cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lead isotope analysis as a new method for identifying material culture belonging to the Vázquez de Coronado expedition

Abstract Archaeological evidence has become an increasingly important component of efforts to identify the route of the Francisco Vazquez de Coronado expedition through northern Mexico and the southwestern United States (1540–1542). Here, we report the first high-precision lead isotopic measurements of artifacts from two archaeological sites with strong material evidence for the expedition’s presence: Piedras Marcadas Pueblo in New Mexico and the Jimmy Owens Site in Texas. The analysis of lead and copper armaments from both sites reveals that many artifacts have overlapping or extremely similar isotopic ratios. We propose that the narrow range of lead isotopic ratios measured on these artifacts can be interpreted as a geochemical fingerprint for some of the Coronado expedition’s surviving material culture, and provides evidence that we interpret to suggest the expedition derived lead and copper metal from Mexican sources. Such a geochemical fingerprint presents an empirical method for discriminating between artifacts that belonged to the Coronado expedition and those related to subsequent Spanish, historical, or modern activity in the Southwest U.S. Thus, this method could significantly impact the search for and identification of archaeological sites associated with the Coronado expedition.
Children of the rich.

Growing up rich is not an unmixed blessing. Great wealth has undoubted benefits, but it is not good for children. It distorts their functional relationship with the world, it belittles their own accomplishments, and it grotesquely amplifies their sense of what is good enough. It is addictive. Wealth may even become a barrier to a relationship with a therapist. One job of a therapist to the rich is to teach people how to be middle class and to achieve moderately, and to teach rich parents to accept such unmagnificent normality. The rich, of course, have all the same problems other people have, perhaps complicated by the wealth, perhaps just frustratingly unrelieved by the wealth. Suggestions are made for treating these unfortunate victims of excess and for overcoming the therapist's naive counter-transference reactions to the families of the rich.
BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF MYOCARDIUM AND BLOOD DURING EXTRACORPOREAL CIRCULATION IN MAN.

We have studied samples of myocardium from 40 patients with congenital heart disease for catecholamine, histamine, and glycogen content. Blood samples obtained before, during, and after cardiopulmonary bypass in 53 patients were assayed for total protein, osmolality, catecholamines, histamine, lactic acid dehydrogenase activity, and cholinesterase activity. The data show that (1) adequate cardiopulmonary bypass is accompanied by increased sympathetic activity, (2) myocardial damage, indicated by elevated plasma lactic acid dehydrogenase activity, may occur during operation, and (3) depletion of myocardial catecholamine content may be a concomitant of heart disease with chronic congestive failure.
Na+ Specific Emission Changes in an Ionophoric Conjugated Polymer

The emission and absorption characteristics of a conjugated poly(phenylene bithiophene), 2, and a monomeric model compound, 3, were investigated as a function of [Li+], [Na+], [K+], and [Ca2+]. The...
Cationic cyclizations of (diene)iron tricarbonyl complexes with pendant alkenes and arenes

Abstract Stereospecific annulation reactions, which involve the intramolecular addition of olefinic and aromatic nucleophiles to in situ generated iron tricarbonyl-stabilized dienyl cations, are described. It is found that a simple unactivated olefinic double bond reacts to generate cyclohexane systems in high yield. On the other hand, reaction with aromatic moieties to form substituted tetralins proceeds only for activated aromatic rings; in those cases where less nucleophilic aromatics are used, a competing unproductive rearrangement of the diene–iron tricarbonyl complex occurs.
An on-board vision sensor system for small unmanned vehicle applications

This paper describes an on-board vision sensor system that is developed specifically for small unmanned vehicle applications. For small vehicles, vision sensors have many advantages, including size, weight, and power consumption, over other sensors such as radar, sonar, and laser range finder, etc. A vision sensor is also uniquely suited for tasks such as target tracking and recognition that require visual information processing. However, it is difficult to meet the computing needs of real-time vision processing on a small robot. In this paper, we present the development of a field programmable gate array-based vision sensor and use a small ground vehicle to demonstrate that this vision sensor is able to detect and track features on a user-selected target from frame to frame and steer the small autonomous vehicle towards it. The sensor system utilizes hardware implementations of the rank transform for filtering, a Harris corner detector for feature detection, and a correlation algorithm for feature matching and tracking. With additional capabilities supported in software, the operational system communicates wirelessly with a base station, receiving commands, providing visual feedback to the user and allowing user input such as specifying targets to track. Since this vision sensor system uses reconfigurable hardware, other vision algorithms such as stereo vision and motion analysis can be implemented to reconfigure the system for other real-time vision applications.
Pd(0) and Pt(0) metallocryptands encapsulating a spinning mercurous dimer.

The deep-red, air-stable complexes [Pt 2 Hg 2 (P 2 phen) 3 ](PF 6 ) 2 , 1, or [Pd 2 Hg 2 (P 2 phen) 3 ](PF 6 ) 2 , 2, (P 2 phen is 2,9-bis-(diphenylphosphino)-1,10-phenanthroline) are most conveniently prepared by the stoichiometric reaction of either Pt(dba) 2 or Pd 2 (dba) 3 .CHCl 3 (dba is dibenzylideneacetone) with P 2 phen and a single drop of elemental mercury in refluxing dichloromethane under an atmosphere of nitrogen. The 3 1 P{ 1 H} NMR spectrum (CD 3 CN) of 1 shows a single sharp resonance at 43.1 ppm for the phosphorus atoms of the P 2 phen ligand with both 1 9 5 Pt ( 1 J P - P t = 4350 Hz) and 1 9 9 Hg ( 2 J P - H g = 620 Hz) satellites indicating the Hg 2 2+ unit is dynamic. Compound 2 has a similar resonance at 44.9 ppm with 1 9 9 Hg satellites ( 2 J P - H g = 638 Hz). The 1 9 9 Hg NMR (CD 2 Cl 2 , vs Hg(OAc) 2 ) spectrum of 2 shows a heptet pattern at 833 ppm while for 1 a heptet superimposed on a doublet of heptets is observed at 770.8 ppm. The 1 9 5 Pt NMR spectrum of 1 displays a quartet at -3071 ppm with 1 9 9 Hg satellites and a 1 J P t - H g value of 1602 Hz. Characterization of 1 and of 2(BF 4 ) 2 by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies confirms the metallocryptand structure consisting of three phosphine-imine ligands forming a D 3 symmetric cage with a Hg 2 2+ ion in its center coordinated to two phenanthroline rings with the Hg-Hg bond (1, 2.7362(6); 2(BF 4 ) 2 , 2.6881(4) A) oriented perpendicular to the vector between the trigonally coordinated Pt(0) or Pd(0) atoms on each end. The Pt-Hg separations in 1 average 2.8143(6) A while in 2(BF 4 ) 2 the average Pd-Hg separation is 2.7698(5) A. Excitation into the low energy excitation bands of 1 (475 nm) and 2 (430 nm) produces weak emissions centered at 593 nm with shoulders at 530 and 654 nm in 1 and centered at 524 nm with a shoulder at 545 nm in 2.
Locating concentrators in centralized computer networks

Topological design of centralized computer communication networks is a complex problem that is generally solved in two phases. The first phase of the design process involves dividing network nodes (terminals or clusters of terminals) into groups, and selecting a concentrator location for each group so that all the nodes in a group are assigned to the same concentrator. The next phase determines topology of links that connect network nodes to concentrators and concentrators to each other and to the central computer. The design problem studied in this paper contains some aspects of both phases. In this problem locations of concentrators, assignments of user nodes to concentrators and the topology of the links connecting concentrators to the central computer are jointly determined. The proposed design method is built around the well known sweep heuristic which is used to partition the node space into sectors. Each of these sectors contain a “backbone” path connecting concentrators to the central computer.
Adaptive Immunity Introduction

The 3 talks in this session all deal with aspects of immune response regulation and dysregulation that can be either protective or harmful in brain ischemia. As an introduction to this session, I will review several models of immune response regulation and relate these models to the upcoming talks.1 Under normal circumstances, antigen presenting cells (APCs) such as microglia, macrophages and dendritic cells are in a resting state. In this state, they tend to produce immunomodulatory cytokines such as transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and interleukin (IL)-10. TGF-β from the APCs and also from existing regulatory T cells (Treg) can induce naive T cells to differentiate into TGF-β secreting Treg cells. IL-10 secreting APCs can induce naive T cells to differentiate into T-regulatory type 1 (Tr1) cells that secrete IL-10 and do not express the transcription factor FoxP3. The APCs can be provoked by a number of stimuli that include infectious agents, inflammatory mediators, and endogenous ligands. Once activated, the antigen presenting cells are poised to elicit an immune response. The model for immune response regulation has undergone considerable evolutionary change over the past 40 to 50 years.2 In 1959 Burnet and Medawar proposed a “Self-Non-self Model” for regulation of the immune response in which each lymphocyte was viewed as having a …
Mitochondrial Phylogeny of Extant Hawaiian Tree Snails (Achatinellinae)

Hawaiian tree snails in the endemic subfamily Achatinellinae display a staggering variety of shell colors and banding patterns. Despite numerous attempts to classify this morphological variation, a conclusive phylogeny has not been proposed. To improve conservation efforts, we sought to better understand the species identities and phylogenetic relationships among the extant species of Achatinella and Partulina using partial mitochondrial 16S ribosomal DNA sequences. The reconstructed phylogeny showed a high degree of support for more recent branches, but gave little support to deeper nodes. The most confident branches challenge previous systematic arrangements of these snails, grouping species that previously had been placed into different subgenera. High levels of sequence divergence within some species may reflect the long-term isolation of subpopulations. Rapid rates of sequence divergence may have saturated base substitutions and contributed to the lack of resolution of higher-order relationships. We did not find support for the monophyly of the Achatinella species, nor thus for a single colonization of Oahu from Maui Nui.
The Transition to Medication Adoption in Publicly Funded Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs: Organizational Structure, Culture, and Resources

Objective:Medications for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) are not widely available in publicly funded SUD treatment programs. Few studies have drawn on longitudinal data to examine the organizational characteristics associated with programs transitioning from not delivering any pharmacotherapy to adopting at least one SUD medication.Method:Using two waves of panel longitudinal data collected over a 5-year period, we measured the transition to medication adoption in a cohort of 190 publicly funded treatment organizations that offered no SUD medications at baseline. Independent variables included organizational characteristics, medical resources, funding, treatment culture, and detailing activities by pharmaceutical companies.Results:Of 190 programs not offering SUD pharmacotherapy at baseline, 22.6% transitioned to offering at least one SUD medication at follow-up approximately 5 years later. Multivariate logistic regression results indicated that the employment of at least one physician at...
Daughter of time: the postmodern midwife (Part 1)

Este articulo busca conceptuar la partera pos-moderna, definiendola como aquella que tiene una postura en relacion a la biomedicina y a otros sistemas de conocimiento, moviendose fluidificado entre ellos para ayudar a las mujeres que asiste. Es consciente, culturalmente competente y politicamente enganchada. Trabaja con recursos de su conocimiento especifico, aliados a los intereses de la mujer. Su relativismo informado es mas accesible para las parteras profesionales, pero lo que se observa, alrededor del mundo, es que esta actitud esta atingiendo las parteras tradicionales, en diversos paises. Asi, el concepto de partera pos-moderna representa una puente para las brechas etnicas, raciales y de status, que separan las parteras profesionales de las tradicionales, y un punto focal y analitico para la comprension de la forma de negociacion de identidades y papeles de cada uno de los miembros en el grupo, en el mundo en transformacion.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone-dependent chorionic gonadotropin secretion in a menopausal woman.

We report the evaluation of a 46-yr-old asymptomatic menopausal woman whose serum hCG concentrations remained persistently supra-normal for 3 yr (mean +/- SD, 20 +/- 10 IU/L; n = 19). Holo-hCG and beta-core fragments were detected in the patient's urine by Ultragel chromatography, followed by specific RIAs. Trophoblastic, germ cell, and other malignancies appeared to be excluded by the absence of serum tumor markers and imaging procedures of the pelvis, abdomen, breast, and chest. Administration of a single bolus dose of synthetic GnRH (100 micrograms) increased the serum hCG concentration by 50% (from 26 to 40 IU/L). Administration of the Nal-Glu GnRH antagonist (5 mg, sc, every 12 h for 1 week) decreased the serum hCG concentration from 27 to 4.6 IU/L. The pronounced decrease in the serum hCG concentration during antagonism of the action of endogenous GnRH by administration of Nal-Glu GnRH suggests that the pituitary is the source of the supra-normal serum hCG concentrations, because the pituitary is ex...
New results for 2d wetting transitions

Abstract New results are presented for the solid-on-solid models of wetting in two dimensions (i.e., line interfaces), including the effect of the long-range 1/ r external potential and finite-size scaling studies of wetting in the strip geometry. These results (Refs. 1–2) have been obtained in collaboration with N.M. Svrakic, and were extensively reviewed (in a broader context) in Ref. 3.
AIDS in Uganda — Clinical and Social Features

THE acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was recognized in Africa through the study of African patients with the disease1 2 3 4 5 and the subsequent documentation of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).6 , 7 Epidemiologic studies have used case surveillance8 , 9 and serologic surveys10 , 11 to show the pattern of heterosexual transmission,12 risk factors for acquisition,13 14 15 16 17 and the prevalence of infection in Africa.18 Several useful reviews on the epidemiology of AIDS in Africa have been published.19 20 21 22 Although intensive efforts have rightly focused on preventing further transmission, the large number of cases of AIDS will bring attention back to the clinical problems of patients with AIDS in . . .
Acetate metabolism: Effects of tracer concentration

Abstract A study of the role of tracer acetate concentration in CO 2 − , fatty acid-, and cholesterol-forming systems has been made. By evaluating the specific activity response, i.e., increase, with increasing tracer concentrations, it has been established that the amount of tracer used in in vitro studies may be critical and that this critical concentration may be different for various systems. It appears necessary to determine, for each system using labeled tracers, the amount of the tracer that will trace existing reactions at their normal rate or in situ rate of reaction.
Grain Boundary Deformation-Induced Intergranular Stress Corrosion Cracking of Ni-16Cr-9Fe in 360°C Water

Abstract The objective of this research was to determine whether grain boundary deformation plays a direct role in intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of Ni-16Cr-9Fe in high-temperature...
Labellar Modifications of Muscomorpha Flies (Diptera)

Labella of 35 families of flies were examined, primarily by scanning electron microscopy techniques. The labellar lobes were capable of everting beyond Stage IV (Graham-Smith 1930a) only in Phoridae and Calypterata. The ability to evert the lobes beyond Stage IV to the Stage VI position was positively correlated with presence of prestomal teeth. Much variation in prestomal tooth numbers and structure was seen, and the rasps of Glossina were determined to be prestomal teeth. Pseudotracheal ring tips were highly modified and variable. Pseudotracheal diameter was measured and considered to be an important reflection of diet in nature. Families were characterized using the above adaptations, but these labial structures had many convergences and parallelisms and, therefore, were often unreliable taxonomic characters. Diet was correlated, wherever possible, with structural variations; most fly diets, however, remain unknown, so postulations were presented using morphological evidence.
Justin Martyr’s Exegesis of Biblical Theophanies and the Parting of the Ways between Christianity and Judaism

The article provides an overview of the three distinct approaches to the exegesis of theophanies documented in the surviving works of Justin Martyr. It argues, contrary to previous scholarship on Justin Martyr, and in agreement with Larry Hurtado, that the argument from theophanies precedes its use by Justin, and suggests that the Dialogue and the Apologies may offer a glimpse into the process by which the exegetical disagreement over theophanies contributed to the crystallization of distinct “Jewish” and “Christian” social identities.
Effect of low-level titanium(IV) doping on the resistivity of magnetite near the Verwey transition.

The effects of Ti substitution for Fe on octahedral sites in magnetite has been investigated through electrical resistivity measurements. In a manner analogous to zinc ferrites, the Verwey transition temperature is depressed with increasing Ti content. The Verwey transition is of first order in ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{y}}$${\mathrm{Ti}}_{\mathit{y}}$${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ in the concentration range 0\ensuremath{\le}y\ensuremath{\le}${\mathit{y}}_{\mathit{c}}$=0.012; for ${\mathit{y}}_{\mathit{c}}$\ensuremath{\le}y\ensuremath{\le}3${\mathit{y}}_{\mathit{c}}$ the transition is of second order, and for yg3${\mathit{y}}_{\mathit{c}}$ the phase transformation is completely eliminated. The data are correlated with comparable work on dilute zinc ferrites and nonstoichiometric magnetite, and the implications of the findings are discussed.
Imaging device that uses the wavelet transformation as the image reconstruction algorithm. II. The L transform

An ultrasound-device image-reconstruction algorithm has been described previously that uses orthonomal wavelets as the basis of a transform space. The transform algorithms make it possible to analyze the reflected ultrasound signal from a sample to produce a map of one of its internal properties, the acoustical impedance. Conventional wavelets do not exhibit translation invariance, the lack of which ofttimes generates nonzero expansion coefficients for wavelets of lower sequency than the transmitted signal. By a transformation of basis to a set of functions which exhibit a form of translation invariance the aforementioned problem is removed. However, the new functions are no longer orthogonal. An algorithm is described to perform this transformation extremely efficiently. Also described is an algorithm to unsmear the image due to the fact that the transmitted signal may not be a single wavelet but instead is a short sequence (linear combination) of wavelets. The coefficients of the array used to deconvolve the signal are determined by performing a forward wavelet transformation on the transmitted signal itself.©1994 John Wiley & Sons Inc
Bragg onion resonators with omnidirectional reflector cladding

We propose to use onion-like resonators to approximate spherically symmetric Bragg resonators. Such Bragg onion resonators have been realized in silicon based material systems. We develop an analytical theory that calculates the resonant frequencies and the quality factors of the onion cavity modes. We demonstrate that it is possible to achieve Q factors exceeding 5 x 106 in a cavity of a few microns in dimension. The onion resonators allow full control over the spontaneous emission process, which may lead to the thresholdless lasers. The onion resonators may also find many other applications in cavity quantum electrodynamics.
Bystander effects: a concept in need of clarification.

An increasing body of evidence indicates that the response to genotoxic agents such as radiation or drugs is a group phenomenon, rather than the summed response of individual independent cells to injury. Thus, a complex contagion-like response may spread beyond the initial impact of an agent to enlarge its effect. This indirect effect, termed “Bystander Effect,” is multifaceted and may play a significant role in the therapy of tumors and in carcinogenesis. A better understanding of this phenomenon is needed in order to modulate treatment protocols to therapeutic advantage and to provide more rational guidelines for the evaluation of environmental hazards. BioEssays 22:286–290, 2000. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The pairwise approach to analysing species co-occurrence

The analysis of species co-occurrence patterns continues to be a main pursuit of ecologists, primarily because the coexistence of species is fundamentally important in evaluating various theories, principles and concepts. Examples include community assembly, equilibrium versus non-equilibrium organization of communities, resource partitioning and ecological character displacement, the local–regional species diversity relationship, and the metacommunity concept. Traditionally, co-occurrence has been measured and tested at the level of an entire species presence–absence matrix wherein various algorithms are used to randomize matrices and produce statistical null distributions of metrics that quantify structure in the matrix. This approach implicitly recognizes a presence–absence matrix as having some real ecological identity (e.g. a set of species exhibiting nestedness among a set of islands) in addition to being a unit of statistical analysis. An emerging alternative is to test for non-random co-occurrence between paired species. The pairwise approach does not analyse matrix-level structure and thus views a species pair as the fundamental unit of co-occurrence. Inferring process from pattern is very difficult in analyses of co-occurrence; however, the pairwise approach may make this task easier by simplifying the analysis and resulting inferences to associations between paired species.
The Science of Research in Sport and Tourism: Some Reflections upon the Promise of the Sociological Imagination

The following paper discusses some issues relating to qualitative research in sport and tourism drawing upon the sociological imagination of C. Wright Mills. In arguing the case for a perspectival approach to data collection it explores the textual construction of qualitative research accounts. A reflexive framework highlights the different ways of telling and discusses the need for more ways to tell of culture as we move from macro to micro theoretical analyses of the social world. It has been suggested that how our research is presented is just as important as what is presented, although this is not always considered within the context of the peer review process and its associated pressures. Understanding writing as a way of knowing becomes of significant importance as we each tell our tales. In exploring the hermeneutic circle of interaction it discusses factors concerning the uniqueness and individuality of interpretive studies and also briefly considers what contribution the sociological imagination ...
Data-translated likelihood and Jeifreys's rules

According to the definition used by Box & Tiao for a likelihood to be «data translated» it must have location form in terms of a sufficient statistic. Their definition is easily modified to cover cases such as the Cauchy through the introduction of an ancillary statistic, and their argument in favour of a uniform prior then becomes group-theoretic. Their concept of «approximate data-translated likelihood» may also be modified to produce a sharper local approximation
Changes in same-different laterality patterns as a function of practice and stimulus quality

Accuracy and reaction time (RT) of judgments about sameness vs. difference of (a) names of two letters and (b) shapes of two nonverbal forms were examined for stimuli presented to the center, left (LVF), and right (RVF) visual fields. For same-name letter pairs during Experiment I, responses were more accurate and faster for LVF than for RVF trials on an initial 90-trial block, but this difference was reversed by a third 90-trial block. The RVF advantage for RT was maintained over Trial Blocks 4 and 5, given during a second session, but had disappeared on Trial Blocks 6 through 9 as RT reached the same asymptotic level for both visual fields. No LVF-RVF differences were obtained at any level of practice for different-name letter pairs or for any of the form pairs. Experiment II replicated the shift from LVF toward RVF advantage that occurred over the first three trial blocks of Experiment I and demonstrated that such a shift does not occur when the letters are perceptually degraded. The results were discussed in terms of differences in cerebral hemisphere specialization for visuospatial vs. abstract stages of letter processing and changes with practice in the relative difficulty of these stages.
Sizing sketches: a rank-based analysis for similarity search

Sketches are compact data structures that can be used to estimate properties of the original data in building large-scale search engines and data analysis systems. Recent theoretical and experimental studies have shown that sketches constructed from feature vectors using randomized projections can effectively approximate L1 distance on the feature vectors with the Hamming distance on their sketches. Furthermore, such sketches can achieve good filtering accuracy while reducing the metadata space requirement and speeding up similarity searches by an order of magnitude. However, it is not clear how to choose the size of the sketches since it depends ondata type, dataset size, and desired filtering quality. In real systems designs, it is necessary to understand how to choose sketch size without the dataset, or at least without the whole datase. This paper presents an analytical model and experimental results to help system designers make such design decisions. We present arank-based filtering model that describes the relationship between sketch size and data set size based on the dataset distance distribution. Our experimental results with several datasets including images, audio, and 3D shapes show that the model yields good, conservative predictions. We show that the parameters of the model can be set with a small sample data set and the resulting model can make good predictions for a large dataset. We illustrate how to apply the approach with a concrete example.
Life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas emission benefits of lightweighting in automobiles: review and harmonization.

Replacing conventional materials (steel and iron) with lighter alternatives (e.g., aluminum, magnesium, and composites) decreases energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during vehicl...
Diabetic Lumbosacral Polyradiculoneuropathies

The pathogenic basis and treatment of diabetic polyradiculoneuropathy is a source of recent controversy as there may be two or more distinct forms of diabetic polyradiculoplexopathy. We believe that the following two categories of diabetic polyradiculoneuropathy can be made on the basis of clinically differences: 1) the more common asymmetric, painful polyradiculoneuropathy; and 2) the rare symmetric, painless, polyradiculoneuropathy. The asymmetric, painful form (also known as diabetic amyotrophy) may have an autoimmune basis, but the etiology is not clear. The natural history for diabetic amyotrophy is spontaneous improvement. Nevertheless, various immunotherapies (eg, corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) have been tried with subsequent improvement in symptoms. Treatment is reserved only for patients with severe ongoing pain, given the significant side effects of these medications in those patients with diabetes. Prednisone and IVIg may help alleviate the pain associated with diabetic amyotrophy. Relief of pain can help patients begin physical therapy earlier, however, there are no prospective, blinded, controlled studies that demonstrate that these treatments lead to an earlier and better recovery of muscle strength compared with the natural history of the disorder. The symmetric, painless form of diabetic polyradiculoneuropathy may in fact represent chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) occurring in a patient with diabetes mellitus (DM). Patients with idiopathic CIDP may improve various immunomodulating therapies, including corticosteroid treatment, plasma exchange (PE), and IVIg. In this regard, patients with the symmetric, painless, proximal diabetic polyradiculoneuropathy may also respond to corticosteroids, plasma exchange, IVIg, azathioprine, or cyclophosphamide. However, as with diabetic amyotrophy, some patients improve spontaneously without treatment. In still other patients, the neuropathy appears unresponsive to immunotherapy. In such patients, this polyradiculoneuropathy might be caused by metabolic dysfunction associated with DM. Unfortunately, from a clinical, laboratory, and electrophysiologic standpoint, it is impossible to distinguish the patients with a symmetric, painless diabetic polyradiculoneuropathy who might respond to therapy. A trial of PE can be useful in identifying patients who might have a polyradiculoplexopathy that is responsive to immunotherapy. If patients respond to PE, they may continue to receive intermittent exchanges or be switched over to prednisone or IVIg.
Novel n-back spatial working memory task using eye movement response

We created a novel eye movement version of the n-back task to measure spatial working memory (WM). Rather than one continuous trial, discrete trials were presented in order to develop a simpler WM task. In Experiment 1, we varied the visibility of the final stimulus to maximize the difference in performance between 0-back and 1-back tasks (WM effect). In Experiment 2, we administered the optimized task to children. In Experiment 3, we further simplified the task. Both adults and children easily completed our task, displaying significant WM effects. Further, similar WM effects were obtained in our original and simplified n-back spatial WM tasks, demonstrating flexibility. Because WM deficits are often an early feature of disease and a marker of disease progression, our saccadic measure of spatial WM may be particularly useful in hard-to-test populations, such as patients and children, and may have application in brain-imaging studies that require discrete trials.
Gravitational-wave signature of an inspiral into a supermassive horizonless object

Event horizons are among the most intriguing of general relativity's predictions. Although on firm theoretical footing, direct indications of their existence have yet to be observed. With this motivation in mind, we explore here the possibility of finding a signature for event horizons in the gravitational waves (GWs) produced during the inspiral of stellar-mass compact objects (COs) into the supermassive (~10 (to the 6th) M[sun]) objects that lie at the center of most galaxies. Such inspirals will be a major source for LISA, the future space-based GW observatory. We contrast supermassive black holes with models in which the central object is a supermassive boson star (SMBS). Provided the COs interact only gravitationally with the SMBS, stable orbits exist not just outside the Schwarzschild radius but also inside the surface of the SMBS as well. The absence of an event horizon allows GWs from these orbits to be observed. Here we solve for the metric in the interior of a fairly generic class of SMBS and evolve the trajectory of an inspiraling CO from the Schwarzschild exterior through the plunge into the exotic SMBS interior. We calculate the approximate waveforms for GWs emitted during this inspiral. Geodesics within the SMBS surface will exhibit extreme pericenter precession and other features making the emitted GWs readily distinguishable from those emitted during an inspiral into a black hole.
A colorectal curriculum for general surgery residents: are we ready for needs assessment?

Objective The traditional scope of general surgery (GS) has been broadly encompassing. Although it is generally accepted that we need a more defined curriculum for GS training, the criteria for limiting its scope remain controversial. One approach is to perform a needs assessment, defined based on an analysis of current GS practice. The purpose of this study was to use such a needs assessment to model a subset of the GS curriculum in colon and rectal surgery. Design The numbers of colon and anorectal procedures performed in the prior 24 months by 982 GS taking the 2004 ABS Recertification Examination in Surgery were examined to determine the mean number of procedures per surgeon along with the percentage of surgeons who had performed at least 1 of the identified procedures. The impact of using these numbers to define a general surgical curriculum was then examined. Results Procedures performed frequently and by >60% GS included appendectomies, colostomies, colectomies, hemorrhoidectomies, and anorectal abscess procedures. Procedures performed infrequently, yet performed by >30% of surgeons at least once, included subtotal colectomies, abdominoperineal resections, transanal excisions, sphincterotomies, and anorectal fistulotomies. The procedures performed rarely included ileoanal pouch anastomoses and procedures for incontinence and rectal prolapse. Conclusions Based on this analysis, a colorectal surgical curriculum would include the treatment of diseases that led to commonly performed operations such as colon cancer, diverticular disease, lower gastrointestinal bleeding, mesenteric ischemia, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), hemorrhoids, and anorectal diseases. The management of low rectal cancer, complex IBD, rectal prolapse, and fecal incontinence might not be essential content. A curriculum based on needs assessment would deemphasize or even eliminate some areas traditionally considered within the realm of GS. Although this might appropriately serve as a basis for defining the scope of GS, the indirect consequences will need to be defined.
Fibroblast behavior in the embryonic chick heart

Intracardiac fibroblasts (mesenchymal cells) of Hamburger and Hamilton stage 36 chick heart reside in the epicardium and atrioventricular valves. The characteristics of the epicardial fibroblasts include segregation from the myocytes of the heart wall myocardium, voluminous extracellular matrix production, and some cell proliferation activity. The atrioventricular fibroblasts intermingle with myocytes at the mutual border between these tissues, produce smaller amounts of extracellular matrix, and show very active cell proliferation. Is the behavior of each population of fibroblasts predetermined or is each responding in a reversible fashion to local environment? A cell aggregate culture system, which permits 3-dimensional cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, is used to study the behavior of each isolated population of fibroblasts in vitro. In the presence of serum-free medium, each population produces very little extracellular matrix, has relatively low mitotic activity, and does not segregate from myocytes when the aggregate is composed of randomly intermixed myocytes and fibroblasts. In the presence of chicken serum, each population increases matrix production, increases cell proliferation, and sorts from myocytes. Thus, we suggest that the two populations of fibroblasts in the developing heart are responding to local environments and the differences observed in vivo are not the consequence of irreversible states of cellular differentiation.
Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibition Attenuates Early Left Ventricular Enlargement After Experimental Myocardial Infarction in Mice

Background—Extracellular matrix synthesis and degradation contribute to the morphological changes that occur after myocardial infarction (MI). Methods and Results—We tested the hypothesis that inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) attenuates left ventricular remodeling in experimental MI. Seventy-one male FVB mice that survived ligation of the left anterior coronary artery were randomized to a broad-spectrum MMP inhibitor (CP-471,474) or placebo by gavage. Echocardiographic studies were performed before randomization (within 24 hours of surgery) and 4 days later and included short-axis imaging at the midpapillary and apical levels. Infarction as defined by wall motion abnormality was achieved in 79% of the procedures (n=56), and mortality rate during the 4-day protocol was 23% (9 of 36 on treatment vs 7 of 35 on placebo; P=NS). Baseline end-diastolic and end-systolic dimensions and areas were similar (P=NS) between treated and placebo groups. At follow-up, infarcted mice allocated to MMP inhibito...
Improvement of transgenic alfalfa by backcrossing

Two regenerative alfalfa genotypes were transformed withAgrobacterium tumefaciens with binary vectors containing the coding sequences for s-glucuronidase (GUS) and npt II (kanamycin resistance). The regenerative genotypes and their transgenic populations were agronomically inferior, and one was a somaclonal variant for flower color. GUS was used as a dominant genetic marker in a model system for studying backcrossing to improve transgenic alfalfa. Agronomic yield deficiencies and somaclonal changes were corrected by one to three backcrosses to cultivar genotypes, depending on the vigor of the original transformant. Three backcrosses were considered optimal because progeny contain 94% cultivar germplasm and could be used as parents of a new cultivar. Use of different cultivar genotypes each generation of backcrossing minimized inbreeding and maximized the heterotic potential of backcross derivatives. The improvement of transgenic alfalfa by backcrossing using a dominant marker required only as much time as the original transformation experiment.
Pure ethiodized oil as a capillary embolic agent with and without ethanol-ethiodol mixture in the rabbit kidney: embolic efficacy and temporal histopathologic findings.

Purpose To determine the extent of ablation and the temporal histopathologic findings associated with selective arterial injection of pure Ethiodol in the normal rabbit kidney, with or without arterial occlusion of the main renal artery. Materials and Methods In 19 rabbits, 27 kidneys were embolized by injecting 0.6 mL of pure Ethiodol into the main renal artery to achieve capillary stasis. A 9:1 ethanol-ethiodized oil mixture was then injected into 17 of the 27 kidneys until complete arterial stasis was accomplished. Macro- and microscopic evaluation was performed 10 minutes to 6 weeks and 60 minutes to 1 week, respectively, for kidneys with and without arterial occlusion. Results Ethiodol followed by ethanol-Ethiodol mixture (mean ± standard deviation, 0.37 mL ± 0.03) caused complete and permanent arterial stasis in all 17 kidneys. Thrombosis of the large arteries occurred initially. Ischemic coagulative necrosis of renal tubules and damage to glomeruli were detected 2 hours after embolization. Within 24 hours, the glomeruli and most tubules of the cortex and medulla were necrotic. Without arterial occlusion, the arteriocapillary bed of the kidneys was completely patent, with normal contrast medium excretion. Ethiodol was observed in glomeruli and interstitial capillaries from 60 minutes to 1 week and caused mild acute glomerulitis from day 1. The lesions were confined to the glomeruli, and no significant parenchymal changes were observed. Conclusions In the rabbit, selective arterial injection of pure Ethiodol produces complete renal ablation within 24 hours if prompt and permanent occlusion of the arterial compartment guarantees its permanent capillary retention.
The Genesis of European Rights

Supranational rights in Europe originated in the ECSC free movement provisions. In a political compromise, these provisions were included at the insistence of the Italian delegation, although the other Member States delayed in implementing them. Examining the genesis of European rights recasts EU citizenship from a contemporary phenomenon dating only from the Maastricht Treaty to the most recent expression of the same tensions and compromises that have characterized the entire history of European integration.
Social influences during song development in the song sparrow: a laboratory experiment simulating field conditions.

Oscine songbirds are exposed to many more songs than they keep for their final song repertoire and little is known about how a bird selects the particular song(s) to sing as an adult. We simulated in the laboratory the key variables of the natural song learning environment and examined the song selection process in nine hand-reared male song sparrows, Melospiza melodia, a species in which males sing 5–11 song types. During their second and third months (their presumed sensitive period), subjects were rotated equally among four live adult male tutors that had been neighbours in the field. Tutors were housed in individual aviary ‘territories’ in four corners of the roof of a building; subjects could see only one tutor at a time, but they could hear the others at a short distance. Later in their first year (months 5–12), half the subjects were again rotated among all four tutors and the other half were randomly stationed next to just one tutor. Results from this experiment confirm and extend the findings from our two previous field studies of song learning in this species. Young males in this experiment (1) learned whole song types, (2) learned songs from multiple tutors, (3) preferentially learned songs that were shared among their tutors, (4) learned songs that other young males in their group also chose, and (5) learned more songs from the tutor they were stationed next to during the later stage (stationary subjects). These last two results support the late influence hypothesis that interactions after a bird’s sensitive period affect song repertoire development.  2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
The cloning and expression analysis of Lhx9 during gonadal sex differentiation in the red-eared slider turtle, Trachemys scripta, a species with temperature-dependent sex determination.

Many reptiles, including the red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta), possess a temperature- dependent sex determination (TSD) mechanism where the temperature at which the developing embryos are incubated dictates the gonadal sex of the animal. A number of mammalian gene orthologues have been identified in the sex determination/differentiation cascade of reptiles with TSD although the exact trigger(s) is not well understood. A potential early regulator of gonadal differentiation, Lhx9, controls the proliferation of gonadal cells in mice and its absence prevents gonadal development and drastically reduces the expression of Sf-1, a gene that regulates the expression of steroidogenic enzymes in the bipotential gonad. In the current study, we cloned Lhx9 from T. scripta and analyzed its expression throughout the thermosensitive period of gonad development using quantitative PCR. We examined the expression profiles of Lhx9 in embryos incubated under control conditions at male- and female-producing temperatures and with the application of exogenous 17b-estradiol or an aromatase inhibitor, Letrozole, to induce sexreversal. The T. scripta Lhx9 cDNA and predicted amino acid sequence showed high homology to those of chicken, anole, and mouse. Lhx9 was expressed at both male- and female-producing temperatures with expression levels increasing throughout the thermosensitive period. Letrozole induced sex- reversal did not alter Lhx9 expression levels. 17b-estradiol treatments appeared to inhibit or delay gonadal differentiation and resulted in lower Lhx9 expression from the presumptive gonadal ridge region. The structural homology and temporal expression pattern of Lhx9 suggests that this represents a conserved element in the gonadal differentiation cascade of T. scripta. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 9999B: 1-9, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. How to cite this article: Bieser KL, Wibbels T, Mourad G, Paladino F. 2013. The cloning and expression analysis of Lhx9 during gonadal sex differentiation in the red-eared slider turtle, Trachemys scripta, a species with temperature-dependent sex determination. J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 9999B:1-9.
Monitoring the Self-Heating in a High Frequency GaN HFET

Self-heating in GaN HFETs is a consequence of the high power and current levels common in such devices, and the limited ability of the substrates to conduct heat away from the devices. Most high frequency test devices are usually composed of 2 separate devices, laid out in a parallel electrical configuration but spatially symmetric with shared gate and drain contacts. The self-heating at high current densities causes the drain current to decrease as a function of drain bias, as the temperature of the active area increases above that of the substrate and device mount. Since a high frequency device is essentially 2 devices, one can bias the two parts to have different currents. Effectively one can then use one side of the device to monitor the self-heating and heat flow from the other side, if they are biased differently. This paper describes such experiments
Metabolic repair of premutational damage in Paramecium.

SummaryThe problems of experimental analysis of the post-irradiation processes leading to mutation are considered in some detail. In particular, methods for separating the effects of various modifiers on the rate of these processes from the effects on the time available for them to occur are discussed. Data are presented for recessive lethal mutations in Paramecium to show that all metabolic inhibitors tried (caffeine, iodoacetate, chloramphenicol and streptomycin) decrease the rate of loss of premutational damage and decrease mutation only because they increase the time available for loss. The results are shown to fit the hypothesis of metabolic repair of radiation-induced lesions of the chromosomes.
Model checking Java programs (abstract only)

Automatic state exploration tools (model checkers) have had some success when applied to protocols and hardware designs, but there are fewer success stories about software. This is unfortunate, since the software problem is worsening even faster than the hardware and protocol problems. Model checking of concurrent programs is especially interesting, because they are notoriously difficult to test, analyze, and debug by other methods.This talk will be a description of our initial efforts to check Java programs using a model checker. The model checker supports dynamic allocation, thread creation, and recursive procedures (features that are not necessary for hardware verification), and has some special optimizations and checks tailored to multi-threaded Java program. I will also discuss some of the challenges for future efforts in this area.