cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimating ωh for Structures Containing Two Group Factors: Perils and Prospects:

One of the most serious difficulties in the estimation of omegahierarchical (ωh) has not been previously studied. Although it is true that one can impose a set of identifying constraints on one’s s...
Hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation.

Multiple sources of HSCs exist. Here, Verfaillie discusses the long-term engraftment capabilities of each source and the search for ex vivo expansion conditions to allow bulk culture for therapeutic HSC transplantation.
System identification for adaptive and reconfigurable control

In this work, an efficient static system identification method is developed that incorporates prior information. The prior information from flight mechanics enhances the performance of the identification algorithm, yielding more accurate parameter estimates. The proposed static system identification approach is superior to dynamic system identification for on-line identification of rapidly varying plant parameters, making it suitable for adaptive and reconfigurable control. The effectiveness of the static system identification scheme is illustrated in an example problem. A derivative F-16 aircraft control surface (elevator) failure is simulated and the abruptly changing pitch channel control system's stability and control derivatives are successfully identified on-line in the presence of unmodeled dynamics, process noise (clear air turbulence), and realistic measurement noise.
Ligation of TLR7 by rheumatoid arthritis synovial fluid single strand RNA induces transcription of TNFα in monocytes

Objective The aim of the study was to characterise the expression, regulation and pathogenic role of toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) and TLR8 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods Expression of TLR7 and TLR8 was demonstrated in RA, osteoarthritis (OA) and normal (NL) synovial tissues (STs) employing immunohistochemistry. The authors next examined the mechanism by which TLR7 and TLR8 ligation mediates proinflammatory response by Western blot analysis and ELISA. Expression of TLR7 and TLR8 in RA monocytes was correlated to disease activity score (DAS28) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) levels. Further, the effect of TLR7 ligation in RA monocytes was determined on synovial fluid (SF)-mediated TNFα transcription. Results TLR7/8 are predominately expressed in RA ST lining and sublining macrophages. The authors show that NF-κB and/or PI3K pathways are essential for TLR7/8 induction of proinflammatory factors in RA peripheral blood (PB)-differentiated macrophages. Expression of TLR7 in RA monocytes shows a strong correlation with DAS28 and TNFα levels. By contrast, expression of TLR8 in these cells does not correlate with DAS28, TLR7 or TNFα levels. The authors further demonstrate that RNA from RA SF, but not RA or NL plasma, could modulate TNFα transcription from RA monocytes that can be downregulated by antagonising TLR7 ligation or degradation of single stand (ss) RNA. Thus, ssRNA present in RA SF may function as a potential endogenous ligand for TLR7. Conclusions These results suggest that expression of TLR7, but not TLR8, may be a predictor for RA disease activity and anti-TNFα responsiveness, and targeting TLR7 may suppress chronic progression of RA.
ALPS—Ten Lessons from an International Workshop on a Genetic Disease of Apoptosis

An international group of researchers investigating the molecular, cellular, immunological, and clinical aspects of the autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) met in Bethesda, Maryland on September 21-22, 2009 to discuss advances made over the past 15 years. Their discussions yielded ten broad messages applicable to genetic and immunological investigations of human disease.
A Revised Model of Advertising Processing: Extending the Dual Mediation Hypothesis

Abstract While the Dual Mediation Hypothesis Model has proven to be a useful explanatory tool in understanding consumers' ad processing tendencies, its usefulness may be enhanced by considering a number of important extensions. The present study extends the original model by expressly considering many of the model components in multidimensional terms as well as examining their relationships in both high and low advertising message involvement contexts. Findings provide support for the extended models. Practical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
New Frequency Response Method for Measuring Adsorption Rates via Pressure Modulation: Application to Oxygen and Nitrogen in a Carbon Molecular Sieve

A new frequency response method based on a sinusoidal modulation of pressure is developed to measure gas adsorption equilibria and kinetics simultaneously. The transfer phenomena of pure N2 and O2 gases on carbon molecular sieve are investigated for different pressures and particle sizes by this method. The mass-transfer mechanism for N2 can be explained by a surface barrier using a linear driving force model, but that for O2 requires a combination of a surface barrier and micropore diffusion using a combined resistance model. Alternatively, a distribution of surface barrier resistances is introduced to take into account heterogeneity of the surface and describes the experimental data well. The linear driving force mass-transfer coefficients increase with increasing pressure but depend on the particle size only slightly. The effects of pressure on the transfer coefficients for N2 are less pronounced than those for O2. The apparatus is shown to be useful in providing accurate and rapid transfer coefficient...
Nonclassical smoothening of nanoscale surface corrugations.

We report the first experimental observation of nonclassical morphological equilibration of a corrugated crystalline surface. Periodic rippled structures with wavelengths of 290--550 nm were made on Si(001) by sputter rippling and then annealed at $650--750\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{C}$. In contrast to the classical exponential decay with time, the ripple amplitude ${A}_{\ensuremath{\lambda}}(t)$ followed an inverse linear decay, ${A}_{\ensuremath{\lambda}}(t){\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}A}_{\ensuremath{\lambda}}(0)/({1+k}_{\ensuremath{\lambda}}t)$, agreeing with a prediction of Ozdemir and Zangwill. We measure the activation energy for surface relaxation to be $1.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2\mathrm{eV}$, consistent with the fundamental energies of creation and migration on Si(001).
Distribution of aspartate and glutamate in the nucleus of the solitary tract of the lamb.

Excitatory amino acids have been implicated in several nucleus of the solitary tract (NST)-mediated functions. The distribution of the excitatory amino acids aspartate and glutamate has been described in both cat and rat. However, the distribution of these amino acids has not been described for the lamb, a species frequently used in the investigation of NST-mediated behaviors. Thus, this study was designed to investigate the distribution of aspartate-like (ASP) and glutamate-like (GLU) immunoreactivity in the lamb NST using pre- and post-embedding immunohistochemistry. Both ASP- and GLU-immunoreactive cells and puncta were observed throughout the rostral to caudal extent of the lamb NST. The most intense ASP- and GLU-immunoreactive cell and puncta staining was found ventromedial, ventral and ventrolateral to the solitary tract at intermediate and caudal levels of the lamb NST. The relative numbers of both cells and puncta stained were lower at rostral levels of the NST corresponding to the gustatory NST. The intense ASP and GLU immunoreactivity observed in areas of the lamb intermediate and caudal NST that are involved in respiration, deglutition and cardiovascular functions suggests excitatory amino acids play an important role in NST neural processing that underlies these behaviors in lamb.
First-principles super-cell investigation of the rattling effect in Li-doped KCl.

We have studied by the first-principles total energy method the off-center instability of a substitutional Li impurity in KCl. We report here the results of super-cell calculations of the energy associated with displacing the Li along , and directions relative to the K vacancy. To understand the influence of relaxations, we performed three levels of relaxations—only first nearest neighbors of the vacancy, first and second nearest neighbors, and full relaxation. Our calculations show that the relaxation significantly affects the energy surface and that the relaxation of the nearest neighbors to the vacancy accounts for most of the trend. The position of minimum energy for the Li was found to be along the direction. The calculated well along is 102 meV deep relative to the on-center energy and lies about 0.86 A off-center. Minima along adjacent directions are separated by a saddle-point barrier of 44 meV along the direction. Our calculated results are in agreement with prior model calculations and we believe our calculated potential surfaces are the best theoretical result so far.
The Impact of Challenging Behavior on Families: I Don't Know What to Do.

This qualitative study highlights the experiences of seven parents of preschoolers who engaged in persistent challenging behaviors. The study included an in-depth interview with each parent, member...
The Red Rooster Scare: Making Cinema American, 1900-1910

Only once in cinema history have imported films dominated the American market: during the nickelodeon era in the early years of the twentieth century, when the Pathe company's 'Red Rooster' films could be found 'everywhere.' Through extensive original research, Richard Abel demonstrates how crucial French films were in making 'going to the movies' popular in the United States, first in vaudeville houses and then in nickelodeons. Abel then deftly exposes the consequences of that popularity. He shows how, in the midst of fears about mass immigration and concern that women and children (many of them immigrants) were the principal audience for moving pictures, the nickelodeon became a contested site of Americanization. Pathe's Red Rooster films came to be defined as dangerously 'foreign' and 'alien' and even 'feminine' (especially in relation to 'American' subjects like westerns). Their impact was thwarted, and they were nearly excluded from the market, all in order to ensure that the American cinema would be truly American. "The Red Rooster Scare" offers a revealing and readable cultural history of American cinema's nationalization, by one of the most distinguished historians of early cinema.
Mechanisms of amorphization and recrystallization in ion implanted III–V compound semiconductors

Abstract This review attempts to cover the mechanisms of the crystalline to amorphous transformation in ion implanted III–V compound semiconductors and silicon. Existing models for such a transformation are reviewed and validity of these models has been tested in view of the recent high resolution transmission electron microscopy results from damage or amorphous/crystalline interfaces. Drastic reduction in amorphization due to in situ annealing during ion implantation has been demonstrated. In the latter part of this review the mechanisms of atom migrations across the amorphous/crystalline interface, origin or the nucleation of dislocations, stacking faults, microtwins, precipitates, etc. on annealing of amorphous or damage regions in III–Vs and Si have been covered. Finally, correlations among the reported structural and electrical results have been discussed.
Management of bacterial keratitis: beyond exorcism towards consideration of organism and host factors.

Management of bacterial keratitis: beyond exorcism towards consideration of organism and host factors
URBAN HIGHWAY CONGESTION. AN ANALYSIS OF SECOND-BEST TOLLS

The use of tolls to improve the efficiency with which urban highways are used is no longer just a fanciful proposal of academic economists. A popular book by Downs (1992) is serving to introduce the idea of congestion pricing to a wider audience. As we have noted in the Introduction to this volume, State Route 91 in California, Singapore, a highway in France, and three cities in Norway already have some form of congestion pricing, congestion pricing projects are being planned for several other cities around the world, and the U. S. Federal Highway Administration is conducting demonstration projects to test the viability of congestion tolls in various circumstances. Congestion pricing is being taken seriously by transportation policy makers.
A strong-connectivity algorithm and its applications in data flow analysis

Abstract We present a new linear algorithm for constructing all strongly connected components of a directed graph, and show how to apply it in iterative solution of data-flow analysis problems, to obtain a simple algorithm which improves the Hecht-Ullman algorithm.
Non-isentropic magnetohydrodynamic flow with an oblique field

Nous considerons les ecoulements unidimensionnels, non stationaires et non isentropiques, d'un fluide ideal, parfaitement conducteur de l'electricite et compressible, soumis a l'action oblique d'un champ magnetique avec deux composantes differentes de zero.
Black History Is American History: Teaching African American History in the Twenty-first Century

In the spring of 2003,1 received an invitation to the screening of the hbo film Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives at the Prince Music Theatre in Philadel phia. The film features black actors reading from the text of the 1930s Works Progress Administration-sponsored Federal Writers' Project interviews with former slaves. At the reception following the screening, I overheard the conversation of a group of professional thirty-something African American women, all of whom seemed stunned by the film. Most remarked that they had no previous knowledge of the Works Progress Administra tion project, and many reported being amazed that "slaves" could have articulated their life experiences so clearly. Reluctant to enter the conversation as a know-it-all historian, I remained silent until one of the women remarked that she would have to figure out how to get to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., so she might gain access to the narratives herself, to find "our own history that has been hidden away from us." "Hidden?" I sputtered in response. "No, it is not hidden. And you don't have to go to Washington, D.C. You can go to a library and ask for all or part of George Rawick's many volumes of The American Slave\"1 My spirited outburst sparked a spontaneous, lengthy "teach-in" session that left me feeling socially inept and intellectually frustrated. How was it, I wondered as I boarded the train home, that in 2003, a group of college-educated, professional black women were so unaware of the tremendous body of work, researched and written by hundreds of scholars, about slavery or African American history and culture in general? Equally per plexing, why did some of the women in question, with computers and knowledge of the World Wide Web, continue to hold the rather dated belief that "our" history was "hid den" and inaccessible? And, just as troubling, if middle-class and rising black women did
Circular Dichroism Measurements down to 600 cm−1:

Circular dichroism in vibrational transitions of chiral-molecules is measured down to 600 cm−1, using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. This study indicates that the circular dichroism measurements can be carried out routinely to 600 cm−1.
The effect of endotoxin on plasma α-aminoisobutyric acid

The i.v. injection of bacterial endotoxin into dogs was found to cause a rapid increase in plasma levels of infused α-aminoisobutyric acid. The findings suggest that nonmetabolic factors (tissue uptake, fluid shifts) influence amino acid distribution during endotoxemia.
Nano-and Micro-Actuations of Hard Disk’s Head Positioning System: Precision Control and Evaluation

A new piezoelectric micro-actuator with 2-dimensional control, i.e., a track following control and a flying height control, of the head positioning system for high-density hard disk drives (HDD) was previously developed in our lab. In this study, control algorithms for the new 2-degree-of freedom (DOF) micro-actuator are developed to independently control the lateral displacement and the transverse deflection to against various disturbances and system uncertainties. The structure of the piezoelectric micro-actuator is reviewed briefly. Then, the overall control strategy for the micro-actuator system is discussed. Next, controller design schemes for each DOF are presented. The pole placement method is used to design controllers. To obtain compensation for overshoot and settling time, pole and zero locations are carefully chosen. First, the control law is defined for the disturbance rejection. Second, the estimator is designed for noise reduction. Lastly, the reference input is added for the command following. Simulation results show that the proposed controllers in the closed-loop system provide good stability, and compensate for disturbances and noises. The data suggest that the proposed micro-actuator control system considerably improves track following and flying height control of head positioning systems in highdensity HDDs.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Mistakes as a Social Construct: An Historical Approach

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) published To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System in November 1999. The report focused public attention on the errors that occur within the medical system that cause death and harm to patients. It outlined a series of changes for health care that are aimed at reducing these errors by 50 percent over the next five years.This paper examines the problem of medical mistakes historically. It documents how legal, scientific, and medical trends during the years 1890-1934 intersected to effect the reporting of mistakes in the subspecialty of neurosurgery. At the start of this timeframe, mistakes were reported openly in journal articles as an educational tool. By its end, however, mistakes had gone "underground" and were buried amid a more objective, scientific reporting system. Using this historical perspective as a baseline, the paper concludes by re-examining the IOM's suggestions for change and comments on what they mean for the culture of medicine.
A cell-free system for functional centromere and kinetochore assembly

This protocol describes a cell-free system for studying vertebrate centromere and kinetochore formation. We reconstitute tandem arrays of centromere protein A (CENP-A) nucleosomes as a substrate for centromere and kinetochore assembly. These chromatin substrates are immobilized on magnetic beads and then incubated in Xenopus egg extracts that provide a source for centromere and kinetochore proteins and that can be cycled between mitotic and interphase cell cycle states. This cell-free system lends itself to use in protein immunodepletion, complementation and drug inhibition as a tool to perturb centromere and kinetochore assembly, cytoskeletal dynamics, DNA modification and protein post-translational modification. This system provides a distinct advantage over cell-based investigations in which perturbing centromere and kinetochore function often results in lethality. After incubation in egg extract, reconstituted CENP-A chromatin specifically assembles centromere and kinetochore proteins, which locally stabilize microtubules and, on microtubule depolymerization with nocodazole, activate the mitotic checkpoint. A typical experiment takes 3 d.
Toward an Understanding of Moral Distress in the Acute Care Setting

Abstract Ethical dilemmas and conflicts are inherent in health care settings and may lead to moral distress for clinical care providers, particularly if unresolved. Although the existence of moral ...
Unfolding and refolding of Sol - Gel encapsulated carbonmonoxymyoglobin: An orchestrated spectroscopic study of intermediates and kinetics

The pH-induced unfolding and refolding of the carbon monoxide-bound derivative of horse skeletal myoglobin (COMb) encapsulated in porous sol−gels is probed using several optical techniques in conjunction with different unfolding/refolding protocols. UV resonance Raman (UVRR) spectroscopy and fluorescence are used to monitor the unfolding of the globin and exposure of the A helix to solvent. Absorption spectra, visible resonance Raman (VRR) spectra, and geminate recombination are used to probe the heme and the heme environment. Encapsulation slows the kinetics of acid-induced unfolding and dramatically slows the kinetics of refolding. The spectra and the kinetics imply that this approach allows for the detailed study of the burst phase of unfolding. Using different encapsulation protocols and sequences of solvent replacements, it is possible to trap and probe not only low-pH forms observed in solution-phase studies but also novel partially unfolded species that are likely to be important unfolding and fold...
Issues in the definition of child sexual abuse in prevalence research

Despite efforts to promote uniform criteria for defining child sexual abuse, there are still variations in the definitions adopted by individual researchers. This paper focuses on four representative studies, describes differences in the definitions used and examines how such differences may contribute to discrepancies in the estimated prevalence of abuse. Similarities and dissimilarities are identified in several areas: the upper age limit for child sexual abuse, the criteria used to define a given sexual experience as abusive, the inclusion or exclusion of experiences involving age peers, and the use of different criteria for incidents occurring during adolescence. Prevalence rates from one study, which used a slightly less restrictive definition of abuse, were recalculated based on the definitions of other researchers. This resulted in a 14% decrease in the number of individuals identified as abused. While this is a substantial change, it accounts for only a portion of the discrepancy in prevalence rates, suggesting that other factors, such as methodological differences, need to be examined with regard to their impact on prevalence rates. Historical and legal issues pertaining to the definition of child sexual abuse are also discussed.
Mechanisms of template-assisted selective epitaxy of InAs nanowires on Si

A comprehensive investigation of InAs epitaxy on silicon using template-assisted selective epitaxy is presented. The variation in axial growth rate of InAs nanowires inside oxide nanotube templates is studied as function of nanotube diameter (20–140 nm), growth time (0–30 min), growth temperature (520–580 °C), V/III ratio (40–160), nanotube spacing (300–2000 nm), and substrate crystal orientation. It is found that the effective V/III ratio is reduced at least by a factor of two within the nanotube templates compared to the outside, detectable by changes in the growth facet morphology. The reduced V/III ratio originates from the different transport mechanisms for the As and In precursor species; As and In species are both transported by Knudsen diffusion in the vapor, but an additional contribution of In surface diffusion reduces the V/III ratio. The results reveal the interplay of growth parameters, crystal facets and template geometry and thus are generally applicable for nanoscale selective epitaxy.
Zooplankton responses to predation by larval bluegill: an enclosure experiment

SUMMARY 1. Larval fish are gape-limited predators that forage on prey of specific sizes, and thus may be expected to differentially affect members of a zooplankton community, possibly altering the size-structure or species composition. 2. I used an enclosure experiment to look at the effect of predation by larval bluegill on the dynamics of two zooplankton communities, one dominated by large-bodied individuals and the other by small-bodied individuals. Enclosures containing these zooplankton received a zero, low, medium, or high density of larval bluegill predators. 3. Increasing larval density had a negative effect on zooplankton abundance and abundance declined similarly in the large-bodied and small-bodied communities. 4. Zooplankton size-structure, as estimated by the length of the average zooplankton, increased and then decreased during the experiment, decreasing faster at higher larval fish densities. When zooplankton size-structure was estimated as the length of the average cladoceran, size-structure declined in the large-bodied but not in the small-bodied community and the greatest decline in size-structure was seen in the medium and high larval density treatments. 5. Ordination of each community using multidimensional scaling (MDS) indicated that the trajectory of change in species composition differed between the presence and absence of larval fish. In both communities, the degree of response by individual taxa depended on the density of bluegill larvae. This effect on zooplankton abundance, size-structure and community composition suggests that larval fish may make an important contribution to zooplankton dynamics in many lakes and ponds.
Ber Borochov's “The Tasks of Yiddish Philology”

ArgumentBer Borochov (1881–1917), the Marxist Zionist revolutionary who founded the political party Poyle Tsien (Workers of Zion), was also one of the key theoreticians of Yiddish scholarship. His landmark 1913 essay, “The Tasks of Yiddish Philology,” was his first contribution to the field and crowned him as its chief ideologue. Modeled after late nineteenth-century European movements of linguistic nationalism, “The Tasks” was the first articulation of Yiddish scholarship as a discrete field of scientific research. His tasks ranged from the practical: creating a standardized dictionary and grammar, researching the origins and development of the language, and establishing a language institute; to the overtly ideological: the “nationalizing and humanizing” of the Yiddish language and its speakers. The essay brought a new level of sophistication to the field, established several of its ideological pillars, and linked Yiddish scholarship to the material needs of the Jewish people. Although “The Tasks” was greeted with a great deal of skepticism upon its publication, after his death, Borochov became widely accepted as the “founder” of modern Yiddish studies.
Comparative dissolution rates of weak acids and their sodium salts.

The dissolution rates of several weak acids and their sodium salts were studied in mediums representing gastrointestinal fluids with respect to pH. Marked differences existed between dissolution rates of acids and their sodium salts; the sodium salts always dissolved much more rapidly than the free acid. The experimental method was based on solution by free convection and an expression was derived to express dissolution rate from a circular plate suspended vertically in dissolution medium as a function of the variables involved. The validity of the expression was shown for sodium chloride dissolving in water. The significance of the results in acid-salt rate studies to oral administration of drugs was discussed.
An AU-rich element in the 3′ untranslated region of the C/EBPδ mRNA is important for protein binding during G0 growth arrest

Abstract Posttranscriptional regulation at the level of mRNA stability is becoming increasingly recognized as an important mechanism to control the levels of mRNAs that encode key cell fate determining proteins. Previous work from our laboratory demonstrated that C/EBPδ is a highly unstable mRNA in G0 growth arrested mammary epithelial cells. In this report we investigated trans-acting factor binding to the C/EBPδ 3′-UTR and identified a cis-acting element important for this interaction. RNA electromobility shift assays (REMSAs) demonstrate that the C/EBPδ mRNA 3′-UTR binds trans-acting factor(s) present in G0 growth arrested mammary epithelial cell lysates. This binding was not detected in the presence of lysates from growing cells. UV-binding analysis detected a RNA/protein complex of ∼35 kDa following incubation of the full-length C/EBPδ 3′UTR with lysates from G0 growth arrested mammary epithelial cells. Competition assays indicate that a specific AU-rich region (U1) is necessary for trans-acting factor binding to the C/EBPδ 3′-UTR. These studies have identified an AU-rich element located within the C/EBPδ 3′-UTR that interacts with a putative G0 growth arrest-specific trans-acting factor(s), which may regulate C/EBPδ mRNA decay.
Two spinal cords in birds: novel insights into early avian evolution

Birds can be subdivided into two large superordinal assemblages based on differences in the dorsal horn of the spinal grey matter. Palaeognaths (i.e. ratites and tinamous), along with a few other orders of neognathous birds, exhibit the primitive dorsal horn state characteristic of other amniotes wherein cutaneous nerves form a single map of the body surface across the dorsal horn. In contrast, the vast majority of neognaths exhibit a novel, distinctly bifid dorsal horn wherein cutaneous nerves form not one, but two separate maps of the skin, each lying side–by–side. This unusual dorsal horn organization, which has been highly conserved and represents the derived state in birds, may identify a novel, major avian clade. These findings shed new light on historically problematic taxa and the early evolutionary branching sequence among living birds. Most notably, they reveal that the traditional orders Gruiformes, Columbiformes, Cuculiformes and Piciformes are unnatural assemblages. Further, in addition to palaeognaths, these findings suggest that most gruiforms, including buttonquails and mesites, as well as pigeons, cuckoos, woodpeckers and songbirds, represent ancient lineages whose ancestry predates the majority of ‘modern’ birds. The phylogeny of living birds may thus be likened more to a dense bush than the traditional tree, with more than half of all living species arising from a basal side branch.
Brain responses evoked by high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: an event-related potential study

Background Many recent studies have used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to study brain-behavior relationships. However, the pulse-to-pulse neural effects of rapid delivery of multiple TMS pulses are unknown largely because of TMS-evoked electrical artifacts limiting recording of brain activity. Objective In this study, TMS-related artifacts were removed with independent component analysis (ICA), which allowed for the investigation of the neurophysiologic effects of rTMS with simultaneous electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. Methods Repetitive TMS trains of 10 Hz, 3 seconds (110% of motor threshold) were delivered to the postcentral gyrus and superior parietal lobule in 16 young adults. Simultaneous EEG recordings were made with a TMS-compatible system. The stereotypical pattern of TMS-related electrical artifacts was identified by ICA. Results Removal of artifacts allowed for identification of a series of five evoked brain potentials occurring within 100 milliseconds of each TMS pulse. With the exception of the first potential, for both areas targeted, there was a quadratic relationship between potential peak amplitude and pulse number within the TMS train. This was characterized by a decrease, followed by a rise in amplitude. Conclusions ICA is an effective method for removal of TMS-evoked electrical artifacts in EEG data. With the use of this procedure we found that the physiologic responses to TMS pulses delivered in a high-frequency train of pulses are not independent. The sensitivity of the magnitude of these responses to recent stimulation history suggests a complex recruitment of multiple neuronal events with different temporal dynamics.
No longer hip: losing my balance and adapting to what ails me

Viewing personal narrative as a way to cope with personal issues and public troubles, as well as to provide companionship and comparative life experiences for those going through their own troubles, the author tells a story about adapting to the chronic pain and deterioration of osteoarthritis of the hip. Coping with degenerative but non-life-threatening aches and pain, which are likely to increase as baby boomers age, is an important part of our lived experience of health and ageing, and worthy of examination in our research and stories. Calling on medical and psychosocial literature, the author contextualises her story of learning to live with arthritis as a relational and bodily process with implications for ageing well. Her goal is to incorporate arthritis into her storyline, rather than fighting it or giving in to it. She hopes to stimulate conversation about our ‘conditions’ as a way to work through and cope well with what ails us rather than letting our ailments become who we are – to ourselves and...
God as Absolute Spirit: a Heideggerian Interpretation of Hegel's God-Talk

In this postmodern era, God-talk is facing serious challenges. Is it still possible to have a meaningful concept of God after the demise of metaphysical realism? How can we make sense of the idea of absolute transcendence in a secularized world? In what sense can we still believe something as divine revelation when foundationalism is no longer taken for granted? While some believe that we can go about our old theological business as usual, others have entirely given up on the hope of any intelligible theology. It is my hunch, however, that there are ways of doing theology that can take our postmodern conditions into serious account. In this article, I shall argue that, however anachronistic it might seem, Hegel's God-talk, seen through the lens of Heidegger's understanding of Being, provides one such possibility.
An examination of sociodemographic correlates of ecstasy use among high school seniors in the United States.

Background: Although ecstasy (MDMA) use is not as prevalent in the United States (US) as it was in the early 2000s, use remains popular among adolescents and young adults. Few recent studies have e...
The effects of seston lipids on zooplankton fatty acid composition in Lake Washington, Washington, USA.

We collected suspended particulate matter (seston) and zooplankton samples from Lake Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA, over a 10-month period to investigate the effects of food availability on zooplankton fatty acid (FA) composition. The percentage of nutritionally critical ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the seston varied from 8% of the FA pool in midsummer to 30% during the spring diatom bloom. Zooplankton accumulated much higher percentages ω3 PUFA than was available in the seston. In particular, cladocerans preferentially accumulated eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5ω3), copepods accumulated docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6ω3), and both copepods and cladocerans accumulated 18 carbon chain ω3 PUFAs (C18 ω3). By comparison, the FA of zooplanktivorous juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) were strongly dominated by EPA (12.5% ± 2.1%) and DHA (28.2% ± 8.7%). The saturated fatty acid and the arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4ω6) composition of Diaptomus ashlandi was strongly (r2 = 0.76) and mo...
Serotonin and SIDS.

to the editor: The article by Cummings et al. ([2][1]) emphasizes the vital role of serotonin in cardiovascular homeostasis and respiratory control, using mice with a genetic deficiency, challenged by severe and repeated anoxia. [Their model of an heritable defect as the cause of sudden infant death
Broadband source sliced by cascaded interleavers

A new structure of spectrum-sliced broadband source consisting of an ASE source and two cascaded interleavers is presented. The proposed structure allows the engineer to optimize channel bandwidth and crosstalk easily.
VACCINATION WITH THE MAJOR SECRETORY PROTEIN OF LEGIONELLA PNEUMOPHILA INDUCES CELL-MEDIATED AND PROTECTIVE IMMUNITY IN A GUINEA PIG MODEL OF LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE

We have examined the capacity of the major secretory protein (MSP) of Legionella pneumophila to induce humoral, cell-mediated, and protective immunity in a guinea pig model of Legionnaires' disease. MSP was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, molecular sieve chromatography, and ion-exchange chromatography. The purified MSP was nonlethal and nontoxic to guinea pigs upon subcutaneous administration. Guinea pigs immunized with a sublethal dose of aerosolized L. pneumophila or a subcutaneous dose of MSP developed a strong cell-mediated immune response to MSP. Such guinea pigs exhibited marked splenic lymphocyte proliferation and cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity to MSP in comparison with control animals. Guinea pigs immunized with MSP also developed a strong humoral immune response to MSP, as assayed by an ELISA. The median reciprocal antibody titer was 362 (range 45 to greater than 2,048) for immunized animals compared with less than 8 for controls. In contrast, guinea pigs immunized with a sublethal dose of L. pneumophila failed to develop anti-MSP antibody. Guinea pigs immunized with MSP and then challenged with a lethal aerosol dose of L. pneumophila exhibited highly significant protective immunity in each of five consecutive experiments. MSP induced protective immunity in dose-dependent fashion (40 greater than 10 greater than 2.5 greater than 0.6 micrograms MSP); vaccination with two doses of as little as 2.5 micrograms MSP induced significant protective immunity (p = 0.01, Fisher's Exact Test, two-tailed). Altogether, 21 (81%) of 26 animals immunized with 40 micrograms MSP survived challenge compared with 0 (0%) of 26 sham-immunized control animals (p = 7 x 10(-10), Fisher's Exact Test, two-tailed). MSP-immunized but not control guinea pigs were able to limit L. pneumophila multiplication in their lungs. This study demonstrates that (a) guinea pigs sublethally infected with L. pneumophila develop a strong cell-mediated immune response to MSP; (b) guinea pigs immunized with MSP develop a strong humoral and cell-mediated immune response to MSP; (c) guinea pigs immunized with MSP develop a very high level of protective immunity to lethal aerosol challenge with L. pneumophila; and (d) MSP-immunized animals are able to limit L. pneumophila multiplication in their lungs. MSP, an extracellular protein of an intracellular pathogen, has potential as a vaccine for the prevention of Legionnaires' disease. Secretory molecules of other intracellular pathogens may also have vaccine potential.
Comparison of the Effects of Partial- or Whole-Body Exposures to 16O Particles on Cognitive Performance in Rats

Studies using a ground-based system (NASA Space Radiation Laboratory) to examine the effects of exposure to high-energy charged particles or HZE particles on cognitive performance have interchangeably used whole-body exposures or exposures restricted to the head of the subject. For this study, we hypothesized that different types of exposure such as whole body vs. head only vs. body only might modulate the impact of irradiation on cognitive performance in different ways with the resulting cognitive performance outcomes being either independent of exposure type or strongly dependent on exposure type with each producing performance outcomes. To test these possibilities, three groups of rats were exposed to 16O particles (1,000 MeV/n): (1) head only; (2) body only; (3) whole body. Cognitive performance was measured using the elevated plus-maze, novel object recognition, spatial location memory and operant responding on an ascending fixed-ratio schedule. The results indicated that the performance of the rats ...
Endograft Infection and Treatment with Preservation of the Endograft: Early Results in 3 Cases

We present 3 cases of stent graft infection in patients who were treated with preservation of the endograft. In the first patient, the contamination of the endograft was the consequence of a bleeding aortoenteric fistula, whereas in the second patient, the endograft was implanted into a ruptured contaminated aortic aneurysm because of the patient's hemodynamic instability. In the third patient, the presence of a consistent type Ia endoleak after a chimney graft procedure followed by secondary interventions led to an infection of the stent graft. In each case, a laparotomy was performed with debridement, followed by appropriate antibiotic therapy. The first patient suffered a fatal pulmonary embolism. The other 2 patients are alive 4 and 24 months after the diagnosis of endograft infection. In unstable patients or those with severe comorbidities who cannot tolerate endograft excision and aortic reconstruction, surgical debridement followed by appropriate antibiotic therapy can be a temporary or bridging solution.
Commentary on: Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy Through an Inframammary Fold Incision with Implant-Based Reconstruction in Patients with Prior Cosmetic Breast Surgery.

Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM), as the latest evolution of mastectomy technique, has proven to result in improved reconstructive and aesthetic outcomes in breast cancer care.1 Moreover, the oncologic safety of this approach in selected patients is now well-established.2 The procedure may be performed through a radial, transverse areolar, lateral, inferolateral, double concentric periareolar, vertical infraareolar, or inframammary incision . This procedure affords the possibility for immediate autologous reconstruction, reconstruction with a tissue expander and subsequent expander implant exchange, or the direct-to-implant method. Patient and technical risk factors that increase risk of complications, namely skin and nipple-areola complex ischemia and necrosis, have been described. Smoking, body mass index, breast size, and preoperative radiation are predictors of complications.1,3-8 An increased rate of nipple necrosis is associated with the periareolar/circumareolar and trans-areolar incision patterns compared with radial or inframammary approaches.1,3,9,10 A higher incidence of nipple necrosis is seen when the selected implant with its larger volume is placed at the time of mastectomy as opposed to the more conservative two-stage tissue expander-based reconstruction strategies.1,3,4 Reconstruction with autologous tissue rather than implant-based strategies may also confer protection from ischemic complications in terms of reconstruction failure.11 Prior breast surgery, with resultant scaring and disruption of native blood supply, has a clear potential to affect the complication profile of nipple-sparing mastectomy procedures and increase the risk of skin and nipple area complex ischemia and necrosis. Nipple-sparing results in a nipple-areola complex and skin envelope that is largely dependent on the sub-dermal plexus for vascularity, given that intercostal and internal mammary perforators are often likely to be disrupted.12 Augmentation …
Resource Availability and Microhabitat Use by Merriam's Kangaroo Rats, Dipodomys merriami, in the Mojave Desert

Microhabitat use by Dipodomys merriami was investigated using live-trapping and dyed seed collection methods at a site where direct observations of foraging behavior had been made earlier. D. merriami were more likely to collect dyed seeds scattered beneath shrubs than those placed as large clumps in open areas between shrubs; however, they were equally likely to enter traps in either microhabitat. Seed densities in the soil were highest under shrubs but more large seed clumps were found in open areas between shrubs. These results provide support for earlier suggestions that in this habitat D. merriami collect most of their seeds from beneath shrubs.
Video-rate optical dosimetry of dynamic radiotherapy plans by the Cherenkov effect

We explore the use of the Cherenkov effect for real-time video-rate optical dosimetry of ionizing radiation beams for quality assurance and verification of dynamic intensity modulated radiation therapy and volumetric modulated arc therapy plans.
Angular sensitivity of modeled scientific silicon charge-coupled devices to initial electron direction

Abstract Previously, scientific silicon charge-coupled devices (CCDs) with 10.5-μm pixel pitch and a thick (650 μm), fully depleted bulk have been used to measure gamma-ray-induced fast electrons and demonstrate electron track Compton imaging. A model of the response of this CCD was also developed and benchmarked to experiment using Monte Carlo electron tracks. We now examine the trade-off in pixel pitch and electronic noise. We extend our CCD response model to different pixel pitch and readout noise per pixel, including pixel pitch of 2.5 μm, 5 μm, 10.5 μm, 20 μm, and 40 μm, and readout noise from 0 eV/pixel to 2 keV/pixel for 10.5 μm pixel pitch. The CCD images generated by this model using simulated electron tracks are processed by our trajectory reconstruction algorithm. The performance of the reconstruction algorithm defines the expected angular sensitivity as a function of electron energy, CCD pixel pitch, and readout noise per pixel. Results show that our existing pixel pitch of 10.5 μm is near optimal for our approach, because smaller pixels add little new information but are subject to greater statistical noise. In addition, we measured the readout noise per pixel for two different device temperatures in order to estimate the effect of temperature on the reconstruction algorithm performance, although the readout is not optimized for higher temperatures. The noise in our device at 240 K increases the FWHM of angular measurement error by no more than a factor of 2, from 26° to 49° FWHM for electrons between 425 keV and 480 keV. Therefore, a CCD could be used for electron-track-based imaging in a Peltier-cooled device.
7 WITNESSING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE (IPV) AS A CHILD DOES NOT INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF BECOMING AN ADULT IPV VICTIM.

Objective Intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration has been associated with alcohol, drug use, and witnessing IPV as a child. Associations between being a child witness and being an IPV victim are not well established. The hypothesis of the present study was that child witnesses were different from non-child witnesses in race, education, gender, insurance, children in the home, marital status, income, age, and IPV positivity. Methods A confidential touch screen data entry program was used to collect demographic data. The Ongoing Violence Assessment Tool (OVAT), a validated screen of ongoing IPV, was used during a prospective study that used randomized 4-hour shifts in an academic ED. Randomized 4-hour shifts were determined via a random numbers table. Subjects were given an informational consent form before participation, following IRB procedure. Trained research associates approached potential subjects during shifts to enter the study. The power of the study was 80% to show a difference of 20% between groups, with a total of 260 patients entered and 20% positive for IPV. Results 280 subjects were entered in the study. Subjects were 50% male; 46% were Hispanic and 36% were Caucasian. Seventy-two (26%) subjects were child witnesses and 208 (74%) were non-child witnesses. Overall, 63 (23.5%) were positive for ongoing IPV. By univariate analysis there was no significant correlation of child witnessing of IPV with race, education, gender, insurance, children in the home, or marital status. Child witnesses were also not more likely to drink, use drugs, or have spouses who drink or use drugs. Correlation of child witnessing with IPV positivity (p = .07) was borderline in that 23 of 74 (32%) of the child witnesses and 39 of 184 (21%) of the non-child witnesses were positive for IPV. Significant correlations with child witnessing included age less than 40 (OR 3.9; 95% CI 1.7-8.9), income less than $20,000/year (OR 5.2; 95% CI 1.8-14.7), and abuse as a child (OR 9.8; 95% CI 4.6-20.7). Conclusions Child witnesses were more likely to have lower income, be younger, and have been abused as a child. They were not more likely to be positive for ongoing IPV, although there was a trend in that direction.