cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ceftriaxone preserves glutamate transporters and prevents intermittent hypoxia-induced vulnerability to brain excitotoxic injury.

Hypoxia alters cellular metabolism and although the effects of sustained hypoxia (SH) have been extensively studied, less is known about chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH), commonly associated with cardiovascular morbidity and stroke. We hypothesize that impaired glutamate homeostasis after chronic IH may underlie vulnerability to stroke-induced excitotoxicity. P16 organotypic hippocampal slices, cultured for 7 days were exposed for 7 days to IH (alternating 2 min 5% O2 - 15 min 21% O2), SH (5% O2) or RA (21% O2), then 3 glutamate challenges. The first and last exposures were intended as a metabolic stimulus (200 µM glutamate, 15 min); the second emulated excitotoxicity (10 mM glutamate, 10 min). GFAP, MAP2, and EAAT1, EAAT2 glutamate transporters expression were assessed after exposure to each hypoxic protocol. Additionally, cell viability was determined at baseline and after each glutamate challenge, in presence or absence of ceftriaxone that increases glutamate transporter expression. GFAP and MAP2 decreased after 7 days IH and SH. Long-term IH but not SH decreased EAAT1 and EAAT2. Excitotoxic glutamate challenge decreased cell viability and the following 200 µM exposure further increased cell death, particularly in IH-exposed slices. Ceftriaxone prevented glutamate transporter decrease and improved cell viability after IH and excitotoxicity. We conclude that IH is more detrimental to cell survival and glutamate homeostasis than SH. These findings suggest that impaired regulation of extracellular glutamate levels is implicated in the increased brain susceptibility to excitotoxic insult after long-term IH.
A matrix Kato–Bloch perturbation method for Hamiltonian systems

Abstract A generalized version of the Kato–Bloch perturbation expansion is presented. It consists of replacing simple numbers appearing in the perturbative series by matrices. It is shown that the matrix expansion converges for a suitably chosen subspace and, for weakly coupled Heisenberg chains, it can lead to an ordered state starting from a disordered single chain.
Vehicles for documentation

A vehicle is defined as an element such as an indentation, heading, graph, table, or paragraph that is used by a technical writer to help a user find or learn about technical information concerning a product. The author lists and describes available vehicles and provides a rationale for using them. He also discusses vehicles for documentation in several contexts in which a technical writer uses them: style, orientation, constraints, and other types of writing.
The c-Src Tyrosine Kinase Regulates Signaling of the Human DF3/MUC1 Carcinoma-associated Antigen with GSK3β and β-Catenin

The DF3/MUC1 mucin-like glycoprotein is aberrantly overexpressed in most human carcinomas. The cytoplasmic domain of MUC1 interacts with glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) and thereby decreases binding of MUC1 and β-catenin. The present studies demonstrate that MUC1 associates with the c-Src tyrosine kinase. c-Src phosphorylates the MUC1 cytoplasmic domain at a YEKV motif located between sites involved in interactions with GSK3β and β-catenin. The results demonstrate that the c-Src SH2 domain binds directly to pYEKV and inhibits the interaction between MUC1 and GSK3β. Moreover and in contrast to GSK3β, in vitro andin vivo studies demonstrate that c-Src-mediated phosphorylation of MUC1 increases binding of MUC1 and β-catenin. The findings support a novel role for c-Src in regulating interactions of MUC1 with GSK3β and β-catenin.
Depletion flocculation induced by synergistic effects of nanoparticles and polymers.

The depletion flocculation of stable suspensions of charged microparticles (1.2 μm diameter polystyrene) by mixtures of silica nanoparticles (7 nm) and poly(acrylic) acid (PAA, Mn = 24 500) was studied. The experiments revealed a very clear critical flocculation concentration of PAA that was lowered by the addition of the silica nanoparticles. Equilibrium pair potentials between the particles, calculated from force profiles measured between a silica particle and plate using colloid probe atomic force microscopy, showed clear a synergistic effect in that the magnitude of the depletion and structural forces produced in the mixed PAA/nanoparticle system was significantly greater than the sum of the forces in systems containing only PAA or only nanoparticles. This effect arises from adsorption of the PAA onto the nanoparticles, creating much larger charged complexes. Comparing the calculated pair potentials to the observed flocculation results revealed that flocculation occurred once the magnitude of the seco...
The intrinsic toughness and adhesion mechanisms of a glass/epoxy interface

Glass/epoxy interfaces of sandwich specimens were fractured under steady-state conditions over a wide range of in-plane mode-mix. The plastic dissipation was calculated via finite element analysis and subtracted from the steady-state fracture toughness to obtain the intrinsic toughness of the interface. Mechanisms which contribute to the intrinsic toughness were found to include the thermodynamic work of adhesion, local inelastic deformations and polymer chain pull-out, but their combined energy was only approximately 15% of the intrinsic toughness. Angular dependent x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the glass surfaces after fracture revealed epoxy adsorbed to a depth of approximately 3 nm. Cleavage of epoxy strands was found to be the most significant mechanism contributing approximately 40% to the intrinsic toughness of the interface.
On the excursions of markov processes in classical duality

On obtient des resultats comparables a ceux de Getoor et Sharpe (1982) sous des hypotheses de dualite classique
Treatment options for diabetic neuropathic foot ulcers: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Background. Diabetic foot ulcers are a common problem and result in more than 85,000 lower extremity amputations each year in the United States. Studies have suggested that between 25% and 50% of costs related to inpatient diabetes care may be directly attributable to the diabetic foot. Novel treatments for these wounds, while expensive, have been reported to improve healing rates, although no formal cost effectiveness analyses have been performed in order to address the cost effectiveness of a given therapy. Objective. To estimate the cost effectiveness of common treatment strategies for diabetic neuropathic foot ulcers. Methods. Four main options are available for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers: (1) standard care (SC), (2) standard treatment in a specialized wound care center (WCC), (3) treatment with becaplermin, (4) or treatment with platelet releasate (PR). We utilized effectiveness data from published clinical trials, meta-analyses, and a database that includes data on 26,599 patients with these wounds. Effectiveness was assessed as a percentage of ulcers healed at 20 and 32 weeks. Results. Baseline effectiveness (with 95% confidence intervals) for SC, becaplermin, PR, and WCC care were 30.9% (26.6, 35.1), 43.0% (37.3, 48.7), 36.8% (35.4, 38.2), and 35.6% (34.8, 36.4), respectively. Cost:effectiveness ratios for PR versus SC and becaplermin versus SC were 414.40 and 36.59, respectively. Therefore the incremental cost of increasing the odds of healing by 1% over standard therapy was $414.40 for PR and $36.59 for becaplermin. Conclusions. PR, becaplermin, and WCC care all provided improved healing rates over standard care, and becaplermin was less expensive and more effective than PR after 20 weeks of care.
Incorporating sequence information into the scoring function

Motivation: The identification of peptides by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is a central method of proteomics research, but due to the complexity of MS/MS data and the large databases searched, the accuracy of peptide identification algorithms remains limited. To improve the accuracy of identification we applied a machine-learning approach using a hidden Markov model (HMM) to capture the complex and often subtle links between a peptide sequence and its MS/MS spectrum. Model: Our model, HMM_Score, represents ion types as HMM states and calculates the maximum joint probability for a peptide/spectrum pair using emission probabilities from three factors: the amino acids adjacent to each fragmentation site, the mass dependence of ion types and the intensity dependence of ion types. The Viterbi algorithm is used to calculate the most probable assignment between ion types in a spectrum and a peptide sequence, then a correction factor is added to account for the propensity of the model to favor longer peptides. An expectation value is calculated based on the model score to assess the significance of each peptide/spectrum match. Results: We trained and tested HMM_Score on three data sets generated by two different mass spectrometer types. For a reference data set recently reported in the literature and validated using seven identification algorithms, HMM_Score produced 43% more positive identification results at a 1% false positive rate than the best of two other commonly used algorithms, Mascot and X!Tandem. HMM_Score is a highly accurate platform for peptide identification that works well for a variety of mass spectrometer and biological sample types. Availability: The program is freely available on ProteomeCommons via an OpenSource license. See http://bioinfo.unc.edu/downloads/ for the download link. Contact:giddings@unc.edu, giddings@med.unc.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Keeping things in context: a comparative evaluation of focus plus context screens, overviews, and zooming

Users working with documents that are too large and detailed to fit on the user's screen (e.g. chip designs) have the choice between zooming or applying appropriate visualization techniques. In this paper, we present a comparison of three such techniques. The first, focus plus context screens, are wall-size low-resolution displays with an embedded high-resolution display region. This technique is compared with overview plus detail and zooming/panning. We interviewed fourteen visual surveillance and design professionals from different areas (graphic design, chip design, air traffic control, etc.) in order to create a repre sentative sample of tasks to be used in two experimental comparison studies. In the first experiment, subjects using focus plus context screens to extract information from large static documents completed the two experimental tasks on average 21% and 36% faster than when they used the other interfaces. In the second experiment, focus plus context screens allowed subjects to reduce their error rate in a driving simulation to less than one third of the error rate of the competing overview plus detail setup
Hybridization between Canada lynx and bobcats: Genetic results and management implications

Hybridization between taxonomically similar species is an often-overlooked mechanism limiting the recovery of threatened and endangered species. We present molecular genetic data for the first time demonstrating that Canada lynx and bobcats hybridize in the wild. We verify that two microsatellite loci Lc106 and Lc110 have non-overlapping allele ranges between Canada lynx and bobcats, and that three putative lynx from Minnesota contain DNA from both bobcats and lynx. Additionally, we use a published test for the 16S rRNA region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to determine the maternal species; all hybrids had lynx mothers. Fifteen per cent (3/20) of our ‘putative lynx’ samples were hybrids, although these data are not from a representative sampling effort. Hybridization may be an under-appreciated factor limiting the distribution and recovery of lynx. The presence of hybrids is thus a new factor in the population management of both species with potential implications for hunting and trapping of bobcats.
Olig1 and Olig2 triplication causes developmental brain defects in Down syndrome

Down syndrome is caused by the triplication of chromosome 21, which results in extra copies of hundreds of genes. Chakrabarti et al. used the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome to show that Olig1 and Olig2, two transcription factor genes that are triplicated in Down syndrome and in the Ts65Dn mouse, are involved in the manifestation of the inhibition/excitation imbalance phenotype.
Plenty of room, plenty of history

A 1959 lecture by Richard Feynman has become an important document in the history of nanotechnology but, as Chris Toumey reports, there are disagreements about when it became important, and why.
Offshore Aquaculture Regulations Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

Worldwide, the percentage of assessed fish stocks that are overexploited or fully exploited is 87% (FAO 2011). The possibility of future expansion in wild catch is questionable and the risk of decl...
Correcting OCR text by association with historical datasets

The Medical Article Records System (MARS) developed by the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications uses scanning, OCR and automated recognition and reformatting algorithms to generate electronic bibliographic citation data from paper biomedical journal articles. The OCR server incorporated in MARS performs well in general, but fares less well with text printed in small or italic fonts. Affiliations are often printed in small italic fonts in the journals processed by MARS. Consequently, although the automatic processes generate much of the citation data correctly, the affiliation field frequently contains incorrect data, which must be manually corrected by verification operators. In contrast, author names are usually printed in large, normal fonts that are correctly converted to text by the OCR server. The National Library of Medicine"s MEDLINE database contains 11 million indexed citations for biomedical journal articles. This paper documents our effort to use the historical author, affiliation relationships from this large dataset to find potential correct affiliations for MARS articles based on the author and the affiliation in the OCR output. Preliminary tests using a table of about 400,000 author/affiliation pairs extracted from the corrected data from MARS indicated that about 44% of the author/affiliation pairs were repeats and that about 47% of newly converted author names would be found in this set. A text-matching algorithm was developed to determine the likelihood that an affiliation found in the table corresponding to the OCR text of the first author was the current, correct affiliation. This matching algorithm compares an affiliation found in the author/affiliation table (found with the OCR text of the first author) to the OCR output affiliation, and calculates a score indicating the similarity of the affiliation found in the table to the OCR affiliation. Using a ground truth set of 519 OCR author/OCR affiliation/correct affiliation triples, the matching algorithm is able to select a correct affiliation for the author 43% of the time with a false positive rate of 6%, a true negative rate of 44% and a false negative rate of 7%. MEDLINE citations with United States affiliations typically include the zip code. In addition to using author names as clues to correct affiliations, we are investigating the value of the OCR text of zip codes as clues to correct USA affiliations. Current work includes generation of an author/affiliation/zipcode table from the entire MEDLINE database and development of a daemon module to implement affiliation selection and matching for the MARS system using both author names and zip codes. Preliminary results from the initial version of the daemon module and the partially filled author/affiliation/zipcode table are encouraging.© (2003) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Men’s (Mis)Perceptions of the Gender Threatening Consequences of Unemployment

Given the importance of work to the male gender role, the recent U.S. economic recession (in which men accounted for over 70 % of jobs lost; Boushey 2009) provided a window into the role of employment in men’s identities. We examined men’s and women’s beliefs about the effects of involuntary unemployment on others’ evaluations of them (i.e., metaperceptions). Specifically, participants evaluated targets (other people or themselves) on prescriptive and proscriptive traits linked to gender (see Rudman et al. 2012), and on gender status loss (e.g., whether one is “not a real man”). Using a nationally representative sample of participants from the United States (N = 816) with an equal number of men and women (Ns = 408), we found that, compared with women, men estimated lower appraisals of their own gender status by others after either an imagined or a recalled job loss. However, men’s gendered metaperceptions following job loss were more negative than the evaluations that others actually gave a hypothetical male victim of job loss. Thus, men may believe that others will evaluate them more negatively than others would actually evaluate them following job loss. We discuss these results in light of the current economy and shifting cultural norms regarding employment.
A model for hydrostatic consolidation of Pierre shale

Abstract This paper presents closed-form solutions for consolidation of transversely isotropic porous media under hydrostatic stress. The solutions are applied to model the time variation of pore pressure, volume strain and strains parallel and normal to bedding, and to obtain coefficients of consolidation and permeability, as well as other properties, and the bulk modulus resulting from hydrostatic consolidation of Pierre shale. It is found that the coefficients consolidation and permeability decrease and the bulk moduli increase with increasing confining pressure, reflecting the closure of voids in the rock.
Intra-Class Infrared (IR) Tank Pattern Recognition Using Synthetic Discriminant Functions (SDFs)

A hyperspace description of a matched spatial filter (MSF) correlator is advanced and used to develop a new MSF that is a synthetic discriminant function (SDF). The use of this filter to recognize objects independent of their aspect is described. Terminal homing recognition of tanks from IR imagery is taken as a case study. Bandpass filtering and a new maximum common information filter synthesis concept and issues such as filter energy are described and used to improve the system's intra-class pattern recognition ability and to overcome the intensity differences present in IR imagery. Experimental verification is also included.
Association between Genetic Variants in the Base Excision Repair Pathway and Outcomes after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantations

Alkylating agents with or without ionizing radiation are frequently used in pretransplant conditioning regimens. Damage induced by these agents is commonly repaired by the base excision repair (BER) pathway. Hence, we hypothesized that genetic polymorphisms in the BER pathway will be associated with posthematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) outcomes. We evaluated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (n = 179) in the BER pathway with treatment-related mortality (TRM) at 1 year and disease relapse in a cohort of 470 recipients who underwent allogeneic HCT for treatment of hematologic malignancies at the University of Minnesota. After adjustment for age at transplant, donor type, race, and conditioning regimen, 4 SNPs in OGGI, LIG3, and MUTYH genes (rs159153, rs3135974, rs3219463, and rs3219476) were associated with increased risk of TRM, whereas 2 SNPs in the TDG gene (rs167715 and rs2374327) were associated with decreased risk of TRM at 1 year (P ≤ .01). Patients with increasing numbers of deleterious alleles in the BER pathway showed a higher cumulative incidence of TRM at 1 year (51% for ≥4 deleterious alleles versus 14% for ≤1 deleterious allele; P
Critical Mass Theory Revisited: The Behavior and Success of Token Women in State Legislatures

Research on women and representation has argued that women who serve in “skewed” legislatures—that is, legislatures in which women make up less than 15% of the membership—avoid addressing women's interests and are marginalized by other legislators. I argue that women in such legislatures may actually be encouraged to develop legislative agendas that are distinct from those of their male colleagues, and that they may be as successful as their male counterparts. Analyzing data from three state legislatures in four years, I find that even in extremely skewed state legislatures, women are generally more active than men in sponsoring legislation that focuses on women's interests; indeed, in two of the three states, gender differences narrow as the legislature becomes more gender balanced. Second, I find that women are generally as successful as men in passing the legislation that they sponsor, and that in very homogeneous settings, they are sometimes more successful than men. Moreover, little evidence exists that they are less likely to be appointed to leadership positions. Finally, I find that increasing gender diversity within a legislature is accompanied by a greater overall focus on women's issues. I conclude that a “critical mass” is not necessary for substantive representation on the part of individual female state legislators, but that increased diversity may indeed bring about changes in policy outputs that reflect the interests of women.
High School Graduation Rates:Alternative Methods and Implications

The No Child Left Behind Act has brought great attention to the high school graduation rate as one of the mandatory accountability measures for public school systems. However, there is no consensus on how to calculate the high school graduation rate given the lack of longitudinal databases that track individual students. This study reviews literature on and practices in reporting high school graduation rates, compares graduation rate estimates yielded from alternative methods, and estimates discrepancies between alternative results at national, state, and state ethnic group levels. Despite the graduation rate method used, results indicate that high school graduation rates in the U.S. have been declining in recent years and that graduation rates for black and Hispanic students lag substantially behind those of white students. As to graduation rate method preferred, this study found no evidence that the conceptually more complex methods yield more accurate or valid graduation rate estimates than the simpler methods.
Disinhibition of nucleus accumbens neurons by the dopamine D2 receptor agonist LY-141865: prevented by 6-OHDA pretreatment.

Abstract Intravenous administration of LY-141865, a specific dopamine (DA) D2 receptor agonist, caused a biphasic increase/decrease in the firing rate of cells in the rat nucleus accumbens (NAc). 6-Hydroxydopamine injected directly into the medial forebrain bundle, through which ascending DA fibers pass, prevented the initial rate increase of NAc neurons produced by low doses of LY-141865. In contrast, pretreatment of rats with 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine did not alter the biphasic response of NAc neurons LY-141865. These results, together with previous findings that D2 autoreceptors are much more sensitive to DA and DA agonists, strongly support the hypothesis that the initial rate-increase caused by low doses of LY-141865 is result of disinhibition.
The formation of cobaltic acetate in the catalytic decomposition of peroxyacetic acid

Abstract The kinetics and mechanism for the decomposition of peroxyacetic acid by cobaltous acetate have been investigated. The reaction is first order in peroxyacetic acid and varies from one to one-half order in cobaltous acetate depending on its initial concentration. During the decomposition reaction “cobaltic acetate” is formed. This compound has been isolated and investigated. Evidence is presented which indicates that the compound is [(Ac)2CO(OH)2CO(Ac)2] in which acetate ion is serving as a chelating ligand.
Gravitational radiation from compact binary systems: Gravitational waveforms and energy loss to second post-Newtonian order.

We derive the gravitational waveform and gravitational-wave energy flux generated by a binary star system of compact objects (neutron stars or black holes), accurate through second post-Newtonian order ($O[{(\frac{v}{c})}^{4}]=O[{(\frac{\mathrm{Gm}}{r{c}^{2}})}^{2}]$) beyond the lowest-order quadrupole approximation. We cast the Einstein equations into the form of a flat-spacetime wave equation together with a harmonic gauge condition, and solve it formally as a retarded integral over the past null cone of the chosen field point. The part of this integral that involves the matter sources and the near-zone gravitational field is evaluated in terms of multipole moments using standard techniques; the remainder of the retarded integral, extending over the radiation zone, is evaluated in a novel way. The result is a manifestly convergent and finite procedure for calculating gravitational radiation to arbitrary orders in a post-Newtonian expansion. Through second post-Newtonian order, the radiation is also shown to propagate toward the observer along true null rays of the asymptotically Schwarzschild spacetime, despite having been derived using flat-spacetime wave equations. The method cures defects that plagued previous "brute-force" slow-motion approaches to the generation of gravitational radiation, and yields results that agree perfectly with those recently obtained by a mixed post-Minkowskian post-Newtonian method. We display explicit formulas for the gravitational waveform and the energy flux for two-body systems, both in arbitrary orbits and in circular orbits. In an appendix, we extend the formalism to bodies with finite spatial extent, and derive the spin corrections to the waveform and energy loss.
Static pressure measurements near an oblique shock wave

Static pressure measurements near oblique shock waves using short probe, evaluating readings accuracy
Operator approach to semi-hadronic inclusive reactions

Abstract It is shown how operator product expansions determine the asymptotic behavior of inclusive functions in scaling variables. Such behavior is thus given in scale invariant theories by dimensional analysis. This provides a handle on the (minimal) dimensions of hadronic sources.
Chromosome abnormalities in human thyroid disease.

An analysis was made of chromosomal abnormalities in surgical specimens of human thyroid glands. Three histologically proved normal control thyroid glands were obtained at laryngectomy. Eight histologically proved colloid-nodular goiters, 5 goiters of Graves' disease, 3 goiters of Hashimoto's struma 2 adenomas and 2 carcinomas were studied. The thyroid glands from patients with each of the 5 thyroid disease categories were demonstrated to have a greater percentage of aneuploid cells than the normal mean of 1.7% ±se of 1.20. The thyroid tissue from each disease state had a higher degree of tetraploidy and hypertetraploidy than normal controls. Graves' disease, colloid nodular goiter and Hashimoto's specimens showed a significantly greater degree of tetraploidy and octaploidy than adenoma and carcinoma specimens. Chromosomes were missing only in the colloid-nodular group. Additional chromosomes were seen in colloid-nodular goiter and in carcinoma. Marker chromosomes were found only in Graves' disease (2 pat...
Food Habits of Two Sympatric Colorado Sciurids

The golden-mantled ground squirrel ( Citellus lateralis lateralis ) and the least chipmunk ( Eutamias minimus consobrinus ) were studied in the mountains of west central Colorado where the two species are sympatric and display marked similarities in habitat selection, life cycles and general behavior patterns. Detailed investigation of the energy relationships and food habits of these animals, including field observations, stomach-content analyses and food preference tests, demonstrated a slight divergence in general food preferences and a profound dependence by both species upon the common dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale ) for summer food. This plant provided more than 80% of the June–August diet of both chipmunk and mantled squirrel. The chipmunk preferred and consumed the flowers, seeds, and seed-laden heads of the dandelion, while the mantled squirrel preferred the stems and rarely ate the heads or seeds. These behavior patterns effectively removed, in part, the two sciurids from direct competition for energy sources in summer although their foraging territories greatly overlapped.
Detection and identification of a single DNA base molecule using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)

Nonresonant Raman cross sections of $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}16} {\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ per molecule are shown to be related to surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) on colloidal silver clusters at near-infrared (NIR) excitation. The enhancement is found to be independent of cluster sizes between 100 nm and 20 \ensuremath{\mu}m. These experimental findings demonstrate that NIR SERS on colloidal silver clusters is an excellent technique for single molecule detection that is applicable for a broad range of molecules including ``colorless'' biomolecules, for example nucleotides in DNA sequencing. As an example, we present the detection of a single adenine molecule without any labeling based on its intrinsic surface-enhanced Raman scattering.
Restless legs syndrome in pediatric patients with chronic kidney disease

Sleep disorders have been shown to be more prevalent in adults and children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and on dialysis. To date, the prevalence and impact of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in various stages of CKD has not been evaluated. The object of this study was to determine the prevalence of RLS in children with CKD in different stages, and to evaluate its impact on sleep and daytime functioning. We conducted a clinic-based or telephone survey of 26 patients in varying stages of CKD to assess for RLS, sleep schedule, and daytime sleepiness. Thirty-five percent of children met criteria for RLS, the majority being in CKD stages 1-4. There were no significant differences seen in sleep schedule and daytime sleepiness between those children with or without RLS. We found that there is an increased prevalence of RLS in children with CKD compared to the general population. This suggests that children with all stages of CKD should be routinely screened for RLS symptoms.
Fabrication of a PANI/CPs composite material: a feasible method to enhance the photocatalytic activity of coordination polymers

To improve the photocatalytic activity of a coordination polymer in the visible light region, polyaniline (PANI) was loaded onto its surface through a facile in situ chemical oxidation polymerization process. The resulting PANI loaded coordination polymer composite materials with excellent stability exhibit significantly higher photocatalytic activities than the pure coordination polymer photocatalyst on the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. This enhancement can be ascribed to the introduction of PANI on the surface of the coordination polymer, which leads to efficient separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs as well as a significant expansion of the photoresponse region. Finally, we discussed the influence of acidity on the morphology and photocatalytic activity of the composite material. An optimal condition to obtain the PANI loaded coordination polymer composite material with excellent photocatalytic activity has been obtained.
Bid Activation Multiple Access in Ad Hoc Networks

We present a new protocol for collision-free channel access in ad hoc networks called Bid Activation Multiple Access (BAMA). BAMA is based on bids made by nodes for slots within the context of probabilistic channel access. Winners of the bids for a given slot are determined as a result of a fair election of the bids for that slot. Nodes attempt to acquire varying number of slots depending on their traffic requirements. Nodes transmit their schedule information once in each frame prior to the data packet transmission in the slots acquired by them. Mismatched schedule information for a given slot are corrected based on the same fair election by the nodes that hear the schedule information. BAMA does not require explicit control information (HELLO packets) to build up local or global topology of the nodes to compute a transmission schedule for the nodes. The performance of BAMA is studied by simulations and compared against the performance of comparable protocols. It is found that BAMA provides better throughput and much lower end to end delay when compared to other protocols, both at low loads as well as high loads. The traffic adaptive nature of BAMA allows for the performance of BAMA to be largely independent of the network load. This makes it ideal for deployment in high bandwidth scenarios where low end to end delay is desirable.
Thomas Henry Huxley's Baptism into Oratory'

When we study the lives of successful speakers in history, we tend to focus on their adult years in which their rhetorical accomplishments were at their height and their influence was the most pervasive. This is not unreasonable, for, after all, contemporaries do not write about young unknowns, and posterity is interested in the accomplishments and the mature, crystallized, fleshed out ideas of those who went before. We tend to skim lightly over their younger years when they were stumbling along, beset with all sorts of hesitancies and doubts, plagued with unemployment, indecisive in marriage plans, setting and re-setting their goals, and getting training and experience for the ‘real life’ which lay in the future. When they finally get stabilized in life and begin to ‘do’ things, then we pick up their story in earnest and in detail.
Mitochondrial ion channels: gatekeepers of life and death.

Continuous generation of ATP by mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation is essential to maintain function in mechanically active cells such as cardiomyocytes. Emerging evidence indicates that mitoc...
Fading, Twisting, and Weaving: An Interpretive Ethnography of the Black Barbershop as Cultural Space:

Barbershops in the Black community are discursive spaces in which the confluence of Black hair care, for and by Black people, and small talk establish a context for cultural exchange. This interpretive ethnography describes the barbershop in a Black community as a cultural site for ethnographic exploration and description. The article defines a cultural site not only as the chosen geo-social locale of the ethnographic gaze but also as a centralized occasion within a cultural community that serves at the confluence of banal ritualized activity and the exchange of cultural currency. It is the social experience of being in the barbershop that the article focuses on, knowing that social experience meets at the intersection of culture and performance, and at the confluence of reflection and remembrance.
An all-digital CMOS 915 MHz ISM band 802.15.4 / ZigBee transmitter with a noise spreading direct quantization algorithm

This paper presents an all-digital CMOS class-D transmitter system for the 915 MHz ISM band using 802.15.2/ZigBee standards. A novel noise spreading quantization algorithm which derives the digitally modulated amplifier input is presented. This new algorithm requires fewer DSP cycles than delta-sigma approaches, while still maintaining high amplifier efficiency and meeting spectral specifications. The entire transmitter is easy to integrate into modern submicron CMOS processes. The power amplifier achieves a peak drain efficiency of 57%, while the overall transmitter system achieves a DC/Data-to-RF efficiency of 22%. The CMOS power amplifier is capable of a maximum power output of 18 mW while meeting 802.15.2 specifications.
Amnesiopolis: From Mietskaserne to Wohnungsbauserie 70 in East Berlin's Northeast

On April 11, 1977, near a small village northeast of Berlin called Marzahn, construction teams from the Volkseigener Betrieb (VEB) Tiefbau Berlin began digging the first foundation for what became the largest construction site and the largest prefabricated housing settlement (Plattenbausiedlung) not just in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), but in all of Europe (see Figure 1). An army of more than 6,000 workers arrived, and over the course of the next decade, built more than 200,000 apartments in Marzahn and the surrounding areas of the northeast edge of Berlin. These came to house more than 400,000 residents, who moved there from the older neighborhoods of East Berlin and from all over the GDR.
The mechanism of action of gastrin on the lower esophageal sphincter.

Abstract Gastrin I or pentagastrin caused contraction of the lower esophageal sphincter in anesthetized opossums. The contraction was not modified, either qualitatively or quantitatively, by 30 or 1000 μg per kg atropine pretreatment. Moreover, neural block with tetrodotoxin did not influence the effect of gastrin on the sphincter pressure. H 2 receptor antagonist, metiamide, did not modify the magnitude of the contractile response of the lower esophageal sphincter to gastrin I. These studies show: a) gastrin does not cause sphincter contraction by stimulating cholinergic neurons; and b) gastrin does not exert an inhibitory effect on the sphincter pressure by stimulating H 2 receptors. We suggest that gastrin may contract the lower esophageal sphincter by a direct action on the sphincter muscle.
Accuracy of Global Positioning System for Determining Driver Performance Parameters

Global Positioning System (GPS) technology can continuously monitor the time and location of vehicle usage. By recording and analyzing detailed vehicle activity data, researchers can analyze the safety and environmental implications of driver behavior and trip-making patterns. In 2000, NHTSA awarded the Georgia Institute of Technology a contract to equip 1,100 vehicles with a GPS-enhanced device to collect speed and location data. The objective was to acquire more accurate information on the role of excessive speed on crash frequency and severity. GPS technology allows the researcher to continuously measure driver speed, acceleration, and location. When merged with roadway characteristics within a geographic information system (GIS) environment, determinations of driver risk-taking behavior can be made. Second, continuous logging of GPS data allows researchers to capture high-resolution vehicle activity immediately before a crash event, reducing the potential error and bias introduced during determination...
Red blood cell storage lesion

The past two decades have witnessed increased scrutiny regarding efficacy and risk of the once unquestioned therapy of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. Simultaneously, a variety of changes have been identified within the RBC and storage media during RBC preservation that are correlated with reduced tissue oxygenation and transfusion-associated adverse effects. These alterations are collectively termed the storage lesion and include extensive biochemical, biomechanical, and immunologic changes involving cells of diverse origin. Time-dependent falls is 2,3-diphosphoglycerate, intracellular RBC adenosine triphosphate, and nitric oxide have been shown to impact RBC deformability and delivery of oxygen to the end-organ. The accumulation of biologic response modifiers such as soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), lysophosphatidylcholine (lyso-PC), and Regulated on Activation, Normal T-cell Expressed and Secreted (RANTES) have been associated with altered recipient immune function as well. This review will address the alterations occurring within the RBC and storage media during RBC preservation and will address the potential clinical consequence thereof.
AARP and the Politics of the Obama Election: “Tough Times, Tough Choices”

The 2008 election and first two years of President Barack Obama’s administration was the context for an analysis of AARP news coverage. This research examined how news coverage was presented in the AARP Bulletin . During the health care debate, AARP often mentioned President Obama over congressional leaders. However, after passage of the law and subsequent election of a new congress, the Republican perspective offered a balance to the president’s agenda. The AARP Bulletin may be an agenda setter on controversial issues. This study explored themes, such as “tough times, tough choices,” which appeared to influence the coverage of political issues.
The hummingbird's tongue: a self-assembling capillary syphon

We present the results of a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the dynamics of drinking in ruby-throated hummingbirds. In vivo observations reveal elastocapillary deformation of the hummingbird's tongue and capillary suction along its length. By developing a theoretical model for the hummingbird's drinking process, we investigate how the elastocapillarity affects the energy intake rate of the bird and how its open tongue geometry reduces resistance to nectar uptake. We note that the tongue flexibility is beneficial for accessing, transporting and unloading the nectar. We demonstrate that the hummingbird can attain the fastest nectar uptake when its tongue is roughly semicircular. Finally, we assess the relative importance of capillary suction and a recently proposed fluid trapping mechanism, and conclude that the former is important in many natural settings.
Metastases to the Head and Neck: An Overview

This paper provides a review of the more common tumors to metastasize to 12 anatomic subsites of the head and neck, exclusive of cervical lymph nodes. Emphasis is placed on clinical rather than subclinical metastases discovered at autopsy.
The Future of Local Research Review

Institutional review boards (IRBs) were mandated by the Public Health Service Act of 1974 for institutions receiving federal research money. Recent highly publicized research disasters have called into question the effectiveness and future of the IRB system in the United States. A review by the Office of the Inspector General in 1998 was critical of IRBs as presently constituted. In April 2002, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture of Daniel Icenogle, MD, JD, given on the future of IRBs, especially the question of legal exposure. The paper presented in this issue of Clinical Medicine & Research is entitled, not entirely reassuringly, IRBs, Conflict and Liability: Will We See IRBs in Court? Or is it when? The report by Dr. Icenogle is well worth reading, and reading again. He demonstrates how the IRB is potentially caught between industry pressure to get studies underway and ultimately done (favorably, one infers) and public pressures (which include the legal system) to do them correctly with all the safeguards for subjects, participants and patients, possible. People want no risk from research but most know there is going to be some risk, some unknown, but want the risk as small as possible and want what is known to be communicated clearly with all questions answered that are capable of answers. Dr. Icenogle reviews recent research fatalities and their causes. He discusses the court cases that resulted and provides insight into the state and federal court process. Dr. Icenogle identifies the ignoring of regulations by investigators, failure to disclose risks, failure to deal with financial conflicts of interest and the lack of fully informed consent, as causes for the court cases. We should not be trapped by “It can't happen here” thinking, and we need to be vigilant and alert for research ethics violations. Those of us who serve on IRBs, Animal Care, Research and Conflict of Interest committees, in addition to hospital, clinic and foundation administrators, all need to pay attention and commit to the endeavor to maintain a highly ethical research effort every day. Let's keep our research subjects safe and pleased to participate, and maybe we'll stay out of court.
Executive function is necessary to enhance lexical processing in a less proficient L2: Evidence from fMRI during picture naming

Recent work in the bilingual literature suggests that naming pictures in a second language (L2) differs from naming pictures in the first language (L1) because of effortful lexical retrieval. This finding has received some support in the neuroimaging literature (De Blesser et al., 2003). In the current study, twelve Spanish-English bilinguals, who had learned English later in early adulthood, were asked to name pictures covertly in either Spanish or English while being scanned with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Picture naming in the second language (L2) relative to the native language (L1) revealed increased activity in the right insula, anterior cingulate gyrus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the left fusiform gyrus. These results are consistent with the view that picture naming in a less proficient L2 requires increased effort to establish links between motor codes and visual forms.
On connectionism, rule extraction, and brain-like learning

There is a growing body of work that shows that both fuzzy and symbolic rule systems can be implemented using neural networks. This body of work also shows that these fuzzy and symbolic rules can be retrieved from these networks, once they have been learned by procedures that generally fall under the category of rule extraction. The paper argues that the idea of rule extraction from a neural network involves certain procedures, specifically the reading of parameters from a network, that are not allowed by the connectionist framework that these neural networks are based on. It argues that such rule extraction procedures imply a greater freedom and latitude about the internal mechanisms of the brain than is permitted by connectionism, but that such latitude is permitted by the recently proposed control theoretic paradigm for the brain. The control theoretic paradigm basically suggests that there are parts of the brain that control other parts and has far less restrictions on the kind of procedures that can be called "brain like". The paper shows that this control theoretic paradigm is supported by new evidence from neuroscience about the role of neuromodulators and neurotransmitters in the brain. In addition, it shows that the control theoretic paradigm is also used in connectionist algorithms, although never acknowledged explicitly. The paper suggests that far better learning and rule extraction algorithms can be developed using these control theoretic notions and they would be consistent with the more recent understanding of how the brain works and learns.
Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other Expanding and Contracting Numerical Dimensions Produces Preference Reversals

The scales used to describe the attributes of different choice options are usually open to alternative expressions, such as inches versus feet or minutes versus hours. More generally, a ratio scale can be multiplied by an arbitrary factor (e.g., 12) while preserving all of the information it conveys about different choice alternatives. We propose that expanded scales (e.g., price per year) lead decision makers to discriminate between choice options more than do contracted scales (e.g., price per month) because they exaggerate the difference between options on the expanded attribute. Two studies show that simply increasing the size of an attribute's scale systematically changes its weight in both multiattribute preferences and willingness to pay: Expanding scales for one attribute shifts preferences to alternatives favored on that attribute.
Synthesis of Silicon Nitride Whiskers by Microwave Heating

Whiskers of silicon nitride were synthesized by heating silicon powder compacts, silicon single crystal and polycrystalline silicon in microwave in the presence of flowing forming gas or nitrogen. Various gas compositions and form of silicon used resulted in different whisker morphologies. Silicon powder as starting material leads to the formation of needle-like whiskers while silicon single crystal and polycrystalline silicon led to the formation of wool-like and web-like structures respectively. Length of the whiskers apparently depends on the holding time at the optimum temperature ∼1350°C; whiskers up to 250 micrometers in length may be grown in 30 minutes. Microstructural data suggest that the silicon nitride whiskers form through gas-solid reaction and vapor-solid mechanism.