cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the variation in chromosome number in Potamogeton pectinatus L.

Abstract To determine whether the large morphological differences that occur between populations of Potamogeton pectinatus L. have a genetic basis, the chromosome numbers of several populations were counted. Although several numbers were determined, no correlation between different numbers and populations could be established. The number was always close to 2n = 78, which is that most recorded for P. pectinatus in the literature. However, although some aberrant counts can probably be ascribed to incorrect interpretations of the preparations, some cells undoubtedly contain more than 78 chromosomes. Since the chromosomes of P. pectinatus are very small it is difficult to distinguish between “normal” and “B-chromosomes”, which may be the cause of the higher numbers.
Computer simulation of human temperature control

Human temperature control computer simulation, considering sudomotor, vasomotor and metabolic as error signals from hypothalamic and cutaneous thermoreceptors
Universal envelope equation and emittance evolution of high-brightness beam in linac

We report a universal beam envelope equation that governs the transverse linear dynamics of high-intensity and high-brightness relativistic beams under constant acceleration in axisymmetric linear accelerators. This dimensionless and almost parameter-free nonlinear equation is useful for understanding scaling properties and for investigating nonlinear behaviors that are beyond analytical analysis. Particularly, we explore emittance compensation in high-brightness beams evolving from the space-charge regime to the thermal-emittance regime, a transition that commonly occurs during acceleration but is not well studied. A new formula is given for correctly computing the rms bunch emittance from slice envelopes, which is different from the commonly used quadratic sum of the thermal emittance and the rms emittance in the envelope phase space.
GABAA receptor function in the γ-hydroxybutyrate model of generalized absence seizures

gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) produces absence-like seizures when given to animals. One of the distinguishing characteristics of experimental generalized absence seizures is that they are exacerbated by GABAA agonists. Therefore, the hypothesis that GHB-induced absence seizures result from an interaction between GHB and the GABAA receptor complex was tested. The effect of GHB on the function of various components of the GABAA receptor complex in the cortex of the rat, was determined in a series of in vitro experiments. Similar studies were carried out at various times following systemic administration of the prodrug of GHB, gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) and changes in the GABAA receptor were correlated with electrographic and behavioral changes. gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid had no effect on the binding of [3H]muscimol, [3H]flunitrazepam and [35S]t-butylbicyclophosphorothionate (TBPS) or on the uptake of 36Cl- into synaptoneurosomes in the in vitro studies. Nor were changes observed after the administration of GBL before the onset of GHB-induced absence seizures. However, at the onset of GHB-induced spike wave discharge, there was a significant (P < 0.04) decrease in the binding of [35S]TBPS, associated with a significant decrease in muscimol-stimulated uptake of 36Cl- with no other biochemical change. One minute after onset of GHB-induced absence seizure, a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the binding of [3H]muscimol was noted. Ten minutes later the decrease in muscimol-stimulated uptake of 36Cl- had normalized, while the changes in binding of [3H]muscimol and [35S]TBPS persisted. Because GABAA function remained unchanged in the in vitro studies, as well as prior to the onset of GHB-induced absence seizures in the in vivo experiments, these studies do not support the hypothesis that GHB interacts directly with the GABAA receptor complex to produce absence-like seizures.
CORRELATION BETWEEN AUDITORY BRAINSTEM RESPONSES (ABR) AND PLASMA PHOSPHOLIPID LEVELS OF ARACHIDONIC ACID. 1420

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) are essential components of the structural lipids in neuronal cell membranes. Fortification of infant formula with these fatty acids has been reported to have a positive impact on neurodevelopmental outcome and visual function in preterm infants. Stockard, et al (Pediatric Research 1996; 39: 320A) reported that ABR latencies were longer in rat pups whose dams were fed fish oil (high in DHA) vs corn oil or chow throughout pregnancy and lactation. However, no data are available in human infants. Since preterm infants routinely have ABR's performed prior to discharge, a retrospective study was conducted in preterm infants who, as part of another study, were fed formula with either 1% or 3.2% of fat as ALA (the precursor of DHA) and had plasma phospholipid levels of DHA and AA determined prior to discharge. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to determine the best set of predictors of ABR I-V interpeak intervals at hospital discharge. The best such equation was:
Development of a nonintegrating Rev-dependent lentiviral vector carrying diphtheria toxin A chain and human TRAF6 to target HIV reservoirs

Persistence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) despite highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is a lasting challenge to virus eradication. To develop a strategy complementary to HAART, we constructed a series of Rev-dependent lentiviral vectors carrying diphtheria toxin A chain (DT-A) and its attenuated mutants, as well as human tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6). Expression of these suicide genes following delivery through viral particles is dependent on Rev, which exists only in infected cells. Among these toxins, DT-A has been known to trigger cell death with as little as a single molecule, whereas two of the attenuated mutants in this study, DT-A(176) and DT-A(ΔN), were well tolerated by cells at low levels. TRAF6 induced apoptosis only with persistent overexpression. Thus, these suicide genes, which induce cell death at different expression levels, offer a balance between efficacy and safety. To minimize possible mutagenesis introduced by retroviral integration in nontarget cells, we further developed a nonintegrating Rev-dependent (NIRD) lentiviral vector to deliver these genes. In addition, we constructed a DT-A-resistant human cell line by introducing a human elongation factor 2 mutant into HEK293T cells. This allowed us to manufacture the first high-titer NIRD lentiviral particles carrying DT-A to target HIV-positive cells.
Effects of Atmospheric Water Vapor on Infrared Interferometry

ABSTRACT Water vapor, while usually a small contributor to the atmospheric refractive index for astronomical observations at IR wavelengths, is highly dispersive and can introduce optical path length errors affecting high‐precision interferometer observing modes. The refractive index of atmospheric water vapor can be computed from a summation over the various IR resonances, and we present values over a range of 1.2–13.5 μm. The dispersion of water vapor introduces phase errors across the instrument passband and produces excess noise in interferometer group delay, residual errors in cophasing using a different source wavelength, and coherence loss over broad optical bandwidths. We quantify these effects for the J through N bands, discuss means of amelioration, and consider their implications for differential phase and nulling observing modes.
Internationalization and performance: The moderating effects of organizational learning

Abstract By proposing a conceptual outline for a general model that explains the internationalization–performance link, we test the moderating effects of organizational learning on the relationship between internationalization and performance empirically. Integrating two distinct literature streams from the organizational learning perspective and the resource-based view, we present an integrated, multidimensional framework for analyzing multinational enterprises’ (MNEs’) resources, internationalization, and organizational learning, as well as their associated impact on firm performance. Specifically, using a sample of 110 American MNEs, we find that while certain MNE resources motivate and precede internationalization, social and market learning (whereas technological learning does not) moderates the relationship between internationalization and performance. These findings extend prior research by establishing the importance of the relationships among MNE resources, internationalization, organizational learning, and firm performance.
Resistance of Alfalfa Cultivars to the Threecornered Alfalfa Hopper (Homoptera: Membracidae)

Alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., cultivars were evaluated under field conditions for resistance to the three cornered alfalfa hopper, Spissistilus festinus (Say). Resistance was characterized by monitoring adult populations and girdle damage. Tolerance and adaptability to Louisiana growing conditions were characterized by monitoring stand persistence. ‘GA Plains’, ‘Zia’, ‘Condor’, ‘Florida 77’, and ‘Cuf 101’ exhibited resistance to the three cornered alfalfa hopper by having reduced girdle damage in comparison with the other cultivars. ‘Ladak’ showed the highest level of susceptibility in terms of girdle damage and is recommended for use as a susceptible check. ‘Cimarron VR’, ‘GA Plains’, and ‘WL 516’ showed the lowest percentage of plants lost. Cultivar ranks varied by location and date, indicating multiple counts and locations must be used to categorize alfalfa resistance adequately.
Residual surface stress by localized contact-creep

When a ceramic material creeps under a localized stress and then cools under load, a portion of the creep flow stress is retained as a residual compressive stress due to elastic rebound being constrained by the creep zone. Localized contact-creep was used to generate residual compressive surface stress in soda-lime glass and two sintered aluminas. The Vickers indentation technique was used to measure the residual stress within the contact-creep area. Alumina with a higher elastic modulus than glass retained higher residual compressive surface stress. The results were in reasonable agreement with the predicted stress distribution given by finite element analysis.
Constraint adaptive rate allocation scheme for QoS guarantee in packet-switched networks

Link sharing models and their implementations address various issues for QoS guarantee. As the service requirements of the network applications are diverse in the integrated service networks, it is required to provide differentiated services to the flows according to their flow characteristics, while guaranteeing the worst case performance of QoS. To meet such requirement, the adaptive rate allocation is essential and several researches have been done on that issue. However, in the research, to provide adaptive rates, the different rate allocation policies other than the links sharing policy are applied, which requires an additional runtime packet selection procedure in the system. In addition, the allocation policy uses the status of the flow at the instant, not the characteristics of the flow for the adaptive rate allocation. In this paper, we propose a new server capacity sharing scheme called Constraint Adaptive Rate Allocation (CARA) scheme. By decoupling the runtime rate and the worst case rate for a flow, the CARA scheme provides the differentiated services according to the traffic constraints, while guaranteeing the worst case QoS. As a consequence, the rates are adaptively allocated to the sharing flows according to their QoS constraints.
Self-report of illicit substance use versus urine toxicology results from at-risk pregnant women

Introduction: Many factors comprise a patient's decision to disclose use of drugs. Pregnant women may report drug use because they would like help with their addiction but the stigma associated with drug use may dampen their willingness to disclose. Knowledge about the accuracy of self-reported drug use as compared to urine toxicology screens can assist clinicians in the management of substance use in pregnancy.Method: We compared the urine toxicology screens and self-reported use of marijuana or cocaine for 168 women enrolled in an integrated obstetrical/substance abuse treatment program. We stratified by various periods of self-reported use and race and utilized Cohen's kappa to measure overall agreement between self-report and toxicology tests.Results: Most women with a positive toxicology screen reported use in the past 28 days (78% for marijuana, 86% for cocaine). However, many women reported their most recent use to be outside of the assays' detection window (14% for marijuana, 57% for cocaine). We ...
Subunit Rotavirus Vaccine Administered Parenterally to Rabbits Induces Active Protective Immunity

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are being evaluated as a candidate rotavirus vaccine. The immunogenicity and protective efficacy of different formulations of VLPs administered parenterally to rabbits were tested. Two doses of VLPs (2/6-, G3 2/6/7-, or P[2], G3 2/4/6/7-VLPs) or SA11 simian rotavirus in Freund’s adjuvants, QS-21 (saponin adjuvant), or aluminum phosphate (AlP) were administered. Serological and mucosal immune responses were evaluated in all vaccinated and control rabbits before and after oral challenge with 10 3 50% infective doses of live P[14], G3 ALA lapine rotavirus. All VLP- and SA11-vaccinated rabbits developed high levels of rotavirus-specific serum and intestinal immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies but not intestinal IgA antibodies. SA11 and 2/4/6/7-VLPs afforded similar but much higher mean levels of protection than 2/6/7- or 2/6-VLPs in QS-21. The presence of neutralizing antibodies to VP4 correlated ( P r = 0.55; Pearson’s correlation coefficient) with enhanced protection rates, suggesting that these antibodies are important for protection. Although the inclusion of VP4 resulted in higher mean protection levels, high levels of protection (87 to 100%) from infection were observed in individual rabbits immunized with 2/6/7- or 2/6-VLPs in Freund’s adjuvants. Therefore, neither VP7 nor VP4 was absolutely required to achieve protection from infection in the rabbit model when Freund’s adjuvant was used. Our results show that VLPs are immunogenic when administered parenterally to rabbits and that Freund’s adjuvant is a better adjuvant than QS-21. The use of the rabbit model may help further our understanding of the critical rotavirus proteins needed to induce active protection. VLPs are a promising candidate for a parenterally administered subunit rotavirus vaccine.
Toward cavity-QED strong coupling of a semiconductor quantum dot to an external optical micro-cavity

A hemispherical cavity containing interface-fluctuation GaAs quantum dots was constructed to achieve cavity-QED strong coupling between a cavity mode and a single QD. It consists of a 50-micron radius-of-curvature mirror and a semiconductor DBR mirror.
Reconceptualizing the role of the user of spatial data infrastructure

Spatial data infrastructures, which are Internet-based mechanisms for the coordinated production, discovery, and use of geospatial information in the digital environment, have diffused worldwide in the last two decades. Currently, there are about one hundred spatial data infrastructures at the national level and many other at supra- and sub-national levels. These contemporary spatial data infrastructures operate with two main assumptions: formal organizations are the producers and suppliers of geospatial information; users are the passive recipients of information. The recent phenomenon of volunteered geographic information departs from these assumptions. In this paper, we argue that reconceptualizing the user of a spatial data infrastructure can accommodate this new phenomenon. Such a reconceptualization creates a middle ground between spatial data infrastructure and volunteered geographic information, which has important implications for future research.
Lexical Diversity for Adults With and Without Aphasia Across Discourse Elicitation Tasks

Background: Differences in lexical diversity (LD) across different discourse elicitation tasks have been found in neurologically intact adults (NIA) (Fergadiotis, Wright, & Capilouto, 2010) but have not been investigated systematically in people with aphasia (PWA). Measuring lexical diversity in PWA may serve as a useful clinical tool for evaluating the impact of word retrieval difficulties at the discourse level. Aims: The study aims were (a) to explore the differences between the oral language samples of PWA and NIA in terms of LD as measured by dedicated computer software (voc-D), (b) to determine whether PWA are sensitive to discourse elicitation task in terms of LD, and (c) to identify whether differences between PWA and NIA vary in magnitude as a function of discourse task. Method & Procedures: Oral language samples from 25 PWA and 27 NIA were analysed. Participants completed three commonly used discourse elicitation tasks (single pictures, sequential pictures, story telling) and voc-D was used to ...
Biomechanical comparison of femoral fixation devices for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using a novel testing method

Abstract Background A novel biomechanical test method was implemented to compare the mechanical performance of two femoral fixation anchors (AperFix(r), Cayenne Medical, Scottsdale, AZ, USA or the AppianFx(r), KFx Medical, Carlsbad, CA, USA) that were utilized in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Methods Anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions were performed in 20 porcine femurs by using bovine extensor tendon grafts secured with 9 mm femoral anchors (AperFix(r) or AppianFx(r)). 10 specimens were tested for each anchor type. Infrared position sensors determined the repair construct displacements during conditioning (20 cycles at 5–50 N at 0.25 Hz), cyclic loading (1500 cycles at 50–200 N at 1 Hz), and ultimate loading (150 mm/min). Outcomes included tendon elongation, anchor displacement, stiffness, maximum load, yield load, and load at 5mm of anchor displacement. It was hypothesized that there would be no differences in the outcomes of these two devices. Independent measure t-tests compared the performance of the devices (p Findings The performance of the two anchors was comparable during the cyclic loading. During ultimate loading, a statistically higher yield load (p Interpretation Given the good clinical track record of the AperFix(r), the comparable, and in some cases superior, the biomechanical data presented here for the AppianFx(r) are encouraging for their clinical implementation. This study also introduced a novel test method that directly tracks the relevant construct displacements during cyclic and ultimate loading tests of the anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions.
Abdominal aortic coarctation: Surgical treatment of 53 patients with a thoracoabdominal bypass, patch aortoplasty, or interposition aortoaortic graft

Objective Abdominal aortic coarctation is uncommon and often complicated with coexisting splanchnic and renal artery occlusive disease. This study was undertaken to define the clinical and anatomic characteristics of this entity, as well as the technical issues and outcomes of its operative treatment. Methods Fifty-three patients, 34 males and 19 females, underwent surgical treatment of abdominal aortic coarctations from 1963-2008 at the University of Michigan. Patient ages in years ranged from 2-4 (n = 4), 5-8 (n = 17), 9-14 (n = 16), 15-20 (n = 11) and 25-49 (n = 5). The mean age was 11.9 years. Developmental disease (n = 48), inflammatory aortitis (n = 4), and iatrogenic trauma (n = 1) were suspected etiologies. Aortic coarctations were suprarenal (n = 37), intrarenal (n = 12), or infrarenal (n = 4). Patients often had coexisting occlusive disease of the splanchnic (n = 33) and renal (n = 46) arteries. Results Major clinical manifestations included: aortic and renal artery-related secondary hypertension (n = 50), symptomatic lower extremity ischemia (n = 3), and intestinal angina (n = 3). Primary aortic reconstructive procedures included: thoracoabdominal bypass (n = 26), patch aortoplasty (n = 24), or an aortoaortic interposition graft (n = 3). Primary splanchnic (n = 19) or renal (n = 47) arterial reconstructions were performed as simultaneous (n = 45) or staged (n = 13) procedures in relation to the aortic surgery. Benefits existed regarding improved control of hypertension (n = 46), as well as elimination of extremity ischemia (n = 3) and mesenteric angina (n = 3). Secondary renal or splanchnic arterial reoperations (n = 8) were performed without mortality 5 days to 12 years postoperative for failed primary procedures. Secondary aortic procedures, 5 to 14 years postoperative, were performed for patch aortoplasties that became stenotic (n = 2) or aneurysmal (n = 1), and when thoracoabdominal bypasses developed an anastomotic narrowing (n = 1) or proved inadequate in size with patient growth (n = 1). No perioperative mortality accompanied either the primary or secondary aortic reconstructive procedures. Conclusion Abdominal aortic coarctation represents a complex vascular disease. Individualized treatment changed little over the period of study, remaining dependent on the pattern of anatomic lesions, patient age, and anticipated growth potential. This experience documented salutary outcomes exceeding 90% following carefully performed operative therapy.
PAMS: a wearable physical activity monitoring system for continuous motion capture in free-living environments

Long term continuously monitoring of human physical activities in free living environments provides valuable information for a wide range of applications. This paper presents the design and implementation of a Physical Activity Monitoring System (PAMS) that can capture human motions which potentially provide many new types of human health assessment and intervention mechanisms for obesity management, rehabilitation, assisted living and human robot interaction. A low power design is applied for PAMS in the hardware/middleware design and the signal processing/filtering algorithms to reduce the number of packets transmitted to the gateway. A full 6-DoF Inertial Measurement Unit is integrated in PAMS to achieve highly reliable inertial data. With highly reliable inertial data, PAMS is designed for a spectrum of applications in healthcare monitoring, electronic entertainment and biokinetics researches. Case studies of real-time human motion tracking via PAMS are demonstrated and performances are evaluated.
External Memory PDBs: Initial Results

Pattern databases (PDBs) have been widely used as heuristics for many types of search spaces, but they have always been computed so as to fit in the main memory of the machine using the PDB. This paper studies the how external-memory PDBs can be used. It presents results of both using hard disk drives and solid-state drives directly to access the data, and of just loading a portion of the PDB into RAM. For the time being, all of these approaches are inferior to building the largest PDB that fits into RAM.
LEARNING MECHANISMS IN ADDICTION: Synaptic Plasticity in the Ventral Tegmental Area as a Result of Exposure to Drugs of Abuse

One of the central questions in neurobiology is how experience modifies neural function, and how changes in the nervous system permit an animal to adapt its behavior to a changing environment. Learning and adaptation to a host of different environmental stimuli exemplify processes we know must alter the nervous system because the behavioral output changes after experience. Alterations in behavior after exposure to addictive drugs are a striking example of chemical alterations of nervous system function producing long-lasting changes in behavior. The alterations produced in the central nervous system (CNS) by addictive drugs are of interest because of their relationship to human substance abuse but also because these CNS alterations produce dramatic, easily observed alterations in behavior in response to discrete stimuli. Considerable study has been given to behavioral and biochemical correlates of addiction over the past 50 or more years; however, our understanding of the cellular physiological responses of affected CNS neurons is in its infancy. This review focuses on alterations in cellular and synaptic physiology in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in response to addictive drugs.
Hextend–perfluorocarbon cocktail inhibits mean arterial pressure response in a rabbit shock model

Background Hextend (HEX) is standard of care resuscitation fluid for combat-related traumatic hemorrhage. Because HEX has limited oxygen-carrying capacity, combination therapy with oxygen therapeutics could improve oxygen delivery after hemodynamic shock. We hypothesized that addition of perfluorocarbon (PFC) to HEX would improve hemodynamics and oxygen delivery marker response in a rabbit model of hemorrhagic shock. Methods Anesthetized New Zealand rabbits (n = 23) were randomly allocated to resuscitation with fresh whole blood (FWB), HEX, or HEX plus PFC (HEX + PFC) after 60 min of hemorrhagic hypotension. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was sampled every 2–3 min for 120 min postinfusion; MAP profiles were modeled by a one-compartment pharmacokinetic model to determine peak MAP (Pmax), time to peak MAP (tmax), and postinfusion MAP persistence. Arterial blood was sampled every 15 min to examine pH, blood gases PO2 and pCO2, metabolites lactate and glucose, methemoglobin (metHb), and electrolytes. Results Compared with FWB and HEX, HEX + PFC administration resulted in delayed peak MAP and less persistent (P < 0.0001) MAP elevation; metHb was significantly elevated (P < 0.0001) compared with FWB and HEX. There were no significant differences in PO2, pCO2, or pH. Glucose, hematocrit, and hemoglobin of both HEX and HEX + PFC were significantly lower relative to FWB. Lactate clearance was modest and transient for all treatments; base deficit was significantly more negative for HEX + PFC. Conclusions Addition of PFC to HEX did not improve hemodynamics or acidosis. Further dose- and volume-range studies are required to test efficacy of PFC in combination with HEX for hemorrhagic shock.
Computer-aided microwave circuit analysis by a computerized numerical Smith chart

The Smith chart, while being a very useful graphical tool for the manual analysis and design of microwave circuits, is not suitable for computer manipulation. A computerized Smith chart represented by a numerical matrix is developed. In addition to the fact that this numerical matrix is very convenient for computer storage and efficient for algorithmic operations, it retains the locality relationships between impedances and reflection coefficients on a graphical Smith chart. >
Psychological Health and the Experience of Transcendence

Transcendent experience is generally viewed by mental health professionals as a rare occurrence and symptomatic of psychopathology. A growing body of research, however, suggests that it is more common and more productive of psychological health than was previously believed. This article reviews the recent literature and its implications for psychologists whose clients have had transcendent experience of some kind, and who need support in the adjustment period that follows. It reviews common characteristics of the experience, incidence, catalysts, and relationship to mental health. It also offers treatment guidelines for adjustment reactions and suggests directions for future research.
Genotyping, Clopidogrel Metabolism, and the Search for the Therapeutic Window of Thienopyridines

It is somewhat remarkable to note that not until recently, nearly 12 years and tens of millions of treated patients after its initial approval, has the metabolism of clopidogrel, an inactive prodrug, begun to be more fully understood. Although this lack of knowledge may not be unique among common cardiovascular drugs, there are 4 characteristics of clopidogrel therapy that make this gap in understanding disconcerting: The potential for life-threatening complications (bleeding or thrombosis) at both ends of its therapeutic spectrum; the fact that 1 dose is supposed to fit all; the lack of a measureable, proven end point (such as blood pressure for antihypertensive drugs) that allows for titration to a target response; and the nearly mandatory need by many patients for clopidogrel, with no acceptable alternative until recently. Article see p 512 Historically, understanding the metabolism of a drug has been critical in identifying those patients most likely to benefit from and, more important, potentially be harmed by that drug. This is especially true for drugs with relatively narrow therapeutic windows, such as phenytoin, warfarin, and others. Although it seems safe to assume, on the basis of our extensive clinical experience, that the therapeutic window of clopidogrel is unlikely to be narrow, this certainly does not represent the depth of knowledge we would hope for after so much clinical experience and research. What we do know is that P2Y12 inhibition with thienopyridines is beneficial in preventing arterial thrombotic events, presumably requiring the achievement of some minimal level of receptor inhibition that may or may not vary on the basis of the patient and clinical scenario. We also know that it is associated with a significant increase in serious bleeding events, with higher levels of inhibition associated with greater bleeding. In the present and future practice environment, with a growing …
Functional recovery after cervical spinal cord injury: Role of neurotrophin and glutamatergic signaling in phrenic motoneurons

Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) interrupts descending neural drive to phrenic motoneurons causing diaphragm muscle (DIAm) paralysis. Recent studies using a well-established model of SCI, unilateral spinal hemisection of the C2 segment of the cervical spinal cord (SH), provide novel information regarding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of functional recovery after SCI. Over time post-SH, gradual recovery of rhythmic ipsilateral DIAm activity occurs. Recovery of ipsilateral DIAm electromyogram (EMG) activity following SH is enhanced by increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the region of the phrenic motoneuron pool. Delivery of exogenous BDNF either via intrathecal infusion or via mesenchymal stem cells engineered to release BDNF similarly enhance recovery. Conversely, recovery after SH is blunted by quenching endogenous BDNF with the fusion-protein TrkB-Fc in the region of the phrenic motoneuron pool or by selective inhibition of TrkB kinase activity using a chemical-genetic approach in TrkB(F616A) mice. Furthermore, the importance of BDNF signaling via TrkB receptors at phrenic motoneurons is highlighted by the blunting of recovery by siRNA-mediated downregulation of TrkB receptor expression in phrenic motoneurons and by the enhancement of recovery evident following virally-induced increases in TrkB expression specifically in phrenic motoneurons. BDNF/TrkB signaling regulates synaptic plasticity in various neuronal systems, including glutamatergic pathways. Glutamatergic neurotransmission constitutes the main inspiratory-related, excitatory drive to motoneurons, and following SH, spontaneous neuroplasticity is associated with increased expression of ionotropic N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in phrenic motoneurons. Evidence for the role of BDNF/TrkB and glutamatergic signaling in recovery of DIAm activity following cervical SCI is reviewed.
FFT program generation for shared memory: SMP and multicore

The chip maker?s response to the approaching end of CPU frequency scaling are multicore systems, which offer the same programming paradigm as traditional shared memory platforms but have different performance characteristics. This situation considerably increases the burden on library developers and strengthens the case for automatic performance tuning frameworks like Spiral, a program generator and optimizer for linear transforms such as the discrete Fourier transform (DFT). We present a shared memory extension of Spiral. The extension within Spiral consists of a rewriting system that manipulates the structure of transform algorithms to achieve load balancing and avoids false sharing, and of a backend to generate multithreaded code. Application to the DFT produces a novel class of algorithms suitable for multicore systems as validated by experimental results: we demonstrate a parallelization speed-up already for sizes that fit into L1 cache and compare favorably to other DFT libraries across all small and midsize DFTs and considered platforms.
Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy: the single surgeon technique.

The worldwide shortage of cadaveric kidneys available for transplantation has led surgeons to seek out alternate sources for organs. After Clayman and associates first demonstrated the ability to perform laparoscopic native nephrectomy for benign renal disease in 1991, transplant surgeons began to assess this minimally invasive technique for live donor nephrectomies. The laparoscopic procedure has reduced donor fear concerning postoperative pain, length of recovery, and increased the number of individuals donating by as much as 25% at some institutions. Several different techniques have been used for donor nephrectomy, ranging from the method Ratner and associates initially described in 1995 to hand-assisted devices that reduce the learning curve in this technically demanding procedure. To date, all of these techniques require a second surgeon or assistant. We present our method of live laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, which is unique, in that it involves only a single surgeon.
Potassium Bicarbonate Reduces Urinary Nitrogen Excretion in Postmenopausal Women

Previously we demonstrated that low grade chronic metabolic acidosis exists normally in humans eating ordinary diets that yield normal net rates of endogenous acid production (EAP), and that the degree of acidosis increases with age. We hypothesize that such diet-dependent and age-amplifying low grade metabolic acidosis contributes to the decline in skeletal muscle mass that occurs normally with aging. This hypothesis is based on the reported finding that chronic metabolic acidosis induces muscle protein breakdown, and that correction of acidosis reverses the effect. Accordingly, in 14 healthy postmenopausal women residing in a General Clinical Research Center and eating a constant diet yielding a normal EAP rate, we tested whether correcting their "physiological" acidosis with orally administered potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3; 60-120 mmol/day for 18 days) reduces their urinary nitrogen loss. KHCO3 reduced EAP to nearly zero, significantly reduced the blood hydrogen ion concentration (P < 0.001), and increased the plasma bicarbonate concentration (P < 0.001), indicating that pre-KHCO3, diet-dependent EAP was significantly perturbing systemic acid-base equilibrium, causing a low grade metabolic acidosis. Urinary ammonia nitrogen, urea nitrogen, and total nitrogen levels significantly decreased. The cumulative reduction in nitrogen excretion was 14.1 +/- 12.3 g (P < 0.001). Renal creatinine clearance and urine volume remained unchanged. We conclude that in postmenopausal women, neutralization of diet-induced EAP with KHCO3 corrects their preexisting diet-dependent low grade metabolic acidosis and significantly reduces their urinary nitrogen wasting. The magnitude of the KHCO3-induced nitrogen-sparing effect is potentially sufficient to both prevent continuing age-related loss of muscle mass and restore previously accrued deficits.
Morphomolecular neuronal phenotypes in the neocortex reflect phylogenetic relationships among certain mammalian orders

The cytoarchitecture of the cerebral cortex in mammals has been traditionally investigated using Nissl, Golgi, or myelin stains and there are few comparative studies on the relationships between neuronal morphology and neurochemical specialization. Most available studies on neuronal subtypes identified by their molecular and morphologic characteristics have been performed in species commonly used in laboratory research such as the rat, mouse, cat, and macaque monkey, as well as in autopsic human brain specimens. A number of cellular markers, such as neurotransmitters, structural proteins, and calcium-buffering proteins, display a highly specific distribution in distinct classes of neocortical neurons in a large number of mammalian species. In this article, we present an overview of the morphologic characteristics and distribution of three calcium-binding proteins, parvalbumin, calbindin, and calretinin, and of a component of the neuronal cytoskeleton, nonphosphorylated neurofilament protein in the neocortex of various species, representative of the major subdivisions of mammals. The distribution of these neurochemical markers defined several species- and order-specific patterns that permit assessment of the degree to which neuronal morphomolecular specialization, as well as the regional and laminar distribution of distinct cell types in the neocortex, represents derived or ancestral features. In spite of the remarkable diversity in morphologic and cellular organization that occurred during mammalian neocortical evolution, such patterns identified several associations among taxa that closely match their phylogenetic relationships.
Thermoelectric Properties of Bi1-xSbx Nanowire Arrays

We present here a thermoelectric transport property study of Bi 1−x Sb x alloy nanowires embedded in a dielectric matrix. Temperature-dependent resistance measurements exhibit nonmonotonic trends as the antimony mole fraction (x) increases, and a theoretical model is presented to explain the features that are related to the unusual band structure of Bi 1−x Sb x systems. Seebeck coefficient measurements are performed on nanowires with different diameters and compositions, showing enhanced thermopower over bulk Bi. The magneto-Seebeck coefficient of these nanowires also exhibits an unusual field dependence that is absent in bulk samples.
Predictors of Intrinsic Motivation among Adolescent Students in Physical Education

Abstract This study examined the relationships among social factors, individual differences, intrinsic motivation, and effort and persistence in the physical education context using cognitive evaluation theory as a framework. Female (n = 201) and male (n = 206) high school students completed measures of motivational climate, teaching style, perceived competence, self-determination, goal orientations, and intrinsic motivation. Teachers rated the students on effort and persistence in the class activities. Hypothesized relationships among the variables were tested using structural equation modeling. Results revealed that perceived competence and goal orientations directly predicted intrinsic motivation and mediated the effects of motivational climate and teaching style on intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation directly predicted effort and persistence. Task goal orientation mediated the effects of learning climate on perceived competence and self-determination. The strongest predictors of intrinsic motiv...
Special symposium: fixation and tissue processing models

AbstractFixation and processing of tissue to paraffin blocks permit thin (4-5 µm) sections of tissues to be cut. Tissues and their subcellular components and surrounding stroma are visualized by cutting thin sections and staining them histochemically or immunohistochemically and viewing the sections using a bright field microscope. During the last century, anatomists and pathologists have used fixation with 10% neutral buffered formalin (10% NBF) as the fixative of choice. Also, both human and veterinary pathologists have trained to use fixation with 10% NBF, so these professionals are reluctant to change the familiar microscopic appearance of diagnostic tissues by using different fixatives. In addition, the effects of tissue processing on the microscopic appearance of tissue essentially has been ignored in most studies. Archives of paraffin blocks of pathological tissue contain essentially paraffin blocks fixed in 10% NBF. Therefore, if retrospective studies use archival paraffin blocks to correlate the ...
Graves Disease Presenting with Severe Cholestasis.

Background: Hyperthyroidism has been associated with liver function abnormalities; however, cholestasis as the presenting feature of adolescent Graves' disease has not been previously reported. Patient Summary: The patient was a 17-year-old girl who presented with severe cholestasis and was found to have Graves' disease. She also had a positive hepatitis A immunoglobulin M antibody but her clinical course, the liver histopathology, and her mildly elevated transaminases indicated that the acute hepatitis A infection was not dominant at the time of presentation with severe cholestasis. Other causes of cholestasis, including congestive heart failure, autoimmune hepatitis, and viral infection, were excluded. Treatment with methimazole resolved the hyperthyroidism, and the cholestasis improved, as well. Conclusion: Severe cholestasis is a rare presenting feature of Graves' disease. With careful monitoring, methimazole can be used to treat the hyperthyroidism in the setting of cholestasis.
An analysis and algorithm for filling propagation

Fill algorithms are a common graphics utility used to change the colour of regions in the frame buffer. The propagation algorithm is a key component of filling algorithms. The problem of propagation within a fill algorithm is presented and defined, and the difficulties of formalization and comparison are discussed. The previous algorithms are presented and analyzed under a new comparison metric whose validity is confirmed by run-time tests. A new algorithm is developed, and is shown to have better average and worst case behaviour than the others.
High Frequency Ventilation: An Experimental Comparison of HFPPV and HFJV

Most of the currently used high frequency ventilation (HFV) systems are of open character (1,2). HFV creates a demand for tidal volumes delivered in a short time and with high inspiratory flow (1–5). Systems with insignificant compression volume can fulfill such requirements (3,6). Presently, three modes of open systems are being used for HFV: a. Insufflation catheter, or double-lumen tube, b. pneumatic valve, and c. jet injector nozzle (1). This study evaluates these modalities in healthy dogs and in a lung model (Figure 1).
Characterization of an imageable low-malignancy variants of prostate and colon cancer cells for chemoprevention studies

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005 5672 We have developed a new in vivo model to identify low-malignancy variants isolated from cancer cell lines. This model consists of first labeling tumor cells in vitro with red fluorescent protein (RFP) and isolating “normal-like” cells with limit-dilution cloning. The RFP labeled “normal-like” cell clones are then implanted orthotopically in either nude mice or nude mice expressing GFP in all cells. The “normal-like” cell clones are then evaluated for malignancy by whole-body and ex vivo fluorescence imaging to determine their degree of malignancy in the absence and presence of chemopreventive agents. We report here the in vitro isolation and in vivo characterization of low-malignancy variant cancer cells from PC-3 human prostate cancer cells and HCT116 human colon cancer cells. We have identified the E2 and C10 low-malignancy clones that originate from the PC-3/RFP prostate cancer. Low-malignancy clone E2, after three weeks growth in the prostate of nude mice, had tumors with an average size of 4 × 3 mm. In contrast, the parental PC-3 cell line had at three weeks 10 × 10 mm tumors. The C10 low-malignancy clone is also slow growing in vivo . The low-malignancy A-D3 clone was isolated from colon cancer HCT116/RFP. Parental HCT116/RFP had numerous cells aggressively infiltrating into normal surrounding host tissue of transgenic nude mice expressing GFP in all cells. In contrast, A-D3 was more localized and had an apparent large number of dead cells in the tumor. The results thus far suggest that the fluorescent models enable the identification of low-malignancy clones based on their orthotopic growth as well as their invasive properties. These clones will be tested in fluorescent orthotopic nude mouse models with novel chemoprevention agents that could inhibit the clones from progressing to the malignant state. (Supported in part by National Cancer Institute contract number N01-CN-25018).
Leveraging progressive programmability of SLC flash pages to realize zero-overhead delta compression for metadata storage

This paper presents a method to implement delta compression for metadata storage in flash memory. With the abundant temporal redundancy in metadata, it is very intuitive to expect flash-based metadata storage can significantly benefit from delta compression. However, straightforward realization of delta compression demands the storage of the original data and the deltas among different versions in different flash memory physical pages, which leads to significant overhead in terms of read/write latency and data management complexity. Through experiments with 20nm NAND flash memory chips, we observed that, when operating in SLC mode, flash memory page can be programmed in a progressive manner, i.e., different portion of the same SLC flash memory page can be programmed at different time. This motivates us to propose a simple design approach that can realize delta compression for metadata storage without latency and data management complexity overheads. The key idea is to allocate SLC-mode flash memory pages for metadata, and store the original data and all the subsequent deltas in the same physical page through progressive programming. Experimental results show that this approach can significantly reduce the metadata write traffic without any latency overhead.
A Size Exclusion Chromatography Laboratory with Unknowns for Introductory Students

Size exclusion chromatography is an important technique in the separation of biological and polymeric samples by molecular weight. While a number of laboratory experiments have been published that use this technique for the purification of large molecules, this is the first report of an experiment that focuses on purifying an unknown small molecule from a protein. Students must then determine the structure of the unknown using spectral determination.
Ultrasensitive Plasmonic Detection of Molecules with Graphene

Graphene plasmons can couple with vibrations in both extended and local systems, for example, phonons in polar crystals and molecular vibrations in polymers. These interactions are characterized by plasmon-induced transparency features within the plasmon infrared absorption profile. Detection enhancement made possible by graphene-based plasmon-induced transparency has been demonstrated in both polymer and protein films and has shown to offer superior detection capabilities compared to conventional metal dipole plasmonic sensors. Here, we demonstrate the detection of molecular vibrations in minute, residual molecular quantities of solid- and gas-phase molecules down to 50 zeptomol/μm2 using graphene plasmonic sensing platforms. Plasmon-induced transparency enhancement is shown to be sensitive to both the specific molecular coordination of the measured vibrations and to the distribution of modes within the measured vibrational bands. This work could lead to the development of functionalization-free, chemica...
Simultaneous oxidation and stripping for separating Se and Te from sulfur

Sulfur as a potential by-product of hydrometallurgical processes contains selenium and tellurium as impurities. These impurities have to be removed if the sulfur is to be marketable. While selective reduction of selenium from sulfur is not realized, the selective oxidation of selenium and tellurium from sulfur in acidic solutions can be achieved provided that proper contact of selenium and tellurium with the oxidant is available. Simultaneous oxidation and stripping has been employed to separate selenium and tellurium from the sulfur in this study.