using bioinformatic software. Results We identified 1,680 unique proteins in the retina and 675 unique proteins in the vitreous. Unbiased clustering identified protein pathways that distinguish retina from vitreous including oxidative phosphorylation and neurofilament cytoskeletal remodeling, whereas the vitreous expressed oxidative stress and innate immunology pathways. Some intracellular protein pathways were found in both retina and vitreous, such as glycolysis and gluconeogenesis and neuronal signaling, suggesting proteins might be shuttled between the retina and vitreous. We also identified human disease biomarkers represented in the mouse vitreous and retina, including carbonic anhydrase-2 and 3, crystallins, macrophage inhibitory factor, glutathione peroxidase, peroxiredoxins, S100 precursors, and von Willebrand factor. Conclusions Our analysis suggests the vitreous expresses nonstructural proteins that functionally interact with the retina to manage oxidative stress, immune reactions, and intracellular proteins may be exchanged between the retina and vitreous. This novel proteomic dataset can be used for investigating human vitreoretinopathies in mouse models. Validation of vitreoretinal biomarkers for human ocular diseases will provide a critical tool for diagnostics and an avenue for therapeutics.
Cyber–Physical Systems: Close Encounters Between Two Parallel Worlds [Point of View]

Technology, science, and engineering continue to redefine physical world capabilities. Take mobility of humans, for example. In the 20th century, transportation systems moved us to unimaginable distances, speeds on earth and made us set foot on the Moon. Star Trek popularized teleportation, a fictitious technology that instantly allows us to "go where no person has gone before." Before end of the century, Internet and wireless networking helped to create the parallel "cyber world," virtually "teleporting" us great distances to interact with remote objects, people, and places. In the new millennium, our restless society's need for such ground-breaking capabilities in time and space has never been greater. Cyber-physical system (CPS) is a promising new class of systems that deeply embed cyber capabilities in the physical world, either on humans, infrastructure or platforms, to transform interactions with the physical world. Advances in the cyber world such as communications, networking, sensing, computing, storage, and control, as well as in the physical world such as materials, hardware, and renewable "green" fuels, are all rapidly converging to realize this class of highly collaborative computational systems that are reliant on sensors and actuators to monitor and effect change.Tomorrow's CPS is expected to enrich cyber-physical interactions by intimately coupling assets and dynamics of the physical and engineered systems with the computing and communications of cyber systems, at grand scales and depths from nanosystems to geographically dispersed systems-of-systems. It must be able to adapt rapidly to anomalies in the environment and embrace the evolution of technologies while still providing critical assertions of performance and other constraints.
Nucleon-Nucleon Spin-Orbit Interaction and the Repulsive Core

Recent proposals to explain the phenomenological repulsive core and spin-orbit interaction in nucleon-nucleon scattering in terms of a vector meson field are discussed. Estimates of the mass of the vector meson made on the basis of the Bryan potential may need some revision on account of insufficiently studied possibilities of modifying that potential. Estimates of interaction constants on the basis of the Signell-Zinn-Marshak potential and the replacement of a two-body relativistic problem by a one-body problem do not appear applicable. Estimates based on a covariant matrix element but neglecting wave function distortion in the analysis of 300-Mev data are shown to be quite uncertain. Accordingly the evidence for a vector meson mass of $3{m}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}$ or $4{m}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}$ also appears to have little weight.Masses $3{m}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}$ and $4{m}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}$ are shown to lead to central-field potential energy tails which extend into the one-pion-exchange potential region and appear therefore to be improbably large. They also lead to repulsive cores which do not fit in with the usual phenomenological hard cores as naturally as the larger heavy-photon masses. Brief mention is made of possible means of detecting the vector meson and of the effects of its finite mean life.
The Challenge of Improving Urban High School Graduation Outcomes: Findings from a Randomized Study of Dropout Prevention Efforts.

This 5-year longitudinal randomized study focused on the effects of a dropout prevention program implemented at two urban high schools. The program incorporated the characteristics of personalization found in previous research to have some positive effects, and typical of the type of programs implemented in many high schools nationwide. The primary program component was the provision of a facilitator for about 60 program students at each school to encourage students regarding attendance, their academic coursework, and personal issues. In particular, the study examined whether at-risk students randomly assigned to the program had better outcomes (particularly attendance, on-time promotion in grade, and high school completion) than those at the same high schools that were assigned to the control group. The article explores reasons for the nonsignificant effects of this program, emphasizing the need for earlier intervention prior to the ninth grade year among at-risk urban students.
ROSEPACK-robust statistics estimation package

ROSEPACK (RObust Statistics Estimation PACKage) is a system of Fortran subroutines and an interactive driver to compute solutions to the iteratively reweighted least square problem. The weights are determined from the data and the linear fit and are computed as functions of the scaled residuals.
Enhancing Family Advocacy Networks: An Analysis of the Roles of Sponsoring Organizations

Family participation in shaping system reforms in children's mental health has increased over the past ten years. In 1990 the National Institute of Mental Health funded the development and enhancement of 15 statewide advocacy organizations that were to be controlled and staffed by families of children who have serious emotional disorders. These family advocacy organizations had three major goals: to establish support networks, to advocate for service system reforms, and to develop statewide family advocacy networks. Seven family advocacy networks worked with sponsoring organizations because they needed assistance and/or could not receive funding directly. State and local chapters of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the National Mental Health Association served in this capacity. Because there were no guidelines to educate sponsoring organizations about their interorganizational roles and responsibilities, staff of some sponsoring organizations used approaches that were supportive and effective, while staff in other organizations used methods that were counterproductive. The information and recommendations discussed in this paper are based on evaluation data and observations of the relationships between seven sponsoring organizations and family advocacy groups over a three-year period. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that includes: (1) a clear definition of the sponsoring organization's roles, and (2) an analysis of the advantages, limitations, and critical issues for the sponsoring organization.
PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF MALE JUVENILE OFFENDERS BY ADJUDICATED OFFENSES AS INDICATED BY THE MMPI-A

The current investigation was designed to identify the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–Adolescent (MMPI–A) scales that discriminate between three general types of criminal offenses amon...
Already Buried and Sinking Fast: Presidential Nominees and Inquiry

Nothing challenges a new president’s team more than its need to fill out the executive. The White House 2001 Project played a significant role in this aspect of the presidential transition. Its White House Interview Program provided useful information gleaned from the rarified ranks of White House personnel, and its Nomination Forms Online Program detailed for the first time the exact particulars of the inquiry process. Already well under way by the time the Bush team began planning in 1999, the White House 2001 Project provided the Bush staff with details about two of the five great transition challenges affecting personnel: scale and complexity. Scale would present the Bush team with an organizational challenge—how to cope with the numbers flooding in? Complexity presented them with a managerial problem—how could they govern the process, especially its burdensome and intrusive inquiry? This paper describes the Bush team’s response to these challenges. It outlines the plans they made; in particular, their response to managing inquiry. During the past year, managing inquiry has become the object of reform efforts: Several reforms of the inquiry process have surfaced, including two separate changes taken up by the White House and at least one attempt to modify statutes.
Pharmacology and clinical use of ganglionic blocking agents in the treatment of hypertension.

Abstract Hexamethonium, pentolinium and mecamylamine are all classified as ganglionic blocking agents. However, mecamylamine appears to be the compound of choice because of longer duration of action, gastrointestinal absorbability and smoothness of effect. Regardless of which ganglionic blocking agent is used, the same caution should be observed in the administration of these potent compounds. First, the dose should be titrated on an individual basis; secondly, the clinician should be aware of the side effects associated with each compound and know how to combat them; thirdly, the advantages of combination therapy such as diuretics and/or rauwolfia compounds; and last, but not least, observations on the blood urea nitrogen to prevent unnecessary complications.
Hrtem study of the surface and bulk of nickel oxide: Influence of annealing and quenching

Abstract Changes in the surface and bulk structure of a commercial NiO powder, as produced by annealing/quenching treatments, have been charateerized by high resolution electron microscopy, especially by means of the surface profile imaging technique. Particles of the as-received NiO exhibited macroscopically round surfaces with atomic steps and also {111} micro-facets forming a “hill and valley” structure. Larger macro-facetted particles with (100), (110) and (111) faces were grown by annealing at T =1360°C. Thin amorphous near-surface layers appeared during cooling in an air flux from T ⩽1360°C. Phase transformation to a defect-spinel oxygen-rich phase can be induced by quenching in air from 1600°C whereas small precipitates are produced in the subsurface region and in the bulk by water quenching from the same temperature.
Tropospheric emission spectrometer for the Earth Observing System’s Aura satellite

The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) is an imaging infrared Fourier-transform spectrometer scheduled to be launched into polar Sun-synchronous orbit aboard the Earth Observing System’s Aura satellite in June 2003. The primary objective of the TES is to make global three-dimensional measurements of tropospheric ozone and of the physical–chemical factors that control its formation, destruction, and distribution. Such an ambitious goal requires a highly sophisticated cryogenic instrument operating over a wide frequency range, which, in turn, demands state-of-the-art infrared detector arrays. In addition, the measurements require an instrument that can operate in both nadir and limb-sounding modes with a precision pointing system. The way in which these mission objectives flow down to the specific science and measurement requirements and in turn are implemented in the flight hardware are described. A brief overview of the data analysis approach is provided.
Multiphasic disseminated encephalomyelitis, uncommon cause for central demyelination in children

This case report is presented with the aim of discussing differential diagnosis of CNS demyelinating diseases in children below 15 years of age. The various diagnoses range from acute disseminated demyelinating disease to multiple sclerosis. In between the two extremes, we have multiphasic demyelinating encephalomyelitis. We had discussed the role of oligoclonal band in cerebrospinal fluid, auto antibodies and magnetic resonance imaging to differentiate these diagnoses.
Database Analytics: A Reconfigurable-Computing Approach

Businesses are experiencing a growing need for performing real-time analytics on ever-increasing enterprise data. While providing useful business insights and improved market responsiveness, analytics also adds a computational burden on traditional online transaction processing (OLTP) systems and could adversely affect the performance of OLTP workloads. The authors present a highly pipelined, high-throughput query-processing engine on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to offload expensive queries for database analytics. The proposed solution provides a mechanism for a database management system (DBMS) to seamlessly harness the FPGA accelerator without requiring any changes in the application or the existing data layout. The authors' system, which uses an off-the-shelf server and a PCIe-attached FPGA card and is integrated into a commercial DBMS platform, achieves an order-of-magnitude speedup on various real-life queries.
Cuban plant collections of J. A. Shafer, N. L. Britton and P. Wilson.

This paper presents information extracted from the field-books of the Cuban plant-collecting trips of J. A. Shafer, N. L. Britton and P. Wilson. A list of Cuban place names for localities at which collections were made and a list of the published reports of these trips are also included.
Repetition When Learned Paired-Associate Items are Replaced

Rock (1957) reported no difference in number of trials to criterion between a control group which learned a constant list of paired associates in the usual fashion and an experimental group for which new pairs replaced those missed on any trial. Several reports of replications have since appeared (Clark, et al., 1960; Rock & Heimer, 1959; Williams, 1961). Rock and others have concluded that associations are formed on an all-or-none basis, and interpret their results as weakening the traditional incremental conception of the formation of associations. The current study was designed to show that the all-or-none position is roo extreme. Subthreshold associative bonds present before the first correct associacion need special conditions to manifest themselves precisely because they are subthreshold, which is to say, weak. In the experimenc reported here, the Rock procedure was reversed: new pairs replaced those which had been covect on any trial. This experiment used easy pairs, and a work rather than a performance criterion. Similar methods have been reported by Battig ( 1962 ) and Williams ( 1962 ). Battig used 12 shape-number pairs and compared intra-subject differences between six pairs which were always replaced after a single trial and six pairs replaced only when they had been responded to correctly on the preceding trial. Williams analyzed data for 10 Ss using 12 letter-number pairs in a n experimenc where the items responded to correctly were replaced by new items on the subsequent trial. The results of both studies support an incremental theory of associative learning. The current study employs an easier list of materials to be learned, more Ss, and attempts to eliminate response learning as a confounding factor by familiarizing Ss with the stimulus and response items. The hypothesis examined was that the probability of acquiring an item increases with the number of presentations of chat item before acquisition. We used dropping of correct pairs as our special condition because we hoped this would eliminate two possible hindrances to the detection of weak subthreshold associative bonds. The first is the competition with the learning of unlearned items which results from the attempt to retain already learned items. And the second, which is related to the first, is the usual negatively accelerated learning curve.
Cooperative coverage using autonomous underwater vehicles in unknown environments

This paper presents an algorithm for adaptive cooperative exploration of a priori unknown environments using a team of unmanned systems (e.g., autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)). These systems are required to perform time-critical operations either with very limited human supervision or as fully autonomous entities. Typical operations include exploration, terrain-map generation, searching and rescuing targets from hazardous situations, cleaning of chemical spills, humanitarian de-mining (i.e., mine counter measures (MCM)), and detection of underwater mobile targets (i.e., anti-submarine warfares (ASW)). Furthermore, these unmanned systems have an a priori decided plan of action that is computed offline using multi-objective optimization methods. However, these optimization methods do not include uncertainties such as unknown objects (e.g., obstacles) and changing environment. Thus, these autonomous systems must be capable of adapting their navigation trajectories quickly as the knowledge of the environment changes. The new information is acquired in situ by onboard sensing. In this regard, this paper focuses on the problem of complete coverage of a priori unknown environments using a team of autonomous underwater vehicles and introduces a novel method based on the concepts of Statistical Mechanics. A key feature of this method is that the underlying algorithm relies on the notion of multiresolution navigation that consists of local and global navigation functions depending on the amount of spatiotemporal information needed for making the navigation decision. This feature supplies two potential advantages to the algorithm: i) the Local Navigation Potential (LNP) provides a reduced computational complexity in making real-time locally optimal navigation decisions via avoiding unnecessary global calculations and ii) the Global Navigation Potentials (GNPs), that are organized in a hierarchical manner, prevent the algorithm from getting stuck into a local extremum. The algorithm switches from the local to the global navigation and vice versa as needed. The autonomous systems share information with nearest neighbors for collaboration. This algorithm guarantees complete coverage of the search area and inherently prevents the problem of local minima that is commonly encountered in potential field based methods. The efficacy of the algorithm is validated on the high-fidelity Player/Stage simulator of mobile robots.
A paradigm shift in computing and IT education

Examining the changing organizational alignment in colleges of computer and information technology.
Combat Helmet-Headform Coupling Characterized From Blunt Impact Events

Observed head injury has historically been mechanically related to headform center of gravity (CG) acceleration. Helmets (motorcycle, sports, military, etc.) are evaluated based on the headform CG peak acceleration for blunt impacts. However, recent interest has shifted to collecting data from the helmet shell itself, as it is an optimal location for mounting sensors due to ease of access, sufficient surface area availability, and limited interference to the wearer. In order to accurately predict head injury from data collected on the helmet shell, the helmet and headform must be rigidly coupled. Headform-helmet fit typically is dependent on the pad fitting system and the person mounting the helmet to the headform because a standard states which headform to use. The objective of this study is to compare the Department of Transportation (DOT) headform (currently used in military blunt impact testing) to the more anthropomorphic International Standard Organization (ISO) half headform. Testing was completed on a monorail drop tower to analyze the effect of helmet/headform coupling on the blunt impact behavior of ACH helmets using FMVSS test methodology. Three headform configurations were used: the DOT headform (standard for military helmet blunt impact testing) with required surrogate chin, the ISO half headform (standard for ASTM helmet testing), and the ISO half headform with a surrogate chin. The two currently field-approved pad types were also used to determine best headform-helmet fit. Results from these series of tests will be presented, including headform peak acceleration and relative motion between the helmet and headform.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Antimicrobial stewardship in a community hospital: attacking the more difficult problems.

BackgroundAntibiotic stewardship has been proposed as an important way to reduce or prevent antibiotic resistance. In 2001, a community hospital implemented an antimicrobial management program. It was successful in reducing antimicrobial utilization and expenditure. In 2011, with the implementation of a data-mining tool, the program was expanded and its focus transitioned from control of antimicrobial use to guiding judicious antimicrobial prescribing.ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that adding a data-mining tool to an existing antimicrobial stewardship program will further increase appropriate use of antimicrobials.DesignInterventional study with historical comparison.MethodsRules and alerts were built into the data-mining tool to aid in identifying inappropriate antibiotic utilization. Decentralized pharmacists acted on alerts for intravenous (IV) to oral conversion, perioperative antibiotic duration, and restricted antimicrobials. An Infectious Diseases (ID) Pharmacist and ID Physician/Hospital Epidemi...
Ion-pair chromatographic method for the analysis of mafenide acetate

Abstract Mafenide acetate (Sulfamylon) is an antibacterial agent used to prevent and treat burn wound sepsis. No LC method is currently available for the analysis of this drug. A simple LC method was developed and validated for the analysis of sulfamylon. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a reversed-phase, C 18 column with UV detection at 270 nm. This isocratic system was operated at ambient temperature and required a 6-min run-time. The mobile phase consisted of methanol-phosphate buffer pH 5.0 (65:35, v/v) and 2 m M 1-heptanesulfonic acid as the ion-pairing agent. The flow-rate was maintained at 1.0 ml/min. Standard curves were linear over the concentration range of 2 to 100 mg l −1 . Within-day and day-to-day relative standard deviations were less than 2.4% and 4.4%, respectively. This method was used to quantify mafenide acetate in pharmaceutical formulation.
Passive Resonator Gyro

The resonators investigated include a mirror resonator and also an all -fiber resonator.Preliminary performance data and important sources of error are presented.The interest in passive ring resonator gyros' rather than active resonator2 ones(commonly referred to as ring laser gyros or RLG) is based on the fact that the passiveresonator approach offers very simple solutions to the major problems encountered in RLG's,such as lock -in and other gain medium related effects. In addition, the passive resonatorapproach lends itself to the development of an all solid state optical gyro.The operation of a passive ring resonator gyro is based on the measurement of thedifference in resonance frequency, Af, for counter -propagating fields induced by an inertialrotation rate,
The Artful Mind: Cognitive Science and the Riddle of Human Creativity

All normal human beings alive in the last fifty thousand years appear to have possessed, in Mark Turner's phrase, "irrepressibly artful minds." Cognitively modern minds produced a staggering list of behavioral singularities-science, religion, mathematics, language, advanced tool use, decorative dress, dance, culture, art-that seems to indicate a mysterious and unexplained discontinuity between us and all other living things. This brute fact gives rise to some tantalizing questions: How did the artful mind emerge? What are the basic mental operations that make art possible for us now, and how do they operate? These are the questions that occupy the distinguished contributors to this volume, which emerged from a year-long Getty-funded research project hosted by the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. These scholars bring to bear a range of disciplinary and cross-disciplinary perspectives on the relationship between art (broadly conceived), the mind, and the brain. Together they hope to provide directions for a new field of research that can play a significant role in answering the great riddle of human singularity.
Matter-antimatter asymmetry and dark matter from torsion

We propose a simple scenario which explains the observed matter-antimatter imbalance and the origin of dark matter in the Universe. We use the Einstein-Cartan-Sciama-Kibble theory of gravity which naturally extends general relativity to include the intrinsic spin of matter. Spacetime torsion produced by spin generates, in the classical Dirac equation, the Hehl-Datta term which is cubic in spinor fields. We show that under a charge-conjugation transformation this term changes sign relative to the mass term. A classical Dirac spinor and its charge conjugate therefore satisfy different field equations. Fermions in the presence of torsion have higher energy levels than antifermions, which leads to their decay asymmetry. Such a difference is significant only at extremely high densities that existed in the very early Universe. We propose that this difference caused a mechanism, according to which heavy fermions existing in such a Universe and carrying the baryon number decayed mostly to normal matter, whereas their antiparticles decayed mostly to hidden antimatter which forms dark matter. The conserved total baryon number of the Universe remained zero.
Anatomical and physiological considerations in thalamic rhythm generation.

The thalamus, known as the pacemaker for spindle rhythms in sleep, has several enabling features that promote such pacemaking. These include a circuitry that interconnects large groups of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, all of which are essentially capable of firing high-frequency ‘bursts’ of discharges. Bursts in thalamic reticular neurons produce powerful inhibition in thalamic relay neurons, which leads to rebound excitation. The timing properties of the inhibition regulate the network activity by controlling rebound burst latency. Anatomical features within thalamus such as convergence and divergence determine the spread and synchronization of pacemaking activity. The anatomical basis of divergence, i.e. the degree of axonal arborization of elements within the thalamic circuit, can be functionally modified in a dynamic fashion by biochemical pathways that regulate the properties of synaptic release. These data suggest that it will be possible to therapeutically regulate the thalamus to modify not only the propensity to sleep but also forms of epilepsy that rely on similar thalamic circuitry.
Regulation of G1 Arrest and Apoptosis in Hypoxia by PERK and GCN2-Mediated eIF2α Phosphorylation

Hypoxia is a common microenvironment in solid tumors and is correlated with tumor progression by regulating cancer cell survival. Recent studies suggest that activation of double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase-like endoplasmic reticulum-related kinase (PERK) and phosphorylation of α subunit of eIF2 (eIF2α) confer cell adaptation to hypoxic stress. However, eIF2α is still phosphorylated at a lowered level in PERK knockout cells under hypoxic conditions. The mechanism for eIF2α kinase(s) (eIF2AK)-increased cell survival is not clear. In this report, we provide evidence that another eIF2AK, the amino acid starvation-dependent general control of amino acid biosynthesis kinase (GCN2), is also involved in hypoxia-induced eIF2α phosphorylation. We demonstrate that both GCN2 and PERK mediate the cell adaptation to hypoxic stress. High levels of eIF2α phosphorylation lead to G1 arrest and protect cells from hypoxia-induced apoptosis. Reduced phosphorylation of eIF2α by knocking out either PERK or GCN2 suppresses hypoxia-induced G1 arrest and promotes apoptosis in accompany with activation of p53 signal cascade. However, totally abolishing phosphorylation of eIF2α inhibits G1 arrest without promoting apoptosis. On the basis of our results, we propose that the levels of eIF2α phosphorylation serve as a “switch” in regulation of G1 arrest or apoptosis under hypoxic conditions.
Second-order correction to the low-frequency approximation for scattering in a laser field.

It has been known for some time how to construct an approximation to the amplitude for non- relativistic potential scattering in a low-frequency laser field that is correct to first order in the frequency and that depends only on the on-shell field-free scattering amplitude. The next term in the expansion, of second order in the frequency, is determined here. In addition to the physical field-free scattering amplitude, a knowledge of the single-photon spontaneous bremsstrahlung amplitude (up to terms of first order in the frequency) is required. The improved low-frequency approximation obtained here is used to derive an improved sum rule. It is found that when the cross section (correct to second order) is summed over final photon states, the result depends only on the physical field-free cross section in a form which is identical to that obtained from a classical description of the motion of the particle in the field, with the collision taking place instantaneously and without influence from the field. A relativistic version of this sum rule was given earlier by Brown and Goble (Phys. Rev. 173, 1505 (1968)), who based their analysis on general field-theoretic considerations.
Riboprobe expression cassettes for measuring IGF-I, β-actin and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase transcripts

The development of riboprobe expression cassettes for phosphorimager-based quantitation of steady-state transcripts for three different genes using solution hybridization, RNase protection assays is described. Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and beta-actin genes are widely used as reporter genes to estimate the amount and integrity of RNA as well as for comparing gene expression among different tissues. To directly compare expression of these two genes in lymphoid tissue and liver, cDNA fragments of beta-actin and GAPDH from both mice and rats were generated by RT-PCR and cloned together into pGEM1 under control of the T7 RNA polymerase promoter. Antisense transcripts from this fusion construct protected the appropriate-sized fragments of beta-actin (115 nt) and GAPDH (214 nt) in RNA isolated from rat spleen, thymus and liver. Expression of GAPDH transcripts was less variable across tissues because this mRNA was only two-fold lower in liver as compared to either thymus or spleen, whereas expression of beta-actin transcripts was eight-fold lower in liver than in these tissues. Two other riboprobe expression cassettes (IGF-I/actin) were constructed by ligating a cDNA fragment of mouse or rat beta-actin that would protect 115 nt to either a mouse or rat IGF-I genomic DNA fragment containing 182 bp of exon 4. These mouse and rat IGF-I/actin riboprobes were used to conclusively demonstrate that rat CSF-1-derived bone marrow macrophages, mouse elicited peritoneal macrophages and the murine PU5-1R macrophage cell line synthesize abundant transcripts for both IGF-I and beta-actin. However, the mouse M1 progenitor myeloid cell line does not express RNA for IGF-I, as demonstrated by the absence of protected transcripts for IGF-I in the presence of abundant protected transcripts for beta-actin. Phosphorimager scanning of the gels revealed that macrophages of both mice and rats express IGF-I transcripts at a level of 60-100% of those found in liver. These data show that a single riboprobe can be developed to generate multigene antisense RNAs that can then be used to quantitatively compare IGF-I transcripts in macrophages and other tissues to an internal standard, with GAPDH transcripts being less variable among tissues than those for beta-actin. This approach should be broadly applicable for measuring a variety of markers of cellular activation.
Attenuation (Augmentation) of Intrinsic and Paced QRS Complexes before (after) Hemodialysis

A patient with complete atrioventricular block after hemodialysis (HD) for which he had a permanent pacemaker implanted showed attenuation of the amplitude of the intrinsic and paced QRS complexes while awaiting HD, and augmentation of paced QRS complexes after HD. These QRS perturbations correlated with the changes in his weight. The mechanism of these phenomena and their clinical implications are discussed.
Lattice extraction of {∊'}/{∊} using (PQ) chiral perturbation theory

Abstract Results at NLO in (PQ) ChPT for extracting ϵ′ ϵ from lattice data are discussed.