cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The minimum intragenic sequences required for promotion of eukaryotic tRNA gene transcription

Transcription of eukaryotic tRNA genes is controlled by two intragenic regions, the D-control region (which in the tRNA codes for the D-stem and -loop) and the T-control region (which in the tRNA codes for the T psi C loop). To determine whether these sequences alone are sufficient to promote tRNA gene transcription in vitro, the two control regions of a Drosophila tRNAArg gene were cloned separately from the context of the parental DNA (these constructions are called tRNA minigenes). The tRNA minigene that contains both intragenic control regions supports in vitro RNA synthesis in Xenopus laevis oocyte and HeLa cell transcription systems. The mutant which has deletions to nucleotide 7 within the mature tRNA coding region, pArg5.7, and minigenes derived from it do not support RNA synthesis in a Drosophila Kc cell transcription system. Xenopus and Hela extracts transcribe pArg5.7 albeit at reduced levels compared to the wild-type gene. The tRNA minigene that contained only the D-control region was not able to support RNA synthesis in any of these three transcription systems. A mutant tRNA gene comprising the 3' half of the tRNAArg gene similarly was not able to support RNA synthesis. These experiments show that the DNA sequence from nucleotides 7-58, which contains both intragenic control regions of the tRNA gene, possesses sufficient information to initiate specific transcription by RNA polymerase III in Xenopus and HeLa systems. The transcription efficiency of this tRNA minigene however is reduced to about 20% the transcription level of the wild type tRNA gene. This lowered level of transcriptional efficiency results from deleting the ends of the native tRNA gene and its adjacent flanking sequences. The affects of deleting 5' sequences are most pronounced in the Drosophila transcription system.
A 6.1 kb 5′ upstream region of the mouse tryptophan hydroxylase gene directs expression of E. coli lacZ to major serotonergic brain regions and pineal gland in transgenic mice

Abstract Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) catalyzes the first step of serotonin biosynthesis in serotonergic neurons and neuroendocrine cells. Serotonin influences diverse vital physiological functions and is thought to play an important role in several human psychiatric disorders. To localize DNA element(s) important for serotonergic tissue-specific expression of TPH, 6.1 kb of the 5′ flanking region of the mouse TPH gene was fused to the coding region of theE. coli lacZ gene, and expression of the resulting fusion gene was analyzed in transgenic mice. The 6.1 kb of 5′ flanking sequence was able to direct the expression of a lacZ reporter gene to serotonergic tissues in six lines of transgenic mice. A high level oflacZ expression in transgenic mice carrying the fusion gene was detected in the pineal gland as well as a moderate level oflacZ expression in serotonergic brain regions such as the median and dorsal raphe nuclei, the nuclei raphe magnus and raphe pallidus. In contrast, a smaller 5′ flanking sequence of 1.1 kb directed no detectable serotonergic tissue-specificlacZ expression in five lines of transgenic mice. These results presented in this paper suggest first that DNA elements critical to serotonergic tissue-specific expression reside between −6.1 kb and −1.1 kb of 5′ flanking region of the mouse TPH gene, but second that this region confers a restricted tissue-specific expression.
Remarks on turbulence theory

Some recent work in turbulence theory is reviewed, with emphasis on methods related to renormalized perturbation theory. The topics discussed include: constants of motion and equilibrium statistical mechanics of the Euler equations; cascade phenomena in turbulence and intermittency in the small scales; renormalized perturbation expansions and renormalization of viscosity; the difficulty of distinguishing convection from distortion effects in turbulence dynamics, the need for Lagrangian description, and related difficulties in the quantum field theory of many-body systems; the direct-interaction approximation for turbulence; what can presently be computed from turbulence theory.
On the lack of demonstrated clinical benefit of neoadjuvant cisplatinum therapy for cervical cancer

Abstract Purpose : This study ascertains the benefit and detriment of cis-platinum-based regimes for advanced cervical cancer using standard response parameters as well as a methodology to separate potential effects of radiosensitization and effects of control of occult systemic metastases. Materials and Methods : In addition to conventional response criteria used to analyze three recently published randomized studies, the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is measured with a statistical model to calculate potential improvement in survival offered by perfect local and distant control. Results : Neoadjuvant chemotherapy either did not affect or it impaired survival in the three trials. Evidence of altered failure patterns was obtained. In particular, local control was compromised by neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion : Failure patterns are altered by treatment as well as by standard prognostic factors. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy may decrease survival. Possible reasons include the limited efficacy of cis-platinum alone and in combination with other therapeutic agents, accelerated repopulation caused by neoadjuvant therapy, delay in initiation of radiotherapy by neoadjuvant chemotherapy, low statistical power of published studies, and tumor heterogeneity. Curative modalities such as surgery and radiotherapy must not be compromised by neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Death and Hope in the ICU

Sitting down, looking strangers in the eye, and talking about death is part of the poetry of critical care. At first I thought that I had a talent for these discussionsthat they were something othe...
White coat, patient gown

Much has been written about the symbolic function of the white coat: its implications of purity, its representation of authority and professionalism, and its role in consolidating a medical hierarchy. By contrast, the medical literature has paid almost no attention to the patient gown. In this article, we argue that in order to understand the full implications of the white coat in the doctor-patient relationship, we must also take into account patients' dress, and even undress. We explore contemporary artistic images of white coat and patient gown in order to reveal the power differential in the doctor-patient relationship. Artistic representations capture some of the cultural ambivalence surrounding the use of the white coat, which confers professional status on its wearer, while undermining his or her personal identity. At the other end of the sartorial spectrum, hospital gowns also strip wearers of their identity, but add to this an experience of vulnerability. Although compelling reasons for continuing to wear the white coat in circumscribed settings persist, physicians should be mindful of its hierarchical implications. Ample room remains for improving patients' privacy and dignity by updating the hospital gown.
A sequence-based extension of mean-field annealing using the forward/backward algorithm: application to image segmentation

Optimization based on mean-field theory, including mean-field annealing (MFA), is widely used for discrete optimization (label assignment) problems defined on the pixel sites of an image. One formulation of MFA is via maximum entropy, where one seeks the joint distribution over the (random) assignments subject to an average level of cost. MFA is obtained by assuming the assignments at each pixel are statistically independent, given the observed image. Alternatively, we make the less restrictive assumption of independent row labelings. The independence assumption means that at each step, MFA optimizes over only one pixel, whereas our method jointly optimizes over an entire row, i.e., our method is less greedy. In principle, an MFA extension could be developed that explicitly re-estimates the row labeling distributions, but such an approach is, in practice, infeasible. Even so, we can indirectly implement this re-estimation, by re-estimating quantities that determine the row labeling distributions. These quantities are the a posteriori site probabilities, re-estimable via the well-known forward/backward (F/B) algorithm. Thus, our algorithm, which descends in the ME Lagrangian/free energy, consists of iterative application of F/B to the image rows (columns). At convergence, maximum a posteriori site labeling is performed. Our method was applied to segmentation of both real and synthetic noise-corrupted images. It achieved lower Markov random field model potentials and better segmentations compared with other methods, and, in high noise, standard MFA.
Proton dynamics in hydrogen-bonded systems

We discuss a simplified version of an ice lattice which consists of an alternating sequence of heavy and light masses. The light masses (protons) are each subject to a bistable potential caused by the heavy masses (oxygens). The protons interact with one another, as do the heavy ions. The interactions between the protons and the oxygens modulate the bistable proton potential. This system is known to exhibit kink and antikink solutions associated with mobile ionic defects accompanied by a lattice distortion. We show that at finite temperatures and in the presence of a constant external field on the protons, the defect velocity is a nonmonotonic function of the temperature, reflecting an interesting interplay of thermal effects (noise) and the constant deterministic external forcing in this nonlinear system. We discuss extensions of the model to higher dimensions, and present preliminary results for the proton motion in such networks.
A coupled gradient network approach for static and temporal mixed-integer optimization

Utilizes the ideas of artificial neural networks to propose new solution methods for a class of constrained mixed-integer optimization problems. These new solution methods are more suitable to parallel implementation than the usual sequential methods of mathematical programming. Another attractive feature of the proposed approach is that some global search mechanisms may be easily incorporated into the computation, producing results which are more globally optimal. To formulate the solution method proposed in this paper, a penalty function approach is used to define a coupled gradient-type network with an appropriate architecture, energy function and dynamics such that high-quality solutions may be obtained upon convergence of the dynamics. Finally, it is shown how the coupled gradient net may be extended to handle temporal mixed-integer optimization problems, and simulations are presented which demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.
social process, healing, and self‐defeat among Puerto Rican spiritists

This paper examines the long-term effect of Spiritist cult social process on those who become healing mediums. Although many studies have shown spirit cults to exert a positive therapeutic influence on their clients, a longitudinal perspective shows that cult socialization may lead to a reverse of the initial benefits. Clients who are diagnosed as seriously disturbed and whose cure depends on their training as healing mediums do initially appear to undergo extensive personal transformations. However, this new personal adjustment can be threatened or even reversed by the dynamics of the cult group itself.
A Low-Loss Gate Drive for Emitter Turn-Off Thyristor (ETO)

This letter introduces a new and energy-efficient gate drive circuit for emitter turn-off thyristor (ETO). The proposed circuit is a buck converter with two controllers that obtains power from gate current when the ETO gate voltage is negative, thus reducing power dissipation of the ETO gate drive and significantly mitigating a limitation of current ETO self-power designs. Various on-state gate current circuits are discussed and simulated. Experimental results verify the proposed circuit's operation and low-power consumption performance. The proposed circuit can be used in integrated gate-commutated thyristor and gate-commutated thyristor as well.
Ideal rationality and logical omniscience

Does rationality require logical omniscience? Our best formal theories of rationality imply that it does, but our ordinary evaluations of rationality seem to suggest otherwise. This paper aims to resolve the tension by arguing that our ordinary evaluations of rationality are not only consistent with the thesis that rationality requires logical omniscience, but also provide a compelling rationale for accepting this thesis in the first place. This paper also defends an account of apriori justification for logical beliefs that is designed to explain the rational requirement of logical omniscience. On this account, apriori justification for beliefs about logic has its source in logical facts, rather than psychological facts about experience, reasoning, or understanding. This account has important consequences for the epistemic role of experience in the logical domain. In a slogan, the epistemic role of experience in the apriori domain is not a justifying role, but rather an enabling and disabling role.
Cerium volume collapse: results from the merger of dynamical mean-field theory and local density approximation.

The merger of density-functional theory in the local density approximation and many-body dynamical mean-field theory allows for an ab initio calculation of Ce including the inherent 4f electronic correlations. We solve the equations by the quantum Monte Carlo technique and calculate the Ce energy, spectrum, and double occupancy as a function of volume. At low temperatures, the correlation energy exhibits an anomalous region of negative curvature which drives the system towards a thermodynamic instability, i.e., the gamma-to- alpha volume collapse, consistent with experiment. The connection of the energetic with the spectral evolution shows that the physical origin of the energy anomaly and, thus, the volume collapse is the appearance of a quasiparticle resonance in the 4f-spectrum which is accompanied by a rapid growth in the double occupancy.
Glutamate-induced changes in the pattern of hippocampal dendrite outgrowth: a role for calcium-dependent pathways and the microtubule cytoskeleton.

Glutamate regulation of a variety of aspects of dendrite development may be involved in neuronal plasticity and neuropathology. In this study, we examine the calcium-dependent pathways and alterations in the microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton that may mediate glutamate-induced changes in the pattern of dendrite outgrowth. We used Fura-2 AM and inhibitors of the calcium-dependent proteins, calmodulin and calpain, to identify the role of specific calcium-dependent pathways in glutamate-regulated dendrite outgrowth. Additionally, we used a quantitative fluorescence technique to correlate changes in MT levels with glutamate-induced changes in dendrite outgrowth. We show that the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) changes in a biphasic manner over a 12-h period in the presence of glutamate. A transient increase in [Ca(2+)](i) over the first hour of glutamate exposure correlated with a calmodulin-associated increase in the rate of dendrite outgrowth, whereas a sustained increase in [Ca(2+)](i) was correlated with calpain-associated dendrite retraction. Quantitative fluorescence measurements showed no net change in the level of MTs during calmodulin-associated increases in dendrite outgrowth, but showed a significant decline in the level of MTs during calpain-associated dendrite retraction. These findings provide insights into the intracellular mechanisms involved in activity-dependent regulation of dendrite morphology during development and after pathology.
Social Issues in Teacher Testing

As of 1984 there were about 30 national reports on educational reform, and the states had appointed nearly 300 task forces to study ways to improve education (Cross, 1984). One of the ways chosen was to focus on the quality of teachers (Carnegie Task Force, 1986; Holmes Group, 1986). To improve the quality of teachers, testing programs were implemented for entry into and exit out of teacher education programs, eventually leading to receipt of a license to teach. Current plans are under way to implement a test as requirement for national certification (Shulman, 1987). The vast, fast effort to implement teacher testing programs has not been without controversy, centering around psychometric issues (Mehrens, 1987a), legal issues (Rebell, 1986, 1990), and social issues surrounding the testing of preservice and practicing teachers (hereafter referred to as teacher testing). This article will focus on the social issues. Is the pervasive practice of teacher testing likely to be a positive or negative force in improving education in the United States? As a prelude to the major focus of the article, this section will cover briefly the extensiveness of and support for teacher testing and the reasons for both.
Pediatric Liver Transplantation

Thirty years after liver transplantation (LT) was first successfully performed in a young child, it remains the treatment of choice for children with end-stage liver disease, malignancy, and liver-based metabolic diseases. After initial technical challenges were overcome, survival became limited by rejection, infectious complications, and other complications of immunosuppression. Long-term patient and graft survival dramatically improved after the introduction of cyclosporine in 1980 and tacrolimus in 1989.
Surface interactions between chemisorbed species on platinum: Carbon monoxide, hydrogen, oxygen, and methanol

Abstract By means of ultrahigh vacuum techniques, including thermal flash desorption and residual gas analysis, the surface interactions of single-component and multi-component adsystems were examined. The gases studied included CO, H 2 , O 2 , and CH 3 OH in contact with a polycrystalline platinum ribbon. Three binding states were observed for CO, each of which exhibited high sticking probability, relative to that of oxygen or hydrogen. Carbon contamination of the Pt surface greatly reduced the adsorption rate of oxygen. Competitive sorption studies revealed displacement of chemisorbed hydrogen by carbon monoxide. Preadsorbed oxygen interacted readily with gaseous carbon monoxide, but very slow reaction was noted in the case of preadsorbed CO interacting with gaseous oxygen. During the methanol decomposition the surface interactions exhibited similar characteristics to those observed for the hydrogen-carbon monoxide. The results are interpretable in terms of the formation of a bound three-atomic intermediate species, such as [HCO], produced by hydrogen abstraction from the methyl group during methanol decomposition, and subsequent reaction with hydrogen adatoms by way of rupture of the HCO bond to yield H 2 and CO. These surface studies on the molecular level elucidate some of the elementary steps involved in the catalytic reactions involving methanol.
A CRITIQUE OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT EFFORTS IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI ALLUVIAL PLAIN

Integrated watershed management in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain (Delta) requires blending federal, state, and local authority. The federal governmcnt has preeminent authority over interstate navigable waters. Conversely, state and local governments have authority vital for comprehensive watershed management. In the Delta, integrating three broad legal and administrative regimes: (1) flood control, (2) agricultural watershed management, and (3) natural resources and environmental management, is vital for comprehensive intrastate watershed, and interstate river basin management. Federal Mississippi River flood control projects incorporated previous state and local efforts. Similarly, federal agricultural programs in the River's tributary head-waters adopted watershed management and Were integrated into flood control efforts. These legal and administrative regimes implement national policy largely in cooperation with and through tech nical and financial assistance to local agencies such as levee commissions and soil and water conservation districts. This administrative infrastructure could address new national concerns such as nonpoint source pollution which require a watershed scale management approach. However, the natural resources and environ mental management regime lacks a local administrative infrastructure. Many governmental and non governmental coordinating organizations have recently formed to address this shortcoming in the Delta. With federal and state leadership and support, these organizations could provide mechanisms to better integrate natural resources and environmental issues into the Delta's existing local administrative infrastructure.
(Ca + Mg)-stimulated ATPase activity of a rat brain microsomal preparation☆

Abstract ATPase activity of freshly prepared brain microsomes was stimulated 20% when 0.1 mm CaCl2 was added in the presence of a “saturating” concentration of MgCl2 (4 m m ). This (Ca + Mg)-stimulated activity declined rapidly on storage. Treatment of the microsomes with 0.12% deoxycholate in 0.15 m KCl, followed by centrifugation and resuspension in sucrose, produced a preparation both stable on storage at −15 °C and with an increased stimulation in the presence of CaCl2. SrCl2 was more effective than CaCl2, but BaCl2 was a poor activator. KCl and NaCl stimulated the (Ca + Mg)-ATPase activity by reducing substrate (ATP) inhibition. The Km for ATP was 0.1 m m , a third that of the Mg-ATPase. CTP, ITP, and GTP could not substitute for ATP, although they were fair substrates for the Mg-ATPase. The energy of activation of the (Ca + Mg)-ATPase was 21 kcal, nearly twice that of the Mg-ATPase. After sucrose density-gradient centrifugation of the microsomal preparation, the (Ca + Mg)-ATPase activity was distributed with the (Na + K)-ATPase and not with the mitochondrial marker succinic dehydrogenase. Studies with ouabain, oligomycin, and azide distinguished the (Ca + Mg)-stimulated ATPase from (Na + K)- and mitochondrial ATPases. Sensitivity to ruthenium red suggested a link to Ca transport, although the microsomal 45Ca accumulating system was much more sensitive to the inhibitor than was this ATPase activity.
Hispanic Mothers' Beliefs and Practices Regarding Selected Children's Health Problems:

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the Hispanic mothers' initial sources of advice and help with children's illnesses; beliefs about the etiology and seriousness of certain children's illnesses, namely, fever, cough, diarrhea, vomiting, conjunctivitis, skin rash, minor wounds, and burns; practices for the management of these children's health problems, including the use of home remedies, if any. Interviews were conducted with 100 women of Hispanic origin who had at least one child age 5 years or less and who were attending a community clinic in a rural area of central California. Mothers' beliefs about problem etiologies varied widely and revealed several misconceptions, folk beliefs, and lack of knowledge. The findings also revealed that only 32% of the mothers used or would use health professionals as the initial source of advice or help with children's problems. The majority of the subjects (81%) admitted to using home remedies to manage children's problems; 17% sought the help of a folk healer (mainly for the treatment of empacho). The various types of home remedies used by mothers were described and included the ingestion or application of certain foods, fluids, herbal teas, or other materials as well as methods to eliminate the perceived causes of the problems. It is important to note that 11% of the mothers had used azarcon or greta (substances containing lead) for treating empacho and other stomach problems in children. The need for culturally responsive and sensitive health care is discussed.
Finite Debye-Waller Factor for 'Classical' Atom-Surface Scattering

We consider atom-surface scattering at low surface temperature, fixed incident energy, and fixed interaction potential. We examine the limit as the mass {ital m} of the incident particle {r arrow}{infinity}, and thus its de Broglie wavelength {r arrow}0. We show that in this classical'' limit, at zero temperature, the Debye-Waller factor, i.e., the probability of strictly elastic scattering (a quantum effect), tends to a finite limit ({lt}1). We propose scattering of 20-meV Ar atoms from cold Cu(111) as a promising experiment to verify this effect, and estimate the Debye-Waller factor for this system.
DYNAMIC FATIGUE OF SODIUM-SILICATE GLASSES WITH HIGH WATER CONTENT

The stress-rate dependency of the mechanical strength of sodium silicate glass with high water content (up to ~25% by weight) was investigated. The glasses were prepared by drying commercial sodium silicate solution in an oven or an autoclave. The mechanical strength of the glasses was measured by a four point bending method at various stress rates. These glasses showed a strong stress rate dependency even in dired paraffin oil and the dependency increased with increasing water content ; the value of n, a measure of the stress rate dependency, was approximately 5 for glasses with ~25 wt% water. At the same time Young's modulus decreased with increasing water, content. It is suggested that stress-induced motion of water is responsible for the increased stress rate dependency. In addition, the apparent value of Young's modulus decreased with decreasing stress rate. This phenomenon was explained in terms of the visco-elastic property of the glasses.
Follow me to the innovation frontier? Leaders, laggards, and the differential effects of imports and exports on technological innovation

International trade and RD at lower levels of knowledge abroad, however, the net effect of exporting on lagging industries is negative. Results for importing are likewise nuanced. In industries that are relative leaders, increasingly sophisticated imports lead to greater domestic innovation when industry structure is more concentrated, providing a competitive kick-start. In industries that are relative laggards, this effect is not present.
Hepatic Artery Infusion Chemotherapy for Liver Malignancy

To date, hepatic artery infusion (HAI) chemotherapy has primarily been investigated in the setting of colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM). Few studies have been conducted in North America regarding HAI chemotherapy for primary liver cancers (PLC) or noncolorectal liver metastases (non-CRLM). Despite decades of evaluation, controversy surrounding the use of HAI chemotherapy still exists. In this article the methods of HAI chemotherapy delivery, technical aspects of catheter and pump insertion, and specific complications of HAI chemotherapy are discussed. Outcomes of clinical trials and reviews of HAI chemotherapy in the setting of CRLM, PLC, and non-CRLM are evaluated.
40Ar/39Ar age of the Manson impact structure, Iowa, and correlative impact ejecta in the Crow Creek Member of the Pierre Shale (Upper Cretaceous), South Dakota and Nebraska

A set of 34 laser total-fusion 40 Ar/ 39 Ar analyses of sanidine from a melt layer in crater-fill deposits of the Manson impact structure in Iowa has a weighted-mean age of 74.1 ± 0.1 Ma. This age is about 9.0 m.y. older than 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages of shocked microcline from the Manson impact structure reported previously by others. The 74.1 Ma age of the sanidine, which is a melt product of Precambrian microcline clasts, indicates that the Manson impact structure played no part in the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) mass extinction at 64.5 Ma. Moreover, incremental-heating 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages of the sanidine show that it is essentially free of excess 40 Ar and has not been influenced by postcrystallization heating or alteration. An age spectrum of the matrix of the melt layer shows effects of 39 Ar recoil, including older ages in the low-temperature increments and younger ages in the high-temperature increments. At 17 places in eastern South Dakota and Nebraska, shocked quartz and feldspar grains are concentrated in the lower part of the Crow Creek Member of the Pierre Shale (Upper Cretaceous). The grains are largest (3.2 mm) in southeastern South Dakota and decrease in size (0.45 mm) to the northwest, consistent with the idea that the Manson impact structure was their source. The ubiquitous presence of shocked grains concentrated in a thin calcarenite at the base of the Crow Creek Member suggests it is an event bed recording an instant of geologic time. Ammonites below and above the Crow Creek Member limit its age to the zone of Didymoceras nebrascense of earliest late Campanian age. Plagioclase from a bentonite bed in this zone in Colorado has a 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age of 74.1 ± 0.1 Ma commensurate with our sanidine age of 74.1 Ma for the Manson impact structure. 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages of bentonite beds below and above the Crow Creek are consistent with our 74.1 ± 0.1 Ma age for the Manson impact structure and limit its age to the interval ±74.5 0.1 to 73.8 ± 0.1 Ma. Recently, two origins for the Crow Creek have been proposed—eastward transgression of the Late Cretaceous sea and a Manson impact-triggered tsunami. We conclude that most data are in accord with an impact origin for the Crow Creek Member and are at odds with the marine transgression hypothesis.
Heavy Traffic Analysis of a Simple Closed-Loop Supply Chain

We consider a closed-loop supply chain where new products are produced to order and returned products are refurbished for reselling. The solution to a price-setting problem enforces the “heavy traffic” condition, under which we address the production rate control problem for two types of cost functions. We solve a drift-control problem for an approximate system driven by a correlated two-dimensional Brownian motion. The solutions to this system are then used to obtain asymptotically optimal control policies. We also conduct a numerical study to explore the effects of different parameters on the optimal production rates and the resulting costs.
Dose of Fluphenazine, Familial Expressed Emotion, and Outcome in Schizophrenia: Results of a Two-Year Controlled Study

• Issues regarding the side effects of antipsychotic medication and the possible contribution of the environment to dose requirements led to a two-year controlled dosage study of maintenance antipsychotic medication and familial environment among recently discharged schizophrenic patients. Seventy stable patients, living in high— or low—expressed emotion (EE) households, were randomized, double blind, to receive a standard dose of fluphenazine decanoate (average, 25 mg every two weeks) or a minimal dose representing 20% of the dose prescribed (average, 3.8 mg every two weeks). No differences in relapse were observed among dose, EE, or dose and EE. Patients in the minimal dose/high-EE condition experienced more minor but aborted episodes in year 2. Side effects were fewer on the minimal dose after one year, and low-EE patients were better adjusted than high-EE patients. Over time, minimal-dose recipients were significantly more improved in their instrumental and interpersonal role performance than were standard-dose recipients.
Reduced-Complexity Decoder Architecture for Non-Binary LDPC Codes

Non-binary low-density parity-check (NB-LDPC) codes can achieve better error-correcting performance than binary LDPC codes when the code length is moderate at the cost of higher decoding complexity. The high complexity is mainly caused by the complicated computations in the check node processing and the large memory requirement. In this paper, a novel check node processing scheme and corresponding VLSI architectures are proposed for the Min-max NB-LDPC decoding algorithm. The proposed scheme first sorts out a limited number of the most reliable variable-to-check (v-to-c) messages, then the check-to-variable (c-to-v) messages to all connected variable nodes are derived independently from the sorted messages without noticeable performance loss. Compared to the previous iterative forward-backward check node processing, the proposed scheme not only significantly reduced the computation complexity, but eliminated the memory required for storing the intermediate messages generated from the forward and backward processes. Inspired by this novel c-to-v message computation method, we propose to store the most reliable v-to-c messages as “compressed” c-to-v messages. The c-to-v messages will be recovered from the compressed format when needed. Accordingly, the memory requirement of the overall decoder can be substantially reduced. Compared to the previous Min-max decoder architecture, the proposed design for a (837, 726) code over GF(25) can achieve the same throughput with only 46% of the area.
Grain disruption in interstellar hydromagnetic shocks

The observed abundance variations of Ca, Fe, Si, and Ti in intermediate-velocity interstellar gas suggest that grains have been disrupted in clouds with velocities as low as 20 to 50 km/s. A simplified hydromagnetic shock model for such clouds is described; the dynamical equations for charged grains in the postshock region are derived, including the collisional drag and 'betatron-acceleration' effect of a magnetic-field gradient; and the fraction of grains destroyed in evaporative collisions with other grains is calculated. It is found that for shocks of 20 to 50 km/s in which the fractional H-ionization remains low, 3-10% of the grain material may be destroyed - sufficient to explain in part the heavy-element depletion pattern in intermediate velocity clouds and the well-known correlation of N(Ca II)/N(Na I) with cloud velocity.
Divorce as a Dual Transition: Interpersonal Loss and Role Restructuring

In the past 20 years divorce in the United States has grown from a curious, relatively infrequent phenomenon to a widespread and almost expectable fact of life (U.S. Bureau of Census, 1976). The rise in the divorce rate has been so persistent and dramatic that nowadays people routinely predict that between one-third and one-half of current marriages ultimately will end in divorce. With constant repetition such statistics seem to have lost their numbing chill. Yet, divorce appears to be as traumatic as ever for those whom it affects: divorce(e)s are significantly more prone than married people to psychiatric hospitalization, physical illness, suicide, homicide, motor vehicle accidents and high levels of stress; nearly 40 percent of divorced individuals receive some form of psychiatric care (Bloom, Asher, & White, 1978).
The instability of stabilization

Actin filaments and microtubules control the shape of cells and organize their contents. The proteins that form these cytoskeletal polymers were identified and isolated decades ago—actin in 1942 (1) and tubulin in 1968 (2)—but we still argue about some of their basic properties. New work from Niedermayer et al. (3), however, puts us on the right track, or more properly back on the right track, to understanding how actin filaments fall apart. After years of study, how is it still possible for otherwise reasonable people to disagree about how actin filaments and microtubules assemble and disassemble? The shortest answer I can think of has two parts: (i) the details matter, and (ii) the experiments are hard. The details matter because small differences in the rate, mechanism, or geometry of polymer assembly and disassembly produce cytoskeletal networks with different architectures. Ultimately, we want to understand how cells manipulate such basic biochemical properties to produce different cytoskeletal structures with different biological functions. How, for example, does one cell construct a 3D pseudopod that pushes forward the plasma membrane; a linear stress fiber that pulls on cell adhesions; and a contractile ring that splits the cell in two—all from actin filaments? The experiments are hard, in part, because cytoskeletal polymers are constructed from large numbers of weak, noncovalent interactions, and they are dynamic, sometimes even ephemeral structures. To study assembly and disassembly of cytoskeletal polymers, we require techniques that maintain their native structure: techniques that often push technical boundaries in both biochemistry and physics. It is not surprising then, that the work of Niedermayer et al. represents the joint effort of two groups, one led by biochemist Marie France Carlier and the other by physicist Rheinhard Lipowsky.
Automatic content generation for video self modeling

Video self modeling (VSM) is a behavioral intervention technique in which a learner models a target behavior by watching a video of him or herself. Its effectiveness in rehabilitation and education has been repeatedly demonstrated but technical challenges remain in creating video contents that depict previously unseen behaviors. In this paper, we propose a novel system that re-renders new talking-head sequences suitable to be used for VSM treatment of patients with voice disorder. After the raw footage is captured, a new speech track is either synthesized using text-to-speech or selected based on voice similarity from a database of clean speeches. Voice conversion is then applied to match the new speech to the original voice. Time markers extracted from the original and new speech track are used to re-sample the video track for lip synchronization. We use an adaptive re-sampling strategy to minimize motion jitter, and apply bilinear and optical-flow based interpolation to ensure the image quality. Both objective measurements and subjective evaluations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques.
Selective Effects of Nerve Growth Factor on Spatial Recent Memory as Assessed by a Delayed Nonmatching-to-Position Task in the Water Maze

Nerve growth factor (NGF) ameliorates age-related deficits in certain types of memory in rats. Although the effects of NGF on reference memory are well documented, the influence of NGF on recent memory is less well understood. The issue of recent memory is of primary importance in the design of therapies for cognitive disorders, because this type of memory is impaired in elderly humans and is severely affected early in the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study was designed to evaluate the efforts of NGF on recent memory in a task that used escape from water as the motivating stimulus and used the same design as forced-choice recognition tasks given to humans. Fischer-344 rats, 4 months old (4MO) or 23 months old (23MO), were pretested in a new spatial recent memory task designed for the Morris water maze, a delayed nonmatching-to-position task, and infused intraventricularly with recombinant human NGF or vehicle. After 2 weeks of NGF infusion, no substantial changes in behavior were observed in either age group. However, NGF treatment extended over 4 weeks improved considerably the choice accuracy of 23MO rats to a level similar to the performance of 4MO rats. These results, together with our previous work (Markowska et al., 1994), indicate that the effects of NGF on spatial recent memory are more intense than on spatial reference memory. NGF suppressed the body weight gain in 4MO rats but did not affect 23MO rats. In 23MO rats, NGF mildly counteracted age-related deficits in inhibitory avoidance, but did not have an effect in young rats.
Scalability of heterogeneous computing

Scalability is a key factor of the design of distributed systems and parallel algorithms and machines. However, conventional scalabilities are designed for homogeneous parallel processing. There is no suitable and commonly accepted definition of scalability metric for heterogeneous systems. Isospeed scalability is a well-defined metric for homogeneous computing. This study extends the isospeed scalability metric to general heterogeneous computing systems. The proposed isospeed-efficiency metric is suitable for both homogeneous and heterogeneous computing. Through theoretical analysis, we derive methodologies of scalability measurement and prediction for heterogeneous systems. Experimental results verify the analytical results and confirm that the proposed isospeed-efficiency scalability works well in both homogeneous and heterogeneous environments.
A proposed measure of environmental complexity for robotic applications

This paper proposes a quantitative method to describe how complex an environment looks to an individual robot. The assumption is that robots are designed to perform a task in a specific setting or group of settings. The structure of the environment and knowledge the robot has about the environment determine how sophisticated the robot hardware and control algorithms need to be to perform a given task Information about the environment can be 1) obtained from a robot sensors; 2) downloaded or programmed into a robot; or 3) placed in the environment for a robot to read, as needed. Extensive simulations of a search task indicate that a combination of two factors can describe environmental complexity: a measure of entropy and the compressibility of the environment as seen by a robot's sensors. These combined measures can be used as a yardstick by engineers in determining how to design a robot-environment system. They allow the designer to determine how to divide his/her resources between robot hardware/software capabilities and information/structure in an environment. The complexity measure also allows the designer to determine quantitatively what information is most important for improving a robot's performance.
REALIZED VOLATILITY FORECASTING and OPTION PRICING

Abstract A growing literature advocates the use of microstructure noise-contaminated high-frequency data for the purpose of volatility estimation. This paper evaluates and compares the quality of several recently-proposed estimators in the context of a relevant economic metric, i.e., profits from option pricing and trading. Using forecasts obtained by virtue of alternative volatility estimates, agents price short-term options on the SP Bandi, F.M., Russell, J.R., 2008b. Microstructure noise, realized variance, and optimal sampling. Review of Economic Studies 75, 339–369] in recent work.
Comparison of two 2D laser scanners for sensing object distances, shapes, and surface patterns

Laser scanners are increasingly used in automation and robotic applications as a sensing device for navigation and safety. They have agricultural applications in measuring plant growth rate, tree volume, tree count, 3D imaging, and pattern recognition. Laser scanners are commercially available, but there is very little published information on characteristics and performance of these laser scanners. This study compared two laser scanners, the Sick LMS200 and the Hokuyo URG-04LX, for measurement drift over time, the effect of material and color on measurement accuracy, and the ability to map different surface patterns. Measurement drift over time was studied by determining the distance between the laser scanner sensor and a stationary object at different fixed distances and angles. Distance measurements over time fluctuated with a peak-to-peak value of 10-20mm. The settling time, which is the time required for the averaged distance data to reach a stable level, increased when measurement distance increased but for a given distance, the settling time remained constant for different angles. At the measurement angle of 90^o, the settling times for the LMS200 and the URG-04LX for 50% of the maximum scanner measurement distances were 53min and 70min, respectively. Therefore, to obtain accurate distance measurements, the laser scanners should be warmed up for the duration of the settling time before recording measurement data. The measured distance for soft material objects, such as a styrofoam plate and a sheet of dry sponge, was longer than the actual distance. For shiny objects, such as orange tree leaves, transparency film, and a stainless steel plate, the measurement distance was shorter than actual distance. At the measurement angle of 90^o, the difference between the longest and shortest measured distance (90% of the maximum scanner measurement distance) was 21.3mm for the LMS200 and 29.7mm for the URG-04LX. At the measurement angle of 45^o, this difference increased to 73.2mm for the LMS200; the URG-04LX was not able to detect any objects at 45^o. The surface shapes of a cylindrical pipe, a folded cardboard plate with a square-shaped valley, and a folded cardboard plate with a V-shaped valley were well-depicted by the laser scanner. For the object with a V-shaped valley with a true depth of 6.1cm, the averaged depths measured by the LMS200 and URG-04LX were 6.8cm and 3.6cm, respectively. The larger discrepancy in the URG-04LX depth measurement may be caused by the relatively lower angular resolution of the URG scanner, compared to that of the LMS scanner.
3-nitropropionic acid induced in vivo protein oxidation in striatal and cortical synaptosomes: insights into Huntington's disease.

3-Nitropropionic acid (3-NP) administered systemically daily for 4 days to rats inhibits mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and induces selective lesions in the striatum in a manner reminiscent of Huntington's disease (HD). To investigate the potential oxidative nature of these lesions, rats were injected with 3-NP (20 mg/kg, i.p. daily for 4 days) and subsequently isolated brain synaptosomal membranes were examined for evidence of oxidative stress. Brain synaptosomal membrane proteins from rats injected with 3-NP exhibited a decreased in W/S ratio, the relevant electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) parameter used to determine levels of protein oxidation (76% of control), and Western blot analysis for protein carbonyls revealed direct evidence of increased synaptosomal membrane protein oxidation (248% of control). Similar results were obtained in synaptosomes isolated from striatum and from cerebral cortex, demonstrating that the oxidative changes are not restricted to the lesion site. Moreover, increased oxidative stress was evident prior to the appearance of morphological lesions. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that 3-NP-induced striatal lesions, and perhaps those in HD, are associated with oxidative processes.
The Local Official and Climate Change

This book chapter, which was written primarily for an audience of local government officials, seeks to provide a way to make the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment accessible to the U.S. local official. The chapter also places a special emphasis on issues facing local officials in fast-growth U.S. cities that have yet to establish a concerted response to climate change. The chapter first investigates how the IPCC can provide a common language for cities to talk about climate change as a global problem and, in particular, discusses several sections of the Fifth Assessment of interest to local officials. The chapter then investigates how the Fifth Assessment can provide a framework for working through the institutional problems that can cause local governments to fail in addressing climate change. While politics will always play a role in the effectiveness of governmental responses to climate change, the Fifth Assessment provides a much-needed framework for discussing how the functioning of government itself can serve also as an impediment. Perhaps the most succinct statement to this effect in the Fifth Assessment is that “[o]vercoming the lack of political will, restricted technical capacities, and ineffective institutions for regulating or planning land use will be central to attaining low-carbon development at a city-scale.” This chapter uses this framing statement of the Fifth Assessment in investigating both global problems facing local officials and those that are specific to local officials operating under the U.S. land use legal rules. This chapter is part of a collection of essays inspired by the IPCC Fifth Assessment written by the Environmental Law Collaborative.