cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Consumption of palatable food decreases the anorectic effects of serotonergic, but not dopaminergic drugs in baboons.

Abstract We examined the effects of periodic access to a palatable, high sugar content food (candy) in 8 male baboons on the anorectic response to d -amphetamine, which increases dopamine, and dexfenfluramine, which increases serotonin. During candy access, up to 200 candies containing 75% of energy as sugar were available during the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; food pellets (19% of energy as sugar) were available in the afternoon and throughout the remaining days of the week. During candy access, baboons consumed a mean of 177 pieces of candy containing 696 kcal (2.91 MJ) in the morning compared to 44 food pellets and 150 kcal (0.63 MJ) in the morning on non-candy days. Food pellet intake was lower during candy access. Complete dose–response functions for the effects of the drugs on food pellet intake on days that candy was not available were determined before, during, and after the period of access to candy. Dexfenfluramine and amphetamine produced dose-dependent decreases in food pellet intake and increases in latency to eat food pellets before, during, and after candy access. During access to candy, the dose–response function for dexfenfluramine was shifted to the right indicating the development of tolerance, while that for amphetamine was shifted to the left indicating sensitization. Only the dose–response function for dexfenfluramine returned to baseline after candy access suggesting that the difference was specific to concurrent palatable food consumption. We hypothesize that tolerance to the effects of dexfenfluramine reflects a decrease in the satiating effect of serotonin release due to repeatedly eating large amounts of palatable food.
In vitro sensitivity of measles virus to 6-azauridine.

SummaryThe effect of 6-azauridine, an inhibitor of RNA synthesis, has been shown by 2 experimental methods to inhibit the replication of measles virus within mammalian cells in vitro. In a direct virus titration in which the drug was incorporated in the agar overlay, 6-AZ not only reduced the infectivity of measles virus but also delayed plaque development. Experiments designed to test the effectiveness of 6-azauridine when added to cultures at intervals after infection, showed that this uridine analog was capable of reducing the amount of infectious virus produced by each infected cell, and that the drug is more effective when added early in the infection cycle.
Improving MPI communication via data type fission

Message Passing Interface (MPI) messages are centered around transmitting instances of MPI data types. The data types represented in MPI terms are usually modeled after data types native to the application. If a user does not want to transmit a field from the native data type, the user will sometimes align the MPI data type such that there is a gap in the displacement where the omitted field would be. With the resulting MPI data type now being non-contiguous, cycles are spent making the data contiguous for transmission and then expanding the data back out on the receiving side. We show that by performing data type fission (the process of segregating the transmitted fields from the non-transmitted fields) and aligning the MPI data type accordingly, we can completely eliminate the need to copy data during the packing and unpacking process, which can significantly improve the performance of communication-heavy Single Program Multiple Data applications.
Steroid 21-hydroxylase deficiency (congenital adrenal hyperplasia)

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to steroid 11β-hydroxylase deficiency is a genetic disorder of steroidogenesis, transmitted as an autosomal recessive trait. It is associated with low renin hypertension, hypokalemia, hyperandrogenemia and genital ambiguity in affected females. Mutations in the CYP11B1 gene, causing 11β-hydroxylase deficiency in the zona fasciculata in the adrenal cortex, have been identified. The indicators of congenital adrenal hyperplasia caused by 11β-hydroxylase deficiency, include increased serum concentrations of desoxycorticosterone, 11 deoxycortisol and δ4-androstenedione, and suppressed plasma renin concentrations. The disorder is treated by administration of glucocorticoids.
Successful long-term endoscopic closure of a recurrent tracheoesophageal fistula with fibrin glue in a child

We present an unusual case of recurrent tracheoesophageal fistula after primary surgical repair of congenital esophageal atresia. Traditionally, this disorder has required open-surgical correction, but successful endoscopic closure of these fistulas has been reported. This case report describes our experience using fibrin glue, applied endoscopically in a 6-year-old child, with encouraging long-term results 4 years after treatment.
Hospitalizing the Suicidal Adolescent: An Empirical Investigation of Decision-Making Criteria

ABSTRACT Objective The primary purpose of this research is to investigate the criteria used by child and adolescent clinicians in determining the appropriateness of hospitalization for suicidal adolescents. Method A questionnaire containing 64 vignettes describing adolescent suicide attempters was completed by a sample of 36 child and adolescent clinicians. Six variables known to relate to lethality of attempt were systematically varied within the vignettes: gender, depression, conduct disorder/substance abuse, previous attempts, suicidal relative, and family supports. Respondents were asked to judge the appropriateness of hospitalization for each vignette. Results Hospitalization preference was found to be inversely related to professional experience and was significantly predicted by all risk factors except gender. Configural cue utilization added substantially to the efficacy of a linear model in predicting preference to hospitalize. Conclusions Experienced clinicians use known risk factors for adolescent suicide in making recommendations to hospitalize, but results also suggest ongoing needs for education and training in adolescent suicidality. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry , 1995, 34, 7:902–911.
Efficient syntheses of deuterium labeled epinines

Syntheses of N-methyl-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethylamine hydrochlorides (epinines) labeled with deuterium in the ring, in the N-methyl group and both in the ring and N-methyl group are described. The N-trideuteromethyl group was generated by the LiAlD4 reduction of the corresponding carbamate while the ring deuterated epinines were produced by the DCl catalyzed exchange in D2O of the corresponding ring unlabeled epinines.
Tapeworm infection decreases intestinal transit and enteric aerobic bacterial populations

Intestinal myoelectric patterns in rats are altered after chronic luminal infection with the tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta. This study evaluates whether these altered patterns were associated with changes in intestinal fluid transit and endogenous enteric microbe levels. Luminal transit, measured throughout the small intestine during the interdigestive state, was significantly decreased during tapeworm infection. Reduced transit was regional, occurring in the same location as that of the tapeworm and maximal myoelectric alterations. In other experimental systems, aerobic and anaerobic bacterial overgrowth is associated with decreased transit; however, reduced transit during tapeworm infection was unexpectedly associated with decreased numbers of aerobic bacteria, whereas anaerobic bacterial populations remained unchanged. The lack of overgrowing endogenous microflora suggests that overgrowth is not responsible for tapeworm-stimulated alterations in host myoelectric patterns. We speculate that a tapeworm secretion could be responsible for both transit and motility changes while delayed intestinal transit could prevent tapeworm expulsion, aid the tapeworms' migration, and contribute to the digestion and absorption of nutrients by hosts and/or parasites.
Decoding algorithms with maximum error correction

Decoding algorithms with reliability information are of considerable interest in error control coding. Such information when available and when properly used increases the error correcting capability of the decoder. We find decoding algorithms that use soft decision with optimal error correcting capability for fixed constraints on decoder complexity. >
Likelihood representation in the owl's sound localization system

We investigate how frequency convergence governs ITD integration across frequency to understand the physiological representation of likelihood. We examine the tuning properties of midbrain neurons using in vivo extracellular recordings. The preferred ITDs and ITD tuning curve widths were measured at fine resolution in ICx. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that the non-uniform ITD tuning predicted by the likelihood model is not present at stages in the ITD pathway where neurons do not integrate across frequency. We have also examined the relationship between frequency tuning and ITD tuning. Importantly, we found that the distribution of preferred frequency in ICx also depends on ITD tuning. We are currently testing if the represen
Mutual Behavioral Adjustment in Vibrational Duetting

Animal communication often involves a back-and-forth of influence between the sexes. Not only do males produce signals to court females–females often reply back, as is the case in many plant-feeding insects. Here, we explore the behavioral complexity that arises from these interactions. We examine the potential for substrate-borne vibrational duetting insects to serve as case studies of the evolution and evolutionary consequences of mutual influence between the sexes, including mutual mate choice. Female mate choice on the basis of male signals has been documented in several species of insects that communicate via substrate-borne vibration, but it is less clear how often males modify their behavior (up to and including male mate choice) on the basis of variation in female vibrational signals. We assessed the potential for the signals of one sex to influence the behavior of the other sex with a literature review in which we compared the signals used by males and females in vibrational duetting. We found that female signals were at least as long and variable as male signals, although male signals often had more components than female signals. Thus, it seems likely that female vibrational duetting behavior is involved in proximate and evolutionary dynamics involving mutual influence and stimulation between the sexes.
Staphylococcus aureus: Methicillin-Susceptible S. aureus to Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus and Vancomycin-Resistant S. aureus

The evolution of methicillin-resistant and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has demanded serious review of antimicrobial use and development of new agents and revised approaches to prevent and overcome drug resistance. Depending on local conditions and patient risk factors, empirical therapy of suspected S. aureus infection may require coverage of drug-resistant organisms with newer agents and novel antibiotic combinations. The question of treatment with inappropriate antibiotics raises grave concerns with regard to methicillin-resistant S. aureus selection, overgrowth, and increased virulence. Several strategies to reduce the nosocomial burden of resistance are suggested, including shortened hospital stays and outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy of the most serious infections.
Observations on the ultrastructure of developing myocardium of rat embryos.

Timed pregnancies were obtained in Sprague-Dawley rats and early ultrastructural differentiation of myocardium of embryos of 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 days was investigated and compared with that of newborn. Ten-day myocardium is characterized by loosely packed cells; the cytoplasm is typified by a dearth of organelles. Both thick (myosin) and thin (actin) filaments become identifiable for the first time in the 10-day myocardium where the heart is pulsating but circulation is not established. These filaments are not visible in the embryos of 9-day-old myocardium. The formation of these filaments is observed to continue throughout the period covered in this investigation. Concomitant with the appearance of the myofilaments is the synthesis of Z band material. By the eleventh day of gestation and during the subsequent days there is a rapid proliferation and differentiation of most of the organelles. The myofilaments become organized into fully formed striated fibrils. Intercalated discs appear as. small wavy lines on the eleventh day and become plicated in later stages and serve as cell boundaries and points of attachment for myofilaments and fibrils. There is a perceptible change in the number and morphology of mitochondria from the tenth to eleventh day and later stages of development when the heart becomes functional. Similarly, there is a rapid proliferation and differentiation of granular endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi bodies. Large quantities of free ribosomes are dispersed in the cytoplasm of 10-day myocardium; however, in later stages there is a progressive reduction in the distribution of these particles. An intimate association of ribosomes and polysomes with the developing myofibrils is discernible. The T -system and sarcoplasmic reticulum begin to appear in II-day myocardium. The embryonic myocardium displays intense mitotic activity throughout its development and a unique feature of embryonic myocardial cells is the simultaneous occurrence of myofilament synthesis and mitotic activity within the same cells.
Mechanisms of ephemeral gully erosion caused by constant flow through a continuous soil‐pipe

Ephemeral gully erosion is considered to be driven by convergent surface flow while the role of subsurface flow is often overlooked. This study sought to characterize and quantify the soil erosion mechanisms associated with ephemeral gully erosion by pipe flow. A soil pipe (1 cm o.d.) was formed in a 10 cm soil bed immediately above a 5 cm water restricting layer. Flow into the soil pipe was established at steady-state rates of 190 and 284 l h−1. Experiments were performed for pipe flow alone and with rainfall. Despite a constant flow rate into soil pipes, pipe flow was highly unstable due to internal mass wasting clogging soil pipes until pressure increases forced the debris plug out of the pipe. Short (10–20 Seconds) periods of negligible flow were followed by surges in flow with high sediment concentrations that included a high proportion of aggregates. Increases in soil water pressures associated with these debris flows were observed but were likely not representative of the pressures inside the soil pipes due to hydraulic non-equilibrium between the soil pipe and soil matrix. Hydraulic non-equilibrium resulted in hydraulic gradients in the opposite direction of flow through the soil pipe during early stages of pipe flow. Pipe flow rates and sediment concentrations during debris flow periods were likely more extreme than observed due to integration over the three minute sample collection interval. The Slot Erosion Test (SET) was extended to conditions of constant flow rate through an internal soil pipe that was observed at the front face of a soil bed. The modified SET provided estimates of shear stress between 2·2 to 5·3 kg m−1 s−2, however, the technique did not prove effective for estimation of the soil erodibility coefficient. Published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Consumption and Well-Being, An Introduction

Here is a collection of papers that addresses well-being in the consumer domain of life from various perspectives. The trends are for well-being to be enhanced by thrift, by lack of materialism, by spending on experiences rather than objects, and by possessions that meet intrinsic needs, among others. Individuals vary in how materialistic they are and how conservative with money, giving rise to an array of styles of consuming. The importance of wealth for what people believe is a “good life” varies with culture, but money trails in importance behind happiness and meaning in life. The effort to align human, economic, and environmental well-being calls for policy and lifestyle changes and for economic measures that can represent human and environmental well-being. Although consumer culture is cited for contributing to environmental degradation, this book finds some compatibility between consumer and environmental well-being.
Strategic Destination Planning: Analyzing the Future of Tourism:

Events and trends affecting the tourism industry are becoming more complex and fast-paced. In response to these radical changes in the external environment, destination managers are striving for new approaches to predict future forces driving change. With this goal in mind, the current study was conducted to determine future forces that are likely to affect the future of tourism in the tristate area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware from 2006 to 2010. The data for the study were gathered using the nominal group technique for scenario thinking, with informants from a variety of tourism businesses in the region. The findings of the study confirm that the tourism industry will be facing major challenges and experiencing swift changes. The global economy, changing market demographics, and emerging technology are forcing destination managers to adopt and implement proactive strategies to survive the competitive tourism environment.
Capacitance of parallel rectangular cylinders

THE OBJECTIVES of this paper are (1) to provide curves displaying accurately determined values for the capacitance per unit length of two parallel rectangular cylinders, and (2) to present a brief explanation of the technique used in obtaining these curves in order to indicate its utility in the study of other conductor configurations. In addition to providing capacitance values, the curves are useful in determining the magnetic permeance associated with relay and contactor magnets of similar configuration. A good example of the latter is the interpole leakage permeance of the magnet in Fig. 1. The technique, a natural extension of the method of subareas, as expounded by Higgins and Reitan,1?3 was utilized earlier by T. N. Feng in the work described in his unpublished thesis at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis., in 1951. The depth of that investigation was somewhat limited, however, for it was carried on prior to the time that high-speed computing equipment was generally available. The present work obtains useful results by taking full advantage of the capabilities of the magnetic-drum data-processing machine.
A robust delay-compensation technique based on memory

This paper addresses the effects of time delay on actively isolated structures subjected to support excitation. A force proportional to the absolute velocity of the base of the isolated structure applied at the base of the structure (co-located active damping) is the control scheme considered. The actuating mechanisms have some non-zero time response. Consequently, if no compensation is provided, the performance of the system is worse than that of the ideal delay-free controller. The dynamics of the controller-actuator system is modelled by a delay operator on the feedback signal. Time delays producing instability of the controlled structure are investigated, and the effect of time delay on the mean square acceleration of the structure subjected to stationary random excitation is assessed.
Spatially explicit forecasts of large wildland fire probability and suppression costs for California

In the last decade, increases in fire activity and suppression expenditures have caused budgetary problems for federal land management agencies. Spatial forecasts of upcoming fire activity and costs have the potential to help reduce expenditures, and increase the efficiency of suppression efforts, by enabling them to focus resources where they have the greatest effect. In this paper, we present statistical models for estimating 1–6 months ahead spatially explicit forecasts of expected numbers, locations and costs of large fires on a 0.125° grid with vegetation, topography and hydroclimate data used as predictors. As an example, forecasts for California Federal and State protection responsibility are produced for historic dates and compared with recorded fire occurrence and cost data. The results seem promising in that the spatially explicit forecasts of large fire probabilities seem to match the actual occurrence of large fires, with the exception of years with widespread lightning events, which remain elusive. Forecasts of suppression expenditures did seem to differentiate between low- and high-cost fire years. Maps of forecast levels of expenditures provide managers with a spatial representation of where costly fires are most likely to occur. Additionally, the statistical models provide scientists with a tool for evaluating the skill of spatially explicit fire risk products.
Slow episodic shear of granular materials regulated by dilatant strengthening

Slow, stable shear of granular materials in landslides, beneath glaciers, and along fault surfaces is common, despite little or no intrinsic strengthening of such materials with increasing deformation rate. Compacted, water-saturated sediments, subjected to constant stresses in a ring-shear device, sheared slowly without unstable acceleration in repeated episodes that included pore dilation during shear, attendant pore-water-pressure decline, and consequent strengthening, followed by gradual pore-pressure recovery and weakening. Time-averaged shear velocities (2–800 mm/d) depended inversely on the magnitude of pore dilation with shear and were significantly lower for fine-grained sediment than for coarse-grained sediment, owing to different rates of pore-pressure diffusion in the two materials. When sediment had dilated to its critical-state (steady) porosity and therefore could not dilate further, shear accelerated catastrophically. These data indicate that pore-pressure decreases and consequent strengthening caused by shear-induced dilation may not only suppress rapid shear of landslide debris, subglacial till, and fault gouge, but may also result in slow episodic shear at rates that depend on both material porosity and hydraulic diffusivity.
Human colonic epithelial cells, HT29/C1, treated with crude Bacteroides fragilis enterotoxin dramatically alter their morphology.

Bacteroides fragilis has been associated with causation of diarrheal disease in livestock and humans. To date, conventional tissue culture and animal assays used to detect the biologic activity of bacterial enterotoxins have failed with enterotoxigenic B. fragilis. Although enterotoxigenic B. fragilis stimulates intestinal secretion in lamb and calf ligated intestinal loops, infant rabbits, and adult rabbits with ligated ceca, these animal systems are costly and complicated, which limits their usefulness for identification of enterotoxigenic B. fragilis strains. Using the cloned human colonic-epithelial-cell line HT29/C1, we have developed an in vitro assay that is 89% sensitive and 100% specific in detecting enterotoxigenic B. fragilis strains as defined by the lamb ligated-intestinal-loop assay. Subconfluent HT29/C1 cells treated with concentrated bacterium-free culture supernatants of enterotoxigenic B. fragilis strains develop specific and striking morphologic changes including loss of cell-to-cell attachments, rounding, swelling, and, in some cases, pyknosis. These morphologic changes are initially visible at 1 h after treatment and progress over at least the first 24 h. This tissue culture assay should prove useful in epidemiologic studies of enterotoxigenic B. fragilis and may facilitate basic studies to identify the B. fragilis toxin(s) and its mechanism of action. Images
Simulations for the dynamic response of single-transit SiC IMPATTs

We present simulation results for the dynamic characteristics of single-transit SiC IMPATT devices. An iterative Monte Carlo-Crank-Nicholson technique has been used to solve the coupled electron transport-heat conduction problem. Our results show that the internal power generation profile within the SiC IMPATT device can be very non-uniform. The internal heating is seen to degrade device efficiency, operating frequency, reduce the output current, and increase the transit time.
Determination ef ventricular volumes in human fetal hearts by two-dimensional echocardiography

In conclusion, ventricular volume calculation from 2DE is feasible in the human fetus and improves the ability to calculate fetal ventricular size and ejection fraction. The right ventricle is clearly dominant at midgestation, but approaches left ventricular size at term. Calculation of the ventricular output from 2DE volume measurements is an accurate alternative to Doppler measurements.
Integration of systems biology in cell line and process development for biopharmaceutical manufacturing

Abstract The evolution of cell line and bioprocess development for biopharmaceutical manufacturing using mammalian cell culture over the past few decades has been striking. Despite this success, the future presents new challenges that include productivity increase, product quality modulation for comparability and biosimilarity, and efficient manufacturing of novel modalities. While empirical process development techniques will continue to play an important role in addressing these challenges, approaches based on mechanistic understanding are likely to be more impactful for solving the more complex multidimensional problems by providing insights into the interplays between the cell line, bioprocess, and product quality. Systems biology is one such approach that provides information on cellular physiology at the molecular level, which, when rigorously interpreted, can provide targets for cell line and/or process modifications. We present a general framework for applying systems biology to biotherapeutic-producing mammalian cells and summarize published work that exemplifies successful applications of this technique. We highlight gaps in our current understanding that limit widespread application of systems biology to mammalian cell-based bioprocess development and propose remediation methods that can encourage increased adoption. More nuanced understanding of cellular physiology and the interplay between expressing novel proteins and product quality attributes is possible through systems biology and this understanding will better position the field to successfully engage with the challenges of the future.
Spectral Properties of Hypericin-Metal Complexes

Hypericin, a pigment synthetized in plants of the genus Hypericum, has long been known to induce skin photosensitization after ingestion by animals. Although hypericin has been shown to be highly photodynamically active1,2, its use in photodynamic therapy would be limited due to its restricted actinic wavelengths (540 to 610 nm). To produce pigments with red-shifted absorption spectra we followed two approaches: the synthesis of derivatives and the formation of pigment-metal complexes. The latter will be reported here.
Suppressing technical noise in weak measurements by entanglement

Postselected weak measurement has aroused broad interest for its distinctive ability to amplify small physical quantities. However, the low postselection efficiency to obtain a large weak value has been a big obstacle to its application in practice since it may waste resources, and reduce the measurement precision. An improved protocol was proposed in Pang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 030401 (2014) to make the postselected weak measurement dramatically more efficient by using entanglement. Such a protocol can increase the Fisher information of the measurement to approximately saturate the well-known Heisenberg limit. In this paper, we review the entanglement-assisted protocol of postselected weak measurement in detail, and study its robustness against technical noises. We focus on readout errors. Readout errors can greatly degrade the performance of postselected weak measurement, especially when the readout error probability is comparable to the postselection probability. We show that entanglement can significantly reduce the two main detrimental effects of readout errors: inaccuracy in the measurement result and the loss of Fisher information. We extend the protocol by introducing a majority vote scheme to postselection to further compensate for readout errors. With a proper threshold, almost no Fisher information will be lost. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of entanglement in protecting postselected weak measurement against readout errors.
Does Competitive Electricity Require Capacity Markets? The Texas Experience

All but one of U.S. power markets administered by Regional Transmission Operators require that sellers of power to end-users must own or have contractual access to generation capacity sufficient to cover their loads. The exception is the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates on contracts between generators and retailers, supplemented by markets for ancillary services. Recent concerns about adequacy of generation investment have led to consideration of imposing a capacity market in ERCOT. This paper examines the potential value of such a market. We begin with a critique of the economic theory behind capacity markets, which we find deeply flawed. We then apply that theory to ERCOT. In the process, we reexamine research on investment adequacy in ERCOT and the value of energy prices as signals for generation investment. We conclude that calculations of generator profitability based on realistic assumptions explain why investment has occurred in ERCOT in the past, why it is likely to continue doing so in the future, and why a capacity market would in reality be a source of inefficiency and a barrier to competition.
Sexual satisfaction and inflammatory bowel diseases: an interdisciplinary clinical challenge

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), most commonly Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, have the highest incidence during the reproductive years. IBD and its treatments increase the risk of sexual dysfunction for both men and women with these diseases. Women with IBD often seek care from their gynecologist and may preferentially discuss sexual experiences with them over other providers. An understanding of IBD and its impact on sexual functioning and satisfaction will improve screening, evaluation, and management for these patients. Identifying interdisciplinary providers for referrals, such as pelvic floor physical therapists and health psychologists, is a key component to long-term improvements in sexual satisfaction for women with IBD.
The Illusion of Choice in Democratic Politics: The Unconscious Impact of Motivated Political Reasoning

What are the fundamental causes of human behavior and to what degree is it intended, consciously controlled? We review the literature on automaticity in human behavior with an emphasis on our own theory of motivated political reasoning, John Q. Public, and the experimental evidence we have collected (Lodge & Taber, 2013). Our fundamental theoretical claim is that affective and cognitive reactions to external and internal events are triggered unconsciously, followed spontaneously by the spreading of activation through associative pathways that link thoughts to feelings to intentions to behavior, so that very early events, even those that are invisible to conscious awareness, set the direction for all subsequent processing. We find evidence in support of four hypotheses that are central to our theory: hot cognition, affect transfer, affect contagion, and motivated bias.
Determination of minimum alveolar concentration of isoflurane in dogs and cats using the up-and-down method. A preliminary study

Minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) is a reliable measurement of the potency of inhaled anesthetic agents. The determination of MAC in different species has followed a fairly consistent methodology. In people, MAC is determined with the up-and-down method, whereas in animal the bracketing technique is commonly used. The objectives of this study were to determine the MAC value of isoflurane in dogs and cats using the up-and-down method and to determine the MAC value of isoflurane at extubation (MACex). General anesthesia was induced in 13 dogs and 5 cats with 5% isoflurane in oxygen. An initial end-tidal isoflurane concentration of 1.3% was used for the first dog and of 1.6% for the first cat and maintained constant for ≥20min. A noxious stimulus in the form of Carmalt forceps was applied to the base of the tail for no more than one minute or until movement was noticed. After stimulation, the response was recorded as positive (movement) or negative (no movement) and the animal was recovered. The end-tidal isoflurane concentration of the following animal was increased or decreased by 0.1% if the response of the previous animal to the stimulus was negative or positive, respectively. Isoflurane MAC values in dogs were 1.27% and 1.23%. Isoflurane MAC value in cats was 1.58%. MACex value was 0.45% in dogs and in cats. The up-and-down method for MAC determination achieved similar results when compared to MAC values of isoflurane in dogs and cats reported in the literature using the bracketing technique.
Effect of pentagastrin on potential difference in rat stomach.

SummaryWe studied gastric mucosal potential difference (PD) in in vivo rat gastric acid-secreting mucosa (corpus) and rat forestomach pouches containing squamous epithelial mucosa. Gastric PD was almost identical in the rat gastric corpus and forestomach pouch. Pentagastrin (100 μg/kg body wt, iv) produced a similar reduction in PD in both sites. In the gastric corpus the drop in PD preceded detectable secretion of gastric acid, but recovery of PD coincided with the onset of acid secretion. Recovery of PD did not occur in the forestomach pouch separated from gastric acid. Intragastric instillation of HCl into the nonstimulated gastric corpus was associated with a steady rise in PD. Injection of pentagastrin now caused the same significant fall in PD as in the absence of intragastric acid. These findings indicate that liquid-junction potential between secreted acid and luminal contents is not the major factor in the fall in PD after pentagastrin.
The Role of Management Forecast Precision in Predicting Management Forecast Error

By studying a large sample of annual management earnings forecasts during 1996 to 2006, I document a significant and negative relation between management forecast precision (measured by the width of forecast range) and signed management forecast error (difference between management forecast level and reported EPS). This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that optimistic forecasts are bundled with a low level of precision ex ante. This relation is statistically and economically significant and remains robust to including firm-fixed effects, endogenizing forecast precision, and controlling for self-selection bias. This relation is strongest for long-horizon forecasts and weakest for preannouncements. Finally, this relation appears to be partially understood and incorporated into analyst revision post management forecast. Taken together, my results enrich the literature on management forecast precision and further the understanding of how managers choose forecast characteristics.
Miocene global change recorded in Columbia River basalt–hosted paleosols

Paleosols preserved between flows of the Columbia River Basalt Province record hiatuses in basalt emplacement and provide detailed information about paleoclimatic and pedogenic conditions during pedogenesis. The relatively long duration of pedogenesis (104 to >106 yr) for these paleosols makes them unlikely to have been influenced by short-duration climate fluctuations and allows them to accurately reflect long-term climate trends related to global climate change. Ten paleosols hosted by the Grande Ronde and Wanapum Formations of the Columbia River Basalts were identified on the basis of pedogenic features such as horizon development, root traces, and saprolitization, and they were studied as paleoclimatic indicators. Relationships between the ages of the paleosols and their clay-mineral compositions suggest that pedogenic processes changed in the eastern Columbia River Basalt Province at ca. 15.8 Ma. Analyses of mass-balance trends and chemical alteration in a ca. 16.0 Ma paleosol indicate that it formed under warm, humid climate conditions. We suggest that the absence of similar warm, humid paleosols and the presence of 2:1 clay-rich paleosols that formed after ca. 15.8 Ma represent a cooling and drying climate change related to the termination of the middle Miocene climate optimum, a development not previously captured in paleosol studies. In addition, the well-constrained dates of the basalts provide better resolution on the timing of this termination. When combined with other middle Miocene paleoclimate estimates from the Columbia River Basalt Province, our results suggest a geographic control on mean annual precipitation in the middle Miocene Columbia River Basalt Province leading to an increasing-to-the-east precipitation gradient.
Ankle-Foot Complex and the Fundamental Aspects of Gait

In order to comprehend the scope of a transtibial amputation and provide a person with an amputation with a truly biomimetic powered prosthesis a global perspective of the ankle-foot complex must be elucidated. Even the most obvious need for structural support while standing spans the domain of highly specialized expertise. With a preliminary perspective on the skeletal complexity presented, the musculature of the ankle-foot complex constitutes a knowledge base of considerable magnitude. A brief assessment of the evolving subject of the modeling of muscle activity is summarized. A concise presentation of the intricacy of the neurological structures that the ankle-foot complex provides is examined. Topics such as the central pattern generator with afferent and efferent pathways emanating from the ankle-foot complex are discussed. Fundamental sensory mechanisms providing proprioception, which represent the spatial perception of the human body, such as muscle spindle afferents and Golgi tendon organs are entailed regarding the intrinsic contribution of the ankle-foot complex. With the contribution of these diverse aspects of the ankle-foot complex synchronous and rhythmic features of gait are enabled. The characteristics of gait can be delineated between stance and swing. The stance phase consists of highly relevant subphases, such as controlled plantar flexion, controlled dorsiflexion, and powered plantar flexion. Understanding the substantial role of the ankle-foot complex within the context of gait is imperative for a engineering/scientific research and development team to develop a powered prosthesis with optimal utility for the user.
Toward ocean attenuation tomography: Determining acoustic volume attenuation coefficients in seawater using eigenray amplitudes

A deep-water experiment in the Pacific made in situ measurements of the volume attenuation coefficients of sea water in the mid-frequency range. The frequency, temperature, salinity, pH, and pressure dependent seawater attenuation coefficients were determined using a vertical line array that received and identified over 2000 unique paths from 1200 mid-frequency 3-9 kHz LFM source transmissions at a convergence zone range and depth up to 400 m. The results show no change in attenuation coefficients in this band compared to estimates from 30-year-old models previously determined from a combination of long-range ocean acoustic and laboratory experiments. The inversion also explores the feasibility of ocean acoustic attenuation tomography to further separate the depth-dependent chemical components responsible for the total attenuation loss through by isolating a group of deep-water refracting acoustic paths.
Panels in Therapy. VIII. Acute Granulocytic Leukemia

THE DEVELOPMENT of acute leukemia in an adult above the age of 30 could not be a more serious or more hopeless situation. What should be done in this circumstance, knowing full well that the few therapeutic agents now available are effective in relatively few cases? Any remissions obtained will surely persist for at most a few or several months. Should then chemotherapy be pushed or should chief reliance be placed, until new and better agents are found, on symptomatic care? This problem, which seems to be increasingly more common, is by far the most important one in hematologic practice. Sometimes, when one has seen a number of valuable people die of this terrible disease, the ensuing depression makes one feel that one should make the patient as comfortable as possible and let it go at that. At another and more sanguine period, however, one feels impelled to go to every length in the attempt to induce a remission, however slight, and however short. Thus in the absence of truly good therapy, the treatment of a given case may vary with the individual physician, his mood, his patient, and other such factors. The opinions of a panel were requested on the following question: What is your preferred method of therapy in a patient with acute granulocytic (myelogenous) leukemia in the age group of 40–60?
Richard Rolle’s Ecology of Canor: An Aesthetics of Desire

Richard Rolle’s concept of canor considers a divine sound ecology that works through Rolle’s work. Rather than emphasize God’s love visually as many mystics do, Rolle experiments with the ineffability of sound, an acousmatics, in order to express an ecological relationship, one in which the singer inhabits the sound of God and, thus, renders the body porous as sound permeates it. Rolle’s use of the lyric reveals the enmeshed quality of singer, song, divinity, and body. In this way, Rolle’s lyrics create environments that queer the body’s relation to song. The gift of canor in Rolle’s work creates a performative aspect to contemplative living. Rolle’s experiment with sound and lyric open up a divine ecology that intermediates between singer and God.
Demo Abstract: On-Demand Information Retrieval from Videos Using Deep Learning in Wireless Networks

Mobile devices with cameras have greatly assisted in the prevalence of online videos. Valuable information may be retrieved from videos for various purposes. While deep learning enables automatic information retrieval from videos, it is a demanding task for mobile devices despite recent advances in their computational capability. Given a network consisting of mobile devices and a video-cloud, mobile devices may be able to upload videos to the video-cloud, a platform more computationally capable to process videos. However, due to network constraints, once a query initiates a video processing task of a specific interest, most videos will not likely have been uploaded to the video-cloud, especially when the query is about a recent event. We designed and implemented a distributed system for video processing using deep learning across a wireless network, where network devices answer queries by retrieving information from videos stored across the network and reduce query response time by computation offload from mobile devices to the video-cloud.
Long-term effects of different forest regeneration methods on mature forest birds

Changes in forest structure that result from silviculture, including timber harvest, can positively or negatively affect bird species that use forests. Because many bird species associated with mature forests are facing population declines, managers need to know how timber harvesting affects species of birds that rely on mature trees or forests for breeding, foraging, and other purposes. We used generalized linear mixed models to determine effects of clearcutting, shelterwood, single-tree selection, and group selection on detection of 18 species of bird associated with mature forests in the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma and Arkansas. We surveyed birds for 16 years after harvest. Most species (67%) responded positively to partial harvest that retained some overstory. Less intensive harvests had positive effects on more species and negative effects on fewer species than more intensive harvests, but responses to different treatments varied among species. Five species showed a significant positive response to the most intensive harvest (clearcuts), whereas 2 species showed a negative response. For the second most-intensive harvest (shelterwoods), 7 species showed a significant positive response and 1 species showed a negative response. For the less-intensive harvests, 9 species showed a positive response and no species had negative responses to single-tree selection, whereas 7 species had positive and no species showed negative responses to group selection. Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) and scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea) responded negatively to all timber harvests; ovenbird appeared to be particularly susceptible to timber harvest, especially more intensive harvests such as clearcut and shelterwood. A variety of regeneration methods, including some more intensive treatments, along with maintenance of mature forest stands that retain well-developed midstories can be used to maintain the full suite of forest birds.
Gross Motor Skills and School Day Physical Activity: Mediating Effect of Perceived Competence

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between gross motor skills and school day steps per minute, testing various motivational constructs as potential mediators. A convenience sample of 66 sixth grade children (Mean age = 11.6 ± 0.5 years; 30 boys, 36 girls) were recruited from one public ‘Zoom” school. Gross motor skills were assessed using the Test for Gross Motor Development-3rd Edition. Motivational constructs were assessed using a series of validated questionnaires. Children wore a pedometer for one school week. A bootstrap mediation analysis was employed using gross motor skills scores the predictor variable, steps per minute as the outcome variable, and the motivational constructs consisting of perceived competence, enjoyment, and self-efficacy as potential mediators. The results from a bootstrap mediation analysis yielded a statistically significant Average Causal Mediation Effect (ACME) using perceived competence as the mediator (ACME = 0.022, 95%C.I. [0.001, 0.054], p = 0.018...
Introduction to H2020 project C3HARME – next generation ceramic composites for combustion harsh environment and space

There is an increasing demand for advanced materials with enhanced temperature capability in highly corrosive environments, for instance enable space vehicles to resist several launches and re-entr...
Instructions for Writing Laboratory Reports in the Form of Technical Papers

An essential part of a significant scientific investigation is communication of the findings to others interested in the particular field. Hence, preparation of at least some of your laboratory reports in the form of a scientific paper is regarded as an important part of your experience in this course.
Asymptotic Methods in Statistics of Random Point Processes

First we put together basic definitions and fundamental facts and results from the theory of (un)marked point processes defined on Euclidean spaces \({\mathbb{R}}^{d}\). We introduce the notion random marked point process together with the concept of Palm distributions in a rigorous way followed by the definitions of factorial moment and cumulant measures and characteristics related with them. In the second part we define a variety of estimators of second-order characteristics and other so-called summary statistics of stationary point processes based on observations on a “convex averaging sequence” of windows \(\{W_{n},\,n \in \mathbb{N}\}\). Although all these (mostly edge-corrected) estimators make sense for fixed bounded windows our main issue is to study their behaviour when W n grows unboundedly as n → ∞. The first problem of large-domain statistics is to find conditions ensuring strong or at least mean-square consistency as n → ∞ under ergodicity or other mild mixing conditions put on the underlying point process. The third part contains weak convergence results obtained by exhausting strong mixing conditions or even m-dependence of spatial random fields generated by Poisson-based point processes. To illustrate the usefulness of asymptotic methods we give two Kolmogorov–Smirnov-type tests based on K-functions to check complete spatial randomness of a given point pattern in \({\mathbb{R}}^{d}\).