cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Local structure of Cu in Cs8Na16Cu5Ge131 type II clathrate

We have used X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to investigate the local structure of Cu and Ge in the Cs{sub 8}Na{sub 16}Cu{sub 5}Ge{sub 131} type II clathrate. We show that the local structure parameters for Ge (coordination number and distances) are consistent with those derived on the basis of XRD investigation of Cs{sub 8}Na{sub 16}Ge{sub 136}. The EXAFS data suggest that Cu either randomly substitutes for Ge on the clathrate framework or preferentially on the 96g site but not preferentially on the 32e or 8a sites (Wyckoff notation). Furthermore, we find that the Cu-Ge distance is smaller than the Ge-Ge distance by 0.13 A, indicating a local distortion around the Cu atoms. The estimated degrees of disorder for Cu-Ge and Ge-Ge interactions indicate the Cu-Ge clathrate framework to be relatively stiff, while those for Na-Ge and Cs-Ge interactions corroborate previous observations of strong thermal disorder of the alkali guests in these materials. Our XAS results offer insight into the site substitution of Cu in this material, information unattainable from X-ray diffraction due to the lack of scattering contrast between Cu and Ge. - Graphical abstract: Comparison of Fourier transforms of Cu K-edge and Ge K-edge EXAFS spectra for Cs{sub 8}Na{sub 16}Cu{submore » 5}Ge{sub 131} collected near the temperature of liquid nitrogen (LN). The data clearly show that the Cu-Ge distance is smaller than the Ge-Ge distance, indicating the presence of a local distortion around Cu.« less
Multibody Orbit Architectures for Lunar South Pole Coverage

A potential ground station at the lunar south pole has prompted studies of orbit architectures that ensure adequate coverage. Constant communications can be achieved with two spacecraft in different combinations of Earth-Moon libration point orbits. Halo and vertical families, as well as other orbits near L1 and L2 are considered. The investigation includes detailed results using nine different orbits with periods ranging from 7 to 16 days. Natural solutions are generated in a full ephemeris model, including solar perturbations. A preliminary station-keeping analysis is also completed.
EPISODIC CONTINENTAL GROWTH AND SUPERCONTINENTS : A MANTLE AVALANCHE CONNECTION?

Abstract Episodic growth of continental crust and supercontinents at 2.7, 1.9, and 1.2 Ga may be caused by superevents in the mantle as descending slabs pile up at the 660-km seismic discontinuity and then catastrophically sink into the lower mantle. Superevents, in turn, may comprise three or four events, each of 50–80 My duration, and each of which may reflect slab avalanches at different locations and times along the 660-km discontinuity. Superplume events in the late Paleozoic and Mid-Cretaceous may have been caused by minor slab avalanches as the 660-km discontinuity became more permeable to the passage of slabs with time. The total duration of a superevent cycle decreases with time reflecting the cooling of the mantle.
What do we mean by extended family? A closer look at hispanic multigenerational families

This study examined an entire residential block of a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in Southern California. The investigation focused on a comparison of the frequency of exiended and nonextended families using structural (household residents) and functional criteria (interaction and exchange) and the reasons nuclear families did not have their grandparents in those household units. Of 48 households, 8 units contained other elements besides the nuclear family. Of these eight, only five units contained the grandparents. Using functinal criteria, however, all were extended family households. A low number of multigenerational families based on the structural criterion may not reflect preference, but merely the physical limitation imposed by the number of children. The larger the size of the family, the higher the incidence of nuclear families because it is impossible for the grandparents to be in all their children's households. Unless variables that affect the availability of kin for an extended family, such as rate of fertility or housing availability, are controlled, the assumption that frequency of multigenerational family households reflects cultural or economic choices may be inaccurate.
Cities, states, trust, and rule: new departures from the work of Charles Tilly

In the light of his essay “Cities, States and Trust Networks,” contributors to this collection were asked to consider ways of building on or departing from the late Charles Tilly’s work. The authors in this collection addressed four major themes: (1) historicism and historical legacies, (2) trust networks and commitment, (3) city–state relations, and (4) democracy and inequality. Authors concentrating on historicism examined how, despite unanticipated consequences, social action nonetheless produced systematic, durable, social structures; they particularly focused on processes of identity formation and cultural reproduction. In regard to trust networks, contributors discovered a striking variety of forms and relationships and they investigated their origins and their relationship to institutions and culture. Looking at city–state relations, authors uncovered the richness and intricacy of the ties linking cities and states and showed that city–state relations were important not simply in terms of the autonomy or dependence of mutual ties, but also in the quality of these relationships. Besides the ties between cities and states other authors sought to focus on empires and wondered about the degree to which empire formation involved similar processes as state formation. Several authors developed this theme. Authors pursuing themes of democracy and inequality stressed how changes in citizenship and the expansion of parliamentary democratic forms might have complicated effects. The relationship between democracy and inequality was mediated by elites and institutions. Democracy constrained inequality but inequality also constrained democracy. Increased state capacity might enable states to remedy old inequities but it might also allow them to perpetrate new ones. The authors’ varied responses suggest promising directions for research on cities, states, and trust networks.
Trends in psychotropic medication use among U.S. adults

Purpose To examine trends and prevalence of prescription psychotropic medication use among noninstitutionalized US adults. Methods Prescription medication data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; 1988–1994; n = 20 050) and the 1999–2002 NHANES (n = 12 060), two nationally representative cross-sectional health examination surveys, were examined for persons aged ≥17 years. Results The age-adjusted prevalence of psychotropic medication use increased from 6.1% in 1988–1994 to 11.1% in 1999–2002 (p < 0.001). This was due to more than a three-fold increase in antidepressant use (2.5%, 1988–1994 vs. 8.1%, 1999–2002 (p < 0.001)). Significant increases between time periods for antidepressant use were seen for all age, gender, and race-ethnic groups although increases were less pronounced for males than females and non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans than non-Hispanic whites. Prevalence of use remained relatively constant from 1988–1994 to 1999–2002 for anxiolytic/sedative/hypnotic (ASH) medications (3.5–3.8%), antipsychotics (0.8–1.0%), and antimanic agents (0.3–0.4%). The age-adjusted prevalence of multiple psychotropic medication use increased from 1.2% in 1988–1994 to 3.1% in 1999–2002 (p < 0.001). Conclusions Psychotropic medication use among US adults increased since 1988–1994, specifically of antidepressants. Increases varied by gender and race-ethnicity indicating under-utilization for non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans compared to non-Hispanic whites for both males and females. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Diabetic retinopathy and diabetic neuropathy.

Perspectives on the News commentaries are now part of a new, free monthly CME activity. The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, is designating this activity for 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credits. If you wish to participate, review this article and visit www.diabetes.procampus.net to complete a posttest and receive a certificate. The Mount Sinai School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. This is the sixth in a series of articles on presentations at the American Diabetes Association’s 66th Scientific Sessions, Washington, DC, 9–13 June 2006, reviewing aspects of diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy and lower extremity vascular disease. Maria Grant (Gainesville, FL) discussed the treatment of diabetic retinopathy with insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 antagonists, reviewing a number of lines of evidence. There is evidence of hypersecretion of growth hormone in diabetes. Furthermore, diabetic retinopathy has been seen following administration of growth hormone to individuals without diabetes (1); there is evidence of reduction in diabetic retinopathy in growth hormone–deficient individuals (2), and pituitary ablation has been shown to have a benefit in reducing diabetic retinopathy progression (3). A number of studies have addressed the potential benefit of somatostatin and its analogs in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy (4). IGF-1 causes a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase–mediated increase in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression by retinal pigment epithelial cells leading to effects on retinal endothelial cells. Somatostatin reduces circulating IGF-1, as well as acting directly in the retina to reduce VEGF production and to decrease retinal neovascularization, with three of the five somatostatin receptor subtypes having been identified in the retina. Octreotide is an eight–amino acid synthetic peptide acting at somatostatin receptors. In a 15-month study of the effect of administration of octreotide to diabetic individuals with …
Least square filters for approximating perfect reconstruction filter banks

This paper presents a least squares (LS) design methodology for approximating perfect reconstruction filter banks. A filter bank can be represented as a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) LTI system whose transfer function is described by the filter bank polyphase matrix. Rising this MIMO system representation, we frame a general least squares filter design problem. Then given an arbitrary set of rational analysis filters we find the causal synthesis filters for a filter bank which achieves the best causal LS approximation to perfect reconstruction. >
The development of verbal disputing in part-Hawaiian children

Children in Hawaii who have some Polynesian ancestry have been observed to engage frequently in a pattern of verbal disputing that is characterized by the forceful use of ‘Not!’ as an outright contradiction by one speaker of another. This paper describes the pattern and its development from early childhood into adolescence and the context of relationships in which it develops.
Geochemical reaction mechanism discovery from molecular simulation

Environmental context Computational simulations are providing an increasingly useful way to isolate specific geochemical and environmental reactions and to test how important they are to the overall rate. In this review, we summarise a few ways that one can simulate a reaction and discuss each technique’s overall strengths and weaknesses. Selected case studies illustrate how these techniques have helped to improve our understanding for geochemical and environmental problems. Abstract Methods to explore reactions using computer simulation are becoming increasingly quantitative, versatile and robust. In this review, a rationale for how molecular simulation can help build better geochemical kinetics models is first given. Some common methods are summarised that geochemists use to simulate reaction mechanisms, specifically classical molecular dynamics and quantum chemical methods and their strengths and weaknesses are also discussed. Useful tools such as umbrella sampling and metadynamics that enable one to explore reactions are discussed. Several case studies wherein geochemists have used these tools to understand reaction mechanisms are presented, including water exchange and sorption on aqueous species and mineral surfaces, surface charging, crystal growth and dissolution, and electron transfer. The effect that molecular simulation has had on our understanding of geochemical reactivity is highlighted in each case. In the future, it is anticipated that molecular simulation of geochemical reaction mechanisms will become more commonplace as a tool to validate and interpret experimental data, and provide a check on the plausibility of geochemical kinetic models.
Format and philosophy for collecting, compiling, and reporting microprobe monazite ages

Microprobe monazite dating has been increasingly used to constrain the timing of deformation and metamorphism because of the potential to date very small monazite domains (down to 5 μm or less) in structural and petrologic context. This paper presents an analytical strategy, presentation format, and error considerations for microprobe monazite dating. The strategy involves high-resolution compositional mapping to delineate compositional domains within monazite crystals. Then for each compositional domain, a series of Th, U and Pb analyses are made, and a single date and error are calculated. The number of analyses in each domain is determined by the desired statistical precision of the date. Results from several monazite grains are typically combined and, along with textural relationships, are used to build an argument that the dates constrain the age of a deformation or metamorphic event. The total error involves three components: short-term random error (dominated by counting statistical uncertainty), short-term systematic error (uncertainty in background correction, conductive coating variation, and calibration), and long-term systematic error (uncertainty in standard composition, mass absorption factors, decay constants, etc.). In homogeneous compositional domains, short-term random errors (2σ) of less than 10 m.y. can be obtained from five to ten analyses. However, short-term systematic error, mainly background estimation uncertainty, would typically result in a doubling of the magnitude of random error. Microprobe dates are presented as a single Gaussian probability distribution for each domain, along with representative compositional maps. It is recommended that a consistency standard be analyzed during each analytical session and the results be reported along with those from the unknown. This proposed strategy and format are compatible with those of other geochronological techniques; they incorporate analytical limitations associated with trace, as opposed to major element, microprobe analysis, and will allow better comparisons to be made between labs and between different geochronological techniques.
Phosphotyrosine-Dependent Targeting of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase in Differentiated Contractile Vascular Cells

Tyrosine phosphorylation has been linked to plasmalemmal targeting of src homology-2-containing proteins, activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, nuclear signaling, and proliferation of cultured cells. Significant tyrosine phosphorylation and MAP kinase activities have also been reported in differentiated cells, but the signaling role of tyrosine-phosphorylated MAP kinase in these cells is unclear. The spatial and temporal relation between phosphotyrosine and MAP kinase immunoreactivity was quantified in differentiated contractile vascular smooth muscle cells by using digital imaging microscopy. An initial association of MAP kinase with the plasmalemma required upstream protein kinase C activity but occurred in a tyrosine phosphorylation-independent manner. Subsequent to membrane association, a delayed redistribution of MAP kinase, colocalizing with the actin-binding protein caldesmon, occurred in a tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent manner. The apparent association of MAP kinase with the contractile proteins coincided with contractile activation. Thus, tyrosine phosphorylation appears to target MAP kinase to cytoskeletal proteins in contractile vascular cells. This targeting mechanism may determine the specific destination and thereby the specialized function of MAP kinase in other phenotypes.
A common variant in the β2-adrenergic receptor and risk of sudden cardiac death.

Background Homozygosity for a common nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (Gln27Glu) in the β 2 -adrenergic receptor gene ( ADRB2 ) has been inconsistently associated with sudden cardiac death (SCD) in individual studies of small sample size. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the Gln27Glu polymorphism and SCD in a large combined sample of SCD cases. Methods Nested case-control analysis was performed for individuals of Caucasian ancestry enrolled in six prospective cohort studies. Genotypes for the Gln27Glu variant were determined for 492 cases of SCD and 1,388 controls matched for age, sex, cohort, follow-up time, and history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and at the time of the blood draw. Individual studies were combined with conditional logistic regression with fixed effects meta-analysis assuming a recessive model. Results Homozygosity for the Gln27 allele conferred a nonsignificant elevation of the age-adjusted odds ratio (OR 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98–1.53, P = .08) for SCD, which became marginally significant after controlling for multiple cardiac risk factors (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.01–1.67, P = .046). In secondary analyses using controls additionally matched for the development of nonfatal CVD after the blood draw, results were attenuated (OR 1.19, 95% CI 0.92–1.52, P = .19). When the results of the primary analysis were combined in meta-analysis with published reports, a significant association between ADRB2 genotype and SCD emerged (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.15–1.60, P = .0003). Conclusion These data from a large prospective case-control series, when combined with published studies, provide further evidence for an association between ADRB2 genotype and SCD. The mechanism is unknown but appears to be partly mediated by development of CVD.
Biased Cramér-Rao lower bound calculations for inequality-constrained estimators

Unbiased Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRB) theory can be used to calculate lower bounds to the variances of unbiased estimates of a set of parameters given only the probability density function of a random vector conditioned on the true parameter values. However, when the estimated parameter values are required to satisfy inequality constraints such as positivity, the resulting estimator is typically biased. To calculate CRBs for biased estimates of the parameter values, an expression for the bias gradient matrix must also be known. Unfortunately, this expression often does not exist. Because expressions for biased CRBs are preferable to sample variance calculations, alternative methods for deriving biased CRB expressions associated with inequality constraints are needed. We present an alternative approach that is based upon creating the probability density function associated with a given biased estimate of these parameters using the available knowledge of the estimator properties. We apply this approach to the calculation of biased CRBs for estimators that use a positivity constraint with and without a support constraint for a specific measurement model and discuss the benefits and limitations of this approach.
Statistical Accuracy of Data used in Seismic Inversion

Summary The raw materials for inversion studies of the Earth’s interior are observations of such variables as onset time of phases, phase amplitude and dominant period, array d TldA, and surface-wave dispersion. The observations are subject not only to systematic errors but to random reading errors due to noise. It is desirable to have methods of estimating these quantities which produce as small an error variance due to noise as possible, and it is also desirable to know what this variance is. This paper presents several known results on good estimation schemes and their error variance, involving in some cases standard practice in fields such as radio astronomy and radar. 1. Introdaction It is well known that inversion studies of the Earth’s interior can be performed on the basis of such data measurements as arrival time and dominant period of body waves, array dT/dA for body waves, and measurements of dispersion curves for surface waves. As an example, the velocities of elastic body waves in the upper mantle of the Earth are obtained from the study of travel times of seismic waves. One method of analysis for accomplishing this consists of measuring the travel times of waves from events as a function of epicentral distance, smoothing the data and fitting it with a curve, obtaining the derivative of this travel-time curve as an estimate for dT/dA, and then inverting dT/dA by the Weichert-Herglotz method to obtain the velocity in the Earth as a function of depth. Another approach to this problem is based on the use of data from large seismic arrays to make a more direct measurement of dT/dA as a function of epicentral distance. This method is quite useful since it does not depend on absolute times, so that many sources of error are eliminated. The data measurements are subject not only to systematic errors but also to random reading errors due to noise. It is desirable to have methods of estimating the desired parameters which produce as small an error variance due to noise as possible, and it is also of interest to know what is this variance. The purpose of this paper is to present several known results on good estimation schemes and their error variance, involving in some cases standard practice in other fields such as radar. Thus, the results of the statistical theory of signal detection, which have been developed primarily for radar applications, will be used to discuss the statistical accuracy of the data used in seismic inversion studies.
Osteoporosis in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury

The pathophysiology, clinical considerations, and relevant experimental findings with regard to osteoporosis in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) will be discussed. The bone loss that occurs acutely after more neurologically motor complete SCI is unique for its sublesional skeletal distribution and rate, at certain skeletal sites approaching 1% of bone mineral density per week, and its resistance to currently available treatments. The areas of high bone loss include the distal femur, proximal tibia, and more distal boney sites. Evidence from a study performed in monozygotic twins discordant for SCI indicates that sublesional bone loss in the twin with SCI increases for several decades, strongly suggesting that the heightened net bone loss after SCI may persist for an extended period of time. The increased frequency of fragility fracture after paralysis will be discussed, and a few risk factors for such fractures after SCI will be examined. Because vitamin D deficiency, regardless of disability, is a relevant consideration for bone health, as well as an easily reversible condition, the increased prevalence of and treatment target values for vitamin D in this deficiency state in the SCI population will be reviewed. Pharmacological and mechanical approaches to preserving bone integrity in persons with acute and chronic SCI will be reviewed, with emphasis placed on efficacy and practicality. Emerging osteoanabolic agents that improve functioning of WNT/β-catenin signaling after paralysis will be introduced as therapeutic interventions that may hold promise.
Neuroimaging signatures and cognitive correlates of the montreal cognitive assessment screen in a nonclinical elderly sample

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) screen was developed as a brief instrument to identify mild cognitive impairment and dementia among older individuals. To date, limited information is available regarding the neuroimaging signatures associated with performance on the scale, or the relationship between the MoCA and more comprehensive cognitive screening measures. The present study examined performances on the MoCA among 111 non-clinical older adults (ages 51 –85) enrolled in a prospective study of cognitive aging. Participants were administered the MoCA, Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). A subset of participants (N ¼ 69) underwent structural 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to define the volumes of total frontal gray matter, total hippocampus, T2-weighted subcortical hyperintensities (SH), and total brain volume. The results revealed significant correlations between the total score on the MoCA and total score on the RBANS and MMSE, though the strength of the correlations was more robust between the MoCA and the RBANS. Modest correlations between individual subscales of the MoCA and neuroimaging variables were evident, but no patterns of shared variance emerged between the MoCA total score and neuroimaging indices. In contrast, total brain volume correlated significantly with total score on the RBANS. These results suggest that additional studies are needed to define the significance of MoCA scores relative to brain integrity among an older population.
Compact Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Motors

This paper reviews recent developments of compact ultrasonic motors using piezoelectric resonant vibrations. Following the historical background, ultrasonic motors using the standing and travelling waves are introduced. Driving principles and motor characteristics are explained in comparison with the conventional electromagnetic motors.
Modeling of chemical–mechanical couplings in anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells and reliability analysis

Oxygen ionic transport in conducting ceramics is an important mechanism enabling solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology. The multi-physicochemical processes lead to the fact that the distribution of oxygen vacancy site fraction is not uniform in a positive-electrode electrolyte negative-electrode (PEN) assembly. Different oxygen vacancy concentrations induce different volumetric expansion of ceramics, resulting in complicated chemical–mechanical coupling phenomena and chemical stress in SOFCs. In this research, a mathematical model is developed to study oxygen ionic transport induced chemical stress in an SOFC. The model is validated using experimental polarization curves. Comprehensive simulations are performed to investigate chemical stress distribution in the PEN assembly under different operating conditions and design parameters as well as mechanical constraints. Principal stress analysis is employed to identify the weakest zones in the cell. The Weibull approach is utilized to analyze the failure probability of each component and the elastic energy stored in the cathode layer is employed to evaluate potential delamination failure at the cathode/electrolyte interface. The paper for the first time builds a chemical–mechanical coupling model at a cell level and is an important module complementary to the state-of-the-art electrochemical–thermal–mechanical model of SOFCs.
Turbulent thermal diffusion: a way to concentrate dust in protoplanetary discs

Turbulence acting on mixes of gas and particles generally evenly diffuses the latter through the former. However, in the presence of background gas temperature gradients a phenomenon known as turbulent thermal diffusion appears as a particle drift velocity (rather than a diffusive term). This process moves particles from hot regions to cold ones. We rederive turbulent thermal diffusion using astrophysical language and demonstrate that it could play a major role in protoplanetary discs by concentrating particles by factors of tens. Such a concentration would set the stage for collective behavior such as the streaming instability and hence planetesimal formation.
New Plant for Houston Marine Electronics: International Finance Case on International Capital Budgeting

Houston Marine Electronics is a hypothetical United States manufacturer needing to decide in 2013 whether to build a new plant to supply surging product demand in Australia. If so, the company must also decide whether to locate the plant in the United States, Australia, or Malaysia. The case focuses on issues related to country risk, political risk, currency risk, and the cost of capital.
A system to recognize intruders in controller area network (CAN)

The existing automotive Controller Area Network (CAN) is vulnerable. The absence of sender verification in its communication means that an attacker acting as a node on its network will be treated like a legitimate node that has always been present, allowing attackers to transmit and receive messages freely. This paper proposes a system that will allow nodes using CAN to identify legitimate messages and reject those that come from illegitimate nodes. In addition, the system provides resistance against replay attacks that can clog up the safety-critical real time networks.
Winnifred Eaton: Ethnic Chameleon and Popular Success

tury. The Japanese were at the top of the ladder, respected in part because this island nation had won wars against China in 1895 and Russia in 1905, and in part because few Japanese had then immigrated to the United States.2 The Blacks had long been considered inferior, but they, at least, had the dubious advantage of being familiar. The Chinese, however, were not only regarded as an incomprehensible subhuman species, but with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, the thousands of Chinese laborers imported for its construction had become a threat to white workers. Anti-Chinese agitation grew to such proportions that the Chinese Exclusion Acts were passed in 1882, making the Chinese the only nationality in the world named by an act of Congress for exclusion.3 John Higham in Strangers in the Land, a study of American nationalism and ethnic prejudice, confirms the virulent rejection of the Chinese at the end of the nineteenth century: No variety of anti-European sentiment has ever approached the violent extremes to which anti-Chinese agitation went in the 1870's and 1880's. Lynchings, boycotts, and mass expulsions still harassed the Chinese after the federal government yielded to the clamor for their exclusion in 1882. At a time when the Chinese question had virtually disappeared as a political
Quantitation of Emphysema in Lung Macrosections with an Electronic Scanner: A Preliminary Study

Parenchymal spaces, tissue, and black pigment deposits were quantitated in emphysematous and normal tissue samples with an electronic scanner as a preliminary exercise. Results generally were comparable to those noted in a prior investigation employing planimetry. This tends to validate the present technic in principle and offers promise of a rapid, precise method of assessing emphysematous lungs.
HG-04NEURONAL ACTIVITY-REGULATED SECRETION OF NEUROLIGIN-3 PROMOTES GLIOMA GROWTH

Active neurons exert a mitogenic effect on normal neural precursor and oligodendroglial precursor cells, the putative cellular origins for high-grade glioma (HGG). We demonstrate that active neurons similarly promote HGG proliferation and growth in vivo using optogenetic control of cortical neuronal activity in a patient-derived pediatric glioblastoma orthotopic xenograft model. Activity-regulated mitogen(s) are secreted, as the conditioned medium from optogenetically stimulated cortical slices promoted proliferation of pediatric and adult patient-derived HGG cultures. The synaptic protein neuroligin-3 (NLGN3) was identified as the leading candidate mitogen; soluble NLGN3 was sufficient and necessary to promote robust HGG cell proliferation. NLGN3 induced PI3K-mTOR pathway activity and feed-forward expression of NLGN3 in glioma cells, providing mechanistic insight into its surprising role as a mitogen. NLGN3 expression levels in human HGG negatively correlated with patient overall survival. These findings indicate the important role of active neurons in the brain tumor microenvironment and identify secreted neuroligin-3 as an unexpected mechanism promoting neuronal activity-regulated cancer growth.
Electrical Fast Transient Burst Immunity of Smart Electricity Meter

In attempt to analyze the influence of electrical fast transient burst( EFTB) on smart electricity meter accurately,this paper researches EFTB immunity of smart electricity meter from the perspective of power source coupling for control circuit of electricity meter. On the basis of the analysis on the generating principle of EFTB,the passive integrated network of EFTB was established by the means of doing the Laplace transform of EFT math equation.Meanwhile a quantitative study on the common mode influence and differential mode influence of EFTB on electricity meter is conducted innovatively. Thereupon,the sensitive parameter and the suppression method are presented. Finally the interference source model is established to simulate the EFTB test. The results prove the conrrectness of the theoretical study,which provides the theoretical basis for EMI filter designing.
Analysis of related factors and clinical characteristics of neonatal thrombocytopenia

Objective:To investigate the relationship of the related factors,clinical characteristics,prognosis and severity score of neonatal thrombocytopenia(NT). Methods:Eighty-nine infants with NT were collected in neonatal intensive care unit,these patients were divided into mild group and severe group.The related factors,treatment,prognosis and relationship with the severity score were analyzed. Results:Compared with mild group,the recovery time of platelet in severe group was prolonged(P0.05),red blood cell count and severity score were decreased,C reactive protein and incidence of were increased,there were significant differences(P0.05-0.01). Conclusions:Infection is the key factor of NT,there is very close relationship between the level of platelet and severity score.Early diagnosis and treatment is very crucial,and most patients have a favorable prognosis.
Model-based reconfiguration: toward an integration with diagnosis

We extend Reiter's general theory of model-based diagnosis [Reiter, 1987] to a theory of reconfiguration. The generality of Reiter's theory readily supports an extension in which the problem of reconfiguration is viewed as a close analogue of the problem of diagnosis. Using a reconfiguration predicate rcfg analogous to the abnormality predicate ab, we formulate a strategy for reconfiguration by transforming that for diagnosis. A benefit of this approach is that algorithms for diagnosis can be exploited as algorithms for reconfiguration, thereby promoting an integrated approach to fault detection, identification, and reconfiguration.
Evaluation of arrhythmogenicity of surgically induced endocardial versus ischemic myocardial damage

Ventricular tachyarrhythmias are common sequelae of ischemic myocardial damage. To assess the susceptibility to sustained ventricular tachycardia in a canine model in which endocardial excision was performed, 30 adult mongrel dogs were divided into three groups and studied in an open-chest condition, anesthetized under pentobarbital anesthesia, 7 to 14 days after undergoing one of three alternative procedures: (Group A) sham-operated controls, 10 dogs; (Group B) left ventricular endocardial excision, 10 dogs; and (Group C) myocardial infarction produced by a 2-hour occlusion and subsequent reperfusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery, 10 dogs. Using programmed ventricular pacing with two extrastimuli via plunge electrodes at 10 normal sites in the distribution of the left anterior descending coronary artery in each dog, sustained ventricular tachycardia was induced in 0/10 Group A dogs at 0/100 sites and in 0/10 Group B dogs at 0/100 sites; in contrast, in Group C, 7/10 (70%, p
Patterns of major wound complications following multidisciplinary therapy for lower extremity soft tissue sarcoma.

Background and Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine the pattern and timing of major wound complications (MWCs) in patients at our institution who received multimodality treatment for lower extremity soft tissue sarcoma (LE-STS) and to evaluate the impact of MWCs on tumor control and patient outcomes. Methods The medical records of 102 LE-STS patients treated with limb-sparing surgery and radiation therapy were reviewed. MWCs were defined as secondary operations with anesthesia, seroma/hematoma aspiration, admission for IV antibiotics, or persistent deep packing. Results MWCs occurred in 22% of patients, with 45% of events occurring >120 days after resection. On multivariate analysis, preoperative external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) (OR 4.29, 95% CI 1.06–17.40, P = 0.042) and skin graft placement (OR 6.39, 95% CI 1.37–29.84, P = 0.018) were found to be independent predictors of MWCs. MWC occurrence did not predict for chronic toxicity and did not impact tumor control or survival. Conclusions A considerable proportion of MWCs occur >120 days from surgical resection with preoperative EBRT and skin graft placement independent predictors for MWCs. While an additional source of morbidity, MWC occurrence did not impact tumor control, nor did it predict for chronic toxicity. J. Surg. Oncol. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Contact Scrotal Thermography. II. Use in the Infertile Male

The results of the use of a new contact scrotal thermographic instrument in 112 patients in a fertility clinic are presented. Animal studies comparing accuracy to Thermistor probe measurements show strong positive correlation. This modality is useful for evaluation of patients with persistently abnormal semen analyses after a varicocele ligation to determine which patients might benefit from invasive retrograde venography to detect persistent venous trunks. Patients with a questionable varicocele or "subclinical" varicocele comprise the group that benefits most from this diagnostic instrument. There were 24 patients in this category, and the results of contact scrotal thermography are discussed. Three of these patients have had high ligation of the spermatic vein on the basis of these studies and the results have been good.
Sub-defect of product of doubly substochastic matrices

The sub-defect of an doubly substochastic matrix S, denoted by sd(S), is defined to be the smallest integer k such that there exists an doubly stochastic matrix containing S as a submatrix. Let A and B be arbitrary doubly substochastic matrices. We show that AB is also a doubly substochastic matrix and
Vesicoureteral Reflux Complicating Sterile Hemorrhagic Cystitis: A Case Report

An unusual case of sterile hemorrhagic cystitis with bilateral vesicoureteral reflux is reported. Such a case has not been described previously.
Calculation of essential drug conformations and electron distributions

What would the molecular pharmacologist really like to know? It may seem arrogant for a theoretician to pose and attempt to answer this question, but it is necessary if the full value of theoretical calculations is to be appreciated.
Quantile Specification Method of Comparison Values in Analytic Hierarchy Process

Expert opinions are sought in order to elicit pairwise comparison values of the decision elements in Analytic flierarchy Process (AHP). In this article, we propose an alternative elicitation method. These new elicitations are in terms of a few selected quantiles of the comparison values. A statistical model is provided for processing these elicited values. The advantage of this approach is that one can generate as many pairwise comparison matrices of the decision elements as desired. This allows one to determine whether differences in the final priority scores of the alternatives are statistically significant.
Nitrogen Balance Studies on Patients Infused with Protein Hydrolysate Containing Varying Amounts of Glucose

Fifty-two postoperative adult patients were given varying amounts of intravenous glucose simultaneously with a constant quantity of protein hydrolysate and a constant caloric intake. The glucose concentration in the hydrolysate varied from 0-25 per cent. There was a marked increase in nitrogen retention in all the groups receiving glucose with the protein hydrolysate as compared to the group receiving no glucose with the protein hydrolysate. The nitrogen retention in patients receiving 1.25% glucose in the hydrolysate was as satisfactory as that obtained using 7.5% glucose. Dividing the protein-glucose mixture into morning and afternoon infusions appears to be of some benefit in increasing nitrogen retention.
A tractable numerical model for exploring nonadiabatic quantum dynamics

Numerous computational and spectroscopic studies have demonstrated the decisive role played by nonadiabatic coupling in photochemical reactions. Nonadiabatic coupling drives photochemistry when potential energy surfaces are nearly degenerate at avoided crossings or truly degenerate at unavoided crossings. The dynamics induced by nonadiabatic coupling are challenging to comprehend; here we describe a versatile one-dimensional model that is numerically tractable and illustrates fundamental aspects of nonadiabatic quantum dynamics. This model reinforces and builds on concepts taught in graduate-level quantum mechanics and therefore should be accessible to advanced undergraduate and graduate students. We use the model to demonstrate how the local topography of an unavoided crossing can affect a photochemical quantum yield.
Disruption of white matter structural integrity and connectivity in posttraumatic stress disorder: A TBSS and tractography study

BACKGROUND Most studies of brain white matter (WM) in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have focused on combat trauma, and often were confounded by neurological and substance dependence comorbidity. This study used tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and probabilistic tractography to characterize WM microstructure in a mixed-sex community sample of PTSD patients exposed to diverse and multiple traumas, and in trauma-exposed normal comparison (TENC) subjects. METHODS TBSS compared diffusion measures between 20 adults with DSM-IV PTSD and 17 TENC, using a whole-brain voxel-wise approach. Probabilistic tractography using Freesurfer's TRACULA was employed to measure diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics within anatomically defined pathways. DTI metrics were compared between groups and correlated with PTSD symptom severity and trauma load. RESULTS Controlling for age, sex, and motion, PTSD subjects had significantly reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in a left frontal lobe cluster compared with TENC, at p < .05, family-wise error corrected. Tractography identified significant group differences in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), including lower FA and higher radial diffusivity in PTSD compared with TENC. Within the PTSD group, FA values were not correlated with symptom severity or trauma load. Results remained significant after removing participants using psychotropic medication or those with comorbid major depression. CONCLUSIONS PTSD patients had reduced WM integrity in left hemisphere frontal WM and temporal-occipital WM tracts, compared to trauma-exposed controls. Reduced frontal FA is consistent with compromised top-down attentional control and emotion regulation in PTSD, while reduced ILF FA may be related to sensory processing and gating abnormalities in this disorder.
The Schwarz-Christoffel Transformation and Polynomial Root Clustering 1

Abstract A sequence of tests on derived polynomials to be strictly Hurwitz polynomials is shown to be equivalent to a given (typically real) polynomial having all its zeros in an open sector, symmetric with respect to the real axis, in the left half-plane. The number of tests needed is at most 2 + [(ln k)/(ln 3)], where k is the integer associated with the central angle π/k of the sector. An extension of this result on the sector as a region of root clustering is given which shows that only a limited number of tests are needed to verify that the roots are clustered in a region composed as the intersection of a set of primative (sector-like) regions. The results reported evolve from invokation of a collection of mappings on the complex plane defined by a particular collection of Schwarz—Christoffel transformations.
From Individual Representations to Group Cognition

More than we realize it, knowledge is often constructed through interactions among people in small groups. The Internet, by allowing people to communicate globally in limitless combinations, has opened enormous opportunities for the creation of knowledge and understanding. However, a major barrier to taking advantage of this opportunity remains the lack of adequate groupware. To design more powerful software that can facilitate the building of collaborative knowledge, we need to better understand the nature of group cognition—the processes whereby small groups develop their understanding. We need to analyze interaction at both the individual and the group unit of analysis in order to understand the variety of processes that groupware should be supporting. This chapter will look closely at an empirical example of knowledge being constructed by a small group and suggest implications for groupware design. It will first analyze the chat interaction as the expression of individual thinking and then re-analyze it as the sequential unfolding of group exploration of a math problem that no individual in the group was able to solve on their own.
Viruses of Amphibia: An Historical Perspective

The first postulation of an amphibian virus infection was over 50 years ago by Lucke (1934) who discovered that renal adenocarcinoma cells of the common leopard frog, Rana pipiens, often contained intranuclear acidophilic inclusion bodies that were similar to those found in herpes simplex infections and other viral diseases. Lucke’s subsequent transmission experiments (Lucke, 1938), led him to conclude that the frog renal adenocarcinoma (Lucke tumor) was of viral origin. This interpretation was substantiated more than three decades later when a herpesvirus (Fawcett, 1956) was firmly established as the causative agent (Tweedell, 1967; Naegele et al., 1974). Attempts to isolate, cultivate and characterize the herpesvirus associated with the Lucke tumor resulted in the isolation of several other viruses, including members of the families Iridoviridae (Granoff et al., 1965; 1968; Clark et al., 1968), Herpesvlridae (Rafferty, 1965; Gravell et al., 1968), and Adenovirldae (Clark et al., 1973; Wong and Tweedel, 1974). Other iridoviruses (Wolf et al., 1968; Briggs and Burton, 1973; Desser and Barta, 1984), as well as members of the Togaviridae (Spalatin et al., 1964; Burton et al., 1966; Kozuch et al., 1977) and Ca1iciviridae (Smith et al., 1986) families, have also been identified as infecting amphibia.
Channel estimation for multi-way quantized distributed wireless relaying

A key focus of wireless communications research is on solutions that catalyze broadband access everywhere at anytime. Relaying has been introduced as a solution to enable communication between users who suffer from poor channel conditions. Distributed relay networks are a special case where spatial diversity is obtained by using a relay consisting of many geographically dispersed nodes. Due to bandwidth constraints, distributed relay networks perform quantization at the relay nodes, and hence they are referred to as quantized distributed relay networks. In such systems, users transmit data simultaneously through the uplink to the relay nodes of the relay. Each node independently quantizes the observed signal to a few bits and broadcasts these bits through the band-limited downlink channel to the users. In this paper, we consider a multi-way quantized distributed relay network where the relay facilitates the communication between many users. For decoding purposes, we develop algorithms that can be employed by the users to estimate their uplink channels as well as the uplink channels observed by all other users when nodes perform simple sign quantization. A near maximum likelihood (nearML) channel estimator is derived. In addition, other sub-optimal estimators that are more computationally efficient than the nearML technique are also presented. Via simulation, we compare the performance of the proposed channel estimators.