cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Growth of the adult goldfish eye. II. Increase in retinal cell number

The retinas of adult goldfish, one to four years of age, 4-23 cm in length, were examined with standard paraffin histology to determine if new cells were being added with growth. Retinal cell nuclei were counted and the area of the retina was measured. An analysis of cell densities in various regions throughout the retina showed that the cells are distributed nearly homogeneously. The density (No./mm2 of retinal surface) of ganglion cells, inner nuclear layer cells and cones decreases with growth, but the density of rods remains constant. Thus the rods account for a larger proportion of the cells in larger retinas; The total number of cells per retina increases: the ganglion cells from 60,000 to 350,000; the inner nuclear layer cells from 1,500,000 to 4,000,000; the cones from 250,000 to 1,400,000; the rods from 1,500,000 to 15,000,000. This increase in the number of retinal neurons implies the formation of even more new synapses, and suggests the adult goldfish retina as a model for both neuro- and synaptogenesis.
Effects of γ radiation on the leaching kinetics of various nuclear waste-form materials

When a solid used to immobilize high-level nuclear wastes is evaluated with respect to its long-term durability and effectiveness as a barrier against radio-isotope release, the massive doses of ionizing radiation to which the solid will be exposed during storage have to be taken into account. Unlike particle radiation, which can give rise to considerable damage even in dry conditions1, γ irradiation seems to enhance leachability significantly only when the solid is in contact with an aqueous medium while being irradiated2. Even in these conditions studies of the effect of γ irradiation at dose rates similar to those expected in repository conditions show only a modest radiation-induced enhancement in leach rates. This enhancement, expressed in terms of the ratio Rirr = Li/L0 between the leach rates measured in irradiated and non-irradiated conditions, respectively, is typically of the order of 1–4 in the case of borosilicate glasses containing typical commericial as well as defence waste stream compositions2–4. We show here that the radiation-induced enhancement of leach rates can be ascribed primarily to radiolytic acidification of the aqueous medium and secondarily to radiolytic formation of complexing species. As a result, waste-forms based on major components such as alumina, which are more susceptible to acid dissolution and to attack by complexing agents than silica, show much larger radiation-induced enhancements of their leach rates than silicate glasses.
A new conditioning paradigm: Conditioned limb movements in locomoting decerebrate ferrets

These experiments address the hypothesis that the trajectory of a forelimb in decerebrate ambulating ferrets can be conditioned to avoid an obstacle encountered during the locomotor cycle. The perturbation was produced by interjecting a bar into the trajectory of the forelimb during swing phase. Over 5-15 steps the flexion of the elbow progressively increased until the forelimb was elevated over the bar. Avoiding the bar often required that the maximum height of the paw during swing phase was doubled. When the bar was no longer thrust into the trajectory of the forelimb, the conditioned behavior persisted for several step cycles. The results indicate that decerebrate ferrets are capable of acquiring a conditioned limb movement that is not a typical conditioned reflex but rather an accentuation of a component of the step cycle performed to avoid an interruption of swing phase.
Calcified atherosclerotic plaque and bone mineral density in type 2 diabetes : The diabetes heart study

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationships between atherosclerotic calcified plaque (CP) and bone mineral density (BMD) in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). CP in the coronary arteries, carotid bifurcation, and abdominal aorta was measured using computed tomography (CT) in 1023 diabetic subjects from 453 families. Trabecular volumetric BMD in thoracic (T-vBMD) and lumbar (L-vBMD) spine was measured with quantitative CT (QCT), while areal BMD (aBMD) in the lumbar spine and hip was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Correlation coefficients were computed to assess the magnitude of associations and generalized estimating equations (GEE1) were used to make statistical inferences while accounting for familial correlation. Subjects were 53.8% female, 85% European American (EA) and 15% African American (AA). After adjustment for age, significant inverse associations between CP and vBMD persisted in EA men (correlations between -0.11 and -0.16, all p<0.05 with the exception of carotid CP vs. T-vBMD, p=0.076) and in AA women, excluding aortic CP (correlations between -0.16 and -0.25, all p<0.05). Estrogen use in AA but not EA women was consistently associated with an inverse relation between CP and vBMD. Significant inverse relationships between CP and vBMD were observed in EA men and AA women with DM2 after adjusting for age and other covariates. QCT determined vBMD was more strongly related to CP than aBMD by DXA. The relation between CP and BMD in diabetes is influenced by age, sex, and ethnicity, with further effect modification by hormone replacement therapy.
Vulvar syringoma: a clinicopathologic and immunohistologic study of 18 patients and results of treatment

Abstract Background: Syringoma of the vulva has been rarely reported. No effective treatment modality has been documented. Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the clinicopathologic features of vulvar syringoma, to investigate the hormonal influence on its growth, and to establish an effective treatment modality. Methods: A total of 18 cases of vulvar syringoma were selected from the surgical pathologic file at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. In all, 15 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens were examined by immunohistochemical staining for estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor. Results: The age of first presentation at our vulvar clinic ranged from 21 to 60 years with a median age of 29.5 years. Of patients, 13 (72%) had vulvar pruritus and 7 noticed aggravation during summer or during menstruation. The most common clinical appearance was multiple flesh-colored or brownish papules on bilateral sides of the vulva (9 of 18). One third of our series was found to have coexisting eyelid syringoma and 4 of them also had a family history of periorbital syringoma. Immunohistochemical stainings for estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor were all negative on the 15 cases studied. Of our patients, 7 with intense pruritus were treated with carbon dioxide laser vaporization. Their lesions resolved and pruritus subsided. Conclusion: Vulvar syringoma is not very rare and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of vulvar pruritus. In our study, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor were not detected in vulvar syringoma. Carbon dioxide laser was an effective therapeutic modality in treating patients with intractable symptoms. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2003;48:735-9.)
Use of bone cell cultures to study skeletal pathology

We describe procedures for the isolation, culture, and analysis of neonatal osteoblasts from osteopetrotic (toothless (tl) and osteopetrosis [op]) rats and normal littermates. Normal osteoblasts produce and mineralize an extracellular matrix indistinguishable from that of well-characterized fetal rat osteoblasts in vitro. Mutant (tl and op) cultures show an early abnormal pattern of cell proliferation and a later premature, extensive mineralization which mimic the mutant phenotype in vivo. In cocultures with normal osteoclasts, mutant (tl) osteoblasts also show a greatly reduced ability to orchestrate bone resorption, as revealed by pit formation in bone slices, in response to physiologic mediators. These phenomena in vitro are consistent with the behavior of mutant osteoblasts and osteoclasts in vivo and suggest that more definitive microscopic analyses of osteoblasts from each mutation in vitro will provide insights on the roles of osteoblasts in the compromised bone resorption which characterizes the osteopetroses as well as their role in osteoclast ontogeny. This study shows that when their behavior is confirmed in vivo, bone cell cultures offer rigorous systems for understanding skeletal cell dysfunction in normal and pathological development.
Using Experience Sampling Methodology to Collect Deep Data About Your Users

Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM) is a type of longitudinal diary study that allows one to understand a person's experience in the moment. It combines the qualitative richness of longitudinal diary studies, artifacts of a field study, and quantitative data of a large-scale survey or app tracker. Using a free, open-source mobile app called "PACO (Personal Analytics COmpanion)," we can conduct ESM studies with participants anywhere in the world. These studies can be conducted after qualitative studies (e.g., ethnography, interviews) to ascertain how broadly your observations apply to your user population or they can be done in advance to identify insights you want to study in-person, in-depth. By combining these methodologies, you create a, deeper, more holistic understanding of your users. This workshop will give attendees the skills to design, conduct, and analyze data from ESM studies at any scale.
Discordance between self-report of physician diagnosis and administrative database diagnosis of arthritis and its predictors.

Objective To study predictors of discordance between self-reported physician diagnosis and administrative database diagnosis of arthritis. Methods A cohort of all veterans who utilized Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN)-13 medical facilities were mailed a questionnaire that included patient self-report of physician diagnosis of arthritis and questions regarding demographics, functional limitation, and SF-36V (a validated version of theMedical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36). Kappa coefficient was used to assess the extent of agreement between self-report of physician diagnosis and administrative database definitions that incorporated International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes and use of medications for arthritis. We identified predictors of overall discordance between self-report and administrative database diagnosis using multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results Among 70,334 eligible veterans surveyed, 19,749 subjects had an ICD diagnosis of arthritis in the administrative database in the year prior to the survey; 34,440 answered the arthritis question and 18,464 self-reported a physician diagnosis of arthritis. Kappa coefficient showed slight to fair agreement of 0.19–0.32 between self-report and administrative database definitions of arthritis. We found significantly higher overall discordance among veterans with more comorbidities, greater age, worse functional status, lower use of outpatient and inpatient services, lower education level, and among single medical-site users. Conclusion Low level of agreement between self-report and database diagnosis of arthritis and its significant association with patient demographic, clinical, and functional characteristics highlights the limitation of use of these strategies for identification of patients with arthritis in epidemiological studies.
Finite element modelling of transport of organic chemicals through soils

Aquifer contamination by organic chemicals in subsurface flow through soils due to leaking underground storage tanks filled with organic fluids is an important groundwater pollution problem. The problem involves transport of a chemical pollutant through soils via flow of three immiscible fluid phases: namely air, water and an organic fluid. In this paper, assuming the air phase is under constant atmospheric pressure, the flow field is described by two coupled equations for the water and the organic fluid flow taking interphase mass transfer into account. The transport equations for the contaminant in all the three phases are derived and assuming partition equilibrium coefficients, a single convective – dispersive mass transport equation is obtained. A finite element formulation corresponding to the coupled differential equations governing flow and mass transport in the three fluid phase porous medium system with constant air phase pressure is presented. Relevant constitutive relationships for fluid conductivities and saturations as function of fluid pressures lead to non-linear material coefficients in the formulation. A general time-integration scheme and iteration by a modified Picard method to handle the non-linear properties are used to solve the resulting finite element equations. Laboratory tests were conducted on a soil column initially saturated with water and displaced by p-cymene (a benzene-derivative hydrocarbon) under constant pressure. The same experimental procedure is simulated by the finite element programme to observe the numerical model behaviour and compare the results with those obtained in the tests. The numerical data agreed well with the observed outflow data, and thus validating the formulation. A hypothetical field case involving leakage of organic fluid in a buried underground storage tank and the subsequent transport of an organic compound (benzene) is analysed and the nature of the plume spread is discussed.
Teaching Intricate Content Online: It Can Be Done and Done Well.

ABSTRACT Despite a plethora of online course offerings over the past decade, we continue to see resistance to this platform for course delivery, particularly with content that is ostensibly too sensitive or difficult to deliver in this format. This article describes an approach to online course planning and design, with attention paid to creating rich and meaningful student-to-content interactions, as well as student-to-instructor interactions. The instructors approached the design of this course to address personalization (student-to-instructor interaction), meaningful engagement (student-to-content interaction), and ongoing checks of student understanding (student-to-instructor and student-to-content interactions). After using this approach to develop and then teach a course focused on instructional strategies for students with significant support needs, we captured students' perspectives regarding the efficacy of the course. As such, we conclude the article with recommendations for future online course...
Nephrogenic Hypertension (Goldblatt Kidney) Following Operative Trauma to the Renal Artery

The thrombosis of the right renal artery following operative injury set off a chain of events closely duplicating the arterial hypertension observed by Goldblatt after constriction or occlusion of the renal arteries in experimental animals. The resulting hypertension was severe, fulminating, prolonged, and resistant to treatment by hypotensive and ganglion-blocking agents; it was associated with pulmonary edema, myocardial infarction, and impairment of the renal function. Nephrectomy brought about a return of the blood pressure to normal levels. The concentration of renin in the removed kidney was 34 times greater than normal.
T-box genes and heart development: Putting the “T” in heart

Members of the T-box gene family (Tbx) are essential for normal heart development, and mutations in human TBX genes cause congenital cardiovascular malformations. T-box genes have been implicated in early cardiac lineage determination, chamber specification, valvuloseptal development, and diversification of the specialized conduction system in vertebrate embryos. These genes include Tbx1, Tbx2, Tbx3, Tbx5, Tbx18, and Tbx20, all of which exhibit complex temporal spatial regulation in developing cardiac structures. Less is known about T-box genes in invertebrate heart development, but multiple T-box genes are expressed in Drosophila cardiac lineages. The molecular hierarchies and developmental processes controlled by T-box genes in the heart are the focus of this review.
Pseudo-interactive monitoring in distributed computing

Distributed computing, and in particular Grid computing, enables physicists to use thousands of CPU days worth of computing every day, by submitting thousands of compute jobs. Unfortunately, a small fraction of such jobs regularly fail; the reasons vary from disk and network problems to bugs in the user code. A subset of these failures result in jobs being stuck for long periods of time. In order to debug such failures, interactive monitoring is highly desirable; users need to browse through the job log files and check the status of the running processes. Batch systems typically don't provide such services; at best, users get job logs at job termination, and even this may not be possible if the job is stuck in an infinite loop. In this paper we present a novel approach of using regular batch system capabilities of Condor to enable users to access the logs and processes of any running job. This does not provide true interactive access, so commands like vi are not viable, but it does allow operations like ls, cat, top, ps, lsof, netstat and dumping the stack of any process owned by the user; we call this pseudo-interactive monitoring. It is worth noting that the same method can be used to monitor Grid jobs in a glidein-based environment. We further believe that the same mechanism could be applied to many other batch systems.
Performance analysis of the two-state signal-dependent rank order mean filter

One well-studied image processing task is the removal of impulse noise from images. Impulse noise can be introduced during image capture, during transmission, or during storage. The signal-dependent rank order mean (SD-ROM) filter has been shown to be effective at removing impulses from 2-D scalar- valued signals. Excellent results were presented for both a two-state and a multi-state version of the filter. The two- state SD-ROM filter relies on the selection of a set of threshold values. In this paper, we examine the performance of the algorithm with respect to the thresholds. We take three different approaches. First, we discuss the performance of the algorithm with respect to its root signals. Second, we present a probabilistic model for the SD-ROM filter. This model characterizes the performance of the algorithm in terms of the probability of detecting a corrupted pixel while avoiding uncorrupted pixels. Finally, we apply the insight gained from the root signal analysis and the statistical model to optimized thresholds found using a computerized search algorithm for a large number of images and noise conditions.
RACIO-ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN CONFIDENCE IN SCIENCE!

17 nationwide surveys taken from 1972 through 1990 showed that Hispanic and African-American minority groups, traditiooally underrepresented in science, were less confident about science than Asian and white groups. Confidence in science was positively influenced by education, but this effect was greater for white than for Hispanic or African-American groups. The possible interrelationships between economic factors, role models, and self-esteem in influencing attitudes about science are discussed
A geometrical model showing the independence of locality and positivity of the energy

A model of local rings system is constructed which satisfies all the usual postulates but has no representation where the energy momentum spectrum lies in the forward light cone.
Welding Consumable Developments in the Aftermath of the Northridge Earthquake

The earthquake that struck Northridge, California, on 17 January 1994, caused collapse of a number of reinforced concrete and wood frame structures. Fracture occurred in welded connections in some steel frame buildings, though none collapsed. Self-shielded flux cored electrodes are popular for steel frame building erection because they are largely unaffected by welding in windy conditions. These electrodes are generally “killed” with aluminium, and the aluminium recovered in the weld deposit affects the microstructure and, therefore, the properties. The paper describes the evolution of steel weld metal microstructures from self-shielded flux cored electrodes, as a function of aluminium content.
Cellular Sources of Transforming Growth Factor-β Isoforms in Early and Chronic Radiation Enteropathy

The three mammalian transforming growth factor (TGF)-β isoforms (TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3) differ in their putative roles in radiation-induced fibrosis in intestine and other organs. Furthermore, tissue specificity of TGF-β action may result from temporal or spatial changes in production and/or activation. The present study examined shifts in the cell types expressing TGF-β mRNA relative to TGF-β immunoreactivity and histopathological injury during radiation enteropathy development. A 4-cm loop of rat small intestine was locally exposed to 0, 12, or 21-Gy single doses of x-irradiation. Sham-irradiated and irradiated intestine were procured 2 and 26 weeks after irradiation. Cells expressing the TGF-β1, TGF-β2, or TGF-β3 transcripts were identified by in situ hybridization with digoxigenin-labeled riboprobes. Intestinal wall TGF-β immunoreactivity was measured using computerized image analysis, and structural radiation injury was assessed by quantitative histopathology. Normal intestinal epithelium expressed transcripts for all three TGF-β isoforms. Two weeks after irradiation, regenerating crypts, inflammatory cells, smooth muscle cells, and mesothelium exhibited increased TGF-β1 expression and, to a lesser degree, TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 expression. Twenty-six weeks after irradiation, TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 expression had returned to normal. In contrast, TGF-β1 expression remained elevated in smooth muscle, mesothelium, endothelium, and fibroblasts in regions of chronic fibrosis. Extracellular matrix-associated TGF-β1 immunoreactivity was significantly increased at both observation times, whereas, TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 immunoreactivity exhibited minimal postradiation changes. Intestinal radiation injury is associated with overexpression of all three TGF-β isoforms in regenerating epithelium. Radiation enteropathy was also associated with sustained shifts in the cellular sources of TGF-β1 from epithelial cells to cells involved in the pathogenesis of chronic fibrosis. TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 did not exhibit consistent long-term changes. TGF-β1 appears to be the predominant isoform in radiation enteropathy and may be more important in the mechanisms of chronicity than TGF-β2 and TGF-β3.
Upstream Passage Monitoring: Difficulties in Estimating Survival for Adult Chinook Salmon in the Columbia and Snake Rivers

We reviewed current methods used to estimate survival of adult chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as they migrate upstream past hydroelectric projects in the Columbia and Snake rivers, evaluated known and unaccounted-for loss factors, and assessed how adult survival estimates could be improved. Dam counts and associated passage conversion rates do not always provide accurate estimates of adult survival between hydroelectric projects. Expansion techniques for reconstructing run size and harvest rates also contribute to variability in estimates of run size and potential loss between hydroelectric projects. Use of passage conversion rates to estimate in-river survival of adult spring chinook salmon had less uncertainty than for estimates of other runs. Fixed-run cutoff dates for migration timing result in a high uncertainty for monitoring relative numbers of summer chinook salmon. We also found it difficult to reconstruct run size to spawning areas or to estimate interdam survival for fall chinook in lower Snake River dams because of straying and high incidence (e.g., up to 40% at some projects) of fallback behavior. In-river survival estimates of adult chinook salmon would be improved by factoring adult fallback percentages into passage estimates, combining spring and summer runs for accounting purposes, and reassessing harvest accounting
Speckle reduction in optical coherence tomography images by use of a spatially adaptive wavelet filter

A spatially adaptive two-dimensional wavelet filter is used to reduce speckle noise in time-domain and Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. Edges can be separated from discontinuities that are due to noise, and noise power can be attenuated in the wavelet domain without significantly compromising image sharpness. A single parameter controls the degree of noise reduction. When this filter is applied to ophthalmic OCT images, signal-to-noise ratio improvements of >7 dB are attained, with a sharpness reduction of <3%.
Successful cardiovascular medication management processes as perceived by community-dwelling adults over age 74

Older adults continue to experience problems with their medications, such as adverse drug events, incorrect use of prescription medications, and nonadherence to drug therapy. Using the qualitative approach of naturalistic inquiry, 27 community-dwelling adults over age 74 were interviewed and encouraged to describe situations or variables that help or hinder in their cardiovascular medication management processes. Helpful strategies included simplification, use of visual and tactile cues, and development of a medication routine. Hindering situations included decreased mental or sensory alertness, getting out of the routine, and not feeling well. Nurses can devise assessment and interventional methodologies from the themes described.
Dopamine D2 receptor gene Taq I ‘A’ locus map including ‘A4’ variant: relevance for alcoholism and drug abuse

The D2 dopamine receptor gene (DRD2) displays Taq I restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) at two different loci, termed A and B. One of the three different Taq I A 'alleles' described at this site, the A1 allele (size = 6.6 kb), has been found to be associated with alcoholism and with drug abuse in the majority of studies reported to date. A complete map of the Taq I A RFLP site has been constructed, through hybridization with different fragments of the 3' flanking region and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). When screening 432 unrelated individuals to establish possible A1 allelic association with drug abuse or dependence, we have encountered a novel Taq I A RFLP, which we have named 'A4' (size = 8.6 kb). This sequence variant displays a frequency of approximately 1% in our sample and shows a Mendelizing genetic pattern in an Italian nuclear family. Primers suitable for detecting A4 using PCR have been designed. The A4, but not the A3 'allele', displays substantial overlap with the A1. In particular, A2 and A3 share the presence of a Taq I restriction site, whose absence in A1 and A4 is apparently associated with substance abuse vulnerability. Therefore, in association studies it is proper to contrast individuals displaying A1 and A4 RFLP patterns, with individuals displaying A2 and A3 RFLPs.
Prognosis in ischemic heart disease. Can you tell as much at the bedside as in the nuclear laboratory

Background.— While the resting left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) predicts prognosis in ischemic heart disease, clinical evaluation is also useful. Methods.— To compare the prognostic value of LVEF by resting radionuclide ventriculography with that of clinical signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure (CHF), 170 Patients with suspected ischemic heart disease were followed up in this prospective study. Patients had a standardized history and physical examination performed by a study cardiologist immediately before the nuclear scan. Chest roentgenography and radionuclide ventriculography were performed in a standard manner. The diagnosis of CHF was made by validated clinicoradiographic criteria based on the Framingham study. Mortality was determined by means of the National Death Index; median follow-up time was 3 years. Results.— There was CHF at baseline in 70 patients, and baseline LVEF was low ( Conclusions.— The clinical diagnosis of CHF, based on clinical evaluation and chest roentgenogram, is a valid predictor of mortality and provides information independent of the radionuclide LVEF in determining prognosis in patients with ischemic heart disease. (Arch Intern Med.1992;152:2433-2437)
Nasal Deformities Following Nasoseptal Flap Reconstruction of Skull Base Defects.

Objectives To identify the prevalence and risk factors for nasal deformities after endoscopic endonasal surgery (EES) of the skull base. Design Retrospective case series. Setting Tertiary referral academic center. Participants EES patients from January 2011 to October 2013. Main Outcome Measures Surgical approach, method of skull base reconstruction, and postoperative nasal deformities. Results Of 328 patients, 19 patients (5.8%) had nasal dorsum collapse, 3 (0.9%) with new septal perforations and 2 (0.6%) with septal deviations requiring surgical correction. Postoperative deformities were only found in the setting of nasoseptal flap reconstruction (p = 0.0001) and were most common in patients who had undergone an approach involving more than one anatomical subsite (p = 0.0021). Patients with nasal deformities were on average 6 years younger (p = 0.08) and were more likely to have a malignant pathology (p = 0.08). Conclusions All deformities were associated with use of a nasoseptal flap for reconstruction and were most common in combined approaches, suggesting that flap size may play a role in the development of nasal deformities. The mechanism of nasal dorsum collapse is unclear but does not appear to be related to septal cartilage necrosis. These findings warrant a prospective analysis to identify risk factors for postoperative nasal deformities and data for counseling of patients.
Identification of prion amyloid filaments in scrapie-infected brain

Abstract Extracellular collections of abnormal filaments composed of prion proteins have been identified in the brains of scrapie-infected hamsters using immunoelectron microscopy. Some of the filaments were 1500 nm in length; generally, they exhibited a uniform diameter of 16 nm. Rarely, the filaments had a twisted appearance, raising the possibility that they are flattened cylinders or are composed of helically wound protofilaments. The prion filaments possess the same diameter and limited twisting as the shorter rod-shaped particles observed in purified preparations of prions. Both the filaments and rods are composed of PrP 27–30 molecules, as determined by immunoelectron microscopy using affinity-purified antibodies. The ultrastructural features of the prion filaments are similar to those reported for amyloid in many tissues including brain. These results provide the first evidence that prion proteins assemble into filaments within the brain and that these filaments accumulate in extracellular spaces to form amyloid plaques.
Immunoglobulin Synthesis in Hairy Cell Leukaemia

In vitro studies were performed with leukaemic cells from two patients with hairy cell leukaemia in order to define the nature and kinetics of immunoglobulin synthesis by the neoplastic cells. Both patients had clinically and morphologically well-defined disease and their cells contained abundant tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase. One patient had associated macroglobulinaemia. The hairy cells had B-lymphocyte characteristics as determined by fluorescent immunoglobulin staining and surface receptor properties. They synthesized monoclonal IgM and IgG respectively in vitro. The kinetics of immunoglobulin synthesis were different in cells from the two patients as measured by equilibration time, intracellular degradation, and secretion. Permanent cell lines were established with cells from these patients. The lines grow as typical B-lymphoblastoid cultures and continue to produce tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase and immunoglobulin. These studies unequivocally demonstrate the B-lymphocyte nature of the hairy cells in these patients and provide evidence for their clonal origin both in terms of immunoglobulin and enzyme synthesis.
Repeatability of baseline and stress-induced corticosterone levels across early life stages in the Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens).

Abstract Recent studies have posited that the pattern of glucocorticoid secretion within an individual represents a stable, fixed physiological trait. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the repeatability of baseline and stress-induced corticosterone (CORT) secretion across developmental stages and years in Florida scrub-jays. We sampled individuals from multiple cohorts repeatedly from the age of 11 days post-hatch up to 4 years of age. We found a significant degree of repeatability within individuals in stress-induced corticosterone levels, i.e., the amount of hormone secreted during a standardized stress protocol (corrected integrated corticosterone). However, baseline corticosterone levels were not statistically repeatable, although there was some indication that nestling levels predicted levels at 1 year of age. The results of this study indicate that stress-induced CORT levels are consistent within individual scrub-jays, and the degree to which a young jay mounts an acute stress response appears to be somewhat “set” by the age of nutritional independence. Thus stress-induced corticosterone secretion appears to be a stable, repeatable trait within individuals and as such may be subject to natural selection.
Interactions of SO2-concentration and post-fumigation temperature on growth of five species of woody plants☆

Abstract Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh., Betula papyrifera Marsh., Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., Eucalyptus globulus Labill., and Pinus resinosa Ait. seedlings were fumigated with 0, 0·2, 0·35, or 0·5 ppm SO 2 for 30 h at 22°C and then grown at 32,22, or 12°C for four to eight weeks. SO 2 induced extensive injury and leaf abscission in B. papyrifera, E. camaldulensis , and E. globulus . Post-fumigation temperature did not significantly affect symptom development. SO 2 inhibited growth in all species except F. pennsylvanica . The effect of SO 2 on growth of shoots and roots usually was greatest at the temperature at which shoot or root growth was greatest, and the effect usually was least at the temperature at which growth rates were lowest. The data emphasise the importance of post-fumigation temperature on growth inhibition of plants previously exposed to SO 2 . They also suggest caution in generalising about the influence of temperature on responses of woody plants to SO 2 .
Semiparametric Gaussian Variance-Mean Mixtures for Heavy-Tailed and Skewed Data

There is a need for new classes of flexible multivariate distributions that can capture heavy tails and skewness without being so flexible as to fully incur the curse of dimensionality intrinsic to nonparametric density estimation. We focus on the family of Gaussian variance-mean mixtures, which have received limited attention in multivariate settings beyond simple special cases. By using a Bayesian semiparametric approach, we allow the data to infer about the unknown mixing distribution. Properties are considered and an approach to posterior computation is developed relying on Markov chain Monte Carlo. The methods are evaluated through simulation studies and applied to a variety of applications, illustrating their flexible performance in characterizing heavy tails, tail dependence, and skewness.
Gamification of exercise and its application for fall prevention among patients with diabetes and peripheral neuropathy

Background: Individuals with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) frequently suffer from concomitant impaired proprioception and postural instability. Conventional exercise training has been demonstrated effective in improving balance; however these exercises are often repetitive, causing patients to lose interest and not complete the long term rehabilitation process. In addition, these programs do not incorporate visual feedback targeting joint perception, which is an integral mechanism that helps compensate for impaired proprioception among DPN. Methods: This is a prospective randomized control trial study. Participants were randomized either in intervention or sham. The intervention group received twice per week an innovative exercise program based on virtual reality for 4 weeks. Their gait and balance were assessed at baseline prior initiating the intervention and after 4 weeks. Sham group were not included in balance training but their balance and gait were assessed at study visit and 4 weeks later. An innovative exercise program based on combination of wearable sensors technology and virtual reality was designed. The wearable sensors allow measuring lower extremity joint position in real-time which were used for the purpose of animation and real-time visual feedback to subject during exercise. Exercise program includes a series of ankle point-to-point reaching tasks in different direction as well as crossing a series of virtual obstacle with different heights, which were appeared on a computer screen in front of participants, Figure 1. Results: Forty-one eligible subjects have been recruited to date. However, the results of 15 participants (Age: 56.3±4.9, BMI: 30±15 m/Kg2) who completed the exercise program have been reported. Participants were diagnosed with diabetes by primary care and were confirmed to have peripheral neuropathy. The preliminary results suggest that active group reduced ankle sway by 76% (2.82±2.8deg to 0.66±0.47deg), hip sway by 81% (7.96±9deg to 1.48±1.2deg) and center of mass (CoM) sway by 76% (0.69±0.7deg to 0.16±0.11deg) during eyes open balance assessment. Similar reductions during eyes closed assessment were observed with reductions of 50%, 24% and 45% for ankle, hip and CoM sway. Conclusion: The current research implemented a novel balance rehabilitation strategy based on virtual-reality. Our methodology included wearable sensors and interactive user interface for real-time visual feedback based on ankle joint motion, similar to video gaming environment for compensating impaired joint proprioception. Findings support that visual feedback generated from ankle joint coupled with motor learning may be effective in improving postural control and gait among DPN patients.
Modelling of total solar irradiance variability from ground-based observations

The difficulty in correlating models of solar irradiance variations from ground-based observations with spacecraft data is examined. Methods for modeling total solar irradiance are reviewed. A photometric program is described which produces sunspot irradiance fluctuation information that is repeatable to within 10 millionths of the mean irradiance. The results from this program are compared with model irradiance fluctuations based on published sunspot and plage areas.
Relation of the chemical structure of coal to its hydropyrolysis

The hydropyrolysis of Illinois No. 6 coal has been studied in a batch reactor, in which the reactions were initiated by explosion of H2O2 mixtures. The ratio of H2 to O2 was kept at 8, while the total pressure of the gas mixture was changed to vary the reaction temperature. The heating rate was ≈ 50 000 °C s−1, and the reaction time was < 50 ms. The conversion of the feed coal increased from 19% at 620 °C to 81%at ⪢ 1500 °C. At conversions < 50%, the gaseous product consisted of mainly CH4 and CO in almost equal proportions, and at conversions ⪢ 60% the concentration of CO increased. Comparison with results from a large flow reactor revealed that comparable conversions were obtained in the present batch reactor, although product distributions were markedly different from each other. The dissimilar product distribution is attributed to different reacting media: preburning of H2 and O2 in the flow reactor versus in situ burning of the mixture in the batch reactor. The H/C ratios of solid residues after the hydropyrolysis decreased linearly as the conversion increased, revealing that the portions of coal having high H/C ratios were preferentially gasified. This observation was substantiated by a high H/C ratio, 1.74 of the first portion of coal gasified, and by a sharp decrease in H/C ratio in subsequent gasified portions. These data indicated that aliphatic side chains (or linkages) and single-ring aromatic clusters in the feed coal were gasified first, followed by larger aromatic clusters. Semi-quantitative determination of the distribution of different aromatic clusters showed good agreement with current structural information on coal. Thus, the effects of reaction variables were explained in terms of the structural features of coal, and the ratelimiting steps in the hydropyrolysis process were identified.
A New Approach to the Problem of the Anomalous Magnetic Moment of the Electron

A heuristic model for deriving the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron is presented. A term α/2π − 0.327(α/π)2 is deduced, in better agreement with experiment than is the QED derivation of α/2π − 0.328(α/π)2. The result is strengthened by the recent non-QED account of the Lamb shift by Yu and Sachs.
Effects of Sampling Interval on Spatial Patterns and Statistics of Watershed Nitrogen Concentration

This study investigates how spatial patterns and statistics of a 30 m resolution, model-simulated, watershed nitrogen concentration surface change with sampling intervals from 30 m to 600 m for every 30 m increase for the Little River Watershed (Georgia, USA). The results indicate that the mean, standard deviation, and variogram sills do not have consistent trends with increasing sampling intervals, whereas the variogram ranges remain constant. A sampling interval smaller than or equal to 90 m is necessary to build a representative variogram. The interpolation accuracy, clustering level, and total hot spot areas show decreasing trends approximating a logarithmic function. The trends correspond to the nitrogen variogram and start to level at a sampling interval of 360 m, which is therefore regarded as a critical spatial scale of the Little River Watershed.
Status of Aqua MODIS instrument operation, calibration, and performance

Aqua MODIS has successfully operated on-orbit for more than 6 years since its launch in May 2002. MODIS observations are made in 36 spectral bands, which consist of 20 reflective solar bands (RSB) with wavelengths from 0.41 to 2.2μm and 16 thermal emissive bands (TEB) from 3.7 to 14.4μm. As many as 40 science data products have been continuously generated from MODIS observations (Terra and Aqua) and used extensively for studies of global climate and environmental changes. As Aqua MODIS continues to operate beyond its design lifetime of 6 years, we provide in this paper the sensor on-orbit operation and calibration activities and a performance summary. This paper serves as an update for the Aqua MODIS instrument status and presents lessons learned based on its 6-year on-orbit measurements and long-term trending of key sensor performance parameters, including instrument temperature, on-board blackbody and focal plane assembly (FPA) temperatures, and spectral band responses. Discussions will also cover the on-board solar diffuser (SD) operation and degradation analysis. Results show that Aqua MODIS overall on-orbit performance is more stable and better than its predecessor, Terra MODIS, launched in December 1999.
Aristotle as Finite Ontologist

The aim of this chapter is to offer some evidence for the thesis that the metaphysics of Aristotle represents one variety of finite ontology. By “finite ontology” is meant a philosophy which explains all that it can on the basis of the finite and the tentative as opposed to the infinite and absolute, without abdicating that independence of logic from existence which realism requires. If this position can be made clear, then it has been shown for the whole of Aristotle’s philosophy; for metaphysics deals with first principles,1 and other things are known by means of these.2
Inferring the location of buried UXO using a Support Vector Machine

The identification of unexploded ordnance (UXO) using electromagnetic-induction (EMI) sensors involves two essentially independent steps: Each anomaly detected by the sensor has to be located fairly accurately, and its orientation determined, before one can try to find size/shape/composition properties that identify the object uniquely. The dependence on the latter parameters is linear, and can be solved for efficiently using for example the Normalized Surface Magnetic Charge model. The location and orientation, on the other hand, have a nonlinear effect on the measurable scattered field, making their determination much more time-consuming and thus hampering the ability to carry out discrimination in real time. In particular, it is difficult to resolve for depth when one has measurements taken at only one instrument elevation. In view of the difficulties posed by direct inversion, we propose using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) to infer the location and orientation of buried UXO. SVMs are a method of supervised machine learning: the user can train a computer program by feeding it features of representative examples, and the machine, in turn, can generalize this information by finding underlying patterns and using them to classify or regress unseen instances. In this work we train an SVM using measured-field information, for both synthetic and experimental data, and evaluate its ability to predict the location of different buried objects to reasonable accuracy. We explore various combinations of input data and learning parameters in search of an optimal predictive configuration.
A question on the exophthalmos-producing quality of triiodothyronine.

Numerous experiments show that T3 does not produce exophthalmos in Fundulus heteroclitus, an Atlantic minnow, contrary to 2 other reports.
A framework for ELIN (externally linear internally nonlinear) analog filter design

In VLSI circuits used in wireless and other types of electronic communications, nonlinear signal distortion arises from the nonlinear characteristics of the active devices in the circuit such as bipolar transistors, MOSFETs, and JFETs. In this paper, we present a non-intrusive method for cancellation of such distortions. Specifically, let the VLSI circuit be denoted by /spl psi/ and assume that its output consists of r ports providing r output voltage signals. We design an r-input-port/r-output-port nonlinear circuit D called, nonlinear distortion canceller. D is such that when the r output voltage signals of /spl psi/ are applied to D, the latter generates at its outputs the distortion error components present in the output signals of /spl psi/. These are then subtracted from the distorted output signals from /spl psi/, to provide their desired undistorted versions. The method of design of the nonlinear circuit D is derived rigorously based on a contraction mapping formulation. The results obtained are practical. The method can also be used to cancel nonlinear channel distortion in a multiuser communication system based on nonlinear channel models.
Use of Functional Assessment and a Self-Management System to Increase Academic Engagement and Work Completion:

This study investigates whether a functional relationship exists between self- monitoring with self-recruited reinforcement and an increase in both on-task behavior and as- signment completion. The study further assesses whether self-monitoring with self-recruited reinforcement is associated with generalization of performance gains to untrained settings. Tr aining in self-management procedures included systematic instruction of behavior and gen- eral case programming to promote generalization of skills. An ABCAC design was used to assess the effects of self-management procedures in the training setting, and a multiple-baseline- across-settings design was used to assess generalization effects. The results demonstrated that a functional relationship existed between self-monitoring with self-recruited reinforcement and an increase in on-task behavior and assignment completion. Generalization of self- management skills to novel school contexts varied. The role of self-management procedures in promoting generalization is discussed.