cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
INVESTIGATING ALTERNATIVE ACCOUNTS OF VERIDICAL AND NON-VERIDICAL MEMORIES OF TRAUMA

We summarize the discussions of the two Cognitive Working Groups of the NATO ASI meeting on memory and trauma. The groups found that an understanding of the processes that contribute to veridical and nonveridical memories of trauma will require clarification of the relationship between clinical and cognitive constructs, and a variety of research approaches. The groups concluded that advancement will require greater communication and collaboration among researchers interested in memory of trauma
Genetic variation in CRHR1 is associated with short-term respiratory response to corticosteroids in preterm infants at risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is an orphan disease and advances in prevention and treatment are lacking. The clinical efficacy of systemic corticosteroid therapy to reduce the severity of lung disease and BPD is highly variable. Our objective was to assess whether candidate SNPs in corticosteroid metabolism and response genes are associated with short-term phenotypic response to systemic corticosteroids in infants at high risk for BPD. Pharmacogenetic analysis of data from a large randomized controlled trial (TOLSURF) in infants treated with dexamethasone or hydrocortisone using multivariate linear regression. The primary outcome was a change in respiratory severity score (RSS, mean airway pressure x FiO2) at day 7 of corticosteroid treatment. rs7225082 in the intron of CRHR1 is significantly associated with the magnitude of decrease in RSS 7 days after starting treatment with systemic corticosteroid (meta-analysis P = 2.8 × 10−4). Each T allele at rs7225082 is associated with a smaller absolute change in RSS at day 7, i.e., less response to systemic corticosteroids. Genetic variability is associated with corticosteroid responsiveness with regard to respiratory status in preterm infants. Identification of genetic markers of corticosteroid responsiveness may allow for therapeutic individualization, with the goal of optimizing the risk-to-benefit ratio for an individual child.
National Bureau of Economic Research Patent Database: Presentation

The National Bureau of Economic Research patent database is a research-friendly compilation of U.S. patent data, with geocoding of information on inventors and assignees, codification of inventor and assignee names, and patent citations.
“The Eternal Drabness of DeHoCo”: Documenting and Memorializing Built Heritage Through Urban Exploration in Detroit

There are over 40,000 vacant and blighted structures in Detroit, Michigan, and the city now demolishes an average of 150 of them each week. In the rush to clear the landscape and make way for new development, local histories and the physical sites associated with them are often lost or marginalized, and in the de facto absence of official city preservation efforts, local and nonlocal urban explorers step in to document structures before they are demolished or otherwise removed from the landscape. This process often involves extensive archival research into the life-history of a site and making the information they find publicly available online.
Proximity Search Method for Mining Biomedical and Genomic Information

The human face is an important part of the human body. Finding SNPs associated with its different regions can open doors to deeper understanding of different genetic diseases affecting the face, improve genotype-to-phenotype analysis for forensics, etc. In this work we propose a process for constructing a panel of SNPs associated with the human face leveraging a database of published work on different regions of the face and applying proximity search to ensure relevant selections of publications. We validate the process by selecting top SNPs ranked using standard metrics to make predictions on human biogeographical ancestry at the continent level. Although our process makes no assumptions on ancestry informativeness of SNPs, our panel, grouped by chromosomes, performs comparatively well at the task of ancestry classification. Our results highlight genes/chromosomes that promise better discriminative power to help those under resource constraint focus on only a few genes/chromosomes for further analyses.
Stability of quay wall made on concrete blocks with a formulation based on dredging sand

Abstract Port constructions (quay and dike) require an enormous consumption of materials, in particular concrete and its components, as well as sand, hence the need to develop alternative solutions by using port dredging sand, which is evaluated by thousands of tons by its use in the concrete that forms the blocks of quay walls. After having demonstrated in a previous work the possibility of using the dredged sand from the port of Agadir in concrete formulations, the present work consists to show the possibility of using the dredged sand from the port of Agadir in concrete formulations that can be used in the construction of quay wall blocks, by studying the stability of a quay wall at −18 mZH made from concrete blocks derived from a concrete formulation based on the dredged sand, more specifically 50% of the sand used in the formulation is a dredging sand extracted from the port of Agadir, the quay wall stability study will consist of a deep analytical and detailed study of the sliding stability, the overturning and the bearing capacity of the foundation, taking into account the different calculation limit states, the structure of the quay wall studied is the quay wall of the port of Tangier Med II located in the north of Morocco. The eventual use of dredged sand in the concrete of the quay wall will provide enormous gains in the quantities of sand and therefore allow less consumption of construction materials, and will also play a more important role in the preservation of the marine environment by avoiding the dumping of dredged materials, which has a negative impact on the marine fauna and flora.
Impending Paradoxical Embolism: Perioperative Management and Role of Transesophageal Echocardiography

Impending paradoxical embolism is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication of venous thromboembolism that is usually associated with acute pulmonary embolism and a right to left atrial shunt. Patients may have associated right ventricular pressure or volume overload with subsequent failure. Transesophageal echocardiography is the preferred diagnostic test of choice in this patient group. Definitive management has yet to be clearly defined. However, emergent surgical removal of the entrapped intracardiac blood thrombus may be necessary. In this article, we review a case of impending paradoxical embolism managed surgically and describe the perioperative anesthetic considerations in this patient population, along with the role of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography.
Normally-off computing design methodology using spintronics: from device to architectures

This work shows a promising solution to efficiently implement normally-off computing (NoC) and power analysis side-channel attack resilient designs using spin-based devices. Spintronics, as post-CMOS devices, provide interesting features such as non-volatility, which plays an essential role in NoC structures. Besides, spin-based components can naturally function as a polymorphic gate (PG) that realizes reconfigurable logic functions with inherent security attributes. However, Spintronics' utilization imposes power and area overhead compared to CMOS-based designs. Thus, herein an efficient design methodology is introduced to mitigate these overheads. This approach is first extended to realize the targeted insertion PG Modules within the VLSI implementations to make it resilient against power failure, entitled NV-Clustering. Then PARC as an extension of NV-Clustering was developed as a power-masked synthesis method in the presence of power analysis side-channel attack. PARC randomly generates power maskable building blocks with the optimum PDP and area overhead. In addition to NV-Clustering, the PARC can be expanded against fault injection approaches due to PG modules' reconfigurability to cover the faults.
Authentic gold: Celebrating the life and career of Cheri L. Canon, MD, FACR, FAAWR.

Abstract Since 1927, the American College of Radiology (ACR) has awarded Gold Medals to up to four individuals each year in recognition of their distinguished and extraordinary service to the ACR or to the discipline of radiology (American College of Radiology, n.d. [1]). As of 2019, only 10 of 194 Gold Medalists have been women. In May 2021, Dr. Cheri L. Canon will become the eleventh woman in ACR history to receive this prestigious award. Contemporaneously, in November 2020, she received the highest honor bestowed by the American Association for Women in Radiology (AAWR), the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award, presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the advancement of women in radiology or radiation oncology (American Association for Women in Radiology, n.d. [2]). Herein we celebrate Dr. Canon's remarkable life and impressive career achievements, and learn important lessons from her shared wisdom.
Cheap Sex and the Changing Economics of Broadcast Television

Two recent reports on the content of television present a clear picture. Television presents much more sexual and violent content than it did five or ten years ago. This result is not terribly surprising; there are many examples of pundits noticing the change and (in general) decrying it. And there is no dearth of requests for regulation. However, before one can design effective regulations (assuming that they are a good idea), he should first have a good explanation for why this change has been taking place. Our article attempts to provide just such an explanation.
College student attitudes and strategies for intervention with a hypothetical peer exhibiting disordered eating.

OBJECTIVE The present study assesses stigma, attitudes, and strategies of college students in intervening with peers demonstrating disordered eating behaviors. METHOD Four hundred and eighty nine college students (384 women) completed questionnaires that assessed eating disorder symptoms and bystander attitudes adapted for disordered eating. Participants read one of three vignettes of a 20-year-old hypothetical peer displaying symptoms of disordered eating aligned with bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder; participants then described whether the vignette subject had a problem, what the problem was, and strategies for intervention. Relationships among eating disorder history, bystander attitudes, demographics, and intention to intervene in disordered eating were assessed using descriptive and regressive analyses; peer intervention strategies were organized and evaluated for frequencies of responses. RESULTS Demographics (female-identification) and familiarity with disordered eating were associated with likelihood to intervene in disordered eating. Most students recognized that the peer had a problem, but fewer than half believed the problem was disordered eating; nearly a quarter (22%) of the students stated that they would be uncomfortable talking to a peer about disordered eating. The majority of students cited vague or nonproblem-related intervention strategies (62%), followed by emotion-focused strategies (22.5%), or body and behavior-focused strategies (15%). DISCUSSION College students, particularly women and those with previous exposure to eating disorders, are likely to intervene peers disordered eating. However, students tend to use vague or body-focused intervention strategies. Bystander intervention training that provides rationale and rehearsal for supportive communication strategies is needed to address students' lack of intervention skills, particularly among men.
Abdominal fellowship-trained versus generalist radiologist accuracy when interpreting MR and CT for the diagnosis of appendicitis

To compare the diagnostic accuracy of generalist radiologists working in a community setting against abdominal radiologists working in an academic setting for the interpretation of MR when diagnosing acute appendicitis among emergency department patients. This observational study examined MR image interpretation (non-contrast MR with diffusion-weighted imaging and intravenous contrast-enhanced MR) from a prospectively enrolled cohort at an academic hospital over 18 months. Eligible patients had an abdominopelvic CT ordered to evaluate for appendicitis and were > 11 years old. The reference standard was a combination of surgery and pathology results, phone follow-up, and chart review. Six radiologists blinded to clinical information, three each from community and academic practices, independently interpreted MR and CT images in random order. We calculated test characteristics for both individual and group (consensus) diagnostic accuracy then performed Chi-square tests to identify any differences between the subgroups. Analysis included 198 patients (114 women) with a mean age of 31.6 years and an appendicitis prevalence of 32.3%. For generalist radiologists, the sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval) were 93.8% (84.6–98.0%) and 88.8% (82.2–93.2%) for MR and 96.9% (88.7–99.8%) and 91.8% (85.8–95.5%) for CT. For fellowship-trained radiologists, the sensitivity and specificity were 96.9% (88.2–99.5%) and 89.6% (82.8–94%) for MR and 98.4% (90.5–99.9%) and 93.3% (87.3–96.7%) for CT. No statistically significant differences were detected between radiologist groups (p = 1.0, p = 0.53, respectively) or when comparing MR to CT (p = 0.21, p = 0.17, respectively). MR is a reliable, radiation-free imaging alternative to CT for the evaluation of appendicitis in community-based generalist radiology practices. • There was no significant difference in MR image interpretation accuracy between generalist and abdominal fellowship-trained radiologists when evaluating sensitivity (p = 1.0) and specificity (p = 0.53). • There was no significant difference in accuracy comparing MR to CT imaging for diagnosing appendicitis for either sensitivity (p = 0.21) or specificity (p = 0.17). • With experience, generalist radiologists enhanced their MR interpretation accuracy as demonstrated by improved interpretation sensitivity (OR 2.89 CI 1.44-5.77, p = 0.003) and decreased mean interpretation time (5 to 3.89 min).
Measured Versus Estimated Resting Metabolic Rate in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Background: Obesity is common in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and a hypocaloric diet can improve functional capacity. Malnutrition, sarcopenia, and frailty are also frequ...
Comparative ionospheres. I - The inner planets. II - The outer planets

A description is given first of the fundamental physical and chemical processes controlling the thermospheres and ionospheres of the inner planets, Venus and Mars. A comparison is made between the neutral composition and temperature structure of Venus and Mars and those of the earth. Consideration is then given to the chemical and diffusion processes in the ionosphere. After a brief treatment of the ionospheric energetics and heat sources, the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of the nightside ionosphere of Venus are reviewed. A description is then given of the upper atmospheres and ionospheres of the major planets, Jupiter and Saturn. The treatment of the temperature structure and composition of the thermospheres of the major planets includes a description of the physical and chemical processes controlling the hydrocarbons and atomic hydrogen. A comparison is then made between the ionospheres of the major planets and those of the inner planets. It is noted that Io and Titan also have atmospheres and ionospheres, and these are treated briefly. Even though comets cannot be classed as planets, they have atmospheres and ionospheres that are not gravitationally confined.
Adult Languages of L Systems and the Chomsky Hierarchy

Theorems 1 – 4 give us a satisfactory analysis of L systems from the point of view of the adult languages they generate, for they establish direct correspondences with three of the four main classes of languages in the Chomsky hierarchy. The remaining class is that of the regular languages, and it is an easy exercise to restrict the form of the productions of a 0L system to ensure that its adult language is regular. In Walker† it is shown that the result for 2L systems can be extended to 〈k, l〉L systems (see Herman and Rozenberg [45] for the definition of such systems) with k+l≥1, and that the result for P2L systems can be extended to P L systems with k, l≥1.
Problems of Advocacy

The recent past has seen the erosion, and among some, the rejection, of social science neutrality and professional detachment. Among the typical expressions of a new professionalism is the underdog advocate, who wishes to lend his or her skills to the cause of less-than-equal groups in the society. The paper analyzes the problems confronting such advocates. The first is the discrepancy between career routes and success behavior on one hand, and the needs of poor people on the other. The second is the difficulty encountered by middle strata professionals in cross-class and cross-cultural communication, including their own ignorance of the structure and dynamics of minority and poor peoples' communities. The third problem faced by the advocates is that the mere addition of their expert skills to the struggles of the deprived is not necessarily or usually adequate in terms of power resources. If advocates have, however, a modest definition of their possible accomplishment, and if they view underprivileged groups as the main actors in their own behalf, their roles may be defined more realistically.
Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus Utilization by Rats Fed Sodium and Potassium Salts of Various Inorganic Anions

We hypothesized that urinary excretion of calcium would be affected by both urinary excretion of acid and of total fixed anions. Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus utilization was examined in rats fed semipurified diets supplemented with approximately 0.4 mol sodium/kg diet or approximately 0.4 mol potassium/kg diet as chloride, sulfate, bisulfate, carbonate or bicarbonate salts in two studies. The ingestion of supplemental fixed anions (chloride, sulfate or bisulfate) increased urinary excretion of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. It made no difference whether the anions were ingested as sodium or potassium salts. In Study 1, 80% of the variation in urinary calcium excretion could be explained on the basis of urinary excretion of sulfate, ammonia and total anions. In Study 2, 77% of the variation in urinary calcium excretion could be predicted on the basis of urinary excretion of total anions and sulfate. Although bone and plasma calcium concentrations were not responsive to these dietary changes, less magnesium was retained in bones of rats fed any of the supplemental salts.
A non-commutative geometry approach to the representation theory of reductive p-adic groups: Homology of Hecke algebras, a survey and some new results

We survey some of the known results on the relation between the homology of the full Hecke algebra of a reductive p-adic group G, and the representation theory of G. Let us denote by C c ∞ (G) the full Hecke algebra of G and by HP*(C c ∞ (G)) its periodic cyclic homology groups. Let Ĝ denote the admissible dual of G. One of the main points of this paper is that the groups HP*(C c ∞ (G)) are, on the one hand, directly related to the topology of Ĝ and, on the other hand, the groups HP*(C c ∞ (G)) are explicitly computable in terms of G (essentially, in terms of the conjugacy classes of G and the cohomology of their stabilizers). The relation between HP*(C c ∞ (G)) and the topology of Ĝ is established as part of a more general principle relating HP*(A) to the topology of Prim(A), the primitive ideal spectrum of A, for any finite typee algebra A. We provide several new examples illustrating in detail this principle. We also prove in this paper a few new results, mostly in order to better explain and tie together the results that are presented here. For example, we compute the Hochschild homology of O(X) ⋊ Г, the crossed product of the ring of regular functions on a smooth, complex algebraic variety X by a finite group Г. We also outline a very tentative program to use these results to construct and classify the cuspidal representations of G. At the end of the paper, we also recall the definitions of Hochschild and cyclic homology.
Just add lanthanides

Lanthanides are used in items such as hybrid-car and smartphone batteries, magnets, and catalytic converters. Deceptively referred to as rare-earth elements (REEs), they are relatively abundant in Earth's crust but highly insoluble and scarce in pure form, requiring harsh extraction methods for purification. In China, lanthanides have been added to fertilizers and animal feed stocks to promote growth, although the growth of some crops is inhibited by lanthanides ( 1 ). Increased exposure to lanthanides has raised concerns that consumption of these elements in food or polluted water may have a negative impact on animals, including humans ( 2 ). However, recent studies have discovered that lanthanides are very important to a specialized group of bacteria that play a vital role in global carbon cycling.
Abstract 136: Gel Stiffness-tuned, Nanostructure-templated Alignment and Maturation of Cardiomyocytes For Cardiac Tissue Engineering

Objective: To investigate how the supramolecular structure and mechanical properties of hydrogels made of chemically-defined peptide amphiphiles (PAs) could influence i) the alignment of cardiomyocytes seeded in them and ii) the functional maturation of the cell construct. Methods: We generated a series of PAs with different peptide sequences that allowed us to make PA gels with stiffness values ranging three orders of magnitude. The nature of the gelation process provides these gels with same-direction oriented nanofibers along an elongated PA gel. We seeded these PA gels with either HL-1 cardiomyocytes or iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and cultured them for up to two weeks. We then measured cell survival, proliferation and alignment over time and also the electrophysiological properties of the cell construct as a whole. Results: We found that cardiomyocytes responded to the alignment of the nanofibers in the gel by aligning to them and that this process can be tuned by changing the stiffness of the PA gel....
Detecting fraudulent personalities in networks of online auctioneers

Online auctions have gained immense popularity by creating an accessible environment for exchanging goods at reasonable prices. Not surprisingly, malevolent auction users try to abuse them by cheating others. In this paper we propose a novel method, 2-Level Fraud Spotting (2LFS), to model the techniques that fraudsters typically use to carry out fraudulent activities, and to detect fraudsters preemptively. Our key contributions are: (a) we mine user level features (e.g., number of transactions, average price of goods exchanged, etc.) to get an initial belief for spotting fraudsters, (b) we introduce network level features which capture the interactions between different users, and (c) we show how to combine both these features using a Belief Propagation algorithm over a Markov Random Field, and use it to detect suspicious patterns (e.g., unnaturally close-nit groups of people that trade mainly among themselves). Our algorithm scales linearly with the number of graph edges. Moreover, we illustrate the effectiveness of our algorithm on a real dataset collected from a large online auction site.
Sources of variability in accumulation of heavy metals by fishes in a roadside stream.

Interspecific variations in lead, nickel, cadmium, and zinc concentrations among six species of fish from a highway-contaminated stream were investigated as functions of differences in habitat (sediment contact) and morphology (percentage axial muscle). Association with stream sediment appeared to influence whole-body metals accumulation but percentage muscle did not. Intraspecific variation in whole-body metal concentrations was not positively related to length (as an index of duration of exposure) in any species. However, lead and nickel content of bone and cadmium content of kidney increased consistently between ages 2 and 5 in white sucker, the only species subjected to tissue analysis across age groups. These findings suggest that biological monitoring to assess chronic heavy metal pollution should focus on long-lived benthic species and be directed at tissues with demonstrated affinities for particular metals.
Intravenous rt-PA: a tenth anniversary reflection.

Abstract Background Clinical trials with rt-PA for treating AIS began 20 years ago in 1987, and the pivotal NINDS rt-PA Stroke Study was completed and published in 1995 with FDA approval in 1996, about 10 years ago. A large number of articles emanated from that study and have established the efficacy and generalizability of this treatment. Methods Here we summarize the background of how the NINDS trial was developed and carried out and its main findings. Results The NINDS rt-PA Stroke Study resulted from preclincal and pilot studies and paralleled similar studies carried out around the world. Its positive results, compared with the other trials, probably were due to the early time window for treatment and well-organized clinical and statistical centers. Many controversies have surrounded its use since its approval. As a result of the NINDS rt-PA Stroke Study, many new approaches to thrombolytic therapy are under evaluation. Conclusion The results of the NINDS rt-PA Stroke Study have affected the management of patients with acute stroke worldwide.
The periodic limit for the Leslie model

Abstract If adjacent fertility rates in the Leslie population model are not assumed to be strictly positive, population distributions need not converge to the so-called stable age distribution. Instead the asymptotic behavior of a distribution may be periodic, taking a form which Bernardelli [1] called “population waves.” Here we state and interpret the main theorems describing this phenomenon and discuss objections which stand in the way of applying it to population studies.
The Giza Pyramids: Accommodating Tourism, Leisure and Consumption

IN THE NINETEENTH century a growing sense emerged among Europeans that the pyramids were “theirs.” Combined with emerging lifestyles of travel and entertainment the Giza Pyramids were integrated into an emerging global touristic map. With the advent of colonial occupation, the pyramids were slowly woven into the modern cityscape of Cairo which in turn engendered changes in the surrounding landscape. Issues of free access, convenience and the comfort of various groups of tourists and pleasure seekers have dominated colonial and subsequently post–colonial policies with regard to the pyramids and their vicinity. [Cairo, tourism, colonialism, historical monuments, space and power]
Multiculturalism, Diversity, and Social Advocacy: A 17‐Year Content Analysis of Counselor Education and Supervision

The authors summarized (a) data regarding multiculturalism, diversity, and social advocacy represented in Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) over a 17-year period (1989–2005, Volumes 28–45); (b) type of articles (i.e., research vs. theory) represented; (c) research methodology and applications used; (d) journal editor and related terms; (e) primary contributors and related institutional affiliations; and (f) the breadth and scope of the data regarding key topics represented. Seventy-eight articles met inclusion criteria. Data indicate the extent to which multiculturalism, diversity, and social advocacy were represented in CES.
Stigma and disclosure of intrusive thoughts about sexual themes

Abstract Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is often described as one of the most chronic and severe anxiety disorders ( American Psychiatric Association, 2000 ). Those with OCD typically experience both obsessions and compulsions most often revolving around one of the several themes in content. The most commonly reported themes for obsessions include: contamination, symmetry and doubting, and harming, religious, or sexual obsessions. Little is known about perceived stigma associated with various symptom presentations although sexual obsessions have been hypothesized to be less frequently disclosed due to embarrassment ( Simonds & Thorpe, 2003 ), which could lead to delay or avoidance of treatment. Adult participants ( n =157) rated their perceptions of a hypothetical (1) friend or (2) significant other who had disclosed either (1) a sexually intrusive thought or (2) a contamination related intrusive thought to them. Results indicated that disclosure of an intrusive thought about a sexual theme is associated with more social rejection than disclosure of a contamination related intrusive thought. Additionally, disclosure of an intrusive thought by a friend is likely to meet with more disapproval than disclosure by a significant other.
Role of vasopressin in mediation of fetal cardiovascular responses to acute hypoxia.

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that arginine vasopressin mediates the fetal cardiovascular response to acute hypoxia. Chronically catheterized sheep fetuses at 126 to 138 days' gestation were infused with either an arginine vasopressin pressor antagonist ( n = 8) or saline solution as control ( n = 8). A 30-minute hypoxia was induced by infusion of nitrogen containing 5% carbon dioxide into the maternal trachea. Fetal arterial Pot decreased 13.1 ± 1.3 (SE) mm Hg from a basal value of 23.8 ± 1.5 mm Hg and there was no significant difference in the degree of hypoxia between the two groups. Fetal arterial and venous pressures increased significantly, whereas the blood volume decreased, but these changes were similar between the control and arginine vasopressin-blocked fetuses. Heart rate fell similarly in both groups during hypoxia by an average of 35 beats/min. At the termination of hypoxia, heart rate in the blocked group rebounded to levels significantly above baseline and remained elevated for 30 minutes, whereas heart rate in the control group returned slowly to basal values. Recovery of arterial pressure, venous pressure, and blood volume were similar in the two groups. Thus it appears that arginine vasopressin may mediate in part the fetal heart rate response to acute hypoxia. However, the blood volume, arterial pressure, and venous pressure responses to hypoxia appear to be induced by factors other than arginine vasopressin.
Frequency-domain stability analysis of retrospective-cost adaptive control for systems with unknown nonminimum-phase zeros

We develop a multi-input, multi-output direct adaptive controller for discrete-time, possibly nonminimum-phase, systems with unknown nonminimum-phase zeros. The adaptive controller requires limited modeling information about the system, specifically, Markov parameters from the control input to the performance variables. Often, only a single Markov parameter is required, even in the nonminimum-phase case. We analysis the stability of the algorithm using a time-and-frequency-domain approach. We demonstrate the algorithm on disturbance-rejection problems, where the disturbance spectra are unknown. This controller is based on a retrospective performance objective, where the controller is updated using either batch or recursive least squares.
A two-dimensional buddy systems for dynamic resource allocation in a partitionable mesh connected system

Abstract The system partitioning problem in a partitionable mesh connected system (PMCS) is addressed. A two-dimensional buddy system (2DBS) is proposed as a partitioning scheme for dynamic resource allocation in a PMCS. Internal fragmentation of the proposed 2DBS under various probability distributions of job sizes and processing times is analyzed. Experimental results on external and total fragmentations are also presented.
Retrograde labeling of neurons in the spinal cord that project directly to the amygdala or the orbital cortex in the rat

The amygdala and orbital cotex are thought to play an important role in the regulation of autonomic functions, hormonal secretion, and behavioral expression in response to sensory stimulation. The responsiveness of neurons in these regions to stimulation of cutaneous and visceral organs indicates that sensory information reaches the amygdala and orbital cortex. In the past, a large number of studies have thoroughly documented multiple neural pathways by which sensory information can reach these regions via relay nuclei in the brainstem and diencephalon. Recent studies reported that the amygdala and orbital cortex also receive direct input from the spinal cord. The aim of this study was to determine the magnitude and the origin of these projections in the rat. Injections of the retrograde tracer Fluoro-Gold (FG), restricted to the amygdala, labeled several hundred neurons bilaterally (60% contralateral) throughout the length of the spinal cord. More than 60% of labeled neurons were found in the lateral reticulated area of the deep dorsal horn and the gray matter surrounding the central canal. Many neurons were also found in the lateral spinal nucleus. Labeled neurons were concentrated in upper lumbar and upper cervical segments. Injections of Fluoro-Gold that were centered in the orbital cortex labeled only a small number of neurons (73% contralateral) within the spinal cord. Most labeled neurons were found in the lateral reticulated area. Neurons located in the intermediate zone and the gray matter surrounding the central canal were found mainly in upper lumbar and upper cervical segments. These findings, together with the anterograde tracing observations, provide evidence for direct projections of spinal cord neurons to the amygdala and orbital cortex. Their laminar distribution in the spinal cord and the involvement of the amygdala and orbital cortex in limbic functions suggest that these pathways may play a role in neuronal circuits that enable somatosensory information, including pain, to affect autonomic, endocrine and behavioral functions. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Multiexposure laser speckle contrast imaging of the angiogenic microenvironment

We report the novel use of laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) at multiple exposure times (meLSCI) for enhanced in vivo imaging of the microvascular changes that accompany angiogenesis. LSCI is an optical imaging technique that can monitor blood vessels and the flow therein at a high spatial resolution without requiring the administration of an exogenous contrast agent. LSCI images are obtained under red (632 nm) laser illumination at seven exposure times (1-7 ms) and combined using a curve-fitting approach to obtain high-resolution meLSCI images of the rat brain vasculature. To evaluate enhancement in in vivo imaging performance, meLSCI images are statistically compared to individual LSCI images obtained at a single exposure time. We find that meLSCI reduced the observed variability in the LSCI-based blood-flow estimates by 30% and improved the contrast-to-noise ratio in regions with high microvessel density by 41%. The ability to better distinguish microvessels, makes meLSCI uniquely suited to longitudinal imaging of changes in the vascular microenvironment induced by pathological angiogenesis. We demonstrate this utility of meLSCI by sequentially monitoring, over days, the microvascular changes that accompany wound healing in a mouse ear model.
Recognition of homogeneous and heterogeneous pictures as a function of viewing context

Although recognition memory for pictorial stimuli has been explored using either homogeneous or heterogeneous picture sets, apparently no single study has combined these stimuli and subsequently tested recognition for both types of stimuli. Subjects in two experiments were administered one of three picture sets of 100 slides. Each set consisted of homogeneous and hetero geneous slides that differed only in the ratio of homogeneous to heterogeneous stimuli: 80:20, 50:50, or 20:80. A subject’s recognition memory was then examined for both types of slides. Overall recognition was high for the heterogeneous stimuli but low for the homogeneous test slides. In a signal detection analysis, the picture set involving the largest proportion of heterogeneous stimuli, 20:80, yielded the lowest recognition sensitivity to the heterogeneous stimuli. This interaction of viewing-set composition and type of test stimuli was discussed in relation to picture recognition memory research employing either homogeneous or heterogeneous stimuli.
The Localization Model of Rubber Elasticity

While the unusual elastic properties of rubbery polymer materials have been studied for literally centuries, a quantitative theoretical description of these properties in terms of molecular structural parameters remains a challenging task. Classical network elasticity theories are based on the concept of flexible volumeless network chains fixed into a network in which there are no excluded volume, or even topological, interactions between the chains and where the chains explore accessible configurations by Brownian motion. In this type of model, the elasticity of the deformed network derives from the entropic changes in this idealized network arising from a deformation of the network junction positions. The shortcoming of this approach is clear from the observation that unswollen rubbery materials are nearly incompressible, reflecting the existence of strong intermolecular interactions that restrict the polymer chains to an exploration of their local molecular environments. The imposition of a deformation of these solid rubbery materials then necessitates a consideration of how local molecular packing constraints become modified under deformation and the impact of these changes on the macroscopic elasticity of the material as a whole. Many researchers have struggled with this difficult problem, but we focus on the simple 'localization model' of rubber elasticity introduced by Gaylord and Douglas (GD), which provides an attractive and mathematically simple minimal model for the network elasticity of rubbers having strong intermolecular interactions in the dense polymer state. GD assume that the network chain segments are localized at the network junctions, as in classical elasticity theory, but they also consider the chains to be localized along their contours by a local harmonic potential arising from inter-particle packing interactions, as in atoms in a simple harmonic crystal. This is the familiar Edwards-De Gennes 'tube' model of polymers in the condensed state. The existence of the tube means that the entropy of the network chains is reduced relative to chains without this constraint, but the crucial problem is how this entropy change becomes modified as the material becomes deformed. GD approach this problem by first observing that both the volume of the material and the network chains are essentially invariant under deformation so they require that the dimensions of the confining tube to also be a deformation invariant where this constraint is applied at a segmental level. The properties of the resulting 'localization model' of elasticity of dry and swollen rubbers are summarized and some extensions of the model to describe chain finite extensibility and stiff polymer networks are briefly summarized.
Intelligent keyframe extraction for video printing

Nowadays most digital cameras have the functionality of taking short video clips, with the length of video ranging from several seconds to a couple of minutes. The purpose of this research is to develop an algorithm which extracts an optimal set of keyframes from each short video clip so that the user could obtain proper video frames to print out. In current video printing systems, keyframes are normally obtained by evenly sampling the video clip over time. Such an approach, however, may not reflect highlights or regions of interest in the video. Keyframes derived in this way may also be improper for video printing in terms of either content or image quality. In this paper, we present an intelligent keyframe extraction approach to derive an improved keyframe set by performing semantic analysis of the video content. For a video clip, a number of video and audio features are analyzed to first generate a candidate keyframe set. These features include accumulative color histogram and color layout differences, camera motion estimation, moving object tracking, face detection and audio event detection. Then, the candidate keyframes are clustered and evaluated to obtain a final keyframe set. The objective is to automatically generate a limited number of keyframes to show different views of the scene; to show different people and their actions in the scene; and to tell the story in the video shot. Moreover, frame extraction for video printing, which is a rather subjective problem, is considered in this work for the first time, and a semi-automatic approach is proposed.
Counter-Mapping the Neighborhood on Bicycles: Mobilizing Youth to Reimagine the City

Personal mobility is a mundane characteristic of daily life. However, mobility is rarely considered an opportunity for learning in the learning sciences, and is almost never leveraged as relevant, experiential material for teaching. This article describes a social design experiment for spatial justice that focused on changes in the personal mobility of six non-driving, African-American teenagers, who participated in an after- school bicycle building and riding workshop located in a mid-south city. Our study was designed to teach spatial literacy practices essential for counter-mapping—a discursive practice in which youth used tools similar to those of professional planners to ''take place'' in the future of their neighborhoods. Using conversation and multimodal discourse anal- yses with video records, GPS track data, and interactive maps authored by youth, we show how participants in our study had new experiences of mobility in the city, developed technically-articulate criticisms of the built environment in their neighborhoods, and imagined new forms of mobility and activity for the future.
Review of Spectroscopic Data for Determining the Fine Structure Constant

The Sommerfeld fine structure constant α has played an important role in atomic spectroscopy ever since its introduction by Arnold Sommerfeld in 1916 (1). It originated in Sommerfeld’s theory of the fine structure of the optical spectrum of atomic hydrogen. In a relativistic treatment of the Kepler problem in the Bohr theory, the quantity v1/c (where v1 is the velocity of the electron in the first Bohr orbit, and c is the velocity of light) was denoted by α. But its utility goes far beyond this particular case. We note the following features regarding α: 1. Dimensionless fundamental constant. 2. α = e2/hc ≈ 1/137, or, in SI units, α= (μ c2/4π(e2/hc). 3. Basic coefficient in the electromagnetic°interaction. 4. Expansion parameter in quantum electrodynamics (QED). 5. Cosmological significance? Group-theoretical interpretation?
A target's perspective on the effects of ATPs in takeovers after recognizing its choice in the process

Abstract The use of antitakeover provisions (ATPs) in corporate charters/bylaws has evoked substantial debate over their costs and benefits. While there are many empirical studies of their effects in takeovers, these studies have ignored the self selection issues introduced by studying completed transactions, which reflect the target's choice. We examine data on a sample of U.S. corporations and show that accounting for self selection leads to a more nuanced understanding of how ATPs influence target shareholder wealth. We show that the effect of ATPs is more on the likelihood of receiving a bid rather than the success of a bid and that the success of a takeover is driven primarily by the characteristics of the offer and offer process rather than by the characteristics of the target and its ATPs. Further, we document that prior empirical studies that ignore these issues have mis-estimated the economic and statistical significance of various ATPs on target shareholder wealth.
Role of urocanic acid in the metabolism of l-histidine☆

Abstract Despite the markedly increased excretion of urocanic acid induced in young male rats upon supplementing their 12% casein diets with 0.05% of dl -ethionine, their rate of growth was not appreciably retarded after the first 4 days. The ethionine markedly suppressed the activity of the liver urocanase, but had little effect upon the activity of hepatic histidine deaminase. The possibility that feeding extra l -histidine might increase the activities of histidine deaminase and urocanase was not substantiated. Similar increases occurred in normally fed controls. The levels of liver glycogen in control animals previously fed differing, but normal basal diets, varied with the diet, but the extra glycogen deposition produced by the administration of l -histidine was nearly the same in all. The net deposition after the administration of urocanic acid was much smaller and of questionable significance. Slow absorption of urocanic acid from the alimentary tract was at least partially responsible. Ethionine-fed rats produced little or no liver glycogen, whether given histidine, urocanic acid, or glutamic acid. Such behavior is consistent with the suggestion that ethionine may trap sources of high energy, some of which are known to be required for glycogen synthesis.
Mechanical unfolding of segment-swapped protein G dimer: Results from replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations

The protein G dimer (pdb code 1Q10) is a mutated dimeric form of the immunoglobulin-binding domain B1 of streptococcal protein G, in which the two monomeric units have swapped elements of their secondary structure. We have used replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations to study how this dimer responds to a mechanical force that pulls the N-terminus of one unit and the C-terminus of the other apart. We have further compared the mechanical response of the dimer to that of the protein G monomer. When the pulling force is low enough, the mechanical unfolding can be viewed as a thermally activated barrier crossing process. For each protein, we have computed the corresponding free energy barrier and its dependence on the pulling force. While the dimer is found to be less resistant to mechanical unfolding than its monomeric counterpart, the two proteins exhibit essentially the same mechanical unfolding mechanism involving separation of the terminal parallel strands. On the basis of our results, we speculate that the mechanical properties of natural adhesives, composites, fibers, and other materials may be optimized not only at a single molecule level but also at the mesoscopic level through the interactions among individual chains.
The APOBEC-2 crystal structure and functional implications for the deaminase AID

APOBEC-2 (APO2) belongs to the family of apolipoprotein B messenger RNA-editing enzyme catalytic (APOBEC) polypeptides, which deaminates mRNA and single-stranded DNA. Different APOBEC members use the same deamination activity to achieve diverse human biological functions. Deamination by an APOBEC protein called activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is critical for generating high-affinity antibodies, and deamination by APOBEC-3 proteins can inhibit retrotransposons and the replication of retroviruses such as human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B virus. Here we report the crystal structure of APO2. APO2 forms a rod-shaped tetramer that differs markedly from the square-shaped tetramer of the free nucleotide cytidine deaminase, with which APOBEC proteins share considerable sequence homology. In APO2, two long alpha-helices of a monomer structure prevent the formation of a square-shaped tetramer and facilitate formation of the rod-shaped tetramer via head-to-head interactions of two APO2 dimers. Extensive sequence homology among APOBEC family members allows us to test APO2 structure-based predictions using AID. We show that AID deamination activity is impaired by mutations predicted to interfere with oligomerization and substrate access. The structure suggests how mutations in patients with hyper-IgM-2 syndrome inactivate AID, resulting in defective antibody maturation.