cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimal and heuristic algorithms for solving the binding problem

In this paper we present an optimal and a heuristic approach to solve the binding problem which occurs in high-level synthesis of digital systems. The optimal approach is based on an integer linear programming formulation. Given that such an approach is not practical for large problems, we then derive a heuristic from the ILP formulation which produces very good solutions in order of seconds. The heuristic is based on a network flow model and also considers floorplanning during the design process to minimize the interconnection area. >
Current methods in medical image segmentation.

▪ Abstract Image segmentation plays a crucial role in many medical-imaging applications, by automating or facilitating the delineation of anatomical structures and other regions of interest. We present a critical appraisal of the current status of semiautomated and automated methods for the segmentation of anatomical medical images. Terminology and important issues in image segmentation are first presented. Current segmentation approaches are then reviewed with an emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of these methods for medical imaging applications. We conclude with a discussion on the future of image segmentation methods in biomedical research.
Development of the renal sexual segment in immature snakes: effect of sex steroid hormones.

The renal sexual segment (RSS) of immature Northern and Diamondback Water Snakes and Red-Sided Garter Snakes exhibited varying responses to testosterone or 17β-estradiol. In both male and female water snakes, kidney mass was not a reliable indicator of hormone treatment, whereas tubule diameter, epithelial height and number of sexual granules responded to hormone treatment. In male water snakes, either hormone initiated granule development by day 16; by day 23, only testosterone increased granule density. Female water snakes receiving either hormone exhibited a small number of granules by day 16; by day 23, granules increased only in Diamondback Water Snakes receiving testosterone. Hormones did not initiate RSS hypertrophy in female Red-Sided Garter Snakes. Tubule diameter and epithelial height of testosterone-treated males exhibited significant hypertrophy, while 17β-estradiol initiated significant increases in tubule diameter. Garter snakes initiated sexual granule development in response to hormone treatment with males exhibiting a greater response than females and testosterone stimulating a greater response than 17β-estradiol. Sex steroids appear to mimic sexual maturity in immature snakes initiating RSS development. Whereas the RSS of adult males respond to testosterone, our data suggest specific changes in the RSS of females during maturation effectively negates the effect of 17β-estradiol evident in immature female RSS.
The 2,6-dimercaptoazulene motif: efficient synthesis and completely regioselective metallation of its 6-mercapto terminus

2,6-Dimercapto-1,3-diethoxycarbonylazulene, a rare example of an unsymmetrical dimercaptoarene, was efficiently synthesized via two routes from common azulenic precursors. The SH-termini of this linear nonbenzenoid dimercaptan exhibit markedly different acidities, which permitted exclusively regioselective metallation of its 6-SH end with the [PPh3PAuI] fragment to afford the only mononuclear adduct (10) of a dimercaptoarene known to date. Subsequent metallation of the 2-SH terminus of 10 with another equivalent of [PPh3PAuI] gave the corresponding dinuclear AuI complex featuring the 2,6-azulenedithiolate linker. The complex constitutes a unique unsymmetrical platform for probing the exchange of gold-bound thiolates within a single compound.
Nonuniform codes for correcting asymmetric errors

Codes that correct asymmetric errors have important applications in storage systems, including optical disks and Read Only Memories. The construction of asymmetric error correcting codes is a topic that was studied extensively, however, the existing approach for code construction assumes that every codeword could sustain t asymmetric errors. Our main observation is that in contrast to symmetric errors, where the error probability of a codeword is context independent (since the error probability for 1s and 0s is identical), asymmetric errors are context dependent. For example, the all-1 codeword has a higher error probability than the all-0 codeword (since the only errors are 1 → 0). We call the existing codes uniform codes while we focus on the notion of nonuniform codes, namely, codes whose codewords can tolerate different numbers of asymmetric errors depending on their Hamming weights. The goal of nonuniform codes is to guarantee the reliability of every codeword, which is important in data storage to retrieve whatever one wrote in. We prove an almost explicit upper bound on the size of nonuniform asymmetric error correcting codes and present two general constructions. We also study the rate of nonuniform codes compared to uniform codes and show that there is a potential performance gain.
Historical Perspectives: Perinatal Profiles: Professor John (Johnny) Lind, Neonatology Pioneer

Professor John Lind was born and educated in Stockholm, Sweden. He received his medical degree from the Karolinska Institute with “Fetal and Neonatal Circulation” as his thesis. His interest in this area prompted him to establish a neonatal cardiovascular research laboratory at two sites, the Nortull Hospital and Southern Maternity Hospital, both affiliated with Karolinska. Over 3 decades, many of his overseas trainees conducted their research under his guidance at these sites. He was an astute, passionate, inspiring, and kind mentor to the visiting fellows who went back to their home countries to pursue research endeavors. His own achievements, as well as those of his former students, earned him international respect and accolades, including the Barclay Prize of the British Institute of Radiology in 1959, the Ylppo Gold Medal Award for Pediatric Research in Helsinki in 1967, and the Gold Medal of the Finnish Heart Association in 1976, among others. To quote the late Leo Stern's introductory remarks during a Memorial Symposium in Professor Lind's honor: “A person's contribution to science and society is not only from his own works but the accomplishments of his students. In this regard, Professor Lind has indeed made a tremendous impact not only from his own scientific accomplishments but also the contributions of many of his former trainees from abroad who went on to establish their own research and academic programs in many countries.” (1) Professor Lind's eminent international reputation also was evidenced by his multiple visiting lectureships in Scandinavian countries, Europe, and both North and South Americas. Professor Lind was an outstanding model of a great scientist, an inspiring mentor, and a kind man who loved the arts and reading (Figure⇓). During the embryonic stage of neonatology, several noted academicians began to work on its scientific …
The Sinking of the S.S. Kowshing: International Law, Diplomacy, and the Sino-Japanese War

In July 1894, the Japanese navy sank the British steamship Kowshing, leased by China to transport troops to Korea. Diplomatic negotiations over compensation for the loss of the ship persisted for the next decade. In insisting upon China's responsibility, the British Foreign Office forsook the judgments of international legal experts and demonstrated that its main goals were to support British commercial interests and to encourage the position of Japan in East Asia. The surprising denoument of the Kowshing incident was China's payment of damages for the ship in 1903.
Neurological abnormalities in a knock-in mouse model of Huntington’s disease

Mice representing precise genetic replicas of Huntington's disease (HD) were made using gene targeting to replace the short CAG repeat of the mouse Huntington's disease gene homolog (HDH:) with CAG repeats within the length range found to cause HD in humans. Mice with alleles of approximately 150 units in length exhibit late-onset behavioral and neuroanatomic abnormalities consistent with HD. These symptoms include a motor task deficit, gait abnormalities, reactive gliosis and the formation of neuronal intranuclear inclusions predominating in the striatum. This model differs from previously described HDH: knock-ins by its method of construction, longer repeat length and more severe phenotype. To our knowledge, this is the first knock-in mouse model of HD to show increased glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity in the striatum, suggesting that these mice have neuronal injury similar to that found early in the course of HD. These mice will serve as useful reagents in experiments designed to reveal the molecular nature of neuronal dysfunction underlying HD.
An Algorithm for Merging SMAP Radiometer and Radar Data for High-Resolution Soil-Moisture Retrieval

A robust and simple algorithm is developed to merge L-band radiometer retrievals and L-band radar observations to obtain high-resolution (9-km) soil-moisture estimates from data of the NASA Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission. The algorithm exploits the established accuracy of coarse-scale radiometer soil-moisture retrievals and blends this with the fine-scale spatial heterogeneity detectable by radar observations to produce a high-resolution optimal soil-moisture estimate at 9 km. The capability of the algorithm is demonstrated by implementing the approach using the airborne Passive and Active L-band System (PALS) instrument data set from Soil Moisture Experiments 2002 (SMEX02) and a four-month synthetic data set in an Observation System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) framework. The results indicate that the algorithm has the potential to obtain better soil-moisture accuracy at a high resolution and show an improvement in root-mean-square error of 0.015-0.02-cm3/cm3 volumetric soil moisture over the minimum performance taken to be retrievals based on radiometer measurements resampled to a finer scale. These results are based on PALS data from SMEX02 and a four-month OSSE data set and need to be further confirmed for different hydroclimatic regions using airborne data sets from prelaunch calibration/validation field campaigns of the SMAP mission.
Psychological Testing of Sign Language Interpreters

Twenty-eight sign language interpreters participated in a battery of tests to determine if a profile of cognitive, motor, attention, and personality attributes might distinguish them as a group and at different credential levels. Eight interpreters held Level II and nine held Level III Virginia Quality Assurance Screenings (VQAS); the other 11 held Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) certification. Six formal tests, the Quick Neurological Screening Test-II, the Wonderlic Personnel Test, the Test of Visual-Motor Skills (TVMS), the d2 Test of Attention, the Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test, and the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), were administered to the interpreters. Average scores were high on most of the tests; differences across the three groups were not statistically significant. Results from only one test, the d2 Test of Attention, were significantly correlated with interpreter level. Comparisons between educational and community interpreters also revealed no differences. Personality traits were widely distributed, but one trait, abstract reasoning, tested extremely high in 18 interpreters. Discussion of the potential implications of these results, particularly for educational interpreters, is offered.
Technology in the Classroom: Creating Videos Can Lead Students to Many Academic Benefits

Assigning students projects involving video production can lead to many positive academic outcomes, and today more opportunities exist for educators to incorporate such video-oriented projects into...
Stimulated emission in optically pumped atomic-copper vapor.

We have observed, for the first time to our knowledge, stimulated emission in atomic-copper vapor that is excited by a resonant tunable laser beam. One of the important and interesting results obtained in this experiment is that excitation of the 2P1/2 level of the copper atoms generates strong amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) for both2P1/2−2D3/2 and 2P3/2−2D5/2 transitions. This is the first reported direct experimental evidence observed for collisional mixing between the 2P1/2 and 2P3/2 levels in a copper-vapor laser. Excitation of the 2P3/2 level induces substantially weaker ASE for the 2P1/2−2D3/2 transition. In addition, we observed collision-induced ASE for both transitions over a wide range of detuning of the pump frequency. The preliminary results of the experiment are presented, and the implications of the results for high-pressure copper-vapor lasers are discussed.
Secular Trends in BMI and Blood Pressure Among Children and Adolescents: The Bogalusa Heart Study

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents increased by almost threefold from the 1970s to 2000. We examined whether these secular changes in BMI were accompanied by increases in blood pressure levels. METHODS: A total of 24 092 examinations were conducted among 11 478 children and adolescents (aged 5–17 years) from 1974 to 1993 in the Bogalusa Heart Study (Louisiana). RESULTS: The prevalence of obesity increased from 6% to 17% during this period. In contrast, only small changes were observed in levels of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and neither mean nor high (based on the 90th percentile from the Fourth Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents) levels increased over the 20-year period. Within each race–gender group, mean levels of SBP did not change, whereas mean levels of DBP decreased by 2 mm Hg ( P < .001 for trend). Levels of BMI were positively associated with levels of SBP and DBP within each of the 7 examinations, and controlling for BMI (along with other covariates) indicated that only ∼60% as many children as expected had high levels of blood pressure in 1993. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding that levels of DBP and SBP among children in this large sample did not increase despite the increases that were seen in obesity indicates that changes in blood pressure levels in a population do not necessarily parallel changes in obesity. Additional study of the potential characteristics that have ameliorated the expected increase in high blood pressure could lead to further reductions in risk. * Abbreviations: CDC — : Centers for Disease Control and Prevention DBP — : diastolic blood pressure SBP — : systolic blood pressure
Dynamic vehicle routing with moving demands - Part II: High speed demands or low arrival rates

In the companion paper we introduced a vehicle routing problem in which service demands arrive stochastically on a line segment. Upon arrival, the demands translate perpendicular to the line with a fixed speed. A vehicle, with speed greater than that of the demands, seeks to provide service by reaching each mobile demand. In this paper we study a first-come-first-served (FCFS) policy in which the service vehicle serves demands in the order in which they arrive. When the demand arrival rate is very low, we show that the FCFS policy can be used to minimize the expected time, or the worst-case time, to service a demand. We determine necessary and sufficient conditions on the arrival rate of the demands (as a function of the problem parameters) for the stability of the FCFS policy. When the demands are much slower than the service vehicle, the necessary and sufficient conditions become equal. We also show that in the limiting regime when the demands move nearly as fast as the service vehicle; (i) the demand arrival rate must tend to zero; (ii) every stabilizing policy must service the demands in the order in which they arrive, and; (iii) the FCFS policy minimizes the expected time to service a demand.
Supracrustal input to magmas in the deep crust of Sierra Nevada batholith: Evidence from high-δ^(18)O zircon

Oxygen isotope ratios of zircon (Zc) from intrusives exposed in the Tehachapi Mountains, southern California, reveal large inputs of high-δ^(18)O supracrustal contaminant into gabbroic and tonalitic magmas deep (> 30 km) in the Cretaceous Sierra Nevada batholith. High δ^(18)O(Zc) values (7.8 ± 0.7‰) predominate in the deep parts of the batholith, but lower values (6.1 ± 0.9‰) occur in shallower parts. This indicates a larger gradient in δ^(18)O with depth in the batholith than occurs from west to east across it. Oxygen, Sr, and Nd isotope data show that the supracrustal contaminant was likely young (Paleozoic or Mesozoic), hydrothermally altered upper oceanic crust or volcanic arc sediments. Such rocks were subducted or underthrust beneath the Sierran arc during accretion of oceanic terranes onto North America. This component yielded high-δ^(18)O magmas that were added to the base of the batholith. On average, gabbros in the southern Sierra contain at least 18% of the subducted supracrustal component. Some tonalite and granodiorite magmas were additionally contaminated by Kings Sequence metasedimentary rocks, as evidenced by δ^(18)O(Zc) and initial ^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr that trend toward values measured for the Kings Sequence. Besides high δ^(18)O values in the southern Sierra, xenoliths in the central Sierra also have elevated δ^(18)O, which confirms the widespread abundance of supracrustal material in the sub-arc lithospheric mantle. In contrast to δ^(18)O(Zc), whole rock δ^(18)O values of many samples have undergone post-magmatic alteration that obscures the magmatic contamination history of those rocks. Such alteration previously prevented confident determination of the mass of young, hydrothermally altered mantle rocks that contributed to Sierran granitoids.
Parental Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Children With AIDS: Influences on Educational Policies and Children's Attitudes

Surveyed AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes of parents and their children to provide descriptive information on views about school policies concerning HIV-infected children and to test hypotheses regarding links between parents' and children's AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes. Results indicate that parents desire more information about presence of persons with AIDS (PWA) in the schools than is permissible by law and that a significant minority of parents objected to allowing HIV-infected students in schools. As predicted, more accurate parental knowledge of AIDS and knowing a PWA were associated with greater willingness to allow their children to interact with PWA and with greater acceptance of allowing HIV-infected children to attend regular classes. Support was also found for links between parents' and children's attitudes toward PWA. Implications for educating parents about AIDS transmission and inclusion of parents in the implementation of AIDS educational programs are discussed.
Galanin Stimulates Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone Secretion from Arcuate Nucleus-Median Eminence Fragments in Vitro: Involvement of an α-Adrenergic Mechanism

Galanin (GAL), a 29-amino acid peptide originally isolated from porcine intestine, has been shown to be widely distributed not only in the gut, but also in the central nervous system. Several studies have shown that GAL participates in the hypothalamic regulation of PRL, GH, and LH secretion. In this study, we evaluate the effects of rat GAL (rGAL) on LHRH and prostaglandin (PG) E2 release from arcuate nucleus-median eminence fragments in vitro. Fragments were incubated for 30-min periods in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer containing the different test substances. The addition to the medium of rGAL in concentrations ranging from 5-1000 nM increased the release of both LHRH and PGE2 in a concentration-dependent manner. The ED50 values were approximately 55 and 80 nM for LHRH and PGE2, respectively. rGAL-induced LHRH and PGE2 release were related, as suggested by the finding that the addition to the medium of indomethacin (10 microM), a PG synthesis blocker, completely blocked rGAL-induced LHRH release. In addition, an active catecholaminergic system appears to be necessary for obtaining the stimulatory effect of rGAL. The addition to the medium of the alpha-adrenergic blocker phentolamine or prazosin impaired the ability of rGAL to release both LHRH and PGE2. rGAL-induced stimulation of LHRH and PGE2 release was blocked by phentolamine at doses of 1-10 microM, while prazosin was able to block it at doses as low as 0.1 microM. In summary, rGAL stimulates LHRH and PGE2 release from arcuate nucleus-median eminence fragments in vitro in a dose-dependent fashion. Such an effect is blocked by both indomethacin and alpha-adrenergic blockers, indicating that rGAL-induced stimulation of LHRH secretion is exerted through alpha-adrenergic receptors and requires PGE2 as an intracellular mediator.
Profiles of Resilience and Growth in Youth With Cancer and Healthy Comparisons

OBJECTIVE Inconsistent links between posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in youth following a stressful life event have been observed in previous literature. Latent profile analysis (LPA) provides a novel approach to examine the heterogeneity of relations between these constructs. METHOD Participants were 435 youth (cancer group=253; healthy comparisons = 182) and one parent. Children completed measures of PTS, PTG, and a life-events checklist. Parents reported on their own PTS and PTG. LPA was conducted to identify distinct adjustment classes. RESULTS LPA revealed three profiles. The majority of youth (83%) fell into two resilient groups differing by levels of PTG. Several factors predicted youth's profile membership. CONCLUSIONS PTS and PTG appear to be relatively independent constructs, and their relation is dependent on contextual factors. The majority of youth appear to be resilient, and even those who experience significant distress were able to find benefit.
Marijuana and Religious Freedom in the United States

Beginning with state laws that criminalized marijuana’s use, and national laws that imposed taxes on transfers, the use of marijuana in the United States has long fallen under governmental control. In the 1960s and 1970s, regulation of marijuana intensified, with President Nixon going so far as to declare a “war on drugs.” Unlike peyote, which likewise experienced a lengthy history of criminalization at the local level, marijuana has been unable to find shelter from American drug laws under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The First Amendment broadly protects the “free exercise” of religion. This protection has been extended to Native American’s use of peyote, but courts and legislatures in the United States have steadfastly refused to extend similar protection to marijuana use—regardless of the group. Why this has happened is unclear, though the demonization of marijuana and the groups that prefer it as their sacramental drugs of choice are likely contributing factors.
A SOFTWARE RELIABILITY MODEL FOR CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE REJUVENATION USING DYNAMIC FAULT TREES

Correctly measuring the reliability and availability of a cloud-based system is critical for evaluating its system performance. Due to the promised high reliability of physical facilities provided for cloud services, software faults have become one of the major factors for the failures of cloud-based systems. In this paper, we focus on the software aging phenomenon where system performance may be progressively degraded due to exhaustion of system resources, fragmentation and accumulation of errors. We use a proactive technique, called software rejuvenation, to counteract the software aging problem. The dynamic fault tree (DFT) formalism is adopted to model the system reliability before and during a software rejuvenation process in an aging cloud-based system. A novel analytical approach is presented to derive the reliability function of a cloud-based Hot SPare (HSP) gate, which is further verified using Continuous Time Markov Chains (CTMC) for its correctness. We use a case study of a cloud-based system to illustrate the validity of our approach. Based on the reliability analytical results, we show how cost-effective software rejuvenation schedules can be created to keep the system reliability consistently staying above a predefined critical level.
Warfarin and Supplement Interactions: Survey of Published Literature

Objective:To review published literature related to potential interactions between warfarin and common dietary supplement products.Data Sources:Tertiary databases including Micromedex, LexiComp, an...
Two-Photon Excitation of trans-Stilbene: Spectroscopy and Dynamics of Electronically Excited States Above S1

The photoisomerization dynamics of trans-stilbene have been well studied in the lowest excited state, but much less is known about the behavior following excitation to higher-lying electronically excited states. This contribution reports a combined study of the spectroscopy and dynamics of two-photon accessible states above S1. Two-photon absorption (2PA) measurements using a broadband pump–probe technique reveal distinct bands near 5.1 and 6.4 eV. The 2PA bands have absolute cross sections of 40 ± 16 and 270 ± 110 GM, respectively, and a pump–probe polarization dependence that suggests both of the transitions access Ag-symmetry excited states. Separate transient absorption measurements probe the excited-state dynamics following two-photon excitation into each of the bands using intense pulses of 475 and 380 nm light, respectively. The initially excited states rapidly relax via internal conversion, leading to the formation of an S1 excited-state absorption band that is centered near 585 nm and evolves on ...
Intramolecular electron transfer in bipyridinium disulfides.

Reductive cleavage of disulfide bonds is an important step in many biological and chemical processes. Whether cleavage occurs stepwise or concertedly with electron transfer is of interest. Also of interest is whether the disulfide bond is reduced directly by intermolecular electron transfer from an external reducing agent or mediated intramolecularly by internal electron transfer from another redox-active moiety elsewhere within the molecule. The electrochemical reductions of 4,4′-bipyridyl-3,3′-disulfide (1) and the di-N-methylated derivative (22+) have been studied in acetonitrile. Simulations of the cyclic voltammograms in combination with DFT (density functional theory) computations provide a consistent model of the reductive processes. Compound 1 undergoes reduction directly at the disulfide moiety with a substantially more negative potential for the first electron than for the second electron, resulting in an overall two-electron reduction and rapid cleavage of the S–S bond to form the dithiolate. I...
Near band-edge and excitonic behavior of GaAsN epilayers grown by Chemical Beam Epitaxy

Photoluminescence and absorption spectroscopy experiments were performed on as grown and thermally annealed GaAs1-xNx with nitrogen content in the range of 0.75-7.1%. At low temperature, the photoluminescence spectra exhibits two set of features: (i) a relatively broad peak at low energy and near to the vicinity of the predicted band gaps and (ii) a sharp excitonic feature at higher energy (about 100 meV for x>4%). Post growth thermal annealing processes systematically favor stronger excitonic emissions, and a notable intensity reduction of the deeper (defect related) luminescence. The low temperature binding energy of the higher energy excitonic peak is found to be consistent with the increase of the electronic effective masses. A careful examination of the data obtained in this work suggests that for higher nitrogen content (x>4%), the fundamental band gap of GaAsN is located at significantly higher energies than those commonly accepted for these alloys.
Spontaneous Parkinsonisms and striatal impairment in neuroleptic free youth at ultrahigh risk for psychosis

Spontaneous movement abnormalities, occurring independent of medication status, are thought to reflect basal ganglia pathology in patients at ultrahigh risk (UHR) for psychosis. To date, the research literature has primarily focused on movements associated with elevated striatal dopamine (i.e., hyperkinesia) while little is known about motor symptoms associated with low levels of subcortical dopamine (i.e., spontaneous parkinsonisms; SPs). As SPs (e.g., bradykinesia) may be governed by distinct neural mechanisms, this line of research can provide a clearer picture of the etiological processes in the prodrome. To examine SPs and striatal structural correlates in youth at risk for psychosis. A total of 81 (35 UHR, 46 healthy controls) adolescents were administered a structured clinical interview, structural MRI scan, and handwriting kinematic analysis capable of assessing SPs that are not detectable by traditional observer-based inventories. The UHR group exhibited significant decreased velocity scaling (indicative of SPs), t(79)=−2.65, P⩽0.01, as well as decreased ipsilateral t(68)=−3.16, P⩽0.001 and contralateral t(68)=−3.32, P⩽0.001 putamen volume compared with the healthy control group. Further, decreased velocity scaling was significantly associated with smaller ipsilateral putamen r(68)=0.23, P⩽0.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) (−0.005, 0.44), left r(68)=0.23, P⩽0.05, 95% CI (−0.005, 0.44) and right r(68)=0.21, P⩽0.05, 95% CI (−0.03, 0.42) caudate volume, as well as increased positive r(79)=−0.20, P=0.05, 95% CI (−0.40, −0.02) and negative r(79)=−0.27, P⩽0.05, 95% CI (−0.46, −0.06) symptoms across the sample. These findings represent the first evidence for hypokinetic movement abnormalities in the UHR period, indicating that pathophysiological processes in UHR patients may also involve hypodopaminergia. The results implicate a dopamine-induced imbalance contributing to frontal–subcortical circuit dysfunction in the psychosis prodrome. Abnormal movement associated with reduced dopamine could predict psychosis symptoms in high-risk patients, USA research suggests. Psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia are often accompanied by a lack of movement control. Research has previously highlighted increased movements usually associated with elevated striatal dopamine. But hypokinetic abnormalities prior to psychosis have not been shown before. Derek Dean and Vijay Mittal at the University of Colorado Boulder assessed hypokinetic movement abnormalities using handwriting analysis software in 81 unmedicated adolescents, including 35 at ultra-high risk (UHR) of developing psychosis. The researchers also used MRI scanning to measure the volume of forebrain sections in participants. Compared with their healthy counterparts, the UHR group showed both a reduced ability to scale movement velocity and reduced putamen volume. The findings expand the understanding of movement abnormalities as markers of psychosis-related neurodevelopment.
Attraction and Ovipositional Response of Hypsipyla grandella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) to Host and Non-Host Materials

Laboratory tests indicated that virgin Hypsipyla grandella females were attracted to new Cedrela odorata leaves. During the dry season when C. odorata loses its foliage, virgin females select susceptible hosts by olfactory cues emanating from fresh bark or from resins and frass exuding from older attacks. Mated females and males showed little or no preference to host materials.
Interior Pointwise Feedback Control and Optimization of Euler Equations for Flow Separation in Stator Cascades by Air Injection

This paper presents an adaptive flow control approach for con trolling flow separation in a stator cascade within a low-speed axial-flow compressor using an air inject ion technique. Flow separation usually manifests itself as an increase in a total pressure loss across a blade row. A 1-D unsteady flow model based on the Euler equations incorporating a pressure loss parameter is used to design a feedback control of the total pressure at the outlet. The air injection control is formulated as a pointwise control in the interior region of the solution domain of the Euler equations. The feedback adaptive control strategy relies on a recursive least-square parameter estimation to estimate the effectiveness of air injection. A nonlinear trajectory optimization is developed in order to determine an optimal air injection gain schedule. A gradient-based computational procedure based on a wave-splitting finite-difference method is imple mented for the optimization method. Disturbances due to variations in the inlet flow condition at the stator bla de row are minimized by a quasi-steady state error-correction feedback optimal control in order to maintain a desired air injection value. The nonlinear optimization and quasi-steady state feedback optimal control are based on a recent adjoint method for the Euler equations. A numerical simulation demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed flow control strategy.
Surfactant protein A is degraded by alveolar macrophages

The metabolism of iodinated lung surfactant protein A (SP-A) by alveolar macrophages in primary culture was examined to determine the role these cells play in the degradation of this surfactant protein. SP-A was isolated from lung lavage obtained from normal bovines, patients with alveolar proteinosis, and silica-treated rats. SP-A (0.5 microgram/ml) was incubated for 3 h with rat alveolar macrophages obtained by lung lavage. Cell association and degradation of human and rat SP-A was three times greater than that of bovine SP-A. During the 3-h period, 50% of total macrophage-associated SP-A was degraded. Degradation was time-, temperature-, and concentration-dependent after a 1-h lag period. SP-A degradation was intracellular, since NH4Cl inhibited degradation > 50%, and macrophage-conditioned medium was ineffective. Tenfold more SP-A was degraded by macrophages than by type II cells isolated after elastase digestion of rat lungs. There was little degradation of SP-A by HeLa cells. We conclude that alveolar macrophages take up and degrade SP-A and thus could contribute to the catabolism of SP-A in the lung.
Rapid Microwave-Assisted Solvothermal Synthesis of Non-Olivine Cmcm Polymorphs of LiMPO4 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) at Low Temperature and Pressure

Lithium transition-metal phosphates, LiMPO4 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni), have attracted significant research interest over the past two decades as an important class of lithium ion battery cathode materials. However, almost all of the investigations thus far have focused on the olivine polymorph that exists in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. In this study, a distinct orthorhombic but non-olivine polymorph of LiMPO4, described by a Cmcm space group symmetry, has been synthesized with M = Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni. Of these, LiMnPO4 in the Cmcm space group is reported for the first time. A rapid microwave-assisted solvothermal (MW-ST) heating process with tetraethylene glycol (TEG) as the solvent and transition-metal oxalates as precursors facilitates the synthesis of these materials. The peak reaction temperatures and pressures were below 300 °C and 30 bar, respectively, which are several orders of magnitude lower than those of the previously reported high-pressure (gigapascals) method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) co...
Getting Started on Accreditation

A large number of postsecondary institutions have developed internal periodic review procedures and they also partake in official regional accreditation procedures along with several optional specialized program or school accreditations (Moore and Diamond 2000). These internal institutional and external peer-review processes are usually alike in their primary procedures, but have largely followed rather than pioneered the developments in higher education. Recently, U.S. accreditation standards have been mainly focused on guiding institutions to be directed by their missions and essentially guide college and university improvements. Most agencies have become deeply involved in facilitating a focus on student learning outcomes or assurance of learning. Therefore, internal institutional processes that develop in coordination with an effective accreditation management policy ought to concentrate on the college’s or university’s mission and objectives for student learning, along with coordinating the accreditation timing procedure, planning, staffing, and budgeting in conjunction with the internal reviews as well as the vital operational and strategic institutional goals. As this examination of effective accreditation management strategies begins, it is essential to first consider the particulars of a typical accreditation procedure. The specific processes of many regional and specialized accreditation agencies are often rather alike, and usually have familiar steps in their processes.
In situ x-ray scattering study of Ag island growth on Si(111) 7 × 7

We report on the epitaxial relationship between Ag and the Si(111)$7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}7$ substrate where the wetting layer and the emergence of islands was investigated using in situ x-ray scattering with a combination of grazing incidence diffraction, specular reflectivity, and crystal truncation rod measurements. The atomic-scale structure of the wetting layer evolves continuously with coverage until a transition where it ceases to change its structure concomitantly with the appearance of islands. The islands are observed to reside on the Si(111)$7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}7$ and, although the minimum average island height is three atomic layers of face-centered-cubic Ag, the average island height depends on the coverage and temperature. The majority of the Ag islands are oriented along the symmetry-equivalent Si crystallographic axes and a minority population of islands are rotated by $15.{7}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$. A coincidence-site lattice model is used to show that kinetic considerations lead to the observed island orientations.
Refuge quality impacts the strength of nonconsumptive effects on prey.

Prey often retreat into the safety of refuges for protection from predators. This shift into refuge can reduce foraging opportunities, escalating the costs of risk and the strength of nonconsumptive effects. Such costs, however, may be shaped by the variation in resources that refuges harbor for prey foraging (i.e., refuge quality), and change dynamically via impacts on prey state. Despite its potential importance, we lack an explicit understanding of how refuge quality impacts prey performance under risk. Using a rocky intertidal food chain, we examined the interaction between predation risk and the amount of resources available for prey in refuge. We found that refuges with more resources greatly reduce the costs of refuge use, and that nonconsumptive effects are thereby weakened by as much as one-half, with especially strong impacts on prey growth and growth efficiency. These results suggest that failure to consider refuge quality could result in overestimation of the negative effects associated with prey refuge use.
Making the Case for Political Anthropology: Understanding and Addressing the Backlash Against Liberalism

This chapter outlines the concept and contemporary importance of political anthropology, attempting to understand and address the backlash against inclusive liberal values on this basis. “Political anthropology” refers to an understanding of political activities and notions belonging to the political sphere—such as “justice,” “rights,” etc.—on the basis of philosophical anthropology, classically conceived in terms of conceptions of human nature. Although classic and modern thought has traditionally grounded its analyses of the political with reference to human nature, the mainstream of contemporary thought has—for good reasons—largely abandoned this approach. Abandoning this strategy has itself often been understood as a precondition for justice, a line of thought associated with liberalism.
Efficient Fractionation and Analysis of Fatty Acids and their Salts in Fat, Oil and Grease (FOG) Deposits

A fractionation methodology of fat, oil and grease (FOG) deposits was developed based on the insolubility of fatty acid salts in dichloromethane (DCM) and the relatively high solubility of fatty acids and triglycerides in DCM. Using this method, coupled with spectral analysis, it was shown that fatty acids rather than fatty acid salts were the predominant species in FOG deposits obtained from three metropolitan locations in the United States and that fatty acid triglycerides were either not detected or were present in very small concentrations. This solubility-based fractionation approach also revealed the presence of nitrogen-containing compounds that had not been previously detected in FOG deposits including peptides and (or) proteins. The comparison of the ratios of stearic acid salts to stearic acid versus the ratio of palmitic acid salts to palmitic acid in FOG deposits may indicate that the initial step in FOG deposit formation is the preferential precipitation of stearic acid salts.
Parents' Perspectives About Adolescent Boys' Involvement in Biomedical HIV Prevention Research

Research on the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among adolescents at high risk for HIV is urgently needed, and parents' perspectives on these studies are essential for guiding the responsible conduct of adolescent PrEP research. We conducted interviews with 30 parents of adolescent boys (50% known/presumed heterosexual; 50% sexual minority) to understand their views of research risks and benefits and parental permission regarding their son's involvement in a hypothetical PrEP adherence trial. Parents identified several health and educational benefits of the study and expressed that waiving parental permission would overcome barriers to accessing PrEP, particularly for youth who may benefit most. Among their concerns were medication non-adherence and risk compensation. Parents provided suggestions to facilitate informed, rational, and voluntary participation decisions and protect youth's safety if parental permission was waived. These findings can inform ways to increase parental trust in PrEP research and create adequate protections for adolescent participants.
Study of biocatalytic activity of histidine ammonia lyase in protic ionic liquids

Abstract The effect of a series of protic ionic liquids on the catalytic activity of histidase (EC 4.3.1.3) using an enzymatic assay that monitored the growth of the trans-urocanic acid peak at 277 nm was studied. Results of the inhibition experiments indicated the that the ionic liquids with chaotropic bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide anion [NTf2−] had a significant stabilizing effect on the catalytic activity, which is reverse of the Hofmeister series.
Upconversion in photodynamic therapy: plumbing the depths

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves the combination of non-toxic dyes called photosensitizers (PS) and harmless visible light that interact with ambient oxygen to give reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can damage biomolecules and kill cells. PDT has mostly been developed as a cancer therapy but can also be used as an antimicrobial approach against localized infections. However even the longest wavelength used for exciting PS (in the 700 nm region) has relatively poor tissue penetration, and many PS are much better excited by blue and green light. Therefore upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been investigated in order to allow deeper-penetrating near-infrared light (980 nm or 810 nm) to be used for PDT. NaYF4 nanoparticles doped with Yb3+ and Er3+ or with Tm3+ and Er3+ have been attached to PS either by covalent conjugation, or by absorption to the coating or shell (used to render the UCNPs biocompatible). Forster resonance energy transfer to the PS then allows NIR light energy to be transduced into ROS leading to cell killing and tumor regression. Some studies have experimentally demonstrated the deep tissue advantage of UCNP-PDT. Recent advances have included dye-sensitized UCNPs and UCNPs coupled to PS, and other potentially synergistic drug molecules or techniques. A variety of bioimaging modalities have also been combined with upconversion PDT. Further studies are necessary to optimize the drug-delivery abilities of the UCNPs, improve the quantum yields, allow intravenous injection and tumor targeting, and ensure lack of toxicity at the required doses before potential clinical applications.
Biochemical Aspects of the Environmental Control of Tumour Growth and Spread

Various changes are induced in the host by the presence of tumour cells. The host’s reaction may either facilitate or impede the growth and spread of tumours. Conceptions of the significance of the host’s reactions are varied, and in their orthodox form they are conveyed by the term “the host’s ‘organic’ defence”. The purpose of this communication will be to review some experimental findings and to discuss, on the basis of available results, some possible hypotheses that might contribute to the understanding of these interrelations. The limits of the present communication are defined by biochemical relations, even though other factors too (above all immunological and in some cases endocrinological ones) are sure to play a most significant role.
Behavioral assessment and treatment of depression in older adults.

This chapter will provide an overview of the literature on behavioral assessment and treatment of depression in older adults. It will begin with a discussion of generally accepted and well-established definitions of depression and the behavioral theory of depression development and maintenance. It will then survey the available methods for assessing depression in older adults, discuss strategies for intervention, and conclude with a case presentation illustrating the behavioral treatment of a depressed older adult.
Frontiers in Ecosystem Science

In this final chapter, a few examples of areas that seem poised for rapid progress, and that show the vitality of the field, are offered. Some of these areas are urbanization, global change, restoration ecology, and the integration of humans into ecosystems.
The Market for Digital Piracy

Competition may occur simultaneously at a variety of different levels: among individuals, firms, and nations. The Internet promises simultaneously to impact both international competition in informational goods and interjurisdictional competition in law as a product. Because it permits remote contact between information producers and information consumers, the Internet may promote desireable interjurisdictional competition in copyright law as a product. However, copyright law has relied on distributional inefficiency to overcome the public goods problem in the production of creative works. By increasing distributional efficiency, the Internet threatens to undermine this goal of promoting information goods. Thus, efficiency gains in the international copyright "race to the top" may simultaneously trigger an international "race to the bottom" in information good production. International harmonization of copyright may offer a partial solution to an interjurisdictional "race to the bottom," but such efforts must be approached with caution because of the opportunity for strategic behavior by content producers.