cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pancreatic pseudocyst extending into psoas muscle mimicking acute complicated diverticulitis: A case report

Abstract Introduction and importance Pancreatic pseudocysts (PP) are known sequelae of pancreatitis. In this case, we present a patient with a pancreatic pseudocyst extending to the left psoas muscle, initially masquerading as acute complicated diverticulitis. Case presentation A 43-year-old male with previous episode of pancreatitis presented with a one-week history of abdominal pain. Physical examination revealed left lower quadrant tenderness. A computed tomography (CT) showed a large intraperitoneal fluid collection extending to the left psoas muscle with segmental inflammation of the descending colon. The patient was managed medically with empiric antibiotic therapy for concern of complicated diverticulitis. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous drainage was performed and fluid analysis showed lipase >20,000 U/L. The patient was discharged home with the drain. At one month follow up a repeat CT showed resolution of the left psoas fluid collection. The drain was removed and the patient remained asymptomatic at two month follow-up. Clinical discussion Pancreatic pseudocysts are well-known complications of pancreatitis. In this case, we describe extension of a pseudocyst to the left psoas muscle. We identified twelve previously reported patients diagnosed with PP involving the psoas muscles. Our case is unique as there is no previously published case in which a pseudocyst masqueraded as complicated diverticulitis. In analysis of the literature, most patients were managed with percutaneous drainage. Only 50% had documented complete resolution on follow up; of those 75% had undergone percutaneous drainage. Conclusion Pancreatic pseudocysts that extend to the psoas muscle can mimic acute complicated diverticulitis upon presentation. These may be effectively managed with percutaneous drainage.
Fast flavor instabilities and the search for neutrino angular crossings

With the recognition that fast flavor instabilities likely affect supernova and neutron-star-merger neutrinos, using simulation data to pin down when and where the instabilities occur has become a high priority. The effort faces an interesting problem. Fast instabilities are related to neutrino angular crossings, but simulations often employ moment methods, sacrificing momentum-space angular resolution in order to allocate resources elsewhere. How can limited angular information be used most productively? The main aims here are to sharpen this question and examine some of the available answers. A recently proposed method of searching for angular crossings is scrutinized, the limitations of moment closures are highlighted, and two ways of reconstructing angular distributions solely from the flux factors (based, respectively, on maximum-entropy and sharp-decoupling assumptions) are compared. In (semi)transparent regions, the standard closure prescriptions likely miss some crossings that should be there and introduce others that should not.
Vate: Runtime Adaptable Probabilistic Programming for Java

Inspired by earlier work on Augur, Vate is a probabilistic programming language for the construction of JVM based probabilistic models with an Object-Oriented interface. As a compiled language it is able to examine the dependency graph of the model to produce optimised code that can be dynamically targeted to different platforms. Using Gibbs Sampling, Metropolis-Hastings and variable marginalisation it can handle a range of model types and is able to efficiently infer values, estimate probabilities, and execute models.
Signatures of plant defense response specificity mediated by herbivore-associated molecular patterns in legumes

I.Chewing herbivores activate plant defense responses through a combination of mechanical wounding and elicitation by herbivore associated molecular patterns (HAMPs). HAMPs are wound response amplifiers; however, specific defense outputs may also exist that strictly require HAMP-mediated defense signaling. To investigate HAMP-mediated signaling and defense responses, we characterized cowpea transcriptome changes following elicitation by inceptin, a peptide HAMP common in Lepidoptera larvae oral secretions. Following inceptin treatment, we observed large-scale reprogramming of the transcriptome consistent with 3 different response categories: 1) amplification of mechanical wound responses, 2) temporal extension through accelerated or prolonged responses, and 3) examples of inceptin-specific elicitation and suppression. At both early and late timepoints, namely 1 and 6 hours, large sets of transcripts specifically accumulated following inceptin elicitation but not wounding alone. Further inceptin-regulated transcripts were classified as reversing changes induced by wounding alone. Within key signaling and defense related gene families, inceptin-elicited responses commonly targeted select subsets of wound-induced transcripts. Transcripts displaying the largest inceptin-elicited fold-changes included terpene synthases (TPS) and peroxidases (POX) that correspond with induced volatile production and increased peroxidase activity in cowpea. Characterization of inceptin-elicited cowpea defenses via heterologous expression in Nicotiana benthamiana demonstrated that specific cowpea TPS and POX were able to confer terpene emission and the reduced growth of beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) herbivores, respectively. Collectively, our present findings in cowpea support a model where HAMP-elicitation both amplifies concurrent wound responses and specifically contributes to the activation of selective outputs associated with direct and indirect anti-herbivore defenses. II. Significance StatementPlants recognize herbivore-associated molecular patterns (HAMPs) to induce defenses, but interactions with the more general wound response are not well-understood. We leveraged a known HAMP-receptor interaction to characterize transcriptomic modulation of the wound response by the peptide HAMP, inceptin. Inceptin not only amplifies wound responses, but can specifically induce or suppress transcripts with demonstrated functions in direct and indirect defense against herbivores. The plant immune system thus recognizes HAMPs to fine-tune wound responses against herbivory.
Statistical Analysis of Random Telegraph Noises of MOSFET Subthreshold Currents Using a 1M Array Test Chip in a 40 nm Process

It is difficult to measure the random telegraph noises (RTN) of MOSFET subthreshold currents at the sub-pA level directly and accurately. In this work, we used a charge integration method similar to the operation of the CMOS image sensors (CIS) to characterize the RTN of subthreshold currents approximately from 1 fA to 1 nA, using a test chip of 1M cell array in a 40 nm process. We found that each RTN trap was active only within a specific window of gate voltages. The trap became less active or inactive outside the corresponding window of operations. We showed that the sets of RTN-active devices under different gate voltages were different. Furthermore, the choice of sampling frequency in measuring RTN and the number of sampled data points determined the observable range of RTN emission and capture time constants. For the data measured by sampling periods of 3.82 s, 299 ms, and 372 $\mu {\mathrm{ s}}$ , different sets of RTN traps were observed with different spans of time constants. The combined time constants range was about 7 orders of magnitude. For single-trap RTN, we found and verified a relation between the probability of trap occupancy (PTO) and the ratio of root-mean-square random noise (RN) versus the RTN amplitude.
A survey of United States dairy cattle nutritionists’ practices and perceptions of reducing crude protein in lactating dairy cow diets

ABSTRACT Objective The objective was to assess if US dairy nutritionists’ approaches toward balancing CP in lactating cow diets are influenced by demographic information, feelings toward environmental nitrogen (N) excretion, and dietary CP cost. Materials and Methods An electronic survey was sent to 886 US certified dairy nutritionists through the database of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) via email. For survey data analysis, a nonparametric statistic was used to check whether the responses to each question were independent. Relationships among demographic data and responses to other questions were performed using Spearman’s correlation. Poisson regression and least squares means were used to identify statistically meaningful differences between response counts within each respective question. Results and Discussion A total of 77 nutritionists representing 1,065 herds from 28 states with a total of 521,000 total lactating dairy cows responded to the questionnaire. Eighty-nine percent of nutritionists balanced diets based on one or more individual AA requirements of dairy cows. Most respondents (72%) reported that they are currently formulating diets with lower dietary CP than they were 3 to 5 yr ago. The primary concern with formulating lower CP diets was the cost per unit of MP, likely due to the high and fluctuating cost of high-RUP feedstuffs. Implications and Applications Currently, the impetus to reduce dietary CP in lactating cow diets is primarily financially, rather than environmentally, driven. Nutrition models that accurately predict individual AA requirements of dairy cows will allow nutritionists to develop even lower CP diets than is presently possible. Monitoring income over feed cost of low-CP diets supplemented with AA is critical to support the sustainability of the dairy industry.
Factors influencing acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in Malaysia: a web-based survey.

Objectives The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has set a precedent for the fastest-produced vaccine as a result of global collaboration and outreach. This study explored Malaysians' acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and its associated factors. Methods A cross-sectional anonymous web-based survey was disseminated to Malaysian adults aged ≥18 years old via social media platforms between July 10, 2020 and August 31, 2020. Results In the analysis of 4,164 complete responses, 93.2% of participants indicated that they would accept the COVID-19 vaccine if it was offered for free by the Malaysian government. The median out-of-pocket cost that participants were willing to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine was Malaysian ringgit (MYR) 100 (interquartile range [IQR], 100) if it was readily available and MYR 150 (IQR, 200) if the supply was limited. Respondents with a low likelihood of vaccine hesitancy had 13 times higher odds of accepting the COVID-19 vaccine (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.69 to 19.13). High perceived risk and severity were also associated with willingness to be vaccinated, with adjusted odds ratios of 2.22 (95% CI, 1.44 to 3.41) and 2.76 (95% CI, 1.87 to 4.09), respectively. Age and ethnicity were the only independent demographic characteristics that predicted vaccine uptake. Conclusion Public health strategies targeting perceived risk, perceived susceptibility and vaccine hesitancy could be effective in enhancing vaccine uptake.
Case 50: A Routine Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

A 7-year-old immigrant boy is admitted for removal of tonsils and adenoids (T-A). The child was born at full-term delivery but needed tracheal intubation and suction at birth. He has always been a poor feeder and gets asthma attacks regularly. Despite that, according to the mother, he was doing well until after his arrival in the USA, 4 months ago. Since coming here, his asthma has worsened. He often gets severe episodes of coughing and vomiting and becomes tachypnoeic, tachycardic, and cyanotic. He also has had two episodes of pneumonia for which he was admitted to the hospital.
Experimentally-Based Ocean Acoustic Propagation and Coherence Studies

Abstract : LONG TERM GOALS: The long term goal is to better understand fluctuating sound propagation conditions in two distinct ocean acoustic environment types. The first type is stratified shallow water where sound is highly bottom interacting. The second type is the mostly non bottom-interacting temperate deep-ocean sound channel. Reliable predictions of temporal and spatial variability of received underwater sound can improve processing and handling of signals of interest, including remediation of signal degradation and exploitation of available sonic information. Acoustic field fluctuations have time scales from less than a minute to hours, and horizontal spatial scales from tens of meters (as short as a few wavelengths at our lowest frequencies) to kilometers, and thus impact exploitation of underwater sound. OBJECTIVES: An overarching objective is to explain observed sound fluctuation behavior in environments with three-dimensional structure at all significant scales. For the shallow-water ocean environment, the objective is to develop knowledge of factors controlling acoustic field mean and variability (both transmission loss and phase) at frequencies from 50 to 3000 Hz. For the deep-ocean sound channel, the objective is to better characterize coupled-mode propagation at 50 to 100 Hz, which may have some behavior in common with shallow-water coupled-mode propagation.
Topological entropy, embeddings and unitaries in nuclear quasidiagonal C^*-algebras

Using topological entropy of automorphisms of C*-algebras, it is shown that some important facts from the theory of AF algebras do not carry over to the class of AT algebras. It is shown that in general one cannot perturb a basic building block into a larger one which almost contains it. The same entropy obstruction used to prove this fact also provides a new obstruction to the known fact that two invective homomorphisms from a building block into an AT algebra need not differ by an (inner) automorphism when they agree on K-theory.
Oregon's Guidelines for Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Legal and Ethical Analysis

Oregon's Death With Dignity Act was first passed by a ballot initiative in 1994, but numerous judicial challenges delayed implementation of the Act. In November of 1997, following the United States Supreme Court decisions in Vacco v. Quill and Washington v. Glucksberg, which left the states' power to regulate physician-assisted suicide undisturbed, the Oregon voters upheld their law. Oregon remains the only state in the nation to authorize physician-assisted suicide. The Task Force to Improve the Care of Terminally Ill Oregonians published a Guidebook for health care providers on the Oregon Act, and the New England Journal of Medicine recently issued a special report on the first year's experience under the Act. This paper analyzes the legal context of the Oregon Death With Dignity Act, discusses the efficacy of the tenets in the Guidebook, and explores ethical issues underlying the guidelines, particularly those pertaining to the meaning of a patient's request for assisted suicide and processes supporting informed consent.
Women in Upper Echelons of Management, Tenure and Legal Risk

Integrating risk, gender diversity and upper echelons literatures, we examine whether the presence of women in upper management (top management team (TMT) and board of directors (BOD)) and the tenure of TMTs and BODs are associated with the risk of lawsuits. An analysis of data from firms in the US retail industry shows that the presence of women in TMTs and BODs and the tenure of TMTs and BODs are negatively associated with legal risk, but longer tenured BODs with more women had a positive impact on lawsuits. Implications and suggestions for future research are offered.
Cause and effect in evolution

The need to see ‘purpose’ in evolution, or at least some internal drive to help the blind processes of random variation and natural selection, is remarkably resilient1. Recent manifestations in the scientific literature imagine evolved mechanisms that actively promote further evolution or that facilitate rapid response to changed conditions. For example, Rutherford and Lindquist2 (and the authors of related commentaries3,4) suggest that the heat-shock protein Hsp90, by stabilizing developmental pathways, fosters the accumulation of hidden variants that can be exposed by environmental challenges and subsequently fixed by selection.
Program ELM: A tool for rapid thermal-hydraulic analysis of solid-core nuclear rocket fuel elements

This report reviews the state of the art of thermal-hydraulic analysis codes and presents a new code, Program ELM, for analysis of fuel elements. ELM is a concise computational tool for modeling the steady-state thermal-hydraulics of propellant flow through fuel element coolant channels in a nuclear thermal rocket reactor with axial coolant passages. The program was developed as a tool to swiftly evaluate various heat transfer coefficient and friction factor correlations generated for turbulent pipe flow with heat addition which have been used in previous programs. Thus, a consistent comparison of these correlations was performed, as well as a comparison with data from the NRX reactor experiments from the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications (NERVA) project. This report describes the ELM Program algorithm, input/output, and validation efforts and provides a listing of the code.
Consumer Response to Ads in Social Network Sites: An Exploration into the Role of Ad Location and Path

ABSTRACTPast research repeatedly suggests that consumers' defensive response to persuasive attempts is a key challenge for advertisers. Given the explosive growth of social media, this study aims to understand whether consumer response to ads placed in a social network site (SNS) could be influenced by ad location and the path through which the ad is delivered. Findings from this experiment suggest that consumers' attention to ads in SNSs is remarkably low. Furthermore, the interaction between ad location and the path significantly influences consumers' attitudes toward the ad, attitudes toward the brand, and purchase intention. Specifically, it appears that an ad placed inside users' timeline and sent through via known others, the indirect path, yielded favorable consumer response. On the other hand, consumers responded more favorably to an ad sent by the unfamiliar advertiser, the direct path, than to an ad sent by known others if the ad is placed outside the user's timeline. Implications and suggestion...
Opimizing local probability models for statistical parsing

This paper studies the properties and performance of models for estimating local probability distributions which are used as components of larger probabilistic systems — history-based generative parsing models. We report experimental results showing that memory-based learning outperforms many commonly used methods for this task (Witten-Bell, Jelinek-Mercer with fixed weights, decision trees, and log-linear models). However, we can connect these results with the commonly used general class of deleted interpolation models by showing that certain types of memory-based learning, including the kind that performed so well in our experiments, are instances of this class. In addition, we illustrate the divergences between joint and conditional data likelihood and accuracy performance achieved by such models, suggesting that smoothing based on optimizing accuracy directly might greatly improve performance.
Atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (AGUS): Interobserver reproducibility in cervical smears and corresponding thin-layer preparations.

Five panelists independently reviewed 135 consecutive conventional cervical smears (CPs) originally classified as atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (AGUS). A thin-layer slide (TP), prepared from the residual material, also was reviewed in each case. All patients underwent colposcopy that yielded at least 1 histologic specimen. Three or more of 5 reviewers retained the AGUS interpretation for 29% of CPs and 12% of the corresponding TPs. Interobserver variability in frequency of use of AGUS was marked, and interobserver agreement
SWI1 is required for meiotic chromosome remodeling events

The Arabidopsis dsy10 mutant was previously identified as being defective in the synapsis of meiotic chromosomes resulting in male and female sterility. We report here the molecular analysis of the mutation and show that it represents a T-DNA insertion in the third exon of the SWI1 gene. Four mutations have now been identified in SWI1, several of which exhibit different phenotypes. For example, the swi1-1 and dyad mutations only affect meiosis in megasporocytes, while the swi1-2 and dsy10 mutations block both male and female meiosis. Furthermore, as part of a detailed cytological characterization of dsy10 meiocytes, we identified several differences during male meiosis between the swi1-2 and dys10 mutants, including variations in the formation of axial elements, the distribution of cohesin proteins and the timing of the premature loss of sister chromatid cohesion. We demonstrate that dsy10 represents a complete loss-of-function mutation, while a truncated form of SWI1 is expressed during meiosis in swi1-2 plants. We further show that dys10 meiocytes exhibit alterations in modified histone patterns, including acetylated histone H3 and dimethylated histone H3-Lysine 4.
Seismic velocity and attenuation structures in the top of the Earth's inner core

[1] We collect a global data set of PKIKP and PKiKP phases recorded by the Global Seismic Network and many regional seismic arrays to study seismic structure in the top of the Earth's inner core. The PKIKP and PKiKP observations show different characteristics between those sampling the “eastern” hemisphere (40°E–180°E) of the inner core and those sampling the “western” hemisphere (180°W–40°E). PKIKP phases (1) arrive about 0.4 s earlier than the theoretical arrivals based on Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM) for those sampling the eastern hemisphere of the inner core and about 0.3 s later for those sampling the western hemisphere (131°–141°); (2) bifurcate at smaller epicentral distances for those sampling the eastern hemisphere, compared to those sampling the western hemisphere; and (3) have smaller amplitudes for those sampling the eastern hemisphere. Waveform modeling of these observations suggests two different types of models for the two “hemispheres” of the top of the inner core, with a model in the eastern hemisphere having a P velocity increase of 0.765 km/s across the inner core boundary, a small radial velocity gradient of 0.000055 (km/s)/km, and an average Q value of 250, and a model in the western hemisphere with a P velocity increase of 0.633 km/s across the inner core boundary, a radial velocity gradient of 0.000533 (km/s)/km and an average Q value of 600. The hemispherical difference of seismic structures may be explained by different geometric inclusions of melt and/or different alignments of iron crystals with anisotropic properties in both velocity and attenuation. We speculate that this large-scale pattern of seismic heterogeneities may be caused by a large-scale heat flow anomaly at the bottom of the outer core and/or different vigorousness of convection in the top of the inner core between the two hemispheres.
Radio observations of the M8.1 solar flare of 23 June, 1988: Evidence for energy transport by thermal processes

The Very Large Array (VLA) and the frequency agile interferometer at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) were used to observe the M8.1 flare of 23 June, 1988. The VLA obtained images prior to and during the flare at 333 MHz, and at 1.5 and 4.7 GHz. The frequency agile interferometer at Owens Valley obtained interferometer amplitude and total power spectra of the flare at 45 frequencies between 1 and 18 GHz. The observations were supplemented by radiometer measurements made by the USAF RSTN network site at Palehua, HI, by GOES soft X-ray observations, by USAF SOON Hα filtergrams, and by a KPNO photospheric magnetogram. The radio data reveal a wide variety of phenomena, including: (i) a multiply impulsive microwave burst that is essentially thermal in character; (ii) stationary discrete components at 1.5 GHz, associated temporally and spatially with distant brightenings in Ha; (iii) a dynamical component at 1.5 GHz associated with hot plasma moving subsonically into the corona; (iv) the appearance of intense, short-lived, decimetric burst activity near the lead sunspot in the active region at 1.5 GHz, indicative of a high degree of inhomogeneity in the source. The unusually complete radio coverage allows us to investigate the transport of energy from the initial site to sites of distant Hα brightenings. The transport of energy appears to be most consistent with slow, thermal processes, rather than rapid transport by nonthermal electron beams.
GABAergic transmission sites important in cardiovascular function

Abstract Various brainstem sites have been shown to be important for mediating changes in cardiovascular function induced by GABA agonists and antagonist drugs. These will be discussed in terms of their cellular morphology, cytoarchitectonics, efferent and afferent connections, and finally, their exact stereotaxic locations in a living cat. This will encompass both a review of the existing literature and some unpublished work from our laboratory. The general framework for this presentation was based on computerized axial tomographic scans of the head of a cat held in true stereotaxic position. These scans were correlated with both gross slices and histological sections to provide better coordinates for approaching brain stem, particularly medullary, structures stereotaxically. The individual areas include the ventral surface of the medulla oblongata, the chemosensitive areas of Mitchell [30], Schlafke [34], and Loeschske [28]; the lateral reticular nucleus; nucleus ambiguus; nucleus of the tractus solitarius; dorsal nucleus of the vagus; nucleus raphe dorsalis and the periaqueductal gray matter.
Optimizing The Digital Radiographic Image By Means Of A Dynamic Phantom And Animal Studies

The quality of digital radiographic images cannot be judged subjectively by visual inspection, nor by the currently available static phantoms used for conventional radiographic equipment. In this study, a quasistatic phantom was developed to maximize the mapping of contrast differences into available gray levels while obtaining maximum resolution. Flow patterns were evaluated in dynamic phantoms of varying rigidity and in canine arteries, by a series of pulsed contrast bolus injections at various flow rates. The effect of stenoses in the phantoms and canine vessels on the flow pattern were also studied. Our results indicate that it is possible to determine the velocity of flow by these methods, and that the inherent elastic properties of the flexible phantom and arteries rather than the degree of stenoses is responsible for modification of the flow pattern.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Toward Enhancing 12-Step Facilitation Among Young People: A Systematic Qualitative Investigation of Young Adults’ 12-Step Experiences

ABSTRACT. Background: 12-Step Facilitation (TSF) interventions designed to enhance rates of engagement with 12-step mutual-help organizations (MHOs) have shown efficacy among adults, but research provides little guidance on how to adapt TSF strategies for young people. Methods: To inform TSF strategies for youth, this study used qualitative methods to investigate the self-reported experiences of 12-step participation, and reasons for nonattendance and discontinuation among young adults (18–24 years; N = 302). Responses to open-ended questions following residential treatment were coded into rationally derived domains. Results: Young adults reported that cohesiveness, belonging, and instillation of hope were the most helpful aspects of attending 12-step groups; meeting structure and having to motivate oneself to attend meetings were the most common aspects young adults liked least; logistical barriers and low recovery motivation and interest were the most common reasons for discontinued attendance; and perc...
Grazing incidence beam expander

A Grazing Incidence Beam Expander (GIBE) telescope is being designed and fabricated to be used as an equivalent end mirror in a long laser resonator cavity. The design requirements for this GIBE flow down from a generic Free Electron Laser (FEL) resonator. The nature of the FEL gain volume (a thin, pencil-like, on-axis region) dictates that the output beam be very small. Such a thin beam with the high power levels characteristic of FELs would have to travel perhaps hundreds of meters or more before expanding enough to allow reflection from cooled mirrors. A GIBE, on the other hand, would allow placing these optics closer to the gain region and thus reduces the cavity lengths substantially. Results are presented relating to optical and mechanical design, alignment sensitivity analysis, radius of curvature analysis, laser cavity stability analysis of a linear stable concentric laser cavity with a GIBE. Fabrication details of the GIBE are also given.
The Importance of Self-Regulation for the School and Peer Engagement of Children with High-Functioning Autism.

Abstract This study examined individual differences in self-regulation, emotional and behavioral school engagement, and prosocial peer engagement in a sample of 40 children that included children with high functioning autism (HFA; n = 20) and their typical peers (n = 20). Children were 54.57 months on average at recruitment. Measures of self-regulation included parents’ reports of emotion regulation, effortful control, and executive function; direct observations of executive function skills; and observations of joint engagement during a parent–child interaction. Parents reported on school and prosocial peer engagement approximately one year later. Children with HFA had significantly impaired self-regulation, and decreased school and peer engagement. Executive function predicted both emotional and behavioral school engagement, whereas emotion regulation predicted prosocial peer engagement. The relation between effortful control and subsequent prosocial peer engagement was moderated by diagnostic group, suggesting it served a protective function for behaviors of children with HFA in the school setting.
A high gain active antenna array using dual-fed distributed amplifier-based CRLH-leaky wave antennas

In this paper, we propose a novel high gain active antenna array using dual-fed distributed amplifier (DA)-based composite right/left-handed (CRLH) leaky wave antennas (LWAs). Operating around 2.4GHz ISM-band, the active antenna array can achieve 16dBi gain at maximum, which has around 7dB gain increase compared with the single element dual-fed DA-based active antenna. The proposed active antenna array is also capable of beam-scanning, with respect to the frequency of the pass band of the antenna.
The ancient rat.

This article describes disease processes, diagnostics, therapeutics, and husbandry management in the aging rat. The diseases described are not intended to be all inclusive but to represent some of the more common findings. Most of the information on diseases, disease pathology, procedures, and pharmaceutical recommendations and dosages are derived from laboratory animal medicine. Many of the procedural and pharmaceutical recommendations are based on empirical dose ranges extrapolated from other species, trial and error in the laboratory setting, and anecdotal reports. Rat/rodent pet owners should be advised of this and be made aware of potential risks involved in treatment of their pets, particularly in a compromised geriatric animal. References for rodent therapeutics may be found in The Veterinary Clinics of North
In Pursuit of the Just Wage: A Comparison of Reformation and Counter-Reformation Economic Thought

Students of economic thought have long associated with the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the spread of attitudes in Europe more tolerant of market processes. New economic attitudes appear in a variety of literary forms during the fifteenth century (McGovern 1970). As compared to the pronouncements of a number of Patristic figures, relatively greater tolerance of commerce is expressed by medieval theologians. In fact, recent scholarly efforts suggest that by the late thirteenth century, suspicions of economic activity remained, but Scholastic thinkers increasingly recognized the importance of an impersonal market process in everyday life and sought to find ways to understand it in light of their concern with natural order (Kaye 1998a). While condemning avarice, Scholastic writers such as San Antonino of Florence and San Bernadino of Sienna explicitly endorsed trade as legitimate when practiced for the common good and when associated with modest profit (Origo 1962; De Roover 1967). Recognition of this movement in thought, especially as it applied the concerns of economic justice to trade in commodities, is explicit in the literature of preclassical economics. But until recently, less attention has been paid to more specific developments in scholastic thinking on justice in the labor market.
Inhibition of Bacteriophage λ protein phosphatase by organic and oxoanion inhibitors

Bacteriophage lambda protein phosphatase (lambdaPP) with Mn(2+) as the activating metal cofactor was studied using phosphatase inhibition kinetics and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Orthophosphate and the oxoanion analogues orthovanadate, tungstate, molybdate, arsenate, and sulfate were shown to inhibit the phosphomonoesterase activity of lambdaPP, albeit with inhibition constants (K(i)) that range over 5 orders of magnitude. In addition, small organic anions were tested as inhibitors. Phosphonoacetohydroxamic acid (PhAH) was found to be a strong competitive inhibitor (K(i) = 5.1 +/- 1.6 microM) whereas phosphonoacetic acid (K(i) = 380 +/- 45 microM) and acetohydroxamic acid (K(i) > 75 mM) modestly inhibited lambdaPP. Low-temperature EPR spectra of Mn(2+)-reconstituted lambdaPP in the presence of oxoanions and PhAH demonstrate that inhibitor binding decreases the spin-coupling constant, J, compared to the native enzyme. This suggests a change in the bridging interaction between Mn(2+) ions of the dimer due to protonation or replacement of a bridging ligand. Inhibitor binding also induces several spectral shifts. Hyperfine splitting characteristic of a spin-coupled (Mn(2+))(2) dimer is most prominent upon the addition of orthovanadate (K(i) = 0.70 +/- 0.20 microM) and PhAH, indicating that these inhibitors tightly interact with the (Mn(2+))(2) form of lambdaPP. These EPR and inhibition kinetic results are discussed in the context of establishing a common mechanism for the hydrolysis of phosphate esters by lambdaPP and other serine/threonine protein phosphatases.
Perturbation of the electronic structure of the Creutz-Taube ion via asymmetric encapsulation with macrocyclic ether species

Ligand-bridged mixed-valence ions can exist in either valence-localized double-minimum ground potential energy surface or valence-delocalized (single-minimum ground PE surface) form. The determining factor is the balance between twice the initial-state/final-state electroniccoupling energy (H[sub if]) and the sum of the zeroth-order reorganization or trapping energy ([chi]) and any redox asymmetry [delta]E. For the Creutz-Taube ion (NH[sub 3])[sub 5[minus]] Ru[sup 11][sup 1/2](NH[sub 3])[sub 5][sup 5+], (1), redox asymmetry is absent, the valencies are completely delocalized, and 2H[sub if] evidently exceeds [epsilon]. We reasoned, however, that [open quotes]electronic isomerization[close quotes] to a valence-localized form might be possible if significant redox asymmetry could be introduced. We report here the introduction of the desired asymmetry in an unusual way: via binding of a macrocyclic ether to just one of the two available ruthenium ammine sites. We also report optical evidence for the onset of valence localization in both 1 and a trans pyridine (py) substituted analog (2), in the presence of either dibenzo-36-crown-12(DB-36-C-12) or dibenzo-30-crown-10 (DB-30-C-10) species. 17 refs., 3 figs.
Aging and haloperidol-induced dopamine turnover in the nigro-striatal pathway of c57bl/6j mice.

The responsiveness of male C57BL/6J mice to acute haloperidol (2.5 mg/kg, IP) was studied throughout the average adult lifespan (4, 8, 12, 21, 28 months) by effects on dopamine (DA) turnover, as estimated by DA loss after alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (AMPT). Previously, striatal receptors for spiroperidol (a related butyrophenone) decreased progressively after 3 months to a loss of 40% by 28 months [29]. Haloperidol treatment (2 hours) accelerated striatal DA turnover similarly in all age groups, by about 100%. The haloperidol-induced accumulation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) was not significantly impaired in AMPT treated mice with age. These results suggest that the age-related loss of butyrophenone binding sites may not limit acute compensatory responses to blockade of the remaining sites by a large dose of haloperidol. Regional differences in DA metabolism were detected between the substantia nigra (cell bodies and dendrites) and striatum (axonal terminals). Dopamine turnover and DOPAC levels were less in striatum than in substantia nigra; each region had a characteristic DOPAC/DA ratio (nigra, 38%; striatum, 7%); and, DOPAC levels did not precisely covary with DA turnover between regions. The constancy of DOPAC/DA ratios in controls and after AMPT treatment, in all ages suggests that a constant fraction of DA continued to be released and catabolized to DOPAC despite major decrease of DA after blockade of synthesis of DA.
ENSO and eddies on the southwest coast of Mexico

TOPEX/POSEIDON and ERS-2 (T/ERS) sea surface height altimeter observations and the Naval Research Laboratory Layered Ocean Model (NLOM) are used to study the circulation along the southwest coast of Mexico. The results of this research indicate that strong El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) warm phase Kelvin waves (KW) destabilize the upper ocean circulation. The effect of ENSO appears as three distinct stages. First, a coastal jet characterized by strong vertical shear flow develops. Second, the shear flow strengthens, increasing its horizontal dimension and the amplitude of its oscillations. Finally, the jet becomes unstable and breaks into anticyclonic eddies, which separate from the coast and drift southwestward. The genesis and strengthening of the jet is due to the simultaneous occurrence of the poleward-flowing currents along the southwest coast of Mexico and the poleward circulation associated with ENSO downwelling KW.
An investigation of dermatoglyphic asymmetry in rubella embryopathy.

Twenty infants born to mothers who contracted rubella in the first 20 weeks of gestation were compared to 20 controls with regard to dermatoglyphic pattern asymmetry on 11 regions of the hands and feet, dermatoglyphic orientation asymmetry in these regions, the measured and absolute values of the differences in location of the distal axial triradius on left and right hands, the variance of these differences, and the intraclass correlation coefficient of the position of the axial triradius on left and right hands. Within the experimental and control groups comparisons were also made between subsets matched for symmetric hypothenar patterns and between subsets of the same sex within a restricted birth-weight range. The trends in all cases indicated that, contrary to the hypothesis, all measures of asymmetry were decreased in the rubella infants. Asymmetry thus seems unlikely to be a useful marker for a human teratogen with effects similar to those of rubella.
Complete larval development of the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus fed an artificial feed

Complete development of sea-urchin larvae fed an artificial feed has been carried out for the first time. Naturally spawned gametes were obtained from adult Lytechinus variegatus fed an artificial feed in the laboratory for 9 months. Larvae from these adults, cultured in artificial seawater and fed microencapsulated capsules, reached the rudiment stage between 9 and 12 days, the usual time required. Larvae produced by artificial spawning and cultured in natural seawater and fed microencapsulated capsules or phytoplankton (Dunaliella tertiolecta) had similar chronology of development and sizes of newly metamorphosed juveniles. The larvae fed capsules were significantly smaller than those fed D. tertiolecta. Larval survival was 72±6% for those fed capsules and 85±4% for those fed D. tertiolecta. Artificial feed for larvae eliminates the necessity of culturing phytoplankton and provides the potential of establishing nutritional requirements of larvae and of standardizing and manipulating the diet. This has application in mass aquaculture of sea urchins as well as using larvae as models in developmental studies.
IgG rheumatoid factor

IgG rheumatoid factor was detected in the sera of the majority of patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. Values suggestive of IgG rheumatoid factor were noted in one-quarter of patients with seronegative inflammatory arthropathies. These determinations were always low and correlated with elevated IgG concentrations, suggesting nonspecific adherence of IgG rather than a true antigen-antibody reaction. In support of this conclusion, nonrheumatoid factor IgG was capable of concentration-dependent nonspecific adsorption to the solid phase. IgG, but not IgM, rheumatoid factor corresponded with disease activity in patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis, suggesting that IgG rheumatoid factor may be important in the pathogenesis.
An Algorithm for Selecting Quantity Discounts from Realistic Schedules

Consideration of bounds, discontinuities and the integrality of decision variables is often helpful for responding to many practical requirements. Using the case of quantity discounting as an example, it is shown why the above considerations add realism to a model, and how they may be incorporated in the solution procedure. The bounds on the order quantity are fulfilled by establishing suitable stopping rules, while gaps in order quantities are resolved by modifying the input data. As for integrality, a result is established which shows that the feasible points for the integer optimum can be obtained by suitably rounding those for the continuous optimum. A comprehensive algorithm containing these features is proposed, and analytical proofs of the results are included.
Evidence for Radical Cations in Linked Mechanisms of N,N-Dialkyl Aromatic Amine Nitration and Nitrosative Dealkylation

N,N-Dialkyl aromatic amines react rapidly with nitrous acid to competitively produce a nitrosamine and a nitro compound. The mechanism of nitro compound formation involves a reaction of an amine radical cation with NO2, while the nitrosamine is produced by two competing pathways, one of which involves N-α-CH deprotonation of a radical cation with subsequent oxidative generation of an imminium ion, and the other of which occurs through NOH elimination of a nitrosammonium ion (R3N−NO+). All three pathways are linked through the reversible homolysis of R3N−NO+ to NO and a radical cation.
Determination of the Rate Constant for the Reaction O + NO → N + O2

Abstract The rate constant for the reaction was determined in the temperature range 2500-4100 °K using a shock-tube technique. Mixtures of NO and N2O diluted in argon or krypton were heated by incident shock waves, and the infrared emission from the fundamental vibration-rotation band of NO at 5.3 microns was used to monitor the time-varying NO concentration. The N2O served as a quick source of oxygen atoms so that the effects of other reactions in relating k1 to the measured rate-of-removal of NO was minimal. The data are fit closely by the expression k1 = 2.36 × 102T exp(−38,640/RT) cm2/mole-sec, which also provides a good fit to previous data at higher and lower temperatures.
A versatile multichannel filter bank with multiple channel bandwidths

The FFT is an important core to which we couple an M-path partitioned filter and commutator to build high performance spectrum analyzers and channelized transmitters and receivers. With slight modifications of the system the channelizer and spectrum analyzer can perform secondary processing tasks such as arbitrary sample rate changes. Output sample rates can be adjusted to be a multiple of channel spacing or a multiple of the channel symbol rate. With minor additional processing the channelizer can also coherently combine signals from adjacent frequency bands to synthesize arbitrary bandwidth super channels from standard prototype channels.
Activator protein-2 mediates transcriptional activation of the CYP11A1 gene by interaction with Sp1 rather than binding to DNA.

The ovine P450 side chain cleavage (CYP11A1) enzyme gene, which catalyzes the initial enzymatic step in steroid hormone biosynthesis is transcriptionally regulated in cultured steroidogenic human trophoblastic JEG-3 cells. The ovine CYP11A1 promoter contains two GC-rich footprinted regions referred to as ovine footprints 5 (OF5) and OF3, which are well conserved among the CYP11A1 promoters of different species. These GC-rich sequences resemble activator protein-2 (AP-2)/Sp1 binding sites and were previously implicated in basal and cAMP-regulated activity of the bovine and ovine CYP11A1 promoters. In the current studies, AP-2 induced the ovine CYP11A1 promoter 4.5-fold in JEG-3 cells with full induction requiring the previously defined cAMP-responsive elements. Point mutation of OF3 abolished induction by AP-2, and OF3 was sufficient for induction by AP-2 when linked to a heterologous promoter. AP-2 induction of the CYP11A1 promoter required the basic region (N165-N278) and the carboxy terminus of AP-2 (N4...
Youth Working Alliance: A Core Clinical Construct in Need of Empirical Maturity

The therapeutic alliance has long been recognized as an important component of successful psychotherapy for adults; research has established robust links to outcome. Until recently, however, research on the alliance between youth and their therapists has been sparse. The present review synthesizes the existing findings regarding the youth alliance and utilizes the adult alliance literature and the child and adolescent developmental literatures to suggest future avenues of research. Weak alliance was found to predict premature termination, and strong alliance predicted symptom reduction, with some support for differential effects of the youth-therapist and parent-therapist alliances. In addition, the youth alliance is moderated by several patient and therapist characteristics, including the particular problems of patients and the interpersonal skills of therapists. The field has yet to coalesce around a single definition of the youth alliance, however, making it difficult to assess research results. Adult models of the alliance continue to be used heuristically despite some evidence that the alliance operates differently for youth. Tightening the operational definition of the youth alliance and addressing methodological issues will be essential in future efforts to understand how the alliance develops and what role it may play in the treatment process for youth.