cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Contagious Pity: Cultural Difference and the Language of Contagion in Titus Andronicus

Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus considers political boundaries and personal sovereignty in terms of bodily integrity and health. This essay looks beyond the language of infectious disease most familiar to modern readers and highlights a premodern discourse of illness that presumes likeness or sympathy between infecting agent and infected body. Turning to this premodern discourse illuminates the language of contagion in Titus, a play that uses comparatively little language of disease. Understanding how this premodern language of contagion operates in Titus Andronicus, this essay resituates the play in its multicultural context, demonstrating how contagion might serve not simply as a source of anxiety but as a metaphor for the fraught operation of pity.
Taming the Past: Essays on Law in History and History in Law

Robert Gordon became the pioneering scholar of the history and historiography of American law with the publication of his first essays in the 1970s. His research and teaching have stimulated and guided the dramatic growth of American scholarship in legal history during the past four decades, much of it written by his own students and the many others whose work he has generously encouraged and engaged. Taming the Past combines the classic essays he has published in various journals and edited collections throughout his distinguished career alongside lectures that are printed here for the first time. Brief introductory notes place the essays in the context of their original appearance and often cite subsequent relevant scholarship. Gordon has also added a general introduction that provides a useful overview of the entire collection. The whole is much more than the sum of its impressive parts.
‘Civil Insanity’: The New York Treatment of the Issue of Mental Incapacity in Non-Criminal Cases

The issue of insanity as it relates to the criminal law has been the subject of exhaustive treatment by both lawyers and psychiatrists. However, while so much interest has been generated and focused upon insanity and crime, scant attention seems to have been paid to the issue of insanity or mental incapacitation in areas other than the criminal law; yet it is in the non-criminal field that the issue more often appears, to trouble the courts, befuddle the lawyers, and irritate the doctors.The issue of mental incapacity may arise in virtually every type of legal proceeding, but it seems to arise most often in connection with the following situations: (a) actions involving contracts, gifts and deeds; (b) actions for the annulment of marriage; (c) probate proceedings; and (d) proceedings for the appointment of a committee and commitment to institutions. It is the purpose of this comment to examine the way New York has handled this issue in these situations.
A snapshot reflection on a preschool in Florence, Italy

The author visited, observed and interviewed the director of 2-5-year-old classrooms in a school located in the city of Florence, Italy. Scuola dell’onfanzia is a Cambridge International . Cambridge International School has global standards for its programs. These standards are created by academic rigor and reflect the latest academic requirements. The Cambridge Pathway leads seamlessly from primary through secondary and pre-university years. The Cambridge schools can shape the curriculum around how they want students to learn (https://www.cambridgeinternational.org). This paper is reflecting on the Early Childhood practices that were observed in the school. The children were divided in the classrooms according to their age. The child to teacher ratio is 11 to 2. Further, in each classroom, there are two teachers, one who speaks English and the other who speaks Italian.
Effects of an HIV-1 maturation inhibitor on the structure and dynamics of CA-SP1 junction helices in virus-like particles

HIV-1 maturation involves conversion of the immature Gag polyprotein lattice, which lines the inner surface of the viral membrane, to the mature capsid protein (CA) lattice, which encloses the viral RNA. Maturation inhibitors such as bevirimat (BVM) bind within six-helix bundles, formed by a segment that spans the junction between the CA and spacer peptide 1 (SP1) subunits of Gag, and interfere with cleavage between CA and SP1 catalyzed by the HIV-1 protease (PR). We report solid-state NMR (ssNMR) measurements on spherical virus-like particles (VLPs), facilitated by segmental isotopic labeling, that provide information about effects of BVM on the structure and dynamics of CA-SP1 junction helices in the immature lattice. Although BVM strongly blocks PR-catalyzed CA-SP1 cleavage in VLPs and blocks conversion of VLPs to tubular CA assemblies, 15N and 13C ssNMR chemical shifts of segmentally labeled VLPs with and without BVM are very similar, indicating that interaction with BVM does not alter the six-helix bundle structure appreciably. Only the 15N chemical shift of A280 (the first residue of SP1) changes significantly, consistent with BVM binding to an internal ring of hydrophobic side chains of L279 residues. Measurements of transverse 15N spin relaxation rates reveal a reduction in the amplitudes and/or timescales of backbone N-H bond motions, corresponding to a rigidification of the six-helix bundles. Overall, our data show that inhibition of HIV-1 maturation by BVM involves changes in structure and dynamics that are surprisingly subtle, but still sufficient to produce a large effect on CA-SP1 cleavage.
20 – IR Spectroscopy

A substantial amount of literature exists regarding the utility of vibrational spectroscopy for the characterization of polymers. Probably the largest fraction of these reported studies is related to the use of IR spectroscopy to determine the molecular composition of polymers by analyzing the characteristic vibrations of functional groups. The power of vibrational spectroscopy, i.e. its selectivity and sensitivity, cannot be overestimated in these applications. Many excellent studies have proven to be of enormous value to polymer scientists in this type of analysis. In this chapter the more recent applications of vibrational spectroscopy are emphasized, i.e. the characterization of the microstructures and their relationships to the macroscopic properties of polymers. This is perhaps one of the most often stated goals of polymer scientists. This section provides an introduction to the utility and advantages of vibrational spectroscopy, more specifically IR spectroscopy. More detailed descriptions of applications of spectroscopy to polymer blends, polymer dynamics, and surfaces or interfaces follow.
Layer-skipping connections facilitate training of layered networks using equilibrium propagation.

Equilibrium propagation is a learning framework that marks a step forward in the search for a biologically-plausible implementation of deep learning, and is appealing for implementation in neuromorphic analog hardware. However, previous implementations on layered networks encountered a vanishing gradient problem that has not yet been solved in a simple, biologically-plausible way. In this paper, we demonstrate that the vanishing gradient problem can be overcome by replacing some of a layered network’s connections with random layer-skipping connections. This approach could be conveniently implemented in neuromorphic analog hardware, and is biologically-plausible.
Changes in seizure duration during acute course electroconvulsive therapy.

Background Seizure duration has long been measured as a potential marker of ECT treatment efficacy, with concern that short seizures may be clinically ineffective. Relatively small studies have documented a trend towards shorter seizures during acute course ECT, but data from large cohorts would help provide normative data on seizure duration changes during treatment. Objective This study analyzes the effects of age, sex, ECT dose, and treatment number on the duration of electrographic seizures during acute course ECT in a large single-center cohort. Methods A single-center retrospective chart review was conducted of adult patients receiving a first course of ECT from 2000 to 2017 at a large freestanding psychiatric hospital. Results 3648 patients met inclusion criteria, receiving 32,879 acute course ECT treatments. There was a shortening of mean ECT seizure duration over the acute course, with the greatest decrease in duration over the first 3 treatments but continuing decreases over the entire acute course. Older age, higher ECT dose, and increasing treatment number were all associated with shorter seizures, while sex was not significantly associated. Increasing treatment dose was associated with shorter seizures relative to no dose increase, with those patients receiving the highest cumulative doses also having the shortest cumulative seizure time. Conclusions Among patients undergoing acute-course ECT treatment, seizure duration decreased over the treatment course, and increases in applied electrical charge were associated with shorter seizures.
Productivity Convergence: Postwar Record on Productivity Performance on the Aggregate Level among the Advanced Industrial Countries

Introduction The term “aggregate convergence” refers to the gradual diminution of differences in productivity levels for the overall economy of countries over time. Explanations of the productivity catch-up almost all involve the so-called advantages of backwardness or Gerschenkron effect, by which it is meant that much of the catch-up can be explained by the diffusion of technical knowledge from the leading economies to the more backward ones (see Gerschenkron, 1952, and Kuznets, 1973, for example). From this view, technological progress operates through a mechanism that enables countries whose level of productivity is behind (but not too far behind) that of the leading country(ies) to catch up. Through the constant transfer of knowledge, countries learn about the latest technology from one another, but virtually by definition the followers have more to learn from the leaders than the leaders have to learn from the laggards. On the other hand, those countries that are so far behind the leaders that it is impractical for them to profit substantially from the leaders’ knowledge will generally not be able to participate in the convergence process at all, and many such economies will find themselves falling even further behind. Two noted papers looked at the process of conditional convergence – Barro (1991), and Mankiw, Romer, and Weil (1992). Like Baumol, Blackman, and Wolff (1989), the authors considered a wide range of factors, including investment, education, trade, government spending, and political structure. They found that the investment rate (the ratio of investment to GDP) had a positive and significant effect on the rate of growth of GDP per capita among countries at all levels of development. Another critical factor was education. The two studies showed that the quantity of education provided by an economy to its inhabitants (as measured by school enrollment rates) was another major influence determining the rate of growth of per capita income among a wide range of countries.
Inheritance and expression of esterase-1 allozymes in Peromyscus leucopus.

We analyzed inheritance of 5Es-1 alleles inP. leucopus and found them to be co-dominant and segregating from a single autosomal locus, thereby verifying assumptions of Mendelian inheritance imfield data. We also described an allele that is ‘silent’ in hemolysate, but is active in liver extract.
"Once more a kingly quest": Fan games and the classic adventure genre

The classic adventure games—part of the earliest traditions of interactive narrative—have not disappeared, although they no longer occupy space on the shelves at the local computer store. Even as changing hardware and operating systems render these games of the 1980s and 1990s literally unplayable without emulating the computer systems of the past, fans are keeping these stories alive. Authorship of these games has changed hands: it is now under the control of the fans, the former and current players. Through the online sharing of fan-created game design tool sets and of the fan-created games themselves, these new coauthors create a haven to revisit these decades-old games using fresh eyes and fresh systems. The products of these folk art–reminiscent efforts also offer a venue to reconsider video game fandom in light of genres. They also allow us to understand these "personal games," productions of one or more people that are not intended for commercial sale, as carrying the heritage of the classic era forward into the next generation of gaming.
Graphene Nanoelectromechanical Systems as Stochastic-Frequency Oscillators

We measure the quality factor Q of electrically driven few-layer graphene drumhead resonators, providing an experimental demonstration that Q ~ 1/T, where T is the temperature. We develop a model that includes intermodal coupling and tensioned graphene resonators. Because the resonators are atomically thin, out-of-plane fluctuations are large. As a result, Q is mainly determined by stochastic frequency broadening rather than frictional damping, in analogy to nuclear magnetic resonance. This model is in good agreement with experiment. Additionally, at larger drives the resonance line width is enhanced by nonlinear damping, in qualitative agreement with recent theory of damping by radiation of in-plane phonons. Parametric amplification produced by periodic thermal expansion from the ac drive voltage yields an anomalously large line width at the largest drives. Our results contribute toward a general framework for understanding the mechanisms of dissipation and spectral line broadening in atomically thin membrane resonators.
Biocatalytic Route to Chiral Precursors of β-Substituted-γ-Amino Acids

In this work, we utilized commercial lipases (from Thermomyces lanuginosa, Rhizopus delemar, and Mucor miehei) as biocatalysts for the efficient synthesis of precursors of β-substituted-γ-amino acids. This biocatalytic route provides a practical and efficient synthesis of a wide range of optically active compounds by accepting a number of aliphatic and aromatic 3-substituted-3-cyano-2-(ethoxycarbonyl)propanoic acid ethyl esters (2) without compromising enantioselectivity or yields. The resolution step allows for the nearly quantitative recovery of the unreacted enantiomer of R-(2) as well as the newly formed 3-substituted-3-cyano-2-(ethoxycarbonyl)propanoic acid (3) in high enantio and diastereoselectivity. The use of a facile thermal decarboxylation of (3) in aqueous solution to produce 3-substituted-3-cyanopropanoic acid ethyl esters (4) enable us to prepare a wide range of optically active precursors of β-Substituted-γ-Amino Acids.
Fabrication, vascularization and osteogenic properties of a novel synthetic biomimetic induced membrane for the treatment of large bone defects

The induced membrane has been widely used in the treatment of large bone defects but continues to be limited by a relatively lengthy healing process and a requisite two stage surgical procedure. Here we report the development and characterization of a synthetic biomimetic induced membrane (BIM) consisting of an inner highly pre-vascularized cell sheet and an outer osteogenic layer using cell sheet engineering. The pre-vascularized inner layer was formed by seeding human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) on a cell sheet comprised of a layer of undifferentiated human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The outer osteogenic layer was formed by inducing osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. In vitro results indicated that the undifferentiated hMSC cell sheet facilitated the alignment of HUVECs and significantly promoted the formation of vascular-like networks. Furthermore, seeded HUVECs rearranged the extracellular matrix produced by hMSC sheet. After subcutaneous implantation, the composite constructs showed rapid vascularization and anastomosis with the host vascular system, forming functional blood vessels in vivo. Osteogenic potential of the BIM was evidenced by immunohistochemistry staining of osteocalcin, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, and alizarin red staining. In summary, the synthetic BIM showed rapid vascularization, significant anastomoses, and osteogenic potential in vivo. This synthetic BIM has the potential for treatment of large bone defects in the absence of infection.
Young's modulus of pyrolytic carbon in relation to preferred orientation

Abstract Expressions are derived which express Young's modulus of an anisotropic aggregate of hexagonal crystallites in terms of the single-crystal elastic constants and functions of the preferred orientation, assuming either a constant tensile strain or a constant tensile stress throughout the aggregate. Measurements of Young's modulus and preferred orientation on a number of pyrolytic carbons with different anisotropies show that the ‘constant stress’ model represents a good approximation of the behaviour of these materials. Young's modulus of polycrystalline nuclear graphite, whose dislocations have been pinned by a low-temperature neutron irradiation, agrees with the same model.
Interrelationship between presidential approval, presidential votes and macroeconomic performance, 1948–2000

Abstract Analyses of presidential votes generally differ from that of presidential popularity concerning the key economic variables that influence citizen opinions. Vote research usually emphasizes real economic growth, while popularity research typically focuses on unemployment. Actually, both determinants significantly affect both variables of citizen sentiment. Citizen economic preferences, however, appear more unemployment averse during democratic presidencies than republican presidencies.
Vaccine strategies for human papillomavirus-associated cancers.

Purpose of reviewTo review novel immunologic strategies for the prevention and treatment of human papillomavirus infection and associated diseases. Both animal model systems and human protocols are discussed.Recent findingsMany vaccine platforms for both prevention of human papillomavirus infection
Interaction of nutrition and binge ethanol treatment on brain damage and withdrawal.

To determine if nutrition plays a role in ethanol withdrawal and alcohol-induced brain damage, the effects of a 4-day ethanol binge treatment using ethanol in a nutritionally complete liquid diet compared to ethanol mixed with water were studied. The nutritionally complete diet group (ETOH-diet) received a complete diet of sugars, proteins and fats with vitamins and minerals with approximately 53% of calories from ethanol while the nutritionally deprived group (ETOH-H2O) received 100% of calories from ethanol. No difference in withdrawal behavior was found between the ETOH-diet and ETOH-H2O groups during the 72-hour period studied. In addition, no difference was seen for serum levels of magnesium and zinc taken at last dose or following 72 h of withdrawal. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and ammonia were increased in both groups with ETOH-diet showing a greater increase in ALT than ETOH-H2O. Both groups showed damage in the olfactory bulb, perirhinal, agranular insular, piriform and lateral entorhinal cortical areas as well as hippocampal dentate gyrus and CA-3. Interestingly, the ETOH-diet group displayed more damage at last dose in the posterior dentate and CA-3 of hippocampus than did the ETOH-H2O group. This study suggests that nutritional components and total caloric intake do not effect behavior during ethanol withdrawal and that a nutritionally complete diet may increase ethanol-induced brain damage.
Weisskopf-Wigner decay theory for the energy-driven stochastic Schrödinger equation

We generalize the Weisskopf-Wigner theory for the line shape and transition rates of decaying states to the case of the energy-driven stochastic Schr\"odinger equation that has been used as a phenomenology for state vector reduction. Within the standard approximations used in the Weisskopf-Wigner analysis, and assuming that the perturbing potential inducing the decay has vanishing matrix elements within the degenerate manifold containing the decaying state, the stochastic Schr\"odinger equation linearizes. Solving the linearized equations, we find no change from the standard analysis in the line shape or the transition rate per unit time. The only effect of the stochastic terms is to alter the early time transient behavior of the decay, in a way that eliminates the quantum Zeno effect. We apply our results to estimate experimental bounds on the parameter governing the stochastic effects. In addition, elegant stochastic-theoretic methods suggested by Di\'osi are used to rederive the principal results, without the assumptions needed to linearize the stochastic equation, and to give analogous results for the Rabi oscillations of a two-level system.
Embracing chaos: the scope and importance of clinical and pathological heterogeneity in mTBI

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) manifests a wide array of clinical features, indicating great heterogeneity of its underlying pathologic features. mTBI diversity is related to pre-injury inter-individual differences and differences in the characteristics of each injury. This review summarizes key features of mTBI patients, their injuries and outcomes to give context to the scope of complexity inherent in this disorder. These differences are underscored by heterogeneity in postmortem pathology and in vivo imaging studies. Recognition, understanding and accounting for disease heterogeneity in mTBI are needed to enhance diagnosis and patient management, as approaches that do not account for inter-individual variation in pathology and patient characteristics relevant to real-life clinical trial participants, may entirely miss therapeutic targets. Refining our approach to TBI diagnosis, in light of inter-individual differences, can facilitate the development of effective prognostic tools and algorithms. New paradigms, which embrace heterogeneity of mTBI, in both preclinical and clinical investigation as well the appreciation of this variability in clinical care, offer much promise for enhancing outcomes and mitigating the burden of mTBI on its victims.
The experiences of international nursing students in a baccalaureate nursing program.

International students, especially those with English as a second language (ESL), can have difficulty adjusting to university life in the United States and successfully completing the demands of a nursing program. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of international nursing students in a baccalaureate nursing program. Eight female Nigerian nursing students aged 25 to 48 who had been in the United States from 5 to 20 years were interviewed. Most (75 per cent) had some prior college experience, but only two had a baccalaureate degree. The data was analyzed by using a multifunctional computer software program and three themes emerged: social isolation, resolved attitudes, and persistence despite perceived obstacles. Factors contributing to each theme explained how these students progressed from their social isolation to their resolved attitudes. Their progression was marked by an acceptance of antagonistic attitudes found in the program and their development of persistence despite perceived obstacles. Their persistence was the impetus to achieve their overall goal of graduating from the program. Implications for nursing faculty include assisting these students through social and academic transitions and nursing administrators' provision of fiscal and support resources to facilitate effective integration of international students into the nursing program and the community.
Bubbly, Two-Phase Flow in the Anode Channel of a Passive, Tubular Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

A numerical study is presented to investigate the turbulent, two-phase, steady state, isothermal, bubbly flow characteristic in the anode channel of a passive, tubular direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) in order to accurately predict the gas volume fraction distribution along the channel. Accumulation of carbon dioxide gas bubbles at the channel’s wall hinders the diffusion of the fuel from the channel to the catalyst layer. The conservation governing equations of the mass and momentum for both the continuous (methanol and water solution) and dispersed (CO2 bubbles) phases in the bubbly regime are solved using the multi-fluid technique. Turbulence in the liquid phase is formulated by employing the classical, two-equation k–e model. Due to the lack of experimental data regarding the gas volume fraction in the anode channel of DMFCs, the proposed model was initially applied to the bubble plum in a cylindrical liquid bath in which air is injected into the water from a nozzle located at the bottom-center of the bath. The results are compared with the existing experimental data in the literature for the gas volume fraction and the liquid velocity in the bath. Finally, the model is successfully extended to the anode channel of a tubular DMFC operating passively in the vertical orientation in which the CO2 gas bubbles are injected through the wall. The rate of gas injection depends on the cell current density which is assumed to be uniform along the anode catalyst layer and the channel’s wall. It is found that the gas volume fraction significantly changes along the channel from a large value at the bottom of the channel to a lower value at the top. The flow field inside the channel is also investigated for different cell current densities.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Risk of Alzheimer's disease among elderly patients with anemia: Population-based investigations in Olmsted County, Minnesota

Abstract PURPOSE: To evaluate the association, if any, between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and anemia among the elderly. METHODS: Both case-control and cohort methodologies were used to evaluate this association. The case-control study included all incident cases of AD whose onset occurred during 1980–1984 in Rochester. MN ( n = 302). An age- and gender-matched control was selected from among Rochester residents seen for care at Mayo Clinic during the year of onset of the case. All community medical records for cases and controls were reviewed to identify women with hemoglobin levels of RESULTS: In the case-control study, an almost twofold increase in occurrence of AD was associated with anemia (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.17–3.03). For men and women, respectively, the ORs were 1.81 (95% CI, 0.75–4.39) and 1.96 (95% CI, 1.11–3.47). The cohort study showed no overall increase in risk of AD (SIR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.67–1.37). For men, the SIR was a comparable 1.49 (95% CI, 0.79–2.56), whereas for women the SIR was only 0.79 (95% CI, 0.49–1.23). CONCLUSIONS: Although anemia may be a risk factor for AD in the elderly, the mechanism by which anemia contributes to the pathogenesis of AD or to the unmasking of AD symptoms is unknown.
Incorporating current events into information assurance curriculum

This paper describes an approach to teach current events in information assurance curriculum. The approach is modeled after social sciences curriculum for which a large body of research and statistical data supports the use of current events and simulations as teaching tools. As examples of this approach the paper describes preparation of a social engineering attack and a research paper on improving social networks security. This type of teaching method encourages understanding of fundamental theory. Incorporating current trends promotes students interest in the study of information assurance.
Cyclic and linear bradykinin analogues: implications for B2 antagonist design

: Bradykinin (BK, Arg-Pro-Pro-Gly-Phe-Ser-Pro-Phe-Arg) antagonists are potentially useful for treating inflammation, pain and severe trauma. To identify what chemical features might promote effective antagonism, we replaced Arg1 and Pro7 with structurally constrained and proteolytic-resistant residues, such as Bip (biphenylalanine), Dip (diphenylalanine) or 2Ind (indane amino acid). To determine which BK folding might lead to favourable interactions with receptors, the effects of cyclo(3,8) vs. cyclo(5,8) analogues were compared. The resulting BK analogues were examined for their agonistic and antagonistic activities in guinea pig ileum, rat uterus and depressor assays. The results suggest that co-planarity of the residue-7 side chain with its backbone NH is important for potent agonism as well as antagonism, and a d-directed side chain is crucial for antagonism. For residue-1 an l-orientation is important, and Dip1 may mimic a folded Arg1 side chain to elicit agonistic activities, with Bip1 mimicking an extended Arg1 side chain to elicit inhibitory activities. However, ileal and uterine receptors appear to prefer differently folded BK. For ileum, a BK conformation in which residues-3 and -8 are proximal to each other, but apart from residue-5, led to improved pA2.
Failure of Walleye Recruitment in a Lake with Little Suitable Spawning Habitat Is Probably Exacerbated by Restricted Home Ranges

ABSTRACT Over eight million walleye (Sander vitreus) fry are stocked annually in Honeoye Lake, a small lake in the Finger Lakes region of west-central New York. The objectives of our study were to find and describe the spawning locations and habitats of walleye and to assess natural production of fry. Twenty-three adult walleye were radio-tagged and tracked for up to 2.5 years. They established relatively small home ranges (24–188 ha) and moved more during the three-week spawning season (149 m/d) than the rest of the year (37 m/d). No naturally produced walleye eggs were collected in the Honeoye Lake inlet channel where adults congregated during the 2002 and 2003 spawning seasons, nor were fry collected in the lake until after 8.7 million were stocked in 2003. Radio-tagged walleye exhibited homing and site fidelity in Honeoye Lake but not to the few known areas with suitable spawning substrates (no eggs were collected at these locations).
Unitarity constraints on neutral pion electroproduction

Abstract At large virtuality Q 2 , the coupling to the vector meson production channels provides us with a natural explanation of the surprisingly large cross section of the neutral pion electroproduction recently measured at Jefferson Laboratory, without destroying the good agreement between the Regge pole model and the data at the real photon point. Elastic rescattering of the π 0 provides us with a way to explain why the node, that appears at t ∼ − 0.5 GeV 2 at the real photon point, disappears as soon as Q 2 differs from zero.
Spline-based micro accuracy joint interpolation

The concept of tension is introduced and applied to a robot's trajectories, then new joint interpolation strategies are implemented. A joint interpolation strategy is proposed which uses joint variable reference data calculated from inverse kinematics, along with a polynomial equation or quintic equation as the parametric equation of the joint variables. This method can use any polynomial equation which has the C 2 continuity property and has intermediate points which pass through the reference data. For the time variable, first order linear equations can be used where the number of equations is n−1, n being the number of points in the reference data. Due to large reductions in computational burden resulting from this form, this method may be suited for real time applications
A comparison of avian and murine retrovirus polyprotein cleavage activities

Abstract The murine leukemia virus Pr65 gag proteolytic activity (MuLV-PF) which processes Pr65 gag to murine gag -specific polypeptides and the avian tumor virus p15-associated protease (AMV-p15) which likewise processes the avian gag polyprotein, differ substantially in their detergent, pH, and salt requirements for optimal activity. These differences are consonant with reports that MuLV-PF is associated with a serine protease ( Y. Yoshinaka and R. B. Luftig, 1977 , Cell 12 , 709–719) while AMV-p15 has a thiol protease-like activity ( K.J. Dittmar and K. Moelling, 1978 , J. Virol. 28 , 106–118). In spite of these differences, in vitro cleavage of MuLP Pr65 gag (NH 2 -p15-P12-p30-p10-COOH) by AMV-p15 can be achieved. The initial cleavage products observed are polypeptides of M r 45,000 daltons (45K) and M r 15K. The 15K polypeptide cross-reacts with MuLV p15 antisera while the 45K polypeptide possesses antigenic determinants of p30 and p12 but not p10. The 45K polypeptide thus differs from Pr40 gag , the intermediate cleavage product obtained after treatment of Pr65 gag with the murine leukemia virus proteolytic activity; Pr40 gag contains only p30 and p10 determinants ( Y. Yoshinaka and R.B. Luftig, 1977 , Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 79 , 319–325). AMV-p15 further cleaves the 45K polypeptide to one with M r 39K which has the group-specific antigenic determinant of p30 but not p12. At higher concentrations of AMV-p15, a more complete breakdown to polypeptides of M r 12–15K, without any buildup of p30, is observed. These results suggest that there are at least four thiol protease-like sites on Pr65 gag : one very near the COOH terminus at p15 which makes it a possible in vivo cleavage site, and three other sites at the interior of polypeptides p10, p12, and p30.
A recognition-based motion capture baseline on the HumanEva II test data

The advent of the HumanEva standardized motion capture data sets has enabled quantitative evaluation of motion capture algorithms on comparable terms. This paper measures the performance of an existing monocular recognition-based pose recovery algorithm on select HumanEva data, including all the HumanEva II clips. The method uses a physically motivated Markov process to connect adjacent frames and achieve a 3D relative mean error of 8.9 cm per joint. It further investigates factors contributing to the error and finds that research into better pose retrieval methods offers promise for improvement of this technique and those related to it. Finally, it investigates the effects of local search optimization with the same recognition-based algorithm and finds no significant deterioration in the results, indicating that processing speed can be largely independent of the size of the recognition library for this approach.
Concise Review: A High‐Content Screening Approach to Stem Cell Research and Drug Discovery

High-throughput screening (HTS) is a technology widely used for early stages of drug discovery in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Recent hardware and software improvements have enabled HTS to be used in combination with subcellular resolution microscopy, resulting in cell image-based HTS, called high-content screening (HCS). HCS allows the acquisition of deeper knowledge at a single-cell level such that more complex biological systems can be studied in a high-throughput manner. The technique is particularly well-suited for stem cell research and drug discovery, which almost inevitably require single-cell resolutions for the detection of rare phenotypes in heterogeneous cultures. With growing availability of facilities, instruments, and reagent libraries, small-to-moderate scale HCS can now be carried out in regular academic labs. We envision that the HCS technique will play an increasing role in both basic mechanism study and early-stage drug discovery on stem cells. Here, we review the development of HCS technique and its past application on stem cells and discuss possible future developments.
Milk Contamination From Low Levels of DDT In Dairy Rations

Abstract Five groups of lactating cows were fed rations containing low levels of DDT for 26 wk. Mean DDT concentrations of the rations were 0.09, 0.24, 0.39, 0.73, and 0.28 ppm. The first group served as control; solutions of crystalline DDT were added to the grain ration of the next three groups; and the 5th group received DDT from field-contaminated alfalfa hay. Maximum milk fat DDT concentrations determined by gas chromatography were 0.38, 0.45, 0.53, 0.92, and 0.53 for the groups of four, three, four, three, and four cows per group, respectively. An equilibrium point in milk fat DDT concentration was observed. Maximum values were reached at 18 to 21 wk, but fell slightly thereafter, although intake continued through 26 wk. The milk fat DDT concentration of cows fed field-contaminated forage did not differ significantly from that of cows receiving similar levels of supplemental DDT in their concentrate ration. It is concluded that lactating cows, continuously provided feed with a DDT concentration under 1.0 ppm, will produce milk fat of a DDT concentration similar to that in their feed. The continual feeding of field-contaminated alfalfa hay containing 0.5 ppm DDT will result in a milk fat concentration slightly above 0.5 ppm but well below 1.0 ppm.
A round trip to B-splines via de Casteljau

B-splines are constructed from Bezier curves solely using de Casteljau's construction. Divided differences are not being used, nor is Mansfield's recurrence formula presupposed. Yet, it is shown how to differentiate, subdivide, and evaluate a B-spline. These results are derived from the corresponding techniques of Bezier curves.
Paraganglioma-Like Adenomas of the Thyroid (PLAT): Incidental Lesions with Unusual Features in a Patient with Nodular Goiter.

We discovered two well-demarcated nodules incidentally in a thyroid removed because of a nodular goiter. Histologically, the nodules showed a pattern of paraganglioma or so-called paraganglioma-like adenoma of the thyroid (PLAT), with lobules of polygonal and oval cells in a vascular stroma, but the immunohistochemical markers typical of paraganglioma, including chromogranin, synaptophysin, Leu 7 and S-100, and thyroglobulin, characteristic of PLAT, were negative in the tumor cells. C-cell markers calcitonin and somatostatin were also negative. Stain for neuron-specific enolase (NSE), however, showed a distinctive pattern of reactivity within cells at the periphery of the lobules, whereas all tumor cells stained positively for keratins. Stain for carcinoembryonic antigen showed a focal interstitial pattern that corresponded to small intercellular spaces filled by microvilli identified ultrastructurally. This pattern of immunohistochemical staining has not been previously described in paraganglioma or in PLAT, and may have implications about the origin and nature of these controversial entities.
Associations of obesity and asthma with functional exercise capacity in urban minority adolescents.

Purpose To examine the independent association of asthma and obesity and of their co-existence with functional exercise capacity among urban adolescents. Methods One hundred eighteen Hispanic- and African-American adolescents including 33 obese asthmatics, 18 normal-weight asthmatics, 38 obese non-asthmatics, and 29 normal-weight non-asthmatics underwent anthropometric measures, 6-minute walk test (6MWT) as measure of functional exercise capacity and spirometry as measure of pulmonary function. The 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) was compared between the four study groups. The association of 6MWD with measures of lower airway obstruction, and measures of adiposity was assessed. Results The 6MWD was lower among the obese groups with the least distance covered by the obese asthmatic group (P = 0.02). In the obese asthmatic group, there was a negative correlation between 6MWD and body mass index (BMI) (r = −0.35, P = 0.03), but no association was noted with percent-predicted forced expiratory volume in the 1st second (FEV1; r = 0.07, P = 0.70). Conversely, the 6MWD correlated with FEV1 among normal-weight asthmatics (r = 0.45, P = 0.04) and normal-weight non-asthmatics (r = 0.4, P = 0.03), but was not associated with BMI in either of the two groups. After adjusting for age, height, gender, and ethnicity, BMI was noted to be a significant predictor (β −2.76, 95% CI −4.77 to −0.76, P < 0.01) of the 6MWD among the obese while percent predicted FEV1 (β 1.87, 95% CI 0.28–3.45, P = 0.02) was a significant predictor among the normal-weight participants. Conclusions Our findings suggest that among urban minority obese asthmatic adolescents, functional exercise capacity was associated with obesity, rather than pulmonary function. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2012. 47:1061–1069. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Analysis methods for full-field time-resolved infrared radiometry

A data analysis procedure is described to enable quantitative information about defect depth and surface and subsurface thermal properties to be obtained from the time series of images acquired in a time-resolved infrared radiometry (TRIR) measurement. While the approaches described have been previously considered for single point measurements, in this work the algorithms are applied to full field images. As a result, images presenting defect depth and amount of thermal mismatch at subsurface interfaces can be constructed. Results are presented for composite test panels with flat-bottomed holes milled to different depths, two-layer specimens with differing thermal properties between the top layer and the substrate and a graphite/epoxy-honeycomb composite panel with simulated delaminations.
Magnetotransport in field induced spin density wave

Abstract Field induced spin density wave (FISDW) is reformulated within mean field theory, which avoids difficulty in the earlier theory that the result does not converge in the weak-coupling limit. The present theory describes semi-quantitatively magnetoresistance recently observed in (TMTSF)2NO3 and predicts new structure in depinning threshold electric field.
Germination Promotion of Loblolly Pine and Baldcypress Seeds by Stratification and Chemical Treatments

The effects of 4 chemicals on the germination promotion of stratified and unstratified seeds of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) were studied. The chemicals used were gibberellic acid, kinetin, potassium nitrate and thiourea, each at 3 different concentrations. Stratification promoted the germination of both seed species. Certain concentrations of gibberellic acid, potassium nitrate and thiourea improved the germination of unstratified loblolly pine and baldcypress seeds while kinetin had no stimulatory effect. All 4 chemicals at specific concentrations promoted the germination of loblolly pine seeds stratified for a short period of time. Considering both speed and completeness of germination, best results were obtained when 21-day stratified seeds were treated with either gibberellic acid (100 mg/1) or kinetin (10 mg/1). In baldcypress, on the other hand, none of these chemicals had any stimulatory effect on the germination of stratified seeds. Germination of both species of seeds was either partially or completely inhibited by the highest concentration of thiourea (30,000 mg/1) used.
Comparison of steer behavior when housed in a deep-bedded hoop barn versus an open feedlot with shelter.

The use of hoop barns as an alterna- tive housing system for beef cattle has not been widely researched. The objectives of this study were to deter- mine the main effects of behavior of steers 1) over win- ter and summer, 2) when housed in either a hoop barn or a conventional feedlot, and 3) interactions between season and housing system. A total of 960 crossbred Bos taurus steers were used (August 2006 to April 2008 (2 winter and 2 summer trials)). Steers were housed in either 1 deep-bedded hoop barn (n = 12 pens; 4.65 m 2 /steer) or 1 open feedlot with shelter (n = 12 pens; 14.7 m 2 /steer). Steers were ear tagged, implanted, and weighed (414 ± 36 kg) on arrival and allotted to treat- ments that were balanced for source, BW, and hide color. Behavioral data (3 postures and 2 behaviors) were collected using a 10-min live scan. The experi- mental unit for behavior was a pen of steers. Behav- ioral data were arcsine transformed to achieve a normal distribution. There were no (P > 0.05) differences for time spent at bunk or waterer for steers between hous- ing treatments. Steers housed in an open feedlot with shelter spent less time lying and more time standing and walking (P 0.05) differences in time spent at bunk and waterer between housing systems within season, but time spent at the waterer and bunk decreased (P < 0.05) for both housing systems during the winter. In conclusion, hous- ing 40 steers per pen in a cornstalk-bedded hoop barn at 4.65m 2 /steer does not result in adverse behavioral alterations and can be considered as a housing alterna- tive for finishing steers in the Midwestern United States when compared with steers fed in an open feedlot with shelter provided.
Dynamic on‐line optimization of a bioreactor

An algorithm was developed which uses recursive least squares to identify a dynamic, discrete time model of a poorly defined system and uses both the dynamic and static portions of the identified model for on-line optimization. To test this new algorithm, a model of an continuous biochemical reactor was used as the "process." The objective, here, was to maximize ethanol production from the reactor by manipulating the feed rate to the reactor. The new algorithm, which uses dynamic information, was found to be superior to previously published algorithms which use only the steady-state portion of the identified model.
Gastrointestinal chronopharmacology: Physiology, pharmacology and therapeutic implications

This chapter discusses the influence of ultradian and circadian rhythms of gastrointestinal motor and secretory function on the action of orally administered drugs. Most drugs exhibit more rapid absorption in the morning compared to the evening due, in part, the circadian alterations in gastric emptying. Gastric acid secretion and gastrointestinal toxicity to oral drugs also display circadian rhythmicity. These observations provide a rationale for use or avoidance of drugs based on time-of-day dosing considerations. The chronopharmacological behavior of a drug may thus play an important role in the effectiveness of any oral medication treatment schedule.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN AGRI-FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS

Abstract High-tech information systems can offer competitive advantages to agri-food firms when the systems support a supply chain strategy that suits the demand for the product. This article discusses differences between supply chains for functional versus innovative products and the relevance for managers in agri-food firms. Unique characteristics of agriculture and food products and economic concentration in food industries affect the appropriate supply chain approach.
Radiation dose response for supratentorial low-grade glioma--institutional experience and literature review.

Abstract Purpose: To examine radiation dose response for low-grade glioma (LGG) based on our institutional experience and to review the literature on this topic. Methods and Materials: Sixty-seven patients with supratentorial low-grade nonpilocytic astrocytomas (n=36) or oligodendrogliomas (n=31) were treated with postoperative radiation therapy (RT). Twenty-seven patients (group A) received 5520 cGy; 24 patients (group B) received 5940 cGy; and 16 patients (group C) received 6375 cGy. The corresponding median follow-up was 60, 35 and 91 months, respectively. Results: The disease-specific survival (DSS) at 5 and 10 years were 90.2% and 56.2%, 67.6% and 47.3%, and 62.5% and 50% for groups A, B and C, respectively (P=0.40). Only a greater extent of surgical resection and absence of contrast enhancement predicted DSS on multivariate analyses. Patients receiving higher doses of RT had higher complication rates. Conclusion: Our data confirmed the lack of radiation dose response for supratentorial LGG as demonstrated in the previous randomized trials. The radiation dose should not exceed 5520 cGy because dose escalation did not result in an improvement of DSS and it also increased the complication rates. Future research should focus on the eradication of radioresistant clones either by the improvement of surgical resection or the use of cytotoxic agents that can target on the radioresistant tumor cells.