cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parsimony of Hemodynamic Monitoring Data Sufficient for the Detection of Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND Individualized hemodynamic monitoring approaches are not well validated. Thus, we evaluated the discriminative performance improvement that might occur when moving from noninvasive monitoring (NIM) to invasive monitoring and with increasing levels of featurization associated with increasing sampling frequency and referencing to a stable baseline to identify bleeding during surgery in a porcine model. METHODS We collected physiologic waveform (WF) data (250 Hz) from NIM, central venous (CVC), arterial (ART), and pulmonary arterial (PAC) catheters, plus mixed venous O2 saturation and cardiac output from 38 anesthetized Yorkshire pigs bled at 20 mL/min until a mean arterial pressure of 30 mm Hg following a 30-minute baseline period. Prebleed physiologic data defined a personal stable baseline for each subject independently. Nested models were evaluated using simple hemodynamic metrics (SM) averaged over 20-second windows and sampled every minute, beat to beat (B2B), and WF using Random Forest Classification models to identify bleeding with or without normalization to personal stable baseline, using a leave-one-pig-out cross-validation to minimize model overfitting. Model hyperparameters were tuned to detect stable or bleeding states. Bleeding models were compared use both each subject's personal baseline and a grouped-average (universal) baseline. Timeliness of bleed onset detection was evaluated by comparing the tradeoff between a low false-positive rate (FPR) and shortest time to bleed detection. Predictive performance was evaluated using a variant of the receiver operating characteristic focusing on minimizing FPR and false-negative rates (FNR) for true-positive and true-negative rates, respectively. RESULTS In general, referencing models to a personal baseline resulted in better bleed detection performance for all catheters than using universal baselined data. Increasing granularity from SM to B2B and WF progressively improved bleeding detection. All invasive monitoring outperformed NIM for both time to bleeding detection and low FPR and FNR. In that regard, when referenced to personal baseline with SM analysis, PAC and ART + PAC performed best; for B2B CVC, PAC and ART + PAC performed best; and for WF PAC, CVC, ART + CVC, and ART + PAC performed equally well and better than other monitoring approaches. Without personal baseline, NIM performed poorly at all levels, while all catheters performed similarly for SM, with B2B PAC and ART + PAC performing the best, and for WF PAC, ART, ART + CVC, and ART + PAC performed equally well and better than the other monitoring approaches. CONCLUSIONS Increasing hemodynamic monitoring featurization by increasing sampling frequency and referencing to personal baseline markedly improves the ability of invasive monitoring to detect bleed.
Translesion synthesis polymerases contribute to meiotic chromosome segregation and cohesin dynamics in S. pombe

Translesion synthesis polymerases (TLSPs) are non-essential error-prone enzymes that ensure cell survival by facilitating DNA replication in the presence of DNA damage. In addition to their role in bypassing lesions, TLSPs have been implicated in meiotic double-strand break repair in several systems. Here, we examine the joint contribution of four TLSPs to meiotic progression in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We observed a dramatic loss of spore viability in fission yeast lacking all four TLSPs, which is accompanied by disruptions in chromosome segregation during meiosis I and II. Rec8 cohesin dynamics are altered in the absence of the TLSPs. These data suggest that the TLSPs contribute to multiple aspects of meiotic chromosome dynamics.
Wetlands, Evolution, and Conservation of the Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii)

Loss of wetlands throughout the southeastern United States threatens the persistence of the region's highly diverse freshwater fauna. Losses are especially concerning for rare species that maintain small or fragmented ranges, zoogeographies that characterize many of the region's numerous freshwater endemics. We assayed nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data from the Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii), a rare species distributed across the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains. We hypothesized that the species' evolutionary history has been associated with changes in wetlands during Quaternary interglacials and that the contemporaneous extent of wetlands is positively correlated with population genetic diversity. Genetic variation was highest in North Carolina and South Carolina and lowest in New Jersey and Florida. Mean times to common ancestry ranged from 132,486 to 1,290,605 yr before present, and effective sizes ranged from 4,241 individuals in New Jersey to 403,718 individuals in North Carolina. Population migration rates were generally very low (<0.01), although higher rates were found between North Carolina and South Carolina. Total area of wetlands varied from 2,482 km2 in South Carolina to 7,384 km2 in North Carolina and has declined between 2001 and 2016. Genetic diversity was positively, although nonsignificantly, correlated to total amount of wetland habitat. Pine Barrens Treefrog is comprised of four relictual populations associated with ecological changes driven by climatic progressions of Quaternary interglacials, and collectively these populations conform to an abundant center model of evolution. All populations are conservatively designated management units, although evolutionarily significant unit status cannot be discounted.
Processes contributing to Arctic cloud dissipation and formation events that bookend clear sky periods

Abstract. The Arctic is predominantly cloudy with intermittent clear sky periods. These clear periods have profound impacts on the surface energy budget and lower atmospheric stratification, connected to a lack of downwelling longwave radiation in the absence of cloud. Despite the importance of clear sky conditions, an understanding of the atmospheric processes leading to low-level cloud dissipation and formation events is relatively limited. A strict definition to identify clear periods at Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, during a five-year period (2014–2018) is developed. A suite of remote sensing and in situ instrumentation from the high-latitude observatory are analysed; we focus on comparing and contrasting atmospheric properties during low-level cloud dissipation and formation events to understand the processes controlling clear sky periods. Vertical profiles of lidar backscatter suggest that aerosol presence across the lower atmosphere is relatively invariant around the clear period bookends, which suggests that a sparsity of aerosol is not frequently a cause for cloud dissipation. Further meteorological analysis indicates two active processes ongoing that appear to support the formation of low clouds after a clear sky period and have a link to surface aerosol concentrations; namely, horizontal advection which was dominant in winter and early spring and quiescent air mass modification which was dominant in the summer. During summer, the dominant mode of cloud formation is a low cloud/fog layer developing near the surface. This low cloud formation is driven largely by air mass modification and pooling of aerosol particles near the surface under lower-atmosphere stratification.
Juvenile Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Biodeposits Contribute to a Rapid Rise in Sediment Nutrients on Restored Intertidal Oyster Reefs (Mosquito Lagoon, FL, USA)

By filtering large volumes of water and releasing nutrient-rich biodeposits (feces and pseudofeces), oysters can locally enhance sediment biogeochemical cycling. An active Crassostrea virginica restoration program in Mosquito Lagoon, FL (USA), was leveraged to assess the immediate (first-year) effects of restoration on sediment nutrients. Measurements included extractable and total carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus on dead, natural, and restored reefs using a before-after-control-impact design. To investigate an observed “age-nutrient paradox” in sediment nutrient concentrations, a laboratory experiment compared feeding rates and biodeposit nutrient content between juvenile and older oysters. The field study documented a 136% increase in ammonium, 78% increase in total nitrogen, 46% increase in total phosphorus, and 75% increase in organic matter concentrations 12 months post-restoration, with extractable nutrients responding more rapidly to restoration than total nutrients. Sediment nutrient increases were positively correlated with oyster density, shell length, and reef height. Moreover, the laboratory study indicated juvenile oysters had higher rates of chlorophyll-a removal and ammonium efflux and produced biodeposits with higher concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, nitrate, and ammonium than older oysters. Overall, this study documented increases in sediment nutrients on intertidal reefs within the first year of restoration, which may be explained by a greater filtration rate and more nutrient-enriched biodeposits contributed by young oysters as compared to older oysters. Sediment total nitrogen and ammonium content may be the most robust monitoring metrics for documenting the ecosystem service of enhanced biogeochemical cycling on restored oyster reefs.
Changes in Class I and IIb HDACs by δ-Opioid in Chronic Rat Glaucoma Model.

Purpose This study determines if δ-opioid receptor agonist (i.e. SNC-121)-induced epigenetic changes via regulation of histone deacetylases (HDACs) for retinal ganglion cell (RGC) neuroprotection in glaucoma model. Methods Intraocular pressure was raised in rat eyes by injecting 2M hypertonic saline into the limbal veins. SNC-121 (1 mg/kg; i.p.) was administered to the animals for 7 days. Retinas were collected at days 7 and 42, post-injury followed by measurement of HDAC activities, mRNA, and protein expression by enzyme assay, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Results The visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and pattern electroretinograms (ERGs) were declined in ocular hypertensive animals, which were significantly improved by SNC-121 treatment. Class I and IIb HDACs activities were significantly increased at days 7 and 42 in ocular hypertensive animals. The mRNA and protein expression of HDAC 1 was increased by 1.33 ± 0.07-fold and 20.2 ± 2.7%, HDAC 2 by 1.4 ± 0.05-fold and 17.0 ± 2.4%, HDAC 3 by 1.4 ± 0.06-fold and 17.4 ± 3.4%, and HDAC 6 by 1.5 ± 0.09-fold and 15.1 ± 3.3% at day 7, post-injury. Both the mRNA and protein expression of HDACs were potentiated further at day 42 in ocular hypertensive animals. HDAC activities, mRNA, and protein expression were blocked by SNC-121 treatment at days 7 and 42 in ocular hypertensive animals. Conclusions Data suggests that class I and IIb HDACs are activated and upregulated during early stages of glaucoma. Early intervention with δ-opioid receptor activation resulted in the prolonged suppression of class I and IIb HDACs activities and expression, which may, in part, play a crucial role in RGC neuroprotection.
Heron Topology Features

A topology runs under at-most-once delivery semantics by default. The other two options are at-least-once and effectively-once. The at-least-once enables the tuple acking in the topology, and the non-acked tuple will be replayed. The effectively-once enables checkpoints of the spout and bolt states, which are restored during the recovery phase. Heron supports windowing. Tuples are grouped by windows, and the watermark is calculated automatically for event timestamps by default. These advanced features are the basics for Heron high-level API.
Attribute-Guided Network Sampling Mechanisms

This article introduces a novel task-independent sampler for attributed networks. The problem is important because while data mining tasks on network content are common, sampling on internet-scale networks is costly. Link-trace samplers such as Snowball sampling, Forest Fire, Random Walk, and Metropolis–Hastings Random Walk are widely used for sampling from networks. The design of these attribute-agnostic samplers focuses on preserving salient properties of network structure, and are not optimized for tasks on node content. This article has three contributions. First, we propose a task-independent, attribute aware link-trace sampler grounded in Information Theory. Our sampler greedily adds to the sample the node with the most informative (i.e., surprising) neighborhood. The sampler tends to rapidly explore the attribute space, maximally reducing the surprise of unseen nodes. Second, we prove that content sampling is an NP-hard problem. A well-known algorithm best approximates the optimization solution within 1 − 1/e, but requires full access to the entire graph. Third, we show through empirical counterfactual analysis that in many real-world datasets, network structure does not hinder the performance of surprise based link-trace samplers. Experimental results over 18 real-world datasets reveal: surprise-based samplers are sample efficient and outperform the state-of-the-art attribute-agnostic samplers by a wide margin (e.g., 45% performance improvement in clustering tasks).
Implementing immediate postpartum contraception: a comparative case study at 11 hospitals.

Immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is an evidence-based practice, but hospitals face significant barriers to its adoption. Our objective was to examine how organizational context (e.g., size, employee attitudes toward the clinical practice) and implementation strategies (i.e., the actions taken to routinize a clinical practice) drive successful implementation of immediate postpartum LARC services, with a goal of informing the design of future implementation interventions. We conducted a comparative case study of the implementation of inpatient postpartum contraceptive care at 11 US maternity hospitals. In 2017–2018, we conducted site visits that included semi-structured key informant interviews informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Qualitative measures of implementation success included stakeholder satisfaction, routinization, and sustainability of immediate postpartum LARC services. Qualitative content analysis and cross-case synthesis explored relationships among organizational context, implementation strategies, and implementation success. We completed semi-structured interviews with 78 clinicians, nurses, residents, pharmacy and revenue cycle staff, and hospital administrators. Successful implementation required three essential conditions: effective implementation champions, an enabling financial environment, and hospital administrator engagement. Six other contextual conditions were influential: trust and effective communication, alignment with stakeholders’ professional values, perception of meeting patients’ needs, robust learning climate, compatibility with workflow, and positive attitudes and adequate knowledge about the clinical practice. On average, sites used 18 (range 11-22) strategies. Strategies to optimize the financial environment and train clinicians and staff were commonly used. Strategies to plan and evaluate implementation and to engage patients emerged as promising to address barriers to practice change, yet were often underused. Implementation efforts in maternity settings may be more successful if they select strategies to optimize local conditions for success. Our findings elucidate key contextual conditions to target and provide a menu of promising implementation strategies for incorporating recommended contraceptive services into routine maternity practice. Additional prospective research should evaluate whether these strategies effectively optimize local conditions for successful implementation in a variety of settings.
Seizing the Moment

Around the world, civil society is at a crossroads. Buffeted on one side by questions about their relevance, legitimacy, and accountability from governments and their beneficiaries, civil society organisations (CSOs) face pressure to demonstrate their value to and connection with local communities. On the other side, civil society is having to adjust to a rapidly deteriorating legal and operational environment, as countless governments pursue regulatory, administrative, and extra-legal strategies to impede their work. Non-state actors also pose a threat to the sector, attacking human rights defenders, bloggers and journalists, environmentalists, and labor unionists in unprecedented numbers. Simultaneously, CSOs are encountering major disruptions to their revenue streams because of changing donor priorities and government restrictions on foreign funding, and to their business model from emerging forms of civic activism. At this pivotal moment, CSOs can either adapt or hunker down, hoping that the tide of change will crest and dissipate. For those organisations intent on survival, there is an urgent need to find alternative models and approaches — even as they fight for their right to exist and receive funding. The crisis confronting the civil society sector creates an impetus for donors and civil society to jointly reexamine traditional approaches and reimagine what healthier, more sustainable operating models would look like. This article seeks to contribute to this conversation by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of various organisational forms on civil society’s sustainability and resilience.
Evaluating the Diagnostic Paradigm for Group A and Non–Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis in the College Student Population

Background Acute pharyngitis is a frequent illness presenting in outpatient settings. Antibiotics are only recommended for bacterial pharyngitis caused by group A β-hemolytic streptococci (GAS); however, infections with non-group A β-hemolytic streptococci (NGAS) have similar clinical presentations and are common in young adult populations. The objective of this study was to analyze the performance of a current (expert) diagnostic algorithm for GAS pharyngitis, the Centor score, and compare it to alternative models developed to predict GAS and NGAS in a college student population. Methods Electronic health records were obtained for all patients who received a streptococcal rapid antigen detection test (RADT) and/or a bacterial throat culture (n = 3963) at a southeastern US university in 2014. Bivariate and multivariable regression models (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator [LASSO] and stepwise-selected) were fitted to assess and compare their diagnostic performances for GAS-positive and NGAS-positive infections. Results Prevalence of GAS was 18.8%. In the subset of RADT-negative patients who received bacterial throat cultures (n = 313), growth of NGAS occurred in 34.8%, with group C streptococci the most frequent isolate. Mean Centor score was higher for NGAS (3.2) vs GAS (2.9) infections (P = .0111). The area under the curve (AUC) for GAS prediction was 0.64 using the Centor score and 0.70 using the LASSO model. For NGAS, the most important features were cough, pharyngeal erythema, tonsillar exudate, and gastrointestinal symptoms (AUC = 0.63). Conclusions GAS and NGAS pharyngitis were indistinguishable among college students in this study utilizing a commonly applied decision score. Alternative models using additional clinical criteria may be useful for supporting diagnosis of this common illness.
A SURVEY OF CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES IN THE BUILDING AUTOMATION INDUSTRY

Abstract Advances in technology infrastructure such as communications, processing power, and data storage over the past several years have created new opportunities for the application of control and automation to many types of systems including those in buildings. This paper describes the state of the art for control in the building automation industry, and reviews new and emerging technologies. Issues specific to the building industry that impact the adoption of new control technology are also discussed.
Equality in 22

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the system ₣ 22, which is essentially a type-free intuitionistic predicate calculus without conjunction, alternation, and negation but with quantification over propositions and propositional functions. The chapter explains the way the system ₣ 21 , which is essentially the system ₣ 22 without quantification over propositions and propositional functions, can be extended to include property. The method can also be employed to show that a similar extension can be made in the case of ₣ 22 and that Q-consistency can be proved in this case as well. However, an alternative proof of this result is possible.
Improvements to Generalized Discriminative Feature Transformation for Speech Recognition

Generalized Discriminative Feature Transformation (GDFT) is a feature space discriminative training algorithm for automatic speech recognition (ASR). GDFT uses Lagrange relaxation to transform the constrained maximum likelihood linear regression (CMLLR) algorithm for feature space discriminative training. This paper presents recent improvements on GDFT, which are achieved by regularization to the optimization problem. The resulting algorithm is called regularized GDFT (rGDFT) and we show that many regularization and smoothing techniques developed for model space discriminative training are also applicable to feature space training. We evaluated rGDFT on a real-time Iraqi ASR system and also on a large scale Arabic ASR task.
Biogeography of Freshwater Algae

Freshwater algae belong to numerous evolutionary lineages and the flora of any aquatic system has many species from some or all of these lineages. These algae have a range in morphology from single cells, flagellates, colonies and unbranched or branched filaments. They inhabit flowing and still waters in the regions where they can be attached (periphyton) or free-floating (phytoplankton). In terms of biogeography, some algae are generalists having a cosmopolitan distribution; others are specialists either restricted to a particular habitat or geographic region and a third category are invaders from either marine or other freshwater habitats. Typically, the physiology of the alga will determine to which category an alga belongs. Freshwater algae may be distributed by wind, terrestrial and aquatic animals, and humans either intentionally or unintentionally. Our understanding of the biogeography of freshwater algae is somewhat limited and further research is needed. Key Concepts: Freshwater algae are diverse in their evolutionary relationships, their morphology (shape and size) and habitats they occupy. Freshwater algae can be ‘generalists’ having a more cosmopolitan distribution, ‘specialists’ being restricted either in geography or habitat or ‘invaders’ from either the marine system or from freshwater typically outside their historic range. Generalists tend to be able to tolerate a broad range in physical and chemical environments. Specialists tend to have more specific physiological requirements or are not as readily dispersed. Invaders from the marine system are able to survive in moderately low salinity environments. The invasiveness of some freshwater algae has been attributed to nutrient pollution and potential climate change. Freshwater algae can be dispersed via animals (aquatic and terrestrial), water, wind and human vectors such as ship ballast and fishing waders. Keywords: algae; biogeography; cyanobacteria; lakes; periphyton; phytoplankton; streams
Viral Hepatitis: Diagnosis, Therapy, and Prevention. Steven Specter, editor. Totawa, NJ: Humana Press, 1999, 402 pp., $99.50. ISBN 0-89603-424-0.

Viral hepatitis is one of the current “hot topics” in medical circles, among clinical laboratory professionals, and even among the general public. Newly heightened awareness of the magnitude of the problem of hepatitis C viral infections in the United States population, together with the availability of new therapies for hepatitis C, have stimulated initiatives designed to identify and treat the large numbers of patients infected with this agent. At the same time, demands for the elimination of hepatitis viruses from the blood supply in the United States have led over …
The Flashiest Watersheds in the Contiguous United States

AbstractThe authors identify the flashiest watersheds in the contiguous United States based on frequency of discharge peaks exceeding 1 m3 s−1 km−2. The entire digitized record of USGS instantaneous discharge data is used for all stream gauging stations with over 10 years of data. Using the 1 m3 s−1 km−2 threshold, the flashiest basins in the contiguous United States are located in urban areas along a swath of states from the south-central United States to the mid-Atlantic and in mountainous areas of the West Coast, especially the Pacific Northwest. The authors focus on small watersheds to identify the flashiest cities and states across the country and find Tulsa, Oklahoma; Baltimore, Maryland; and St. Louis, Missouri, to be the flashiest cities in the contiguous United States. Thunderstorms are major agents for peak-over-threshold flood events east of the Rocky Mountains, and tropical cyclones play a secondary role, especially in the Southeast. West Coast flood events are associated with winter storms. F...
Reinforcement Learning for Adaptive Theory of Mind in the Sigma Cognitive Architecture

One of the most common applications of human intelligence is social interaction, where people must make effective decisions despite uncertainty about the potential behavior of others around them. Reinforcement learning (RL) provides one method for agents to acquire knowledge about such interactions. We investigate different methods of multiagent reinforcement learning within the Sigma cognitive architecture. We leverage Sigma’s architectural mechanism for gradient descent to realize four different approaches to multiagent learning: (1) with no explicit model of the other agent, (2) with a model of the other agent as following an unknown stationary policy, (3) with prior knowledge of the other agent’s possible reward functions, and (4) through inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) of the other agent’s reward function. While the first three variations re-create existing approaches from the literature, the fourth represents a novel combination of RL and IRL for social decision-making. We show how all four styles of adaptive Theory of Mind are realized through Sigma’s same gradient descent algorithm, and we illustrate their behavior within an abstract negotiation task.
Bacteriology and acne.

Were we to discuss the cause of acne a hundred years ago, it would be quite simple. Louis Duhring, Pathfinder for American Dermatology, considered the etiologies of acne. They “are numerous and are very different in their nature…. The most frequent and ordinary origin of acne is puberty…. [the] general disability of the system occupies a conspicuous place. Under this head may be grouped all those abnormal conditions arising from imperfect physical development, improper nutrition, and other defects of the economy, whether organic or functional.” So much for the 19th century.
π-Conjugated Dendritic Nanosized Chromophore with Enhanced Two-Photon Absorption

A novel π-conjugated dendritic nanosized chromophore, 1,3,5-tris(7,12-bis(2-{4-[2-(7-diphenylamino-9,9-dibutyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-vinyl]-phenyl}-vinyl)-5,5 ,10,10,15,15-hexabutyl-10,15-dihydro-5H-diindeno[1,2-a;1‘,2‘-c]fluoren-2-yl)-benzene (3), was synthesized and characterized, together with its corresponding one- and three-branched units. Two-photon absorption (TPA) spectra for these chromophores were measured by the nonlinear transmission spectral technique which utilizes a femtosecond white-light continuum. The TPA peak value for the dendritic chromophore is 5.47 × 10-20 cm4/GW, 15.6 times larger than that for the one-branched dipolar chromophore (0.35 × 10-20 cm4/GW), [9,9-dibutyl-7-(2-{4-[2-(9,9-dibutyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-vinyl]-phenyl}-vinyl)-9H-fluoren-2-yl]-diphenylamine (1). The three-branched chromophore, 2,7,12-tris(2-{4-[2-(9,9-dibutyl-7-diphenylamino-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-vinyl]-phenyl}-vinyl)-5,5,10,10,15,15-hexabutyl-10,15-dihydro-5H-diindeno[1,2-a;1‘,2‘-c]fluorene (2) has a TPA peak value of 2.28...
Space physiology VI: exercise, artificial gravity, and countermeasure development for prolonged space flight

When applied individually, exercise countermeasures employed to date do not fully protect the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems during prolonged spaceflight. Recent ground-based research suggests that it is necessary to perform exercise countermeasures within some form of artificial gravity to prevent microgravity deconditioning. In this regard, it is important to provide normal foot-ward loading and intravascular hydrostatic-pressure gradients to maintain musculoskeletal and cardiovascular function. Aerobic exercise within a centrifuge restores cardiovascular function, while aerobic exercise within lower body negative pressure restores cardiovascular function and helps protect the musculoskeletal system. Resistive exercise with vibration stimulation may increase the effectiveness of resistive exercise by preserving muscle function, allowing lower intensity exercises, and possibly reducing risk of loss of vision during prolonged spaceflight. Inexpensive methods to induce artificial gravity alone (to counteract head-ward fluid shifts) and exercise during artificial gravity (for example, by short-arm centrifuge or exercise within lower body negative pressure) should be developed further and evaluated as multi-system countermeasures.
PACAP/VIP AND RECEPTOR CHARACTERIZATION IN MICTURITION PATHWAYS IN MICE WITH OVEREXPRESSION OF NGF IN UROTHELIUM

Urothelium-specific overexpression of nerve growth factor (NGF) in the urinary bladder of transgenic mice stimulates neuronal sprouting or proliferation in the urinary bladder, produces urinary bladder hyperreflexia, and results in increased referred somatic hypersensitivity. Additional NGF-mediated changes might contribute to the urinary bladder hyperreflexia and pelvic hypersensitivity observed in these transgenic mice such as upregulation of neuropeptide/receptor systems. Chronic overexpression of NGF in the urothelium was achieved through the use of a highly urothelium-specific, uroplakin II promoter. In the present study, we examined pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), and associated receptor (PAC1, VPAC1, VPAC2) transcripts or protein expression in urothelium and detrusor smooth muscle and lumbosacral dorsal root ganglia in NGF-overexpressing and littermate wildtype mice using real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical approaches. Results demonstrate upregulation of PAC1 receptor transcript and PAC1-immunoreactivity in urothelium of NGF-OE mice whereas PACAP transcript and PACAP-immunoreactivity were decreased in urothelium of NGF-OE mice. In contrast, VPAC1 receptor transcript was decreased in both urothelium and detrusor smooth muscle of NGF-OE mice. VIP transcript expression and immunostaining was not altered in urinary bladder of NGF-OE mice. Changes in PACAP, VIP, and associated receptor transcripts and protein expression in micturition pathways resemble some, but not all, changes observed after induction of urinary bladder inflammation known to involve NGF production.
Active site interactions in the bifunctional aspartokinase I-homoserine dehydrogenase I of Escherichia coli K12

Abstract The combination of l -aspartate and the magnesium ion complex of ADP results in an activation of the dehydrogenase activity of aspartokinase I-homoserine dehydrogenase I. This activation is not seen with MgADP alone and is greater than the activation by l -aspartate alone. Attempts to fill with other anions that gap between aspartate and MgADP which would normally be filled with the terminal phosphate of ATP did not result in further activation. The results are consisted with the proposal that the utility of this bifunctional enzyme includes both the inter-site communication and inhibition of both activities by threonine.
Spatio-temporal EEG measures and their application to human intracranially recorded epileptic seizures

We describe analysis methods which involve the computation of band-integrated, intrachannel spectral measures from the EEG. These measures require only very general assumptions, have a simple interpretation and achieve significant data reduction, while providing a quantitative assessment of significant EEG modification at seizure or onset or in the course of seizure evolution. In developing these measures, we experimented with various measures derived from spatio-temporal power spectra. Bandpass (8-30 Hz) integrated relative energy measures appear to be the most useful since they objectively measure paroxysmal modification. Two such measures are illustrated in this report: the band-integrated power z-score (BIPZ), which is a quantitative measure designed to allow significance testing, and the band-integrated power ratio (BIPR), which is a simply calculated qualitative measure that behaves very similarly to the BIPZ measure and may be useful for real-time data screening. In addition to developing these intrachannel measures, we have also developed methods of displaying these measures in a format appropriate to the analysis of interchannel relationships. In a general sense, the displays provide objective information regarding the spatio-temporal dynamics of the EEG in a condensed format which is still readily understandable to the electroencephalographer. This analysis was applied to 29 spontaneous, depth-recorded seizures in 14 patients with the aim of identifying the initial locus of seizure activity in each seizure episode. The initial locus was defined as that location (or set of locations) to first exhibit statistically significant values of the BIPZ measure. The method was very effective in this regard, as shown by correspondence between the conclusions of this automated analysis and conventional visual analysis.
Premarin improves memory, prevents scopolamine-induced amnesia and increases number of basal forebrain choline acetyltransferase positive cells in middle-aged surgically menopausal rats.

Conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) is the most commonly prescribed estrogen therapy, and is the estrogen used in the Women's Health Initiative study. While in-vitro studies suggest that CEE is neuroprotective, no study has evaluated CEE's effects on a cognitive battery and brain immunohistochemistry in an animal model. The current experiment tested whether CEE impacted: I) spatial learning, reference memory, working memory and long-term retention, as well as ability to handle mnemonic delay and interference challenges; and, II) the cholinergic system, via pharmacological challenge during memory testing and ChAT-immunoreactive cell counts in the basal forebrain. Middle-aged ovariectomized (Ovx) rats received chronic cyclic injections of either Oil (vehicle), CEE-Low (10 μg), CEE-Medium (20 μg) or CEE-High (30 μg) treatment. Relative to the Oil group, all three CEE groups showed less overnight forgetting on the spatial reference memory task, and the CEE-High group had enhanced platform localization during the probe trial. All CEE groups exhibited enhanced learning on the spatial working memory task, and CEE dose-dependently protected against scopolamine-induced amnesia with every rat receiving the highest CEE dose maintaining zero errors after scopolamine challenge. CEE also increased number of ChAT-immunoreactive neurons in the vertical diagonal band of the basal forebrain. Neither the ability to remember after a delay nor interference, nor long-term retention, was influenced by the CEE regimen used in this study. These findings are similar to those reported previously for 17 β-estradiol, and suggest that CEE can provide cognitive benefits on spatial learning, reference and working memory, possibly through cholinergic mechanisms.
Analytical Model for the Effect of Surface Charge Nonuniformity on Colloidal Interactions

A closed-form analytical model has been developed to estimate the effect of a nonuniform surface charge distribution on the potential of mean force between two plates or two spherical colloidal particles. This model is an extension for randomly charged surfaces of the well-known Hogg−Healy−Fuerstenau model. The surface charge distribution is random, and we characterize this by defining (1) N equal-area regions on the surfaces, (2) an average surface potential (〈ζ〉), and (3) a standard deviation of surface potential (σζ) among the regions. The model predicts that the standard deviation of the potential of mean force (σΦ) at any gap distance is approximately proportional to σζ/ . The practicality of the model derives from the fact that σζ/ is experimentally measurable. Charge nonuniformity provides one explanation for why classical colloidal stability theory often fails. In addition, since regions with a low charge density tend to be more hydrophobic, charge nonuniformity might allow strong hydrophobic inte...
Methodological issues in evaluating the national health care for the homeless program

This chapter discusses the resolution of methodological issues in the evaluation of a health care program for homeless people.
Theđ-distance between two Markov processes cannot always be attained by a Markov joining

For a certain collection of pairs of Markov processes a construction is given which attains theđ-distance for these pairs; it is then shown this distance cannot be attained by any Markov process on their joint atoms.
What is eye safe

Manufacturers have referred to lasers with operating wavelengths longer than 1400 nm (mid to far infrared) as eyesafe. Wavelengths in this region are absorbed in anterior portions of the eye (mainly cornea) and therefore never reach the retina. This is in contrast to the eye- hazardous portion of the optical spectrum of 400 - 1400 nm (visible and near infrared) where the anterior portions of the eye have high transmittance and refractive power. Irradiance levels are typically 5 orders of magnitude greater at the retina than at the cornea for visible and NIR wavelengths. Although wavelengths longer than 1400 nm do not interact with the retina, they can interact with the skin or cornea and cause a thermal injury. Specifiers of laser equipment have required that systems be eyesafe at a particular distance with or without optics. By this they mean that exposure at that distance for the naked eye or optically aided viewing through a specified power of optics should not exceed exposure limits. Some wavelengths in the visible and near IR are more 'eyesafe' than others because the safety factor between the level that would actually produce an injury (ED-50 value) and the exposure limit is greater. For example, the ED-50 value for a single Q-switched laser pulse for the ruby laser wavelength of 694.3 nm is 11.2 (mu) J into the eye and the Accessible Emission Limit (AEL) is 0.19 (mu) J, a factor of 59 between ED-50 and the AEL. The ratio for 1064 nm for a single Q- switched pulse is 99 (mu) J/1.9 (mu) J or 52. So, in a sense, exposure to 694 laser radiation at the AEL, is slightly more 'eyesafe' than exposure to 1064 nm radiation at the AEL. To the laser safety specialist, however, eyesafe, means only one thing, Class 1. Class 1 is a laser hazard classification that means the laser does not exceed specified limits for a reasonable, worst-case combination of distance, exposure duration, and collecting aperture diameter during its intended use. Determining whether a laser is Class 1 is usually a two-step process. The first step is determination of the AEL and the second is determining whether or not the laser in question exceeds this AEL. Exceeding the AEL is determined by calculation or measurement. If the AEL is exceeded under prescribed parameters then the laser is not Class 1. Differences in laser safety standards in both of these classification steps have caused confusion. Differences in exposure limits chosen by laser safety specialists based upon the same criteria have also caused confusion.
MODELS OF AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATION: CULTURAL INCLUSION AND THE FAMILY/COMMUNITY/ SCHOOL LINKAGE*

Abstract Educational research has explored the impact of culture and the linkage of families and communities to schools on student achievement among minority students. Little focus, however, has been placed on the family/community interactions with schools among culturally distinctive populations such as American Indians and students' perceptions of the educational process. This exploratory research examined the state of education from the perspective of American Indian young adults from various tribes in Nebraska. Instead of focusing on educational achievement, the emphasis of most educational research relating to American Indians, this study explored the model of education in existence. Additionally, researchers explored the respondents' interpretations of the role of culture and language in the public school system and its link to the family/community/school interaction. Qualitative thematic analyses of the responses highlight themes of an educational system that largely ignores American Indians' uniqu...
Early Changes in Neuropeptide mRNA Expression in the Striatum Following Reserpine Treatment

Chronic dopamine depletion produces neurochemical changes within the striatum as well as enhanced behavioral and metabolic responses to dopamine agonists. Changes in striatal neuropeptides have been consistently described, including increased expression of preproenkephalin mRNA and decreased expression of preprotachykinin and prodynorphin mRNA. Acute dopamine depletion following treatment with reserpine also produces enhanced behavioral and metabolic responses to agonist treatment which develop rapidly. In the present study, we used in situ hybridization histochemistry to investigate whether acute neurochemical changes occur following reserpine treatment. We evaluated neuropeptide mRNA expression in the striatum and nucleus accumbens at several time points from 6 to 120 h following single doses of reserpine and AMPT. The aim of these studies was to determine if changes in neuropeptide mRNA expression occur following acute dopamine depletion and whether such changes are specific to the striatum. Changes in striatal neuropeptide mRNA expression developed rapidly. Preproenkephalin mRNA expression by striatopallidal neurons was unchanged at 48 h, but increased by 44% at 120 h. Preprotachykinin mRNA expression in striatonigral neurons was increased at 6 h and then fell, with a maximal decrease of 45% at 48 h and partial recovery by 120 h. Prodynorphin mRNA expression was unchanged. Expression of preproenkephalin and preprotachykinin mRNA was also examined in subregions of the striatum and the nucleus accumbens. Expression of preproenkephalin mRNA was uniform in the striatum and higher in the core than the shell of the nucleus accumbens. Preprotachykinin mRNA expression in the striatum was higher in the lateral quadrants and was higher in the shell than in the core of the nucleus accumbens. The changes in neuropeptide mRNA following treatment with reserpine were only found in the striatum. These data provide further evidence for early alterations in neuronal function in the striatum following acute dopamine depletion and suggest that neuropeptide expression by striatonigral neurons may be more rapidly regulated in response to changes in dopamine levels.
Hypnosis-facilitated relaxation using self-guided imagery during dermatologic procedures.

Many patients experience some degree of anxiety and/or discomfort during dermatologic procedures. For most patients this anxiety or discomfort is tolerable, but a few find it intolerable to the point of interference with the accomplishment of the procedure. A case is presented in which a 51-year-old female experienced so much anxiety that it jeopardized the continuation of a necessary procedure. When (with her consent) a trance state was induced through hypnosis, she relaxed and remained in a pleasant mental condition for the remainder of the procedure. This case illustrates the usefulness of hypnosis in selected situations where it can alleviate anxiety and discomfort associated with dermatologic procedures. Suggested trance induction, maintenance, and termination scripts are included to assist those with adequate training and experience in providing this comfort to selected patients through hypnosis.
DEVELOPMENT OF A JOB ANALYSIS-BASED PROCEDURE FOR WEIGHTING AND COMBINING CONTENT RELATED TESTS INTO A SINGLE TEST BATTERY SCORE

By definition, content-related approaches to test validation do not rely on criterion data. As a consequence, regression and other statistical procedures for weighting and generating a composite score from a test battery are not applicable when a content-related validation strategy is used. This paper presents a procedure for determining the component weights for a test battery that has been developed on the basis of a content-related validity strategy. The Relative Content Contribution (RCC) weighting procedure is a logical extension of the conceptual basis underlying the rational developmental process used to demonstrate the validity of content-related tests. Results from field implementations of the procedure in the development of two promotional test batteries (fire and police) and an entry-level test battery (police) in two large metropolitan cities are presented to illustrate the procedure.
Inverse reconstruction of three-dimensional tomographic images of objects in turbid media from time-sliced two-dimensional transmission measurements

Time-sliced two-dimensional intensity distribution of transmitted light measured using a time-gated imaging system is used to reconstruct three-dimensional images of an object inside a turbid medium. The inversion algorithm combines a two-dimensional matrix inversion with a one-dimensional Fourier transform inversion in cylindrical coordinates for a fast three-dimensional image reconstruction. A L-curve method is used for choosing suitable regularization parameters. The method was used to reconstruct images of an absorbing object located inside a highly scattering turbid medium using both simulated and experimental data.
A Language Theory of Discrimination

Any advanced industrial society is composed of a number of speech communities with different verbal and nonverbal languages. In particular, in the United States blacks and whites and men and women have sharply differing methods of speaking and listening. This paper develops a model in which people can only work together if they "speak" the same language and in which it is costly to learn a second language. The competitive market will tend to minimize communication through segregation, but if interaction is required, the cost will be borne by the minority. A number of nontrivial predictions are derived from the model.
ATRX marks the inactive X chromosome (Xi) in somatic cells and during imprinted X chromosome inactivation in trophoblast stem cells

Mammalian X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is an essential mechanism to compensate for dosage imbalances between male and female embryos. Although the molecular pathways are not fully understood, heterochromatinization of the Xi requires the coordinate recruitment of multiple epigenetic marks. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis combined with immunocytochemistry, we demonstrate that the chromatin remodeling protein ATRX decorates the chromatids of a single, late replicating X chromosome in female somatic cells and co-localizes with the bona fide marker of the Xi, macroH2A1.2. Chromatin immunoprecipitation using somatic, embryonic stem (ES) cells and trophoblast stem (TS) cells as model for random and imprinted XCI, respectively, revealed that, in somatic and TS cells, ATRX exhibits a specific association with sequences located within the previously described H3K9me2-hotspot, a region 5′ to the X inactive-specific transcript (Xist) locus. While no ATRX-Xi interaction was detectable in undifferentiated ES cells, an enrichment of ATRX was observed after 8 days of differentiation, indicating that ATRX associates with the Xi following the onset of random XCI, consistent with a potential role in maintenance of XCI. These results have important implications regarding a previously described escape from imprinted XCI in ATRX-deficient mice as well as cases of skewed XCI in patients with ATRX syndrome.