cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Empire and romance: Historia de la linda Melosina

This article studies the relationship between literature and politics in the chivalric romance, Historia de la linda Melosina (1489), an Old Spanish translation of Jean d'Arras' Melusine. The work, both in the original French and Spanish translation, portrays the folkloric, literary representation of the fairy princess Melusina and her line, as well as drawing on the classical tale of Dido as subtext to the Melusine foundation myth of Lusignan. Through the presentation of Melusina as founder and female head of state, Jean d'Arras' Melusine reflects the contemporary politics of the Hundred Years' War and the ambitions of the Duke of Berry and his family. The romance also has political resonance in the Iberian Peninsula through its references to Aragon and Catalunya and the connection of the Count of Cardona with Thomas of Lusignan. Moreover, the publication Melusina in Spanish coincides with the Isabeline period and reflects in Melusina's courtly governance and empire-building the spirit of that age. The Melusina romance underscores the themes of empire and governance as integral parts of Peninsular romances printed during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs.
The U.S. Economy, Public Policies, and the Dollar as an International Currency Reserve

The “innocent” outsourcing, the creeping globalization, and the “guilty” latest global financial crisis have caused serious and lasting socio-economic problems to the U.S. The current account deficit (consumption exceeds production in the U.S.), which causes a capital account surplus (capital inflows in the U.S.) and the scale of financing needed to support the U.S. fiscal deficit (and the private sectors and households debts) together with the Federal Reserve’s policy of keeping U.S. interest rates low for ten years to ward off deflation, to stimulate the financial markets, and to revive growth, has revived concerns about a sudden and sharp depreciation of the U.S. dollar, an increase in inflation, and a new burst of the current bubble in the financial market, which will cause a global depression. Americans have lost an enormous amount of their purchasing power and wealth during the last 90 years, due to seven financial crises. The wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya have turned Muslim investors to other currencies holdings instead of the U.S. dollar. This article examines potential triggers and indicators of such a crisis and posits concrete policy options to limit U.S. vulnerability, due to loss of manufacturing and to the possibility of a plummeting dollar. But, even with a depreciated dollar, the U.S. economy cannot compete with the Chinese one because the cost of production in China is less than 1/10 of the U.S. cost. U.S. has to maximize the social welfare of the country, which means to protect its domestic industries and sectors of the economy. It argues that the obvious long-term response to the risk of a dollar crisis and deterioration of the U.S. welfare is to limit buildup of the United States’ external debt (trade deficits) and domestic ones (public and private debts), and recommends that larger reserves (and well-understood mechanisms for borrowing foreign exchange reserves from major foreign central banks) would help to reduce the United States’ vulnerability to such a crisis. As a debtor, the U.S. is benefited from the devaluation of its currency and from the protection of its domestic manufacturing.
The Role of Prosocial Goal Congruity on Student Motivation in Electrical Engineering

Contribution: Prior studies on goal congruity show that students are more motivated to pursue careers that allow them to work with and help others and give back to their community (i.e., careers that afford prosocial value). This paper discovers this same pattern in electrical engineering (EE) and discovers that prosocial affordance beliefs are significantly associated with intensions to persist, while agency beliefs are not. Background: Goal congruity theory finds that people are more motivated to pursue a career if it aligns with values they endorse. This theory can shed light on why some students do not persist in EE because of the stereotype that the profession does not allow working with and helping others. Research Questions: This paper seeks to answer whether EE students perceive the profession as affording prosocial value, and to test associations between prosocial perceptions and motivation to persist in the field. Methodology: The first study in this paper was conducted on students in an introductory EE course ( $n\,\,= 79$ ) that measured affordance beliefs about the EE profession and tested associations with intensions to persist. The second study compared affordance beliefs and trait endorsements held by students in the introductory level course with those in an advanced EE courses ( $n\,\,=51$ ). Findings: Mediation analysis revealed that the more novice students believe that EE allows them to fulfill prosocial goals, the greater their persistence intentions (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.34). This analysis also showed that agency beliefs were not strongly associated with persistence intensions.
Model Considerations for Fire Scene Reconstruction Using a Bayesian Framework

Towards the development of a more rigorous approach for coupling collected fire scene data to computational tools, a Bayesian computational strategy is presented in this work. The Bayesian inversion technique is exercised on synthetic, time-integrated data to invert for the location, size, and time-to-peak of an unknown fire using two well-known forward models; Consolidated Model of Fire and Smoke Transport (CFAST) and Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). A Gaussian process surrogate model was fit to coarse FDS simulations to facilitate Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling. The inversion framework was able to predict the total energy release by all fire cases except for one CFAST forward model, a 1000 kW steady fire. It was found that insufficient information was available in the time-integrated data to distinguish the temporal variations in peak times. FDS performed better than CFAST in predicting the maximum energy release rate with the posterior mean of the best configurations being 0.05% and 2.77% of the true values respectively. Both models performed equally well on locating the fire in a compartment.
Electronic Health Record Classification of Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Cotinine Levels in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients

OBJECTIVES: Documentation of children’s tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) in the electronic health record (EHR) can have important implications for clinical care. However, it may not be accurate if it is not based on biochemical assessment, the most reliable method of verifying TSE. Our objectives were to compare the accuracy of EHR classification of TSE with cotinine verification and to explore parent and child variables associated with biochemically verified TSE. METHODS: Participants were 171 hospitalized pediatric patients (ages 0–17 years; mean age 5.1 [SD 3.7] years) who had EHR documentation of TSE and measured salivary cotinine. Children with cotinine levels >1 ng/mL were classified as having biochemical verification of TSE. Parents reported sociodemographic characteristics, and children’s EHRs were abstracted for TSE status, past medical history, and diagnoses. We conducted χ2 tests to assess the agreement between EHR classification of TSE status and cotinine levels. Then, we assessed the relationship between sociodemographic and clinical variables and cotinine using crude and adjusted logistic regression models. RESULTS: Overall, 71% (121 of 171) of EHR classifications were correct on the basis of cotinine levels. Specificity analyses showed that 77% (53 of 69) were correctly identified as exposed to tobacco smoke. Sensitivity analyses showed that 67% (68 of 102) were correctly identified as unexposed. The negative predictive value was 0.61 (53 of 87); 39% (34 of 87) were misclassified as unexposed. The positive predictive value was 0.81 (68 of 84); 19% (16 of 84) were misclassified as exposed. CONCLUSIONS: Almost 40% of children were misclassified in the EHR as unexposed to tobacco smoke. Biochemical verification should be used as part of universal TSE screening during pediatric hospitalizations.
Iris Transillumination Defects in Pigment Dispersion Syndrome.

Iris Defects in Pigment Dispersion Syndrome A 44-year-old man presented to the ophthalmology clinic. Examination revealed circumferential spoke-like iris transillumination defects, and a diagnosis ...
A Public Health Issue: Dietary Supplements Promoted for Brain Health and Cognitive Performance

Background: Dietary supplements targeting brain health have quickly emerged in the marketplace as cognitive performance becomes an important public health issue. While manufacturers are required to...
Integrate: A Digital Game for Testing Conformity in Decision Making

Interest in using video games in various behavioral research topics has grown in tandem with recent technologies and development; similarly, there exists a growing wealth of games that explore psychological concepts and issues. Through Integrate, we have created an interactive experience that aims to study players’ predispositions toward obedience and conformity. Through carefully designed narrative and gameplay elements, we test the extent to which players will choose to contribute to a system they may neither agree with nor understand. This chapter outlines our process for creating such a gamified experiment. We theorized that, as players learned more about the game world, they would use that information to choose to stop conforming to the directives they are given. We also theorized that the player’s inherent predisposition toward empathy and conformity would influence their decisions in-game. While we found no significant statistical relationships between our data points that would confirm or reject our hypotheses, we conclude by discussing possible reasons for this result as well as how we can improve the game and the study in the future.
Sleep's role in memory reconsolidation

Processes occurring during sleep contribute critically to the stabilization of new learning for long-term retention. Previously consolidated memory traces can be reactivated rendering memories labile again, and vulnerable to disruption or alteration. Across the phases of reactivation, modification, and re-consolidation, processing during sleep may play an essential role in restabilizing the transformed memory. We discuss recent research assessing the impact of sleep on reactivated memories potentially undergoing reconsolidation. We further evaluate targeted memory reactivation, an intervention that can directly engineer reconsolidation during sleep. Although sleep may play a role in restabilizing newly-modified memories, much remains to be explored before we fully understand the supporting mechanisms.
Impact of proteasome inhibitor vs. IMiD maintenance therapy on outcomes of patients with high-risk multiple myeloma (HRMM).

e20557Background: The ideal choice of maintenance therapy in patients with HRMM high-risk multiple myeloma remains unknown. We analyzed the outcomes of patients with HRMM undergoing transplant rece...
Abstract A08: Resolving STING-mediated tumor immune microenvironment shift at single-cell resolution

Background: The detection of double-stranded cytosolic DNA by cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) leads to activation of stimulator of interferon genes (STING) and to the production of type-I interferon (IFN-I) as part of host defense mechanism. Recently, 2’3’ cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate (cGAMP), an endogenous activator of STING, has been shown to be a promising antitumor agent through the activation of innate and adaptive immunity. However, the mechanism by which cGAMP results in a tumor-specific T-cell expansion in the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains unclear. In addition, how highly anionic therapeutic STING agonists penetrate the hydrophobic phospholipid bilayer membrane to induce immune activation remains unknown. Materials and Methods: We propose that serum albumin is an endogenous carrier of cGAMP into the cell cytoplasm. The efficacy of albumin-cGAMP on IFN-I signaling was evaluated using real-time PCR in human monocytic cell line THP-1, as well as primary mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). To examine the effects of albumin-cGAMP on macrophage populations, flow cytometry was performed on BMDMs. Efficacy of albumin-cGAMP was examined in vivo using syngeneic mouse model of oral cancer, followed by a 40-marker panel for mass cytometry (CyTOF) to characterize the immune landscape at single-cell resolution. Results and Discussion: We observed that the albumin-cGAMP mixture potently enhances the IFN-I signatures in THP-1 cells, BMDCs and BMDMs. Analysis of BMDMs reveals that cGAMP alone has a modest effect on macrophages and that albumin significantly increases cGAMP-induced M1/M2 polarization. Data analysis of CyTOF using SPADE and CITRUS reveals that the activation of STING results in significant reduction in subsets that compromise antitumor responses, such as regulatory T cells (Treg) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). An unbiased viSNE analysis reduces the high-dimension profiling data onto two dimensions and shows that CD4, CD8, B220, CD206, MHC-II, Dx5, F4/80, and Ly-6G are the main differentiating markers upon STING induction. Conclusion: Taken together, this work presents albumin as a potential physiologic carrier of STING agonist cGAMP, and we characterize STING-mediated immune landscape change in the TME at single-cell resolution. Citation Format: Yee Sun Tan, Blake R. Heath, Brett D. Hill, Xiaobo Luo, Syed M. Rizvi, Toktam Moghbeli, Hongxiang Hu, Erica Siismets, Haitao Wen, Yuying Xie, Duxin Sun, Simon Young, Weiping Zou, Fei Wen, Yu L. Lei. Resolving STING-mediated tumor immune microenvironment shift at single-cell resolution [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-AHNS Head and Neck Cancer Conference: Optimizing Survival and Quality of Life through Basic, Clinical, and Translational Research; 2019 Apr 29-30; Austin, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2020;26(12_Suppl_2):Abstract nr A08.
Vision Based Crop Row Detection for Low Cost UAV Imagery in Organic Agriculture

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous smart farming robots are a great solution to reduce the use of chemical or synthetic pesticides. One of the critical aspects of these systems are the requirement to follow the crop rows without damaging the plants or the dam. In this paper, a system was developed which enables a semi-autonomous flight by means of crop row detection in organic agriculture. The system consists of a Raspberry Pi microcontroller with a camera and uses a number of image processing methods to detect plant rows. The evaluation of images of different crop row fields and of crop row models showed that all different plant rows were reliably detected. A runtime evaluation showed that the computing power of the microcontroller for the application is limited. Optimizations such as reducing the image size and adapting calculation-intensive methods resulted in a frame rate of 8 to 12 FPS. This processing time is sufficient for a slow UAV flight.
Are Metropolitan Areas Primed for Success? A Prosperity Risk Index for Evaluating Economic Development Patterns.

Urban areas differ greatly in their exposure to economic change, their trajectory toward recovery and growth, and the extent to which development and equity are paired. Some of this differentiation can be explained by regional dynamics, policies, and migration flows that influence the composition of economic activity, land use, and population characteristics. Simultaneously, the fortunes of center cities are known to often correlate with metropolitan characteristics, yet the interaction of socio-spatial conditions with multi-level governance and development processes—particularly with respect to how prosperity is shared across municipal lines and is distributed among communities—is under-researched. In this article, we use a GIS-based and quantitative approach to characterize such patterns and evaluate regional differences among 117 mid-sized metropolitan areas in the Eastern US with a population between 250,000 and 2,500,000. Our analysis rests on initial GIS-based inquiries to define city, urbanized area, county, and core-based statistical area-level measures of municipal fragmentation, geographic sprawl, racial segregation, economic inequality, and overall poverty. These five characteristics are combined to propose a prosperity risk index for each region. Further, indicators of economic performance such as job and population growth are inverted to create an economic vulnerability index. An interaction model is run to determine relationships among the indices to highlight both the regional differences in these characteristics that became noticeably significant in the analysis and the linkages of spatial patterns of economic growth and social equity. Analyzing these multi-scalar regional dynamics illuminates the socio-spatial patterns that deserve attention in urban economic development theory and, subsequently, offers a framework for evaluating public policy and development practices. We likewise offer two comparisons of outliers as a means of illustrating potential directions urban areas can take toward economic development. These findings are valuable for local economic development practitioners who may be seeking further contextual/comparative information on urban regions, or for others interested in understanding the dynamics behind urban planning that may drive regional competitiveness and prosperity.
Evidence for linkage of pfmdr1, pfcrt, and pfk13 polymorphisms to lumefantrine and mefloquine susceptibilities in a Plasmodium falciparum cross.

Abstract Background Lumefantrine and mefloquine are used worldwide in artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) of malaria. Better understanding of drug susceptibility and resistance is needed and can be obtained from studies of genetic crosses. Methods Drug response phenotypes of a cross between Plasmodium falciparum lines 803 (Cambodia) and GB4 (Ghana) were obtained as half-maximal effective concentrations (EC50s) and days to recovery (DTR) after 24 h exposure to 500 nM lumefantrine. EC50s of mefloquine, halofantrine, chloroquine, and dihydroartemisinin were also determined. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis and statistical tests with candidate genes were used to identify polymorphisms associated with response phenotypes. Results Lumefantrine EC50s averaged 5.8-fold higher for the 803 than GB4 parent, and DTR results were 3–5 and 16–18 days, respectively. In 803 × GB4 progeny, outcomes of these two lumefantrine assays showed strong inverse correlation; these phenotypes also correlated strongly with mefloquine and halofantrine EC50s. By QTL analysis, lumefantrine and mefloquine phenotypes mapped to a chromosome 5 region containing codon polymorphisms N86Y and Y184F in the P. falciparum multidrug resistance 1 protein (PfMDR1). Statistical tests of candidate genes identified correlations between inheritance of PfK13 Kelch protein polymorphism C580Y (and possibly K189T) and lumefantrine and mefloquine susceptibilities. Correlations were detected between lumefantrine and chloroquine EC50s and polymorphisms N326S and I356T in the CVIET-type P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (PfCRT) common to 803 and GB4. Conclusions Correlations in this study suggest common mechanisms of action in lumefantrine, mefloquine, and halofantrine responses. PfK13 as well as PfMDR1 and PfCRT polymorphisms may affect access and/or action of these arylaminoalcohol drugs at locations of hemoglobin digestion and heme metabolism. In endemic regions, pressure from use of lumefantrine or mefloquine in ACTs may drive selection of PfK13 polymorphisms along with versions of PfMDR1 and PfCRT associated with lower susceptibility to these drugs.
Prospective Evaluation of Post-Operative Pain and Erythema Stratified By Anti-Slip Bed Surface

Study Objective To assess differences in post-operative pain and erythema on a variety of anti-slip surfaces after minimally invasive gynecologic surgery Design Prospective randomized controlled trial with a minimum 6-week post-operative follow up Setting Patient positioning with Trendelenburg. Patients or Participants Patients undergoing major laparoscopic or vaginal surgery (hysterectomy or surgery >2 hours) were randomly assigned to one of three anti-slip surfaces: Pink Pad, Action O.R. Overlay (gelpad) or Olympic Vac-Pac (beanbag) from 6/2018-12/2019. 159 patients were enrolled with 148 found to be eligible. Interventions Patients were randomized 1:1:1 one of the three anti-slip surfaces. Measurements and Main Results Patients were pre-operatively assigned to one of three anti-slip surfaces. Pain was assessed on a standard 1-10 scale and erythema was assessed as a binary, present or absent. Pain was assessed in pre-operative holding and as the first pain score after surgery by the post anesthesia care unit nurse. Erythema was assessed in pre-operative holding and immediately after the operation. The pre-operative pain and erythema scores were not significantly different based on Tukey's multiple comparisons and proportion test respectively. Post-operative back pain was significantly less in the Pink Pad group versus the gelpad (0.96 vs. 2.40 points, p=0.036). Post-operative erythema was significantly less common in the Pink Pad group versus the beanbag group (6.2% vs. 30% respectively, p=0.017). Conclusion While overall post-operative pain control was excellent, there was a significantly less pain in the Pink Pad group versus the gelpad group. This finding presents a novel opportunity to limit the narcotic requirement after minimally invasive gynecologic surgery. Given the difference in post-operative erythema between the Pink Pad and beanbag, further study is warranted to assess the role of bed surface and skin irritation.
Temperature Change from Diode Lasers in Oral Mucosa: An Ex Vivo Study

Objective: The aim of this ex vivo study was to assess the mean temperature change deep in tissue during diode laser (980 vs. 810 nm) irradiation using continuous and pulsed laser and initiated ver...
A Region-based Framework for Cyberattacks Leading to Undervoltage in Smart Distribution Systems

One of the technical challenges in power systems operation is to prevent/tackle undervoltage, which can result in overheating of the equipment or even cascading failures under severe circumstances. Hence, it can be considered as an intention for cyberattackers to target smart distribution systems leading to undervoltage(s). This paper proposes a bi-level framework to attack a distribution network such that: 1) load centers and renewable-based distributed generation units are simultaneously targeted, 2) the attack bypasses the AC state estimation-based bad data detection, and most importantly, 3) the attacker targets the most vulnerable region of the system at the optimal time instead of attacking random sections/entire system at a random time. The effectiveness of the framework is validated on an IEEE standard distribution system modified to contain photovoltaic arrays.
Running ductile fracture in a pressurized line pipe

A model is developed for steady state propagation of a ductile crack in an initially pressurized line pipe. The analysis is directed toward the high toughness range of material behavior, for which extensive yielding occurs in the pipeline walls, and the material is represented as rigid-ideal plastic. Further, to obtain a tractable model, kinematical assumptions are made so that the deformation of the shell is expressed in terms of a single unknown function of position along the shell axis, which is determined in accordance with a variational statement of the equations of motion. Separation of material is represented by a Dugdale zone of localized yielding, in which a critical opening displacement is attained for fracture. With these approximations, the required decay length of the pressure distribution necessary to drive the crack, for a given exit plane pressure and decay shape, and the profile of the opened fracture, are estimated. Inertial effects due to the shell walls and backfill and crack arrest by branching are discussed, although it is pointed up that a complete analysis must await further progress on the fluid dynamics of gas escape through the fracture opening.
The Architecture of Government: CITIZENS AND GOVERNMENT

In a town-meeting, the great secret of political science was uncovered, and the problem solved, how to give every individual his fair weight in the government, without any disorder from numbers. … In this open democracy, every opinion had utterance; every objection, every fact, every acre of land, every bushel of rye, its entire weight. … A general contentment is the result. And the people truly feel that they are lords of the soil. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1903 [1835]) I wish only to stress a significant, and frequently misconceived, point: decentralization is one thing, democracy is another. The government of Sweden is far more decentralized than the government of New York City, but it is not thereby more democratic. Irving Kristol (1968, p. 22) This chapter examines two claims about the way decentralization influences the relationship between citizens and their governments. Since the days of the Greek polis, involvement in public affairs has been thought to develop citizens' political capacities and to cultivate civic spirit. Decentralization has been seen as a way to increase the opportunities for citizens to participate even within large states. A second set of arguments focuses on cases in which, rather than take part in government themselves, citizens control their representatives indirectly by means of the ballot box. Decentralized institutions are said to render officials more accountable to the voters. Civic virtue An ancient argument contends that human beings realize their true nature, or acquire important values and skills, by helping to govern their communities.
Reasoning about Composition Using Property Transformers and Their Conjugates

Compositional design is concerned with both constructing systems by composing components and with deconstructing systems into proposed sets of components. In bottom-up design, engineers prove system properties given properties of components and a compositional structure. In top-down design, they propose properties of components and a compositional structure given system properties. In this paper we show how the theory of predicate transformers, which has been used so successfully in sequential programming, can be applied to compositional design of systems. The rules of composition we study are more general than the rules employed in sequential programming, and the systems we study are not limited to programs. We exploit theorems about weakest and strongest solutions to equations to obtain a collection of useful predicate transformers, and then we exploit the theory of conjugate transformers to obtain more useful transformers. We show how these transformers are useful for both bottom-up and top-down design.
Romance In Barcelona

Doble, Doble At the Miro museum on Montjuic, synapse spark, amoeba burst; a carapace plus a perfect hand equals woman; a brass hoop plus a faucet equals a well plumbed man. A coat hook can be a cap or penis, either way a crown. A star stands for a bird. I can never be you. The Lark's Wing Encircled with Golden Blue...The Hope of the Man Condemned to Death is larger than the room... Rejoins the Heart of the Poppy Sleeping on a Diamond-Studded Meadow. After such sensory savor, we were spent. In wire chairs we sat to eat hot sandwiches at a table of brushed aluminum. The bread was toasted between
Stress Concentration Due to a Hemispherical Pit at a Free Surface

Abstract : A solution is presented in series form for the stresses and dis placements around a hemispherical pit at a free surface of an elastic body. The problem is idealized by considering a semi-infinite medium which is otherwise bounded by a plane. At infinity, the body is assumed to be in a state of hydrostatic tension perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the pit. The method of solution may be generalized to loadings which are not rotationally symmetric. Numerical results are given for the variation along the axis of symmetry of the normal stress which is parallel to the tractions at infinity; these results are compared with the known corresponding numerical values appropriate to the 2- dimensional analog of the problem.
Treatment of Trichodina sp reduced load of Flavobacterium columnare and improved survival of hybrid tilapia

Abstract Bacterium Flavobacterium columnare and protozoan Trichodina spp are common pathogens of cultured fish. Studies of parasite–bacterium interaction show evidence that concurrent infections increase severity of some infectious diseases, especially bacterial diseases. The effect of parasite treatment on F. columnare infection in tilapia is currently unknown. This study evaluated whether treatment of Trichodina sp parasitized hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus × Oreochromis aureus) with formalin would improve fish survival and reduce F. columnare infection in fish after F. columnare exposure. Hybrid tilapia parasitized by Trichodina sp were divided into 3 treatment groups. The first group of fish received no parasite treatment. The second group of fish were bath treated with 150 mg L−1 formalin for 1 h. The third group of fish treated twice with 150 mg L−1 formalin bath for 1 h each at 2 day intervals. All fish were then exposed to F. columnare by immersion challenge. The tilapia not treated with formalin showed significantly higher mortality (37.5%) than those treated with formalin (≤16.7%) after exposure to F. columnare. Fish treated twice showed lower mortality (6.37%) than those treated only once (16.7%). The non-treated fish showed significantly higher load of F. columnare in gill, kidney and liver compared to those treated with formalin following exposure to F. columnare. The bacterial load of non-treated fish was 27075 genome equivalents per mg of gill tissue (GEs/mg), 12 fold higher than those treated once with formalin (2250 GEs/mg) or 39 fold higher than those treated twice with formalin (699 GEs/mg) after exposure to F. columnare. This study demonstrated that formalin treatment for Trichodina sp parasitism reduced bacterial infection as suggested by reduced loads of bacteria in fish tissues and subsequently decreased fish mortality.
rec-2-dependent phage recombination in Haemophilus influenzae.

Abstract The genetic transformation mutant Rd(DB117)rec- has a pleiotropic phenotype that includes reduced levels of phage recombination. Physical mapping experiments showed that this strain has a 78.5-kbp insertion in the rec-2 gene. The rec-2 dependence of phage recombination was reexamined to determine whether the defective phenotype in Rd(DB117)rec- was due to the simple disruption of the rec-2 gene or whether trans-acting factors from the inserted DNA were responsible. Analysis of strains with transposon insertions in the rec-2 gene showed that they were also defective for phage recombination. Therefore, the phage recombination defect was due solely to the disruption of the rec-2 gene. Strain KB6 is proficient for phage recombination but has a defect in genetic transformation resembling that of Rd(DB117)rec-. The transformation defect of KB6 could be complemented by the wild-type rec-2 gene, showing that the rec-2 contributions to genetic transformation and phage recombination were uncoupled in this strain. The rec-2-dependent phenotype of KB6 suggests that the rec-2 gene participates in genetic transformation and phage recombination in different ways.
Calculation of Approximate Thermophysical Properties for Ablating Specimens Exposed to High Radiant Heat Fluxes

Calculating specific heat and conductivity of ablating specimens exposed to radiant heat fluxes
Marking and bridging versus conditioned reinforcement

Rats were trained on a series of reversals of a two-choice conditional discrimination. Choice responses were followed by different delays of reinforcement, which were either unsignaled or filled with either a brief or a long tone. In some conditions, the tone occurred following both correct and incorrect choices; in other conditions, the tone occurred only after correct choices. Presentation of the tone following only correct choices greatly facilitated the acquisition of the discrimination, and there was little effect of the tone’s duration. Presentation of the tone following all choices did not improve discrimination acquisition relative to the no-signal condition. The results demonstrate facilitatory effects of a signal during a delay-of-reinforcement interval that are caused by the conditioned-reinforcement properties of the signal and cannot he explained by the alternative mechanisms of marking or bridging.
Vinpocetine enhances retrieval of a step-through passive avoidance response in rats.

Abstract Vinpocetine, vincamine, apovincaminic acid, vinconate, aniracetam, Hydergine®, and pemoline were evaluated for their ability to enhance retrieval of a step-through passive avoidance response in rats. The percentage of rats performing the avoidance response was found to decrease as a function of the number of days between training and retention testing (Day 1, 100%; Day 2, 65%; Day 3, 23%; Days 4 and 5, 0%). Vinpocetine administered 60 minutes prior to testing for retention significantly increased the number of rats performing the passive avoidance response. Retrieval enhancement was dose-related in an inverted U-shaped function with the effective doses at 18 and 30 mg/kg PO. In contrast, apovincaminic acid (1–400 mg/kg PO), vincamine (1–200 mg/kg PO), vinconate (1–200 mg/kg PO), aniracetam (1–300 mg/kg PO), Hydergine® (0.1–10mg/kg PO), and pemoline (1–30 mg/kg PO) were not effective. These data support the view that vinpocetine has cognition-activating abilities as defined in an animal model of memory retrieval.
Contact Conformity Effects on Spinning Torque and Friction

Contact conformity effects on spinning torque and friction coefficient in angular contact ball bearings from lubricated and unlubricated tests
Simple features for Chinese word sense disambiguation

In this paper we report on our experiments on automatic Word Sense Disambiguation using a maximum entropy approach for both English and Chinese verbs. We compare the difficulty of the sense-tagging tasks in the two languages and investigate the types of contextual features that are useful for each language. Our experimental results suggest that while richer linguistic features are useful for English WSD, they may not be as beneficial for Chinese.
Dantrolene for cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid haemorrhage: a randomised double blind placebo-controlled safety trial

Background Dantrolene is neuroprotective in animal models and may attenuate cerebral vasospasm (cVSP) in human aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH). We evaluated safety, feasibility and tolerability of intravenous dantrolene (IV-D) in patients with aSAH. Methods In this single-centre, randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial, 31 patients with aSAH were randomised to IV-D 1.25 mg every 6 h for 7 days (n=16) or equiosmolar free water/5% mannitol (placebo; n=15). Primary safety end points were incidence of hyponatraemia (sNa≤132 mmol/L) and liver toxicity (proportion of patients alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase and AlkPhos >5× upper-limit-of-normal). Secondary end points included tolerability, systemic hypotension and intracranial hypertension. Efficacy was explored for clinical/radiological cVSP, delayed cerebral ischaemia (DCI), and 3-month functional outcomes. Quantitative analyses of angiograms and daily transcranial Doppler (TCD) were performed. Results Between IV-D versus placebo, no differences were observed in the primary outcomes (hyponatremia 44% vs 67% (p=0.29); liver toxicity 6% vs 0% (p=1.0)). Three patients in the IV-D versus two in the placebo group had severe adverse events possibly attributable to infusion and reached stop criteria: one IV-D patient developed liver toxicity; two patients in each group developed brain oedema requiring osmotherapy. The majority of adverse events were not related to infusion (17 vs 5 (RR 2.2; 95% CI 0.7 to 6.7; p=0.16) in IV-D vs placebo). No differences in any categorical cVSP outcomes, DCI, 3-month outcomes or quantitative angiogram and TCD analyses were seen in this small safety trial not powered to detect efficacy. Conclusions In this small trial, IV-D after aSAH was feasible, tolerable and safe. Trial registration number http://clinicaltrials.govNCT01024972.
Thinking clearly about biofuels: ending the irrelevant ‘net energy’ debate and developing better performance metrics for alternative fuels

As the world shifts away from a dependency on petroleum resources it is imperative that clear and accurate perceptions of the value of alternative fuel sources are recognized. The silly 'net energy' argument revolving around fuel ethanol offers a textbook example of how not to think about alternative fuels. For over 25 years a small but vocal group of critics has argued that ethanol from corn has a negative net energy. This viewpoint has been widely dissemi- nated and is a major perceived drawback to ethanol. Net energy analysis is simple and has great intuitive appeal. It is also dead wrong and dangerously misleading. If we are to make wise decisions as we embark on this brave new world of alternative fuels, we will need to carefully choose our metrics of comparison. Two complementary metrics suggest themselves. First, alternative fuels (e.g. ethanol) can be rated on their ability to displace petroleum; and sec- ond, ethanol could be rated on the total greenhouse gases produced per km driven. These are appropriate metrics, though there is still room for more discussion. Useless, misleading and dangerous metrics such as net energy must be eliminated from our discourse. © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Carcinoma of the neck in young children: A light and electron microscopic study

Two neck tumours in young children with similar clinical features were compared using light and electron microscopy. Both tumours consisted of uniform sheets of epithelial-like cells and there were scattered stromal elements in one. Tonofilaments in sheets or bundles reminiscent of squamous epithelium were striking in the epithelial cells. Intercellular junctions were frequent but true desmosomes were not seen. Most cells contained a few secretory droplets. Occasional secretory cells, foam cells and cilia were observed. Since these tumours were not sited superficially they are unlikely to have been derived from skin epithelium. An origin in branchial sinus remnants capable of differentiation towards squamous and ciliated epithelia is suggested.
Evaluation of a caloric requirement formula in burned children treated with early excision

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of a standard caloric requirement formula, as determined by retrospective analysis of weight gain of patients treated by serial debridement, for patients treated by early excision. The caloric intakes of 61 patients with more than 40% third-degree burn, 27 treated with serial debridement of the burn wound and 34 treated with early massive excision, were reviewed and compared to their calculated requirements. Nutritional support in both groups was similar. Of the 48 survivors there was no difference in their age, % TBSA burn, and per cent meeting caloric requirement. The early excision survivors had a greater percentage third-degree burn and weight change but a decreased length of stay. It was concluded that even though the formula, previously developed at our institution, may lead to a slight overestimation in determination of the caloric needs of early excision patients, it is an acceptable means of determining their requirements.
A simulated consulting project with a deregulating utility company

Business school students need experience working in large problem spaces with messy, realistic data. THE UTILITY COMPANY (TUC) simulates a gas and electric company preparing for deregulation, with deeply embedded problems related to customer service, information technology, human resources, and social justice issues in serving diverse clients. Students take various paths through TUC's data, watching video interviews with employees and analyzing text and data documents to unravel these problems. The authors analyze how one class of 15 students used this simulation and show how students used higher order skills of analysis, synthesis, and critical thinking. Another strength of this simulation was that it allowed the instructor to give effective but minimally intrusive midstream direction to student groups when they missed important content areas. Students found the experience both challenging and rewarding, as indicated by course evaluations. Shortcomings and future directions for this type of consulting simulation are also discussed.
A Comparison of Finite Element and Integral Equation Formulations for the Calculation of Electrocardiographic Potentials-II

This paper is a comparison of the major methodologies utilized in computer simulations of electrocardiographic potential calculations. Two integral equation methods (Green's theorem and the equivalent single layer) and finite element methods are compared for forward and inverse solutions. The results suggest that the differences in accuracy between the two integral equation formulations are small. However, the use of a basic finite element formulation improves the accuracy over that obtainable with integral equations, and the improvement in accuracy is particularly notable for inverse estimation.
Backward masking in bipolar affective disorder

1. When an informational stimulus, the target, is followed closely in time by a non-informational stimulus, the mask, the visual system's processing of the informational stimulus is disturbed. This disturbance is known as backward visual masking. 2. Transient and sustained visual pathways detect different characteristics of a visual stimulus, at different times in early visual information processing, and have unique anatomic distribution with regard to retinal origin, thalamic and cortical projections. 3. Backward masking occurs by two mechanisms. Interruption occurs when activity in the transient channels of the mask disrupt activity in the sustained channels of the target. Integration occurs when activity in the sustained channels of the mask disrupt activity of the sustained channels of the target. 4. Characteristics of the mask--energy, location, or the time presented after the target--can be altered to enhance interruption or integration. Interruption is a bell-shaped function of, and integration is an exponential function of, visual performance and interstimulus interval. 5. An impairment in backward masking is present in bipolar subjects during manic episodes, is not related to the presence of psychotic symptoms, and persists when mania resolves. Lithium appears to have a detrimental effect on backward masking.
Thermoelectric Nanowires By Template Synthesis: Fabrication, Contacts and Properties

Using the technique we have developed to grow porous anodic alumina (PAA) templates on the surface of silicon wafers, we have fabricated arrays of nanowires of thermoelectric materials. By this method we can control both (1) the in-plane geometry by the design of the template and the substrate, and (2) the out-of-plane dimension by control over the electrochemical nanowire growth process. We use several straightforward methods to make electrical contacts to the nanowires. Our transport studies show that both the structure of the nanowire and the contact region have a strong influence on the observed properties of the arrays.
Limited Brain Metabolism Changes Differentiate between the Progression and Clearance of Rabies Virus

Central nervous system (CNS) metabolic profiles were examined from rabies virus (RABV)-infected mice that were either mock-treated or received post-exposure treatment (PET) with a single dose of the live recombinant RABV vaccine TriGAS. CNS tissue harvested from mock-treated mice at middle and late stage infection revealed numerous changes in energy metabolites, neurotransmitters and stress hormones that correlated with replication levels of viral RNA. Although the large majority of these metabolic changes were completely absent in the brains of TriGAS-treated mice most likely due to the strong reduction in virus spread, TriGAS treatment resulted in the up-regulation of the expression of carnitine and several acylcarnitines, suggesting that these compounds are neuroprotective. The most striking change seen in mock-treated RABV-infected mice was a dramatic increase in brain and serum corticosterone levels, with the later becoming elevated before clinical signs or loss of body weight occurred. We speculate that the rise in corticosterone is part of a strategy of RABV to block the induction of immune responses that would otherwise interfere with its spread. In support of this concept, we show that pharmacological intervention to inhibit corticosterone biosynthesis, in the absence of vaccine treatment, significantly reduces the pathogenicity of RABV. Our results suggest that widespread metabolic changes, including hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation, contribute to the pathogenesis of RABV and that preventing these alterations early in infection with PET or pharmacological blockade helps protect brain homeostasis, thereby reducing disease mortality.
Time Dependence of Interfacial Tension and Density in Solutions

Dr. A. F. H. Ward and L. Tordai1 have described experiments showing changes of interfacial tension with time in solutions. There is no mention made whether in these experiments density changes also could be observed.
Prenatal diagnosis of sickle-cell anemia and alpha G Philadelphia. Study of a Fetus also at risk for H b S/beta+-thalassemia.

Prenatal diagnosis is now available as a research procedure for families whose children are at risk for hemoglobinopathies. The expressions of the sickle1 2 3 and thalassemia genes4 , 5 have been detected in abortuses as early as five weeks' gestation. Homozygous sickle-cell disease, thalassemia major and thalassemia trait have also been detected by diagnostic procedures during the midtrimester. Fetal blood samples for these diagnoses were obtained by needle aspiration of the placenta6 , 7 or by fetoscopy.8 , 9 We report here the prenatal diagnosis of a complex hemoglobinopathy in which the sample was obtained by fetoscopy. The detection of apparent homozygosity for βS (or possibly S/β . . .
Study design and baseline characteristics of participants in the Vitamin D in Vulnerable Adults at the VA (the VIVA Study)

Hypovitaminosis D has been associated with age-related physical decline and an increased risk for falls. The objective of this study is to test whether supplementation with 4000IU of vitamin D(3) (vitD(3)) for 9 months will improve, or slow down the decline of the ability to perform physical tests which have been associated with the preservation of independence in sedentary older men. We describe the study design and the baseline characteristics of the 314 men screened in the VIVA-VA Study (Vitamin D In Vulnerable Adults in the VA), a 2-year, single-site, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial that enrolled sedentary male veterans ages 65 to 95. The main inclusion criteria are 25-OH vitamin D (25-OHD) levels between 10 and 30 ng/ml, and a Short Performance Physical Battery (SPPB) score ≤ 9. The primary outcome of the study is the SPPB. Subjects were recruited from the Miami Veterans Medical Center clinics. The study recruited 314 male veterans of multiethnic backgrounds. The baseline characteristics observed from the 314 men screened in the VIVA-VA Study are consistent with what is expected in a cohort of elderly sedentary men: low physical performance scores, and low 25OHD levels despite living in South Florida. The results of this study that uses a high dose of vitamin D in a cohort of sedentary older men could provide an evidence-based indication for vitamin D supplementation to improve physical performance in this population.