cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Long-Term Monoamine Depletion, Differential Recovery, and Subtle Behavioral Impairment Following Methamphetamine-Induced Neurotoxicity

Squads of rats were assayed at three intervals following MA-induced neurotoxicity to investigate the persistence of monoamine deficits, the potential for monoamine recovery, and spatial task abilities. At 48, 139, and 237 days postinjection, MA animals showed significant monoamine depletions compared with controls. Investigating percent depletions (MA/control) across time showed monoamine recovery in some structures. Initially, 5-HT within medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), caudate (CdN), and hippocampus (HPC) was reduced to 30% of control levels. By 237 days, MPFC and CdN levels were elevated to 70%. Similarly, initial CdN DA reductions (30% of control levels) showed recovery to 80% by 237 days. These findings support neurochemical recovery following MA neurotoxicity. However, the persistent depression of HPC 5-HT suggests that not all structures recover equally. The HPC did show elevated turnover (metabolite/neurotransmitter) over time, suggesting a unique compensatory response. MA treatment also produced an impairment in the Morris water-maze place task at 65 days postinjection. No impairments were observed in water-maze moving platform or place task at 79 and 165 days postinjection, respectively, or in T-maze alternation. The possibility that partial recovery in tissue monamine levels underlies the sparing of function and behavioral improvement is discussed.
A family of robust second order training algorithms

Starting with the concept of equivalent networks, a framework for analyzing the effect of linear dependence on training of a multi-layer perceptron is established. Detailed mathematical analyses are carried out to show that training using backpropagation and Newton's method is different under the presence of linear dependence. Two effective batch training algorithms are developed for the multilayer perceptron. First, the optimal input gain algorithm is presented, which computes an optimal gain coefficient for each input, used to update the input weights. The motivation for this algorithm comes from using equivalent networks to analyze the effect of input transformation. It is shown that the use of a non-orthogonal and non-singular diagonal transformation matrix is equivalent to altering the input gains in the network. Newton's method is used to simultaneously solve for the input gains and an optimal learning factor. In several examples, it is shown that the final algorithm is a reasonable compromise between first order training methods and Levenburg-Marquardt. Second, a multiple optimal learning factor algorithm, that assigns a separate learning factor for each hidden unit is developed. The idea stems from relating a single optimal learning factor to Newton's method. It is then extended to estimate separate optimal learning factors for each hidden unit. In several examples, this method performs as well as or better than Levenberg-Marquardt. Both methods yield a smaller Hessian compared to Newton's method for updating input weights. The Hessian matrix thus computed is less susceptible to linear dependence and displays fast convergence. It is shown that the elements of the Hessian matrix for both methods are formed by some weighted combinations of the elements from the total network's Hessian. When used with backpropagation-type learning, the two proposed methods are limited by the presence of dependent inputs. However, when used with hidden weight optimization technique, it is shown that both methods over come the presence of dependent inputs and completely ignore them during training. This improvement results in two highly robust second order learning algorithms, which are less heuristic, less susceptible to ill-conditioned Hessian, immune to linear dependencies, faster than LM and superior to standard first order training methods. In the last part, a new approach for modeling simple discontinuous functions is developed. This two-stage approach, trains separate networks, one for a continuous function and another for discrete step function, in the first stage and fuses the two trained networks in the second stage to obtain the final network capable of modeling the discontinuous function. Results of using our proposed second order methods to train and fuse networks to model simple discontinuous sine and ramp functions are presented.
Recent Advances in Controlled Grafting of Elastomers

Abstract This review describes recent results for preparing graft copolymers with controlled structures. In general, the macromonomer approach appears to be the most promising method for preparation of graft polymers with well defined structures. Not only can macromonomers be prepared using radical, cationic, or anionic polymerization procedures, but the resultant macromonomers can be polymerized using these same methods. Obviously, the macromonomer functionality must be high and well defined. In addition, the average chain length and chain length distribution should be well characterized. In principle, the macromonomer approach can provide comb-type graft copolymers with a random distribution of well characterized graft branches. However, the actual copolymerization of the macromonomers with a variety of comonomers requires careful examination under a variety of reaction conditions before that expectation can be realized. These macromonomers provide an excellent opportunity to examine the effects of chai...
Passive high-speed impact damage assessment in composite panels using embedded piezoelectric sensors

A novel damage parameter-based technique to passively assess the extent of delamination in a composite panel subjected to high-speed impact is presented. This damage parameter uses measurements obtained from a network of piezoelectric sensors embedded in a fiber glass composite panel to estimate the energy of the first impact-induced wave to arrive at the location of the sensor. This damage parameter is experimentally shown to correlate to the impact speed, absorbed energy, and to the extent of delamination damage in the material. The technique is tested for both penetrating and non-penetrating impacts. The damage parameter corrects for wave attenuation and dispersion due to distance of the sensor from the impact location and due to anisotropic absorption.
A reversible cause of 'end-stage renal disease': discrepant findings in serial duplex ultrasonograms in a suspected occlusion of a renal arterial bypass graft.

Duplex ultrasonography may be inaccurate due to a number of variables in operator and patient characteristics. We describe a 40-year-old woman who presented with acute kidney injury after prior complex abdominal aortic surgery that had left her with an essentially solitary functional kidney. On the basis of normal Doppler findings, she was started on dialysis. Owing to high clinical suspicion and a failure of renal function to return, a second Doppler study was performed 3 weeks after the first, revealing the characteristic tardus–parvus waveform of renal artery stenosis. The patient underwent urgent renal arterial angioplasty and stent placement. She experienced an immediate increase in urinary output, required no further dialysis, and the creatinine improved to 1.7 mg/dL (her prior renal baseline). The case illustrates an important complication of abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, draws attention to a potential source of error in the Doppler measurement, and underscores the limitations of duplex ultrasonography for excluding renal artery stenosis in the presence of high pretest probability.
Microlipoinjection and Autologous Collagen

There has been a resurgence over the past decade of microlipoinjection. Adipose tissue has proved to be a safe and effective filler substance for subcutaneous defects. More recently, lipocytic dermal augmentation, or autologous collagen, has been used to correct dermal defects.
A three-dimensional analysis of simultaneous and sequential fracturing of horizontal wells

Abstract Horizontal well fracturing is most commonly used to improve well productivity from the lower quality formations that could not have been economically developed using the conventional hydraulic fracturing approach. These horizontal wells can be stimulated to increase reservoir permeability via multiple hydraulic fractures using different design concepts. In this paper, we present a 3D fully coupled numerical model with capabilities to simulate multiple fracture clusters propagation from horizontal wells. The numerical model is developed using a combination of the boundary element method, the finite element method, and the linear elastic fracture mechanics for the fracture propagation. The fluid flow inside the fracture is assumed to be laminar flow and the fluid follows Newtonian behavior. The Galerkin’s finite element approach is used for fluid flow modeling, the rock mass deformation is simulated using elastic displacement discontinuity method, and crack tip displacement approach is used for the mixed-mode fracture propagation. The brief descriptions of the governing equations and their numerical implementation are presented first. Then, the fracture propagation model is verified using semi-analytical solution from the Khristianovic-Geertsma-de Klerk (KGD) model for a circular planar fracture. A sensitivity analysis of various parameters effecting the mechanical interaction among multiple propagating fractures is conducted. Finally, numerical examples of multiple fracture propagation for sequential and simultaneous fracturing procedures from a single horizontal well and multiple horizontal wells are presented. In simultaneous fracturing case, the fluid injection rate is dynamically partitioned among the fractures depending upon wellbore frictional losses, perforation frictional losses, and fluid pressure drop in the fractures. Results of a sensitivity analysis demonstrate the effects of the in-situ stresses, rock and fluid properties, and “stress shadowing”. The simultaneous and sequential fracturing results show that the generated fracture network geometries are strongly influenced by the mechanical interactions among the fractures or fracturing stages. The conventional zipper fracturing tends to generate nearly straight fractures with potential for tip coalescence and thus wellbore communications. The modified zipper fracturing tends to yield potentially more complex fracture geometries due to fracture turning.
The Risks of Risk Management

This chapter compares and contrasts Risk Management (RM) with Crisis Management (CM). RM aims to calculate the expected damage that crises inflict. To do this, RM multiplies the likelihood of a crisis by its consequences measured in dollars, injuries, and so on. It then ranks crises in terms of their expected damage, and ignores crises that are below a certain cut-off level. Inevitably, RM neglects disasters that are extremely low in probability but high in consequences such as 9/11. CM acknowledges not only the existence of deep assumptions that prevent serious planning for crises, but surfaces such assumptions so that we can confront and overcome them. For CM, the least likely crises are precisely the ones that are most likely to do the worst damage. In effect, CM is the Management of Key Assumptions.
Antenna Arrangements in a Telecommunication Network

In this paper, we discuss the approach to efficiently place antennas to cover users within a telecommunication network. The main goal is to lower the power and utilities cost while covering all of the users within the telecommunication network. Four heuristics are proposed and compared.
Evaluation of Machine Learning and Rules-Based Approaches for Predicting Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles in Gram-negative Bacilli from Whole Genome Sequence Data.

The time-to-result for culture-based microorganism recovery and phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing necessitate initial use of empiric (frequently broad-spectrum) antimicrobial therapy. If the empiric therapy is not optimal, this can lead to adverse patient outcomes and contribute to increasing antibiotic resistance in pathogens. New, more rapid technologies are emerging to meet this need. Many of these are based on identifying resistance genes, rather than directly assaying resistance phenotypes, and thus require interpretation to translate the genotype into treatment recommendations. These interpretations, like other parts of clinical diagnostic workflows, are likely to be increasingly automated in the future. We set out to evaluate the two major approaches that could be amenable to automation pipelines: rules-based methods and machine learning methods. The rules-based algorithm makes predictions based upon current, curated knowledge of Enterobacteriaceae resistance genes. The machine-learning algorithm predicts resistance and susceptibility based on a model built from a training set of variably resistant isolates. As our test set, we used whole genome sequence data from 78 clinical Enterobacteriaceae isolates, previously identified to represent a variety of phenotypes, from fully-susceptible to pan-resistant strains for the antibiotics tested. We tested three antibiotic resistance determinant databases for their utility in identifying the complete resistome for each isolate. The predictions of the rules-based and machine learning algorithms for these isolates were compared to results of phenotype-based diagnostics. The rules based and machine-learning predictions achieved agreement with standard-of-care phenotypic diagnostics of 89.0% and 90.3%, respectively, across twelve antibiotic agents from six major antibiotic classes. Several sources of disagreement between the algorithms were identified. Novel variants of known resistance factors and incomplete genome assembly confounded the rules-based algorithm, resulting in predictions based on gene family, rather than on knowledge of the specific variant found. Low-frequency resistance caused errors in the machine-learning algorithm because those genes were not seen or seen infrequently in the test set. We also identified an example of variability in the phenotype-based results that led to disagreement with both genotype-based methods. Genotype-based antimicrobial susceptibility testing shows great promise as a diagnostic tool, and we outline specific research goals to further refine this methodology.
Endoscopic suturing of esophageal fully covered self-expanding metal stents reduces rates of stent migration

Background and Aims Endoscopic suturing of fully covered self-expanding metal stents (FC-SEMSs) may prevent migration. The aim of this study was to compare rates of migration between sutured FC-SEMSs (S-FCSEMSs), unsecured FC-SEMSs, and partially covered SEMSs (PC-SEMSs) placed for benign esophageal leaks and strictures. Methods In a retrospective, single-center, cohort study, rates of migration for S-FCSEMSs, FC-SEMSs, and PC-SEMSs were assessed in patients with at least 1 month of follow-up or experiencing clinically significant stent migration (CSSM) any time after placement. CSSM was defined as proximal or distal displacement of the stent by ≥2 cm or passage into the stomach plus the recurrence of pre-SEMS symptoms or signs. A multivariable analysis was done to identify additional risk factors for stent migration. Results A total of 184 SEMSs were placed in 101 patients, including 32 S-FCSEMSs in 25 patients, 114 FC-SEMSs in 59 patients, and 38 PC-SEMSs in 30 patients. CSSM occurred with 56 of 184 stents (30.4%) in 36 of 101 patients (35.6%), including 3 of 32 (9.4%) S-FCSEMSs, 45 of 114 (39.5%) FC-SEMSs, and 8 of 38 (21.1%) PC-SEMSs ( P = .005). Migration was less likely for S-FCSEMSs than for FC-SEMSs (9.4% vs 39.5%; P = .01) but not between S-FCSEMSs and PC-SEMSs (9.4% vs 21.1%; P = .07) or between FC-SEMSs and PC-SEMSs (39.5% vs 21.1%; P = .38). Previous stent migration (odds ratio [OR], 3.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.88-8.19; P = .01) and previous esophageal surgery (OR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.16-0.67; P = .002) were associated with increased and decreased risk of CSSM, respectively. Conclusions Endoscopic suturing of FC-SEMSs for benign esophageal disease reduces CSSM compared with unsecured FC-SEMSs but not PC-SEMSs. Patients with previous stent migration may benefit from prophylactic suturing of FC-SEMSs.
A photoacoustic tool for therapeutic drug monitoring of heparin (Conference Presentation)

Heparin is used broadly in cardiac, pulmonary, surgical, and vascular medicine to treat thrombotic disorders with over 500 million doses per year globally. Despite this widespread use, it has a narrow therapeutic window and is one of the top three medication errors. The active partial thromboplastin time (PTT) monitors heparin, but this blood test suffers from long turnaround times, a variable reference range, and limited utility with low molecular weight heparin. Here, we describe an imaging technique that can monitor heparin concentration and activity in real time using photoacoustic spectroscopy via methylene blue as a simple and Federal Drug Agency-approved contrast agent. We found a strong correlation between heparin concentration and photoacoustic signal measured in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and blood (R 2 >0.90). Clinically relevant concentrations were detected in blood with a heparin detection limit of 0.28 U/mL and a low molecular weight heparin (enoxaparin) detection limit of 72 μg/mL. We validated this imaging approach by correlation to the PTT (Pearson’s r = 0.86; p<0.05) as well as with protamine sulfate treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to use imaging data to monitor anticoagulation.
Relative depths of simple craters and the nature of the lunar regolith

Abstract We assessed the morphologies of more than 930 simple impact craters (diameters 40 m–10 km) on the Moon using digital terrain models (DTMs) of a variety of terrains in order to characterize the variability of fresh crater morphology as a function of crater diameter. From Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) DTMs, we determined depth-to-diameter (d/D) ratios for an extremely fresh set of these craters with diameters less than 400 m and found that their d/D ratios range from 0.11 to 0.17. Using both NAC and Kaguya Terrain Camera DTMs, we also determined the d/D ratios for the set of fresh simple craters larger than 400 m in diameter. The d/D ratios of these larger craters are typically near 0.21, as expected of gravity-dominated crater excavation. Fresh craters less than ∼400 m in diameter, on the other hand, exhibit significantly lower d/D ratios. Various possible factors affect the morphologies and relative depths (d/D ratios) of small strength-dominated craters, including impactor and target properties (e.g., effective strength, strength contrasts, porosity, pre-existing weaknesses), impact angle and velocity, and degradation state. While impact conditions resulting from secondary impacts can also affect crater morphologies, we found that d/D ratio alone was not a unique discriminator of small secondary craters. To investigate the relative influences of degradation and target properties on the d/D ratios of small strength-dominated craters, we examined a subset of fresh craters located on the geologically young rim deposits of Tycho crater. These craters are deeper and steeper than other craters of similar diameter and degradation state, consistent with their relative freshness and formation in the relatively coherent, melt-rich deposits in this region. The d/D ratios of globally distributed small craters of similar degradation state and size range, on the other hand, are relatively shallow with lower average wall slopes, consistent with crater excavation in a weak or poorly cohesive layer. The widespread predominance of these small, shallow craters is consistent with the pervasive, poorly cohesive upper regolith.
New Space-Frequency Conjugate Two-Path Transmission OFDM Systems

This paper presents three space-frequency (SF)-based orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems to combat inter-carrier interference (ICI) in mobile fading channels. First, a new SF architecture is developed to form a new SF-OFDM system. Second, a conjugate cancellation (CC) two-path transmission scheme is integrated with the new SF-OFDM system to form the SFCC-OFDM system. Third, the Walsh–Hadamard (WH) transform is employed as a pre-coder to form a new WHSFCC-OFDM system. Both SFCC-OFDM and WHSFCC- OFDM schemes improve bit error rate without expanding power or bandwidth in comparing with the CC scheme. Simulations indicate that WHSFCC-OFDM systems outperform both SFCC- OFDM and SF-OFDM systems, while SFCC-OFDM systems outperform SF-OFDM systems. All three schemes are simple and may serve as baseband building blocks in OFDM systems.
Geschlechtliche und natürliche Auslese

Julian Huxley (1938a) hatte ganz recht, als er feststellte: „Keine von Darwins Thesen ist so heftig angegriffen worden wie die der sexuellen Auslese.“ Die Grunde fur diese weitverbreitete Kritik sind mannigfaltig; einige von ihnen wollen wir uns in diesem Aufsatz etwas naher ansehen. Wenn auch ein Teil der kritischen Einwande berechtigt war, so ist heute doch unbestritten, das Darwin im Prinzip recht hatte und das der Begriff „sexuelle Auslese“ dazu beigetragen hat, eine Vielzahl zerstreuter Beobachtungen zusammenzubringen und zu ordnen (fur eine Zusammenfassung der Ansichten Darwins. The Descent of Man, S. 613–6172). Die Vitalitat des Prinzips dokumentiert sich am besten in der grosen Reihe neuerer Ubersichtsreferate oder auch in der Haufigkeit, mit der in allgemeinen Lehrbuchern ein Kapitel auf diese Frage verwendet wird (Boesiger, 1967; Campbell, 1972; Ghiselin, 1969, 1974; Huxley, 1938a, b, c; Maynard Smith, 1958).
Children’s Mortality in England and Wales: 1838–1902

When William IV’s 7-year reign ended in 1837, he had fathered 11 children in an era when death was a frequent occurrence. William left no legitimate heir, his surviving offspring had been born to the Dublin-born actress, Mrs. Dorothea Jordan, with whom he lived in domestic tranquility for two decades. William IV experienced the death of a son, and of two little girls born to his legal spouse, the Princess Adelaide. In that era the death of children was all too familiar to families, but society’s emerging modernism had not yet grasped that mortality was a topic related to the formation of public policy, except in a general way when governments reacted to health crises or needed to raise armies.
Chapter 1 – Affinity Chromatography

Affinity chromatography is a type of liquid chromatography that uses a biologically related agent as a stationary phase to purify or analyze specific sample components. This chapter examines the basic components and principles of affinity chromatography and various applications of this method. The general types of ligands, immobilization schemes, support materials, and elution conditions that can be employed in affinity chromatography are first examined. Various methods in this field are then considered, including bioaffinity chromatography, immunoaffinity chromatography, dye-ligand and biomimetic affinity chromatography, immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography, and analytical affinity chromatography. The types of ligands utilized in each of these methods are described, along with common applications of these techniques. Several related developments are also discussed, such as the use of affinity chromatography with mass spectrometry, miniaturized systems, molecularly imprinted polymers, and aptamers.
Array Shape Calibration Using Low Rank Projections

An approach to array shape calibration and direction of arrival (DOA) estimation for sensor arrays of unknown array geometry detecting far field narrowband plane wave signals is presented. The solution is based on the method of alternating projections applied between the set of matrices spanning the signal subspace and the set of matrices whose phase forms a low rank matrix. The algorithm allows for direct estimation of the array sensing matrix, which contains all the available information about the sensor positions and DOAs. A decomposition of the array sensing matrix estimate yields estimates of the sensor positions and DOAs. Depending on the array geometry this decomposition may or may not be unique. The conditions for unique decomposition are given. The proposed algorithm is an improvement over many other array shape calibration algorithms because it is not at risk to converge to a local minimum.
Respect for personhood: Concrete implications of a philosophical misunderstanding:

Intentionally or not, our clinical practice is informed by our philosophical premises. A subtle misunderstanding can have frequent, though insidious, implications in day-to-day clinical encounters....
Role of the PGE 2 receptor subtypes EP1, EP2, and EP3 in repetitive traumatic brain injury

Aims The goal was to explore the signaling pathways of PGE2 to investigate therapeutic effects against secondary injuries following TBI. Methods Young (4.9 ± 1.0 months) and aged (20.4 ± 1.4 months) male wild type (WT) C57BL/6 and PGE2 EP1, 2, and 3 receptor knockout mice were selected to either receive sham or repetitive concussive head injury. Immunohistochemistry protocols with Iba1 and GFAP were performed to evaluate microgliosis and astrogliosis in the hippocampus, two critical components of neuroinflammation. Passive avoidance test measured memory function associated with the hippocampus. Results No differences in hippocampal microgliosis were found when aged EP2-/- and EP3-/- mice were compared with aged WT mice. However, the aged EP1-/- mice had 69.2 ± 7.5% less hippocampal microgliosis in the contralateral hemisphere compared with WT aged mice. Compared with aged EP2-/- and EP3-/- , EP1-/- aged mice had 78.9 ± 5.1% and 74.7 ± 6.2% less hippocampal microgliosis in the contralateral hemisphere. Within the EP1-/- mice, aged mice had 90.7 ± 2.7% and 81.1 ± 5.6% less hippocampal microgliosis compared with EP1-/- young mice in the contralateral and ipsilateral hemispheres, respectively. No differences were noted in all groups for astrogliosis. There was a significant difference in latency time within EP1-/- , EP2-/- , and EP3-/- on day 1 and day 2 in aged and young mice. Conclusion These findings demonstrate that the PGE2 EP receptors may be potential therapeutic targets to treat repetitive concussions and other acute brain injuries.
Comparative transcriptomics implicate mitochondrial and neurodevelopmental impairments in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposed to two selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

Abstract Pharmaceuticals and personal care products are emerging contaminants that are increasingly detected in the environment worldwide. Certain classes of pharmaceuticals, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), are a major environmental concern due to their widespread use and the fact that these compounds are designed to have biological effects at low doses. A complication in predicting toxic effects of SSRIs in nontarget organisms is that their mechanism of action is not fully understood. To better understand the potential toxic effects of SSRIs, we employed an ultra-low input RNA-sequencing method to identify potential pathways that are affected by early exposure to two SSRIs (fluoxetine and paroxetine). We exposed wildtype zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos to 100 μg/L of either fluoxetine or paroxetine for 6 days before extracting and sequencing mRNA from individual larval brains. Differential gene expression analysis identified 1550 genes that were significantly affected by SSRI exposure with a core set of 138 genes altered by both SSRIs. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis identified 7 modules of genes whose expression patterns were significantly correlated with SSRI exposure. Functional enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes as well as network module genes repeatedly identified various terms associated with mitochondrial and neuronal structures, mitochondrial respiration, and neurodevelopmental processes. The enrichment of these terms indicates that toxic effects of SSRI exposure are likely caused by mitochondrial dysfunction and subsequent neurodevelopmental effects. To our knowledge, this is the first effort to study the tissue-specific transcriptomic effects of SSRIs in developing zebrafish, providing specific, high resolution molecular data regarding the sublethal effects of SSRI exposure.
Investigation of the benefits of diabatic microreactors for process intensification of the water-gas shift reaction within the steam reforming process

Abstract Currently, the steam reforming process is the largest industrial source of hydrogen. Improving its efficiency can help to reduce associated carbon emissions and hydrogen production costs. Intensifying the water-gas shift reaction using microreactors with integrated cooling is one way of achieving this. In this study, a 2-D computational model of one of these microreactors is developed, validated with experimental data, and then used to demonstrate how microreactors can enhance the conversion of the water-gas shift reaction beyond what can be achieved using conventional packed bed reactors. These results are then generalized into a full system model of the steam reforming process to demonstrate how microreactors can reduce hydrogen production costs. The results suggest that microreactors can significantly reduce the required reactor volume and catalyst loading for the water-gas shift reaction and can similarly reduce the hydrogen production costs associated with the steam reforming process.
Female rats display higher methamphetamine-primed reinstatement and c-Fos immunoreactivity than male rats

Abstract Methamphetamine (meth) dependence is often characterized by persistent and chronic relapse (i.e., return to drug use). Previous work suggests females may be at greater risk to relapse. In this study, we extended this limited evidence and identified sex-dependent neural substrates related to meth-triggered reinstatement. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with indwelling jugular catheters. Half of the rats were then trained to self-administer meth (0.05 mg/kg/inf); the other half self-administered saline during 21 daily sessions (2 h). Rats were then given 12 extinction sessions. Twenty-four hours after the last extinction session, rats received reinstatement testing. Half of the rats received a meth-prime (0.3 mg/kg, IP) injection and the remaining rats received a saline injection. This design resulted in 4 separate groups for each sex, allowing for careful investigation of brain regions related to meth-triggered reinstatement. Brains were harvested following the reinstatement session and c-Fos immunoreactivity was measured in multiple brain regions. Meth triggered reinstatement in both sexes and this effect was more robust in females compared to males. Significant sex differences were detected. Females showed greater c-Fos immunoreactivity in the cingulate cortex area 1, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, prelimbic cortex, caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens core and shell, and central nucleus of the amygdala following meth-primed reinstatement.
The effects of experimental floral resource removal on plant-pollinator interactions

Abstract Pollination is essential for ecosystem functioning, yet our understanding of the empirical consequences of species loss for plant-pollinator interactions remains limited. It is hypothesized that the loss of abundant and generalized (well-connected) species from a pollination network will have a large effect on the remaining species and their interactions. However, to date, relatively few studies have experimentally removed species from their natural setting to address this hypothesis. We investigated the consequences of losing an abundant, well-linked species from a series of plant-pollinator networks by experimentally removing the flowers of Helianthella quinquenervis (Asteraceae) from half of a series of 10 paired plots (15 m diameter) within a subalpine ecosystem. We then asked how the localized loss of this species influenced pollinator visitation patterns, floral visitor composition, and interaction network structure. The experimental removal of Helianthella flowers led to an overall decline in plot-level pollinator visitation rates and shifts in pollinator composition. Species-level responses to floral removal differed between the two other abundant, co-flowering plants in our experiment: Potentilla pulcherrima received higher visitation rates, whereas Erigeron speciosus visitation rates did not change. Experimental floral removal altered the structural properties of the localized plant-pollinator networks such that they were more specialized, less nested, and less robust to further species loss. Such changes to interaction structure were consistently driven more by species turnover than by interaction rewiring. Our findings suggest that the local loss of an abundant, well-linked, generalist plant can bring about diverse responses within pollination networks, including potential competitive and facilitative effects for individual species, changes to network structure that may render them more sensitive to future change, but also numerous changes to interactions that may also suggest flexibility in response to species loss.
Recent Results from Protein-Folding Simulations in Generalized Ensembles

We present new results from protein-folding simulations in generalized ensembles. The simulated molecules are frustrated systems with a complicated energy landscape which can be explored by our approach.
Existence of Competitive Equilibrium in a Growing Economy

It may be reasonable to suppose that an infinity of goods for delivery on one date belong to a compact space which can be adequately approximated by a finite subset of goods. However if we wish to deal with an economy which has an indefinite or infinite horizon this approximation is not available. Goods for delivery at different dates must be regarded as different goods. It was a major contribution of Value and Capital (Hicks (1939)) to provide a full scale analysis of an economy in which this fact is properly recognized. Then if the horizon is infinite the number of goods must be infinite even when deliveries are scheduled at discrete intervals. The infinity of goods must be dealt with together since the market is analyzed as though all trades occur simultaneously. This is a limiting form of the futures economy of Hicks. When uncertainty is introduced in the manner of Debreu (1959) by also distinguishing goods by the states of the world in which they are delivered, the sets of possible future states in each period must be foreseen. It may be possible to do with only a finite number of states of the world in each period, but to give an infinite horizon a finite approximation is difficult unless an arbitrary truncation of time is used with goods in the terminal period valued in an arbitrary way.
Targeted mutagenesis of the oligopeptide repeat domain of the yeast prion Sup35 (754.3)

The formation of prions in the baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is determined by amino acid composition rather than the primary sequence of amino acids. The infectious amyloid proteins know...
Blue Light–Induced Apoptosis of A2E-Containing RPE: Involvement of Caspase-3 and Protection by Bcl-2

Purpose The lipofuscin fluorophore A2E has been shown to mediate blue light-induced damage to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. The purpose of this study was to evaluate caspase-3 and Bcl-2 as executor and modulator, respectively, of the cell death program that is initiated in A2E-containing cells in response to blue light. Methods Human RPE cells (ARPE-19) that had accumulated A2E were exposed to blue light. Caspase-3 activity was assayed by observing cleavage of a fluorogenic peptide substrate, and the effect of a peptide inhibitor of caspase-3 (Z-DEVD-fmk) on the quantity of apoptotic nuclei was determined. ARPE-19 cells were transfected with either a neomycin-selectable expression vector containing Bcl-2 cDNA or a control neomycin-selectable expression vector without Bcl-2 cDNA. Expression of Bcl-2 transcripts by independently derived clones was established by in situ hybridization, and Bcl-2 protein expression was confirmed by Western blot analysis. Cell viability was assayed by TdT-dUTP terminal nick-end labeling (TUNEL) in conjunction with 4'6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining and by fluorescence staining of the nuclei of membrane-compromised cells. Results In RPE cells that had previously accumulated A2E, caspase-3 activity was detected within 5 hours of blue light exposure. The incidence of apoptotic nuclei was attenuated when A2E-containing RPE cells were exposed to blue light in the presence of caspase-3 inhibitor and in A2E-loaded RPE cells that had been stably transfected with Bcl-2. Conclusions Blue light illumination of RPE in the setting of intracellular A2E initiates a cell death program that is executed by a proteolytic caspase cascade and that is regulated by Bcl-2.
Tracking with Dynamic Hidden-State Shape Models

Hidden State Shape Models (HSSMs) were previously proposed to represent and detect objects in images that exhibit not just deformation of their shape but also variation in their structure. In this paper, we introduce Dynamic Hidden-State Shape Models (DHSSMs) to track and recognize the non-rigid motion of such objects, for example, human hands. Our recursive Bayesian filtering method, called DP-Tracking , combines an exhaustive local search for a match between image features and model states with a dynamic programming approach to find a global registration between the model and the object in the image. Our contribution is a technique to exploit the hierarchical structure of the dynamic programming approach that on average considerably speeds up the search for matches. We also propose to embed an online learning approach into the tracking mechanism that updates the DHSSM dynamically. The learning approach ensures that the DHSSM accurately represents the tracked object and distinguishes any clutter potentially present in the image. Our experiments show that our method can recognize the digits of a hand while the fingers are being moved and curled to various degrees. The method is robust to various illumination conditions, the presence of clutter, occlusions, and some types of self-occlusions. The experiments demonstrate a significant improvement in both efficiency and accuracy of recognition compared to the non-recursive way of frame-by-frame detection.
Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis intracellular survival (618.7)

Johne’s Disease (JD), a wasting disease of ruminants, is of major concern within the agricultural and food defense industries. The etiological agent of JD is Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). MAP evades host-mediated immune responses, forming an environmental niche that supports bacterial growth, ‘containment’ of the infection, and metabolic dormancy. Latent bacilli can persist for long periods or through unclear mechanisms render disease. The MAP genome is closely related to other mycobacterial pathogens, particularly Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis disease, and has led to hypotheses on the contribution of various genes to MAP pathogenesis. Mechanisms underlying Mtb infection include the stringent response and iron acquisition. The stringent response is initiated by unfavorable environmental conditions and expression of the relA gene.Deleting relA in Mtb results in attenuation. During active growth, Mtb synthesizes carboxymycobactin, a secreted sider...
Control of Markov Chains with Long-Run Average Cost Criterion

The long-run average cost control problem for discrete time Markov chains is studied in an extremely general framework. Existence of stable stationary strategies which are optimal in the appropriate sense is established and these are characterized via the dynamic programming equations. The approach here differs from the conventional approach via the discounted cost problem and covers situations not covered by the latter.
Heterogeneity in the coevolved behaviors of mobile robots: the emergence of specialists

Many mobile robot tasks can be most efficiently solved when a group of robots is utilized. The type of organization, and the level of coordination and communication within a team of robots affects the type of tasks that can be solved. This paper examines the tradeoff of homogeneity versus heterogeneity in the control systems by allowing a team of robots to coevolve their high-level controllers given different levels of difficulty of the task. Our hypothesis is that simply increasing the difficulty of a task is not enough to induce a team of robots to create specialists. The key factor is not difficulty per se, but the number of skill sets necessary to successfully solve the task. As the number of skills needed increases, the more beneficial and necessary heterogeneity becomes. We demonstrate this in the task domain of herding, where one or more robots must herd another robot into a confined space.
Matrix vesicles in embryonic chick bone: Considerations of their identification, number, distribution, and possible effects on calcification of extracellular matrices☆

Bone tissue from normal 5- to 21-day-old embryonic chicks has been examined by transmission electron microscopy to identify extracellular matrix vesicles, their number, and distribution at beginning stages of tissue mineralization during early osteogenesis. Principal tissue treatment was fixation in glutaraldehyde and osmium, followed by staining with uranyl and lead salts. Some specimens were decalcified with EDTA and stained. In embryonic bone tissue prepared by these methods, it was rather difficult to identify structural organelles conclusively, but along the proximal and distal diaphyses of tibiae and femurs from chicks 5-12 days old, matrix vesicles were occasionally observed in the extracellular tissue spaces. Some vesicles appeared to contain or to be associated with mineral particles. Very few vesicles were found in these same regions in older chicks or along the periosteal surfaces of the long bones in chicks of any age examined. The vast majority of the extracellular mineral particles was associated with collagen fibrils in all chick bone tissues at all ages. The presence of only small numbers of vesicles, restricted to specific regions and ages of bone tissue undergoing active mineralization, argues against an obligatory requirement for matrix vesicles in the calcification of extracellular bone matrices.
Meta-Analysis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea as Predictor of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence After Catheter Ablation

The association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and atrial fibrillation (AF) is strong and is now well established. However, studies on the role of OSA on AF recurrence after catheter ablation have yielded conflicting results. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of OSA on AF recurrence after catheter-based pulmonary vein isolation. We performed a data search on the PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane databases for studies published by August 2010. In addition, we manually searched the conference proceedings of the European Society of Cardiology, American College of Cardiology, and American Heart Association for related abstracts. After the initial search returned 402 reports, we identified 6 studies with a total of 3,995 patients that met our inclusion criteria. Overall, patients with OSA have a 25% greater risk of AF recurrence after catheter ablation than those without OSA (risk ratio 1.25, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.45, p = 0.003). Subgroup analysis showed that OSA diagnosed using polysomnography is a strong predictor of AF recurrence (risk ratio 1.40, 95% confidence interval 1.16 to 1.68, p = 0.0004) but not when OSA was diagnosed using the Berlin questionnaire (risk ratio 1.07, 95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.27, p = 0.39). In conclusion, patients with OSA have significantly greater AF recurrence rates after pulmonary vein isolation. In addition to other factors, a diagnosis of OSA merits special consideration when evaluating patients for catheter-based AF ablation.
Occult Filum terminale Syndrome

Thirty-two pediatric patients presenting with symptoms of urinary dysfunction, stool incontinence and/or severe back and/or leg pain are described. In patients with urological dysfunction, urodynamic
Experimental auto-allergic sialoadenitis in male rats

Induced auto-allergic lesions in the submandibular glands of rats were studied by immunofluorescence. Direct staining with a goat anti-rat IgG conjugate was negative. Indirect immunofluorescence revealed a high incidence of anti-salivary-duct antibodies in sera from both control and experimental groups. In individual rats, no relationship was found between the presence or absence of serum anti-salivary antibodies and the presence or absence of salivary auto-allergic lesions. We conclude that the antibodies demonstrated do not play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease.
Conditioned taste reactivity in rats after phenylpropanolamine, d-amphetamine or lithium chloride

Abstract That an aversive propertu of phenylpropanolamine (PPA) in part contributes to its anorexic capacity is suggested by the demonstration of conditioned taste avoidance to PPA doses ranging from 10–40 mg/kg. In order to further evaluate the putative aversive property of PPA, the present experiment compared the effects of PPA on multiple measures of aversion (chin rubs, gaping) in the taste reactivity (TRT) paradigm with those produced by the classic agent lithium chloride and by amphetamine. Male rats were infused via an intraoral cannula with 0.5 M sucrose followed by injection with either vehicle, 127 mg/kg lithium chloride (LiCl), 1.5 or 3.0 mg/kg amphetamine or by 10, 20 or 40 mg/kg PPA. LiCl and 40 mg/kg PPA induced significant chin rub responses during conditioning but only the aversive response induced by 40 mg/kg PPA persisted during extinction trials. In contrast, lower doses of PPA (10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg) were not aversive in the TRT paradigm. These results suggest that an aversive component is not contributing to anorexia induced by PAA within the dose range of 10–20 mg/kg, but that higher doses may further suppress appetite via an aversive action.
Workpiece dynamic analysis and prediction during chatter of turning process

Abstract In turning operations, a common problem that can drastically degrade the quality of a machined part is regenerative chatter. Proper machine design, such as increased stiffness and damping of the machine tool structure can broaden the range of stable operating conditions. However, the inherent geometry of the tool and workpiece can sometimes severely limit the range of stable cutting. In this case, active control is needed in order to allow for a sufficiently broad range of stability. This work investigates turning relatively compliant workpieces, therefore it is the body that undergoes the bulk of the motion during chatter. Since it is highly impractical to instrument the workpiece, a Neural Network trained with Particle Swarm Optimization is used to transform a radial displacement measurement made at the cutting tool to an estimation of the radial displacement of the workpiece. This could serve as an observer in a real time control system that could mitigate chatter by appropriately actuating an active toolholder such as a fast tool servo. The workpiece displacement was predicted with an average RMSE of 1.41 and 1.70 μm for the two testing datasets. This current approach differs from other chatter detection investigations because with the direct displacement measurement of the toolholder and the output from the Neural Network observer, there is information about both bodies’ motions. In this way, direct conclusions can be made about the stability of cutting in a chatter detection scheme. In addition, the nature of the transition from stable cutting to chatter is investigated by experimentally measuring the variation in uncut chip thickness over time.