cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anatomical Recruitment of Spinal V2a Interneurons into Phrenic Motor Circuitry after High Cervical Spinal Cord Injury.

Abstract More than half of all spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur at the cervical level, often resulting in impaired respiration. Despite this devastating outcome, there is substantial evidence for endogenous neuroplasticity after cervical SCI. Spinal interneurons are widely recognized as being an essential anatomical component of this plasticity by contributing to novel neuronal pathways that can result in functional improvement. The identity of spinal interneurons involved with respiratory plasticity post-SCI, however, has remained largely unknown. Using a transgenic Chx10-eGFP mouse line (Strain 011391-UCD), the present study is the first to demonstrate the recruitment of excitatory interneurons into injured phrenic circuitry after a high cervical SCI. Diaphragm electromyography and anatomical analysis were used to confirm lesion-induced functional deficits and document extent of the lesion, respectively. Transneuronal tracing with pseudorabies virus (PRV) was used to identify interneurons within the ph...
Vacuolar trafficking and biogenesis: a maturation in the field

The vacuole is a prominent organelle that is essential for plant viability. The vacuole size, and its role in ion homeostasis, protein degradation and storage, place significant demands for trafficking of vacuolar cargo along the endomembrane system. Recent studies indicate that sorting of vacuolar cargo initiates at the ER and Golgi, but not the trans-Golgi network/early endosome, as previously thought. Furthermore, maturation of the trans-Golgi network into pre-vacuolar compartments seems to contribute to a major route for plant vacuolar traffic that works by bulk flow and ends with membrane fusion between the pre-vacuolar compartment and the tonoplast. Here we summarize recent evidence that indicates conserved and plant-specific mechanisms involved in sorting and trafficking of proteins to this major organelle.
Harmonic Forcing of a Two-Segment Timoshenko Beam

This work treats the lateral harmonic forcing, with spatial dependencies, of a two-segment beam. The segments are compact so Timoshenko theory is employed. Initially the external transverse load is assumed to be spatially constant. The goal is the determination of frequency response functions. A novel approach is used, in which material and geometric discontinuities are modeled by continuously varying functions. Here logistic functions are used so potential problems with slope discontinuities are avoided. The approach results in a single set of ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients, which is solved numerically, for specific parameter values, using MAPLE®. Accuracy of the approach is assessed using analytic and assumed mode Rayleigh-Ritz type solutions. Free-fixed and fixed-fixed boundary conditions are treated and good agreement is found. Finally, a spatially varying load is examined. Analytic solutions may not be readily available for these cases thus the new method is used in the investigation.
The Intersection of Two Systems: An American on Trial for an American Murder in the French Cour D'Assises

This study discusses a murder case in France's trial court for the most serious crimes, the Cour d'assises. The case was highly unusual because the person on trial was an American, accused of having murdered other Americans in the United States. For reasons given below, cases in which crimes committed in the United States are tried abroad are likely to become more common. This study describes how such a case proceeds, including some of the difficulties that can arise from combining two investigations controlled by very different systems of procedure. An advice section is given for American prosecutors and defense advisers involved in such cases. More broadly, the study sheds light on the differences between the U.S. and continental legal systems, in part building on existing work in the area of comparative criminal procedure and drawing on French sources. The study emphasizes the effects of judicial control over trial on presentation of oral testimony, especially that of the defendant and experts. There are drawbacks to the French approach to oral testimony, such as less vigorous probing of testimony by the parties. There are also advantages, including allowing more information to be known to the fact-finders; permitting a more flexible order of presentation; and fostering dignitary values by letting witnesses speak in their natural voices and by achieving a deeper understanding of the defendant as a unique human being.
Covering Spaces and Fibrations

the theory of covering spaces is important not only in topology, but also in differential geometry, complex analysis, and Lie groups. The theory is presented here because the fundamental group functor provides a faithful representation of covering-space problems in terms of algebraic ones. This justifies our special interest in the fundamental group functor.
Moving targets: determinants of nutritional preferences and habitat use in an urban ant community

Urban environments are often associated with reduced biodiversity, presumably because they are typically more fragmented, warmer, and drier than nearby non-urban environments. However, urban landscapes offer significant complexity that have allowed some taxonomic groups to flourish. Understanding how urban-exploiting animals navigate this spatiotemporal heterogeneity is important given the continued global urban land expansion. Here, we examined the factors influencing resource-use in an urban community of ants, which represent a widespread and important taxon in urban ecosystems. In particular, we sought to integrate ants’ nutritional, thermal, and spatial niches to better understand how urban animals successfully access critical resources throughout their active season. Meteorological season (spring, summer, and fall) and/or species (n = 9) influenced ants’ preferences for nutrition (ratio of ingested protein-to-carbohydrate ratio), as well as the temperature, type (impervious vs. non-impervious), and shade status (shaded vs. non-shaded) of surfaces used during activity. Our data also indicate links among habitat variables, as well as between nutritional preferences and habitat use. Together, our results suggest that species and seasonality influence ecological (combined nutritional, thermal, and spatial) niches in an urban community. We encourage future work in urban ecosystems that continues to integrate more features of the ecological niche, and to examine the outcomes of variation in niches (e.g., non-overlapping niches may explain both the persistence of some native animals and the success of invaders).
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators in Patients with Continuous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices: Utilization Patterns, Shock Therapies and Complications.

Background The use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in patients with continuous flow left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) has not been evaluated in randomized clinical trials and the observational data published so far is controversial. To our knowledge, the burden of ICD related procedures after LVAD has not been previously described. Methods This is a retrospective single center study that included patients who underwent continuous flow LVAD implantation at the Cleveland Clinic between October 2004 and March 2017. Patients were grouped according to the presence or absence of ICD at the time of LVAD insertion. Outcomes after LVAD insertion were assessed including revisions of existing and subsequent implantation of ICDs. Results There were 486 patients in the study cohort; of those, 387 (79.6%) had an ICD prior to LVAD insertion. Patients with ICD prior to LVAD were older and had lower use of inotropes, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and mechanical ventilation before LVAD. There were 4 patients with leads cut or removed during LVAD, and 12 that had post-operative lead dysfunction due to dislodgment. There were 80 patients (21% of patients with ICD) who required 96 procedures after LVAD: 74 generator exchanges because of end of life or technical failure, 15 lead revisions, and 7 complete system removals because of infection. Of the 99 patients without ICD, 52 underwent ICD implantation: 38 for primary prevention and 14 for secondary prevention. Of those 4, had additional procedures: 2 generator changes due to end of life, 1 lead revision, and 1 system extraction due to pseudomonas endocarditis. The median follow ICD data follow up was 227 days in the pre-LVAD ICD group and 390 days in the post LVAD ICD group. There were 115(30%) and 13 (25%) patients that experimented ICD shocks in the pre-LVAD and post-LVAD ICD groups respectively. In both groups approximately 80% were categorized as appropriate.The unadjusted 30-day mortality was 5.2% and 10.1% in patients with and without ICD respectively (p=0.097). Conclusion In this cohort, ICD related procedures are common in patients with continuous flow LVADs and occur in about 1/5th of patients. During LVAD implantation displacement or cut of the ICD lead because of tricuspid valve intervention is not infrequent. More than half of patients without an ICD at baseline had an ICD implanted after LVAD. A substantial proportion of patients experience ICD shocks. The impact of shocks in outcomes remains to be determined.
SAFE Initiative: A step closer to a positive safety culture and improved patient experience.

249Background: A positive safety culture is a major characteristic of a high reliability organization (HRO). At The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, safety is our leading service excellence standard, and because of this, creating a positive safety culture throughout the institution is a top priority. At MD Anderson Sugar Land, we sought to create, improve, and foster a culture of safety throughout all levels of our campus by implementing a new initiative. Methods: The Safe, Attentive, Focused, Engaged (SAFE™) initiative was conceptualized by our leadership team at MD Anderson Sugar Land to improve our safety culture. Improvements were measured by the number of reported safety events, the amount of employee engagement at our weekly safety meetings, and participation in and scores from MD Anderson’s institutional Culture of Safety survey. Results: The SAFE initiative was implemented in April 2017. During the 12 months before its implementation, the average monthly number of reported safety eve...
Generating Calibrated Ensembles of Physically Realistic, High-Resolution Precipitation Forecast Fields Based on GEFS Model Output

AbstractEnhancements of multivariate postprocessing approaches are presented that generate statistically calibrated ensembles of high-resolution precipitation forecast fields with physically realis...
Culture and Development: Beyond Neoliberal Reason

The main idea of this volume – one perhaps currently respected in European, but unfortunately not so much in American/British academic circles – is the vital link between a flourishing cultural lif...
Texture, color and sensory evaluation of sous-vide cooked beef steaks processed using high pressure processing as method of microbial control

Abstract The effects of high pressure processing (HPP; 450 MPa for 15 min and 600 MPa for 10 min) and sous vide (SV) cooking time on the texture, color, and sensory characteristics of beef strip steaks were studied. Control treatments (no HPP) were SV cooked for 180 min while HPP treated steaks (450 MPa or 600 MPa) were SV cooked for 45 min or 120 min. SV cooking did not change (P > 0.05) the redness of HPP samples compared to control. There were significant (P 0.05) for taste and aftertaste liking from SV 450 MPa. These results indicate HPP treatment with shorter sous vide cooking times can have some negative impact on quality and sensory characteristics of beef steaks, but still may be potentially accepted by consumers with optimized pressure and time.
Dentists: Critical aspects of their own and their community’s disaster preparedness plan

The weather-related disasters in 2017 in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the 2017-2018 wildfire seasons in California and Hurricanes Florence and Michael in 2018 have challenged all healthcare professionals, to have plans in place to protect their facility, patients, and staff from all possible hazards. These were “slowly developing” events, with enormous media coverage, and yet the results were still horrific. The need to have both a good evacuation plan and a good shelter-in-place plan has previously been dramatically demonstrated. When planning for disasters, it is critical for healthcare providers to understand the nature of a particular event and its possible consequences. When the concern arises about either an individual medical facility, or a whole community’s well-being, a proper response requires significant levels of preparedness, education, and training. Comprehension of the threat and an understanding of the resources available to combat an event can significantly mitigate the possible damage. This article reviews a dental school curriculum to prepare students to respond to such contingencies while describing the goals, and sources for a disaster preparedness syllabus.
Otitis, Sinusitis, and Mastoiditis

Otitis, sinusitis, and mastoiditis represent a range of common upper respiratory tract infections that are more common in children than in adults. The clinical presentation of otitis varies based on the anatomic site of disease. Acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion are infections of the middle ear, and otitis externa is infection of the external auditory canal. Otitis is one of the most common infections seen in young children. Each case represents an opportunity to practice precise diagnostic skills and to practice judicious antibiotic use. Sinusitis, while also relatively common, may present with nonspecific signs and symptoms. An accurate diagnosis requires a complete history and careful physical examination to help distinguish between viral rhinosinusitis, a condition that is usually self-limiting, and bacterial rhinosinusitis, a condition that requires treatment with antibiotics. Mastoiditis is a less common condition that can occur as a complication of otitis media. Prompt recognition and appropriate antibiotic treatment, often in combination with surgical debridement, is required to prevent further spread of the infection and the development of secondary complications.
Medium, short and very short-term prognosis of load demand for the Greek Island of Tilos using artificial neural networks and human thermal comfort-discomfort biometeorological data

Abstract The objective of the present work is the medium, short and very short-term prognosis of load demand (LD) for the small-scale island of Tilos in Greece. For this purpose, Artificial Neural Network (ANNs) models were developed to forecast the LD of Tilos for different prediction horizons and time intervals, these covering the cases of 24 h ahead in hourly intervals (medium term prognosis), 2 h ahead in 10-min intervals (short term prognosis) and 10-min ahead in 1-min intervals (very short term prognosis). At the same time, stochastic/persistence autoregressive (AR) models were also developed and compared with the respective ANN models with regards to the LD prediction results obtained. For the training of the developed ANNs, meteorological data covering the period 2015–2017 were used, which had been recorded in 1-min intervals by two meteorological masts installed on the island Tilos. Furthermore, the biometeorological human thermal comfort-discomfort index, known as the cooling power index (CP), was also estimated and introduced in the training procedure of the forecasting models, while, for the evaluation of both AR and ANN forecasting models, well established statistical evaluation indices were applied. To this end, results show that in all cases covered, i.e. for both medium and short-term prognoses, the developed ANN forecasting models present a remarkable ability to predict the local LD of the island with high accuracy, enabling in this way the development of advanced energy management tools for both end-users and the system operators.
Therapeutic Value of Medical Marijuana in New Jersey Patients: A Community Partnership Research Endeavor.

Objective The Public Health Program at Stockton University partnered with the Compassionate Care Foundation to ascertain the impact of medical marijuana on patients in New Jersey. Methods Patients volunteered to complete a survey once a month for 8 months. The survey explored their use, form, and strain of medical marijuana and its influence on pain and 12 other physical and mental health variables. Also, an increase or decrease in other medication taken and any unexpected outcomes were recorded. Results From a total of 955 patients, patients responding to the surveys varied from 501 for visit 1, 290 for visit 2, to 179 for visit 3. Results provide insight into the diagnoses for which patients used medical marijuana. Results indicate increased mood, general overall condition, and energy as the highest consequences; level of pain in the middle range; and most frequent usage as 3 to 4 times a day. Repeated measures done after visit 2 showed eight statistically significant differences for patients after using medical marijuana: an increase in general quality of life, mobility, and mood, with a decrease in inflammation, intraocular pressure, spasms, seizures, and pain. Results after visit 3 indicated seven significant differences compared to visit 1: decreased seizures, intraocular pressure, spasms, nausea, and pain, along with increased energy and mobility. No differences were found by patient diagnosis or age, but sex-related differences occurred in inflammation, mood, and energy. Conclusion Results support positive therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana, and despite methodological limitations, our study contributes to the growing body of literature.
Determination of Submicrogram Quantities of Mercury in Fish and Eggs by Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Photometry

Fish fillets and eggs were ground and blended to obtain a uniform fish mush. Two different methods were used to dry the samples; both were effective. Samples were combusted in a Schoniger flask, and mercury levels were measured using cold vapor atomic absorption. Comparison checking indicated that the procedure is applicable to a wide variety of materials, and can probably be used on any material that can be burned. 2 tables.
Euler and the Bernoullis

Sophie Germain set out to derive the mathematical theory to describe the complex phenomena manifested on Chladni’s vibrating plates. To do that, Germain sought to obtain a clear understanding of the theories advanced by Euler, the Bernoullis, d’Alembert, and Lagrange, and she tried to extend and improve their analysis. This was a daunting task. Her predecessors had worked for many years to formulate the mathematical foundation for elasticity that was in place in 1809.
Covered Bilateral Iliac Artery Stenting with Extension into Common Iliac Arteries for Near Occlusion of Distal Aorta

Bilateral kissing stents (covered) were deployed in the distal abdominal aorta with extension into both common iliac arteries for near occlusion of the distal abdominal aorta. The role of bare-metal stents, covered stent, and open aortoiliac reconstruction is discussed.
Finding and Segmenting Mathematical Equations in Students’ Online Handwritten Assignments

In this paper, we tackle the problem of finding individual equations in students’ handwritten assignments. Mathematical equations are the most abundant type of content in solutions to free-response problems in various academic subjects, particularly engineering and science. Finding the individual equations within a solution is an important step toward automated grading. We formulate this task as stroke classification and grouping problems. In the stroke classification problem, we classify each stroke as an equation or non-equation stroke. Stroke grouping is the task of identifying the equation strokes that belong to each equation. In this work, we present a GRU-CRF model that considers both intrinsic properties of the strokes and features computed from pairs of chronologically consecutive strokes. The method simultaneously classifies and groups strokes by computing labels for them. A chaining process is used to combine consecutively drawn equation strokes into equation groups. A binary classifier is then used to combine equation segments comprising single equations that were not written contiguously. We report the performance of our approach on a dataset of 1,060 pages written by 132 students that consists of 9,949 equations. Our approach can find 54% of the equations perfectly and finds an additional 16% with only a few mistakes.
A Methodology to Generate Longitudinally Updated Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure Prognostication Scores From Electronic Health Record Data

Queries of electronic health record (EHR) data repositories allow for automated data collection. These techniques have not been used in hepatology due to the inability to capture hepatic encephalopathy (HE) grades, which are inputs for acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) models. Here, we describe a methodology to use EHR data to calculate rolling ACLF scores. We examined 239 patient admissions with end-stage liver disease from July 2014 to June 2019. We mapped EHR flowsheet data to determine HE grades and calculated two longitudinally updated ACLF scores. We validated HE grades and ACLF diagnoses by chart review and calculated sensitivity, specificity, and Cohen's kappa. Of 239 patient admissions analyzed, 37% were women, 46% were non-Hispanic white, median age was 60 years, and the median Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Na score at admission was 25. Of the 239, 7% were diagnosed with ACLF as defined by the North American Consortium for the Study of End-Stage Liver Disease (NACSELD) diagnostic criteria at admission, 27% during the hospitalization, and 9% at discharge. Forty percent were diagnosed with ACLF by the European Association for the Study of the Liver- Chronic Liver Failure Consortium (CLIF-C) diagnostic criteria at admission, 51% during the hospitalization, and 34% at discharge. From the chart review of 51 admissions, we found sensitivities and specificities for any HE (grades 1-4) were 92%-97% and 76%-95%, respectively; for severe HE (grades 3-4), sensitivities and specificities were 100% and 78%-98%, respectively. Cohen's kappa between flowsheet and chart review of HE grades ranged from 0.55 to 0.72. Sensitivities and specificities for NACSELD-ACLF diagnoses were 75%-100% and 96%-100%, respectively; for CLIF-C-ACLF diagnoses, these were 91%-100% and 96-100%, respectively. We generated approximately 28 unique ACLF scores per patient per admission day. Conclusion: We developed an informatics-based methodology to calculate longitudinally updated ACLF scores. This opens new analytic potentials, such as big data methods, to develop electronic phenotypes for patients with ACLF.
J M Keynes Was Never Concerned About Ramsey’s ‘Critique’ of His Logical Theory of Probability Because He Realized That Ramsey Had No Idea About What His Theory of Imprecise Probability Entailed: Ramsey Was an Advocate of Precise Probability

Keynes had successfully applied his theory of logical, imprecise probability in his Indian Currency and Finance(1913), during his time in the British Treasury from 1914 till 1919, and in his The Economic Consequences of the Peace(1919). What Keynes applied was the concept of inexact measurement and approximation, which in Part II of the A Treatise on Probability is clearly shown by Keynes to be an interval valued theory of probability of upper and lower bounds. In January, 1922,an 18 year old Frank Ramey published an extremely poor review of Keynes’s A Treatise on Probability in the Cambridge Magazine. Keynes realized immediately that Ramsey’s conceptualization of probability was an exact and precise version of additive mathematical probability with better epistemological foundations, while his theory was about inexact, imprecise, non additive interval valued probability. Keynes also realized that Ramsey’s theory always assumed that w, the evidential weight of the evidence, was complete, so that Ramsey’s foundation could only accommodate additivity, whereas for Keynes the foundation was always based on non-additivity, with additivity restricted to fields like physics and engineering. Keynes recognized, however, that Ramsey’s great intellectual capabilities would lead him to have a tremendous academic career, although Keynes himself was not an academic, given his vast understanding of actual, ambiguous, real world decision making. Keynes thus used his great influence and reputation to assist Ramsey’s academic career, while also clearly understanding that Ramsey’s theory of subjective probability was basically one that would be generally limited and restricted to academic and board room exposition in journals and business reports. It is amazing that after 100 years there still are no academics who have the slightest understanding of the interval valued theory of non additive, imprecise probability erected in Part II of the A Treatise on Probability by Keynes or the decision weight approach of the conventional coefficient C. There is not a single mention of Ramsey and/or subjective probability in: • Keynes’s pre-General Theory drafts and writings from 1932-35 • Keynes’s 1936 General Theory • Keynes’s 1937 Quarterly Journal of Economics article • Keynes’s correspondence with H. Townshend in 1937-1938 • Keynes’s exchanges with Tinbergen in 1938-1940
Coupling dynamic in situ X-ray micro-imaging and indentation: A novel approach to evaluate micromechanics applied to oil shale

Abstract Oil and gas shales are a system where understanding the mechanical properties at the microscale is of paramount importance, e.g. to better understand the behavior of proppant-shale contacts and their role in the evolution of propped fractures in unconventional reservoirs. This work shows for the first time an experiment coupling indentation testing with in situ X-ray imaging in a Green River shale sample. A full compliance curve has been measured with the sample in water, allowing to visualize the indentation of the sample in function of axial load, in a purpose-built system for combined in situ indentation and X-ray imaging. A series of 3D datasets were used for a digital volume correlation study to obtain local strain fields. This analysis has been complemented with the analysis of cracks. Finally, geomechanical modeling has been carried out to replicate and generalize the observed behavior in the shale. This study validated this experimental approach, providing a breakthrough in understanding micro-mechanics in shales, and demonstrates how this class of experiments can be important for studies involving the prediction of the evolution of propped fractures in shale reservoirs, with possible applications in a much larger number of application fields (geothermal, materials science, etc.)
THE DEEP TIME OF BITCOIN: EXCAVATING THE "WORK" IN PROOF-OF-WORK CRYPTOCURRENCY SYSTEMS

Estimates place Bitcoin’s current energy consumption at 141.83 terawatt-hours/year, an amount comparable to Ukraine. While Bitcoin’s energy problem has become increasingly visible in both academic and popular discourse (see Lally et al. 2019), the computational mechanisms through which the Bitcoin network generates coins, proof-of-work, has gone under-examined. This paper interrogates the “work” in proof-of-work systems. What is this work? How can we access its material history? I trace this history through a media archaeology of computational heat, in an attempt to better situate the intimate relationship between information and energy in proof-of-work systems. I argue the “work” in these systems is principally heat-work, and trace its ideological constructions back to nineteenth-century thermodynamic science, and the reframing of doing work as something exhaustible, directional, and irreversible (Prigogine & Stengers 2017; Daggett 2019). I then follow thermodynamic discourse through Cybernetics debates in the 1940s, illustrating how, early in the formation of Information Theory, the heat-work undergirding the functioning of a “bit” was obscured and compartmentalized, allowing information to be productively abstracted apart from its energetic infrastructures (Hayles 1999; Kline 2015). I conclude with a discussion of the heat-work within the Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Bitcoin’s principal mining tool, arguing that proof-of-work mining is not a radical exception to the computing status quo, but rather a lens through which to think more broadly about computing’s complex relationship to energy, and ultimately, how this relationship can be different.
Temporal and Spatial Transcriptomic Dynamics across Brain Development in Xenopus laevis tadpoles.

Amphibian metamorphosis is a transitional period that involves significant changes in the cell type populations and biological processes occurring in the brain. Analysis of gene expression dynamics during this process may provide insight into the molecular events underlying these changes. We conducted differential gene expression analyses of the developing X. laevis tadpole brain during this period in two ways: first, over stages of development in the midbrain, and second, across regions of the brain at a single developmental stage. We found that genes pertaining to positive regulation of neural progenitor cell proliferation as well as known progenitor cell markers were upregulated in the midbrain prior to metamorphic climax; concurrently, expression of cell cycle timing regulators decreased across this period, supporting the notion that cell cycle lengthening contributes to a decrease in proliferation by the end of metamorphosis. We also found that at the start of metamorphosis, neural progenitor populations appeared to be similar across the fore-, mid-, and hindbrain regions. Genes pertaining to negative regulation of differentiation were upregulated in the spinal cord compared to the rest of the brain, however, suggesting that a different program may regulate neurogenesis there. Finally, we found that regulation of biological processes like cell fate commitment and synaptic signaling follow similar trajectories in the brain across early tadpole metamorphosis and mid- to late-embryonic mouse development. By comparing expression across both temporal and spatial conditions, we have been able to illuminate cell type and biological pathway dynamics in the brain during metamorphosis.
Brain reward systems for food incentives and hedonics in normal appetite and eating disorders

Publisher Summary In recent decades, obesity, bulimia, anorexia, and related eating disorders have increased, leading to concern. Sweetness and other food tastes are merely sensation, and their pleasure arises within the brain. This chapter discusses brain mechanisms for food reward and appetite evolved under pressures to protect us from scarcity. When eating patterns and body weight diverge from the norm, questions arise concerning the involvement of food reward systems in the brain. All eating patterns are controlled intimately by brain mechanisms of food reward, whether those mechanisms operate in normal mode or abnormal modes. Hedonic brain systems must actively paint the pleasure onto sensation to generate a “liking” reaction. This chapter reviwes recent discoveries in hedonic “liking” mechanisms, such as the location of opioid hedonic hotspots in nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum that paint a pleasure gloss onto sweet sensation. It also considers other incentive motivation systems that mediate only a nonhedonic “wanting” component of reward, such as nearby limbic opioid “wanting” zones, mesolimbic dopamine contributions to incentive salience, and other components of brain limbic systems, and discusses potential roles in eating disorders. New spheres in this study can be opened by combining information from neuroimaging experiments and studies of eating in humans and information from brain manipulation and pharmacological experiments that ethically can be done only in animals.
Effects on reproductive performance of administration of GnRH to early postpartum dairy cows.

Three-hundred and thirty-five lactating dairy cows from two herds were used to compare the effects on reproductive performance of intramuscular injections of 100 micrograms gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), 250 micrograms GnRH or saline given on day 13, 14 or 15 postpartum. The incidence of ovarian cysts or uterine infections was not reduced after GnRH injection. Culling rate for infertility did not differ in either herd between GnRH- and saline-treated control cows. In the herd in which breeding began earlier in the postpartum period (Herd B), injection of 250 micrograms GnRH resulted in a better (P < .05) calving to conception interval (81 vs 96 days), better first service conception rate (74.5 vs 56.0%), better overall conception rate (70.6 vs 51.1%) and a lower number of services per conception (1.23 vs 1.74) than in the controls. In reproductively well-managed herds, injections of 250 micrograms GnRH, given to lactating dairy cows 2 weeks after calving, may increase fertility.
The Procyclical Behavior of Total Factory Productivity: 1890-2004

Between 1890 and 2004, total factor productivity (TFP) growth in the United States has been strongly procyclical, while labor productivity growth has been mildly so. This chapter argues that these results are not simply a statistical artifact, as Mathew Shapiro and others have argued. Procyclicality results principally from demand shocks interacting with capital services which are relatively invariant over the cycle. This account contrasts with that offered by the real business cycle (RBC) program, which attributes economic cycles to technology shocks as measured by deviations in TFP from trend.
Effects of harmful environmental events on reputations of firms

Many previous event studies have found unexpectedly large losses to firms involved in negative incidents. Many of these studies' authors explain such losses as “goodwill losses” or “reputation effects.” To test this hypothesis, we search for residual losses (in excess of direct costs) to firms involved in events that produce ill will, but do not affect the quality of the firms' final products nor break implicit labor or supply contracts. Our sample of events is 73 negative environmental events reported in the Wall Street Journal between 1970 and 1992 in which electric power companies or oil firms with listed stocks were involved. We find an overall insignificant capital market response. We interpret this as showing that firms are punished only for actions that actually harm customers or suppliers. Although others have found similar outcomes, our results enhance previous research by extending the findings to a broader range of environmental incidents over a longer time period. Further, our findings suggest that the large residual losses in other event studies may be due to reputation mechanisms (and not measurement errors or event study idiosyncrasies), when defined traditionally — only those who are (potentially) harmed incur the costs of punishment.
States versus Territories: Who Comes Out Ahead in the U.S. Courts of Appeals?

This paper examines the differing success rates of states and U.S. territories before the First, Third and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals. It theorizes, based on work by Galanter and others, that status of the parties matter. Therefore, I expect that states will do better than territories, but moreover, that particular territories, namely Puerto Rico and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, will be more successful than their non-commonwealth fellows, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The data indicate that both states and commonwealth territories are substantially more successful than non-commonwealth territories.
An investigation of constraint-based component-modeling for knowledge representation in computer-aided conceptual design

Originally, computer programs for engineering design focused on detailed geometric design. Later, computer programs for algorithmically performing the preliminary design of specific well-defined classes of objects became commonplace. However, due to the need for extreme flexibility, it appears unlikely that conventional programming techniques will prove fruitful in developing computer aids for engineering conceptual design. The use of symbolic processing techniques, such as object-oriented programming and constraint propagation, facilitate such flexibility. Object-oriented programming allows programs to be organized around the objects and behavior to be simulated, rather than around fixed sequences of function- and subroutine-calls. Constraint propagation allows declarative statements to be understood as designating multi-directional mathematical relationships among all the variables of an equation, rather than as unidirectional assignments to the variable on the left-hand side of the equation, as in conventional computer programs. The research has concentrated on applying these two techniques to the development of a general-purpose computer aid for engineering conceptual design. Object-oriented programming techniques are utilized to implement a user-extensible database of design components. The mathematical relationships which model both geometry and physics of these components are managed via constraint propagation. In addition, to this component-based hierarchy, special-purpose data structures are provided for describing component interactions and supporting state-dependent parameters. In order to investigate the utility of this approach, a number of sample design problems from the field of aerospace engineering were implemented using the prototype design tool, Rubber Airplane. The additional level of organizational structure obtained by representing design knowledge in terms of components is observed to provide greater convenience to the program user, and to result in a database of engineering information which is easier both to maintain and to extend.
IT-Service-Management – Ein Modell zur Bestimmung der Folgen von Interoperabilitätsstandards auf die Einbindung externer IT-Dienstleister

Wie wirken sich Interoperabilitatsstandards (IOS) wie Webservice-Standards oder semantische Auszeichnungen auf die Auslagerung von Prozessen bzw. Prozessaktivitaten und damit die Einbindung externer IT-Dienstleister und deren Services aus? Dazu wird unter Berucksichtigung von Auszahlungs- und Risikoaspekten ein Entscheidungsmodell entwickelt, um Portfolios an (eigenerstellten oder fremdbezogenen) Services bilden zu konnen. Zentrale Ergebnisse auf Basis der definierten Annahmen sind:
Talkativeness and Children's Linguistic Abilities

Teachers and teacher assistants independently identified highly talkative and much less talkative pre-school children. All children were normal in intelligence and overall development. Twenty children of each type received a battery of speech and language tests measuring articulation, grammar, receptive syntax, and sentence repetition. The performances of the highly talkative children were significantly superior on all measures. No environmental or familial differences were found between the subjects of the two groups which might have influenced the findings.
Issuer Assessments of Credit Rating Agencies by Investment Grade

We examine the views of issuers of investment and non-investment grade industrial bonds about the four leading U.S. credit rating agencies. Based on a sample obtained from the Lehman Brothers database, we find that issuers of investment and non-investment grade bonds differ significantly in their views about credit rating agencies. In addition, we find that respondents are generally satisfied with the performance of these credit rating agencies, but their level of satisfaction is higher for S&P than Moody's. The results have implications for corporate bond participants who rely on credit ratings for corporate financing, investment decisions, and risk management.
A physics-based heterojunction bipolar transistor model for integrated circuit simulation

A new physics-based dc model for a heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) has been developed. This model offers features not found in previous analytical or physics-based HBT models, such as consideration of a cylindrical emitter-base geometry and direct implementation into SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis). The model parameters are determined from a knowledge of the device material, geometry, and fabrication process. The HBT model is developed by using semiconductor physics to calculate modified parameters for the existing SPICE Bipolar junction transistor (BJT) model. Model generated data was obtained via a SPICE dc simulation for devices with different geometries and doping profiles. The resulting current-voltage characteristics were compared to the corresponding measured curves and excellent agreement was, obtained. The model predicted the device's performance over its entire dc range of operation to within /spl plusmn/5%. Although a few of the model parameters were determined empirically, the physical nature of the model provides insight into new device designs by directly relating the material, geometry, and process specifications to the model parameters. >
NEOPOLYPLOIDY AND DIVERSIFICATION IN HEUCHERA GROSSULARIIFOLIA

Newly formed polyploid lineages must contend with several obstacles to avoid extinction, including minority cytotype exclusion, competition, and inbreeding depression. If polyploidization results in immediate divergence of phenotypic characters these hurdles may be reduced and establishment made more likely. In addition, if polyploidization alters the phenotypic and genotypic associations between traits, that is, the P and G matrices, polyploids may be able to explore novel evolutionary paths, facilitating their divergence and successful establishment. Here, we report results from a study of the perennial plant Heuchera grossulariifolia in which the phenotypic divergence and changes in phenotypic and genotypic covariance matrices caused by neopolyploidization have been estimated. Our results reveal that polyploidization causes immediate divergence for traits relevant to establishment and results in significant changes in the structure of the phenotypic covariance matrix. In contrast, our results do not provide evidence that polyploidization results in immediate and substantial shifts in the genetic covariance matrix.
Heterosexism in Employment Decisions: The Role of Job Misfit

We developed and tested a model of heterosexism in employment decisions based on the lack of fit model of discrimination and social psychological research on attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. Results were supportive of both perspectives in that job candidates’ sexual orientation, gender, and job gender type interacted with raters’ gender and exposure to diversity training to predict ratings of candidate hirability. Consistent with prior attitudinal research, male raters tended to perceive gay male applicants as least suitable for employment. Finally, raters’ attitudes toward gay men and lesbians, beliefs about the employability of gay men and lesbians, and social dominance orientation were differentially related to suitability and hirability ratings. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. jasp_669 2527..2555
The VOYAGER speech understanding system: preliminary development and evaluation

Early experience with the development of the MIT VOYAGER spoken language system is described, and its current performance is documented. The three components of VOYAGER, the speech recognition component, the natural language component, and the application back-end, are described. >
Introduction to the Special Issue on College Drinking Games

AbstractDrinking games are high-risk, social drinking activities comprised of rules that promote participants’ intoxication and determine when and how much alcohol should be consumed. Despite the negative consequences associated with drinking games, this high-risk activity is common among college students, with participation rates reported at nearly 50% in some studies. Empirical research examining drinking games participation in college student populations has increased (i.e. over 40 peer-reviewed articles were published in the past decade) in response to the health risks associated with gaming and its prevalence among college students. This Special Issue of The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse seeks to advance the college drinking games literature even further by addressing understudied, innovative factors associated with the study of drinking games, including the negative consequences associated with drinking games participation; contextual, cultural, and psychological factors that may influe...
The effect of acid water on the loss of divalent cations and primary amines from natural membranes.

Abstract 1. 1. Losses of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ and primary amines into waters between pH = 5 and 3 from eyed Chinook salmon eggs, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha , and gills excised from the freshwater, bivalve mollusc Anodonta californiensis were measured and compared to effluxes into distilled water. 2. 2. Sulfuric, nitric and hydrochloric acids were used. 3. 3. Even at pH = 5 losses of Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ from both biological systems occur at short times, minutes, and can exceed those found in water of higher pH (non-acid waters). 4. 4. Increasing acidity increases short term primary amine loss from both systems. 5. 5. For both divalent cation and amino acid losses gills of A. californiensis are more sensitive to acidity than eggs of O. tshawytscha .
Capacitance of bilayers in the presence of lipophilic ions

Abstract The capacitance of glycerolmonooleate and egg phosphatidylcholine bilayer membranes in the presence of NaCl solutions containing tetraphenylborate, tetraphenylarsonium or dipicrylamine ions has been measured using alternating current techniques over a wide range of frequencies (1–200 kHz). The concentrations of ions corresponded to the lower limits of conductance saturation. Similar determinations were also made with solutions containing no lipophilic ions. The experimental method used in this work requires correction of admittance measurements for the solution resistance in series with the membrane, as well as careful area determinations. In all cases membrane capacitance levels off at sufficiently high frequencies to values which are independent of frequency. The high-frequency capacitance, which is regarded as the ‘geometrical capacitance’ due to dielectric polarization, is practically unaffected by the presence of lipophilic ions. The results support the assumption made in other studies, such as in charge pulse investigations, that the adsorption of lipophilic ions at concentrations up to the saturation range does not have an important effect on the dielectric properties of bilayers.
Reconsidering bit depth for medial images: Is eight enough?

Based on observations made at our institution that diagnostic images could be read on cathode ray tube (CRT) displays controlled with 8-bit hardware, a reconsideration of the bit depth for primary interpretation of radiological images seemed in order. Using actual CRT performance and human visual system (HVS) models with target size, surround luminance and external noise parameters (detector, display and image), CRT luminance modulation as a function of bit depth is compared with the HVS detection threshold modulation. While best case HVS performance requires, at least, 10-bit control to avoid creating luminance artifacts, probable HVS performance is estimated when targets are small, surround luminance is not equal to target luminance and external noise is included as a mask. In this light, the HVS threshold modulation is elevated to such an extent that 8-bit hardware is sufficient. It is shown that when implemented in 8-bit space at the display, the DICOM display function standard creates additional noise and potentially, artifacts. Acceptable image display in an 8-bit space will be discussed with respect to display data representation alternatives such gamma space, which is based on the intrinsic (uncorrected) CRT display function.