cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prevention, Treatment, and Monitoring of Seizures in the Intensive Care Unit

The diagnosis and management of seizures in the critically ill patient can sometimes present a unique challenge for practitioners due to lack of exposure and complex patient comorbidities. The reported incidence varies between 8% and 34% of critically ill patients, with many patients often showing no overt clinical signs of seizures. Outcomes in patients with unidentified seizure activity tend to be poor, and mortality significantly increases in those who have seizure activity longer than 30 min. Prompt diagnosis and provision of medical therapy are crucial in order to attain successful seizure termination and prevent poor outcomes. In this article, we review the epidemiology and pathophysiology of seizures in the critically ill, various seizure monitoring modalities, and recommended medical therapy.
Mapping Activation of Resources among Upper Division Physics Students in Non-Cartesian Coordinate Systems: A Case Study.

An in-depth investigation to identify cognitive resources upper division physics students use to reason about unit vectors, position vectors, and velocity vectors in polar coordinates.
Strain Stiffening Effects of Soft Viscoelastic Materials in Inertial Microcavitation

Mechanical characterization of soft materials, e.g. hydrogels, tissues, and various polymeric specimens, at high strain-rates (103 s−1–106 s−1) is challenging due to their compliance, slow wave speeds, and non-linear viscoelasticity. However, knowledge of their material is important in many biological and engineering applications from minimizing tissue damage in ultrasound and laser surgeries to diagnosing and mitigating impact injuries. Recently, a minimally invasive, local 3D micro-rheology technique based on inertial microcavitation rheometry (IMR) has been developed to determine the general viscoelastic material properties of soft matter as compliant as a few kilopascals. For example, material behavior of polyacrylamide undergoing large, finite deformations (|Err| > 0.05) at strain-rates of up to 106 s−1 has been measured and fitted using nonlinear Kelvin-Voigt model, which extends the traditional quasi-static neo-Hookean description of polyacrylamide to include a dynamic material viscosity in the order of 10−1 Pa·s.
The Association between Mercury Emissions and Individuals with Autism Aged from 3-21 in the State of California from 2001 to 2007

The paper explores how historical mercury deposition associates with the incidents of autism, identified in individuals aged from 3 to 21 in California from 2001 to 2007. The association between mercury deposits and the prevalence of individuals with autism aged from 3 to 21 in California was explored using the data from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program and the U.S. Education Department. A correlation analysis is applied to find if a relationship between mercury deposits and the autistic individuals in California. A regression test is run showing that for every 2.41ng/square meter per year increase of mercury deposits in California, there is a corresponding 3.55 person increase of autistic individuals aged from 3 to 21 historically from 2001 to 2007. Due to constraint factors in the research (please see the conclusion section), the comparison study did not show a statistically significant difference but the study indicated the importance of examining the effect of environmental toxins and their impact on human health. Mercury and Autism 6 Chapter
Improving Engagement by Letting Social Robots Learn and Call Your Name

This paper aims to improve the engagement in human-robot interactions by enabling social robots to call people by their name during a social interaction. To this end, we propose to integrate computer vision, online learning using a convolutional neural network, and speech technologies and concepts to learn names to facilitate and improve engagement. Our experiments show that human-robot engagement shows significant improvement through the proposed approach.
PHOSPHO1 puts the breaks on thermogenesis in brown adipocytes

The nonshivering heat production in mitochondria-rich brown or beige adipocytes allows rodents and humans to adapt to cold stress (1). The best-characterized thermogenic effector is uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), which dissipates energy as heat by proton transport across the mitochondrial inner membrane. Of note, there are also important UCP1-independent pathways mediating brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis (2). The discovery of significant brown and beige adipose depots in humans initiated efforts to leverage the thermogenic process as a means to increase the metabolic rate to prevent metabolic disease, such as obesity and diabetes (3). Currently, there are limited browning regimens for increased energy expenditure in humans short of cold exposure (4). In PNAS, Jiang et al. (5) investigated how the enzyme phosphoethanolamine and phosphocholine phosphatase 1 (PHOSPHO1) regulates thermogenesis in BAT, triggering changes in systemic insulin sensitivity and energy balance. PHOSPHO1 catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphocholine (PC) to choline as well as of phosphoethanolamine (PEA) to ethanolamine and in the process, releases an inorganic phosphate group. PHOSPHO1 is not widely expressed, although it has been well characterized as the PC and PEA phosphatase in bone, where free inorganic phosphate is essential for bone mineralization (6). Additionally, PHOSPHO1 is a key regulator that coordinates the change in PC and phospholipid composition during terminal erythropoiesis (7). It is remarkable that bone and red blood cell progenitors rely on different aspects of PHOSPHO1 enzymatic activity. The authors discovered that PHOSPHO1 is highly enriched in murine BAT and accumulates during in vitro differentiation of primary brown adipocytes. PHOSPHO1 expression also increased during cold exposure in mice. Furthermore, they determined that metabolically active BAT from humans at the fetal stage has high levels of PHOSPHO1 vs. adult fat tissues. There is little known about the role of PHOSPHO1 in adipose tissue. Based on the literature, the … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: philipp.scherer{at}utsouthwestern.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Comparison of Two Commercially Available Immunoassays for the Measurement of Bovine Cardiac Troponin I in Cattle With Induced Myocardial Injury.

Background: Multiple cardiac troponin I (cTnI) immunoassays are commercially available. Overall, assays have not been standardized, and inter-assay differences in the detection of the analyte cardiac troponin I can be clinically relevant. Objective: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of the commercially available Abbott i-STAT®1 cTnI immunoassay (i-STAT) and the previously validated ADVIA Centaur TnI-Ultra immunoassay (Centaur) in cattle. Hypothesis: There will be significant differences in bovine serum cTnI results measured by the Centaur and i-STAT methods. Animals: Ten dairy cows with experimentally induced myocardial injury due to monensin administration. Thirty apparently healthy dairy cows with no history of monensin exposure served as controls. Methods: Blood was collected at various time points after administration of a single dose of monensin (20 to 50 mg/kg) via orogastric tube. A total of 112 blood samples were collected. Cardiac TnI concentration was analyzed with the two methods and the association between methods analyzed via linear regression. Bland-Altman analysis to evaluate agreement between methods was performed on samples divided into groups (cTnI 1.0 ng/mL had a bias of -9.81 ± 13.26 ng/mL. Conclusions and clinical importance: The results of this study reveal that cTnI concentrations determined with the i-STAT are systematically lower compared to the concentrations determined by the Centaur.
Development and utilization of peptide-based quorum sensing modulators in Gram-positive bacteria

Quorum sensing (QS) is a mechanism by which bacteria regulate cell density-dependent group behaviors. Gram-positive bacteria generally rely on auto-inducing peptide (AIP)-based QS signaling to regulate their group behaviors. To develop synthetic modulators of these behaviors, the natural peptide needs to be identified and its structure-activity relationships (SARs) with its cognate receptor (either membrane-bound or cytosolic) need to be understood. SAR information allows for the rational design of peptides or peptide mimics with enhanced characteristics, which in turn can be utilized in studies to understand species-specific QS mechanisms and as lead scaffolds for the development of therapeutic candidates that target QS. In this review, we discuss recent work associated with the approaches used towards forwarding each of these steps in Gram-positive bacteria, with a focus on species that have received less attention.
Optimal Design of Grid Interactive Inverters Based on Harmonic State Space Modeling

This paper proposes an optimal design of closed-loop-controlled grid-tied inverters based on harmonic state space (HSS) modeling. A comprehensive HSS model of the entire closed-loop system is derived, which includes HSS modeling of each component, i.e., abc/dq (dq/abc) transformation, sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM), proportional-integral (PI) controllers, and LCL-filters in a synchronous d-q frame. Based on the HSS model, a high-order of the closed-loop system model (up to switching frequency) is obtained and then used towards an optimal design. With the proposed design framework, system parameters including both circuit and controller parameters are optimized. The obtained parameters can not only minimize the total harmonic distortion (THD) in inverter grid-connected current, but also guarantee that the harmonic spectrum meets the requirements of IEEE standards. Both the holistic HSS model and optimal design framework are implemented, and the simulation results verify the derived model and the proposed optimal design.
Community Implementation of MI-Enhanced Behavior Therapy for Adolescent ADHD: Linking Fidelity to Effectiveness

Abstract Evidence-based behavior therapy for adolescent ADHD faces implementation challenges in real-world settings. The purpose of this trial was to investigate the relationship between implementation fidelity and outcomes among adolescents receiving services in the active treatment arm (N = 114; Motivational Interviewing [MI]-enhanced parent-teen behavior therapy) of a community-based randomized trial of adolescent ADHD treatment. Participants received therapy from community clinicians (N = 44) at four agencies in a large, ethnically diverse metropolitan setting. Therapists provided self-report of session-by-session adherence to content fidelity checklists and audio recordings of sample sessions that were coded for MI integrity. Parents provided report of ADHD symptoms and family impairment at baseline, posttreatment, and follow-up, while academic records were obtained directly from the local school district. Results indicated that content fidelity significantly waned across the 10 manualized sessions (d = -1.23); these trends were steepest when therapy was delivered outside the office-setting and parent attendance was low. Community therapist self-report of content fidelity predicted significantly greater improvements in academic impairment from baseline to follow-up. MI delivery quality was not associated with improved outcomes; contrary to hypotheses, lower MI relational scores predicted significantly greater improvements in family impairment over time. Findings indicate that community-based outcomes for evidence-based ADHD treatment are enhanced when treatment is implemented with fidelity. Future work should revise community-based implementation strategies for adolescent ADHD treatment to prevent declines in fidelity over time, thereby improving outcomes.
Horadam polynomials for a new family of $$\lambda $$ λ -pseudo bi-univalent functions associated with Sakaguchi type functions

In the present article, we introduce and study a new family $$\mathcal {F}_{\Sigma }(\delta ,\lambda ,m,n,r)$$ of normalized analytic and bi-univalent functions associating $$\lambda $$ -pseudo functions with Sakaguchi type functions by using the Horadam polynomials. We obtain upper bounds for the initial Taylor–Maclaurin coefficients $$|a_2|$$ and $$|a_3|$$ . Further we obtain the Fekete–Szego inequality for functions in the family $$\mathcal {F}_{\Sigma }(\delta ,\lambda ,m,n,r)$$ which we have introduced here. We also indicate several certain special cases and consequences for our results.
Understanding Chinese Legal and Business Norms: A Comment on Janet Tai Landa's Chapter

This chapter elaborates on Conference comments offered in response to Professor Tai Landa’s “Coasean Foundations of a Unified Theory of Western and Chinese Contractual Practices and Economic Organisations”. The second part presents an overview of Tai Landa’s chapter, focusing on her theory of contract law and the Ethnically Homogeneous Middleman Group (EHMG). The third part provides an overview of scholarship on commercial law and legality in traditional China, designed to suggest that the concept of “Confucian ethics’’, which forms a central part of Tai Landa’s theory of the EHMG, must include a more nuanced view of legality if it is to be used to describe the set of social norms and values concerning commercial behaviour that actually held in pre-modern China. The fourth part questions the use of the term “rules of the game” to describe the role of law, and non-legal normative systems, in structuring behaviour. Tai Landa and many “new institutionalist” scholars rely on this metaphor, but the metaphor often serves to end enquiry, as if there were simply one way that rules interact with the actual Haying of a game, rather than acknowledging and exploring the many various ways in which rule structures interact with the playing of a game. The final part of the chapter explores Tai Landa’s vision of the EHMG and its relationship to background legal and political orders, arguing that the EHMG is more dependent upon a background power structure, either of law or of politics, than Tai Landa’s model suggests.
Special function neural network (SFNN) models

Robust implementations of special functions have been a concern in many scientific areas, from electromagnetics to statistics. For example, the kernel of the Helmholtz equation in a boundary integral formulation is based on Hankel functions, or the Matern covariance in statistics depends on the functions Gamma and modified Bessel. Traditionally these special functions are implemented using known asymptotic expansions on certain critical intervals. The strategy we introduce here is to replace asymptotic expansions with neural network (NN) models taking advantage that NNs can be provably considered to be universal approximators. This approach facilitates a plethora of operations previously inaccessible. For instance, high-order derivatives of a neural network model preserve the accuracy of the trained model and, as such, can be more reliable than derivatives of asymptotic expansions. Implementations of series expansions may be computationally prohibitive and prone to numerical errors in regions where they do not converge sufficiently fast. In the current work, we develop neural network models to be a stand-in for special functions, focusing on the Bessel functions of the first and second kind, and corresponding derivatives. Special functions may require different series expansions for different ranges of the argument. We showcase a strategy for using the same neural network model over any interval within the domain of definition of the function, that would otherwise require different asymptotic expansion representations.
Liberalism and the Limits of Justice: Introduction: Liberalism and the Primacy of Justice

This is an essay about liberalism. The liberalism with which I am concerned is a version of liberalism prominent in the moral and legal and political philosophy of the day: a liberalism in which the notions of justice, fairness, and individual rights play a central role, and which is indebted to Kant for much of its philosophical foundation. As an ethic that asserts the priority of the right over the good, and is typically defined in opposition to utilitarian conceptions, the liberalism I have in mind might best be described as ‘deontological liberalism’, a formidable name for what I think will appear a familiar doctrine. ‘Deontological liberalism’ is above all a theory about justice, and in particular about the primacy of justice among moral and political ideals. Its core thesis can be stated as follows: society, being composed of a plurality of persons, each with his own aims, interests, and conceptions of the good, is best arranged when it is governed by principles that do not themselves presuppose any particular conception of the good; what justifies these regulative principles above all is not that they maximize the social welfare or otherwise promote the good, but rather that they conform to the concept of right , a moral category given prior to the good and independent of it. This is the liberalism of Kant and of much contemporary moral and political philosophy, and it is this liberalism that I propose to challenge.
MO-F-CAMPUS-I-01: A System for Automatically Calculating Organ and Effective Dose for Fluoroscopically-Guided Procedures

Purpose: A system was developed that automatically calculates the organ and effective dose for individual fluoroscopically-guided procedures using a log of the clinical exposure parameters. Methods: We have previously developed a dose tracking system (DTS) to provide a real-time color-coded 3D- mapping of skin dose. This software produces a log file of all geometry and exposure parameters for every x-ray pulse during a procedure. The data in the log files is input into PCXMC, a Monte Carlo program that calculates organ and effective dose for projections and exposure parameters set by the user. We developed a MATLAB program to read data from the log files produced by the DTS and to automatically generate the definition files in the format used by PCXMC. The processing is done at the end of a procedure after all exposures are completed. Since there are thousands of exposure pulses with various parameters for fluoroscopy, DA and DSA and at various projections, the data for exposures with similar parameters is grouped prior to entry into PCXMC to reduce the number of Monte Carlo calculations that need to be performed. Results: The software developed automatically transfers data from the DTS log file to PCXMC and runs the program for each grouping of exposure pulses. When the dose from all exposure events are calculated, the doses for each organ and all effective doses are summed to obtain procedure totals. For a complicated interventional procedure, the calculations can be completed on a PC without manual intervention in less than 30 minutes depending on the level of data grouping. Conclusion: This system allows organ dose to be calculated for individual procedures for every patient without tedious calculations or data entry so that estimates of stochastic risk can be obtained in addition to the deterministic risk estimate provided by the DTS. Partial support from NIH grant R01EB002873 and Toshiba Medical Systems Corp.
Can we Insure against Liability from Nuclear Incidents

The peacetime development of the atom was made possible by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Since then a whole new industry has sprung up, creating new types of hazards and a consequent need for insurance in unprecedented amounts. Private insurance has responded already to the needs of this infant industry. At present fabricators of nuclear fuel elements, operators of reactors, transporters of new and used nuclear fuel elements and business concerns engaged in the disposal of radioactive waste are insured against the nuclear energy hazard. Where requested, this protection has been afforded in vast amounts, far in excess of any limits ever before offered by private insurers. This paper will put forth some of the principal problems confronting the liability and property insurers and the program which has been developed to meet these problems.
Supporting large projects in a small college computer systems management program

Many large universities have the luxury of well-developed computer science and software engineering programs that include team projects at several levels, from group work in an introductory data structures or software engineering course through a multi-course team project for an external client. In this paper, we will discuss our computer systems management curriculum that exposes students to large software engineering (analysis, design, programming, and user interface) projects within the time and budget constraints of a typical small college program. In the curriculum, we have two courses where students do full group design and analysis projects, Database Design and Systems Analysis. Other courses emphasize specific aspects of the software engineering process that tend to be impossible to experience in a limited-term project. Finally, we have a capstone course where students use all that they have learned to develop systems on their own. Students are responsible for all phases of the capstone project, from recruiting a client and specifying the project through delivery, documentation, and client evaluation.
Investigation of Gas Effects on Cryocooler Resonance Characteristics

Cryocooler thermal and vibrational performance is determined, fundamentally, by the dynamic interactions between the mechanical system and the working fluid. This paper explores the effect of working-fluid characteristics on the mechanical response of the cooler. Experimental data collected from two coolers characterized under the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s extensive program of cryocooler testing and characterization show that a classical single-degree-of- freedom spring-mass-damper model does not capture the full frequency dependence of the mechanical response. The data from two modes of cooler operation (slosh and head-to-head) are used to motivate the explanation that working-fluid characteristics dominate at high frequencies, and mechanical system characteristics dominate at lower frequencies. Operating temperature is shown to be a significant factor in determining resonance behavior. Finally, the discussion provides a framework within which resonant parameters and cooler characteristics can extracted from the experimental data.
Using CAPTCHAs to index cultural artifacts

Rock art, human-made markings on stone, is an important cultural artifact and the earliest expression of abstract thinking. While there are tens of millions of photographs of rock art in existence, there have been no large-scale attempts to organize, classify or cluster them. This omission is not due to a lack of interest, but reflects the extraordinary difficultly of extracting useful data from an incredibly heterogeneous and noisy dataset. As we shall show, rock art is likely to resist efforts of automatic extraction from images for a long time. In this work we show that we can use CAPTCHAs, puzzles designed to tell humans and computers apart, to segment and index rock art. Unlike other CAPTCHAs which operate on inherently discrete data and expect discrete responses, our method considers inherently real-valued data and expects real-valued responses. This creates a challenge which we have overcome by using a recently introduced distance measure. We demonstrate our system is capable of acting as a secure CAPTCHA, while producing data that allows for indexing the rock art.
Automated Mapping of Coarse-Grain Pipelined Applications to FPGA Systems

Configurable systems offer a unique opportunity to define application-specific architectures. These architectures offer performance advantages, where the use of customized pipelines exploits the inherent parallelism of the application. In this research, we describe a set of program analyses and an implementation that automatically map a sequential and un-annotated C program into a pipelined implementation targeted to an FPGA with multiple external memories. This research describes an automated approach to hardware design space exploration, through a collaboration between parallelizing compiler technology and high-level synthesis tools. In previous work, we described a compiler algorithm that optimizes individual loop nests, expressed in C, to derive an efficient FPGA implementation. In this research, we describe a global optimization strategy that maps multiple loop nests to a coarse-grain pipelined FPGA implementation.
Optical Bistability in Semiconductors

The first demonstrated optical bistability (OB) in a semiconductor was conducted by Gibbs et al.1 in GaAs at low temperature in which the OB is primarily dispersive and the nonlinear index arises from light-induced changes in excitonic absorption. Subsequently, and almost coincident with the first GaAs experiment1 was the work of Miller, Smith and Johnston2 who observed OB in InSb at 5°K due to a direct bandgap resonance mechanism. Quite recently, Gibbs et al. have observed excitonic OB at room temperature in a GaAs-GaAlAs superlattice etalon3.
Characterization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein Ser/Thr phosphatase T1 and comparison to its mammalian homolog PP5

Background Protein Ser/Thr phosphatase 5 (PP5) and its Saccharomyces cerevisiae homolog protein phosphatase T1 (Ppt1p) each contain an N-terminal domain consisting of several tetratricopeptide repeats (TPRs) and a C-terminal catalytic domain that is related to the catalytic subunits of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A, and calcineurin. Analysis of yeast Ppt1p could provide important clues to the function of PP5 and its homologs, however it has not yet been characterized at the biochemical or cellular level.
Male Genital Tract

Tumours of the male genital tract, including those of the prostate gland, testis, and penis, are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. In western culture, aside from skin tumours, prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer found in men. In male adolescents and young adults germ cell tumours of the testis are the most common type of solid tumour cancer. Carcinoma of the penis, although uncommon in the industrialized world, accounts for up to 20% of male malignancies in less developed parts of the world. The epidemiology and pathology of these diseases have become well characterized. Applied immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization techniques continue to refine pathologic classification and diagnosis. Aetiologies, unfortunately, remain elusive. Undoubtedly, the accumulating wealth of data on genes and proteins will eventually unravel the molecular pathogenesis of these tumours. Continued progress will see application of these data to aid prevention, assessment of prognosis, and treatment. Keywords: prostate; penis; seminal vesicle; testis; adenocarcinoma; squamous cell carcinoma; germ cell tumour
Sex-related differences in small intestinal transit and serotonin dynamics in high-fat-diet-induced obesity in mice

Obesity alters gastrointestinal (GI) motility and 5-HT signalling. Altered 5-HT signalling disrupts control of GI motility. Levels of extracellular 5-HT depend on enterochromaffin (EC) cell release and serotonin transporter (SERT) uptake. We assessed GI transit and 5-HT signalling in the jejunum of normal and obese mice. Male and female mice were fed a control diet (CD; 10% of kilocalories as fat) or a high-fat diet (HFD; 60% of kilocalories as fat). Gastrointestinal transit was increased in male HFD-fed and female CD-fed compared with male CD-fed mice. The 5-HT3 receptor blocker, alosetron, increased gastric emptying in male CD-fed mice, but decreased transit in female CD-fed mice. The 5-HT-induced jejunal longitudinal muscle contractions in vitro were similar in all mice. In contrast to male CD-fed mice, 5-HT uptake (measured using continuous amperometry in vitro) in male HFD-fed mice was fluoxetine insensitive, yet sensitive to cocaine and the dopamine transporter (DAT) blocker GBR 12909. Immunoreactivity for DAT was present in the mucosa, and protein levels were greater in male HFD-fed compared with CD-fed mice. Extracellular 5-HT and mucosal 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HT metabolite) were similar in male HFD-fed compared with CD-fed mice. 5-Hydroxytryptamine uptake was fluoxetine sensitive in all females. Greater SERT protein, decreased extracellular 5-HT and greater mucosal 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid were observed in female HFD-fed compared with CD-fed mice. Mucosal 5-HT and EC cell numbers were similar in CD-fed and HFD-fed mice of both sexes; female 5-HT and EC cell numbers were increased compared with males. The HFD did not alter plasma sex hormone levels in any mice. Overall, obesity alters GI transit and 5-HT signalling in a sex-dependent manner.
Two types of mutants affecting voltage-sensitive sodium channels in Drosophila melanogaster

Voltage-sensitive sodium channels have a key role in the genesis of propagated action potentials1–4. Mutations that affect these channels might be used like specific pharmacological agents in studies of channel structure and regulation. We have found that mutations which cause a reversible, temperature-induced paralysis in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster often affect the voltage-sensitive sodium channel. Using 3H-saxitoxin binding to membrane preparations, we have now identified two types of presumptive sodium channel mutants. One mutation, seizurets-2 (seits-2), appears to alter saxitoxin-binding sites structurally. The second, no-action-potential (napts) (refs 5, 6), reduces the number of saxitoxin-binding sites, but appears not to alter the receptor structure.
Design and validation of a spatially explicit simulation model for bottomland hardwood forests

Abstract Species composition in forests depends on the interaction of species traits and species availability. Yet many forest simulation models focus only on interactions of adult trees and saplings, ignoring how species become members of the community. We modify a published forest model for bottomland hardwood forests (program SWAMP [Phipps, R.L., 1979. Simulation of wetlands forest vegetation dynamics. Ecol. Modell. 7, 257–288]) to make it spatially explicit and incorporate explicit seed production and dispersal algorithms. The resulting individual-based, spatially explicit forest simulator (YAFSIM) combines mechanistic seed dispersal with growth and mortality of trees to track forest dynamics over time. We describe the structure of the model and test its validity for dynamics in small bottomland hardwood patches in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Dynamics of species composition and basal areas of trees predicted by Yazoo Forest Simulator (YAFSIM) were similar to those of natural second- and old-growth bottomland forests. However, diversity of simulated forest patches declined over time largely because of random dynamics acting on small, isolated populations.
Therapeutic dosimetry for Cf-252 neutron brachytherapy of pelvic cancer

252Cf (Cf) was used to treat tumors of the cervix and uterus with neutron brachytherapy (NT) in an ongoing clinical trial. Tandem and ovoids insertions were used and combinations of single and multiple applications along with high dose whole pelvic irradiation. Dosimetric analysis of treated cases for patterns of tissue dose were carried out. Tissue dose for Cf-NT was, in general, high for neutron components in the central pelvis only, and fell off rapidly with distance from the applicators. The majority and balance of therapeutic dose was contributed by low linear energy transfer (LET) high energy photon beam radiation to the whole pelvis. Comparison with fast neutron beam therapy (NBT) isodose curves showed that much more homogeneous neutron dose was delivered to the pelvic tumor and organs by NBT. Complication frequency has been reported to be higher for neutron beam therapy than for Cf-NT. It appears that the higher integral neutron biological dose to normal tissues for NBT compared to intracavitary Cf-NT probably contributed to the frequency of side effects.
Specific antigen binding by proteins secreted by an antigen-specific T cell hybrid.

Abstract Antigen-specific molecules secreted by a murine T cell hybrid specific for azobenzene arsonate (ABA) were purified from ascites fluid by ion exchange chromatography and affinity for antigen. The antigen-specific proteins were purified 250 fold and were resolved predominantly as M 1 110,000 polypeptides by reduction and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The ability of these molecules to bind antigen was analyzed by an ELISA using antigen-coated microtiter trays. Binding of the T cell proteins to antigen was detected with antisera specific for the proteins. Antigen binding to ABA-ovalbumin but not ovalbumin was optimal at 37°C and protein derived from another T cell hybrid did not bind ABA-ovalbumin. Solid phase antigen binding was inhibited specifically by soluble ABA-ovalbumin, indicating that these T cell-derived proteins bind nominal antigen in the solid or liquid phase. It is suggested that these proteins represent a soluble, antigen specific manifestation of some T cell function.
Multilevel algorithms for nonlinear optimization

Multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) gives rise to nonlinear optimization problems characterized by a large number of constraints that naturally occur in blocks. We propose a class of multilevel optimization methods motivated by the structure and number of constraints and by the expense of the derivative computations for MDO. The algorithms are an extension to the nonlinear programming problem of the successful class of local Brown-Brent algorithms for nonlinear equations. Our extensions allow the user to partition constraints into arbitrary blocks to fit the application, and they separately process each block and the objective function, restricted to certain subspaces. The methods use trust regions as a globalization startegy, and they have been shown to be globally convergent under reasonable assumptions. The multilevel algorithms can be applied to all classes of MDO formulations. Multilevel algorithms for solving nonlinear systems of equations are a special case of the multilevel optimization methods. In this case, they can be viewed as a trust-region globalization of the Brown-Brent class.
Neonatal development of auditory system potentials averaged from the scalp of rat and cat

Summary Auditory evoked potentials to ‘clicks’ were averaged from the scalps of litters of anesthetized rat pups and kittens throughout neonatal development. The potentials were shown to be from the brain stem auditory system, VIIIth nerve to inferior colliculus. At a fixed intensity and rate, peak latencies of the waves shortened with increasing age, while inter-litter variability decreased. The latencies of early waves shortened to adult values at younger ages than later waves. Increasing the intensity of stimulus at any age caused reduced latency of all of the waves; sometimes, the pattern of latencies seen at a younger age could be duplicated at an older age with a decreased intensity. Increasing the stimulus rate reduced the size of the waves, and there was return to control levels after 100 stimuli/sec in rat pups, adult rats, and cats, but not in kittens. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that significant limitations in both the immature and mature auditory system, as measured by peak latencies, occur before the VIIIth nerve. Several of the parameters studied can serve as a measure of ‘maturation’ in the auditory system, but at some ages one measure may be ‘immature’ when another is ‘mature’.
Enhancing fidelity in adventure education and adventure therapy

Although the importance of addressing and evaluating treatment and program fidelity is clearly emphasized in the literature on psychology, education, and health, little attention has been given to fidelity in adventure literature or research. Program fidelity refers to whether or not, and how well, a specific intervention or program was implemented as planned. This article provides a background on fidelity including program adherence and competence, factors that affect fidelity, and ways that adventure practitioners as well as evaluators can be intentional in addressing and measuring fidelity in adventure programming and research.
Chopstick surgery: a novel technique enables use of the Da Vinci Robot to perform single-incision laparoscopic surgery

Introduction Single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) is limited by the coaxial arrangement of the instruments. A surgical robot with ‘‘wristed’’ instruments could overcome this limitation but the ‘‘arms’’ collide when working coaxially. This video demonstrates a new technique of ‘‘chopstick surgery,’’ which enables use of the robotic arms through a single incision without collision. Methods Experiments were conducted utilizing the da Vinci S robot (Sunnyvale, CA) in a porcine model with three laparoscopic ports (12 mm, 2–5 mm) introduced through a single ‘‘incision.’’ Pilot work conducted while performing Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) tasks determined the optimal setup for SILS to be a triangular port arrangement with 2-cm trocar distance and remote center at the abdominal wall. Using this setup, an experienced robotic surgeon performed a cholecystectomy and nephrectomy in a porcine model utilizing the ‘‘chopstick’’ technique. The chopstick arrangement crosses the instruments at the abdominal wall so that the right instrument is on the left side of the target and the left instrument on the right. This arrangement prevents collision of the external robotic arms. To correct for the change in handedness, the robotic console is instructed to drive the ‘‘left’’ instrument with the right hand effector and the ‘‘right’’ instrument with the left. Results Both procedures were satisfactorily completed with no external collision of the robotic arms, in acceptable times and with no technical complications. This is consistent with results obtained in the box trainer where the chopstick configuration enabled significantly improved times in all tasks and decreased number of errors and eliminated instrument collisions. Conclusion Chopstick surgery significantly enhances the functionality of the surgical robot when working through a small single incision. This technique will enable surgeons to utilize the robot for SILS and possibly for intraluminal or transluminal surgery.
The Chitin Catabolic Cascade in the Marine Bacterium Vibrio furnissii MOLECULAR CLONING, ISOLATION, AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A PERIPLASMIC β-N-ACETYLGLUCOSAMINIDASE

We have described some steps in chitin catabolism by Vibrio furnissii, and proposed that chitin oligosaccharides are hydrolyzed in the periplasmic space to GlcNAc and (GlcNAc)2. Since (GlcNAc)2 is an important inducer in the cascade, it must resist hydrolysis in the periplasm. Known V. furnissii periplasmic hydrolases comprise an endoenzyme (Keyhani, N. O. and Roseman, S. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 33414-33424), and the β-N-acetylglucosaminidase, ExoI, reported here. ExoI was isolated from a recombinant strain of Escherichia coli, and hydrolyzes aryl-β-GlcNAc, aryl-β-GalNAc, and chitin oligosaccharides. No other β-GlcNAc glycosides were cleaved. The pH optimum was 7.0 for (GlcNAc)n, n = 3-6, but 5.8 for (GlcNAc)2. At the pH of sea water (8.0-8.3), the enzymatic activity with (GlcNAc)2 is virtually undetectable. These results explain the stability of (GlcNAc)2 in the periplasmic space. The cloned β-GlcNAcidase gene, exoI, encodes a 69,377-kDa protein (611 amino acids); the predicted N-terminal 20 amino acid residues matched those of the isolated protein. The protein amino acid sequence displays significant homologies to the α- and β-chains of human hexosaminidase despite their marked differences in substrate specificities and pH optima.
A theoretical analysis of resale price maintenance

Abstract Resale Price Maintenance has been defended as a tool to prevent free riding among retailers and condemned as a tool to protect price fixing schemes. This paper presents an economic model in which customers search for products from among those provided by manufacturers and competitive dealers who provide, at a cost, information useful in the customers' search. It is shown that competitive manufacturers will not maintain the resale price above the competitive dealer equilibrium but that the monopolist manufacturer will under certain elasticity conditions. Thus resale price maintenance is a sufficient but not necessary condition of monopoly.
Environmental influences on male production and social structure in Halictus rubicundus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

Several years' observations of population of a primitively social halictine bee,Halictus rubicundus, revealed the following: (1) there is a correlation between ambient temperatures during the spring provisioning phase and the sex ratio of the resulting brood, such that warmer temperatures are associated with an increase in male bias; (2) over the course of the season, the degree of male bias of eggs laid appears to correspond with photoperiod; and (3) increasing male bias in the first brood is associated with decreasing proportions of social colonies formed in the population, and this effect may be accentuated by small population size. These phenomena suggest that abiotic environmental conditions at the time of brood production may profoundly influence the demography of this population, and that the demography in turn determines the degree to which sociality is expressed. These findings are related to hypotheses dealing with caste determination in temperate halictine bees, viewed in the context of the evolution and maintenance of sociality, and it is proposed that these phenomena reveal a mechanism by which social behavior (the occurrence of a “worker” caste, in particular) is facultatively “fine-tuned” to suit the characteristics of the environment.
Accuracy of localization of a chemical stimulus in flowing and stagnant water by the nurse shark,Ginglymostoma cirratum

The locomotor response of juvenileGinglymostoma cirratum, the nurse shark, to six covert, discrete sources of an attractant chemical stimulus (fresh shrimp extract) was monitored in a tank (5×5×0.5 m) by means of a square matrix of 1936 photocells embedded in the floor and an on line computer. The experiments were done in flowing (1.17 cm/s) and stagnant water in order to determine the effects of flow on the accuracy of localization and to clarify some of the locomotor mechanisms involved. The response was quantified by a temporal and spatial analysis of activity, distance travelled, mean velocity, mean turn size, step length between turns and its direction vector, frequency of turning, the time spent by the animal in the quadrants of the tank, the mean direction vector of the steps and computer plots of locomotor pathways. For controls, the locomotion was monitored in the absence of chemical stimulation and with a placebo (seawater) replacing the shrimp extract. Five animals were used in 22 experiments in flowing, 20 in stagnant water. The relationship between each of the above-mentioned locomotor variables and the position of the discrete source of stimulation was examined by regression analyses and compared quantitatively between flowing and stagnant water. Localization is very precise in flowing water and is dependent on the gradient of the stimulus in the medium. Downstream sites of stimulation are better localized than upstream ones. In stagnant water only generalized localization occurs. The flowing water provides the direction vector for precise localization.
Looking Beyond Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results: Patterns of Chemotherapy Administration for Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer in a Contemporary, Diverse Population

Introduction: Chemotherapy prolongs survival without substantially impairing quality of life for medically fit patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but population-based studies have shown that only 20 to 30% of these patients receive chemotherapy. These earlier studies have relied on Medicare-linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, thus excluding the 30 to 35% of lung cancer patients younger than 65 years. Therefore, we determined the use of chemotherapy in a contemporary, diverse NSCLC population encompassing all patient ages. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with stage IV NSCLC from 2000 to 2007 at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Demographic, treatment, and outcome data were obtained from hospital tumor registries. The association between these variables was assessed using univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression. Results: In all, 718 patients met criteria for analysis. Mean age was 60 years, 58% were men, and 45% were white. Three hundred fifty-three patients (49%) received chemotherapy. In univariate analysis, receipt of chemotherapy was associated with age (53% of patients younger than 65 years versus 41% of patients aged 65 years and older; p = 0.003) and insurance type (p Conclusions: In a contemporary population representing the full age range of patients with advanced NSCLC, chemotherapy was administered to approximately half of all patients—more than twice the rate reported in some earlier studies. Patient age and insurance type are associated with receipt of chemotherapy.
Model-based automatic target recognition development tools

A good deal of effort in developing ATR systems involves using component algorithms from existing systems. In many cases the developers modify existing algorithms and link them with newly developed ones in order to create a new system. A significant amount of time is also spent in performing evaluations and diagnostics on such systems. In the case of model-based ATR, the developers are always interested in enhancing the computation speed so they attempt various modifications and architectures at the system as well as the algorithm level. The proper tools, are critically needed that will allow ATR developers to perform rapidly and efficiently many of the above tasks. The model-based inconically reconfigurable object recognition system (MIRORS), which provides many of the tools for solving such problems, is described.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
EFFECT OF CALORIC RESTRICTION ON ENERGY EXPENDITURE IN OBESE PATIENTS

Abstract The energy expenditure of fourteen grossly obese patients was investigated during periods of high and low caloric intake. After institution of dietary restriction, energy expenditure declined significantly in six patients. Accompanying the drop in metabolic expenditure was a fall in the activity of the two enzymes in the glycerophosphate cycle which may regulate the efficiency of metabolic oxidations. These seem to support the concept that the body can adapt to caloric restriction by decreasing its energy needs and by becoming metabolically more efficient. These changes partially offset the expected weight-loss.
Optical purity determination and 1H-NMR spectral simplification with lanthanide shift reagents — VIII. An indacrinone precursor, 6,7-dichloro-5-methoxy-2-methyl-2-phenyl-1-indanone

Abstract The 60 MHz 1H NMR spectra of racemic 6,7-dichloro-5-methoxy-2-methyl-2-phenyl-1 indanone (1) have been studied with the achiral shift reagent, tris(6,6,7,7,8,8,8-heptafluoro-2,2-dimethyl-3,5-octanedionato) europium (III) (2) and the chiral reagents, tris[3-(trifluoromethylhydroxymethylene)-d-camphorato] europium (III) (3) and tris[3-(heptafluoropropylhydroxymethylene)-d-camphorato] europium (III) (4). While some enantiomeric shift differences, ΔΔδ, were seen for some protons of 1 with 3, dramatically larger values were obtained with 4. The latter would be the reagent of choice for direct optical purity determinations of 1 using the 2-methyl resonance. Optimum conditions would use a 4:1 molar ratio of 0.1–0.25, providing near-baseline resolution for the peaks and freedom from overlap with interfering peaks. Less than 3% of the minor enantiomer should be detectable. The results are consistent with lanthanide complexation at the carbonyl. The value of ΔΔδ for the C2 methyl of 1.1 ppm with a 4:1 molar ratio of 1.50 appears to be among the highest reported values for simple ketones with 3 or 4.