cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accelerating anthropogenic land surface change and the status of Pleistocene drumlins in New England.

Drumlins are glacially derived landforms that are prominent in the landscape over much of southern New England. We carried out a comprehensive ground-based survey in a three-town study area in eastern Massachusetts with the goals of establishing the extent to drumlins have been altered and assessing the associated environmental consequences and probable driving factors. Results show that many drumlins have been significantly altered through levelling and truncation (creation of steep cut and fill slopes), with projects involving movement of 1−1.5×106 m3 of earth materials not now uncommon. Stormwater and wetlands infractions were documented at all the larger excavation sites and resulted in enforcement actions and fines in many cases; the broader environmental consequences of the loss/alteration of these forested uplands are harder to establish. The excavations are significant in terms of materials cycling: the movement of earth materials, when considered regionally, greatly exceeds natural denudation processes and is also greater than during other periods of high anthropogenic denudation. Our findings suggest that the region’s glacial landscapes are at risk given current development patterns. The accelerating rate of land-surface change is undoubtedly also generalizable to other fast-developing regions of the United States. The landform alterations documented are part of a changing pattern of land use and vegetation cover since the Colonial era and are linked to shortages of land for development, current development and building practices, and lack of explicit rationales for preservation of the region’s geoheritage.
Isozyme polymorphism in the ruff (aves, Philomachus pugnax) A species with polymorphic plumage☆

Abstract 1. 1. A captive flock of ruffs has been examined for isozyme variability in ten different protein systems. 2. 2. This species shows extensive polymorphism in five of the enzyme systems tested. 3. 3. Ruffs have both a polygynous mating system and male plumage polymorphism. These factors are discussed in relation to enzyme variability in this and other avian species.
Forgiveness and health among people in outpatient physical therapy

Purpose: Forgiveness is associated with a variety of health-related outcomes; however much of this work has been in the context of forgiveness of others, direct associations and otherwise healthy samples. This study examined associations involving multiple dimensions of forgiveness, including indirect effects through health behavior, among outpatients receiving physical therapy. Methods: Participants from southern Appalachia (n = 141) completed cross-sectional self-report measures of forgiveness, lifetime religiousness, health behavior, health status and pain. Mediation analysis was employed to examine the direct and indirect relationships between forgiveness and health. Results: Forgiveness of self was associated with: (i) overall health status, physical health status and current pain in an indirect-only fashion and (ii) mental health status and chronic pain in a direct-only fashion. Feeling forgiven by God was associated with health-related social functioning in a direct-only fashion. Forgiveness of oth...
Behavioral functions of locus coeruleus derived from cellular attributes

The electrophysiological activity of noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) was examined in unanesthetized rats during spontaneously occurring behavior and sensory stimulation. The pattern of spontaneous and evoked discharge during sleep, grooming, drinking, and orienting behaviors, considered in light of other cellular anatomic and physiologic attributes, implicates the LC system in the control of vigilance and initiation of adaptive behavioral responses.
Brachiopods as indicators of original isotopic compositions in some Paleozoic limestones

The original stable isotopic composition of Paleozoic marine carbonate rocks is important to establish a baseline for evaluating diagenetic alteration and providing a reliable data-base for modeling exogenic geochemical cycles of the elements. We have compared the δ 18 O and δ 13 C values in the nonluminescent portions of brachiopods with similar published data of whole brachiopods, other whole fossils, and estimates of original isotopic composition of marine cements. The oxygen and carbon isotopic records for each of these Paleozoic components show generally good internal consistency. Significant discrepancies, however, were noted between results on the different components. Isotopic and trace-element data presented in this study suggest that Permo-Carboniferous whole brachiopods are little altered chemically. Nonetheless, a more reliable (but not fool-proof) approach for obtaining pristine isotopic values is microsampling of “least-altered” regions based on cathodoluminescence in conjunction with staining techniques and elemental analyses. The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of all components decrease in δ 18 O and δ 13 C in geologically older material. Neither temporal trend is monotonic, however. Oxygen isotopic results suggest an important positive shift in δ 18 O of about 2‰ during the early Carboniferous, whereas the carbon isotope trend shows a major positive shift (≈2%–3‰) during the mid-Carboniferous.
Processing of complex auditory stimuli (tunes) by rats and monkeys (Cebus apella)

The degree to which rats and monkeys base their discriminations of complex auditory stimuli (“tunes”) on frequency contours rather than on local features was investigated. In Experiment 1, groups of rats and monkeys trained with tunes as S+ and S− acquired a simple operant discrimination no faster than groups that received the same notes of each tune but in a new random order on each trial; neither did the groups differ on two transfer tests devised to detect learning of frequency contour in the tune-trained animals. Acquisition in the tune-trained and random-notes groups seemed to be based on the overall frequency difference between S+ and S−, which was about 1.5 octaves. In Experiment 2, S+ and S− were similar to each other with regard to overall frequency and individual notes, the most salient differentiating characteristic of the tunes being their tonal pattern. The tune-trained groups were clearly superior to the random-notes animals in acquisition, and an initial transfer test suggested that the former might have learned the discrimination on the basis of frequency contour. However, the detailed transfer tests of Experiment 3 strongly suggested that the tune-trained rats and monkeys based their discriminations primarily on local cues rather than on frequency contour. Based on the results of Experiment 4, the data of an earlier study that suggested frequency contour learning in monkeys and rats were reinterpreted in terms of control by local cues.
The effects of lateral hypothalamic or septal lesions on cholinergically elicited drinking

Bilateral lesions of the lateral hypothalamus completely and permanently suppressed the drinking elicited by an injection of carbachol into the lateral septal nucleus. Lateral septal lesions suppressed drinking to carbachol injection into the lateral hypothalamus 30 min following lesioning, but the carbachol-elicited drinking had recovered 5 days following lesioning.
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO SYSTEMS ENGINEERING TRAINING

The issue of how systems engineers can be trained and prepared for positions in their fields is one which has received much attention. Some advocate university level classwork toward a degree in systems engineering, while others maintain that experience in real world problems is the only way a systems engineer can be developed. This paper questions some of the assumptions made regarding this issue and advocates an approach which integrates the best features of both classroom education and work experience. The approach is summarized by three main ideas: (1) The practice of systems engineering requires a maturity which is more effectively developed upon a specific technical base; (2) Training is dependent on the situation in which it is to be applied; and (3) Training is a continuous growth process which should be planned, monitored, and adjusted when necessary.
Variational calculation of integral cross sections for the reaction F+H2→HF+H

Abstract Accurate reactive scattering calculations of integral cross sections for the reaction F+H 2 were carried out by utilizing the latest basis contraction techniques developed for the S matrix Kohn variational method. Convergence with respect to increasing the number of K states ( K max ) for high J calculations were tested. Calculations using K max 2 gave accurate integral cross sections. Computed cross sections using variational CS approximation ( K max O) were also shown and are correct semi-quantitatively
Biomedical implications of altered product composition in advanced coal liquefaction processes

Abstract Chemical and toxicologic characteristics of direct coal liquefaction materials are highly dependent upon the specific process operations by which the coal liquids were produced, including, in particular, those that affect boiling point range and degree of hydrogen incorporation. Recent advances in direct coal liquefaction technology, such as the use of catalytic hydrogenation, reduced liquefaction severity and lowering the upper temperature cut point for the distillation of fuels, have resulted in products with higher hydrogen-to-carbon ratios and lower heteroatom content. These higher-quality fuels tend to be less mutagenic and carcinogenic in laboratory assays than earlier coal liquefaction products. It is likely that application of postproduction hydrotreatment, as well as restriction of upper distillation temperature, for coal-based fuel products could result in materials that exhibit mutagenic or carcinogenic activity which is no greater than that of their petroleum-derived counterparts.
Cyclic AMP and intracellular ionic activities innecturus gallbladder

Open-tip and liquid ion-exchanger microelectrodes were used to study the effects of cAMP (6mm, added to the serosal medium) on apical membrane potential (Em) and intracellular sodium, potassium, and chloride activities (aNai,aKi,aCli) inNecturus gallbladder under open-circuit conditions. Transepithelial potential difference (ETr) was also measured. In the presence of cAMP,aCli fell from about 1.5 times its equilibrium value to a level that corresponded to electrochemical equilibrium across the apical and basolateral cell membranes. Under these conditionsaNai decreased andaKi increased,Em was unchanged andETr increased from virtually zero to a small but significant serosal positive value. The cAMP-induced increase inaKi was abolished when Cl−-free incubation media were used. Addition of the Ca++-ionophore A23187 (0.5 ⧎g/ml) to the serosal medium had no effect onEm,ETr, oraCli. When A23187 was added to the mucosal medium,Em and the basolateral membrane potential hyperpolarized by about 20 mV and an increase in the outwardly directed electrochemical driving force for Cl− was observed. These results indicate that cAMP inhibits coupled transapical Na−Cl entry into epithelial cells ofNecturus gallbladder and suggest that this inhibition may not be mediated by an increase in intracellular Ca++ concentration.
Should the heart rate of hypertensive patients influence clinical decisions

Although heart rate (HR) is commonly recorded multiple times when blood pressure (BP) is measured, particularly when automatic devices are doing it in the clinic, at home, or during 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), many clinicians tend to ignore the HR unless it is extremely high or low. But perhaps this is inappropriate, because there is a great deal of information accumulating that indicates that HR is a significant predictor of cardiovascular risk. There are at least 2 prognostic issues that might be predicted by a rapid HR that could in theory affect how aggressively we treat our patients. The first is that in younger persons with borderline hypertension, a high HR may predict the development of sustained hypertension, and the second is the prediction of cardiovascular events in older persons. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) acknowledged this with the following statement: ‘‘Data from epidemiologic studies and clinical trials have demonstrated that elevations in resting HR and reduced HR variability are associated with higher cardiovascular risk. In the Framingham Heart Study, an average resting HR of 83 beats ⁄min was associated with a substantially higher risk of death from a cardiovascular event than the risk associated with lower HR levels.’’ This statement was based on a Framingham report that used HRs taken during routine clinic visits in patients with less severe hypertension who were not originally on treatment and that concluded that a big difference in HR (40 beats ⁄min) was associated with a doubling of mortality. There has been much interest in the variability of HR, which reflects the degree of autonomic control, and as also mentioned in JNC 7, reduced HR variability has also been associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity. However, it is of course not part of any routine clinical examination, so it need not be further discussed here. One issue that is critical is how and when the HR should be measured for clinical use. This is discussed below.
The Behavior of Beams of Relativistic Nonthermal Electrons under the Influence of Collisions and Synchrotron Losses

For many astrophysical situations, such as in solar flares or cosmic gamma-ray bursts, continuum gamma rays with energies up to hundreds of MeV were observed, and can be interpreted to be due to bremsstrahlung radiation by relativistic electrons. The region of acceleration for these particles is not necessarily the same as the region in which the radiation is produced, and the effects of the transport of the electrons must be included in the general problem. Hence it is necessary to solve the kinetic equation for relativistic electrons, including all the interactions and loss mechanisms relevant at such energies. The resulting kinetic equation for non-thermal electrons, including the effects of Coulomb collisions and losses due to synchrotron emission, was solved analytically in some simple limiting cases, and numerically for the general cases including constant and varying background plasma density and magnetic field. New approximate analytic solutions are presented for collision dominated cases, for small pitch angles and all energies, synchrotron dominated cases, both steady-state and time dependent, for all pitch angles and energies, and for cases when both synchrotron and collisional energy losses are important, but for relativistic electrons. These analytic solutions are compared to the full numerical results in the proper limits. These results will be useful for calculation of spectra and angular distribution of the radiation (x rays, gamma-rays, and microwaves) emitted via synchrotron or bremsstrahlung processes by the electrons. These properties and their relevance to observations will be observed in subsequent papers.
Effect of ligands and other metals on the uptake of mercury and methylmercury across the gills and the intestine of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus)

Abstract Using the perfusion method, we compared the accumulation and flux of inorganic mercury (Hg) and methylmercury (CH3Hg) across the gills and intestine of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. The accumulation and transfer processes were studied for each form by exposing the organs in the presence of specific ligands and other metals. While binding of Hg and CH3Hg to organic ligands reduced the rate of uptake in most instances, the differences in accumulation could not be explained only in terms of passive diffusive uptake. Thus, it appears that Hg and CH3Hg accumulation is dominated by ligand exchange or facilitated transport processes. Exposure of the gills and intestine in the presence of a suite of metals and metalloids showed that inorganic Hg and CH3Hg uptake was largely by different mechanisms to that of the other elements, as there was little interaction in terms of uptake rate. Overall, the results of this study suggest that inorganic Hg and CH3Hg uptake into the gills and intestine of this invertebrate is by a variety of pathways, both active and passive.
Efficient progressive processing of skyline queries in peer-to-peer systems

Skyline queries have received a lot of attention from database and information retrieval research communities. A skyline query returns a set of data objects that is not dominated by any other data objects in a given dataset. However, most of existing studies focus on skyline query processing in centralized systems. Only recently, skyline queries are considered in a distributed computing environment. Acknowledging the trend toward peer-to-peer (P2P) systems in distributed computing, we examine the problem of skyline query processing in P2P systems and propose innovative solutions. We exploit the data semantic embedded in semantically structured P2P overlay networks to efficiently prune search space, without compromising the quality of query result. In addition, we propose approximate algorithms to support skyline queries where exact answers are too costly to obtain. These approximate algorithms produce high quality answers using heuristics based on local semantics of peer nodes. Extensive experiments validate that our algorithms provides high efficiency and scalability to skyline query processing in P2P systems.
Childhood Nutrition and Later Fertility: Pathways Through Education and Pre-Pregnant Nutritional Status

Better childhood nutrition is associated with earlier physical maturation during adolescence and increased schooling attainment. However, as earlier onset of puberty and increased schooling can have opposing effects on fertility, the net effect of improvements in childhood nutrition on a woman’s fertility are uncertain. Using path analysis, we estimate the strength of the pathways between childhood growth and subsequent fertility outcomes in Guatemalan women studied prospectively since birth. Height for age z score at 24 months was positively related to body mass index (BMI kg/m2) and height (cm) in adolescence and to schooling attainment. BMI was negatively associated (−0.23 ± 0.09 years per kg/m2; p < . 05) and schooling was positively associated (0.38 ± 0.06 years per grade; p < .001) with age at first birth. Total associations with the number of children born were positive from BMI (0.07 ± 0.02 per kg/m2; p < .05) and negative from schooling (−0.18 ± 0.02 per grade; p < .01). Height was not related to age at first birth or the number of children born. Taken together, childhood nutrition, as reflected by height at 2 years, was positively associated with delayed age at first birth and fewer children born. If schooling is available for girls, increased growth during childhood will most likely result in a net decrease infertility.
Propranolol pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics after single doses and at steady-state.

The duration and extent of cardiac beta-blockade and their relationship to propranolol pharmacokinetics were assessed in nine healthy volunteers. Each subject received 160 mg of regular propranolol (R), 160 mg of sustained-release propranolol (SR) and no drug (control), both as single doses and once daily for 7 days. After single doses and at steady-state, both products caused a decrease in exercise heart rate for at least 24 h, compared to control. The time course of effect was similar to the time course of serum propranolol concentration. The oral clearance of propranolol decreased from single doses to steady-state for both R and SR; however, the difference achieved statistical significance only for R. These changes were reflected in mean accumulation ratios (AUC steady-state 0–24 h/AUC single dose 0-infinity) of 1.49 and 1.68 for R and SR, respectively. The pharmacokinetic data are consistent with a decrease in intrinsic hepatic clearance of propranolol, leading to an increase in bioavailability at steady-state. Despite a two-fold difference in the bioavailability of R and SR, there was no difference in the area under the effect-time curve at steady-state.
Physical factors affecting the performance of two-dimensional vector flow imaging

A two-dimensional correlation technique is capable of measuring target velocities in any direction in the imaging plane. The inaccuracy in the measurements is related to system parameters such as signal-to-noise ratios, correlation coefficients, and spatial frequencies, and it is shown how factors such as pulse bandwidth, stationary noise, and focal errors can introduce errors in the measurements. The effect of the anisotropic nature of speckle in the axial and lateral dimensions on the magnitude of errors in the two dimensions is discussed. >
Teamwork Matters: Coordinated Neuronal Activity in Brain Systems Relevant to Psychiatric Disorders

It is now widely recognized that dynamic coordination among groups of neurons in local and long-range circuits is critical for orchestration of behavior.1 This is especially relevant to the biological basis of psychiatric illnesses where behavior is the primary measure for determining the presence or severity of symptoms. Much of the focus in biological psychiatry has been on establishing a link between symptoms and either morphological abnormalities or altered expression of receptors or other proteins involved in neural communication. A recent line of thinking, however, posits that the mechanisms that lead to behavioral symptoms may not have a static anatomical or cellular basis but are caused by transient disruptions in the coordinated activity of ensembles of neurons. Many models of psychiatric disorders implicitly require that behavior follow the rules of linear dynamics, where input (eg, change in dopamine availability) has a linear influence on output (eg, optimal working memory). The brain, however, is a complex system that often follows nonlinear dynamics where coordinated changes in activating or dampening components may yield diverging outcomes and trivial changes in these components can have no effect or synergize to produce catastrophic effects.1 Therefore, symptoms of these illnesses in different individuals may be driven by different activating or dampening factors that similarly disrupt how assemblies of neurons coordinate their activity in response to external events or internal representations. Without knowing the mechanisms by which these dynamic ensembles coordinate to influence behavior, the predictive power of a single genetic or environmental variable remains weak. Given this, understanding the electrophysiological basis of behaviors that are relevant to symptoms of psychiatric disorders becomes critical for linking the genetic and environmental factors that disrupt neuronal activity with the behavioral manifestations of these disruptions. Functional imaging in humans has provided an excellent platform for understanding the nature of dynamic networks in the context of normal and abnormal behavior, especially in the case of schizophrenia.2 But to understand the mechanistic basis of these large-scale changes in distributed brain networks, it is critical to use laboratory animals where recordings can be made from individual neurons with millisecond time resolution. Herein, we describe briefly 2 examples of measuring these forms of coordination in the midbrain and prefrontal cortex of rodents.
Scenario Planning: Human Resource Development's Strategic Learning Tool

This article introduces the concepts of scenario planning and HRD. A discussion of the major areas of overlap is provided, the links are clarified in a strategic context, and clear opportunities for both researchers and practitioners are outlined.This article also provides a short overview of what is to come in this issue of ADHR.The authors carefully outline this issue and each of its major points for optimizing HRD professionals as they work to leverage scenario planning as HRD's strategic learning tool.
Peptide-Specific Intercellular Transfer of MHC Class II to CD4+ T Cells Directly from the Immunological Synapse upon Cellular Dissociation

The transfer of membrane proteins from APC to T cells was initially described in the 1970s, and subsequent work has described two mechanisms of transfer: APC-derived exosomes and direct transfer of small packets, while cells remain conjugated. Using fibroblast APC expressing a GFP-tagged I-E(k) molecule with covalently attached antigenic peptide, we observed a third mechanism in live cell imaging: T cells spontaneously dissociating from APC often capture MHC:peptide complexes directly from the immunological synapse. Using two I-E(k)-restricted murine TCR transgenic T cells with different peptide specificity, we show in this study that the MHC transfer is peptide specific. Using blocking Abs, we found that MHC:peptide transfer in this system requires direct TCR-MHC:peptide interactions and is augmented by costimulation through CD28-CD80 interactions. Capture of the GFP-tagged MHC:peptide complexes correlates with an activated phenotype of the T cell, elevated CD69 with down-modulated TCR. The transferred MHC:peptide molecules transferred to the T cell are associated with molecules that imply continued TCR signaling; p56(lck), phosphotyrosine, and polarization of the actin cytoskeleton.
Antenna array synthesis using Invasive Weed Optimization: A new optimization technique in electromagnetics

The applicability and efficiency of the invasive weed optimization, recently invented optimizer, for linear antenna array synthesis were investigated. It was shown that this new optimization method outperforms the PSO in the convergence speed and final error level.
Geodetic measurements on the ocean

This paper covers the topic of marine geodesy, its goals, and applications. Specifically discussed are position determination and establishment of geodetic control on the ocean bottom, ocean surface, and subsurface, and the determination of the geoid, a vertical reference surface. The various techniques used in position determination (including satellite, airborne, radio, inertial and acoustic techniques) are assessed in terms of accuracy, coverage, and contribution to the solution of specific problems associated with position and control. The results of several marine geodetic control experiments are presented. Classical techniques for the determination of the geoid are discussed and assessed, as are new techniques such as satellite altimetry. The outlook for marine geodetic measurements in the ocean is outlined in terms of what is being planned or considered for the next decade, and several recommendations are made.
A Contextual Approach to the Development of Self-regulatory Competencies: The Role of Maternal Unresponsivity and Toddlers’ Negative Affect in Stressful Situations

A prospective study examined the effects of maternal unresponsivity and of toddlers’ own negative affect on the child’s subsequent ability to use effective attentional control strategies in preschool. Maternal and child behaviors were measured in situations that varied in the level of stress to test the hypothesis that behaviors in high stress situations would be more diagnostic of children’s subsequent self-regulatory behavior. As predicted, both maternal unresponsivity and toddlers’ negative affect, particularly in a high stress as opposed to a low stress situation, predicted children’s later use of ineffective attentional control strategies. Similarly, maternal disengagement that occurred contingent to toddlers’ distress predicted ineffective attentional control strategies whereas maternal disengagement in response to toddlers’ non-distress behaviors did not. The findings supported the utility of a contextual approach to understanding the impact of maternal and child characteristics on the development of self-regulatory skills.
Product and Price Competition in a Duopoly

This paper examines the role of consumer preferences, costs, and price competition in determining the competitive product strategy of a firm. In the model studied here, there are two identical firms competing on product quality and price. They face consumers who prefer a higher quality product to a lower quality product, but differ in how much they are willing to pay for quality. The consumers can also choose a substitute if they don't like the product-price offerings of the two firms. For the firms, a higher quality product costs more to produce than a lower quality product. The paper shows that the equilibrium strategy for each firm should be to differentiate its product from its competitor, with the firm choosing the higher quality choosing the higher margin as well. This differentiation, however, is not efficient---that is, it is possible to choose two other products and offer them at prices that cover their marginal cost, and still satisfy consumers' “needs” better in the aggregate. A monopolist, by contrast, would differentiate his product line efficiently. This suggests that cannibalization has different effects on product strategy than competition. The paper also shows that if one firm enters the market first, then it can defend itself from later entrants, and gain a first-mover advantage, by preempting the most desirable product position.
Petroleum Potential on Continental Rise Off Central California: ABSTRACT

The JOIDES program has demonstrated the technical feasibility of drilling in the deep ocean. However, except for petroleum shows in the Sigsbee Knolls in the Gulf of Mexico, there is no firm evidence of petroleum reservoirs in the deep ocean beyond the limits of the continental slope to require economic use of such technology. Emery suggested the possibility of vast petroleum resources in deep water adjacent to the continents in the areas of hemipelagic sedimentation. One such area adjacent to the United States is the continental rise off California between Point Conception and Cape Mendocino, which covers 200,000 sq km and consists of three major submarine fans, the Arguello, Monterey, and Delgada, at depths of about 3,000 m to 4,500 m. The fans are composed of continental debris carried down submarine canyons and deposited on the fan through a system of branching and meandering submarine End_Page 1461------------------------------ channels. During the depositional growth of the fan, the active channelway shifted periodically, producing abandoned channels. The coarser sediment naturally confined to the channel became covered, after abandonment, by finer grained material. The interchannel deposits, composed chiefly of green hemipelagic muds, are potential petroleum source beds because of their significant carbon content. Thus abandoned channels after sufficient burial and invasion from source beds make excellent stratigraphic traps, especially near the mouth of tributary submarine canyons where the grain size would be larger and the channel width and depth greater. Off central California, potential stratigraphic traps would be seaward of the mouths of the Arguello, Sur-Partington-Lucia, Monterey-Carmel, Ascension, Pioneer, Farallon, Bodega, and Delgada canyons as shown by subbottom profiling. The proximity of such potential reserves to the United States makes buried channels on large-scale deep-sea fans particularly attractive prospects similar to prospects in turbidite basins of the California borderland. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1462------------
A general framework for vessel segmentation in retinal images

We present a general framework for vessel segmentation in retinal images with a particular focus on small vessels. The retinal images are first processed by a nonlinear diffusion filter to smooth vessels along their principal direction. The vessels are then enhanced using a compound vessel enhancement filter that combines the eigenvalues of the Hessian matrix, the response of matched filters, and edge constraints on multiple scales. The eigenvectors of the Hessian matrix provide the orientation of vessels and so only one matched filter is necessary at each pixel on a given scale. This makes the enhancement filter is more efficient compared with existing multiscale matched filters. Edge constraints are used to suppress the response of spurious boundary edges. Finally, the center lines of vessels are tracked from seeds obtained using multiple thresholds of the enhanced image. Evaluation of the enhancement filter and the segmentation is performed on the publicly available DRIVE database.
Phylogenetic occurrence of coiled coil proteins: implications for tissue structure in metazoa via a coiled coil tissue matrix

We examined GenBank sequence files with a heptad repeat analysis program to assess the phylogenetic occurrence of coiled coil proteins, how heptad repeat domains are organized within them, and what structural/functional categories they comprise. Of 102,007 proteins analyzed, 5.95% (6,074) contained coiled coil domains; 1.26% (1,289) contained "extended" (> 75 amino acid) domains. While the frequency of proteins containing coiled coils was surprisingly constant among all biota, extended coiled coil proteins were fourfold more frequent in the animal kingdom and may reflect early events in the divergence of plants and animals. Structure/function categories of extended coils also revealed phylogenetic differences. In pathogens and parasites, many extended coiled coil proteins are external and bind host proteins. In animals, the majority of extended coiled coil proteins were identified as constituents of two protein categories: 1) myosins and motors; or 2) components of the nuclear matrix-intermediate filament scaffold. This scaffold, produced by sequential extraction of epithelial monolayers in situ, contains only 1-2% of the cell mass while accurately retaining morphological features of living epithelium and is greatly enriched in proteins with extensive, interrupted coiled coil forming domains. The increased occurrence of this type of protein in metazoa compared with plants or protists leads us to hypothesize a tissue-wide matrix of coiled coil interactions underlying metazoan differentiated cell and tissue structure.
Appropriate use and reporting of uncontrolled case series in the medical literature.

Among epidemiological study designs, uncontrolled case series and case reports are the least methodologically robust.1 The articles of this Series on Epidemiology spend considerable time drawing attention to the methodological problems that can bias causal inference in controlled interventional and observational clinical epidemiological studies. Uncontrolled case series, in addition to potentially suffering from these problems, have the fundamental defect of lacking a contemporaneous comparison group, leaving authors and readers to resort to historical controls or less objective considerations in order to interpret the meaning of the observations. Because of this severe limitation, uncontrolled studies typically receive little attention among epidemiologists. Nevertheless, observational case series make up a substantial proportion of publications submitted to ophthalmic journals which aspire to promulgate generalizable knowledge. Although reports of such studies frequently are rejected, when appropriately used they serve an important and legitimate purpose in furthering medical knowledge, particularly when a question of importance cannot be addressed by other methods because of ethical or logistical constraints or as a first step in clinical investigation. Studies without “internal” controls can range in rigor from tightly formalized clinical trials (e.g., phase 1 clinical trials—discussed elsewhere2) to single case or small case series reports that are judged newsworthy for some reason. The objective of this manuscript is to discuss some of the situations wherein observational case series or case reports provide an appropriate means toward the generation of generalizable and useful clinical knowledge (see Table 1), and to provide an overview of how reports using this approach can be optimized so as to minimize (or at least identify and consider) potential biases (see Table 2). Table 1 Some Appropriate Settings for Use of the Case Series Study Design Table 2 Checklist for Reporting Case Series
Simulation and training in transluminal endoscopy

Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is the most recent advancement in minimally invasive surgery of the abdomen. Similar to any newly introduced surgical technique, the extent of clinician training will play a critical role in reducing errors and increasing the safety of the procedure. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to develop an optimal training approach before widespread use of the procedure. This approach must demonstrate effectiveness in teaching and evaluating proficiency and be simultaneously cost-effective. Furthermore, it must provide didactic and hands-on training to ensure proper understanding of the complexities of the NOTES procedure. Hands-on training could begin with inanimate simulators and then move on to animate simulation, followed by case observation and finally case proctoring. Training novice learners such as residents and fellows in the future may be accomplished with a new hybrid fellowship using both inanimate and animate models to teach laparoscopic, advanced endoscopic, and hybrid techniques. However until this formal postgraduate training becomes available, the optimal teaching approach should include didactics, early use of virtual reality, and animate models in settings such as minifellowships with mentoring, case observation, and on- and off-site case proctoring to master skills.
4,4′‐Dichlorodibutyl Ether

4,4′-Dichlorodibutyl ether product: 4,4′-dichlorodibutyl ether Keywords: elimination, dehydration; replacement reactions, miscellaneous
A Low-Power Variation-Aware Adaptive Write Scheme for Access-Transistor-Free Memristive Memory

Recent advances in access-transistor-free memristive crossbars have demonstrated the potential of memristor arrays as high-density and ultra-low-power memory. However, with considerable variations in the write-time characteristics of individual memristors, conventional fixed-pulse write schemes cannot guarantee reliable completion of the write operations and waste significant amount of energy. We propose an adaptive write scheme that adaptively adjusts the write pulses to address such variations in memristive arrays, resulting in 7×--11× average energy saving in our case studies. Our scheme embeds an online monitor to detect the completion of a write operation and takes into account the parasitic effect of line-shared devices in access-transistor-free crossbars. This feature also helps shorten the test time of memory march algorithms by eliminating the need of a verifying read right after a write, which is commonly employed in the test sequences of march algorithms.
Government Programs and Labor Markets

Since the 1980s, federal and state governments have created multiple programs to improve employment in disadvantaged neighborhoods. In their research, Ham et al. (2011) focused on measuring the impact on the labor market of three such programs: State Enterprise Zones (ENTZ), Federal Empowerment (EMPZ) and Federal Enterprise Community (ENTC); see Green and Malpezzi (2003) for an excellent review of housing policies and programs in the U.S. It is important to assess the outcomes of these programs for three reasons. First, these are expensive programs that cost a substantial amount of tax money from governments. Second, these programs provide alternatives to other programs aiding low-income labors such as Job Corps, which only has a modest effect. Third, the evaluations conducted previously on these programs were not sufficient. Thus, Ham et al. (2011) calculated the impact of ENTZ, EMPZ and ENTC by analyzing the 1980, 1990 and 2000 Census Data, and found that all the three programs have significant benefits for employment of disadvantaged labors.
Perioperative Care of an Infant With Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome: Is There a Risk of Malignant Hyperthermia

Wolf-Hirschhorn (WH) syndrome is a rare chromosomal abnormality with deletion of the short arm of chromosome 4. Associated clinical signs and symptoms of the condition include intrauterine growth restriction, severe psychomotor retardation, failure to thrive, characteristic facial features, profound developmental delays, seizures, and various congenital midline fusion anomalies. Given the associated congenital anomalies, anesthetic care may be required for various surgical interventions. We report a 3-month-old girl with WH syndrome scheduled for gastrostomy tube placement. Previous reports of anesthetic care for such patients are reviewed and potential perioperative concerns are discussed. J Med Cases. 2016;7(4):126-129 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc2418w
Earnings' Quality and Smoothing

We study a model of financial reporting and show that a credible equilibrium may exist where, compared to earnings reported without discretion, better informed managers report smoother earnings by smoothing the transitory component when news is good and report earnings that accentuate the intertemporal differences when news is bad. This policy results in smoother earnings being of higher quality, when quality is defined as a lower deviation from the long run value of the firm. We show that a very similar strategy is optimal when investors are naive and act as if managers have no discretion. Our results on earnings quality hold because a pooling equilibrium exists when the manager can distinguish only between the first period permanent and transitory earnings components. When the manager cannot distinguish among the components or when he knows the components in both periods, our results fail to hold, as we show that the equilibria in these cases are partially or fully separating ones. Furthermore, our work supports and explains a number of empirical phenomena, including alleged differences between public forecasts, whisper forecast and reported earnings, claims that better firms report higher quality earnings and the assertion that positive earnings surprises are higher quality than negative surprises.
Selective endosomal microautophagy is starvation-inducible in Drosophila

Autophagy delivers cytosolic components to lysosomes for degradation and is thus essential for cellular homeostasis and to cope with different stressors. As such, autophagy counteracts various human diseases and its reduction leads to aging-like phenotypes. Macroautophagy (MA) can selectively degrade organelles or aggregated proteins, whereas selective degradation of single proteins has only been described for chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) and endosomal microautophagy (eMI). These 2 autophagic pathways are specific for proteins containing KFERQ-related targeting motifs. Using a KFERQ-tagged fluorescent biosensor, we have identified an eMI-like pathway in Drosophila melanogaster. We show that this biosensor localizes to late endosomes and lysosomes upon prolonged starvation in a KFERQ- and Hsc70-4- dependent manner. Furthermore, fly eMI requires endosomal multivesicular body formation mediated by ESCRT complex components. Importantly, induction of Drosophila eMI requires longer starvation than the induction of MA and is independent of the critical MA genes atg5, atg7, and atg12. Furthermore, inhibition of Tor signaling induces eMI in flies under nutrient rich conditions, and, as eMI in Drosophila also requires atg1 and atg13, our data suggest that these genes may have a novel, additional role in regulating eMI in flies. Overall, our data provide the first evidence for a novel, starvation-inducible, catabolic process resembling endosomal microautophagy in the Drosophila fat body.
A study to examine the relationship between metritis severity and depletion of oxytetracycline in plasma and milk after intrauterine infusion.

Abstract Metritis is a frequent problem in postpartum dairy cows. Intrauterine therapy with the antimicrobial oxytetracycline (OTC) is often used, although this therapy has not been shown to be superior to systemic therapy. The objectives of this study were to (1) determine the plasma and milk concentrations of OTC following intrauterine infusion in postpartum dairy cows with varying degrees of metritis severity; (2) determine the depletion time of OTC in an attempt to provide veterinarians withdrawal guidelines, should they use this therapy; and (3) correlate metritis severity scores with OTC concentrations in plasma and milk. Our hypothesis was that cows with more severe metritis would have higher OTC concentrations in milk following intrauterine therapy. Thirty-two cows were selected to participate in the study after farm personnel had determined that they had metritis based on evaluation of vaginal discharge between 4 and 14 DIM, in accordance with the farm’s treatment protocols. Metritis scores (1–4) were assigned based on a published scheme: 1 represented yellow-to-orange thick discharge or translucent mucus with no fetid smell; 2 represented blood-tinged vaginal mucus, slightly watery, with little or no fetid smell; 3 represented red to red/brown watery discharge with moderate fetid smell; and 4 represented red to red/brown watery discharge containing pieces of placenta and an intense fetid smell. Trial cows received a single treatment of 4 g of OTC (approximately 6.7 mg/kg) via intrauterine infusion. Blood samples were collected over 96 h, and milk samples were collected before intrauterine therapy and 3 times a day for 4 d following infusion. Following treatment, OTC rapidly diffused to plasma and subsequently to milk. Maximum OTC concentrations in plasma and milk occurred within the first 24 h following intrauterine infusion, and 25 of the 32 cows had detectable OTC concentrations in milk at 4 d after intrauterine infusion. Cows with clinical metritis (metritis severity scores of 3 or 4) at the initiation of treatment were significantly and positively correlated with higher milk OTC concentrations at the second [time (T)9 h; r = 0.43], fourth (T25 h; r = 0.42), and fifth milking following treatment (T33 h; r = 0.38) compared with cows with normal vaginal discharge. We also observed a positive correlation between initial metritis score and milk maximum concentration (r = 0.36) and milk area under the concentration curve (r = 0.36). Given that intrauterine administration of OTC is an extra-label therapy, dairy producers should consult with their veterinarian to ensure that milk is being tested at or below the established tolerance for OTC. This will ensure that violative drug residues do not enter the human food supply.