cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of radiotelemetry to assess perinatal cardiac function in the ovine fetus and newborn

The late gestation fetal ECG (fECG) has traditionally been difficult to characterize due to the low fECG signal relative to high maternal noise. Although new technologies have improved the feasibility of its acquisition and separation, little is known about its development in late gestation, a period in which the fetal heart undergoes extensive maturational changes. Here, we describe a method for the chronic implantation of radiotelemetry devices into late gestation ovine fetuses to characterize parameters of the fECG following surgery, throughout late gestation, and in the perinatal period. We found no significant changes in mean aortic pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), or ECG in the 5 days following implantation; however, HR decreased in the first 24 h following the end of surgery, with associated increases in RR, PR, and QRS intervals. Over the last 14 days of fetal life, fetal MAP significantly increased, and HR significantly decreased, as expected. MAP and HR increased as labor progressed. Although there were no significant changes over time in the ECG during late gestation, the duration of the PR interval initially decreased and then increased as birth approached. These results indicate that although critical maturational changes occur in the late gestation fetal myocardium, the mechanisms that control the cardiac conduction are relatively mature in late gestation. The study demonstrates that radiotelemetry can be successfully used to assess fetal cardiac function, in particular conduction, through the process of labor and delivery, and may therefore be a useful tool for study of peripartum cardiac events.
Molecular and morphological data reveal non-monophyly and speciation in imperiled freshwater mussels (Anodontoides and Strophitus)

Accurate taxonomic placement is vital to conservation efforts considering many intrinsic biological characteristics of understudied species are inferred from closely related taxa. The rayed creekshell, Anodontoides radiatus (Conrad, 1834), exists in the Gulf of Mexico drainages from western Florida to Louisiana and has been petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act. We set out to resolve the evolutionary history of A. radiatus, primarily generic placement and species boundaries, using phylogenetic, morphometric, and geographic information. Our molecular matrix contained 3 loci: cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, NADH dehydrogenase subunit I, and the nuclear-encoded ribosomal internal transcribed spacer I. We employed maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference to estimate a phylogeny and test the monophyly of Anodontoides and Strophitus. We implemented two coalescent-based species delimitation models to test seven species models and evaluate species boundaries within A. radiatus. Concomitant to molecular data, we also employed linear morphometrics and geographic information to further evaluate species boundaries. Molecular and morphological evidence supports the inclusion of A. radiatus in the genus Strophitus, and we resurrect the binomial Strophitus radiatus to reflect their shared common ancestry. We also found strong support for polyphyly in Strophitus and advocate the resurrection of the genus Pseudodontoideus to represent 'Strophitus' connasaugaensis and 'Strophitus' subvexus. Strophitus radiatus exists in six well-supported clades that were distinguished as evolutionary independent lineages using Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood, and coalescent-based species delimitation models. Our integrative approach found evidence for as many as 4 evolutionary divergent clades within S. radiatus. Therefore, we formally describe two new species from the S. radiatus species complex (Strophitus williamsi and Strophitus pascagoulaensis) and recognize the potential for a third putative species (Strophitus sp. cf. pascagoulaensis). Our findings aid stakeholders in establishing conservation and management strategies for the members of Anodontoides, Strophitus, and Pseudodontoideus.
Urban Agriculture as a Tool for Horticultural Education and Youth Development

Youth in urban areas often lack access to natural areas, and thus a connection to plants and the environment. Garden-enhanced learning and place-based learning has experienced renewed interest since the early 1990s, as a way to reconnect youth with the natural environment and to improve health outcomes. School gardens are typically found in urban areas and used to enhance science-based learning outcomes. School gardens and summer and after-school garden programs in urban areas can also be used to improve attitudes and preferences for fruits and vegetables, potentially increasing consumption and leading to positive health outcomes. A comprehensive review of the literature shows that youth gardens can reduce stress, improve attitudes toward school, facilitate collaboration and teamwork and intercultural awareness, improve peer relations and prosocial behavior, and improve self-efficacy and self-esteem. Evaluations of garden programs indicate that involving youth in higher-order responsibilities such as garden planning and decision-making results in higher levels of participation and leadership development. Most urban garden programs are targeted toward elementary and middle school ages, and fewer examples exist in the literature on high school programs, despite the evidence that this cohort can benefit from urban garden-based programs. Literature reviews report a need for more rigorous quantitative evaluation of garden-based programs connecting programmatic activities to positive outcomes that can be used to maximize benefits and inform policy. School gardens tend to be concentrated in high-resource schools and more needs to be done to bring these experiences to underserved schools.
Law as Story: A Civic Concept of Law

This article introduces a social constructionist civic concept of law, which emphasizes the story nature of law and the fact that as a complex social system law emerges from and is grounded in collaborative communications among citizens. In this view, if the law-story reflects the stories of a broad range of those for whom it purports to speak and acknowledges their agency in enacting it, it is more likely to be embraced by that community. In applying the law-as-story complex social system approach to law to the doctrinal issue of political gerrymandering, the article explores the concept of voice - individuals making meaningful contributions to the law-story. In applying the approach to the doctrinal issue of race-based K-12 educational initiatives, the article illuminates the idea of resonance, the complement of voice, which captures the process of the law-story coming back to the individuals within a community.
Achalasia, the Valsalva maneuver, and sudden death: a case report.

A 48 year old woman with no significant prior medical history was found dead by her husband in their home. The autopsy disclosed no anatomic reason for her death; however, the length of the esophagus was found to be massively dilated, with stenosis of the cardiac sphincter, and contained swallowed food material. Her husband disclosed that she had experienced difficulty in swallowing for over 10 years, and had to “strain” to move food into the stomach, although she had never consulted a physician regarding the problem. No gross or microscopic anatomic cardiac abnormalities were identified. The death was ascribed to a cardiac arrhythmia arising from the Valsalva maneuver, which she used to move her ingested food across the stenotic gastroesophageal juncture. The Valsalva maneuver, which increases the intrathoracic pressure by forcing expiratory effort against a closed glottis, has been associated with cardiac arrhythmias and rarely, sudden death. Lethal cardiac arrhythmias should be considered when sudden deaths occur in individuals with esophageal motility disorders, as well as in other situations where the Valsalva maneuver may have been used, and where no other anatomic cause of death is identified.
Gendered Power Dynamics Among Religious Sects, Ethnic Groups, and Classes, in Jewish Communities on Greater Boston’s Landscape at the Turn of the Century

This chapter analyzes changing gendered power dynamics during the diaspora of Jewish communities as they moved across Greater Boston’s landscape. Gender power dynamics are analyzed from a feminist perspective focusing on the social agency of Jewish women and men in developing Jewish-American identities by selectively adopting, adapting, and integrating aspects of the dominant American gender ideology and material culture into a Jewish culture that has retained its distinctiveness. This analysis uses my feminist inclusive model of a diversity of fluid powers, moving between relational categories of hierarchical dominating “powers over” others that control and limit actions; “powers under” others, ranging from compliance to resistance; heterarchical “powers with” others, ranging from inspiring and empowering to collaborating with others; and social agency “powers to” retain or change cultural ideologies, identities, practices, and gendered power dynamics.
Through a Kaleidoscope: Gendered Lives in Deerfield, MA

The metaphor of a kaleidoscope characterizes the complex and ever-changing meaning and practice of gendered social relations. Gender interacts with a myriad of other social prisms – including, but not limited to, competing gender ideologies, socioeconomic class, political agendas, and developmental cycle of individuals and families – to create complex patterns of identities and relationships.
GWh Level Renewable Energy Storage and Supply using Liquid CO2

Abstract A novel energy storage system is proposed to deliver GWh or more of electric energy from an intermittently available energy source. The system is a closed loop cycle that transforms carbon atoms between liquid carbon dioxide and liquid methane. Methane is associated with the highest energy content per mole carbon. Therefore, for a given power, it requires the least amount of carbon circulation in the cycle. Both carbon dioxide and methane are stored as liquids, thereby avoiding the challenges associated with storing gases. In each case, the electrical power required for liquefaction is minimized by integrating the vaporization and liquefaction steps of carbon dioxide and methane. This means that the refrigeration available from vaporizing liquid carbon dioxide is used in the liquefaction of methane and the refrigeration available from vaporizing liquid methane is used in the liquefaction of carbon dioxide.
Assessing the Counseling Needs of Older Persons

Assessing the counseling needs of older persons is an important basis for developing and evaluating counseling services, yet little attention has been given to this issue in the professional litera...
Inhibition of tumor growth by agonists of growth hormone-releasing hormone

In PNAS, Schally et al. (1) demonstrate the in vivo antitumor activity of the recently developed growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) agonist MR409. Lung cancers were used as the primary tumor model, and the results were extended to colorectal, prostatic, stomach, bladder, breast, and pancreatic cancers (1). GHRH was originally discovered in hypothalamic extracts more than 50 y ago; since then, it was thought that its only biologically and clinically relevant activity was to stimulate growth hormone (GH) production and release from the pituitary (2). GH, in turn, promotes growth either by acting directly in the periphery or by stimulating the hepatic production of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a major mitogen and survival factor for various cell types (3). This GHRH–GH–IGF-1 neuroendocrine axis dominated the field of GHRH-related research for more than 30 y, and despite various demonstrations of extrapituitary production of GHRH (4⇓⇓⇓⇓–9), the regulation of growth through GH stimulation was considered the sole function of GHRH. It was subsequently shown, in the late 1990s, that GHRH also acts directly in peripheral tissues, operating as an autocrine growth factor in lung (10) and other cancers. In addition to the evolving prooncogenic activity (11), GHRH and its analogs were shown to interfere directly with various other processes such as metabolism (12), wound healing (13, 14), and survival of mesenchymal stromal cells (15). Various possibilities for therapeutic intervention soon emerged that spanned oncology (11), diabetes (12, 16), cardiology (17), and other applications involving mesenchymal stromal cell-based therapies (15) in which the activity of GHRH is manipulated by specific agonistic and antagonistic analogs to attain the desired outcome. In these cases, the general mode of action of GHRH was consistently viewed to be mitogenic and/or prosurvival; hence, the use of agonists was … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: hk{at}sc.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Correction to: Changes in treatment and outcomes after creation of a pulmonary embolism response team (PERT), a 10-year analysis

The original version of the article unfortunately contained an error in conflict of interest. This erratum is published with the correct conflict of interest.
Using a model board examination and a case study assessing clinical reasoning to evaluate curricular change

Background: This study compared student ability to integrate basic science and clinical information before and after implementing a curriculum revision that introduced a problem-oriented case approach as required coursework. Materials and Methods: Student knowledge and competence were assessed just before entry into clinical training by completion of 100 multiple-choice questions mirroring the breadth and type of questions on the national licensing examination (Part I) and by completion of 10 cases to discern clinical decision-making (Part II). Scores from students from the classes of 2015 and 2016 (previous curriculum) were compared to those from students from the classes of 2017 and 2018 (current curriculum). Results: Part I scores were not significantly different between any classes in the previous and current curriculum. Part II scores for 3rd-year students in the current curriculum were higher than those for comparable students in the past 2 years of the previous curriculum. Mean scores for the class of 2016, the last year of the previous curriculum, were significantly lower than all other classes. Conclusion: Students benefit from measured and repetitive practice in clinical reasoning.
Effect of Radiant Catalytic Ionization on Lean Color and Lipid Oxidation of Beef

ObjectivesThe radiant catalytic ionization (RCI) technology utilizes a combination of UV light and low-level oxidizers such as ozone, hydroxyl radicals, and hydrogen peroxide to cause antimicrobial action. There is a potential to use this technology as an antimicrobial intervention against foodborne pathogens for meat. However, the use of UV light and oxidizers may accelerate the oxidation of pigments and lipid components of meat. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of RCI technology on the lean color and lipid oxidation of beef during storage period. Materials and MethodsA total of 24 pieces of beef flanks (10 × 10 cm) were collected and surface-trimmed for lean color measurement, and another set of 24 pieces of beef flanks (10 × 10) were collected without being trimmed (external fat was left on) for lipid oxidation measurement. Half of each set of samples were exposed to RCI (UV intensity: 0.0042 J/cm² × exposure time in seconds, ozone level: 0.2 to 0.3 ppm, hydrogen peroxide: 0.15 to 0.2 ppm) for 75 s and the untreated samples were set as control. Samples were stored in Whirl-Pak bags at 4°C in the dark. Objective color and thiobarbituric acids reactive substances (TBARS) analyses were made on 0h, 24h, d 3, 7 and 14 of storage on the same pieces of meat. Only lean color were measured, and only surface fat of each meat sample was excised and tested for TBARS analysis. ResultsNo interactive effect of treatment and storage time was identified (P > 0.05) on lean color and lipid oxidation. When averaged over all storage times, the lean L* and b* values were higher (P 0.05) was detected on lean a* value, suggesting that both control and treated samples appeared to have similar red color. In terms of lipid oxidation, the TBARS values did not differ (P > 0.05) for control and treated samples. Across all samples, the TBARS values increased (P 0.05) on lean color and lipid oxidation. Over all storage times, the lean L* and b* values were higher (P 0.05) was detected on lean a* value, suggesting that both control and treated samples appeared to be similar red color. In terms of lipid oxidation, the TBARS values did not differ (P > 0.05) for control and treated samples. Across all samples, the TBARS values increased (P < 0.05) as storage time increased, although the average TBARS value for samples on d 14 was 0.33 (± 0.06) mg malondialdehyde (MDA)/kg, which was lower than the minimal TBARS value for strong off-odor development to reject beef at 2 mg MDA/kg. ConclusionIn conclusion, the use of RCI technology under current settings as an antimicrobial treatment, will not cause adverse effect on lean red color or accelerate the lipid oxidation of beef.
Desmin and Cardiac Disease: An Unfolding Story.

Desmin, the intermediate filament protein in striated muscle, is an essential component of the striated muscle cell cytoskeleton. In muscle, the cytoskeleton is a multifunctional, dynamic, and complex structure that serves as a scaffold to maintain the structural integrity and architecture of the cardiomyocyte. However, it serves more than a passive, structural purpose as the cytoskeleton functions as a platform for inter- and intracellular signaling, linking the contractile apparatus so that sarcomeres may function efficiently as a syncytium, and linking those structures in turn to the sarcolemma, cell–cell junctions, the mitochondria, and nucleus. It is not surprising then that mutations in the gene encoding desmin can cause myopathies in general and cardiomyopathy in particular.1 Article, see p e75 As a cell is subjected to normal and abnormal stresses, proteins can misfold and mutations in desmin or its chaperone, αB-crystallin, can increase the likelihood of this occurring. In addition to having their normal function compromised, these misfolded proteins can assume a proteotoxic conformation, leading to a gain-of-function pathogenic potential, as is seen in many of the neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease with the Aβ-amyloid fragment.2 In silico modeling has indicated that hundreds if not thousands of peptide domains have some degree of amyloidogenic potential.3 Amyloid formation is a common theme in many neurodegenerative diseases and disorders in which protein conformation is affected, but true amyloid formation is somewhat rarer and characterized by formation of unbranched, 10 nm fibrils with β-pleated sheets and a distinct apple green birefringence and Congo red positive staining.4 True amyloidoses are also associated with the formation of extracellular plaques or intracellular inclusion bodies. However, these amyloid-positive deposits may not be the primary proteotoxic entity but rather represent the terminal step in a prolonged pathogenic process in which an early intermediate step, the …
Assessing Drug and Alcohol Abuse: An Instrument for Planning and Evaluation.

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of an instrument designed to assess the extent of alcohol and drug use. Factors in a school or community contributing to use ...
The association between labor epidural analgesia and postpartum depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Previous studies have demonstrated that appropriate treatment for postoperative pain can lead to improvement in depressive symptoms, however the association between adequate intrapartum pain control and the development of postpartum depression is not clear. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of labor epidural analgesia and postpartum depression. We performed a quantitative systematic review in compliance with the PRISMA statement. We conducted a search of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Google Scholar databases. The primary outcome was a positive screen of postpartum depression among women who received labor epidural analgesia up to 3 months into the postpartum period. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effect model. Of the 148 studies available, 9 studies with 4442 patients were included in the analysis. The use of labor analgesia on positive depression screen compared to control revealed no significant effect, OR (95% CI) of 1.02 (0.62 to 1.66, P = 0.94). Based on current literature, the use of epidural analgesia for pain relief during labor doesn’t appear to affect the likelihood of postpartum depression. Future studies are warranted to further investigate these findings and identity other possible preventative interventions that reduce postpartum depression.
The Effect of Positive and Negative Goal Orientation and Player Embodiment in Assessment Games

While much research has been done on games as engaging strategies for assessment and education, little has been done to address the specific human computer interaction questions relating to the impact of player engagement in game experiences. This case study examines a section (284 adults) of a larger study on play preference of over 700 participants who were given four versions of an assessment game. While the content remained the same, the versions varied by their structure (rewarding players for acting either appropriately or inappropriately) and by play perspective aesthetics (direct or indirect character embodiment). The results indicate that player preference was for the aesthetics of indirect embodiment and the goals of negative behavior. While this is perhaps unsurprising to makers of commercial games, this is contrary to typical education assessment game design. The case study also demonstrates a difference in player character embodiment that should prove useful to those determining the perspective of their player environments.
Political Violence in Kenya: Land, Elections, and Claim-Making

Examining a key puzzle in the study of electoral violence, this study asks how elites organize violence and why ordinary citizens participate. While existing theories of electoral violence emphasize weak institutions, ethnic cleavages, and the strategic use of violence, few specify how the political incentives of elites interact with the interests of ordinary citizens. Providing a new theory of electoral violence, Kathleen F. Klaus analyzes violence as a process of mobilization that requires coordination between elites and ordinary citizens. Drawing on fifteen months of fieldwork in Kenya, including hundreds of interviews and an original survey, Political Violence in Kenya argues that where land shapes livelihood and identity, and tenure institutions are weak, land, and narratives around land, serve as a key device around which elites and citizens coordinate the use of violence. By examining local-level variation during Kenya's 2007–8 post-election violence, Klaus demonstrates how land struggles structure the dynamics of contentious politics and violence.
Using Channel State Information for Estimating Moisture Content in Woodchips via 5 GHz Wi-Fi.

For the pulping process in a pulp & paper plant that uses wood as a raw material, it is important to have real-time knowledge about the moisture content of the woodchips so that the process can be optimized and/or controlled correspondingly to achieve satisfactory product quality while minimizing the consumption of energy and chemicals. Both destructive and non-destructive methods have been developed for estimating moisture content in woodchips, but these methods are often lab-based that cannot be implemented online, or too fragile to stand the harsh manufacturing environment. To address these limitations, we propose a non-destructive and economic approach based on 5 GHz Wi-Fi and use channel state information (CSI) to estimate the moisture content in woodchips. In addition, we propose to use statistics pattern analysis (SPA) to extract features from raw CSI data of amplitude and phase difference. The extracted features are then used for classification model building using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and subspace discriminant (SD) classification. The woodchip moisture classification results are validated using the oven drying method.
Batten disease: an expert update on agents in preclinical and clinical trials.

The Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCLs; Batten disease) are a group of rare inherited fatal diseases that are characterized by the buildup of autofluorescent lipopigments in lysosomes [1]. These ...
The Steppe tradition in international relations: Russians, Turks, and European State Building, 4000 BCE-2018 CE: Iver B Neumann and Einar Wigen, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2018, ISBN: 978-1108420792

Iver B. Neumann and Einar Wigen have written an original volume that has much to recommend it. The book proposes that the Eurasian steppe nurtured a distinct style of grand politics that differed i...
An Integrated Approach toward NanoBRET Tracers for Analysis of GPCR Ligand Engagement

Gaining insight into the pharmacology of ligand engagement with G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) under biologically relevant conditions is vital to both drug discovery and basic research. NanoLuc-based bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (NanoBRET) monitoring competitive binding between fluorescent tracers and unmodified test compounds has emerged as a robust and sensitive method to quantify ligand engagement with specific GPCRs genetically fused to NanoLuc luciferase or the luminogenic HiBiT peptide. However, development of fluorescent tracers is often challenging and remains the principal bottleneck for this approach. One way to alleviate the burden of developing a specific tracer for each receptor is using promiscuous tracers, which is made possible by the intrinsic specificity of BRET. Here, we devised an integrated tracer discovery workflow that couples machine learning-guided in silico screening for scaffolds displaying promiscuous binding to GPCRs with a blend of synthetic strategies to rapidly generate multiple tracer candidates. Subsequently, these candidates were evaluated for binding in a NanoBRET ligand-engagement screen across a library of HiBiT-tagged GPCRs. Employing this workflow, we generated several promiscuous fluorescent tracers that can effectively engage multiple GPCRs, demonstrating the efficiency of this approach. We believe that this workflow has the potential to accelerate discovery of NanoBRET fluorescent tracers for GPCRs and other target classes.
Electrochemical behaviour of uranium at a tripolyphosphate modified ITO electrode

UO22+ binds to the surface of a tripolyphosphate modified mesoporous indium tin-doped oxide electrode (nanoITO|P3). Electrochemical studies reveal that nITO|P3 electrodes catalyze the 2-electron interconversion between UO22+ and U4+ with the P3-ligand assisting in the rate-limiting proton-coupled reduction of U(V) to U(IV), based on the kinetic isotope effect (1.8). Product composition between nITO|P3(U4+) and surface adsorbed UO2 can be controlled by adjusting the proton concentration and/or scan rate in voltammograms. These studies with uranium suggest that nITO|P3 electrodes are good candidates for redox transformations with other actinides including neptunium, plutonium, and americium.
Supportive people evoke positive affect, but do not reduce negative affect, while supportive groups result from favorable dyadic, not group effects

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We addressed understudied questions in social support. Do providers, who recipients agree are more supportive than others (i.e., consensually supportive), evoke more favorable affect in recipients? Do groups differ in their supportiveness and do supportive groups evoke favorable affect in their members? Can any group differences be explained by dyadic relationships within groups? METHODS We analyzed data from seven samples of well-acquainted groups and groups of strangers in which participants rated each other on supportiveness, and affect experienced when with each group member. RESULTS Social Relations Model analyses indicated that consensually supportive providers evoked higher positive affect in recipients but not lower negative affect. Uniquely supportive relationships evoked higher positive and lower negative affect. Groups differed in their supportiveness and more supportive groups evoked higher positive and lower negative affect. Correlations between support and affect at the level of groups primarily reflected dyadic relationships within groups, rather than the groups themselves. Groups of strangers showed the same effects as well-acquainted groups. CONCLUSIONS The findings for consensually supportive providers and low negative affect is inconsistent with most social support theory. Supportive groups' links to affect could be explained by dyadic relationships within groups, rather than the groups themselves.
Numerical Computation of the Hilbert Function and Regularity of a Zero Dimensional Scheme

Let \(R = \mathbb{C}[x_{1},\ldots,x_{N}]\) and let \(F =\{ f_{1},\ldots,f_{t}\} \subset R\) be a set of generators for an ideal I. Let \(Y =\{ y_{1},\ldots,y_{\ell}\} \subset {\mathbb{C}}^{N}\) be a subset of the set of isolated solutions of the zero locus of F. Let \(\mathfrak{m}_{y_{i}}\) denote the maximal ideal of y i and let \(\mathcal{P}_{y_{i}}\) denote the \(\mathfrak{m}_{y_{i}}\)-primary component of I. Let \(J = \cap _{i=1}^{l}\mathcal{P}_{y_{i}}\) and let \(\mathcal{Z}\) denote the corresponding zero dimensional subscheme supported on Y. This article presents a numerical algorithm for computing the Hilbert function and the regularity of \(\mathcal{Z}\). In addition, the algorithm produces a monomial basis for R∕J. The input for the algorithm is the polynomial system F and a numerical approximation of each element in Y.
Cramer-Rao bounds for target angle and Doppler estimation with space-time adaptive processing radar

Space-time adaptive processing (STAP) can substantially improve airborne radar performance in environments with interference (clutter and/or jamming). This paper considers target parameter estimation with the STAP radar. The maximum-likelihood estimator for target angle and Doppler is reviewed. Cramer-Rao bounds for target angle and Doppler estimation accuracy are derived for an arbitrary interference scenario. These bounds show that in clutter, angle accuracy depends on the target Doppler and vice-versa. They are useful for quantifying the best-case degradation in estimator accuracy due to interference, and for determining the fractions of the Doppler space and coverage sector over which a specified level of accuracy can be achieved.
Dual Response Surface Optimization: A Fuzzy Modeling Approach

In modern quality engineering, dual response surface methodology is a powerful tool. In this paper, we introduce a fuzzy modeling approach to optimize the dual response system. We demonstrate our approach in two examples and show the advantages of our m..
The economic burden of prostate cancer

In the present review we discuss expenditure on prostate cancer diagnosis, treatment and follow-up and evaluate the cost of prostate cancer and its management in different countries. Prostate cancer costs were identified from published data and internet sources. To provide up-to-date comparisons, costs were inflated to 2010 levels and the most recent exchange rates were applied. A high proportion of the costs are incurred in the first year after diagnosis; in 2006, this amounted to 106.7-179.0 million euros (€) in the European countries where these data were available (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands). In the USA, the total estimated expenditure on prostate cancer was 9.862 billion US dollars ($) in 2006. The mean annual costs per patient in the USA were $10,612 in the initial phase after diagnosis, $2134 for continuing care and $33,691 in the last year of life. In Canada, hospital and drug expenditure on prostate cancer totalled C$103.1 million in 1998. In Australia, annual costs for prostate cancer care in 1993-1994 were 101.1 million Australian dollars. Variations in costs between countries were attributed to differences in incidence and management practices. Per patient costs depend on cancer stage at diagnosis, survival and choice of treatment. Despite declining mortality rates, costs are expected to rise owing to increased diagnosis, diagnosis at an earlier stage and increased survival. Unless new strategies are devised to increase the efficiency of healthcare provision, the economic burden of prostate cancer will continue to rise.
Non-patent protection of pharmaceuticals in the USA

The Obama administration’s recent health care reform legislation resulted from intense and divisive deliberations over public health policy in the USA. The existence of a fundamental right to health care, the role of the government in health care commerce, and the fiscal sustainability of existing service models were among the issues that were subject to spirited discussion. Widespread recognition that a significant number of individuals in the USA cannot readily afford the medications they require played a central role in the debate. 1 Manyofthe concernsthatpromptedhealth care reformlegislationin 2010hadearlier motivatedthe enactmentof the DrugPrice Competitionand Patent TermRestoration Act of 1984. 2 Congress intended that this legislation, commonly known as the Hatch-WaxmanAct,wouldbalancethe needforinnovativenewpharmaceuticalswith the availability of less expensive generic drugs. The statute includes elaborate provisions governing the mechanisms through which a potential generic manufacturer may obtain marketing approval on a drug that was originally sponsored by another. Among these measures were an exemption from patent infringement for activities associated with regulatory marketing approval, 3 unique litigation mechanisms for managing patent disputes, 4 and a government-sponsored clearing house of pharmaceutical patents. 5 This contribution focuses upon two additional aspects of the Hatch-Waxman Act and related legislation.In Part II, this essay considers patent term extension provisions – at first blush an odd choice given its title. The patent term extension rules
Statistical Study of Deep Submicron Dual-Gated Field-Effect Transistors on Monolayer Chemical Vapor Deposition Molybdenum Disulfide Films

Monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with a direct band gap of 1.8 eV is a promising two-dimensional material with a potential to surpass graphene in next generation nanoelectronic applications. In this Letter, we synthesize monolayer MoS2 on Si/SiO2 substrate via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method and comprehensively study the device performance based on dual-gated MoS2 field-effect transistors. Over 100 devices are studied to obtain a statistical description of device performance in CVD MoS2. We examine and scale down the channel length of the transistors to 100 nm and achieve record high drain current of 62.5 mA/mm in CVD monolayer MoS2 film ever reported. We further extract the intrinsic contact resistance of low work function metal Ti on monolayer CVD MoS2 with an expectation value of 175 Ω·mm, which can be significantly decreased to 10 Ω·mm by appropriate gating. Finally, field-effect mobilities (μFE) of the carriers at various channel lengths are obtained. By taking the impact of contact resis...
Nutritional regulation of the protein kinases responsible for the phosphorylation of the alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase complexes.

The branched-chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase (BCKDH) and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complexes are regulated by phosphorylation cycles catalyzed by complex-specific protein kinases and phosphoprotein phosphatases. Molecular cloning of these mitochondrial protein kinases has established a new family of protein kinases in eukaryotes that appears related by primary sequence to the histidine protein kinase family of prokaryotes. Changes in the activities of both kinases that are stable, i.e., not caused directly by allosteric effectors, correlate inversely with the changes in the activity states of the complexes that occur in different nutritional states. For example, BCKDH kinase activity is increased and the BCKDH complex activity state is decreased in rats fed diets deficient in protein. The increase in BCKDH kinase activity is due to an increase in the amount of BCKDH kinase protein bound to the BCKDH complex. The message level for BCKDH kinase also increases in the liver of rats starved for protein, suggesting a pretranslational mechanism exists for the long-term regulation of BCKDH kinase. Starvation and high-fat feeding cause a stable increase in PDH kinase activity and a corresponding decrease in activity state of the PDH complex. The mechanism responsible has not been defined.
Respiratory control in preatherosclerotic susceptible and resistant pigeon aortas.

Abstract Respiratory control ratios in muscular cushions from the celiac bifureation of pigeon aortas were determined by manometric techniques. Comparisons were made between atherosclerosis-susceptible White Carneau and atherosclerosis-resistant Show Raced pigeons in day-old squabs and 3–6 mo-old birds. In White Carneau squabs, respiratory control ratios are high but by 3–6 mo have dropped to relatively low levels. In contrast to this, in the Show Racer respiratory control ratios are low initially and increase with maturation. These findings are discussed in terms of the relationship between oxidative energy production, lipid accumulation, hypoxic stress, and atherosclerotic involvement. It is suggested that tighter coupling of oxidative phosphorylation in 3–6 mo-old Show Racers may enhance the ability of this breed to withstand stresses encountered in the celiac axis of the aorta.
Object exploration and a problem with reductionism

The purpose of this paper is to use neuroscientific evidence to address the philosophical issue of intertheoretic reduction. In particular, we present a literature review and a new experiment to show that the reduction of cognitive psychology to neuroscience is implausible. To make this case, we look at research using object exploration, an important experimental paradigm in neuroscience, behavioral genetics and psychopharmacology. We show that a good deal of object exploration research is potentially confounded precisely because it assumes that psychological generalizations can be reduced to neuroscientific ones.
The Film "Blow-Off" Experiments

Abstract In the film “blow-off” experiments, a thin-liquid film on a solid substrate is blown off with a steady current of air. Conventional analysis in fluid mechanics shows that the blown-off profile is linear. Experiments, however, show a small departure from linearity in the immediate vicinity of the contact line. Besides this contact line anomaly, the contact line itself was observed to move against the direction of the blown air; both observations are inconsistent with the conventional theory. Since the liquid films are thin, the intermolecular forces of attraction between the liquid and the solid substrate are important. As a consequence of these forces, the film maintains equilibrium contact angle at the contact line. Away from the contact line, the film maintains a constant but time-dependent slope. These two slopes can be joined only through a curvature, giving rise to the contact line anomaly. The gradient of this curvature gives rise to a force which moves the contact line. The equations of motion and continuity were solved under relevant initial and boundary conditions for the case when the equilibrium contact angle is small but nonzero. Unlike the zero contact angle case, these contact lines can both advance and retract.
Prediction of the thermodynamic properties and the phase behavior of binary mixtures in the extended critical region

A new parametric crossover equation of state for pure fluids and binary mixtures, which incorporates the scaling laws asymptotically close to the critical point and is transformed into the regular classical expansion far away from the critical point, is proposed. A comparison is made with the experimental data for pure methane, ethane and n-butane, and for binary mixtures of methane and ethane, and of ethane and n-butane. The equation of state yields a satisfactory representation of the thermodynamic property data in a large range of temperatures and densities. An application for dilute aqueous sodium chloride solutions is also discussed.
Incubation behavior of Spectacled Eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

We studied incubation behavior of Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri) on the Yukon-Kus kokwim Delta in 1996. We trapped 19 females on their nests and weighed them in early incubation and again at hatch. Average daily weight loss for incubating females was 16.6 ± 1.0 g day -1 , which resulted in a cumulative loss of 26% of body weight throughout in cubation. Nest attendance was monitored for a portion of the incubation period using tcmperature sensing artificial eggs. Incubation constancy averaged 90 ± 1%. Avcrage rccess lcngth was 37.1 ± 0.9 min, and nests cooled an average of 4.2 ± 0.1°C during recesses. Recess frequency averaged 2.5 ± 0.1 recesses day - 1 , and most reccsses (70%) occurred between 10:00 and 22: 00. Incubation constancy varied among females, but was not related to changes in body weight or incubation period. There was no influence of ambient temperature on incubation recess length, however most recesses were takcn during the warmest part of the day. We found considerable variation among females in patterns of daily incubation constancy, nest cooling, recess frequency, and recess length. It is not clear from our results what factors constrain incubation behavior of Spectacled Eiders, but we suggest that individual females respond to a complex suite of variables.
Reduction-induced inhibition and Mn(II) release from the photosystem II oxygen-evolving complex by hydroquinone or NH2OH are consistent with a Mn(III)/Mn(III)/Mn(IV)/Mn(IV) oxidation state for the dark-adapted enzyme.

Hydroxylamine and hydroquinone were used to probe the oxidation states of Mn in the oxygen-evolving complex of dark-adapted intact (hydroxylamine) and salt-washed (hydroquinone) photosystem II. These preparations were incubated in the dark for 24 h in the presence of increasing reductant/photosystem II ratios, and the loss of oxygen evolution activity and of Mn(II) was determined for each incubation mixture. Monte Carlo simulations of these data yielded models that provide insight into the structure, reactivity, and oxidation states of the manganese in the oxygen-evolving complex. Specifically, the data support oxidation states of Mn(III)2/Mn(IV)2 for the dark stable S1 state of the O2-evolving complex. Activity and Mn(II) loss data were best modeled by assuming an S1 → S-1 conversion of intermediate probability, a S-1 → S-3 reaction of high probability, and subsequent step(s) of low probability. This model predicts that photosystem II Mn clusters that have undergone an initial reduction step become more ...
Evolution of o stars. ii - hydrogen exhaustion and gravitational contraction.

O stars from early phase of hydrogen burning to hydrogen exhaustion and gravitational attraction preceding helium burning
Molecular cloning, tissue distribution and chromosomal localization of a novel member of the opioid receptor gene family

A cDNA was isolated from rat brain by low stringency hybridization with the rat μ opioid receptor cDNA. Sequence analysis of this clone indicated that it contains an open reading frame capable of encoding a 367 amino acid protein. The deduced amino acid sequence of this protein shows high degrees of homology to all three opioid receptors, μ, κ, and δ, suggesting that it is a member of the opioid receptor gene family. RNA blot analysis detected high level expression of the receptor mRNA in the brain. Southern blot analysis suggests that it is a single-copy gene, and mapping studies localized the gene on mouse chromosome 2. Despite the high sequence homologies between this protein and the other opioid receptors, expression studies of this clone in COS-7 cells did not show binding to [3H]diprenorphine, a ligand that binds to the other three opioid receptors. Furthermore, co-expression of this receptor with a G protein-activated potassium channel in Xenopus oocytes did not show functional coupling upon stimulation with μ, κ and δ agonists. Given the similar degrees of high homology to the μ, κ and δ opioid receptors and the lack of apparent affinity for their ligands, this receptor does not appear to belong to any of the three known classes of opioid receptors. Rather, it represents a novel member of the opioid receptor gene family, not identified from previous pharmacological studies.
Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Relativity of Truth and Meaning

Abstract This paper considers the challenge to understanding another that comes from the view that language is, in Cristina Lafont’s phrase, ‘world‐disclosing’. If different speakers understand and refer to the world from different holistically structured worldviews, it seems to follow that there can be no mutual understanding unless there is significant overlap between ‘worlds’. Gadamer’s hermeneutics, I claim, blocks this consequence while maintaining that language is indeed world‐disclosing. By holding that language is a medium in which the distinction between interpretation and object of interpretation is paradoxically both maintained and overcome, Gadamer shows us that the interpreter always thinks the object of interpretation as both transcending and immanent in her worldview. Mutual understanding becomes a matter of mutual recognition of such worldview‐(but not language‐) transcendent objects. Truth and meaning may on this view be characterized as ‘objective’, while retaining a significant element ...
Favorable factors in the adjuvant therapy of breast cancer

One hundred seventy-one patients received one year of melphalan or intermittent cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil after mastectomy for breast cancer with involved axillary nodes. Analysis with a median follow-up of three years indicates a favorable outcome only for patients with 1-3 positive nodes who were treated with melphalan and who experienced a leukocyte count less than 3,000/mm3 (3.0 X 10(9)/l). Tumor size, average percentage of dose received, menopausal status, and type of chemotherapy were not significant factors in recurrence of disease, after adjustment for the number of positive nodes and leukocyte count nadir during treatment based on a multifactorial analysis. These data suggest that administration of a dose of melphalan which does not produce a leukocyte count of less than 3,000/mm3 is ineffective in preventing early recurrence of disease. Since oral melphalan is known to be erratically absorbed, lack of hematologic toxicity may well be due to variable absorption of the drug on a fixed-dose region. Failure to prevent recurrence of disease in this and other trials using oral melphalan may be due to chemotherapy-related as well as disease-related factors.
HCP-FCC Transition in Epitaxial Co-Cu Superlattices

A series of epitaxial Co-Cu superlattices has been grown on GaAs (110) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Detailed analysis of x-ray diffuse scattering scans along Co (101l) reveals a crossover from from the bulk hcp phase of Co to metastable fcc stacking. Our measurements indicate a strong correlation between structural symmetry and the magnetic anisotropy in Co - noble metal superlattices. In particular, the perpendicular easy axis of magnetization onsets at Co layer thickness ♣ 19 A in Cohcp-Au compared to only ~11 A in Cofcc-Cu.