cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spring evolution of Pseudocalanus spp. abundance on Georges Bank based on molecular discrimination of P. moultoni and P. newmani

Abstract The planktonic copepod sibling species Pseudocalanus moultoni and P. newmani (Crustacea, Copepoda) are abundant in waters over Georges Bank from late winter until mid-summer and are thought to reproduce throughout this period. The two species cannot be reliably distinguished using morphological characters, but are readily identified and distinguished by simple, rapid, and inexpensive molecular protocols based on sequence variation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). DNA sequence variation of a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) confirmed the presence of P. moultoni and P. newmani on Georges Bank; the mtCOI sequences were used to design species-specific oligonucleotide primers for use in a competitive multiplexed species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Species-specific PCR was used to determine the relative abundances of the two species in sub-samples of zooplankton collections from US GLOBEC Georges Bank Study Broadscale Surveys from February to June, 1997. Based on monthly visualizations, we inferred the spring evolution of the two species’ distributions and abundances on Georges Bank. Both species’ overall abundances increased from February to May or June: maximum abundance of P. moultoni was 38,061 m−2 in surface waters on the crest of Georges Bank in June; maximum abundance of P. newmani was 13,854 m−2 in subsurface waters on the Northeast Peak in April. The Peak in distribution of P. moultoni shifted from Georges Basin in April, to the northern edge of the Bank in May, to the center of the Bank in June. In contrast, P. newmani was more abundant to the south and east of the Bank. Beginning in April, P. newmani occurred on the Bank but was less abundant and less widely-distributed than P. moultoni; P. newmani abundance peaked in May and declined somewhat in June. Females of the species differed in their patterns of distribution and abundance, with P. moultoni always the more abundant species on the crest of the Bank. The spring increase of P. moultoni may result from the persistence of reproducing individuals over the Bank and/or from advective transport from adjacent regions. In contrast, P. newmani may be transported to Georges Bank from upstream populations on the Scotian Shelf and Browns Bank. The processes responsible for the observed patterns cannot be determined from this series of monthly snap-shots alone; ongoing studies use numerical models to examine the biological and physical dynamics causing these distributions.
Anion exchange of metal complexes—III[1] the zinc-thiocyanate system

Abstract The distributions of tracer 65Zn between Dowen 1 × 8, a strongly basic anion exchanger, and the thiocyanate salt solutions of the cations sodium, ammonium, potassium and lithium have been determined. The high selectivity of the resin for 65Zn under these conditions eliminates any danger of polynucleation. The distribution isotherms were determined in the range of ∼ 0·05 to ∼ 5·5 M concentrations of the thiocyanate solutions. Increasing absorbability above 2·0 M was in the order of Na+ > K+ > Li+ > NH4+ with a maximum at ∼ 0·5 M for NH4+, K+ and Li+, and at ∼ 1·0 M for Na+. Having taken resin invasion into account, corrected distribution curves were made. From these, overall complexity parameters related to the neutral complex were evaluated by curve fitting as follows: k+2 = 2·75 × 10−2; k+1 = 1·03; k−1 = 0·883; k−2 = 29·1. A 3·5 × 105 fold stabilization of the neutral species over the aqueous phase is effected by resin sorption.
Antipsychotic withdrawal symptoms: phenomenology and pathophysiology.

ABSTRACT— The authors review the literature discribing non-dyskinetic antipsychotic withdrawal phenomena. Withdrawal of these agents can cause nausea, emesis, anorexia, diarrhea, rhinorrhea, diaphoresis, myalgia, paresthesia, anxiety, agitation, restlessness, and insomnia. Psychotic relapse is often presaged by increased anxiety, agitation, restlessness and insomnia, but the temporal relationship of these prodromal symptoms to reduction in the dosage or discontinuation of neuroleptics distinguishes them from the effects of abrupt withdrawal.
Helping Evaluators Swim with the Current: Training Evaluators to Support Mainstreaming

Approaches to training in evaluation, with the aim of seeding the field of education with evaluators who can work with organizations in a more participatory and relevant way, are proposed. The methods suggested are intended to incline evaluators toward participatory approaches. Trained evaluators will be equipped to forge powerful learning partnerships with programs and participants, thus improving the prospects for mainstreaming evaluation.
Ibuprofen and skin and soft tissue superinfections in children with varicella

Abstract PURPOSE: To investigate the possible association between ibuprofen use and dermatologic superinfections among children with recent varicella infection. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of children in Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a health maintenance organization in New England, was conducted. Outcomes and exposures of interest were identified from automated medical and pharmacy records. Exposure was defined by dispensing of ibuprofen before varicella to avoid potential confounding by indication. RESULTS: Between July 1, 1990 and September 30, 1994, 89 superinfections developed among 7,013 cases of varicella. The 30-day risk of superinfection was 7.2/10 3 cases (95% CI = 5.8 – 8.8/10 3 cases). Four of 169 children dispensed ibuprofen within 180 days of varicella developed superinfection. Relative to children without prior use, children with ibuprofen dispensed in the month prior to varicella were 3.1 times more likely to be diagnosed with a superinfection (95% CI = 0.1–19.7; P -value: 0.31). Restriction of outcomes to superinfections treated with systemic antibiotics increased the odds ratio to 5.1 (95% CI = 0.1–32.5; P -value: 0.22). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study are consistent with a broad range of effects including no association and suggest that further study is needed.
An introduction to tile-based self-assembly and a survey of recent results

We first give an introduction to the field of tile-based self-assembly, focusing primarily on theoretical models and their algorithmic nature. We start with a description of Winfree’s abstract Tile Assembly Model (aTAM) and survey a series of results in that model, discussing topics such as the shapes which can be built and the computations which can be performed, among many others. Next, we introduce the more experimentally realistic kinetic Tile Assembly Model (kTAM) and provide an overview of kTAM results, focusing especially on the kTAM’s ability to model errors and several results targeted at preventing and correcting errors. We then describe the 2-Handed Assembly Model (2HAM), which allows entire assemblies to combine with each other in pairs (as opposed to the restriction of single-tile addition in the aTAM and kTAM) and doesn’t require a specified seed. We give overviews of a series of 2HAM results, which tend to make use of geometric techniques not applicable in the aTAM. Finally, we discuss and define a wide array of more recently developed models and discuss their various tradeoffs in comparison to the previous models and to each other.
Culturally Relevant Psychotherapy for Perinatal Depression in Low-Income Ob/Gyn Patients

To minimize barriers to care, ameliorate antenatal depression, and prevent postpartum depression in low-income women, we propose that a culturally relevant version of brief interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-B) may be an effective approach. IPT-B is a modified form of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), an efficacious treatment for depression that we have altered to address the needs of women who have difficulty adhering to longer courses of psychotherapy. Culturally relevant additions to IPT-B include (1) a pre-treatment engagement strategy consisting of an ethnographic interview accompanied by psychoeducation to engage women in treatment; (2) convenient delivery of IPT-B in a public care Ob/Gyn clinic where the women receive prenatal services; (3) flexible scheduling of treatment sessions at the clinic or on the phone; and 4) facilitation of access to social services.
Influence of deformation path on the strain hardening behavior and microstructure evolution in low SFE FCC metals

Abstract Following our recent studies of the influence of mechanical twinning on the strain hardening of low SFE FCC metals deformed by simple compression, the investigation was extended to two different deformation modes. These were plane strain compression and simple shear carried out on 70/30 brass, which exhibits only strain hardening, and on MP35N, a Co–Ni based alloy that also shows secondary hardening by deformation promoted precipitation. It was found that the magnitude of the primary strain hardening in both alloys, and the secondary hardening in MP35N, was dramatically reduced under simple shear compared to the other deformation paths. This reduced hardening in simple shear appears to be a consequence of the bulk of the deformation twins, and also the secondary hardening precipitates, forming on planes that were parallel to the primary {111} slip planes in this deformation path. These hypotheses are supported by deformation path change tests in which the shear samples that show low flow stress under continued shear, when subjected to simple compression showed a significant increase (jump) in the flow stress, reaching values that are similar to those of the alloy continuously compressed to the same equivalent strain. That is, the reduced strain hardening in shear deformation is due not to reduced twinning, but to the twins produced by shear providing only limited barriers to continued strain by simple shear. Shear banding was found to be more marked in plane strain compression than in simple compression after cold working, and particularly after the additional secondary hardening in MP35N.
Improved caustic coal desulfurization by a float-sink/leaching process employing 50% aqueous NaOH solutions

Abstract The lowest residual sulfur levels ever attained by caustic leaching of Illinois No. 6 coal samples have resulted from the application of a combined float-sink/leaching (FL) process in which 50% aqueous NaOH solutions serve as the heavy medium during the float-sink step and as the reagent during subsequent atmospheric pressure leaching. In addition to yielding coal with extremely low residual sulfur levels, this process also requires significantly less energy and less caustic for cleaning coal than molten caustic leaching (MCL) procedures from which it was derived. In one variation of the FL process, coal samples are pretreated by a float-sink procedure using 50% aqueous NaOH as the heavy medium. The floated coal plus a portion of the 50% aqueous caustic used during float-sink are then heated at 390°C at atmospheric pressure for 30 minutes. The resulting coal-caustic cake is then washed to remove solubilized materials, and a clean coal product is recovered. When applied to Illinois No. 6 coal samples initially containing 3.8% sulfur and 11% ash, this variation of the FL process led to recovery of a cleaned coal containing only 0.2% sulfur and 0.3% ash. In other variations of the FL procedure, the amount of caustic, the leaching temperature, and leaching durations have been reduced. Even under these milder conditions, use of the FL process resulted in cleaned coals at least as low in sulfur as can be attained by MCL. An important advantage of the FL process compared with MCL is the reuse of recovered caustic solutions without need for drying. It is estimated that 90% of the energy consumed during MCL is required for evaporation of water from regenerated caustic process streams to produce a dry caustic for reuse. With the FL process, unreacted caustic is recovered as a 50% solution that has been reused without drying and without loss of cleaning effectiveness. The effectiveness of the FL process may result from the removal of a sulfur-containing species during the float-sink step that is unreactive with caustic during the subsequent leaching step.
The current prospects for neutrophil transfusions for the treatment of granulocytopenic infected patients

Summary Infection continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing aggressive chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The provision of normal neutrophils to such patients is a logical therapeutic approach, the success of which will likely be dependent on the dose of neutrophils provided. Stimulation of normal leukapheresis donors with G-CSF or dexamethasone causes marked neutrophilia and results in the collection of greatly increased numbers of neutrophils. Transfusion recipients, on average, exhibit large posttransfusion neutrophil increments that are sustained for 24 hours. These cells are capable of migrating to extravascular sites. Although the preliminary clinical impressions are encouraging, the clinical efficacy of transfusing large numbers of neutrophils will have to be determined by randomized controlled clinical trials.
Fetal blood sampling: is intrahepatic vein fetal blood sampling as successful as percutaneous umbilical cord blood sampling?

SAMPLING AS SUCCESSFUL AS PERCUTANEOUS UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD SAMPLING? CYNTHIA HOLCROFT, ABIMBOLA AINA-MUMUNEY, RITA DRIGGERS, NANCY HUEPPCHEN, EVA PRESSMAN, KARIN BLAKEMORE, Johns Hopkins University, Gynecology & Obstetrics, Baltimore, MD OBJECTIVE: To determine the success rate and variables that alter success in intrahepatic vein fetal blood sampling (IHV) and percutaneous umbilical cord blood sampling (PUBS). STUDY DESIGN: IRB-approved retrospective chart review of attempted fetal blood samplings done at our institution by IHV or PUBS from 7/87-8/03. Data abstracted include gestational age at procedure, placental location, presence of hydrops or ascites, attempted procedure, and success of procedure. Data analyzed by t-test, Fisher’s exact, and chi-square with P < 0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: We identified 187 attempted cases: 97 IHV, 75 PUBS, and 15 combined procedures. 96 of 112 (86%) of attempted IHV were successful vs 70 of 90 (78%) of attempted PUBS (P = 0.14). In 5 of 96 (5%) successful IHV cases, PUBS was first tried unsuccessfully; in 8 of 70 (11%) successful PUBS cases, IHV was first tried unsuccessfully (P = 0.16). Placental location was statistically different in the successful samplings. For successful IHV, placental location was anterior 47%, posterior 43%, and fundal/lateral 10%. For successful PUBS, placental location was anterior 67%, posterior 21%, and fundal/lateral 12% (P = 0.01). There were 27 of 187 (14%) attempted cases performed at #22 weeks’ gestation; of these, 8 of 9 (89%) of IHV were successful vs 15 of 18 (83%) of PUBS (P = 1.0). There was no statistical difference in gestational age, hydrops, or ascites between either attempted or successful IHV and PUBS. CONCLUSION: IHV is as successful as PUBS in obtaining an adequate fetal blood sample. In our series IHV was slightly more successful than PUBS, although this difference did not reach statistical significance (86% vs 78%, P = 0.14). Gestational age did not contribute to a difference in success rate. For successful procedures the placenta was posterior in 43% of IHV versus 21% of PUBS. IHV should be considered a strong alternative to PUBS for fetal blood sampling, particularly in cases with posterior placentas.
Accentuation of phosphorus limitation in Geranium dissectum by nitrogen: an ecological genomics study

Global climate change experiments have shown changes in productivity, phenology, species composition, and nutrient acquisition and availability; yet, the underlying mechanisms for these responses, especially in multi-factorial experiments, are poorly understood. Altered nutrient availability is a major consequence of global change, directly due to anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition, and indirectly due to shifts in temperature and water availability. In the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment, microarrays were used to investigate the transcriptional responses of the dominant dicot, Geranium dissectum, to simulated N deposition. The transcript levels for several photosynthetic genes were elevated in plants exposed to elevated N, as has been reported previously, validating the use of microarrays under field conditions. A coordinated response of a suite of genes previously reported to be induced in response to phosphate (Pi) deficiency was observed, including genes for the glycolytic bypass pathway, which reduces ATP and Pi requirements for sugar degradation, suggesting that the plants were phosphorus (P) limited. Confirming this conclusion, foliar P levels in G. dissectum leaves were reduced to levels that are suboptimal for growth in plants grown in elevated N and elevated CO2 plots. Thus, although plants commonly produce more biomass in response to elevated N in native grasslands, this growth response may be suboptimal due to a P limitation. Foliar P levels in plants from elevated CO2 plots were also suboptimal for growth. However, genes indicative of Pi deficiency were not significantly expressed at higher levels. Transcript levels for genes involved in nitrate uptake and assimilation were unchanged by the elevated N deposition treatment, possibly due to the combined impacts of elevated N deposition and P limitation under field conditions. These observations highlight the complexity of the impact of global climate change factors in the field.
Facilitating change in undergraduate STEM instructional practices: An analytic review of the literature

This article reviews current scholarship about how to promote change in instructional practices used in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. The review is based on 191 conceptual and empirical journal articles published between 1995 and 2008. Four broad categories of change strategies were developed to capture core differences within this body of literature: disseminating curriculum and pedagogy, developing reflective teachers, enacting policy, and developing shared vision. STEM education researchers largely write about change in terms of dis- seminating curriculum and pedagogy. Faculty development researchers largely write about change in terms of developing reflective teachers. Higher education researchers largely write about change in terms of enacting policy. New work often does not build on prior empirical or theoretical work. Although most articles claim success of the change strategy studied, evidence presented to support these claims is typically not strong. For example, only 21% of articles that studied implementation of a change strategy were categorized as presenting strong evidence to support claims of success or failure of the strategy. These analyses suggest that the state of change strategies and the study of change strategies are weak, and that research communities that study and enact change are largely isolated from one-another. In spite of the weak state of the literature, some conclusions related to the design of change strategies can be drawn from this review. Two commonly used change strategies are clearly not effective: developing and testing ''best practice'' curricular materials and then making these materials available to other facul- ty and ''top-down'' policy-making meant to influence instructional practices. Effective change strategies: are aligned with or seek to change the beliefs of the individuals involved; involve long-term interventions, lasting at least one semester; require understanding a college or university as a complex system and designing a strategy that is compatible with this system. ! 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 952-984, 2011
Restricting apoptosis for postmitotic cell survival and its relevance to cancer

The importance of apoptosis in multicellular organisms is signified by the high degree of genetic conservation in the core components of this pathway from C. elegans through mammals. However, as the cells which comprise these organisms have diversified and become more specialized, so have the mechanisms which regulate the apoptotic pathway. The complex regulatory mechanisms by which the apoptotic pathway is refined are perhaps most apparent in differentiated postmitotic cells such as neurons, cardiomyocytes, and skeletal myotubes. The lack of significant regenerative potential in postmitotic cells demands that they must persist long-term, often for the full lifespan of an organism. Recent studies have identified several diverse mechanisms by which postmitotic cells restrict their apoptotic potential. Importantly, these mechanisms may also be coopted by cancer cells in order to evade apoptosis.
Does discussing sexually transmissible infections or HIV with a parent increase condom use among young women using other contraceptive methods

Background: Young people may be more likely to use condoms if they discuss sexual risks with their parents. However, no previous study has examined whether discussing sexual risks with a parent is differently associated with condom use among women using and not using other contraceptive methods. Methods: Using weighted data from the 2006-2008 National Survey of Family Growth, we examined condom use at last sex among 1206 sexually active unmarried women aged 15-24 years. Using logistic regression, we examined the association between condom use and discussing sexually transmissible infections (STIs) with parents before the age of 18 years, adjusted for women's characteristics (age, ethnicity, income and condom use at first sex). We estimated the predicted probability of condom use by whether women discussed STIs with parents, stratified by use of other contraceptive methods. Results: Overall, 53% of women used condoms at last sex. Among 564 women using other contraceptives, 42% used condoms, versus 64% of 642 women not using other contraceptive methods (P < 0.01). After adjustment for covariates, the predicted probability of condom use among women using other contraceptives was 47% among women who discussed STIs with their parents (v. 31% of those not discussing STIs; P < 0.01). Among women not using other contraceptives, the predicted probability of condom use remained 64% regardless of whether they discussed STIs with their parents. Conclusions: Young women who use other contraceptive methods are less likely to use condoms, but discussing STIs with parents is associated with increased condom use among these women.
Toward information sharing: benefit and risk access control (BARAC)

This paper describes an access control model, called BARAC, that is based on balancing risks of information disclosure with benefits of information sharing. The model configuration associates risk and benefit vectors with every read and update transaction. An allowed transactions graph captures allowed transactions and flow paths that can be used to carry out the transactions. The total system is required to be profitable, in that the total system benefit must overweigh the total system risk; and the allowed transaction graph is required to be optimal, in that its profit cannot be improved by adding transactions or removing transactions. Both the system configuration and the allowed transaction graph can be dynamically modified, while preserving the required properties. The dynamic modifications are done in the scope of hierarchies of tasks and responsible parties, that control the task structure and risk budget allocation to tasks.
On the Equivalence of Controlled Systems with a Continuous Symmetry Group

The problem of global transformation of nonintegrable control dynamical systems to a standard one is considered with the help of Lie Group theory methods. It is assumed that a Lie group (Lie algebra) is known only for the standard dynamical systems. The condition of global equivalence of nonlinear dynamical systems is expressed in terms of solvable Lie algebras. The class of dynamical systems equivalent to the standard one is determined by the use of the Cartan criterion for the solvability of a Lie algebra. Group theory methods can be used to simplify the analysis of controlled dynamic systems if the symmetry group is known from a priori considerations. Otherwise, it is necessary to find preliminary infinitesimal operators of the Liegroup, i.e., a Lie algebra. In fact, this is not simpler than to integrate immediately the initial equations. In the present paper the problem is formulated in a different manner so as to avoid this difficulty. Let us define a class of standard controlled systems whose symmetry group (or more exactly, symmetry Lie algebra) is known. The symmetry Lie algebra is obtained for the controlled systems which are equivalent to the standard ones After that the class of dynamic systems, invariant with respect to the known symmetry group, is determined.
Do Compensation Committee Members Perceive Changing CEO Incentive Performance Targets Mid-Cycle to be Fair?

We examine the influences of social capital, source credibility, and fairness perceptions on the judgments of experienced compensation committee (CC) members who are considering a proposal to reduce management’s performance targets in the middle of a compensation cycle due to difficult circumstances. Eighty-nine U.S. public company CC members participated in a 2 × 2 experiment with social capital and source credibility each manipulated as low or high, and outcome fairness to management, process fairness to shareholders, and outcome fairness to shareholders included as measured variables. While social capital and source credibility are not significant, we find that outcome fairness to the CEO and outcome fairness to shareholders are significantly related to CC members’ support for reducing performance targets during a compensation cycle. In addition, we find that more experienced CC members are less supportive of changing the performance targets. The significant interactions include one between outcome fairness to shareholders and process fairness to shareholders, which suggests that CC member support for the proposal relies on both process and outcome fairness being present. Finally, the participants’ qualitative responses reflect arguments both for and against adjusting performance targets. Overall, the results highlight the important roles of fairness and director experience in boardroom decisions and provide important insights into factors affecting CC judgments.
Temperature Protects Insect Cells from Infection by Cricket Paralysis Virus

Heat shock is a well-known stress response characterized by a rapid synthesis of a set of proteins which are responsible for protection against stress. We examined the role of temperature on the growth of cricket paralysis virus, a member of the family Dicistroviridae, in insect cells. Heat shock caused an induction of heat shock protein-encoding mRNAs in uninfected cells but not in infected cells. While viral RNA and protein were abundant during heat shock, virion formation was inhibited at higher temperatures. The different susceptibility to pathogens at different temperatures is likely a crucial feature of host-pathogen interaction in cold-blooded animals.
Religion and Power in Morocco

Religion and Power in Morocco. HENRY MUNSON, JR. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1993. xix + 232 pp., map, note on transliteration, chronology, notes, glossary, bibliographies, index.
161Dy isomer shifts in dysprosium compounds

Abstract Mossbauer absorption spectra were obtained for the 25.7 keV transitions of 161Dy in dysprosium metal and several compounds at room temperature. Isomer shifts relative to DyF3 are: Dy (metal), 3.05 mm sec−1; DyN, 0.85 mm sec−1; Dy2O3, 0.56 mm sec−1; DyH2.9, 0.55 mm sec−1; DyH2.1, 0.50 mm sec−1; DyF3. 1 2 H 2 O , −0.04; and Dy2(SO43.8H2O, −0.46 mm sec−1. The relative isomer shifts of these compounds are attributed to varying degrees of covalency. The isomer shifts for the hydrides are compared to the predictions of the protonic and hydridic models for these compounds and appear to favor the hydridic model.
Core excitation in 14 C and two-proton pickup

In two-proton pickup from ${}^{14}$C, the calculated cross-section ratio for the first two 0${}^{+}$ states of ${}^{12}$Be depends on the configuration mixing in these two states and on the amount of core excitation in the ground state (g.s.) of ${}^{14}$C. Using the ${}^{12}$Be wave functions that are reasonably well known, I have calculated this ratio as a function of the core excitation in ${}^{14}$C(g.s.). A measurement of this ratio should allow an independent determination of the ${}^{14}$C mixing---previously estimated to be about 12$%$.
Seeing Through the Noise: Where Was This Guy Headed?

The complex systems approach to cognition has been challenged by the need to redescribe cognition in a way that avoids traditional commitments to the notion of efficient-cause relationships between perception, isolated computational components, and action. Guy Van Orden met this challenge head-on. Instead of decomposing consecutive reaction times into means and comparing differences in means across conditions to the variability surrounding those means (which was assumed to constitute white noise), he examined the multiscale dynamics entailed in consecutive reaction times. This led him to develop the notion of interaction-dominant versus component-dominant dynamics. Although Guy's empirical and theoretical work clearly addresses ecological psychology's long-standing concern with indirect, mediated perception, it nonetheless begs the question of just how interactive we are willing to go. This article proposes that Guy's work was leading us toward a metaphysics of interaction, all the way down. In such an in...
Technology-Aware Algorithm Design for Neural Spike Detection, Feature Extraction, and Dimensionality Reduction

Applications such as brain-machine interfaces require hardware spike sorting in order to 1) obtain single-unit activity and 2) perform data reduction for wireless data transmission. Such systems must be low-power, low-area, high-accuracy, automatic, and able to operate in real time. Several detection, feature-extraction, and dimensionality-reduction algorithms for spike sorting are described and evaluated in terms of accuracy versus complexity. The nonlinear energy operator is chosen as the optimal spike-detection algorithm, being most robust over noise and relatively simple. Discrete derivatives is chosen as the optimal feature-extraction method, maintaining high accuracy across signal-to-noise ratios with a complexity orders of magnitude less than that of traditional methods such as principal-component analysis. We introduce the maximum-difference algorithm, which is shown to be the best dimensionality-reduction method for hardware spike sorting.
Fine-grained end-to-end network model via vector quantization and hidden Markov processes

We study and compare modeling an end-to-end network by conventional, bivariate, and exponential observation hidden Markov processes. Furthermore, effects of μ-law, Lindle-Boyde-Gray, and uniform quantization approaches on the modeling granularity is explored. We performed experiments using synthetic representative data from a traffic-modeler autoregressive modular process and the Network Simulator software as well as over-the-Internet experiments with real data to contrast the fidelity produced from each model. Comparing statistical signatures of the model-generated data with those of the training sequence indicates that accompanying Lindle-Boyde-Gray quantization with conventional or bivariate hidden Markov processes significantly improves the modeling fidelity.
Estrogen treatment following severe burn injury reduces brain inflammation and apoptotic signaling

Background Patients with severe burn injury experience a rapid elevation in multiple circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines, with the levels correlating with both injury severity and outcome. Accumulations of these cytokines in animal models have been observed in remote organs, however data are lacking regarding early brain cytokine levels following burn injury, and the effects of estradiol on these levels. Using an experimental animal model, we studied the acute effects of a full-thickness third degree burn on brain levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 and the protective effects of acute estrogen treatment on these levels. Additionally, the acute administration of estrogen on regulation of inflammatory and apoptotic events in the brain following severe burn injury were studied through measuring the levels of phospho-ERK, phospho-Akt, active caspase-3, and PARP cleavage in the placebo and estrogen treated groups.
Volume decomposition and feature recognition: part 1—polyhedral objects

Abstract A method has been developed that decomposes a polyhedron into maximal cells by intersecting it with half spaces of its faces having concave edges. Every set of such half spaces that would result in maximal convex cells is found very efficiently without actual intersection operations by examining the relationships among the half spaces and the neighbourhoods of concave edges. One application of this decomposition method is recognition of intersecting features for process planning. Recognition of intersecting features has been a major difficulty in automating process planning. With this decomposition method, a delta volume is decomposed into maximal convex cells. By subtracting maximal convex cells from each other in different orders, multiple interpretations of features are generated. Since the number of interpretations, which may reach N! for N maximal convex cells, can be very large and thus selecting one of them for machining may be difficult, we tried to generate a machining sequence directly from maximal convex cells of a delta volume using a small number of heuristics on machining. The result was the same machining sequence as the one suggested by a machinist.
Shape memory alloy actuator controller design for tactile displays

This paper describes the design of a controller for a tactile shape display for dexterous telemanipulation applications. This device consists of an array of pin elements which rest against the human finger tip. Shape memory alloy (SMA) wire actuators raise individual pins to approximate the desired surface shape on the skin. To overcome the slow response times of SMA actuators we have implemented a feedforward derivative compensator and pneumatic cooling. The hysteretic and nonlinear response of the SMA actuators required the use of a closed loop controller with position feedback using an optical emitter-receiver pair. This also improves robustness to the load variations which result from human interaction.
Ablation of Leptin Receptor-Mediated ERK Activation Impairs Host Defense against Gram-Negative Pneumonia

The adipocyte-derived hormone leptin plays an important role in regulation of energy homeostasis and the innate immune response against bacterial infections. Leptin's actions are mediated by signaling events initiated by phosphorylation of tyrosine residues on the long form of the leptin receptor. We recently reported that disruption of leptin receptor-mediated STAT3 activation augmented host defense against pneumococcal pneumonia. In this report, we assessed leptin receptor-mediated ERK activation, a pathway that was ablated in the l/l mouse through a mutation of the tyrosine 985 residue in the leptin receptor, to determine its role in host defense against bacterial pneumonia in vivo and in alveolar macrophage (AM) antibacterial functions in vitro. l/l mice exhibited increased mortality and impaired pulmonary bacterial clearance after intratracheal challenge with Klebsiella pneumoniae. The synthesis of cysteinyl-leukotrienes was reduced and that of PGE(2) enhanced in AMs in vitro and the lungs of l/l mice after infection with K. pneumoniae in vivo. We also observed reduced phagocytosis and killing of K. pneumoniae in AMs from l/l mice that was associated with reduced reactive oxygen intermediate production in vitro. cAMP, known to suppress phagocytosis, bactericidal capacity, and reactive oxygen intermediate production, was also increased 2-fold in AMs from l/l mice. Pharmacologic blockade of PGE(2) synthesis reduced cAMP levels and overcame the defective phagocytosis and killing of bacteria in AMs from l/l mice in vitro. These results demonstrate that leptin receptor-mediated ERK activation plays an essential role in host defense against bacterial pneumonia and in leukocyte antibacterial effector functions.
Adenosine A2A receptor modulates vascular response in soluble epoxide hydrolase-null mice through CYP-epoxygenases and PPARγ

The interaction between adenosine and soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) in vascular response is not known. Therefore, we hypothesized that lack of sEH in mice enhances adenosine-induced relaxation th...
Evaluation of the ionization performance of a stable dc glow-discharge in flowing plasmas

The renewed interest in MHD propulsion raises the problem of generating steady state plasma flows with high conductivity levels. Several alternative solutions to steady ionization of plasma columns are available: microwave and RF breakdown, laser illumination, electric field breakdown etc. We are evaluating a DC glow discharge ionization device (GDID) with cylindrical symmetry. The plasma is generated by breakdown of the gas in a stable, radial DC electrical field. The ionization device is composed of a cylindrical, open-ended anode and an inner, coaxial cathode. The device is powered by a high voltage DC power supply. The GDID has been tested with nitrogen. Plasma electron temperature and electron density are measured with an array of single Langmuir probes. Local plasma conductivity is inferred from these measurements, by using a collisional model. The GDID shows improvement in the ionization level over microwave breakdown.
Time-suspension multiple-pulse sequences: applications to solid-state imaging

In this Communication, we introduce a 48-pulse homonuclear dipolar decoupling cycle which also refocuses chemical shifts and other resonance offsets. When applied by itself to a system of spins then it appears that the spin system does not evolve in the absence of irreversible effects. By carefully combining this multiple-pulse sequence with a time-dependent magnetic field gradient, the gradient-induced evolution can be preserved without destroying the line-narrowing benefits of the cycle. With this method we hope to obtain liquid-like images of solid samples. One approach to solid-state imaging, then, is to combine a multiple-pulse cycle which averages time-independent linear and bilinear Z, Hamiltonians with a temporally and spatially dependent linear Z, Hamiltonian in such a manner that this spatially dependent Hamiltonian does not interfere (I ) with the multiple-pulse averaging of the time-independent Hamiltonians. This approach allows high-resolution solid-state images to be obtained with modest magnetic field gradient strengths thereby avoiding the sensitivity cost associated with large detection bandwidths (2,3). In addition, the resulting images have nearly uniform spatial resolution unlike solid-state images that are acquired with multiple-pulse sequences in a time-independent magnetic field gradient. These “time-suspension” cycles average both linear and bilinear Z, Hamiltonians by toggling Z, and Z,Z: operators through a variety of states the temporal average of which is zero. We use time suspension here to connote setting to zero the time evolution of a propagator rather than the equivalent picture in which the spin-dependent part of the Hamiltonian is set to zero: this phrase is chosen in analogy to “time-reversal” sequences which change the sign of the spin Hamiltonian. Such discussions are only useful when one remembers that irreversible effects are excluded, and spin-lattice relaxation and molecular motions place a limit on the interval over which manipulations of the Hamiltonian may be equated to manipulations of time. Naturally, timesuspension only refers to the sampling point for the cycle, and spin evolution during the cycle is much more complicated. Time-suspension sequences are well known in solid-state imaging: an eight-pulse version was the basis of an early imaging scheme suggested by Mansfield and Grannel (4); Weitekamp et al. have used this approach for radio frequency gradient solid-state imaging (5, 6), and we have employed this approach for solid-state imaging with
The Linear Stability of a Core Annular Flow in a Corrugated Tube

A two-fluid core-annular flow (CAF) consists of two immiscible fluids flowing cocurrently in a tube or pore, where one (the annular) fluid wets the tube wall and surrounds the other (core) fluid. Core annular flows are widely studied and employed as a useful model to analyze a number of technologies and problems of scientific interest such as oil recovery. The interfacial stability, however, can significantly affect the efficiency of the recovery process. Clearly, it is important to understand the mechanism of instability in CAFs because it is often critical to either encourage or discourage the instability’s growth. Most investigations based on the perfect CAF (PCAF — perfect meaning co-axial and axisymmetric) through the idealized geometry of a cylindrical tube of uniform cross-section. The dominant effects on the linear stability problems for such CAFs are capillarity and viscosity stratification. Capillarity acts in two ways: it destabilizes the interfacial circumferential curvature and stabilizes the axial curvature of an interfacial deflection. The competition is such that disturbances with wavelengths shorter than the undisturbed interfacial circumference are stable and those longer are unstable. This feature of capillarity is independent of the base flow, and arises simply from the cylindrical geometry of the unperturbed fluid-fluid interface. Preziosi et al. (1989) investigated CAFs by numerically solving the full Orr-Sommerfeld equation. In lubricated pipelining m 1 A density difference is purely dispersive and dose not contribute to the stability to the leading order in e.
AMPA Receptor-Induced Dopaminergic Cell Death: A Model for the Pathogenesis of Hypofrontality and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia

In the conclusion of their article on the role of glutamate in schizophrenia, Wachtel and Turski (1990) stated that “because of the uncertainties surrounding the aetiology of schizophrenia, studies should be initiated with the goal of determining what role…excitatory amino acids play in this disorder. ” Indeed, a wealth of information has been acquired about the interrelations between the dopaminergic and the glutamatergic systems, and several hypotheses about the physiopathology of schizophrenia have arisen. The dopaminergic and glutamatergic systems have been found to interact with each other at the biochemical, synaptic, and neural network levels.
Transperineal ultrasonographic diagnosis of vesicovaginal fistula.

A 44 year old para 1 woman was referred because of com-plaints of constant urinary incontinence, vaginal pain, andbleeding of 6 months’ duration. Her past medical historyconsisted of benign thyroid goiter, current cocaine abuse,and cigarette smoking of 10 years’ duration. Physicalexamination on admission revealed a cachectic female inno acute distress, weighing 85 lb, with normal vital signs.Pertinent physical findings included a soft, nontenderabdomen with no palpable masses. Pelvic examination dis-closed a normal introitus and a 3 to 4 cm fungating massreplacing the lower anterior vaginal wall, encasing the ure-thra, with a palpable indentation suggestive of a possibleurinary fistula. The uterine cervix was normal in appear-ance, size, and palpation. A normal-sized uterus andadnexa were palpated. Biopsy of the vaginal mass revealedsquamous cell carcinoma. Cervical Papanicolaou smearwas indicative of high-grade squamous epithelial lesion,for which the patient underwent a loop electroexcision pro-cedure, which was negative for invasion. Owing to thelower location of the tumor, the constant urinary inconti-nence, and the concern about a possible vesicovaginal fis-tula, transperineal ultrasonography was performed. A5 MHz transvaginal probe attached to an ATL Ultramark 9HDI machine (Advanced Technology Laboratories, Bothell,WA) was placed transperineally and axial, sagittal, andparasagittal views were obtained. Varying degrees of angu-lation were used for the axial views. This procedureallowed the imaging of a vesicovaginal fistula (Figs. 1, 2).After extensive counseling the patient underwent exam-ination under anesthesia and proctoscopy. Cystoscopy,although planned, was not attempted owing to the tumor’sobstruction of the urethra. Exploratory laparotomy wasperformed, and multiple positive bilateral pelvic lymphnodes were encountered. Because of advanced metastaticdisease, pelvic exenteration was not attempted. However, adiverting transverse colon conduit was performed. Thepatient’s postoperative course was complicated by febrilemorbidity of unknown cause. She was discharged after anotherwise uneventful postoperative course.
Concurrence of Morgagni's syndrome, schizophrenia and adenomatous goiter in monozygotic twins.

Clinical and histopathological data are presented on monozygotic twin sisters concordant as to schizophrenia, Morgagni's syndrome, and adenomatous goiter. The association of the three traits may have been coincidental, but apparently had a common denominator. The genetic theory of Morgagni's syndrome (pointing to autosomal dominance with irregular penetrance and especially low manifestation in the male) is discussed.
Sky camera geometric calibration using solar observations

Abstract. A camera model and associated automated calibration procedure for stationary daytime sky imaging cameras is presented. The specific modeling and calibration needs are motivated by remotely deployed cameras used to forecast solar power production where cameras point skyward and use 180° fisheye lenses. Sun position in the sky and on the image plane provides a simple and automated approach to calibration; special equipment or calibration patterns are not required. Sun position in the sky is modeled using a solar position algorithm (requiring latitude, longitude, altitude and time as inputs). Sun position on the image plane is detected using a simple image processing algorithm. The performance evaluation focuses on the calibration of a camera employing a fisheye lens with an equisolid angle projection, but the camera model is general enough to treat most fixed focal length, central, dioptric camera systems with a photo objective lens. Calibration errors scale with the noise level of the sun position measurement in the image plane, but the calibration is robust across a large range of noise in the sun position. Calibration performance on clear days ranged from 0.94 to 1.24 pixels root mean square error.
Judgmental Adjustment of Statistical Forecasts

Judgmental and statistical forecasts can each bring advantages to the forecasting process. One way forecasters can integrate these methods is to adjust statistical forecasts based on judgment. However, judgmental adjustments can bias forecasts and harm accuracy. Forecasters should consider six principles in deciding when and how to use judgment in adjusting statistical forecasts: (1) Adjust statistical forecasts if there is important domain knowledge; (2) adjust statistical forecasts in situations with a high degree of uncertainty; (3) adjust statistical forecasts when there are known changes in the environment; (4) structure the judgmental adjustment process; (5) document all judgmental adjustments made and periodically relate to forecast accuracy; (6) consider mechanically integrating judgmental and statistical forecasts over adjusting.
Laboratory course in nanotechnology

A new nanotechnology laboratory course is described with some results from its first pilot offering. The course is based primarily on the preparation and properties of discontinuous metal thin films, but with nano-sintering and CNT percolation experiments also included.