cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Specimen size and shape effect in split Hopkinson pressure bar testing

The results from an experimental and computational study on the effects of specimen size and shape on split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) testing are presented. The effects of the L/D ratio (length L divided by diameter D) along with specimen shape (cylindrical versus square prismatic) were investigated. Even though specimens having a circular cylindrical cross-section are traditionally used in SHPB testing, a square cross-section specimen has advantages associated with in situ imaging of the specimen side surfaces during stress wave propagation. The results presented here show a strong correlation in specimen response between the two types of specimens. Different ranges of L/D ratios are recommended for obtaining stiffness and strength data at near constant strain rates.
A Novel Structure-Oriented Difference Approach for Software Artifacts

Structural changes between different versions of a software artifact are important for engineers in understanding its evolution during the development process. This paper presents a novel approach for the detection of structural and textual differences between versions of a software artifact. The approach is distinguished itself from existing ones by a novel directed graph-based representation model for artifacts and a structure-oriented configuration management repository that is capable of managing both textual and structural changes. It can also support compound documents containing objects with multiple nested levels. Structural differences can easily be retrieved, highlighted, and visualized side-by-side. We have successfully applied the approach to build a set of structure-oriented difference tools for various types of software artifacts such as source code, XML-based structured documents, system architectural design documents, entity relationship diagrams, and database tables. These tools are very efficient since they do not involve the difference computing algorithms for complex data structures (e.g. trees or graphs) as in existing tools.
A Push or a Punch: Distinguishing the Severity of Sibling Violence

Sibling violence is the most prevalent and least studied form of family violence, and little research has examined differences based on severity. This research examines more severe versus less severe forms of sibling violence. Using a subsample of married couples with two or more children ages 0 to 17 drawn from the 1976 National Survey of Physical Violence in American Families, the authors employ Conflict Tactics Scale items for child-to-child conflict to construct a measure of sibling violence severity. Drawing from several theoretical perspectives on family violence and peer aggression, the authors analyze the impact of macro-system variables, family stress and resources, and family subsystems on less severe and more severe sibling violence. Contextual factors are most important in explaining less severe sibling violence. Experience of parental violence and unpredictability are individual factors relevant to severe sibling violence. More research is needed to examine the etiology and impact of different forms of sibling violence.
Cutaneous late-phase response in food-allergic children and adolescents with atopic dermatitis.

Summary Food hypersensitivities contribute to disease exacerbation in a sub-group of children with atopic dermatitis (AD). It has been shown that only selected foods are capable of causing clinical reactions when ingested, whereas other foods, to which the patient is equally sensitive by skin-prick testing, may be tolerated. The purpose of this study was to examine the cutaneous late-phase response (LPR) to food antigens in food-allergic patients with AD and to determine if the skin reacted differently to ‘relevant foods’ (foods eliciting positive skin-prick tests and positive oral challenges) than to ‘non-relevant foods’ (foods eliciting positive skin tests but negative oral challenges). Using blister chambers adfixed to the skin, six children with AD were challenged epicutaneously with foods to which they had previously been shown to be sensitive. Histamine and PGD2 were measured hourly for 10–12 hr in parallel with quantitation of the cellular traffic. There appeared to be no difference in any of the measured parameters between relevant foods and non-relevant foods, and the patterns of the LPR cells and mediators were similar to those previously described with aero-allergens in patients with respiratory allergy. Histamine rose to 13.0±24 ng/ml (P < 0.005) during the first hours, declined to < 1 ng/ml by the fifth hour, and then rose a second time to 6.72 ± 3.4 ng/ml (P < 0.05) during the 12th hour. PGD2 rose to an average of 312 pg/ml (P < 0.05) during the first 3 hr followed by a decline to baseline. The cellular traffic was similar to that observed during the LPR in atopic adults without AD. Neutrophils peaked at 11.2 ± 6.8 × 104 cells but did not reach significance because of background traffic in the control chambers. Eosinophils were significantly increased (P < 0.05) and rose to 2.52 ± 1.7 × 104 cells. Mononuclear ceils (P < 0.05) and basophils (P < 0.38) were also increased but less than either neutrophils or eosinophils. These studies suggest that selectivity in gastrointestinal antigen absorption or differential antigen processing, transport and/or clearing may explain the differences in clinical reactivity to ingested food allergens.
Nonlinear network analyzer measurements for better transistor modeling

In today's RF applications, silicon technology is more and more competing with its III/V counterpart. This means that MOS (LDMOS) and bipolar (HBT) transistors are operated under large signal conditions, handling time-domain signals with amplitudes in the range of Volts, while the transistor modeling was usually performed conventionally with just small-signal excitation in the Milli-Volt domain, i.e. using S-Parameters measured by a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). With the availability of Nonlinear Vector Network Analyzers (NVNA), measurements of transistor spectra with magnitude and phase can be made easily. And this permits to extend device modeling also into the more realistic large-signal RF (Radio Frequency) domain. This new measurement and modeling domain therefore leads to improved compact models and improved modeling strategies.
Heterogeneity of Left Ventricular Wall Thickening Mechanisms

Background— Myocardial fibers are grouped into lamina (or sheets) 3 to 4 cells thick. Fiber shortening produces systolic left ventricular (LV) wall thickening primarily by laminar extension, thickening, and shear, but the regional variability and transmural distribution of these 3 mechanisms are incompletely understood. Methods and Results— Nine sheep had transmural radiopaque markers inserted into the anterior basal and lateral equatorial LV. Four-dimensional marker dynamics were studied with biplane videofluoroscopy to measure circumferential, longitudinal, and radial systolic strains in the epicardium, midwall, and endocardium. Fiber and sheet angles from quantitative histology allowed transformation of these strains into transmural contributions of sheet extension, thickening, and shear to systolic wall thickening. At all depths, systolic wall thickening in the anterior basal region was 1.6 to 1.9 times that in the lateral equatorial region. Interestingly, however, systolic fiber shortening was identi...
Flavour compounds in tomato fruits: identification of loci and potential pathways affecting volatile composition

The unique flavour of a tomato fruit is the sum of a complex interaction among sugars, acids, and a large set of volatile compounds. While it is generally acknowledged that the flavour of commercially produced tomatoes is inferior, the biochemical and genetic complexity of the trait has made breeding for improved flavour extremely difficult. The volatiles, in particular, present a major challenge for flavour improvement, being generated from a diverse set of lipid, amino acid, and carotenoid precursors. Very few genes controlling their biosynthesis have been identified. New quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that affect the volatile emissions of red-ripe fruits are described here. A population of introgression lines derived from a cross between the cultivated tomato Solanum lycopersicum and its wild relative, S. habrochaites, was characterized over multiple seasons and locations. A total of 30 QTLs affecting the emission of one or more volatiles were mapped. The data from this mapping project, combined with previously collected data on an IL population derived from a cross between S. lycopersicum and S. pennellii populations, were used to construct a correlational database. A metabolite tree derived from these data provides new insights into the pathways for the synthesis of several of these volatiles. One QTL is a novel locus affecting fruit carotenoid content on chromosome 2. Volatile emissions from this and other lines indicate that the linear and cyclic apocarotenoid volatiles are probably derived from separate carotenoid pools.
Implementation of wideband VoIP middleware using embedded systems

Current Analog Telephone Adaptors (ATA) which are commonly used by small business and home offices to implement Internet telephony applications are designed to work with an audio bandwidth of 300 Hz to 3.4 KHz, a holdover from the one hundred year history of telephone companies trying to accommodate a high volume of calls over copper. Recent network improvements in the last decade allow for a wider bandwidth. However, existing work in wideband audio for telephony has been mainly focused either on mobile telephony or high end teleconferencing equipment but not on ATA devices. This paper proposes improvements to ATA devices that allow an audio bandwidth of 50 Hz to 7 KHz. An implementation is discussed where a minimal upgrade to an open source ATA based on GPL licensed hardware is modified to support wideband, and a middleware layer software is modified to also handle the wider bandwidth. Moreover, promising results when using the modified hardware and software were obtained. The results indicated that with slight CPU overloading, the modified hardware and software can be used for wideband telephony.
Benzo[a]pyrene co-metabolism in the presence of plant root extracts and exudates: Implications for phytoremediation.

Bacterial benzo(a)pyrene cometabolism, a plant-microbe interaction affecting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon phytoremediation was demonstrated with Sphingomonas yanoikuyae JAR02 that utilized plant root extracts and exudates as primary substrates. Abstract Benzo(a)pyrene, a high molecular weight (HMW) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) was removed from solution by Sphingomonas yanoikuyae JAR02 while growing on root products as a primary carbon and energy source. Plant root extracts of osage orange (Maclura pomifera), hybrid willow (Salix alba!matsudana), or kou (Cordia subcordata), or plant root exudates of white mulberry (Morus alba) supported 15e20% benzo(a)pyrene removal over 24 h that was similar to a succinate grown culture and an unfed acetonitrile control. No differences were observed between the different root products tested. Mineralization of 14 C-7- benzo(a)pyrene by S. yanoikuyae JAR02 yielded 0.2 to 0.3% 14 CO2 when grown with plant root products. Collectively, these observations were consistent with field observations of enhanced phytoremediation of HMW PAH and corroborated the hypothesis that co-metabolism may be a plant/microbe interaction important to rhizoremediation. However, degradation and mineralization was much less for root product-exposed cultures than salicylate-induced cultures, and suggested the rhizosphere may not be an optimal environment for HMW PAH degradation by Sphingomonas yanoikuyae JAR02. 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sexuality and family interaction in Down syndrome: parental responses

Ninety-two parents of Down syndrome individuals responded to an attitude survey concerning sexuality, contraception, and sterilization in the mentally handicapped. They also responded to statements concerning parental autonomy in medical decision-making in the newborn period and on questions of sterilization for their mentally handicapped offspring. Although only 19% of the parents agreed with allowing parents to make decisions about treatment of newborns with Down syndrome, 40% of these same parents wanted the sole right to authorize sterilization for their family member with Down syndrome. Moreover, while only 19% of these parents wanted legal authorization from a court to sterilize a person with Down syndrome, 85% desired legal protection for handicapped newborns. Only 10% of the parents thought that all persons with Down syndrome should be sterilized, but 77% desired some form of birth control for their children. These and other responses are discussed.
Phase retrieval and twin-image elimination for in-line Fresnel holograms

Fourier phase-retrieval algorithms are modified and applied to in-line holography, where phase is lost during the hologram recording process. Retrieval of phase permits separation of real-object distributions from the twin-image interference that accompanies conventional optical reconstruction. The rate of convergence is enhanced by the availability of a good initial guess based on the digital equivalent of conventional optical reconstruction.
Assessment of juvenile sexual offenders: reliability and validity of the Abel Assessment for Interest in Paraphilias.

Empirical tests of the reliability and validity of the Abel Assessment for Interest in Paraphilias (AAIP) as used with juvenile sexual offenders were performed. Test–retest reliability, screening validity, and diagnostic validity were assessed using several analytical approaches. The temporal stability, sensitivity, and specificity of the AAIP as used with adolescents in residential and day treatment were not demonstrated. The results indicate the need for further refinement of the AAIP.
2D Dopant Profiling for Advanced Process Control

As the CMOS device dimensions continue to shrink, it is more and more critical to control the process parameters during mass production of advanced VLSI chips in order to achieve high yield and profitability. 2D dopant characterization is one of the critical techniques to resolve manufacturing excursions. A quick access to dopant distribution, especially precise delineation of p-n junction would readily provide critical information for many manufacturing issues, as well as device design and process development. Here we present our approaches to some of those issues with available techniques. The main techniques we used are dopant selective etching (DSE) and scanning probe microscopy based electrical measurements including scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM) and scanning spread resistance microscopy (SSRM). These techniques provided complementary results and showed strengths in solving different issues. We have successfully delineated junction of CMOS devices with 0.13 µm technology with source/drain extensions. Other applications, including diode leakage, well-well isolation, and buried layer delineation with the combination of these methods are presented.
The Clinical Impact of Ventricular Arrhythmias Following Continuous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation

Purpose Ventricular arrhythmias (VA) are common in patients with a continuous flow left-ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) but prospective data to support the routine ICD use in these patients are lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and significance of Vas as well as the role of ICDs in this population. Methods and Materials All patients with a long-term CF-LVAD receiving care at our institution were enrolled. ICDs were interrogated at baseline and throughout prospective follow-up. VA was defined as VT/VF lasting > 30 seconds or effectively terminated by appropriate ICD therapy. The primary outcome was the occurrence of late Vas (more than 30 days after CF-LVAD implant); secondary outcomes were early Vas (within 30 days post-operatively) and all-cause mortality. Results Ninety-four patients were enrolled; seventy-seven had an ICD and 17 did not. Five patients with an ICD had it de-activated or a depleted battery not replaced during the study. Patients without an ICD were more likely to be women (58.8% vs. 90.9%, p=0.003), have shorter disease duration (35.3% vs. 97.4%, p + 1.0cm vs. 7.0 + 0.9cm, p Conclusions CF-LVAD patients with pre-operative Vas are at risk of recurrent Vas. Active ICD may minimize the morbidities associated with sustained Vas. Patients without pre-operative Vas are at low risk of post-operative Vas and may not need ICD therapy.
A side-channel leakage free coprocessor IC in 0.18/spl mu/m CMOS for embedded AES-based cryptographic and biometric processing

Security ICs are vulnerable to side-channel attacks (SCAs) that find the secret key by monitoring the power consumption and other information that is leaked by the switching behavior of digital CMOS gates. This paper describes a side-channel attack resistant coprocessor IC and its design techniques. The IC has been fabricated in 0.18/spl mu/m CMOS. The coprocessor, which is used for embedded cryptographic and biometric processing, consists of four components: an advanced encryption standard (AES) based cryptographic engine, a fingerprint-matching oracle, template storage, and an interface unit. Two functionally identical coprocessors have been fabricated on the same die. The first, 'secure', coprocessor is implemented using a logic style called wave dynamic digital logic (WDDL) and a layout technique called differential routing. The second, 'insecure', coprocessor is implemented using regular standard cells and regular routing techniques. Measurement-based experimental results show that a differential power analysis (DPA) attack on the insecure coprocessor requires only 8,000 acquisitions to disclose the entire 128b secret key. The same attack on the secure coprocessor still does not disclose the entire secret key at 1,500,000 acquisitions. This improvement in DPA resistance of at least 2 orders of magnitude makes the attack de facto infeasible. The required number of measurements is larger than the lifetime of the secret key in most practical systems.
Adaptive management for a turbulent future.

The challenges that face humanity today differ from the past because as the scale of human influence has increased, our biggest challenges have become global in nature, and formerly local problems that could be addressed by shifting populations or switching resources, now aggregate (i.e., “scale up”) limiting potential management options. Adaptive management is an approach to natural resource management that emphasizes learning through management based on the philosophy that knowledge is incomplete and much of what we think we know is actually wrong. Adaptive management has explicit structure, including careful elucidation of goals, identification of alternative management objectives and hypotheses of causation, and procedures for the collection of data followed by evaluation and reiteration. It is evident that adaptive management has matured, but it has also reached a crossroads. Practitioners and scientists have developed adaptive management and structured decision making techniques, and mathematicians have developed methods to reduce the uncertainties encountered in resource management, yet there continues to be misapplication of the method and misunderstanding of its purpose. Ironically, the confusion over the term “adaptive management” may stem from the flexibility inherent in the approach, which has resulted in multiple interpretations of “adaptive management” that fall along a continuum of complexity and a priori design. Adaptive management is not a panacea for the navigation of ‘wicked problems’ as it does not produce easy answers, and is only appropriate in a subset of natural resource management problems where both uncertainty and controllability are high. Nonetheless, the conceptual underpinnings of adaptive management are simple; there will always be inherent uncertainty and unpredictability in the dynamics and behavior of complex social-ecological systems, but management decisions must still be made, and whenever possible, we should incorporate learning into management.
A Three Course Control Laboratory Sequence

This paper is about a three course laboratory sequence in Systems and Control in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Ohio State University. Through these courses and associated lectures students are exposed to many aspects of sensing, actuation and the implementation issues of real control systems. Some of the specific experiments in two of the courses are outlined.
Inhalant abuse in the military: an unrecognized threat.

ABSTRACT Although inhalant abuse represents the third most commonly abused class of drugs in the military, it is a frequently overlooked form of substance abuse in the active duty population. Inhalants' lack of visibility is also evident in the civilian community. In both the civilian and military communities, the factors leading to underrecognition of inhalant abuse include high availability, low cost, lack of drug screening and drug treatment programs, and frequent misdiagnosis by clinicians. This review seeks to inform care providers about the prevalence, health risks, diagnosis, and treatment of inhalant abuse in the active duty population, and encourages clinicians to be more aggressive in the identification of this serious but underrecognized problem.
Organization of reaching and grasping movements in the primate cerebellar nuclei as revealed by focal muscimol inactivations.

Mason, Carolyn R., Lee E. Miller, James F. Baker, and James C. Houk. Organization of reaching and grasping movements in the primate cerebellar nuclei as revealed by focal muscimol inactivations. J....
Current Developments, Public International Law, Part I

This article examines a number of major developments in international law and State policy regarding nuclear weapons which have occurred over the past two years. However, in order to understand the context and significance of these developments, I must first very briefly address what has gone on previously in this area of international relations. I have argued elsewhere that over the course of the decade ending in 2008 the original balance of principles underlying the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which comprises the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation legal regime, has been distorted, particularly by nuclear-weapon-possessing governments, led by the United States, in favor of a disproportionate prioritization of non-proliferation principles, and an unwarranted under-prioritization of peaceful use and disarmament principles. I also argue that this distortion of principled balance by nuclear weapon states has resulted in a number of erroneous legal interpretations of the NPT’s provisions. These misinterpretations, in turn, have been used to form the legal basis for NPT Nuclear Weapon States’ (NWS) policies relevant to the NPT regime, a number of which have unlawfully prejudiced the legitimate legal interests of NPT Non-nuclear Weapon States (NNWS), pursuant to the NPT’s grand bargain.
HEI-OC1 cells as a model for investigating prestin function

The House Ear Institute-Organ of Corti 1 (HEI-OC1) is a mouse auditory cell line that endogenously express, among other several markers of cochlear hair cells, the motor protein prestin (SLC26A5). Since its discovery fifteen years ago, and because of the difficulties associated with working with outer hair cells, prestin studies have been performed mostly by expressing it exogenously in non-specific systems such as HEK293 and TSA201, embryonic kidney cells from human origin, or Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. Here, we report flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy studies on the pattern of prestin expression, as well as nonlinear capacitance (NLC) and whole cell-patch clamping studies on prestin motor function, in HEI-OC1 cells cultured at permissive and non-permissive conditions. Our results indicate that both total prestin expression and plasma membrane localization increase in a time-dependent manner when HEI-OC1 cells differentiate under non-permissive culture conditions. In addition, we demonstrate that HEI-OC1 cells have a robust NLC associated to prestin motor function, which decreases when the density of prestin molecules present at the plasma membrane increases. Altogether, our results show that the response of endogenously expressed prestin in HEI-OC1 cells is different from the response of prestin expressed exogenously in non-auditory cells, and suggest that the HEI-OC1 cell line may be an important additional tool for investigating prestin function.
Importance of Temperature and Humidity Control in Rubber Testing. II—Resistance to Abrasion

Abstract This study shows that in determining resistance to abrasion the temperature of the room or cabinet should be controlled within ± 1 ° C. in order to avoid significant errors in the results from this source. Below are shown the percentage differences per degree Centigrade obtained with each of the stocks. It must be remembered that this probably holds only over the range of temperatures studied and might change rapidly outside of this range. As the temperature changes from 15 ° C. to 35 ° C., the resistance to abrasion changes per degree Centigrade in the following manner: In the light of the present investigation there will be no great error in results caused by differences in relative humidity either with the raw or vulcanized stock. Where laboratories are equipped to condition raw and vulcanized stock for stress-strain tests, it appears that it would be advisable also to condition samples for determining resistance to abrasion. It would at least tend to produce more nearly uniform results by eli...
Learning from Others: User Anomaly Detection Using Anomalous Samples from Other Users

Machine learning is increasingly used as a key technique in solving many security problems such as botnet detection, transactional fraud, insider threat, etc. One of the key challenges to the widespread application of ML in security is the lack of labeled samples from real applications. For known or common attacks, labeled samples are available, and, therefore, supervised techniques such as multi-class classification can be used. However, in many security applications, it is difficult to obtain labeled samples as each attack can be unique. In order to detect novel, unseen attacks, researchers used unsupervised outlier detection or one-class classification approaches, where they treat existing samples as benign samples. These methods, however, yield high false positive rates, preventing their adoption in real applications.
0054 Preventing a bad trip: marijuana related injury in the era of retail pot

Statement of purpose In January 2014, retail marijuana facilities opened for business in the state of Colorado. The medicinal qualities of marijuana make injury prevention efforts more complicated than those for tobacco and alcohol. This presentation will discuss the public health response by Colorado’s Violence and Injury Prevention Branch and its partners to potential injury concerns including youth poisoning/unintentional consumption and adult overconsumption, driving under the influence of marijuana, hash-oil explosions, and ski-related injury. Methods/Approach Preliminary data collected show an approximate 50% rise in rates of both marijuana-related hospital admissions and emergency department visits comparing 2010–2013 rates to the first six months of 2014. Additionally, poison control centre calls increased approximately 50% following non-medical marijuana’s entrance into the retail market. In response, state public health engaged stakeholders in a variety of approaches, including surveillance quality improvement to identify potential causes of the rise in marijuana reporting in hospitals, policy changes, education campaigns and other strategies to prevent unintentional poisoning and injury resulting from retail marijuana use. Results Some of the recent public health successes include regulatory changes to limit the edible dosage, changes to childproof packaging and labelling of edibles, identification of documented health effects of marijuana supported in research, and mass reach education campaigns on safe storage. Challenges continue, including marijuana-impaired driving data collection. Hash-oil extractions have been traced to 26 explosions and related injuries in the first six months of 2014. A pilot project with a hospital serving ski resorts is underway to assess marijuana-related ski injury. Conclusions The data and community concern over the initial rise in injuries caused by unintentional marijuana consumption and related impairment in youth and adults spurred the need for a public health response. State public health facilitates cooperative relationships across state and industry partners allowing responsive and effective change to state policy and supporting mass reach media campaigns to address public concern. Significance and contribution to the field Participants in this session will learn about the public health role in the era of retail marijuana: 1) potential impacts of retail marijuana on diverse injury outcomes, 2) strategic partnerships and relationships across Colorado state agencies and industry partners, 3) educational opportunities and messaging to prevent injury cause by over- and unintentional marijuana use.
Hit Probability Analysis of Aircraft Gun Shooting

The components and distribution characteristics of the error factors influenced the gun firing are studied. Through calculating the projected area of the target on the hit section,the single shot probability and the volley probability of gun firing is concluded. Using MATLAB to calculate the hit probability of gun firing,the calculation process of hit probability is given. Taking the 6 barrels Gatling aircraft gun as an example,the hit probability in different rapidity of fire is calculated,which can give advices for its usage of army.
Adenosine A1 receptors mediate retinotectal presynaptic inhibition: uncoupling by C-kinase and role in LTP during regeneration.

Zhang, Chunyi and John T. Schmidt. Adenosine A1 receptors mediate retinotectal presynaptic inhibition: uncoupling by C-kinase and role in LTP during regeneration. J. Neurophysiol. 79: 501–510, 1998. Presynaptic adenosine receptors inhibit transmitter release at many synapses and are known to exist on retinotectal terminals. In this paper we show that adenosine decreases retinotectal field potentials by ∼30% and investigate the mechanism. First, as judged by the effects of specific calcium channel blockers, retinotectal transmission was mediated almost exclusively by N-type calcium channels, which are known to be modulated by adenosine A1 receptors. Transmission was completely blocked by either ω-Conotoxin GVIA (−100%, N-type blocker) or ω-Conotoxin MVIIC (−99%, N-, P- and Q-type blocker) and was not significantly affected by ω-Agatoxin IVA [+1.7 ± 9.3% (SE), P-,Q-type blocker], but was augmented slightly by nifedipine(+9.3 ± 2.1%, L-type blocker). Second, the adenosine inhibition was presynaptic, as indicated by a 43% increase in paired-pulse facilitation. Third, the selective A1 agonist cyclohexyl adenosine (CHA) at 50 nM caused a 21% decrease in amplitude and the selective A2 agonist N 6 -[2-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-(2-methylphenyl)-ethyl]adenosine (DPMA) at 100 nM caused a 24% increase. Fourth, the selective A1 antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX) alone produced an increase in the field potential, suggesting a tonic inhibition mediated by endogenous adenosine. Fifth, pertussis toxin eliminated adenosine inhibition implicating G i or G o protein coupling. Sixth, C-kinase activation eliminated the A1-mediated inhibition. In regenerating projections, adenosine also caused a decrease in transmission (−30 ± 12%), but after induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) via trains of stimuli or via treatment with the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid, the adenosine response was converted to an augmentation. Because LTP is associated with C-kinase activation, this is consistent with C-kinase uncoupling the A1 receptor from inhibiting N-type Ca 2+ channels. This uncovers the A2-mediated augmentation as demonstrated in normals with DPMA. Such an effect could account in part for the LTP of immature synapses and the change from rapidly fatiguing to robust synaptic transmission.
The case for not interpreting unconscious mental life in consulting to organizations

In reading this revised version of a journal article that appeared several years ago, it is important to keep in mind that it was written well before executive coaching entered the imagination, let alone common practice, of organizational leaders. However, we considered it important to include a chapter written by one of the founders of the clinical orientation to management (to whose memory we have dedicated this second edition of Coach and Couch). After devoting most of this book to an exploration of the clinical approach, we thought it useful to remind readers to pay attention to the dangers implicit in dealing with unconscious phenomena.
ACROMEGALY OCCURRING IN A PATIENT WITH A PITUITARY ADENOMA, LYMPHOCYTIC HYPOPHYSITIS, AND A RATHKE CLEFT CYST

ABSTRACT Objective: The concomitant presence of three histopathologically different lesions in the pituitary gland is a rare occurrence. We present a case of a woman with a large pituitary mass composed of a growth hormone–producing microadenoma, lymphocytic hypophysitis, and a Rathke cleft cyst. Methods: The clinical presentation, laboratory data, imaging studies, and pathology report of the patient's hospital course are described. Results: A 35-year-old woman presented with complaints of fever, persistent headaches, and amenorrhea for 1 year. The patient noted snoring, increase in shoe size, and bilateral hand edema for 3 months. Evaluation revealed a suprasellar mass measuring 2.1 × 1.7 × 2.7 cm with an upward mass effect on the optic chiasm. The physical exam revealed frontal bossing, wide-spaced teeth, prognathism, and sausage digits. Hormonal evaluation was consistent with acromegaly. She underwent a transsphenoidal resection of the lesion, and pathology revealed a growth hormone–producing microaden...
Executive Control Mediates the Association Between Aerobic Fitness and Emotion Regulation in Preadolescent Children

Objective This study evaluated direct and indirect associations between aerobic fitness, executive control, and emotion regulation among a community sample of preadolescent children. Methods Two-hundred and seventy-eight children aged 8-12 years completed measures of aerobic fitness (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run) and executive control (Stroop Test). Parents completed questionnaires assessing child emotion regulation and executive control (Emotion Regulation Checklist; Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire). We evaluated associations between these constructs using structural equation modeling. Results Study findings supported a moderate direct association between childhood aerobic fitness and executive control, a strong direct negative association between executive control and emotion regulation, and a moderate indirect association between aerobic fitness and emotion regulation through executive control. Conclusions These findings provide preliminary evidence that executive control functions as a mediator between aerobic fitness and emotion regulation and may help explain the mechanism by which aerobic exercise influences emotional well-being among preadolescent children.
One-Pot Synthesis of Chiral, Spirocyclic 4-Hydantoin-Proline Derivatives for Incorporation into Spiroligomer-Based Macromolecules

Derivatives of 4-hydantoin-proline have been synthesized via a direct two-step alkylation method. This method is valuable in the development of applications of N,N′-disubstituted hydantoin bearing α-amino acids by improving yields, reducing the time and number of steps required to synthesize these substituted molecules, and enabling late stage functionalization of spiroligomer termini. Over 20 unique electrophiles have been tested, highlighting the inherent versatility of this chemistry.
Albuterol Improves Alveolar-Capillary Membrane Conductance in Healthy Humans

Background: Beta-2 adrenergic receptors (β₂ARs) are located throughout the body including airway and alveolar cells. The β₂ARs regulate lung fluid clearance through a variety of mechanisms including ion transport on alveolar cells and relaxation of the pulmonary lymphatics. We examined the effect of an inhaled β₂-agonist (albuterol) on alveolar-capillary membrane conductance (DM) and pulmonary capillary blood volume (VC) in healthy humans. Methods: We assessed the diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and nitric oxide (DLNO) at baseline, 30 minutes, and 60 minutes following nebulized albuterol (2.5 mg, diluted in 3 mL normal saline) in 45 healthy subjects. Seventeen subjects repeated these measures following nebulized normal saline (age = 27 ± 9 years, height = 165 ± 21 cm, weight = 68 ± 12 kg, BMI = 26 ± 9 kg/m²). Cardiac output (Q), heart rate, systemic vascular resistance (SVR), blood pressure, oxygen saturation, forced expiratory volume at one-second (FEV₁), and forced expiratory flow at 50% of forced vital capacity (FEF₅₀) were assessed at baseline, 30 minutes, and 60 minutes following the administration of albuterol or saline. Results: Albuterol resulted in a decrease in SVR, and an increase in Q, FEV₁, and FEF₅₀ compared to saline controls. Albuterol also resulted in a decrease in VC at 60 minutes post albuterol. Both albuterol and normal saline resulted in no change in DLCO or DM when assessed alone, but a significant increase was observed in DM when accounting for changes in VC. Conclusion: These data suggest that nebulized albuterol improves pulmonary function in healthy humans, while nebulization of both albuterol and saline results in an increase in DM/VC.
Characteristics, burden of illness, and physical functioning of patients with relapsing-remitting and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional US survey.

BACKGROUND Although most patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) will develop secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), little is known about the burden of multiple sclerosis by disease subtype. This study describes the burden of disease in terms of demographics, disease severity, symptoms, health care resource and disease-modifying therapy (DMT) utilization, work and activity impairment, and physical functioning of SPMS and RRMS patients. METHODS SPMS and RRMS patient responses from the 2012 and 2013 waves of the US National Health and Wellness Survey were evaluated to detect differences in demographics, disease severity, symptoms, and health care resource and DMT utilization. In addition, data from the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment and Short Form-36 questionnaires were analyzed. RESULTS SPMS patients were older than RRMS patients (mean age 55.7 vs 48.9 years; P<0.001); a lower proportion were female (56.2% with SPMS vs 71.6% with RRMS; P=0.002), and fewer SPMS than RRMS patients were employed (20.0% vs 39.7%; P<0.001). SPMS patients described their disease as more severe, reporting several neurological symptoms more frequently and higher hospitalization rates than RRMS patients. A lower percentage of SPMS than RRMS patients reported DMT use. SPMS patients had greater overall work and activity impairment than RRMS patients. After controlling for baseline characteristics, impairment in physical functioning was greater in SPMS patients. CONCLUSION Overall, SPMS patients had a higher burden of illness than RRMS patients, underscoring the need to treat RRMS patients early to delay disability progressing using therapies that are effective in real-world settings.
Design and Implementation of a Robotic Surgery Training Experience Logging System.

Purpose Residents currently log robotic cases in the ACGME system as a “surgeon” if they performed any critical step of the procedure on the surgeon console. There is no standardization as to which steps or how much of the procedure should be performed by the resident. It was our objective to establish a tool for logging the true operative experience in robotic surgery to aid in assessing surgical competency as well as curriculum development. Materials and Methods We propose a tool to log surgical skill progression, experience, and feedback for robotic cases. A web-based robotic experience logging system (RoboLog) was developed with procedures deconstructed to their major steps. Trainees may request the supervising attending review their performance. RoboLog provides automated summary reports to both residents and attendings. Results RoboLog was successfully developed and piloted with a total of 310 cases logged over 1 year. A reporting structure was developed where residents could view statistics on several data points such as step-specific involvement and feedback from attending staff. Detailed data on resident experience were obtained. For instance, 82% of the 151 robotic prostatectomies were logged as “surgeon”, yet urethral transection had Conclusions Our current system for logging robotic experience is lacking given the fact that resident involvement on the surgical console is variable. Widespread usage of a logging system with more insight into step-specific involvement is needed. RoboLog fills this need and can be used to track robotic training progress and aid in development of a standardized curriculum.
Narrow-band ultraviolet B phototherapy outcomes in atopic dermatitis-A single-centre retrospective review.

Systemic and biological therapies are evolving treatment modalities in the management of atopic dermatitis (AD). Despite these welcome advances in the management of refractory cases, phototherapy remains the recommended1 second-line treatment option for AD when topical treatments fail to control symptoms. According to a recently published survey of UK dermatologists2, 46% of dermatologists still choose phototherapy, either narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB UVB) or psoralen ultraviolet A (PUVA) ahead of systemic therapy which is favoured by 36%. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Comparing estimates from the R-LINE near road dispersion model using model-derived and observation-derived meteorology

Abstract Observed meteorological conditions, usually measured at airports or weather monitoring stations, have long provided the only source of meteorology for many Gaussian air pollution dispersion models. This introduces uncertainty and limitations in numerical model estimates, especially for locations of interest far removed from these monitoring stations. Hence, it is advantageous to employ predicted meteorology from a prognostic meteorological model as a substitute. The objective of this study was to compare estimates from the R-LINE near road dispersion model at three inland sites and one coastal site in Connecticut using observation-derived (weather station) and model-derived (Weather Research and Forecasting Model) meteorology. Both the graphical and statistical comparisons indicated less pronounced discrepancies in model estimations in the time periods generally characterized by unstable atmospheric conditions than those characterized by stable atmospheric conditions. There were also more pronounced differences at larger distances from roadways. Comparison of the estimated surface characteristic variables using both the observation-derived and model-derived meteorology displayed similar diurnal trends.
Time series analysis of vegetation phenology and cloud cover conditions affecting airborne remote sensing operations and data products from the national ecological observatory network (NEON)

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) airborne observation platform (AOP) is collecting co-registered high-resolution hyperspectral imagery, discrete and waveform lidar, and high-resolution digital photography across 48 terrestrial and 32 aquatic sites throughout the United States on an annual basis over the next 30 years. These remote sensing data, made freely available to the public, enable researchers to characterize vegetation structure and canopy biochemistry at multiple scales and contribute to our understanding of ecosystem forcings and responses as represented by vegetation states and processes. In an effort to minimize inter-annual phenological variability among data sets collected over multiple years while reducing atmospheric impacts on spectral reflectance retrievals, AOP flight campaigns are scheduled so that data acquisition occurs during the period of mean peak greenness at each site and when cloud cover represents less than 10% of sky coverage. This paper describes how satellite observations from MODIS and VIIRS combined with phenophase observations from the national phenocam network are used to optimize data acquisition and ensure that high quality data products are produced by NEON's airborne subsystem. Validation of the methods is also explored.
Epidemiology of epistaxis in the emergency department of a southern European tertiary care hospital.

Abstract Objective Epistaxis is the most common rhinological emergency seen in the emergency department. The purpose of this study was to evaluate epidemiological data of epistaxis in a southern European tertiary care hospital. Methods A retrospective study was conducted during the period between January 2009 and December 2015. We analyzed the distribution by cross-referencing the demographic variables, destination after medical discharge, inpatient characteristics (major comorbid diseases, medication, bleeding localization and treatment) and health-care costs with the disease. Results Epistaxis accounted for approximately 1 in 30 visits to the ED and 77 out of a population of 100,000 was served by that ED. Overall, 71,624 patients were treated and 2371 patients presented with epistaxis (3.31%). One-thousand three-hundred and twenty-seven cases were male and 1044 female (p 70 (p Conclusion Emergency epistaxis was more frequent in men, the elderly, patients with underlying comorbidities, during the winter months, and showed a higher risk of referral and hospitalization with increasing age (as a result of an aging population in western countries). The main hospital expenses for epistaxis are related to hospitalization and health care costs.