cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
βII-tubulin and GAP 43 mRNA expression in chronically injured neurons of the red nucleus after a second spinal cord injury

Abstract Regeneration by chronically injured supraspinal neurons is enhanced by treatment of a spinal cord lesion site with a variety of neurotrophic and growth factors. The removal of scar tissue, with subsequent reinjury of the spinal cord, is necessary for injured axons to access tissue transplants placed into the lesion to support axon regrowth. The present study examined chronically injured and reinjured rubrospinal tract (RST) neurons to determine if changes in gene expression could explain the failure of these neurons to regenerate without exogenous trophic factor support. Adult female rats were subjected to a right full hemisection lesion via aspiration of the cervical level 3 spinal cord. Using radioactive cDNA probes and in situ hybridization, RST neurons in the contralateral red nucleus were examined for changes in mRNA levels of βII-tubulin and GAP 43 in an acute injury period (6 h–3 days), a chronic injury period (28 days after spinal cord injury (SCI)) and following a second lesion of the chronic injury site (6 h–7 days). Based upon the analysis of gene expression in single cells, GAP-43 mRNA levels were increased as early as 1 day following the initial SCI, but were no different than uninjured control levels at 28 days postoperative (dpo). The response to relesion was more rapid and higher than that detected after the initial injury with a significant increase in GAP 43 mRNA at 6 h that was maintained for at least 7 days. βII-tubulin mRNA levels remained unchanged until 3 days after an acute injury followed by a decrease in expression to 30% below uninjured control values at 28 dpo. The expression of βII-tubulin mRNA was significantly higher within 6 h after a second injury, where it remained stable for 5 days before a second increase occurred at 7 days after reinjury of the spinal cord. Thus, neurons in a chronic injury state retain the ability to respond to a traumatic injury and, in fact, neurons subjected to a second injury exhibit a significantly heightened expression of regeneration-associated genes.
Green's function scattering‐theoretic methods for point defects, surfaces, and interfaces in solids

We have recently developed novel ways to describe the electronic structure of point defects, surfaces, and interfaces in semiconductors, making use of the original Koster-Slater ideas for localized perturbations in otherwise periodic solids. In this article we give a brief review of the method and our applications to the vacancy, free surfaces, and interfaces of several tetrahedral semiconductors and SiO2, using both empirical tight-binding and self-consistent Hamiltonians.
Ion concentrations in a binary liquid mixture: Implications for wetting behavior.

La concentration d'ions d'impuretes dans les deux phases d'un melange liquide binaire peut affecter les forces electrostatiques a longue portee responsables de la formation de couches de mouillage dans un substrat charge. Pour le systeme CS 2 +CH 3 NO 2 , estimation a partir des mesures de conductivite, de la concentration des ions d'impuretes pour diverses temperatures au voisinage du point critique. Les valeurs des concentrations ioniques ainsi estimees sont compatibles avec les valeurs obtenues anterieurement en ajustant a la theorie les donnees de reflectivite pour le mouillage sur un substrat de verre
A rapid method for the preparation of single-cell suspensions from solid tissues.

A simple and rapid methodology for the preparation of single-cell suspension from animal tissues is described. It uses a device called a “tissue press” to mince the tissue into small pieces of desired sizes which are then dissociated into single cells using a pipette. The device is inexpensive and the method economizes time and labor. An example of its use in DNA double-strand breaks study, using microgel electrophoresis, is described. Cytometry 31:229–232, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Iloperidone: A new drug for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Purpose The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacogenomics, clinical efficacy, and safety and tolerability profile of iloperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia are reviewed. Summary Iloperidone is an atypical antipsychotic that recently received marketing approval from the Food and Drug Administration for the acute treatment of schizophrenia. Iloperidone is a pure antagonist and the first antipsychotic to have pharmacogenomic studies indicate predictive response based on six identified polymorphisms. Pharmacokinetic studies have determined that iloperidone is well absorbed orally, with a bioavailability of 96%. Phase II and III clinical trials have shown iloperidone to improve symptoms of schizophrenia, based on the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and Clinical Global Impressions–Severity scores ( p < 0.05). Iloperidone has established tolerability at recommended dosages of up to 24 mg daily; however, the dosage must be slowly increased over seven days, and twice-daily administration is required to avoid orthostatic hypotension. The most common adverse effects associated with iloperidone were dizziness, dry mouth, fatigue, nasal congestion, orthostatic hypotension, somnolence, tachycardia, and weight gain. Safety studies have also found that iloperidone increases the risk of Q-Tc interval prolongation, similar to that seen with ziprasidone. Minimal changes in glucose and lipid abnormalities were seen in short-term (4- and 6-week) and long-term (52-week) studies, indicating a low chance of metabolic disturbance with iloperidone. Conclusion Iloperidone may be a viable and safe option for the treatment of schizophrenia in adult patients, especially for patients who cannot tolerate other antipsychotic agents. However, iloperidone lacks a clear benefit over other antipsychotic agents.
Communicating With School Boards: Position, Power, and Perseverance

The theme of this years Academy meeting, “Telling Our Story,” raises important questions about how best to hone our message to diverse audiences in order to achieve desired outcomes. This paper addresses strategies and techniques that can be employed with local school boards. The school board is recognized as one of the most influential organizations for developing and shaping policy at the local level. Without the support and advocacy of the local board, efforts to promote physical education and healthful activity for children will not be achieved. The paper also suggests that many advocacy approaches can be generalized lo other groups and settings. including state legislative bodies and other statewide commissions that address issues related to the education of children and youth. Finally, the author acknowledges that despite the best efforts to tell our story, intervening variables beyond the storyteller's control (e.g., happenstance. chance, and fate) may influence the message.
Absorption, translocation, metabolism, and spray retention of quinclorac in Digitaria sanguinalis and Eleusine indica

Abstract Absorption, translocation, and metabolism studies using 14C-quinclorac were conducted with quinclorac-sensitive Digitaria sanguinalis and quinclorac-tolerant Eleusine indica at the one- to two-tiller growth stage cultured under hydroponic conditions. After an 80-h exposure time, both species had absorbed nearly equal amounts of 14C-quinclorac (27 and 22% for D. sanguinalis and E. indica, respectively). Over the exposure period, the absorption curve for D. sanguinalis was curvilinear, with the maximum absorption occurring approximately 48 h after exposure. The response curve for E. indica was linear across the exposure period. Results from the translocation studies showed that 95% of the absorbed 14C-quinclorac remained in the treated leaf for D. sanguinalis after 80 h. However, only 58% of the absorbed 14C remained in the treated leaf of E. indica. Most of the 14C translocated out of the leaves moved to the tiller, the crown, and new leaf tissue. There was no appreciable exudation of 14C-quinclor...
Banana starch structure and digestibility

Abstract It is well known that raw banana starch is a good source of resistant starch. Less is known, however, regarding the digestion property of gelatinized banana starch. In this study, banana starch cooked for 20 min in excess water had a significant fraction of slowly digestible starch (19%), as well as resistant fraction (27%). Amylopectin is thought to be responsible for its slow digestion property, since banana starch studied here has a relatively low amylose content of 11.2%. Chain-length distribution analysis revealed that banana amylopectin has a significantly different structure from corn or potato amylopectin in that it has a higher proportion of very long chains. Retrogradation studies support the view that banana starch retrogrades at a substantially faster rate than corn or potato starch leading to less digestible cooked starch. Additionally, banana starch has unique pasting properties making it behave like a chemically lightly cross-linked starch. Banana starch is unique, both nutritionally and functionally, to warrant further investigation on potential commercial uses.
Framing the Urban: Struggles Over HOPE VI and New Urbanism in a Historic City:

Recent debate over the federal HOPE VI program has focused primarily on whether local applications have met administrative pledges to provide adequate affordable housing to displaced residents of n...
Soot pyrometry using modulated absorption/emission

Abstract A new method of optical pyrometry for sooting flames has been developed that combines absorption and emission measurements at the same wavelength, reducing the uncertainty in measured soot temperature when compared to commonly used two-color emission pyrometry. The new technique, modulated absorption/emission (MAE) pyrometry, utilizes combined emission and absorption at two wavelengths: 830 and 1300 nm. Large uncertainties in the wavelength-dependent soot refractive index in the infrared are avoided by measuring emissivity directly, eliminating the need to rely on a refractive index model when obtaining temperature. One-color and two-color MAE techniques are validated in this study in a rich laminar premixed ethylene/air flame using diode lasers for transmission measurements. The results show a reduction in the uncertainty of measured temperature in an example case from greater than ±50 K with conventional emission-only pryometry to ±20 K with MAE pyrometry. Advantages of MAE over the conventional method are greatest for soot volume fractions on the order of 10 −7 or greater, typical of laboratory flames used in soot formation and growth studies.
Multi-Source Latency Variation Synchronization for Collaborative Applications

Various distributed multi-source applications such as 3D Virtual Immersive Systems (3DVIS), 2D/3D Videoconferencing, Multi-party games, etc. require the construction of a multicast overlay through which the video blocks are streamed from source to receiver. The most general multicast model involves a single source and a set of receiver nodes also known as multicast set with a single stream to each receiver. In this paper, we are interested to investigate a different multicast model consisting of multiple sources and receivers which is quite common in 3DVIS/video conferencing applications where each node serves both as a source and a receiver. The problem of constructing a multicast overlay for multi-source is hard and we are interested to guarantee certain QoS constraints such as end-to-end latency and latency variations. Latency variation constraints are very important in collaborative applications for maintaining realtime interactivity and multi-stream synchronization. We present an efficient heuristic solution for the muti-source multicast construction problem with an economical time-complexity.
El desempeño sintáctico de niños con Trastorno de Déficit Atencional e Hiperactividad: Perspectiva comparativa y ontogenética

RESUMEN El Trastorno de Deﬁcit Atencional e Hiperactividad (TDAH) es de alta prevalencia en-tre ninos y adultos, y esta caracterizado por un inapropiado nivel de atencion, conducta hiperactiva e impulsividad. Ademas de la sintomatologia nuclear, presenta una serie de trastornos cognitivos y conductuales como las alteraciones de naturaleza linguistica. Las mismas pasan desapercibidas en la primera infancia del sujeto, evidenciandose cuando ingresa al sistema escolar. Para dar cuenta de esto, la presente investigacion busco determi-nar diferencias en la complejidad sintactica de los discursos orales producidos por ninos y ninas con TDAH y con desarrollo tipico en diferentes niveles de escolaridad (kinder, 4o y 8o basico). Se llevo a cabo un estudio de tipo correlacional con un diseno ex post-facto retrospectivo en el que participaron 120 ninos(as) (60 con TDAH y 60 grupo control), de colegios particulares pagados y particulares subvencionados en San Felipe, Chile. Luego de ver un video, cada nino narraba lo observado, su discurso era registrado, trascrito y analizado. Los indices de complejidad sintactica revelaron diferencias signiﬁcativas a favor de los ninos sin TDAH cuando se evaluaba el grupo en general, a pesar de no probarse signiﬁcatividad estadistica en las diferencias al interior de cada nivel. Asimismo, fue posi-
Improving the Accuracy of Vehicle Reidentification Algorithms by Solving the Assignment Problem

Vehicle attributes (e.g., length, sensor signature) collected at upstream and downstream points can be used to reidentify individual vehicles anonymously so that useful quantities such as travel times and origin-destination flows can be estimated. In typical reidentification algorithms, each downstream vehicle is matched to the most "similar" upstream vehicle on the basis of some defined metric. However, this process usually results in matching one upstream vehicle to more than one downstream vehicle, and some upstream vehicles are not assigned to any downstream vehicles. This paper presents a two-stage methodology to alleviate this problem, first by developing a Bayesian method for matching the most similar vehicles and then by defining and solving an assignment problem to ensure that each vehicle is matched only once. The results indicate that the proposed method, when applied to the sample field data collected by automatic vehicle classification and weigh-in-motion sensors, reduces the mismatch error b...
Muscle-Specific Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Deletion Induces Muscle Capillary Rarefaction Creating Muscle Insulin Resistance

Muscle insulin resistance is associated with a reduction in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) action and muscle capillary density. We tested the hypothesis that muscle capillary rarefaction critically contributes to the etiology of muscle insulin resistance in chow-fed mice with skeletal and cardiac muscle VEGF deletion (mVEGF(-/-)) and wild-type littermates (mVEGF(+/+)) on a C57BL/6 background. The mVEGF(-/-) mice had an ~60% and ~50% decrease in capillaries in skeletal and cardiac muscle, respectively. The mVEGF(-/-) mice had augmented fasting glucose turnover. Insulin-stimulated whole-body glucose disappearance was blunted in mVEGF(-/-) mice. The reduced peripheral glucose utilization during insulin stimulation was due to diminished in vivo cardiac and skeletal muscle insulin action and signaling. The decreased insulin-stimulated muscle glucose uptake was independent of defects in insulin action at the myocyte, suggesting that the impairment in insulin-stimulated muscle glucose uptake was due to poor muscle perfusion. The deletion of VEGF in cardiac muscle did not affect cardiac output. These studies emphasize the importance for novel therapeutic approaches that target the vasculature in the treatment of insulin-resistant muscle.
Intracranial aneurysms in a child with recurrent atrial myxoma

Subarachnoid hemorrhage and formation of intracranial aneurysms occurred in an adolescent with recurrent atrial myxomas without a history of cerebral embolic infarction. Myxomatous intracranial aneurysm is a potentially lethal complication in children.
Efficient geo-graph contiguity and hole algorithms for geographic zoning and dynamic plane graph partitioning

Graph partitioning is an intractable problem that arises in many practical applications. Heuristics such as local search generate good (though suboptimal) solutions in limited time. Such heuristics must be able to explore the solution space quickly and, when the solution space is constrained, differentiate feasible solutions from infeasible ones. Geographic zoning problems allocate some resource (e.g., political representation, school enrollment, police patrols) to contiguous zones modeled by partitions of an embedded planar graph. Each vertex corresponds to an area of the plane (e.g., census block, town, county), and local search moves one area from its current zone to a different zone in each iteration. Enforcing contiguity constraints may require significant computation when the graph is large. While existing algorithms require linear or polylogarithmic time (in the number of vertices) to assess contiguity in each local search iteration, the geo-graph paradigm shows how contiguity can be verified by examining only the set of vertices that border the transferred area (i.e., those areas whose boundaries share at least a single point with the boundary of the transferred area). This paper develops efficient algorithms that examine these vertices more quickly than traditional search-based methods, allowing practitioners to more fully consider their zoning options when creating zones with local search.
A security domain model to assess software for exploitable covert channels

Covert channels can result in unauthorized information flows when exploited by malicious software. To address this problem, we present a precise, formal definition for covert channels, which relies on control flow dependency tracing through program execution, and extends Dennings' and subsequent classic work in secure information flow [9][40][30]. A formal security Domain Model (DM) for conducting static analysis of programs to identify covert channel vulnerabilities is described. The DM is comprised of an Invariant Model, which defines the generic concepts of program state, information flow, and covert channel rules; and an Implementation Model, which specifies the behavior of a target program. The DM is compiled from a representation of the program, written in a domain-specific Implementation Modeling Language (IML), and a specification of the security policy written in Alloy. The Alloy Analyzer tool is used to perform static analysis of the DM to automatically detect potential covert channel vulnerabilities and security policy violations in the target program.
Functional connectivity studies of patients with auditory verbal hallucinations

Functional connectivity (FC) studies of brain mechanisms leading to auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data are reviewed. Initial FC studies utilized fMRI data collected during performance of various tasks, which suggested frontotemporal disconnection and/or source-monitoring.disturbances. Later FC studies have utilized resting (no-task) fMRI data. These studies have produced a mixed picture of disconnection and hyperconnectivity involving different pathways associated with AVHs. Results of our most recent FC study of AVHs are reviewed in detail. This study suggests that the core mechanism producing AVHs involves not a single pathway, but a more complex functional loop. Components of this loop include Wernicke’s area and its right homologue, the left inferior frontal cortex, and the putamen. It is noteworthy that the putamen appears to play a critical role in the generation of spontaneous language, and in determining whether auditory stimuli are registered consciously as percepts. Excessive functional coordination linking this region with the Wernicke’s seed region in patients with schizophrenia could therefore generate an overabundance of potentially conscious language representations. In our model, intact FC in the other two legs of corticostriatal loop (Wernicke’s with left IFG, and left IFG with putamen) appeared to allow this disturbance (common to schizophrenia overall) to be expressed as a conscious hallucination of speech. Recommendations for future studies are discussed, including inclusion of multiple methodologies applied to the same subjects in order to compare and contrast different mechanistic hypotheses, utilizing EEG to better parse time-course of neural synchronization leading to AVHs, and ascertaining experiential subtypes of AVHs that may reflect distinct mechanisms.
The modified equation approach to the stability and accuracy analysis of finite-difference methods

The stability and accuracy of finite-difference approximations to simple linear partial differential equations are analyzed by studying the modified partial differential equation. Aside from round-off error, the modified equation represents the actual partial differential equation solved when a numerical solution is computed using a finite-difference equation. The modified equation is derived by first expanding each term of a difference scheme in a Taylor series and then eliminating time derivatives higher than first order by certain algebraic manipulations. The connection between 'heuristic' stability theory based on the modified equation approach and the von Neumann (Fourier) method is established. In addition to the determination of necessary and sufficient conditions for computational stability, a truncated version of the modified equation can be used to gain insight into the nature of both dissipative and dispersive errors.
Consenting to donate organs: whose wishes carry the most weight?

An experimental simulation methodology examined how people weigh the wishes of the donor and the next-of-kin in recommending whether the latter should consent to donate the organs of a deceased loved one. Subjects read several brief stories, each describing a young adult who had died suddenly and whose kin faced the decision of whether to donate their loved one's organs. Each scenario had four versions, identical except for minor wording changes providing information about the organ donation wish of the potential donor and the next-of-kin. Subjects indicated “yes,”“no,” or “I'm undecided” about whether the kin should donate the organs. Subjects weighted the wishes of the deceased much more heavily than their own or those of the next-of-kin when those wishes were stated directly. When the deceased's wishes had to be inferred indirectly, attitudes of the next-of-kin and the experimental subject affected the decision much more. Implications for organ procurement practice are considered.
Serving a stir-fry of market, culture and politics – on globalisation and film policy in Greater China

This article examines film policy in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in the context of globalisation. The three markets face a similar set of challenges posed by globalisation, and they equally see the need to promote the local film industry through policy-making. The rhetoric of their film policies converges in embracing free-market ideas and a strong economic logic. However, their specific measures diverge when it comes to the extent and nature of government intervention, restraints posed upon foreign film businesses, vigour and objectives of government film censorship and emphasis given to the cultural imperative of film policy.
Long-term primary culture of a clear cell ovarian carcinoma reveals an epithelial–mesenchymal cooperative interaction

We studied a primary culture developed from a biopsy of a clear cell carcinoma of the ovary (O-CCC) by (a) assessing its capacity to retain in vitro pathological features of the tumor of origin; (b) characterizing the main cells released from the complex mass without forced purification of any particular cellular entity; and (c) investigating its long-term proliferative capacity. A primary cell culture was developed from a pelvic mass diagnosed as an O-CCC. The morphological analysis of the cell culture was carried out by phase contrast microscopy. Markers of epithelial, mesenchymal, and tumor initiating cells were evaluated by immunocytochemistry. Cell proliferation was studied by detection of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporated into newly synthesized DNA. As a biomarker of O-CCC, we assessed the expression of hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) 1β. We show that cells with epithelial morphological features express E-cadherin and expand with time in culture, a fact that the incorporation of BrdU confirms. Cells with mesenchymal-like characteristics that express the mesenchymal marker vimentin, however, allocate to the edges of the epithelial compartment. Moreover, we found that some cells with epithelial features also expressed vimentin. At the beginning of incubation, over 60 % of primary cells expressed the O-CCC marker HNF1β; such percentage declined upon passaging. We show that epithelial not mesenchymal cells undergo DNA replication, and that few cells in both epithelial and mesenchymal compartments express the stem-like tumor antigen CD133. We provide proof-of-principle that cells separated in bulk from a biopsy of an O-CCC can be maintained in culture for several months, and that two consistent cellular compartments—one epithelial that retains the O-CCC marker HNF1β, and another mesenchymal—persist, and seem to have a cooperative interaction leading to the multiplication of epithelial cells within a mesenchymal cellular environment.
An RNA Element at the 5′-End of the Poliovirus Genome Functions as a General Promoter for RNA Synthesis

RNA structures present throughout RNA virus genomes serve as scaffolds to organize multiple factors involved in the initiation of RNA synthesis. Several of these RNA elements play multiple roles in the RNA replication pathway. An RNA structure formed around the 5'- end of the poliovirus genomic RNA has been implicated in the initiation of both negative- and positive-strand RNA synthesis. Dissecting the roles of these multifunctional elements is usually hindered by the interdependent nature of the viral replication processes and often pleiotropic effects of mutations. Here, we describe a novel approach to examine RNA elements with multiple roles. Our approach relies on the duplication of the RNA structure so that one copy is dedicated to the initiation of negative-strand RNA synthesis, while the other mediates positive-strand synthesis. This allows us to study the function of the element in promoting positive-strand RNA synthesis, independently of its function in negative-strand initiation. Using this approach, we demonstrate that the entire 5'-end RNA structure that forms on the positive-strand is required for initiation of new positive-strand RNAs. Also required to initiate positive-strand RNA synthesis are the binding sites for the viral polymerase precursor, 3CD, and the host factor, PCBP. Furthermore, we identify specific nucleotide sequences within "stem a" that are essential for the initiation of positive-strand RNA synthesis. These findings provide direct evidence for a trans-initiation model, in which binding of proteins to internal sequences of a pre-existing positive-strand RNA affects the synthesis of subsequent copies of that RNA, most likely by organizing replication factors around the initiation site.
Coal and its carbonisation

This is the first of a series of articles in which Mr. Illingworth outlines what are, in his opinion,the salient facts regarding the character of coal; and shows how knowledge of those facts can be used to regulate the commercial utilisation of coal.
Air-Sea Interaction and Spatial Variability of the Surface Evaporation Duct in a Coastal Environment

Aircraft observations are presented of the horizontal variability in the depth of the surface evaporation duct and the relationship with the mesoscale structure of air-sea interaction processes. The 2-dimensional fields of near-surface wind, stress, wind-stress curl, air and sea-surface temperature are measured directly for flow around a headland. The sea surface temperature field indicates cold upwelling driven by the wind-stress curl. Boundary-layer stability responds rapidly to the spatial changes in surface temperature. These changes result in modification of the evaporation duct, which decreases significantly in depth over the cooler upwelling water.
Temperature-adaptive body-bias and supply voltage scaling for enhanced energy efficiency in nano-CMOS circuits

Temperature dependent propagation delay characteristics of CMOS circuits will experience a complete reversal in the near future. Contrary to the older technology generations, the speed of standard zero-body-biased circuits in a 32 nm CMOS technology is enhanced when the temperature is increased at the nominal supply voltage. The enhancement of circuit speed provides new opportunities to lower the energy consumed by active circuits at elevated temperatures. Temperature-adaptive supply and threshold voltage tuning techniques are proposed in this paper to reduce the high temperature active mode energy consumption without degrading the circuit speed. Results indicate that the energy consumption can be lowered by up to 21% by dynamically scaling the supply voltage at elevated temperatures. An alternative technique based on temperature-adaptive reverse body-bias exponentially reduces the leakage currents as well as the parasitic junction capacitances of the MOSFETs. The temperature-adaptive threshold voltage tuning through reverse body-bias yields an active mode energy reduction by up to 29.8% as compared to the standard zero body-biased circuits at high temperatures.
Terrain Classification and Classifier Fusion for Planetary Exploration Rovers

Knowledge of the physical properties of terrain surrounding a planetary exploration rover can be used to allow a rover system to fully exploit its mobility capabilities. Here a study of multi-sensor terrain classification for planetary rovers in Mars and Mars-like environments is presented. Two classification algorithms for color, texture, and range features are presented based on maximum likelihood estimation and support vector machines. In addition, a classification method based on vibration features derived from rover wheel-terrain interaction is briefly described. Two techniques for merging the results of these "low-level" classifiers are presented that rely on Bayesian fusion and meta-classifier fusion. The performance of these algorithms is studied using images from NASA's mars exploration rover mission and through experiments on a four-wheeled test-bed rover operating in Mars-analog terrain. It is shown that accurate terrain classification can be achieved via classifier fusion from visual and tactile features.
MonarchBase: the monarch butterfly genome database

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus )i s emerging as a model organism to study the mechanisms of circadian clocks and animal navigation, and the genetic underpinnings of long-distance migration. The initial assembly of the monarch genome was released in 2011, and the biological interpretation of the genome focused on the butterfly’s migration biology. To make the extensive data associated with the genome accessible to the general biological and lepidopteran communities, we established MonarchBase (available at http:// monarchbase.umassmed.edu). The database is an open-access, web-available portal that integrates all available data associated with the monarch butterfly genome. Moreover, MonarchBase provides access to an updated version of genome assembly (v3) upon which all data integration is based. These include genes with systematic annotation, as well as other molecular resources, such as brain expressed sequence tags, migration expression profiles and microRNAs. MonarchBase utilizes a variety of retrieving methods to access data conveniently and for integrating biological interpretations.
Assessing the viability of microorganisms in the ballast water of vessels transiting the North Atlantic Ocean

Testing phytoplankton viability within ballast tanks and receiving waters of ballast water discharge remain understudied. Potentially harmful dinoflagellates and diatoms are transported via ballast water to Galveston Bay, Texas (USA), home to three major ports: Houston, Texas City and Galveston. Ballast water from vessels transiting the North Atlantic Ocean was inoculated into treatments representing low and high salinity conditions similar to the Ports of Houston and Galveston respectively. Phytoplankton in ballast water growout experiments were deemed viable and showed growth in low and mid salinities with nutrient enrichment. Molecular methods identified several genera: Dinophysis, Gymnodinium, Gyrodinium, Heterocapsa, Peridinium, Scrippsiella, Chaetoceros and Nitzschia. These phytoplankton genera were previously identified in Galveston Bay except Scrippsiella. Phytoplankton, including those capable of forming harmful algal blooms leading to fish and shellfish kills, are transported to Galveston Bay via ballast water, and are viable when introduced to similar salinity conditions found in Galveston Bay ports.
Acute Uncomplicated Diverticulitis: What to Do Until We Have Better Data

Acute uncomplicated diverticulitis occurs in approximately 4% of patients with diverticulosis. Outpatient, acute care, and inpatient physicians all participate in their care. The American Gastroent...
Computer aided diagnosis in mammography with content-based image retrieval

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) for breast cancer, a common form of cancer in women, has been an active research area. This work aims to investigate and develop CAD techniques for clustered microcalcifications (MCCs), which can be an important early sign of breast cancer. The contributions of this work include development of a database of cancer cases and algorithms for detection and classification of MCCs. First, a database consisting of a large number of cases is built from different sources. To support the merging of cases from different data sources, a feature comparison study is conducted between mammograms from screen film and full field digital mammography (FFDM) systems. It is demonstrated that the features extracted from film and FFDM are highly correlated and there is no adverse effect on a CAD task of classification when used together. Second, a spatial point process (SPP) approach is proposed to exploit the spatial distribution among different MCs in a mammogram directly during the detection process. This is different from the conventional approach in which detection algorithms are employed to first identify individual MCs in a mammogram, which are subsequently grouped into clusters by a clustering algorithm. The performance of the proposed approach is demonstrated to be superior to an existing method based on the support vector machine (SVM). Third, in observation of the emerging of large databases from the picture archiving and communication (PAC) systems in the clinics, a retrieval driven approach is proposed for classification of MCCs. In this approach, for a case to be diagnosed (i.e., query), a set of similar cases is retrieved from a database and subsequently is used to train an adaptive classifier specifically for the query case using the technique of logistic regression. The proposed approach is demonstrated to lead to significant improvement in classification accuracy. Moreover, the proposed adaptive classification approach is further developed using regularization techniques, where a prior is first derived from a baseline classifier and then used to regularize the adaptive classifier trained with the retrieved cases. The regularized adaptive classifier can be more computationally efficient, and is demonstrated to achieve further improvement in performance.
Splanchnic bed utilization of leucine and phenylalanine in humans

To study the fate of enterally delivered essential amino acids, leucine and phenylalanine, 14 healthy adults were infused in the postabsorptive state with [1-13C]leucine, [5,5,5-2H3]leucine, and [phenyl-2H5]phenylalanine for 7 h in a crossover design by intravenous and nasogastric tube routes. The amount of enterally delivered tracer that was sequestered by the splanchnic bed on the first pass was 21 +/- 1, 17 +/- 3, and 29 +/- 2 for the [13C]leucine, [2H]leucine, and [2H]phenylalanine tracers, respectively. Less than 2% of the nasogastric [1-13C]leucine tracer was oxidized on the first pass. We estimate that 40% of the nasogastric leucine tracer that was sequestered on the first pass was converted to alpha-ketoisocaproate and released, and 50% was incorporated into newly synthesized proteins. Assuming that less phenylalanine is incorporated into protein than leucine because of the lower abundance of phenylalanine in protein compared with leucine, we estimate that 80% of the extracted nasogastric phenylalanine tracer was converted to tyrosine. The study design also indicated a significant effect of duration of tracer infusion on the results, presumably due to recycling of tracer from rapidly turning over protein.
Art, ichthyology, Charles Darwin and the Northern Territory of Australia

This paper reflects on the antiquity and continuation of depictions of fishes dating back 24 000 years as highlighted by some specific illustrations. The earliest Aboriginal depictions of fishes date to about 8000 years ago. An Aboriginal x-ray bark painting of a barramundi, Lates calcarifer (Centropomidae), by Jimmy Njiminumna is juxtaposed with a modern scientific illustration of a barramundi skeleton by Christopher May. A recent commissioned x-ray painting of a nurseryfish, Kurtus gulliveri (Kurtidae), from the Adelaide River by Joshua Bangarr represents the first known Aboriginal drawing of this species. Some fishes named in honour of Charles Darwin and the Port of Darwin are discussed. A drawing from 1878 of a jawfish, Opistognathus darwiniensis (Opisthognathidae), described from Darwin Harbour and a 1911 drawing of the gudgeon, Mogurnda mogurnda (Eleotridae), described from Port Essington in 1844, are presented.
Sociology and the President's Bold New PlanThe Role of Sociologists in Analyzing World Problems

NUMBER of recent articles in the journals indicate a growing interest in the sociologist who functions as teacher.' True, these are too often of a very general nature, ending in such lofty exhortations as "The goal of the study of sociology.. .is to give the life of the student new meaning, to help him acquire liberal attitudes, to provide him with a scaffold of meaningful ideas which can illuminate for him the kind of world he is living in and the role he might play."2 With this anyone may well agree who has absorbed such statements for years in the "progressive" literature on education; indeed, this seeming concern for the student strikes a relative newcomer to sociology as appallingly backward. Since well over two-thirds of the members of the American Sociological Society are teachers, should there not be in existence an extensive examination of this duality of roles? Is a teacher of sociology a sociologist ipso facto? If he assumes this to be so, can he then exceed the limits set for him by Max Weber, who insisted that " 'Scientific' pleading is meaningless in principle because the various value spheres of the world stand in irreconcilable conflict with each other?"3 If, on the other hand, the tea her feels that his daily role permits him to go beyond that of pure scholar, he becomes legitimately concerned with the effect of his teaching upon his students as future participants in the political and social structure. However, the purpose of this paper is not to raise further theoretical points and approaches. It will report, instead, of a project carried out during the last month of the spring semester, 1948-49, among 170 students in the introductory course, consisting of four sections. Call it an exercise in international sociology or in social change, if you will; it may serve as primary material from which the roles of teacher, sociologist, and student may be more fruitfully considered in specific terms. It will open with a statement of the problem; next, a detailed program of the organization and procedures; third, student conclusions; last, some commentary on the effectiveness of the project.
Chemical Bonding, Structure, and Morphology of Mg/∝-Al2O3 and MGO / ∝-Al2O3 Interfaces

Ultra-thin films of Mg and MgO were grown on α-Al2O3 (1012) surfaces (r-cut sapphire) and studied using reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). When Mg is deposited at 30°C in ultra-high vacuum (UHV), the first monolayer of Mg atoms chemically bonds to the oxygen anions of the sapphire surface. At Mg coverages above a monolayer, a polycrystalline metallic Mg overlayer is formed. Annealing above 250°C in UHV causes the metallic Mg to desorb from the surface. However, annealing above 250°C in 10−6 torr O2 produces a polycrystalline MgO film. This MgO film recrystallizes after annealing in O2 at 900°C for 60 minutes and exhibits a crystallographic orientation of MgO (100) // α-Al2O3 (1012). RHEED indicates that the recrystallized MgO layer dewets the sapphire surface and forms islands. When Mg is deposited at 30°C in 10−6 torr O2, a polycrystalline MgO layer is created. This layer also becomes recrystallized and dewets the sapphire surface after extended annealing in O2 at 900°C. No evidence for a MgAl2O4 spinel phase was observed.
Bendito Amor ('Blessed Love'): Religion and Relationships among Married and Unmarried Latinos in Urban America*

Objective: The family arrangements of Latinos in the U.S. are increasingly diverse, with many living with their partners out of wedlock. Latinos also tend to be more religious than the population at large. Accordingly we examine the associations between religion and relationship quality among married and unmarried Latino couples. Methods: Data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, which focuses on parents in urban America, are used in conjunction with seemingly unrelated regression.Results: Church attendance generally promotes positive perceptions of union quality. Men's religious participation is more consequential than women's; married couples appear to benefit more from religion than do Latinos in cohabiting or visiting relationships. Finally, Latino men report worse relationships when their partners attend church regularly. Conclusion: Religion plays an important role in Latino families, although its effects are not uniformly positive.
Investigation of ±800 kV UHVDC Transmission Standard System and the Standards for Main Equipments

A whole scheme of design standars for ±800 kV UHVDC transmission is not yet available in the world.Based on the theoretical study and practic,and taking the exist standards for ±500 kV voltage level into account,this paper investigates the architecture principle of standards for ±800 kV UHVDC transmission,especially with focus on the standards for its main equipments such as converter transformer,converter valve,smoothing reactor,bush and insulator.All these proposed standards are pioneers in the world.
Engaging sophomores in embedded design using robotics

The material covered in a typical Computer Engineering class tends to be heavily focused on a single subject area. Students often struggle to see how different subjects are interrelated or how they can be combined to address a wider range of problems. They generally have to wait until after they have completed subsequent related courses before they are able to put the previously material in context. For example, the concepts students learn in a typical digital logic course usually make more sense when one is taking computer architecture.A second issue is that students fail to grasp the richness and diversity of Computer Engineering until they have taken courses in hardware, software, networking and computer architecture. This may push students away from the field prematurely.To address these issues, we have designed a new class targeted at sophomores that covers a broad slice of Computer Engineering. The class teaches students many of the fundamental concepts of Computer Engineering. The course is required for students pursuing degrees in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Northeastern University. It provides them with a hands-on experience and presents the basics of the Unix/Linux operating system, high level programming concepts, introductory digital design, computer organization and wireless networking. Students get the opportunity to directly apply the theory presented in the classroom as they build a working remote-controlled robotic arm.The class is taught in a colaboratory, an integrated laboratory-classroom environment. The room facilitates team-based design, active learning and exploration, while allowing the instructor to move seamlessly between lecturing and hands-on laboratory experiences. By the end of the course, the students acquire a general understanding of the different areas in Computer Engineering. They leave more prepared and more excited to tackle the more specialized courses that they will take later in the curriculum. They are also better prepared for their first cooperative education experience, which many of them will do immediately after taking this class.
The dysvascular amputee.

Summary By far the most common cause of lower extremity amputation in civilian practice is peripheral vascular disease. Many such patients are in their productive years and are not truly elderly, yet they have other stigmata of systemic vascular disease; hence, the term “dysvascular” has been applied to this class of patient. When the dysvascular patient, in particular, becomes an amputee he can function at a satisfactory level only if his energy costs remain relatively low in ambulation. In this regard amputation at as Iowa level as possible is highly desirable. Under certain specific circumstances amputation can be successfully performed about the foot and ankle. In the majority of cases below knee amputation is a feasible level and successful healing ensues. The dysvascular patient who requires amputation above the knee requires a greatly increased energy output for ambulation, and this precludes successful prosthetic rehabilitation in at least half such patients. The precise level of amputation in patients with vascular disease is determined by the lowest level of skin viability. This is best evaluated in the operating room by observation of skin bleeding at the time of incision, although a preliminary estimate of level can be made by noting the warmth and evaluating the sensation of the skin on physical examination. The surgical technique in amputation through tissues of borderline viability should be characterized by gentle handling of the tissues and absolute avoidance of dissection between tissue planes so that the myocutaneous flaps formed are short. With rare exceptions, primary closure is recommended utilizing widely spaced sutures. Prosthetic rehabilitation should begin as soon as possible postoperatively so that interruption of function is minimized. If immediate postsurgical fitting has not been used, early fitting with a temporary plaster leg is highly desirable, ideally within the first two to three weeks postoperatively, Seventy-five per cent of the below knee amputees can be successfully rehabilitated prosthetically, and there is practically no contraindication to fitting these patients. Above knee amputees in the dysvascular group should be carefully selected for fitting on the basis of the overall medical status in view of the high energy costs required in walking. The temporary prosthesis is helpful in selecting patients for definitive fitting. Total contact sockets are preferred for the dysvascular amputee, whether below or above the knee. Prosthetic suspension should be secure but as simple and comfortable as possible. Knee components should be light in weight and afford stability during the stance phase rather than being heavy and designed for swing phase control.