cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sexually Dimorphic Effects of Prenatal Stress on Cognition, Hormonal Responses, and Central Neurotransmitters

Exposure to stress during gestation results in physiological and behavioral alterations that persist into adulthood. This study examined the effects of prenatal stress on the postnatal expression of sexually differentiated cognitive, hormonal, and neurochemical profiles in male and female rats. Pregnant dams were subjected to restraint stress three times daily for 45 min during d 14-21 of pregnancy. The offspring of control and prenatally stressed dams were tested for anxiety-related and cognitive behaviors, stress and gonadal steroid hormone levels, as well as monoamines and metabolite levels in selected brain regions. Postnatal testosterone levels (measured at 1 and 5 d) did not differ between controls and prenatally stressed animals. In adulthood, the serum corticosterone response to stress was attenuated in prenatally stressed females, eliminating the sex difference normally observed in this parameter. Prenatally stressed females exhibited higher anxiety levels, evidenced by longer open field entry latencies. Prenatal stress had no effect on object recognition memory, but eliminated the advantage normally seen in the male performance of a spatial memory task. Neurochemical profiles of prenatally stressed females were altered toward the masculine phenotype in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. Thus, prenatal stress altered subsequent cognitive, endocrine, and neurochemical responses in a sex-specific manner. These data reinforce the view that prenatal stress affects multiple aspects of brain development, interfering with the expression of normal behavioral, neuroendocrine, and neurochemical sex differences. These data have implications for the effects of prenatal stress on the development of sexually dimorphic endocrine and neurological disorders.
Computational methods for analysis of terahertz spectral signatures of nucleic acids

Motivated by the terahertz application to spectroscopic sensing of genetic and related materials, this paper focuses on the calculation of the absorption spectra of of poly(rG)-poly(rC) and poly(dA)-poly(dT) in the range 2-300 cm/sup -1/. The potential energy of nucleic acids is minimized and the normal mode analysis is performed using AMBER 8 package. The calculated absorption spectra are compared to the previous modeling results using JUMNA & LIGAND package and to the experimental data. The position of the strongest RNA resonance peak from both programs agrees with that experimentally observed. The AMBER-based polarization results fit the experimental data reasonably well.
Markets vs. professions: value added?

sions is under siege. Not just their performance but also their claim to distinct expertise, the very core of professional legitimacy, has come under withering 1⁄2re. Skepticism is particularly leveled at professional claims that the public interest is being served. Lawyers now routinely expect denigration for their professional af1⁄2liation, even from other attorneys. Physicians are not only challenged by the proponents of ‘alternative medicine,’ but face patients armed with all kinds of medical knowledge obtained through the Internet. The prevalence of ‘emergency’ teaching credentials in school classrooms calls into question the value of professional teacher training. The list goes on. Despite the speci1⁄2city of these claims to the particular circumstances of one or another professional 1⁄2eld, these challenges circulate within a larger current of thought that is deeply skeptical of the value of the professional organization of work. The prevalence of the notion that the market is self-regulating and morally self-suf1⁄2cient has cast doubt on the public value of an individual’s lengthy and expensive induction into a professional guild–into its monopoly over esoteric knowledge within an occupational domain, particularly over the recruiting, training, and licensing of personnel. Yet it is precisely within this context that professional organization, and especially the academic basis of the professional career, matters more than ever. The bruising experience of the 1990s boom-and-bust in the 1⁄2nancial markets glaringly revealed just how important professional acumen and integrity are to the viability of the marketplace. Professionalism, it turns out, provides a public value essential to modern societies. The real issue is how to promote and ensure the viability of genuine professionalism amid highly challenging conditions. The academic institutions in which professionals begin their apprenticeships are key. Professional schools are the single institutional context that pro-
Low-Energy Proton-Induced Single-Event-Upsets in 65 nm Node, Silicon-on-Insulator, Latches and Memory Cells

Experimental data are presented showing that low energy (<2 MeV) proton irradiation can upset exploratory 65 nm node, silicon-on-insulator circuits. Alpha particle SER data, modeling and simulation results provide a plausible mechanism. This work suggests that track structures need to be understood and effectively modeled, especially for small, modern devices.
LIGHT EMITTING DIODES IN BIO-IMAGING

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can and are currently integrated into light microscopes. They have numerous advantages as illumination sources. Most notably, they provide intensity (brightness) and spectral control during bio-imaging. For transmitted light imaging, LEDs can replace the traditional tungsten filament bulb, while offering longer life, little-to-no color temperature shift resulting from an intensity change, reduced emission in the infrared region, (a property important for live cell imaging), and reduced cost of ownership. For fluorescent imaging, in which the typical illumination sources are mercury or xenon lamps, LEDs offer the advantages of a longer lifespan, greater spatial and temporal stability, elimination of the need for mechanical shutters and neutral density filters, significantly lower cost of ownership, and reduction of photon dose at the specimen. Additionally, LEDs permit vibration-free, high-speed spectral and temporal modulation. This modulation allows more information to be obtained for a given photon dose.
Identification and characterization of a repeat-in-toxin gene cluster in Vibrio anguillarum

Vibrio anguillarum is the causative agent of vibriosis in fish. Hemolysins of V. anguillarum have been considered virulence factors during infection. One hemolysin gene, vah1, has been previously identified but does not account for all hemolytic activity. The mini-Tn10Km mutagenesis performed with a vah1 mutant resulted in a hemolysin-negative mutant. The region surrounding the mutation was cloned and sequenced, revealing a putative rtx operon with six genes (rtxACHBDE), where rtxA encodes an exotoxin, rtxC encodes an RtxA activator, rtxH encodes a conserved hypothetical protein, and rtxBDE encode the ABC transporters. Single mutations in rtx genes did not result in a hemolysin-negative phenotype. However, strains containing a mutation in vah1 and a mutation in an rtx gene resulted in a hemolysin-negative mutant, demonstrating that the rtx operon is a second hemolysin gene cluster in V. anguillarum M93Sm. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis revealed that the rtxC and rtxA genes are cotranscribed, as are the rtxBDE genes. Additionally, Vah1 and RtxA each have cytotoxic activity against Atlantic salmon kidney (ASK) cells. Single mutations in vah1 or rtxA attenuate the cytotoxicity of V. anguillarum M93Sm. A vah1 rtxA double mutant is no longer cytotoxic. Moreover, Vah1 and RtxA each have a distinct cytotoxic effect on ASK cells, Vah1 causes cell vacuolation, and RtxA causes cell rounding. Finally, wild-type and mutant strains were tested for virulence in juvenile Atlantic salmon. Only strains containing an rtxA mutation had reduced virulence, suggesting that RtxA is a major virulence factor for V. anguillarum.
Lizards from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) Antlers and Cloverly Formations

Abstract Recent discoveries from the Aptian–Albian Antlers (Oklahoma) and Cloverly (Montana, Wyoming) formations provide significant additions to the Early Cretaceous record of lizards in North America. The lizards from the Antlers Formation include two teiids (one named), an anguimorphan, and a series of fragmentary jaws with “paramacellodid”-like teeth. The lizards from the Cloverly Formation include a new species of Paramacellodus and many indeterminate jaw fragments. The apparent lack of shared lizard taxa between the two units calls into question their temporal equivalence, which is based on similarity of dinosaur taxa. Although apparently distinct, the lizard faunas of both units are very similar to that of the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation in being composed primarily of “paramacellodid” or “paramacellodid”-like taxa. It appears that there was a period of relative stasis in the evolution of lizards in North America between the Late Jurassic and Aptian–Albian, paralleling a similar trend in Europe...
A new model for optimal routing and wavelength assignment in wavelength division multiplexed optical networks

We consider the problem of routing and assignment of wavelength (RAW) in optical networks. Given a set of requests for all-optical connections (or lightpaths), the problem is to (a) find routes from the source nodes to their respective destination nodes, and (b) assign wavelengths to these routes. Since the number of wavelengths is limited, lightpaths cannot be established between every pair of access nodes. In this paper we first consider the dynamic RAW problem where lightpath requests arrive randomly with exponentially distributed call holding times. Then, the static RAW problem is considered which assumes that all the lightpaths that are to be set-up in the network are known initially. Several heuristic algorithms have already been proposed for establishing a maximum number of lightpaths out of a given set of requests. However most of these algorithms are based an the traditional model of circuit-switched networks where routing and wavelength assignment steps are decoupled. In this paper a new graph-theoretic formulation of the RAW problem, dubbed as layered-graph, has been proposed which provides an efficient tool for solving dynamic as well as static RAW problems. The layered-graph model also provides a framework for obtaining exact optimal solution for the number of requested lightpaths as well as far the throughput that a given network can support. A dynamic and two static RAW schemes are proposed which are based on the layered-graph model. Layered-graph-based RAW schemes are shown to perform better than the existing ones.
A knowledge representation framework for integration, classification of multi-scale imaging and non-imaging data: Preliminary results in predicting prostate cancer recurrence by fusing mass spectrometry and histology

The demand for personalized health care requires a wide range of diagnostic tools for determining patient prognosis and theragnosis (response to treatment). These tools present us with data that is both multi-modal (imaging and non-imaging) and multi-scale (proteomics, histology). By utilizing the information in these sources concurrently, we expect significant improvement in predicting patient prognosis and theragnosis. However, a prerequisite to realizing this improvement is the ability to effectively and quantitatively combine information from disparate sources. In this paper, we present a general fusion framework (GFF) aimed towards a combined knowledge representation predicting disease recurrence. To the best of our knowledge, GFF represents the first formal attempt to fuse biomedical image and non-image information directly at the data level as opposed to the decision level, thus preserving more subtle contributions in the original data. GFF represents the different data streams in separate embedding spaces via the application of dimensionality reduction (DR). Data fusion is then implemented by combining the individual reduced embedding spaces. A proof of concept example is considered for evaluating the GFF, whereby protein expression measurements from mass spectrometry are combined with histological image signatures to predict prostate cancer (CaP) recurrence in 6 CaP patients, following therapy. Preliminary results suggest that GFF offers an intelligent way to fuse image and non-image data structures for making prognostic and theragnostic predictions.
Transient analysis of general queueing systems via simulation-based transfer function modeling

This paper is concerned with characterizing the transient behavior of general queueing systems, which is widely known to be notoriously difficult. The objective is to develop a statistical methodology, integrated with extensive offline simulation and preliminary queueing analysis, for the estimation of a small number of transfer function models (TFMs) that quantify the input-output dynamics of a general queueing system. The input here is the time-varying release rate of entities to the system; the time-dependent output performances include the output rate of entities and the mean of the work in process (i.e., number of entities in the system). The resulting TFMs are difference equations, like the discrete approximations of the ordinary differential equations provided by an analytical approach, while possessing the high fidelity of simulation. The proposed method is expected to overcome the shortcomings of the existing transient analysis approaches, i.e., the computational burden of simulation and the lack of fidelity of analytical queueing models.
An adaptive supply-voltage scheme for low power self-timed CMOS digital design

This paper combines an adaptive supply-voltage scheme with self-timed CMOS digital design, to achieve low power performance. The supply-voltage automatically tracks the input data rate of the data path so that the supply-voltage can be kept as small as possible while maintaining the speed requirement. This adaptive supply-voltage scheme employs the handshake signals directly to detect the speed of data path without using FIFO buffer. This leads to a very simple logic control whose power loss is negligible. Cadence SPICE simulation shows the effectiveness of this scheme for low power applications based on 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS process.
Improved image quality from asymmetric double-focal cone-beam SPECT

To optimize both spatial resolution and detection efficiency in brain SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging using a rectangular camera, an asymmetric double-focal cone-beam collimator is proposed with the focal points located near the base of the patient's head. To fit the entire head into the field-of-view of the detector (50 cm*40 cm) for a radius-of-rotation of 15 cm, the focal lengths of the collimator are 55 and 70 cm, respectively, in the transverse and axial directions. With this geometry, the artifacts in the reconstructed image become more severe due to the larger vertex angle between the top of the head and the central plane compared to that in a symmetric cone-beam geometry. To improve the reconstructed image quality, a fully 3-D reconstruction algorithm which involves a nonstationary 2-D filtering and a reprojection technique for estimation of the missing data caused by a single-orbit cone-beam geometry are implemented. The results from simulation studies with the 3-D Defrise slab phantom demonstrated that, by using the full 3-D algorithm and the reprojection technique, the reconstructed image quality was significantly improved in terms of reduced slice-to-slice cross talks and shape elongation compared to that produced by the conventional Feldkamp algorithm. >
Heart rate variability stabilization in athletes: towards more convenient data acquisition.

Resting heart rate variability (HRV) is a potentially useful marker to consider for monitoring training status in athletes. However, traditional HRV data collection methodology requires a 5-min recording period preceded by a 5-min stabilization period. This lengthy process may limit HRV monitoring in the field due to time constraints and high compliance demands of athletes. Investigation into more practical methodology for HRV data acquisitions is required. The aim of this study was to determine the time course for stabilization of ECG-derived lnRMSSD from traditional HRV recordings. Ten-minute supine ECG measures were obtained in ten male and ten female collegiate cross-country athletes. The first 5 min for each ECG was separately analysed in successive 1-min intervals as follows: minutes 0-1 (lnRMSSD0-1 ), 1-2 (lnRMSSD1-2 ), 2-3 (lnRMSSD2-3 ), 3-4 (lnRMSSD3-4 ) and 4-5 (lnRMSSD4-5 ). Each 1-min lnRMSSD segment was then sequentially compared to lnRMSSD of the 5- to 10-min ECG segment, which was considered the criterion (lnRMSSDC riterion ). There were no significant differences between each 1-min lnRMSSD segment and lnRMSSDC riterion , and the effect sizes were considered trivial (ES ranged from 0·07 to 0·12). In addition, the ICC for each 1-min segment compared to the criterion was near perfect (ICC values ranged from 0·92 to 0·97). The limits of agreement between the prerecording values and lnRMSSDC riterion ranged from ±0·28 to ±0·45 ms. These results lend support to shorter, more convenient ECG recording procedures for lnRMSSD assessment in athletes by reducing the prerecording stabilization period to 1 min.
The C6H6 potential-energy surface: automerization of benzene

High-level ab initio calculations are reported, which provide insight into the mechanism of the uncatalysed automerization of benzene.
Adjust quality scores from alignment and improve sequencing accuracy

In shotgun sequencing, statistical reconstruction of a consensus from alignment requires a model of measurement error. Churchill and Waterman proposed one such model and an expectation–maximization (EM) algorithm to estimate sequencing error rates for each assembly matrix. Ewing and Green defined Phred quality scores for base-calling from sequencing traces by training a model on a large amount of data. However, sample preparations and sequencing machines may work under different conditions in practice and therefore quality scores need to be adjusted. Moreover, the information given by quality scores is incomplete in the sense that they do not describe error patterns. We observe that each nucleotide base has its specific error pattern that varies across the range of quality values. We develop models of measurement error for shotgun sequencing by combining the two perspectives above. We propose a logistic model taking quality scores as covariates. The model is trained by a procedure combining an EM algorithm and model selection techniques. The training results in calibration of quality values and leads to a more accurate construction of consensus. Besides Phred scores obtained from ABI sequencers, we apply the same technique to calibrate quality values that come along with Beckman sequencers.
Actin and Alpha-Actinin Dynamics in the Adhesion and Motility of EPEC and EHEC on Host Cells

Two pathogenic Escherichia coli, Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), adhere to the outside of host cells and induce cytoskeletal rearrangements leading to the formation of membrane-encased pedestals comprised of actin filaments and other associated proteins beneath the bacteria. The structure of the pedestals induced by the two pathogens appears similar, although those induced by EHEC are shorter in length. Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) was used to determine potential differences of actin polymerization in EPEC and EHEC induced pedestals in cultured PtK2 cells expressing either Green or Yellow Fluorescent Protein (GFP or YFP) fused to actin or alpha-actinin. When all the fluorescent actin in a pedestal on EPECinfected cells was photobleached, fluorescence recovery first occurred directly beneath the bacterium in a band that grew wider at a rate of one micron/minute. Consistently observed in all EPEC-induced pedestals, whether they were stationary, lengthening, or translocating, the rate of actin polymerization that occurred at the pedestal tip was approximately 1 mm/min. Overall, a much slower rate of actin polymerization was measured in long EHEC-induced pedestals. In contrast to the dynamics of GFP-actin, recovery of GFP-alpha-actinin fluorescence was not polarized, with the actin cross-linking protein exchanging all the length of the EPEC/ EHEC induced pedestals. Surprisingly, the depolymerization and retrograde flow of pedestal actin, as well as pedestal translocations, were inhibited reversibly by either 2,3-butanedione monoxime (BDM) or by a combination of sodium azide and 2-deoxy D-glucose, leading to an increase in the lengths of the pedestals. A simple physical model was developed to describe elongation and translocation of EPEC/EHEC pedestals in terms of actin polymerization and depolymerization dynamics. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 60:104–120, 2005. ' 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Rapid ankle extension during paw shakes: Selective recruitment of fast ankle extensors

1. Electromyographic (EMG) signals from slow (soleus) and fast (lateral gastrocnemius) ankle extensors of six cats were recorded during rapid and alternate flexion-extension of the hindlimb elicited by placing the paw in water or by sticking tape to the plantar pads. High-speed 16-mm film, taken at 100 or 200 frames/s, was analyzed to determine the knee and ankle joint kinematics. 2. During 77 typical records, which averaged eight paw shakes each, a single extension-flexion cycle measured by the paw shake interval (PSI) of the electromyogram record, averaged 88 ms and ranged from 55 to 110 ms. LG EMG bursts of 10 ms in duration were synchronized with the peak displacement of ankle flexion. The SOL was inactive throughout these typical records. 3. During four atypical records from one cat, the average OSI was 141 ms, and both lateral gastrocnemius (LG and soleus (SOL) were active simultaneously. At a range of 6--8 cycles/s, these slower shakes are comparable to rhythmic actions of scratching )12) and locomotion (27); cyclic movements that typically include the recruitment of soleus. 4. It is suggested that paw shaking is an automatic movement triggered primarily by large, low-threshold afferents innervating the central plantar pads, which may selectively recruit the fast extensors while inhibiting the slow extensor. This is the only movement of the hindlimb recorded to date in our laboratory in which the tlg was active without the SOL. This unique dissociation of recruitment of slow and fast ankle extensors may be dictated by the time constraints imposed by the rapid cyclic movements of paw shaking.
Angiotensin II-mediated pressor effect of rat joining peptide

In an attempt to determine the mechanism of pressor action of centrally administered rat joining peptide (rJP), a pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptide, we investigated its action on the angiotensin and adrenergic system in the brain stem. In conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats with chronic cannulas in the cisterna magna and abdominal aorta, the pressor effect of synthetic rJP in the cisterna magna was markedly inhibited by pretreatment with losartan, an antagonist of angiotensin (ANG) II receptor specific for its AT1 subtype, and also by the nonspecific antagonist [Sar1,Ile8]ANG II but not by AT2-specific PD-123319. Pretreatment with captopril did not alter the pressor response. Adrenergic receptor antagonists, yohimbine and propranolol, did not change the pressor response. The intracisternal joining peptide administration (10 and 30 nmol) increased the concentration of immunoreactive ANG II in cerebrospinal fluid 2.4- and 5.7-fold, respectively. These results indicate that the pressor response to rJP is mediated by the release of central ANG II and AT1 receptor. This study details a biological response to rJP, the only POMC-derived peptide whose action has not been identified previously.
Local and systemic estradiol-17 beta: effects on uterine and systemic vasodilation

Systemic estradiol-17 beta (E2 beta) administration increases uterine blood flow (UBF), cardiac output (CO), heart rate (HR), and plasma renin activity (PRA). We sought to determine if the E2 beta-induced systemic responses were dependent on the observed uterine responses. Nonpregnant, ovariectomized ewes (n = 5) received 3 micrograms E2 beta into both uterine arteries followed 120 min later by systemic E2 beta, 1 microgram/kg. At 120 min after local E2 beta, UBF increased from 26 +/- 5 to 161 +/- 21 ml/min (P less than 0.05); uterine vascular resistance (UVR) decreased 83 +/- 2.5% (P less than 0.05); and systemic parameters were unchanged. At 120 min after systemic E2 beta, UBF remained elevated and CO had increased gradually from 4.4 +/- 0.2 to 5.5 +/- 0.32 l/min (26 +/- 3.4%, P less than 0.05), reflecting a 37 +/- 3.9% (P less than 0.05) increase in HR; mean arterial pressure (MAP) remained unchanged. The increased CO was associated with a 20 +/- 3.1% (P less than 0.05) fall in systemic vascular resistance (SVR), with % delta SVR less than % delta UVR (P less than 0.05). Base-line PRA and angiotensin II, 1.31 +/- 0.2 ng.ml-1.h-1 and 10.3 +/- 2.1 pg/ml, respectively, were unchanged by local E2 beta; systemic E2 beta caused increases to 3.56 +/- 0.51 ng.ml-1.h-1 (P less than 0.05) and 34.1 +/- 11.3 pg/ml (P less than 0.05), respectively. E2 beta-induced uterine hyperemia occurs independent of its systemic effects and is not responsible for systemic cardiovascular alterations, and the relative uterine vascular responses exceed systemic responses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
OpenFlow versus Commercial Load Balancers in a Campus Network

The production network at Arizona State University uses a commercial load balancer for \texttt{syslog} messages from the firewalls at the data center perimeter. The logs are carried in UDP packets and the load balancer divides the load among servers based on the source IP address. This may cause a server to be overwhelmed due to the high incoming data rate, and create log files unequal in size. These logs are processed by \texttt{splunk}, an application for analyzing the massive streams of data generated by IT systems. In a testbed with an OpenFlow switch and three \texttt{rsyslog} servers, fed by a mirror of the firewall \texttt{syslog} traffic, we study controllers implementing round-robin, random, and load-based load balancing policies. All policies achieve delivery ratios comparable with the commercial load balancer. When servers fail or go down for maintenance, the load-based policy produces log files the most balanced in size. The results suggest that an OpenFlow load balancer has performance competitive with a commercial load balancer, and can equalize the log file size at servers which improves the efficiency of \texttt{splunk}.
Linguistic Masking Release in School-Age Children and Adults

Purpose This study assessed if 6- to 8-year-old children benefit from a language mismatch between target and masker speech for sentence recognition in a 2-talker masker. Method English sentence recognition was evaluated for English monolingual children (ages 6–8 years, n = 15) and adults (n = 15) in an English 2-talker and a Spanish 2-talker masker. A regression analysis with subject as a random variable was used to test the fixed effect of listener group and masker language and the interaction of these two effects. Results Thresholds were approximately 5 dB higher for children than for adults in both maskers. However, children and adults benefited to the same degree from a mismatch between the target and masker language with approximately 3 dB lower thresholds in the Spanish than the English masker. Conclusions Results suggest that children are able to take advantage of linguistic differences between English and Spanish speech maskers to the same degree as adults. Yet, overall worse performance for child...
Plasma Chemistry in Silane and Silane-Germane Discharge Deposition

The spatial and energetic characteristics of rf and dc parallel-plate deposition discharges are discussed, along with their implications to plasma chemistry. We discuss the results and interpretation of our recent measurements of silane, disilane, germane, and mixed-gas stochiometry. These yield the initial dissociation branching between even and odd dangling-bond radicals, as well as the relative roles of higher silanes and silyl germanes (produced by the discharge) in the chemistry. Our deposition model and supporting data are discussed, as are various causes of film-quality variations which this suggests.
Military Buildups and Arms Control Agreements

This article uses data for the period 1816–1992 to test hypotheses regarding the occurrence and repercussions of arms control agreements (ACAs). In particular, it evaluates the extent to which the ACAs are associated with a significant transformation of the international environment. It establishes that agreements that restrict the level of arms tend to be introduced in periods of military buildup decelerations, but fail to be accompanied by lower military spending patterns beyond the short run; and that agreements are followed by a significant decrease in the frequency of international conflict.
Effects of Pancreatic Transplantation on Diabetic Neuropathy

Abstract Reestablishment of the euglycemic state by successful transplantation of the pancreas might halt or reverse diabetic neuropathy. To test this possibility we evaluated neurologic function by clinical examination, nerve conduction studies, and autonomic-function tests in patients with insulin-dependent (Type I) diabetes mellitus before and after successful pancreatic transplantation. Sixty-one patients were studied before and 12 months after transplantation, 27 again after 24 months, and 11 again after 42 months. A control group of patients with Type I diabetes treated with insulin underwent the same studies at similar intervals — 48 patients before and after 12 months had elapsed, 21 again after 24 months, and 12 again after 42 months. In the control group, neuropathy tended to worsen during the follow-up period. The scores on the clinical examination indicated increased impairment after 12 months. Composite indexes of the degree of abnormality found on neurophysiologic testing of the function of ...
New methodologies. Their role in pediatric pathology.

New diagnostic procedures and means of monitoring the effects of therapy are being developed at an extraordinary rate, as the gap between “basic” science and “clinical” laboratories shrinks. In this brief review, the main focus is on recombinant DNA or “molecular” methods and flow cytometry as applied to infectious and immunologic diseases.
Dual-axis piezoresistive cantilevers: design, fabrication and characterization

In the preceding chapters it was shown how reading and writing in AFM data storage can be accomplished with simple planar cantilevers incorporating the appropriate functionality. To form a complete storage system, however, a data tracking method is required as well. This is because of the inevitable runout that occurs when a data disk is not precisely centered with respect to the spindle axis (see Fig. 5.1). In this situation, the read head needs to be able to move from side to side in order to follow a particular data track on the spinning disk. In addition, there needs to be a mechanism by which the read head senses any deviation from the track. Finally, the deviation signal—usually called the tracking error signal (TES)—needs to be processed by a servo controller that constantly adjusts the position of the read-head actuator in order to maintain tracking.
Antibacterial activity and Preliminary phytochemical analysis of leaf extract of Canavalia rosea (Sw.) DC. (Beach Bean)

Leaves of Canavalia rosea were shade dried, powdered and was extracted using nine solvents Ethanol, Methanol, Chloroform, Acetone, Benzene, Dichloromethane, Petroleum ether, Hexane and Aqueous. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the crude extracts revealed the presence of tannins, phlobatannins, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, cardiac glycosides and phenolics. The presence of these bioactive constituents is associated with the antimicrobial activity of the plant. Agar well diffusion method revealed high activity against microorganisms, Bacillus cereus; Bacillus megaterium; Bacillus stearothemophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus faecalis a group of gram- positive bacteria that frequently cause enteric infections in humans. Gram negative bacteria were not as susceptible as gram- positive bacteria. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values ranged from 0.03mg/ml to 2 mg/ml and 0.12 to 4 mg/ml respectively. The results confirm that C. rosea can be used as source of drugs to fight infections caused by susceptible bacteria.
How a Kantian Can Accept Evolutionary Metaethics

Contrary to widely held assumptions, an evolutionary metaethics need not be non-cognitivist. I define evolutionary metaethics as the claim that certain phenotypic traits expressing certain genes are both necessary and sufficient for explanation of all other phenotypic traits we consider morally significant. A review of the influential cognitivist Immanuel Kant‘s metaethics shows that much of his ethical theory is independent of the anti-naturalist metaphysics of transcendental idealism which itself is incompatible with evolutionary metaethics. By matching those independent aspects to an evolutionary metaethics a cognitivist Kantian evolutionary metaethical theory is a possibility for researchers to consider.
Early Developmental Outcome Following Convulsive Status Epilepticus

Investigators at the Developmental Cognitive Neurosciences Unit, Institute of Child Health, London, other centers in the UK, and Dartmouth School of Medicine, NH, USA, prospectively recruited children aged between 1 and 42 months from North London who had at least one episode of convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) and classified them as prolonged febrile seizures (PFS) or nonfebrile CSE.
Orientation estimation of a continuum manipulator in a phantom lung

Tendon-driven continuum manipulators are widely used in minimally invasive surgeries, yet autonomous control has proven difficult given the uncertainty in modeling the robot's interaction with the anatomy. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that the anatomy's effect on the robotic manipulator can be approximated as a rotation of the model-based Jacobian. Two methods are described that estimate the orientation using a magnetic position sensor at the robot's distal tip, enabling task-space control in unknown, constrained environments. One method, Rα, determines the orientation of the robot's model using the measured orientation of the distal tip. In the second approach, RΔx, an unscented Kalman filter transforms the tip's measured change in position into an orientation estimate. These methods are validated on the manipulator in free space at three pre-rotated positions (α = 0°, −45°, −90°) and compared to model-based control and model-less control in an autonomous trajectory-following task through an anatomically accurate silicone phantom of a human lung. The results show that by rotating the model-based Jacobian through either of the two methods presented, feedback control successfully navigates the continuum manipulator farther into the lung phantom than static model-based control and model-less control.
Seasonal Variations in Meeting Physical Activity Recommendations and Development of Overweight during Adolescence

Abstract Background: Few longitudinal studies have examined seasonal variation in meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations in association with incident overweight among adolescents. Methods: We assessed self-reported, season-specific PA among 12,949 adolescents in two US cohorts (Growing Up Today Studies 1 and 2). We examined the relationship between the number of seasons per year that adolescents met the recommended amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA), respectively, and the development of incident overweight at the next survey period. The sex-specific analyses controlled for follow-up time, survey month, age, race/ethnicity, sexual maturation, television viewing, region of the country, and intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages and fried foods away from home. Results: About one-third (34%) of adolescents met the MVPA recommendation of 60 minutes/day, and one-quarter (24%) the VPA recommendation of 3 hours/week, for four seasons of the baseline ...
When Does Premature Treatment Termination Occur? Examining Session-by-Session Dropout Among Clients with Gambling Disorder

Premature termination challenges the successful outcomes of psychological treatments for gambling disorder. To date, research has primarily identified clients who are at particular risk for dropping out of treatment. A smaller but growing body of literature has investigated when dropout occurs. Typically, those studies have not considered improvement in psychological distress within their operationalizations of dropout and therefore may have misrepresented when dropout occurs. The current study examined when dropout occurs using an operationalization based on the criteria of attaining reliable change in a naturalistic sample of clients with gambling disorder, and the classification rates yielded from that operationalization were compared to the rates from a more common operationalization. Participants (n = 334) were clients meeting diagnostic criteria for gambling disorder at an outpatient private practice who completed a measure of psychological distress at baseline and prior to each subsequent treatment session. A survival analysis was conducted to determine temporal patterns of treatment dropout (i.e., clients who discontinued treatment before realizing reliable changes in psychological distress) and completion (i.e., clients who discontinued treatment after realizing reliable changes in distress) at each treatment session. Forty-nine percent of clients were classified as dropouts, and the majority of those clients did so in the first few sessions. The more common operationalization of dropout classified clients as dropouts when they had improved in their distress and clients as completers when they had not improved in their distress. Discussion centers on the implications of dropout occurring at various stages of treatment and future directions.
Die Benutzung der thermochemischen Daten

Wenn es sich nur um die Berechnung der Warme handelt, die bei der Verbindung einer gegebenen Gewichtsmenge eines Elementes mit einem anderen Element entwickelt wird, so findet man durch Division der betreffenden thermochemischen Zahl durch das Atomgewicht die Warmemenge fur die Gewichtseinheit und daraus den Warmebetrag fur die gegebene Gewichtsmenge.
Narrow pulse evaluation of 15 KV SiC MOSFETs and IGBTs

With the progression of silicon carbide (SiC) technologies, single semiconductor switches with higher voltage and current capabilities are emerging. Evaluating the pulsed current capability of SiC semiconductor devices for pulsed power and power electronics applications is required to understand their performance and reliability. This paper presents the narrow pulse evaluation of 15 kV SiC MOSFETs (0.25 cm2 active area) and IGBTs (0.32 cm2 active area) with pulse widths in the range of 500 ns to 2 μs. Testing results are presented with an 8 kV charge voltage and 50 A and 330 A peak conduction current for the MOSFET and IGBT, respectively. A fairly low inductance (<500 nH) RLC circuit was used to generate the pulses and the device under test (DUT) was switched off during the pulse to create a trapezoidal type current waveform through the device. Transient characteristics, such as turn-on and turnoff times and energies, were measured to benchmark the devices' narrow pulse characteristics. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the characteristics of these devices for over-current narrow pulse applications.
Adolescents' understanding and use of nicotine in e-cigarettes.

Abstract Introduction Nicotine harms adolescent brain development and contributes to addiction. Some adolescents report using nicotine-free e-cigarettes, but the accuracy of their reporting is unclear. We explored adolescents' use of nicotine-free e-cigarettes and understanding of chemicals in e-cigarettes, including nicotine. Methods Using social media, we recruited 1589 US adolescents (aged 15–17) who reported past 30-day use of e-cigarettes in 2016. We assessed perceptions of the nicotine source in e-liquid and whether e-cigarette aerosol is just “water vapor.” We explored differences among adolescents who usually used e-cigarettes with nicotine (n = 473) and without nicotine (n = 452). We used weights to calibrate our sample to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Results Twenty-nine percent usually used e-cigarettes without nicotine, 28% with nicotine, 39% with “both,” and 5% were “not sure.” Few participants (17% of non-nicotine users vs. 34% of nicotine users, p Conclusions The adolescents who reported usually using e-cigarettes without nicotine had poorer knowledge of e-cigarettes. This lack of understanding could contribute to inaccurate reporting of nicotine use. Most youth thought the nicotine in e-cigarettes was artificial, potentially indicating a belief that this nicotine is “safer.” The US Food & Drug Administration will require nicotine warnings on e-cigarettes in 2018; a complementary educational campaign could address youths' misperceptions about nicotine and other chemicals in e-cigarette aerosol.
Superior signal persistence of circularly polarized light in polydisperse, real-world fog environments.

We present simulation results quantitatively showing that circularly polarized light persists in transmission through several real-world and model fog environments better than linearly polarized light over broad wavelength ranges from the visible through the infrared. We present results for polydisperse particle distributions from realistic and measured fog environments, comparing the polarization persistence of linear and circular polarization. Using a polarization-tracking Monte Carlo program, we simulate polarized light propagation through four MODTRAN fog models (moderate and heavy radiation fog and moderate and heavy advection fog) and four real-world measured fog particle distributions (Garland measured radiation and advection fogs, Kunkel measured advection fog, and Sandia National Laboratories’ Fog Facility’s fog). Simulations were performed for each fog environment with wavelengths ranging from 0.4 to 12 µm for increasing optical thicknesses of 5, 10, and 15 (increasing fog density or sensing range). Circular polarization persists superiorly for all optical wavelength bands from the visible to the long-wave infrared in nearly all fog types for all optical thicknesses. Throughout our analysis, we show that if even a small percentage of a fog’s particle size distribution is made up of large particles, those particles dominate the scattering process. In nearly all real-world fog situations, these large particles and their dominant scattering characteristics are present. Larger particles are predominantly forward-scattering and contribute to circular polarization’s persistence superiority over broad wavelength ranges and optical thicknesses/range. Circularly polarized light can transmit over 30% more signal in its intended state compared to linearly polarized light through real-world fog environments. This work broadens the understanding of how circular polarization persists through natural fog particle distributions with natural variations in mode particle radius and single or bimodal characteristics.
Schur Complements and Applications

Schur complements arise naturally in the process of inverting block matrices of the form $$M=\left (\begin{array}{cc} A&B\\ C &D\end{array} \right )\!$$ and in characterizing when symmetric versions of these matrices are positive definite or positive semidefinite. These characterizations come up in various quadratic optimization problems; see Boyd and Vandenberghe [1], especially Appendix B. In the most general case, pseudo-inverses are also needed.
The Time-Temperature-Transformation (TTT) State Diagram and Cure

A generalized time-temperature-transformation (TTT) state diagram for the thermosetting process is presented in which the four physical states encountered (i.e., liquid, rubber, ungelled glass and gelled glass) are related to the time and temperature of cure. Gelation and vitrification, as a consequence of quenching morphological development and chemical conversion, respectively, are discussed with respect to control of material properties. A generalized stress response model for rubber-modified thermoset materials is presented which relates morphology to low and high strain rate behavior.
Mining Un-interpreted Generalized Association Rules by Linear Inequalities Descriptive/Deductive Data Mining Approach

Taking the spirit of descriptive statistic methods data mining is viewed as a deductive science, no inductive generalizations or predicative assertions. We call this approach descriptive/deductive data mining (DDM) to stress spirit of descriptive statistic methods and the role of mathematical deductions. Such a seemingly restrictive methodology, somewhat surprisingly, turns out to be quite far reaching. Previously, we have observed in ICDM02 that (1) Isomorphic relations have isomorphic patterns (classical association rules). This observation implies, from data mining prospect, that relations and patterns are syntactic in nature. We also have reported that (2) attributes or features (including un-interpreted ones) of a given relation can be enumerated mathematically, though, in intractable time. In this paper, we proved (3) generalized association rules (including un-interpreted rules) can be discovered by solving a finite set of integral linear inequalities within polynomial time.
Transcriptional Control of Memory T Cell Differentiation

Tissue-resident memory CD8+ T cells (TRM) are optimally positioned at common sites of pathogen exposure, where they elicit rapid and robust antiviral immune responses. However, the molecular signals controlling tissue residency and homeostasis of TRM remain unclear. Exploiting a dual-screening platform integrating computational and RNAi in vivo screening approaches, we have identified transcriptional regulators of TRM differentiation. This strategy revealed numerous transcription factors with indispensable roles in TRM differentiation and homeostasis. Further, we show that tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) share a core TRM transcriptional signature, and that these factors control TIL residency. These results provide novel insight into the biology of T cell residency, which could be leveraged to enhance vaccine efficacy or adoptive therapy treatments against cancer. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.