cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Nature of 3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-Induced Serotonergic Dysfunction: Evidence for and Against the Neurodegeneration Hypothesis.

High doses of the recreational drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”) have been well-documented to reduce the expression of serotonergic markers in several forebrain regions of rats and nonhuman primates. Neuroimaging studies further suggest that at least one of these markers, the plasma membrane serotonin transporter (SERT), may also be reduced in heavy Ecstasy users. Such effects, particularly when observed in experimental animal models, have generally been interpreted as reflecting a loss of serotonergic fibers and terminals following MDMA exposure. This view has been challenged, however, based on the finding that MDMA usually does not elicit glial cell reactions known to occur in response to central nervous system (CNS) damage. The aim of this review is to address both sides of the MDMA-neurotoxicity controversy, including recent findings from our laboratory regarding the potential of MDMA to induce serotonergic damage in a rat binge model. Our data add to the growing literature implicating neuroregulatory mechanisms underlying MDMA-induced serotonergic dysfunction and questioning the need to invoke a degenerative response to explain such dysfunction.
PET imaging of concomitant colonic hyperplastic polyp and tubulovillous adenoma.

Incidental PET demonstration of abnormal focal F-18 FDG accumulation within the colon may be related to benign, precancerous, or malignant tumors. This pattern of uptake should prompt colonoscopic evaluation and tissue sampling of eventual colonic lesion. The author reports a case of simultaneous PET finding of a hyperplastic polyp and a tubulovillous adenoma during lung cancer evaluation.
Requirements for effective authoring systems and assistance

In this paper the present state of the art in authoring systems is surveyed and the other papers in this special issue are introduced.
Metabolic relationship between arachidonate activation and its transfer to lysophospholipids by brain microsomes.

Evidence is presented to indicate a metabolic relationship between arachidonic acid activation and its transfer to lysophospholipds by brain microsomes. Thus, in the presence of 1-acylglycerophosphocholines or 1-acyl-glycerophosphoinositols, the activation of labeled arachidonate to its acyl-CoA was enhanced, and the acyl-CoA formed was, in turn, transferred to the lysophospholipids to form the respective diacyl-glycerophospholipids. The “coupling effect” seems to pertain mainly to the lysophospholipids which are good substrates of the acyltransferase. Other lyso-compounds were either not effective or inhibitory to the arachidonate activation process. The activation-transfer activity mediated by the fatty acid ligase and acyltransferase could be dissociated by Triton X-100, which apparently stimulated the acyl-CoA ligase activity but inhibited the acyltransferase. These results suggest that fatty acid ligase and acyltransferase are located in close proximity within the membrane domain. The existence of a close metabolic relationship between these two enzymic reactions is important for maintaining a dynamic equilibrium between the free fatty acids and the membrane phospholipids. The mechanism is also useful in regulating the cellular acyl-CoA and lysophospholipid metabolism, because both compounds have membrane perturbing properties when present in excessive quantity.
Anti-windup for exponentially unstable linear systems

An algorithm for combining arbitrary linear and nonlinear controllers is specialized to the control design problem for exponentially unstable linear systems with input saturation. The algorithm solves an anti-windup problem: first, the linear controller operates without assistance as long as it does not encounter input saturation; second, under natural restrictions on the initial conditions of the exponentially unstable modes and on the eventual behaviour of the linear response, the nonlinear response is guaranteed to converge to the linear response. There is no restriction on the transient behaviour of the linear response nor on the initial conditions of the modes that are not exponentially unstable. The linearized model of the inverted pendulum with input saturation is used to illustrate the capabilities of the algorithm. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A systematic review of the effectiveness of breastfeeding intervention delivery methods.

ABSTRACT Objective To analyze breastfeeding intervention delivery methods to determine the likelihood of successful breastfeeding outcomes of e-based interventions compared to provider-based interventions. Data Sources Eligible studies were identified by searching MEDLINE, CINAHL, Academic Search Elite, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, SOC INDEX, and PsycINFO. Study Selection Studies were included if they were conducted in a developed country, published between the years 2004 and 2008, included a concurrent control group, and reported frequency data on breastfeeding initiation or duration. The suitability of design and quality of execution were evaluated using the Centers for Disease Control procedure for systematic reviews. Twenty-one articles met the criteria for inclusion. Data Extraction Study design, demographics, intervention/control conditions, settings, sampling strategies, potential threats to validity, and breastfeeding outcomes were abstracted and entered into a database for analysis and synthesis. Data Synthesis Odds ratios were calculated for each individual study, and studies were stratified into 2 groups by intervention delivery type. The pooled results indicated that studies using e-based interventions had a moderate effect on breastfeeding (odds ratio=2.2 [1.9-2.7], d=0.5); whereas provider-based interventions had very little to no effect (odds ratio=1.1 [1.0-1.2], d=0.03). Conclusions Results indicate that breastfeeding promotion programs delivered via the Internet may be an appealing alternative to time-consuming and expensive provider-based breastfeeding education and support.
Increased resistance to myocardial ischemia in the Brown Norway vs. Dahl S rat: role of nitric oxide synthase and Hsp90.

Abstract Hearts from Brown Norway (BN/Mcw) rats are more resistant to ischemia than hearts from Dahl S (SS/Mcw) rats. We determined whether nitric oxide (·NO) is responsible for increased cardioprotection in BN/Mcw vs. SS/Mcw hearts. Hearts from the two strains were treated with N G -monomethyl- l -arginine ( l -NMA) or S -nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) before ischemia and reperfusion. Infarct size in untreated BN/Mcw hearts was ~63% less than in SS/Mcw hearts. Inhibiting NOS with l -NMA increased infarct size in BN/Mcw hearts to that observed in untreated SS/Mcw hearts but did not further increase injury in SS/Mcw hearts. The ·NO donor GSNO decreased infarct size in SS/Mcw rats but had no effect on BN/Mcw hearts. Plasma and heart tissue from BN/Mcw rats contained 80% and 130% more nitrite + nitrate than that from SS/Mcw rats. These data suggest that increased ·NO production protects BN/Mcw hearts from ischemic injury. Real time PCR showed no differences in NOS1, NOS2 or NOS3 isozyme transcripts in the hearts from the two strains. NOS3 was the only isozyme detected by western analysis. Both strains exhibited the same level of NOS3 and hsp90 protein expression. However, hsp90 association with NOS3 in BN/Mcw hearts was increased twofold compared with SS/Mcw hearts. Inhibiting hsp90-NOS3 interaction with geldanamycin decreased the resistance to ischemia in BN/Mcw hearts but not in SS/Mcw hearts. SS/Mcw hearts also generated three times more N ω -nitro- l -arginine-methylester inhibitable superoxide than BN/Mcw hearts. These findings indicate that hsp90 with NOS3 increases ·NO production and decreases uncoupled NOS3 activity. We conclude increased association of hsp90 with NOS3 is a major mechanism by which BN/Mcw hearts are more resistant to ischemia than SS/Mcw hearts.
Break with Tradition: Marshall's contribution to a Foucauldian philosophy of education

James Marshall's work on Foucault exemplifies a break with tradition in philosophy of education and if taken appropriately as a new methodology, a new logic, portends a different future for the field. This article begins from a misunderstanding of Marshall. It then posits Marshall as situated in a particular Foucauldian root: a logic break out of Bachelard, Canguilhem and Foucault. From them a different understanding of ‘concept’ is offered as a break with the analytic tradition in philosophy and philosophy of education.
The Partisan Foundations of Balanced Budget Politics

The historical image of the Republican Party as a party strongly supporting the balanced budget norm has come under increasing scrutiny as many prominent Republicans, including President George W. Bush, have overtly argued that tax cuts should be a higher priority than deficit reduction. Have the Democrats truly surpassed the Republicans as being better advocates for deficit reduction, however? To determine partisan support for balancing the budget, I analyze balanced budget amendment votes in Congress since 1982, the “Fiscal Responsibility” vote scores given to members of Congress by the Concord Coalition, and the relationship between party control of the White House and the size of the deficit. Findings suggest mixed evidence to support both Democratic and Republican claims to be the party most likely to back deficit reduction. While evidence from the legislative branch implies that Republicans are competitive with the Democrats in regards to deficit reduction, the story from the executive branch suggests that Democrats have done a much better job of reigning in budget deficits. As a result, the leadership of the White House in regards to balancing the budget appears to be more important than ever.
The effect of the interior particle structure of PVC suspension resin on the behavior of plasticizer absorption

Abstract In the suspension polymerization of vinyl chloride, halting at low conversions and polymerizing with certain organic chemical additives in the reactor recipe result in resins that exhibit somewhat faster plasticizer absorption behavior. By fitting vinyl chloride monomer sorption rate data for some specially prepared suspension resins to a Fickean diffusion model, the effective diameters of sorbing sphere structures in resin grain interiors were measured and were identified as groups of primary particles knitted together into compact 3-μm agglomerates. Good correlation between these measured agglomerate diameters and the reduction in plasticizer dry times, which were induced either by lowered conversion or increased use of an organic chemical additive during polymerization, led to the conclusion that these polymerization variables achieve their effects primarily by reducing the size of the agglomerates.
Not just for the birds: archiving massive data sets

Among the 7,000 bird species whose songs are recorded at the Cornell Laboratory of ornithology's Macaulay Library, the prothonotary warbler doesn't seem like a standout. Referring to the sharp way the bird punctuates every high-pitched tweet, the sound is very high-frequency and bursty. Accuracy is paramount for Grotke and his colleagues, who are converting the world's largest animal recording collection from analog to digital to preserve as much information as possible for future scientists. Since 1999, they've digitized one-third of the collection and amassed 4 terabytes (Tbytes) of data. The sound collection dates back to 1929. Macaulay Library engineers are engaged in a particularly dramatic race against time, but they aren't alone in their need to preserve massive amounts of information. From high-energy physics to climate science to biology, new instruments are gathering more experimental data that need to be retained for the long term. Meanwhile, other scientists need to retain results from huge computer simulations. All around the world, data is being lost. To preserve its collections, the Macaulay Library is blazing a trail that others will have to follow
Carrier frequency recovery in wireless transceivers with transient impairments

Switching operation happens extensively in nowadays wireless devices between various functional modules. The transient responses during the hardware switching are non-ideal due to the non-ideal behavior of hardware components. The non-ideal transient may cause distortion on signals and degenerate system performance before the transient effect is settling down. We explore the advanced solutions to compensate the transient impairments rather than, as the conventional treatment, inserting guard intervals. In this paper, we present the transient carrier frequency offset (CFO) observed in hardware testbeds built for wireless communications research, which are configured working in time division duplexing (TDD) mode. The transient CFO arises as a result of the switching between transmission and reception radio functions. The transient CFO cannot be estimated by the conventional CFO estimators because it is time varying. We present the modeling and estimation of the transient CFO in this paper. A weighted KumaresanTufts (KT) algorithm is proposed by exploiting both low-rank approximation and subspace structure to optimize the estimation of the transient CFO. We compare the proposed algorithm with the existing methods as well as the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB). The proposed algorithm is also confirmed by the experimental results obtained from the hardware testbed.
Modern Cargo-Winch Control for Use on Victory Ships

THE electric-driven cargo winces used to load and unload a modern cargo vessel are required to give fast efficient operation. Wartime conditions have made the time for loading and unloading cargo more important than ever. In addition to the need for optimum operating characteristics, the war has also brought about changes in the construction and assembly of the winches and their associated control. Every square foot of deck space is needed to carry cargo to the fighting fronts, and the space allotted to the winch must be kept to a minimum. In the past the winch, the control panel, and the resistor had been furnished separately, then mounted and wired on the ship. The time to install all this equipment on the vessel is now too long to keep pace with the accelerated shipbuilding program. The problem is being solved by furnishing the winch, the control, and the resistor, as a unit. This unit is interconnected so that very little wiring must be done on the ship and the installation time is materially reduced (see Figure 1).
Dosimetry of Reference Tetramethylsilane in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Tetramethylsilane (TMS) is a convenient standard (δ = 0 or τ = 10) in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. However, owing to its high vapor pressure, its specific gravity and low surface tension, pipetting of TMS is difficult. The alternative is the use of TMS in a micro-capillary as an external standard. This again brings about the necessity for correcting for the bulk susceptibility, which differs from solution to solution (1).
Automation in teleoperation from a man-machine interface viewpoint

Teleoperation can be defined as the use of robotic devices having mobility, manipulative and some sensing capabilities, and remotely controlled by a human operator. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and exemplify technology issues related to the use of robots as man-extension or teleoperator systems in space. The main thrust of the paper is focused at research and development in the area of sensing- and computer-based automation from the viewpoint of man-machine interface devices and techniques. The objective of this R and D effort is to render space teleoperation efficient and safe through the use of devices and techniques which will permit integrated and task-level ('intelligent') two-way control communication between human operator and teleoperator machine in earth orbit.
Synthesis of a (β-acetamido-α-acetoxyethyl)boronic ester via azido boronic esters

Abstract (Azidomethyl)boronic esters of 1,2-dicyclohexyl-1,2-ethanediol (“DICHED”) and pinanediol have been prepared from the corresponding (bromomethyl)boronic esters. Conversion to (2-azido-1-chloro- or bromoethyl)boronic esters by reaction with a (dihalomethyl)lithium followed. Attempted displacement of halide from DICHED (2-azido-1-haloethyl)boronates with alkoxides failed. Reaction of either pinanediol or DICHED (2-azido-1-chloromethyl)boronate with sodium acetate in acetic acid yielded the 1-acetoxy derivative as a ∼1:1 mixture of diastereomers, indicating probable involvement of an α-boryl carbocation intermediate. Hydrogenation of the pinanediol azido boronic ester over platinum in a solution of hydrogen chloride in dioxane was accompanied by deacetylation to form the impure (2-amino-1-hydroxyethyl)boronic ester hydrochloride. Attempted purification of this material resulted in deboronation to ethanolamine. Acetylation yielded pinanediol (2-acetamido-1-acetoxyethyl)boronate.
Casting a wide net: the Journal Impact Factor numerator

All metrics published in the Journal Citation Reports™ are dependent on the complete and correct aggregation of citations to each journal title. Here, we explain how unique cited titles are created for Thomson Reuters indexing, and how variations and ambiguities in titles are collected in order to create the Journal Impact Factor numerator.
Transitions in Creep Behavior

Under creep conditions at constant temperature, it is well known that transitions may occur between different flow mechanisms depending upon the level of the applied stress. For example, the transitions between the viscous glide of dislocations and control by dislocation climb are now well established in the creep of solid solution alloys. However, this paper demonstrates that there are also other possible transitions where the interpretation is more complex. First, the mechanism of grain boundary sliding may exhibit different dependences on stress because of a change in the nature of the accommodation process : it is shown that this is equivalent to the occurrence of sliding under creep and superplastic conditions, respectively. Second, the high temperature flow of a superplastic ceramic, yttria-stabilized polycrystalline zirconia, is critically dependent upon the nature of the grain boundaries within the material. The methods of interpreting experimental data for these two situations are examined.
Orbital inflammatory disease: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge

The spectrum of orbital inflammatory disease (OID) ranges broadly from specific disease diagnoses, for example, Wegener's granulomatosis or sarcoidosis, to nonspecific inflammation which may involve one or multiple structures of the orbit. Mimics of idiopathic OID must be considered in a comprehensive differential diagnosis and include malignancies, congenital mass lesions, infectious diseases, and occult or distant trauma. Idiopathic OID may be secondary to an underlying systemic inflammatory disease, which must be diagnosed in order to develop a comprehensive therapeutic plan, or may represent localized pathologic processes without systemic involvement. Evaluation of the patient with suspected OID must include a careful history, physical examination, directed laboratory, and radiologic studies, and may sometimes require tissue for diagnostic studies. Therapeutic options for inflammatory diseases are expanding as biologically targeted agents become available that act on specific segments of the inflammatory cascades. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for the evaluation and management of patients with the spectrum of diseases known as OID and to discuss some of the new advances in immunologic monitoring and targeted immune therapies that will likely play an increasingly important role in the care of these patients.
EFFECT OF ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE ON THE ANTERIOR PITUITARY OF THE NORMAL YOUNG MALE RAT11

BIOLOGICAL studies with purified adrenocorticotropic hormone have revealed that the chronic administration of this anterior pituitary principle causes the following effect in immature male rats: a) hypertrophy of the adrenal cortex, b) atrophy of the thymus and lymph nodes (Simpson, Li, Reinhardt and Evans, 1943), c) the retardation of body growth (Evans, Simpson and Li, 1943), d) retarded development of testes and male accessory organs (unpublished) and e) decrease of thyroid weight and some hypoplasia (unpublished data). Such a widespread effect on the endocrine system warranted histological and cytological investigation of the pituitary of these animals.2 The male rat was chosen for this investigation in order to avoid the complications usually brought about by the well-known phenomenon of cyclic changes in the pituitary of a female. Both sexually immature (at the begnning of the experiments) and mature males were studied.
Do chemokines mediate leukocyte recruitment in post-traumatic CNS inflammation?

Abstract Hematogenous leukocytes infiltrate the CNS after inflammatory stimuli, including infection, mechanical trauma and excitotoxic neuronal necrosis. However, the role of leukocytic inflammation in promoting or hindering tissue repair is poorly understood. Identification of signals that lead to leukocyte recruitment and activation is essential for the designing of interventions that modulate inflammation, thus improving neurological outcome. Chemokines are small pleiotropic chemoattractant cytokines whose target specificity suggests an important role in determining the cellular composition of inflammatory infiltrates. Chemokine expression profiles in the CNS during autoimmune and post-traumatic inflammation correlate well with the composition of leukocyte infiltrates, and expression studies in systems such as transgenic mice, suggest that chemokines have potent functional attributes in CNS physiology. We propose that selective chemokine expression by CNS cells is crucial for post-traumatic leukocyte accumulation.
Abnormal Folate Metabolism in Feed-Related Anemia of Cultured Channel Catfish:

"No-blood disease" is a severe, feed-related anemia of channel catfish. Pathological features in advanced cases include almost total absence of circulating red blood cells, hepatic fatty change, megaloblastic arrest of hematopoiesis, and intussusceptions of the small intestine. In view of similarities to folate deficiency in man studies were made regarding the intake and metabolism of folic acid. When a bacterial culture medium, containing inorganic salts and folic acid as the sole carbon source, was inoculated with a small sample of anemia-producing feed, over 95% of the folate was destroyed. A yellow precipitate formed and had the characteristic uv spectrum of pteroic acid; it represented 32% of the folate originally present. Differential microbiological assays revealed that the same anemia-producing feed contained 20 times as much folate activity for Streptococcus fecalis as for Lactobacillus casei (59 micrograms/g vs 2.6 micrograms/g). This growth response is compatible with an excess of pteroic acid and/or formyl-pteroic acid which support the former but not the latter organism. Plasma folate activity (mean +/- SD, ng/ml) assayed with L. casei and S. fecalis in 22 normal catfish (hematocrit range 32-43) was 17.2 +/- 6.2 and 23.4 +/- 13.8, respectively. Comparable values in 15 anemic catfish (hematocrit range 0 to 30) were 35.5 +/- 33.7 and 58.7 +/- 76.5. The mean plasma pteroate activity, estimated by subtraction, was 6.2 and 23.2 ng/ml, respectively, in normal and anemic fish. Fingerling catfish raised under controlled conditions on feed containing 130 mg/kg of pteroic acid failed to gain weight and developed anemia with the characteristic red cell morphologic features that are seen in the naturally occurring disease. We conclude that severe anemia in channel catfish can be caused by abnormal folate metabolism and may be due to ingestion of folic acid-breakdown products, such as pteroic acid. It is postulated that microorganisms in contaminated feed synthesize folate which, in turn, is converted to pteroate by a pseudomonad or similar organism.
Technical Note-Solving Integer Programming Problems by Aggregating Constraints

Integer programming problems with bounded variables can be solved by combining the constraints into an equivalent single constraint. This note presents a refinement to earlier work that reduces the size of the coefficients in the equivalent constraint and points out advantages as well as computational considerations for solving problems by this method.
Feasibility of Applying Distributed Piezotransducers to Structural Damage Detection

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate experimentally the feasibility of nondestructive damage detection by an array of piezotransducers embedded or bonded to the surface of a monitored structure. This paper shows the results of experiments with transmission of elastic waves among systems ofpiezotransducers surface-bonded to two aluminum specimens: a beam and a plate, and embedded in a concrete block. Structural damages were simulated by masses of various magnitudes placed at the surface of tested specimens. Experimental results obtained so far indicate that there is a strong correlation between the size and location of a simulated and actual damage and the character of signals transmitted among piezotransducers, Anomalies in those signals are repeatable and have distinct characters when they are caused by damage and when they are due to other causes. Piezotransducers used in this study were able to produce and receive signals well above the noise level both when surface-bonded to aluminum specimens and when embedded in a concrete block. The anomalies caused by simulated damages were significant enough to be used for training a neural network.
Left Ventricular Dysfunction after Lung Transplantation in Pulmonary Hypertension Patients

Purpose Lung transplantation is the final treatment option for patients with refractory Pulmonary Hypertension (PH). Unfortunately, short term mortality after lung transplantation amongst these patients is high. Transient Left Ventricular Dysfunction (LVD) is a frequent event on these patients. In review of the literature, there is a paucity of reports of this phenomenon. We describe our experiences at a single institution. Methods and Materials We reviewed our lung transplant database for patients with PH (mean PAP > 25mmHg, Wedge 3 Wood units) who underwent lung transplantation between July 2008 and July 2012. Patients with WHO group 2 PH were excluded. The data was analyzed for peri-operative use of inotropes, IV prostacyclin, RHC/LHC, echocardiographic results, ischemic time, bypass time, PGD, ventilator days, length of stay, and mortality. LVD is defined as wall-motion abnormalities and a drop in EF Results Sixteen patients were identified as having PH. The majority of patients (10) had WHO group 1 PH. Four of the 16 did not have a LHC, while the remaining had no significant coronary artery disease. The mean pre-transplant LVEF was 70% while RVEF was 39%. Thirteen patients were on IV prostacyclin therapy and 6 on inotropes pre-operatively. Four patients (pre-EF 69%) developed LVD post transplant(mean 33%) and all had a return of normal function (post-EF 55%) within 4 months. The number of days on inotropes was on average 1 day longer for the patients with LVD; patients spent one more day on the ventilator and had one grade worse PGD. Conclusions Patients with PH are at high risk of developing LVD. Development of LVD was not associated with greater mortality however there was greater morbidity. The etiology of LVD is unclear but as lung transplantation becomes more common in PH patients, we have to be aware of this potential complication.
Combustion under microgravity conditions

Reduced gravity combustion experiments are frequently required to provide the information necessary for comprehensive understanding of combustion phenomena at normal gravitational conditions. Previous papers have dealt in detail with a broad range of combustion science experiments which require reduced gravity experimentation. This paper enlarges on these previous studies. Reduced gravity experiments are shown to be needed for comprehensive understanding of kinetic and thermokinetic oscillatory flame processes, the radiative ignition of solids, high pressure flame propagation and extinction phenomena, as well as a number of other combustion science areas of vital interest.
Uterine contraction patterns and fertility in early postpartum ewes.

Three experiments were conducted to determine: (1) the direction of uterine contractions in Days 32 and 52 postpartum ewes (Experiment 1); (2) the effect of PGF2a on direction of uterine contractions (Experiment 2); and (3) the effect of PGF2a on fertility rates in Day 32 postpartum ewes (Experiment 3). In Experiment 1, non-lambing (>90 days postpartum) and lambing ewes (day of lambingaDay 0) received medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) vaginal sponges for 8 days and 500 IU of eCG at sponge withdrawal (Days 30 or 50 postpartum). At the time of eCG injection, ewes were divided into the following groups: (1) non-lambing (control; na29); (2) Day 32 postpartum dry (na15) and lactating (na16); and (3) Day 52 postpartum dry (na14) and lactating (na16). At estrus or 60 h post-eCG, the uterus was exteriorized through a mid-ventral incision, and the origin and direction of uterine contractions were recorded for 10 min. In Experiment 2, ewes received MAP sponges on Day 16 postpartum followed by 500 IU of eCG on day of sponge removal (Day 30). At estrus, the ewes were divided into the following treatments: (1) two injections of saline 4 h apart (na10) and (2) 12.5 mg of PGF2a followed by another 12.5 mg 4 h later (na7). After the second injection, ewes were laparotomized and uterine contractions were counted. In Experiment 3, estrus was induced in postpartum ewes, and ewes were mated to two rams, then received the same two treatments as described in Experiment 2 (ramasaline; na32 and ramaPGF2a; na28). Two days following mating, ewes were laparotomized and the oviducts flushed for recovery of ova. In Experiment 1, lactational status had no effect, therefore, the data were pooled. Control ewes had a greater percentage (p<0.05) of uterine contractions (69%) moving towards the oviducts than did Day 32 (8%) or Day 52 (43%) ewes. In Experiment 2, PGF2a treatment increased the proportion of contractions (p<0.05) moving toward the oviducts (controls 16%, PGF2a 42%). Number of PGF2a-treated ewes (Experiment 3) with fertilized ova were not significantly different from the control ewes (5/32 versus 2/28; respectively). In conclusion, it can be said that the direction of uterine contractions moving toward the oviducts increased as the postpartum interval progressed or if they received PGF2a injection. PGF2a treatment did not improve fertility rates in Day 32 postpartum ewes. # 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Adaptive Optimal Control of a Grid-Independent Photovoltaic System

This paper investigates adaptive optimal control of a grid-independent photovoltaic system consisting of a collector, storage, and a load. The algorithm is based on Q-Learning, a model-free reinforcement learning algorithm, which optimizes control performance through exploration. Q-Learning is used in a simulation study to find a policy which performs better than a conventional control strategy with respect to a cost function which places more weight on meeting a critical base load than on those non-critical loads exceeding the base load.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Evaluation of Wilderness in a Spatial Context

Spatial scarcities are integral to basic models that account for the organization of land use, including wilderness. The purpose of this paper is to consider the evaluation of wilderness from the perspective of spatial scarcity. Spatial scarcity usually can be taken as relative depending upon scale of analysis. At the more local scale, the relative scarcities of competing land uses are relevant to wilderness evaluation while at larger national and global scales scarcities in certain wilderness qualities may be more important. The paper begins with a brief review of existing approaches to evaluating wilderness and lays out an explicitly spatial approach to the problem. Then, local scale evaluation is considered in the context of von Thunen types of land use transition models which concern relative scarcity payments, or rents. The paper also takes up larger geographic scales and uses the concept of spatial scarcity in linking the hedonic and travel cost models of wilderness evaluation with central place theory in the consideration of wilderness potential.
Identification of the Heat Flux in a Quasi-Static Thermoelastic System

This paper treats the problem of estimating the heat flux through the free end of a thermoelastic rod, which is allowed to come into contact with a rigid obstacle. This problem is motivated by the need to develop techniques for indirect measurement of heating in applications, such as, brake systems and machine tools. Under a quasi-static approximation, the problem becomes that of characterizing thermal processes in the rod. Assuming that direct and exact measurements at the contacting end of the rod cannot be taken, the problem is to determine if there is contact with the obstacle; and if there is contact, to characterize the conductivity processes at the contacting end. We study the case of weighted-average temperature measurements throughout the rod. Identifiability results and on-line recursive estimation procedures are developed.
Modeling oil spills in a river—lake system

Abstract A general model shell, ROSS3, is developed for simulating oil spills in complex river systems using techniques which have not been previously exploited in oil spill models. ROSS3's new approach has several advantages over the approach to model oil spills in the past: (a) The use of a time-varying boundary-fitted coordinate system that allows accurate accounting for complex river/lake boundary as well as the river boundary changes as its water levels fluctuate; (b) The ability to confine two-dimensional hydrodynamic computations to a limited river reach; (c) The ability to interactively layout the channel networks for setting up the model, define extra cross sections to increase the accuracy if needed, in addition to the traditional data entry and visualization interfaces. ROSS3 is a two-layer two-dimensional oip spill model that can simulate the mechanism of advection, horizontal diffusion, mechanical spreading, shoreline deposition, evaporation, dissolution, vertical mixing, resurfacing and sinking. In ROSS3 spilled oil may be a surface slick or suspended oil droplets, or a combination of both. Both free surface and ice cover conditions can be simulated. The flow of conditions can be varied and the unsteady flow model can be run within ROSS3 to simulate the flow conditions in both the river and the lake. The ice conditions can be added or removed from the model input using easy interactive procedures.
Diagnosis of lupus: a glass half full.

The tests will always be imperfect, but with better knowledge of how they perform, we can look at the clinical laboratory’s role in lupus diagnosis as a glass half full rather than half empty.
Inclusion dependencies and the universal instance

The power of the relational model with inclusion dependencies is compared with that of the universal instance model. A characterization of allowable sets of inclusion dependencies is made, the relational and universal instance models are proved equivalent given this restriction.
THZ Heterodyne Imaging Applicatiions, Instruments and Directions

This paper briefly discusses some of the RF heterodyne imaging applications and instruments that are being developed and deployed for the THz frequency regime. After more than three decades of academic research the THz equivalent of the IR camera is still confined to proposals. However, as the component technology matures and new instruments emerge, interest in applications has followed. Some of the early imaging array concepts are now being revisited and new ideas are coming into the light.
A prospective study of genital herpes simplex virus type 2 infection in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-seropositive women: correlations with CD4 cell count and plasma HIV-1 RNA level.

A cohort of 217 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-seropositive women was observed prospectively from 1996 through 2000 to determine the frequency of genital herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) disease (symptomatic and asymptomatic) and to correlate those findings with HIV-1-related immunosuppression (absolute CD4 cell counts and plasma HIV-1 RNA levels). Participants underwent twice-yearly pelvic examinations, including cultures of cervicovaginal specimens and swab specimens from genital lesions, if lesions were present. Of the participants, 72 (33%) had genital HSV-2 infection diagnosed on the basis of either history alone (23 [32%]) or positive culture results (49 [68%]). The 72 women who had genital herpes diagnosed completed 242 total visits. Of these visits, positive HSV-2 culture results were noted at 80 (33%); at 23 (29%) of the 80 visits at which there were HSV-2-positive cultures, culture results were not associated with a clinically apparent genital lesion. Positive HSV-2 culture results occurred more frequently for samples obtained from patients with higher plasma HIV-1 RNA levels (P = .019) and lower CD4 cell counts (P<.001).
GPR56 in cancer progression: current status and future perspective

Cell adhesion is a critical process during cancer progression and is mediated by transmembrane receptors. Recently, GPR56, a member of the adhesion family of G protein-coupled receptors, was established as a new type of adhesion receptor that binds to extracellular matrix proteins and shown to play inhibitory roles in melanoma progression. Further studies revealed that the extracellular portion and the seven transmembrane domains of GPR56 function antagonistically to regulate VEGF production and angiogenesis via a signaling pathway mediated by PKCα. Tissue transglutaminase was identified as the first extracellular matrix protein that binds to GPR56. It is a crosslinking enzyme in the extracellular matrix but is also expressed in the cytosol. Tissue transglutaminase plays pleiotropic roles in cancer progression. Whether and how it might mediate GPR56-regulated cancer progression awaits further investigation.
Early intervention for toddlers with language delays: A randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: Early interventions for toddlers with expressive and receptive language delays have not resulted in positive expressive language outcomes. This randomized controlled trial tested the effects on language outcomes of a caregiver-implemented communication intervention targeting toddlers at risk for persistent language delays. METHODS: Participants included 97 toddlers, who were between 24 and 42 months with language scores at least 1.33 SDs below the normative mean and no other developmental delays, and their caregivers. Toddlers were randomly assigned to the caregiver-implemented intervention or a usual-care control group. Caregivers and children participated in 28 sessions in which caregivers were taught to implement the intervention. The primary outcome was the Preschool Language Scale, Fourth Edition, a broad-based measure of language. Outcome measurement was not blinded. RESULTS: Caregivers in the intervention improved their use of all language facilitation strategies, such as matched turns (adjusted mean difference, intervention-control, 40; 95% confidence interval 34 to 46; P CONCLUSIONS: This trial provides preliminary evidence of the short-term effects of systematic caregiver instruction on caregiver use of language facilitation strategies and subsequent changes in children’s language skills. Future research should investigate the ideal dosage levels for optimizing child outcomes and determine which language facilitation strategies are associated with specific child outcomes. Research on adaptations for families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds is needed.
Penicillin-binding protein of Ehrlichia chaffeensis: cytokine induction through MyD88-dependent pathway

Background. Human monocytic ehrlichiosis is one of the most prevalent tick-borne zoonoses caused by infection with Ehrlichia chaffeensis. Although E. chaffeensis lacks entire lipopolysaccharide and most peptidoglycan biosynthesis genes, it induces inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Ehrlichia chaffeensis components that induce inflammation and the responsive host cell pathway are not known. Methods. Expression of penicillin-binding protein (PBP) in E. chaffeensis was analyzed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and Bocillin FL binding assay. Next, recombinant PBP, which was high-pressure liquid chromatography purified, and native PBP of E. chaffeensis were investigated for their ability to induce proinflammatory cytokines in the human monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1 and bone marrow–derived macrophages (BMDMs) from wild-type and MyD88 knockout mice. Results. Expression of PBP by E. chaffeensis was upregulated during its intracellular life cycle. PBP induced interleukin 8 or CXCL2, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 1β, and interleukin 10 in THP-1 cells and BMDMs. Cytokine induction by PBP was MyD88-dependent. Removal of PBP from E. chaffeensis lysate using penicillin affinity column and a complementation assay confirmed cytokine-inducing activity of native PBP. Conclusions. The cytokine-inducing activity by E. chaffeensis PBP provides novel insights into pathogenassociated molecular patterns and pathogenesis of E. chaffeensis infection.
Multi-valued volumetric visualization

Effective methods for visualizing several sets of volumetric data simultaneously are presented which involve the composition of multiple volumetric rendering techniques. Although there are many methods for visualizing volumetric data, most of these methods can only render one set of volumetric data at a time. By rendering several volumetric data sets simultaneously, relationships among the data sets can be visualized, which may be difficult or impossible to visualize when the data sets are rendered individually.
Stable de Sitter vacua in four-dimensional supergravity originating from five dimensions

The five-dimensional stable de Sitter ground states in N = 2 supergravity obtained by gauging SO(1, 1) symmetry of the real symmetric scalar manifold (in particular, a generic Jordan family manifold of the vector multiplets) simultaneously with a subgroup R s of the R-symmetry group descend to four-dimensional de Sitter ground states under certain conditions. First, the holomorphic section in four dimensions has to be chosen carefully by using the symplectic freedom in four dimensions; second, a group contraction is necessary to bring the potential into a desired form. Under these conditions, stable de Sitter vacua can be obtained in dimensionally reduced theories (from 5D to 4D) if the semidirect product of SO(1, 1) with R (1,1) together with a simultaneous R s is gauged. We review the stable de Sitter vacua in four dimensions found in earlier literature for N = 2 Yang-Mills Einstein supergravity with the SO(2,1) X R s gauge group in a symplectic basis that comes naturally after dimensional reduction. Although this particular gauge group does not descend directly from five dimensions, we show that its contraction does. Hence, two different theories overlap in certain limits. Examples of stable de Sitter vacua are given for the cases: (i) R s = U(1) R , (ii) R s = SU(2) R , and (iii) N = 2 Yang-Mills/Einstein supergravity theory coupled to a universal hypermultiplet. We conclude with a discussion regarding the extension of our results to supergravity theories with more general homogeneous scalar manifolds.
Conflicts of interest in data monitoring of industry versus publicly financed clinical trials.

The FDA Guidance, while highly appropriate for industry sponsored trials, need not be imposed on publicly (e.g. NIH) financed clinical trials. While the potential for conflicts of interest exist in the latter, they are in general manageable and pose an acceptable low risk of threatening the integrity of a study. However, the Guidance should heighten the awareness of all investigators in public trials to the potential for the appearance of conflicts and to the need for full and open participation in the management of dualities of interest. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Thread prioritization: a thread scheduling mechanism for multiple-context parallel processors

Multiple-context processors provide register resources that allow rapid context switching between several threads as a means of tolerating long communication and synchronization latencies. When scheduling threads on such a processor, we must first decide which threads should have their state loaded into the multiple contexts, and second, which loaded thread is to execute instructions at any given time. In this paper we show that both decisions are important, and that incorrect choices can lead to serious performance degradation. We propose thread prioritization as a means of guiding both levels of scheduling. Each thread has a priority that can change dynamically, and that the scheduler uses to allocate as many computation resources as possible to critical threads. We briefly describe its implementation, and we show simulation performance results for a number of simple benchmarks in which synchronization performance is critical. >
Using the Concepts of Transference and Countertransference in the Consultation Process

The concepts of transference and countertransference are reviewed and applied tothe consultation process. It is argued that these concepts offer a framework fromwhich to view some of the strong emotional reactions that occur between nurses andpatients. Although both of these concepts arose from psychoanalytical theory, therole of the consultation-liaison nurse is substantively different from that of the psychoanalyst. Examples are offered to demonstrate the application of these concepts to the consultation process. (J AM PSYCHIATR NURSES Assoc [1995]. 1, 42-47)
The feasibility and accuracy of point-of-care lactate measurement in emergency department patients with suspected infection.

Abstract Background: Prior studies show that lactate is a useful prognostic marker in sepsis. Objective: To study the feasibility and accuracy of a point-of-care (POC) analyzer capable of performing bedside serum lactate measurements; and to determine if other measurements (pH, base excess) are predictive of mortality. Methods: Design: prospective cohort study of adult (age 18 years or older) Emergency Department (ED) patients with suspected infection during the study period of May 2006 through March 2007. Setting: A 55,000-annual-visit urban tertiary care ED. Intervention: A point-of-care device (i-STAT, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Princeton, NJ) was deployed using a standardized training and quality assurance process. Using POC testing, we measured serum lactate, pH, and base excess, as well as concomitant lactate measurement via a central laboratory. Statistics: Area under the curve (AUC) for receiver operator characteristic curve, Bland-Altman statistics along with a correlation coefficient, and relative risk with 95% confidence intervals reported. Results: There were 699 patients enrolled, of whom 34 (4.9%) died. The AUCs for mortality prediction were: POC lactate 0.72, laboratory lactate 0.70, pH measurement 0.60, and base excess 0.60. Bland-Altman showed that POC lactate was, on average, 0.32 (95% confidence interval −0.35–0.98) lower than laboratory lactate, with agreement kappa = 0.97. Conclusions: A point-of-care testing device provides a reliable and feasible way to measure serum lactate at the bedside. The pH and base excess were less helpful.