cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The distribution of recurrent Purkinje collateral synapses in the mouse cerebellar cortex: an electron microscopic study.

Myelinated fibers found in the lower molecular layer of the mouse cerebellum form synaptic enlargements of a uniform morphological appearance. Similar synapses have been observed to come from myelinated fibers in the upper granularlower Purkinje cell layer. Both have been interpreted as Purkinje collateral boutons. The study of the distribution of Purkinje collateral synapses revealed that one third formed the supraganglionic plexus in the lower molecular layer and two thirds formed an infraganglionic plexus in the lower Purkinje upper granular zone. In the molecular layer, basket cell somata and dendrites received the gratest number of Purkinje collaterals, while Purkinje dendrites and branchlets received relatively few. In the infraganglionic plexus, the Purkinje collaterals terminated on “very low basket” cells and upon a dense dendritic “thicket” belived to be contributed largely by basket cells.
A Diet Enriched with Curcumin Impairs Newly Acquired and Reactivated Fear Memories

Curcumin, a yellow-pigment compound found in the popular Indian spice turmeric (Curcuma longa), has been extensively investigated for its anti-inflammatory, chemopreventative, and antidepressant properties. Here, we examined the efficacy of dietary curcumin at impairing the consolidation and reconsolidation of a Pavlovian fear memory, a widely studied animal model of traumatic memory formation in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We show that a diet enriched with 1.5% curcumin prevents the training-related elevation in the expression of the immediate early genes (IEGs) Arc/Arg3.1 and Egr-1 in the lateral amygdala (LA) and impairs the 'consolidation' of an auditory Pavlovian fear memory; short-term memory (STM) is intact, whereas long-term memory (LTM) is significantly impaired. Next, we show that dietary curcumin impairs the 'reconsolidation' of a recently formed auditory Pavlovian fear memory; fear memory retrieval (reactivation) and postreactivation (PR)-STM are intact, whereas PR-LTM is significantly impaired. Additional experiments revealed that dietary curcumin is also effective at impairing the reconsolidation of an older, well-consolidated fear memory. Furthermore, we observed that fear memories that fail to reconsolidate under the influence of dietary curcumin are impaired in an enduring manner; unlike extinguished fear memories, they are not subject to reinstatement or renewal. Collectively, our findings indicate that a diet enriched with curcumin is capable of impairing fear memory consolidation and reconsolidation processes, findings that may have important clinical implications for the treatment of disorders such as PTSD that are characterized by unusually strong and persistently reactivated fear memories.
Microwave Magnetic-Transmission Resonance in Gadolinium

Transmission-resonance experiments are described in paramagnetic and ferromagnetic gadolinium with a Curie point ${T}_{C}\ensuremath{\cong}289$ \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. In these experiments, utilizing the spin-transmission-resonance technique, transmission resonance occurs not by diffusion of spins, but by modulation of the microwave penetration depth under resonance conditions. The effect is related to "antiresonance" previously observed in some cases of ferromagnetic resonance, but is much more pronounced in the transmission technique. A simple theory, due to VanderVen, and the solution of the boundary-value problem, due to Alexandrakis, accurately describe the results for paramagnetic gadolinium, and the fitted data yield several experimental parameters, in particular the relaxation time, as well as the susceptibility and resistivity. However, preliminary results indicate that these theories are inadequate to describe the transmission signals in ferromagnetic cases, even though they are adequate to fit the conventional absorption-resonance signals.
MODELING DETECTION OF INCIDENTS BY DRIVERS

Abstract An analytical model was developed to assess the detection of freeway incidents by drivers using advanced communications technologies. Drivers can report incidents to a highway agency by voice or by digital messaging either directly or through roadside beacons using a fixed or portable wireless communications system such as a cellular telephone. A FRESIM model was used to simulate shoulder and lane-blocking incidents occurring under variable traffic flow rates. The proportion of drivers with an in-vehicle communication medium arriving upstream of an incident and the degree of the drivers’ reporting propensity were introduced as controlled variables. A discrete probability model was used to represent binary reporting decisions of drivers arriving upstream of an incident. The results showed that all incident types that were simulated could be detected in a short time with high probability of detection. The data indicated that all incident types, regardless of the prevailing traffic volume at the time of their occurrence, were detectable in less than one minute if one of five drivers on a freeway had an in-vehicle communication medium and was willing to use it to report the incident. Of special importance is that at the end of 1995 there was one cellular telephone user per five licensed drivers in the United States. The results of the modeling further showed that other factors affecting the detection performance of a driver-initiated incident detection process were the willingness of drivers to report incidents, the length of roadway within which an incident is visible to a driver, and the austerity of the highway agency’s procedure for mitigating false reporting.
Hemifacial microsomia: An anesthetic airway problem

Abstract Hemifacial microsomia is a rare congenitally acquired dentofacial deformity characterized by unilateral hypoplasia of the hard and soft tissues of the face and cranium. Associated anomalies of the vertebrae and hypopharynx cause perioperative airway management to be difficult. The case of a patient with severe hemifacial microsomia, cervical spine fusion, and temporomandibular joint ankylosis is presented, with special emphasis on anesthetic airway management. A device to aid fiberoptic nasolaryngoscopy when difficult endotracheal intubations are encountered is described.
Improving nutrient management practices in agriculture: The role of risk‐based beliefs in understanding farmers' attitudes toward taking additional action

A recent increase in the amount of dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) entering the western Lake Erie basin is likely due to increased spring storm events in combination with issues related to fertilizer application and timing. These factors in combination with warmer lake temperatures have amplified the spread of toxic algal blooms. We assessed the attitudes of farmers in northwest Ohio toward taking at least one additional action to reduce nutrient loss on their farm. Specifically, we (1) identified to what extent farm and farmer characteristics (e.g., age, gross farm sales) as well as risk-based beliefs (e.g., efficacy, risk perception) influenced attitudes, and (2) assessed how these characteristics and beliefs differ in their predictive ability based on unobservable latent classes of farmers. Risk perception, or a belief that negative impacts to profit and water quality from nutrient loss were likely, was the most consistent predictor of farmer attitudes. Response efficacy, or a belief that taking action on one's farm made a difference, was found to significantly influence attitudes, although this belief was particularly salient for the minority class of farmers who were older and more motivated by profit. Communication efforts should focus on the negative impacts of nutrient loss to both the farm (i.e., profit) and the natural environment (i.e., water quality) to raise individual perceived risk among the majority, while the minority need higher perceived efficacy or more specific information about the economic effectiveness of particular recommended practices.
Income Distribution, Police Expenditures, and Crime: A Political Economy Perspective

In this paper, I present a structural approach to investigate empirically the relation between income distribution, police expenditures and crime. The approach is based on the estimation of an equilibrium model where heterogeneous individuals choose whether to engage in criminal activities and expenditures on police to apprehend criminals are determined endogenously through majority voting. I discuss the identification and estimation of the parameters of the structural model using data for the United States. (JEL: D72, D78, K42)
Prediction of Mercury Speciation in Coal-Combustion Systems

This study is a part of a comprehensive investigation, to conduct bench-, pilot-, and full-scale experiments and theoretical studies to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms associated with mercury oxidation and capture in coal-fired power plants. The objective was to quantitatively describe the mechanisms governing adsorption, desorption, and oxidation of mercury in coal-fired flue gas carbon, and establish reaction-rate constants based on experimental data. A chemical-kinetic model was developed which consists of homogeneous mercury oxidation reactions as well as heterogeneous mercury adsorption reactions on carbon surfaces. The homogeneous mercury oxidation mechanism has eight reactions for mercury oxidation. The homogeneous mercury oxidation mechanism quantitatively predicts the extent of mercury oxidation for some of datasets obtained from synthetic flue gases. However, the homogeneous mechanism alone consistently under predicts the extent of mercury oxidation in full scale and pilot scale units containing actual flue gas. Heterogeneous reaction mechanisms describe how unburned carbon or activated carbon can effectively remove mercury by adsorbing hydrochloric acid (HCI) to form chlorinated carbon sites, releasing the hydrogen. The elemental mercury may react with chlorinated carbon sites to form sorbed HgCl. Thus mercury is removed from the gas-phase and stays adsorbed on the carbon surface. Predictions using this model have very good agreement with experimental results.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Maximum likelihood ranking in racing sports

Most ranking methods used in racing sports are based on the number of points earned in a series of races. In some applications, this method will fail to provide an accurate ranking of competitors based on ability. In particular, rankings will not accurately reflect ability when competitors enter different numbers of races or when the level of competition varies by race. Additionally, point-based rankings are dependent on a subjective points scale. Three alternative models of performance and corresponding maximum likelihood estimation methods are presented that can be used to rank competitors and overcome the shortcomings of point-based rankings. Two methods are based on paired-comparisons among competitors and can be estimated using common binary-choice regression methods; the other is based on the rank-ordered logit model. These methods are valuable tools for stakeholders who need to evaluate the relative abilities of competitors to efficiently allocate resources. Application is demonstrated using result...
Inhibition of the graft-versus-host response by BCGcw-induced suppressor cells or prostaglandin E1

Abstract Immunization of C57BL/6 mice with BCGcw stimulated a population of “suppressor cells” which had a decreased capacity to induce the graft-versus-host response. The graft-versus-host response was quantitated using the Simonsen splenomegaly assay. F 1 mice (C57BL/6 × CBA) were inoculated intraperitoneally with 1 × 10 8 parental (CS7BL/6) or (CBA) spleen cells. The F 1 mice were sacrificed 13 days later and the resulting splenomegaly was 3–4 times the normal amount. F 1 mice which were injected with parental BCGcw-primed C57BL/6 spleen cells had a 50% inhibition of splenomegaly, whereas BCGcw-primed CBA spleen cells (a strain which does not develop suppressor cells) did not show this inhibition. In vitro results also confirmed that only C57BL/6 mice and not CBA mice developed suppressor cells after BCGcw immunization. A second study showed that X-irradiated (1000R) BCGcw-primed “suppressor cells” could inhibit splenomegaly caused by the inoculation of normal parental C57BL/6 cells into F 1 mice. The mechanism by which BCGcw-primed “suppressor cells” caused this inhibition of splenomegaly was delineated and found to be dependent upon the secretion of prostaglandin (PGE-1). Indomethacin and aspirin, potent inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis, blocked the activity of C57BL/6 BCGcw “suppressor cells” and splenomegaly resulted. Systemic administration of the prostaglandin (15S)-15-methyl PGE-1 reduced splenomegaly approximately 50% in F 1 mice which were injected with C57BL/6 or CBA cells. These results indicated that immunization with BCGcw stimulated a population of “suppressor cells” which could cause a decrease in graft-versus-host response and that the secretion of prostaglandin was responsible for this inhibition.
Welded wire reinforcement versus random steel fibers in precast/prestressed ultra-high performance concrete I-girders

Abstract The high shear capacity of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) AASHTO Type II girders tested at the Federal Highway Administration labs resulted in interest by state highway agencies in applying UHPC in bridge construction. UHPC superior shear capacity results from the random steel fibers incorporated in the mix. However, steel fibers significantly increase the mix material cost (fibers cost $400 per cubic yard). This paper presents a study to compare the structural efficiency and economical feasibility of replacing random steel fibers with grade 80 welded wire reinforcement meshes. Two AASHTO Type II girders were fabricated using non-proprietary UHPC mixes developed at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and reinforced with WWR in replacement of steel fibers. The test results showed that WWR resulting shear capacity exceeds random steel fibers. The WWR cost effectiveness and ease in construction could accelerate the application of non-proprietary UHPC and WWR in bridge construction.
Exploring feature-based approaches in PET images for predicting cancer treatment outcomes

Accumulating evidence suggests that characteristics of pre-treatment FDG-PET could be used as prognostic factors to predict outcomes in different cancer sites. Current risk analyses are limited to visual assessment or direct uptake value measurements. We are investigating intensity-volume histogram metrics and shape and texture features extracted from PET images to predict patient's response to treatment. These approaches were demonstrated using datasets from cervix and head and neck cancers, where AUC of 0.76 and 1.0 were achieved, respectively. The preliminary results suggest that the proposed approaches could potentially provide better tools and discriminant power for utilizing functional imaging in clinical prognosis.
Morphology of Liberian Negro deciduous teeth. II. Arch dimensions and occlusion

Liberian Negro deciduous dentitions have arch dimensions which significantly exceed those of a variety of White populations. Winged incisors were present in 14.3% of the Negro population, again exceeding White values. No differences were noted in incisal overbite or overjet. Diastemal spaces were greater in the Negro dentitions than in the White, but the significance of this is as yet unknown. An exceptional finding was the absolute lack of Class II (distocclusion) in the Negro series. A discussion of functional occlusion stressed the necessity for the inclusion of such dynamic factors as dental abrasion, mesial migration and physiological rest position in future studies of comparative dental anthropology.
The Effects of Mentoring/Induction Support on Beginning Teachers' Practices in Early Elementary Classrooms (K-3)

Abstract This mixed-method study examined the effects of a school/university induction partnership on the instructional practices of two groups of beginning teachers in early elementary classrooms....
Nuclear levels in193Os

The previously completely unknown energy levels of193Os have been investigated using the reactions192Os(d, p)193Os and192Os(n, γ)193Os. The neutron separation energy was measured to be 5583.5±2.0 keV. Most of the states below 500 keV can be qualitatively interpreted in terms of the Nilsson model; however the occurrence of four levels with significantl=1 transfer strength in this energy range is incompatible with that model. The Nilsson orbital systematics of the odd-A Os and W isotopes are compared.
Posttransient shifts in auditory lateralization

Presenting an intense (e.g., 80-dB [SPL]) “transient” (e.g., 50-msec) inducer to the ear reduces the loudness of subsequent signals at or near the frequency of the inducer. In this study, we ask whether similar inducers also affect lateralization. In two experiments, we asked how inducing tones presented to one ear (the exposed ear) affect judgments of the lateral position of subsequent target tones having various interaural intensity differences. In Experiment 1, inducers had the same frequency as the targets, and, as predicted, reduced the tendency to lateralize the targets to the exposed ear. In Experiment 2, the frequency of the inducers and the target differed (different critical bands), thereby eliminating the effect on lateralization. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that inducers temporarily reduce the magnitude of the representation of intensity signals in the frequency region around them and that this reduction occurs, at least partly, peripherally to the site at which binaural intensity differences are encoded. The results imply further that the reduction in loudness previously reported under similar stimulus conditions reflects a more general reduction of intensity-based information in hearing.
OMVPE growth of 660 nm AlGaAs double heterojunction LEDs

Organometallic vapor phase epitaxial (OMVPE) growth of 660 nm AIGaAs double heterojunction (DH) light emitting diodes (LEDs) is reported. Photoluminescent (PL) intensities from bare active layers are measured as a function of growth temperature, doping (undoped, Se and Mg) and emission wavelength. Maximum PL intensity results at 800° C growth temperature. PL intensity is nearly constant from 810 to 700 nm and then drops by one-half at 660 nm. DH LEDs are grown with a 660 nm Mg-doped active layer sandwiched between 90% AIGaAs cladding layers. Angle etching is used to study the active-cladding layer interface. Electroluminescentphotometric efficiency is measured as a function of active layer acceptor concentration, active layer width and interface grading. Our best encapsulated lamp shows a peakradiometric efficiency of 2.4% at 667 nm (1.5 lumens/amp) when forward biased to 10 mA.
In-air thermal imaging comparison of Legacy AdvanTec, Millennium, and Sovereign WhiteStar phacoemulsification systems.

Purpose To compare the temperature profiles of 3 popular phacoemulsification units (Alcon Legacy AdvanTec, Bausch & Lomb Millennium, and AMO Sovereign WhiteStar) under similar operating conditions in air. Setting Jules Stein Eye Institute and the Department of Ophthalmology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA. Methods Phacoemulsification probes from the 3 units were placed side by side in air and imaged in the infrared region using model P60 ThermaCAM (Flir Systems). The highest temperature produced by each probe was measured 10 seconds and 30 seconds after power application. Testing was performed under conditions that might produce a corneal burn during cataract surgery. Irrigation flow was set at the low rate of 1 cc/min to simulate a tight incision. Aspiration flow was set at 0 cc/min to simulate occlusion of the needle lumen. Wound compression was simulated in some tests by suspending 22.6 g weights by rubber bands from the silicone sleeves. Manufacturers' specific and identical silicone sleeves were used to evaluate possible variations in thermal conductivity. The AdvanTec Legacy and Millennium were operated in pulse mode at 15 Hertz; 50% duty cycle; and 10%, 30%, and 50% power. The Sovereign WhiteStar was operated in both C/F (56 Hz, 33% duty cycle) and C/L (33 Hz, 20% duty cycle) modes at the same console power settings. Temperature profiles were determined at a variety of power settings with each system operating in continuous and pulse mode. Results Under all experimental conditions (at 10%, 30%, and 50% powers; with and without external weights suspended from the phacoemulsification probes; with manufacturers' and identical silicone sleeves; and in continuous and pulse modes), the Millennium and the Sovereign WhiteStar generated higher temperatures than the Legacy AdvanTec. Conclusions Under controlled operating conditions in air and under a variety of power, load, and duty-cycle settings, the Millennium and the Sovereign WhiteStar, operating in both pulse and continuous modes, generated higher peak temperatures than the Legacy AdvanTec.
When do people act to maintain common resources? A reformulated psychological question for our times.

Abstract George Boniecki, in his recent (1977) article, posed the question, “Is man interested in his future?” as a crucial topic for psychological research. Boniecki reasons that an answer to this question will help people to design a desirable future and to avoid the multiple crises of resources, food, population, and pollution which threaten human welfare and survival. While I share Boniecki's concern for our future and his conviction that psychological research can help humanity avoid disaster, I suggest that Boniecki's question is not the most useful one for the purpose of research. In this article, I attempt to reformulate the question and to summarize the answers which psychological research is beginning to provide. I also suggest some implications of the reformulated question for social and psychological research at the international level.
Ozone synthesis in charged particle induced noble gas-oxygen and noble gas-oxygen-sulfur hexafluoride discharges

A series of experimental measurements of ozone concentration produced by irradiation of noble gas (He, Ne, and Ar)-O2 and noble gas-O2-SF6 mixtures with energetic (MeV) helium and lithium ions are reported. Continuous irradiations at dose rates of 1015–1017 eV cm −3 s −1 for a few hundred milliseconds were used. The resulting ozone concentration was found to be nonlinear with dose rate for a given irradiation time. This nonlinearity was effectively reduced by an increase in noble gas pressure. Few mole percent addition of SF6 generally resulted in an increase in the ozone concentration. This increase was highest for lower noble gas pressures and longer irradiation times. Further SF6 addition, however, caused a reduction in the ozone concentration. Results are explained by considering the relevant reactions responsible for ozone production and loss.
The RealGas and RealGasH2O options of the TOUGH+ code for the simulation of coupled fluid and heat flow in tight/shale gas systems

We developed two new EOS additions to the TOUGH+ family of codes, the RealGasH2O and RealGas. The RealGasH2O EOS option describes the non-isothermal two-phase flow of water and a real gas mixture in gas reservoirs, with a particular focus in ultra-tight (such as tight-sand and shale gas) reservoirs. The gas mixture is treated as either a single-pseudo-component having a fixed composition, or as a multicomponent system composed of up to 9 individual real gases. The RealGas option has the same general capabilities, but does not include water, thus describing a single-phase, dry-gas system. In addition to the standard capabilities of all members of the TOUGH+ family of codes (fully-implicit, compositional simulators using both structured and unstructured grids), the capabilities of the two codes include coupled flow and thermal effects in porous and/or fractured media, real gas behavior, inertial (Klinkenberg) effects, full micro-flow treatment, Darcy and non-Darcy flow through the matrix and fractures of fractured media, single- and multi-component gas sorption onto the grains of the porous media following several isotherm options, discrete and fracture representation, complex matrix-fracture relationships, and porosity-permeability dependence on pressure changes. The two options allow the study of flow and transport of fluids and heat over a wide range of time frames and spatial scales not only in gas reservoirs, but also in problems of geologic storage of greenhouse gas mixtures, and of geothermal reservoirs with multi-component condensable (H"2O and CH"4) and non-condensable gas mixtures. The codes are verified against available analytical and semi-analytical solutions. Their capabilities are demonstrated in a series of problems of increasing complexity, ranging from isothermal flow in simpler 1D and 2D conventional gas reservoirs, to non-isothermal gas flow in 3D fractured shale gas reservoirs involving 4 types of fractures, micro-flow, non-Darcy flow and gas composition changes during production.
Hybrid CFx–Ag2V4O11 as a high-energy, power density cathode for application in an underwater acoustic microtransmitter

article i nfo This study demonstrates the excellent electrochemical performance of the hybrid carbon fluoride (CFx)/silver vanadium oxide (SVO)/graphene(G) cathode and its potential utilization in the Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS). The impedance increase caused by LiF formation is effectively addressed by silver metal deposition during SVO reduction. The coexistence of graphene additive reduces the initial voltage delay; thus, a prolonged operation voltage is observed with enhanced electronic conductivity, with specific capacity of ~462 mAhg �1 at 5C rate and 661 mAhg
Molecular and Anatomical Signatures of Sleep Deprivation in the Mouse Brain

Sleep deprivation (SD) leads to a suite of cognitive and behavioral impairments, and yet the molecular consequences of SD in the brain are poorly understood. Using a systematic immediate-early gene mapping to detect neuronal activation, the consequences of SD were mapped primarily to forebrain regions. Sleep deprivation was found to both induce and suppress immediate early gene expression (and thus neuronal activity) in subregions of neocortex, striatum, and other brain regions. Laser microdissection and cDNA microarrays were used to identify the molecular consequences of SD in 7 brain regions. In situ hybridization for 222 genes selected from the microarray data and other sources confirmed that robust molecular changes were largely restricted to the forebrain. Analysis of the ISH data for 222 genes (publicly accessible at http://sleep.alleninstitute.org) provided a molecular and anatomic signature of the effects of SD on the brain. The SCN and the neocortex exhibited differential regulation of the same genes, such that in the SCN genes exhibited time-of-day effects while in the neocortex, genes exhibited only SD and W effects. In the neocortex, SD activated gene expression in areal-, layer-, and cell type-specific manner. In the forebrain, SD preferentially activated excitatory neurons, as demonstrated by double-labeling, except for striatum which consists primarily of inhibitory neurons. These data provide a characterization of the anatomical and cell-type specific signatures of SD on neuronal activity and gene expression that may account for the associated cognitive and behavioral effects.
Incidence, prevalence, and hybrid approaches to calculating disability-adjusted life years

When disability-adjusted life years are used to measure the burden of disease on a population in a time interval, they can be calculated in several different ways: from an incidence, pure prevalence, or hybrid perspective. I show that these calculation methods are not equivalent and discuss some of the formal difficulties each method faces. I show that if we don’t discount the value of future health, there is a sense in which the choice of calculation method is a mere question of accounting. Such questions can be important, but they don’t raise deep theoretical concerns. If we do discount, however, choice of calculation method can change the relative burden attributed to different conditions over time. I conclude by recommending that studies involving disability-adjusted life years be explicit in noting what calculation method is being employed and in explaining why that calculation method has been chosen.
2B-5 Ultrasound Imaging with Beamforming Adapted to Target

For over fifty years adaptive beamforming (ABF) algorithms have been applied in RADAR and SONAR signal processing. These algorithms reduce the contribution of undesired off-axis signals while maintaining a desired response along a specific look direction. Typically, ABF achieves higher resolution and contrast than conventional beamforming (CBF), at the price of an increased computational load. In this paper we develop a novel ABF that can be applied to medical ultrasound, named the Time-domain optimized near-field estimator, or TONE. We performed a series of simulations using ultrasound data to test the performance of this algorithm and compare it to conventional, data independent, delay and sum beamforming. We also performed experiments using a Philips SONOS 5500. CBF was applied using the default parameters of the Philips scanner, whereas TONE was applied on single-channel, unfocused data with plane wave transmit. TONE images were reconstructed at a sampling of 67mum laterally and 19mum axially. The results obtained for a series of 5 20mum wires in a water tank show a significant improvement in spatial resolution when compared to CBF. We also analyzed the performance of TONE as a function of speed of sound errors and array sparsity, finding TONE robust to both
Comparison of implantation and pregnancy rates in African American and white women in an assisted reproductive technology practice.

Objective: To compare IVF outcomes between infertile African American and white women. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Hospital-based IVF practice. Patient(s): Women undergoing IVF procedures between November 1996 and June 2000. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcomes Measure(s): Implantation and pregnancy rates. Result(s): There were 24 African American and 273 white women ≤40 years of age who underwent 25 and 333 IVF cycles, respectively. African American women were more likely to have had tubal factor as a primary diagnosis, to have had a child, and to have undergone fewer previous assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles as compared to white women. No differences between the two groups for clinical variables were noted with the exception of body mass index (BMI [kg/m2], 27.1 in African Americans vs. 24.8 in whites). Implantation rates were higher in African American than in white women (35% vs. 23%, respectively). Pregnancy rates were 71% in African Americans and 48% in whites. After adjustment for tubal factor, BMI, and parity, the odds ratio for pregnancy in African American women versus white women increased from 2.6 to 3.3. Conclusion(s): This is the first study to demonstrate a significantly higher clinical pregnancy rate in African American women as compared to white women undergoing ART. These data strongly contradict a recent study comparing the same two groups of women undergoing ART. We urge other ART centers to report their data pertaining to race.
SKINNER AS MISSIONARY AND PROPHET: A REVIEW OF BURRHUS F. SKINNER: SHAPER OF BEHAVIOUR

Do we need another book about B. F. Skinner? According to Frederick Toates, the answer is “yes” because “there is still much to be said” (p. vii) about Skinner. In his recent biography, Burrhus F. Skinner: Shaper of Behaviour (2009), Toates attempts to integrate Skinner into the mainstream of psychology by showing areas of commonality between Skinner's radical behaviorism and subdisciplines within psychology such as cognitive, social, and biological psychology. Admirably, although in some instances understandably naively, Toates attempts to demonstrate the power of positive reinforcement to explain myriad complex behaviors, including a fairly lengthy interpretation of religious behavior. In addition, Toates credits Skinner for being ahead of his time on both social and environmental issues. Toates falters, however, in his insistence that behavior analysis still needs and can benefit from cognitive concepts. He nevertheless provides an otherwise objective and sympathetic view of Skinner the person and the behavioral science he helped to create in a book that should be informative for both behavior analysts and those outside the field.
Acute Stress Masking the Biochemical Phenotype of Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome in a Patient with a Novel Mutation in the Androgen Receptor

Hypogonadism has traditionally been classified as either hypogonadotropic or hypergonadotropic based on serum gonadotropin levels. However, when hypothalamic suppression of GnRH secretion occurs, it can mask an underlying hypergonadotropic state. In this report we document the unusual case of a 61-yr-old man with androgen insensitivity and coincidental functional hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH). Although functional HH is not a well-recognized entity in the male, major stress has been reported to cause transient suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in men. The patient in question was noted to have undervirilization, minimal pubertal development, hypogonadal testosterone, and low gonadotropin levels consistent with congenital HH during a hospital admission for myocardial infarction. However, the patient had also had surgery for hypospadias, a clinical feature not typically part of the phenotypic spectrum of congenital HH. We therefore hypothesized that the combination of acute stress an...
Is Religious Freedom Irrational? Reviewing Why Tolerate Religion? By Brian Leiter. (Princeton University Press 2013)

Is it irrational specially to protect specifically religious conscience and free exercise? Professor Brian Leiter is half right: From a secularist or even anti-religious perspective – the stance Leiter assumes to be the correct one – special solicitude for religious conscience and free exercise makes little or no sense. On Leiter’s understanding of what defines religion – religion consists of intrinsically “irrational” belief systems, “unhinged” from reason, issuing in categorical demands on action – special accommodation is indeed hard to justify. But Leiter's is a surprisingly shallow, philosophically unsophisticated understanding of religious belief. This review essay contends that religious belief, at least in certain forms, is entirely rational and reasonable and that the decision of the framing generation to protect specifically religious conscience and exercise is likewise entirely rational. This difference in philosophical perspectives goes a long way toward explaining the content as well as the premises of American constitutional religious liberty – and why they are hard for postmodern secularists to grasp. Religious freedom only makes full, rational sense on the premise that God exists (or well may); that God’s nature and character is such (or may well be) as to give rise to obligations with respect to human conduct; that the true commands of God, whenever knowable, are, in principle, prior to and superior in obligation to the commands of men; and that human civil society, acknowledging the priority of God’s true commands yet conceding the inability of human institutions to know them perfectly, must accommodate the broadest possible sphere of religious liberty, often including conduct in conflict with society’s usual rules.
Managing Operating Efficiencies of Publicly Owned Universities: American University Stochastic Frontier Estimates Using Panel Data

This paper investigates the extent of operating cost inefficiencies in the public provision of American higher education. The analysis employs panel data on American research and doctoral granting universities spanning four academic years, 2005-06 through 2008-09. Translog cost frontiers are estimated under two alternative efficiency models whereby institutional specific environmental factors affect university operating inefficiencies on the one hand and cost frontiers on the other. Results support the notion that inefficiency effects are not to be ignored in modeling the cost structure of American universities. Moreover environmental factors affect university operating efficiencies. University operating inefficiencies are found to have increased over time, but the rate of growth slowed substantially in the 2008-09 academic year. That could be an early managerial response to
Input-output representation of discrete-time dynamical systems - nonlinear ARMA models

In this paper, the normal form of the state equations is suggested as a convenient starting point for the derivation of input-output representations of discrete time nonlinear systems. In particular, it is argued that the role played by system theoretic properties such as relative degree, observability, and zero dynamics, in both representation and control, is more readily interpreted using the new representation. >
Mimicking dark energy with Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi models: Weak central singularities and critical points

There has been much debate over whether or not one could explain the observed acceleration of the Universe with inhomogeneous cosmological models, such as the spherically-symmetric Lema\^{\i}tre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) models. It has been claimed that the central observer in these models can observe a local acceleration, which would contradict general theorems. We resolve the contradiction by noting that many of the models that have been explored contain a weak singularity at the location of the observer which makes them unphysical. In the absence of this singularity, we show that LTB models must have a positive central deceleration parameter ${q}_{0}$, in agreement with the general theorems. We also show that it is possible to achieve a negative apparent deceleration parameter at nonzero redshifts in LTB models that do not contain this singularity. However, we find other singularities that tend to arise in LTB models when attempting to match luminosity distance data, and these generally limit the range of redshifts for which these models can mimic observations of an accelerating Universe. Exceptional models do exist that can extend to arbitrarily large redshift without encountering these pathologies, and we show how these may be constructed. These special models exhibit regions with negative effective equation of state parameter, which may fall below negative one, but we have failed to find any singularity-free models that agree with observations. Moreover, models based on dust-filled LTB metrics probably fail to reproduce observed properties of large scale structure.
Newsvendor Bounds and Heuristic for Optimal Policies in Serial Supply Chains

We consider the classicN-stage serial supply systems with linear costs and stationary random demands. There are deterministic transportation leadtimes between stages, and unsatisfied demands are backlogged. The optimal inventory policy for this system is known to be an echelon base-stock policy, which can be computed through minimizingN nested convex functions recursively. To identify the key determinants of the optimal policy, we develop a simple and surprisingly good heuristic. This method minimizes 2 N separate newsvendor-type cost functions, each of which uses the original problem data only. These functions are lower and upper bounds for the echelon cost functions; their minimizers form bounds for the optimal echelon base-stock levels. The heuristic is the simple average of the solution bounds. In extensive numerical experiments, the average relative error of the heuristic is 0.24%, with the maximum error less than 1.5%. The bounds and the heuristic, which can be easily obtained by simple spreadsheet calculations, enhance the accessibility and implementability of the multiechelon inventory theory. More importantly, the closed-form expressions provide an analytical tool for us to gain insights into issues such as system bottlenecks, effects of system parameters, and coordination mechanisms in decentralized systems.
Endoscopic photoconversion reveals unexpectedly broad leukocyte trafficking to and from the gut

Given mounting evidence of the importance of gut-microbiota/immune-cell interactions in immune homeostasis and responsiveness, surprisingly little is known about leukocyte movements to, and especially from, the gut. We address this topic in a minimally perturbant manner using Kaede transgenic mice, which universally express a photoconvertible fluorescent reporter. Transcutaneous exposure of the cervical lymph nodes to violet light permitted punctual tagging of immune cells specifically therein, and subsequent monitoring of their immigration to the intestine; endoscopic flashing of the descending colon allowed specific labeling of intestinal leukocytes and tracking of their emigration. Our data reveal an unexpectedly broad movement of leukocyte subsets to and from the gut at steady state, encompassing all lymphoid and myeloid populations examined. Nonetheless, different subsets showed different trafficking proclivities (e.g., regulatory T cells were more restrained than conventional T cells in their exodus from the cervical lymph nodes). The novel endoscopic approach enabled us to evidence gut-derived Th17 cells in the spleens of K/BxN mice at the onset of their genetically determined arthritis, thereby furnishing a critical mechanistic link between the intestinal microbiota, namely segmented filamentous bacteria, and an extraintestinal autoinflammatory disease.
Technology and the internationalization of policing: A comparative-historical perspective

This article analyzes theoretical and empirical aspects of the role of technology in the internationalization of the police function from the mid-19th century until World War II. The findings indicate that technological advances in communication, transportation, and criminal identification significantly facilitated the internationalization of police operations. At the same time, police institutions also held technological developments accountable for an increase in opportunities for cross-border criminality, which, in turn, justified the planning and implementation of international police strategies. The article concludes with theoretical reflections on the relative autonomy of technology as a facilitating factor in the internationalization of policing.
Intracellular pH Regulation in Cultured Astrocytes from Rat Hippocampus : II. Electrogenic Na/HCO3 Cotransport

In the preceding paper (Bevensee, M.O., R.A. Weed, and W.F. Boron. 1997. 110: 453-465.), we showed that a Na-driven influx of HCO causes the increase in intracellular pH (pH) observed when astrocytes cultured from rat hippocampus are exposed to 5% CO/17 mM HCO. In the present study, we used the pH-sensitive fluorescent indicator 2',7'-biscarboxyethyl-5,6-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) and the perforated patch-clamp technique to determine whether this transporter is a Na-driven Cl-HCO exchanger, an electrogenic Na/HCO cotransporter, or an electroneutral Na/HCO cotransporter. To determine if the transporter is a Na-driven Cl-HCO exchanger, we depleted the cells of intracellular Cl by incubating them in a Cl-free solution for an average of approximately 11 min. We verified the depletion with the Cl-sensitive dye -(6-methoxyquinolyl)acetoethyl ester (MQAE). In Cl-depleted cells, the pH still increases after one or more exposures to CO/HCO. Furthermore, the pH decrease elicited by external Na removal does not require external Cl. Therefore, the transporter cannot be a Na-driven Cl-HCO exchanger. To determine if the transporter is an electrogenic Na/ HCO cotransporter, we measured pH and plasma membrane voltage (V) while removing external Na, in the presence/absence of CO/HCO and in the presence/absence of 400 microM 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid (DIDS). The CO/HCO solutions contained 20% CO and 68 mM HCO, pH 7.3, to maximize the HCO flux. In pH experiments, removing external Na in the presence of CO/HCO elicited an equivalent HCO efflux of 281 microM s. The HCO influx elicited by returning external Na was inhibited 63% by DIDS, so that the predicted DIDS-sensitive V change was 3.3 mV. Indeed, we found that removing external Na elicited a DIDS-sensitive depolarization that was 2.6 mV larger in the presence than in the absence of CO/ HCO. Thus, the Na/HCO cotransporter is electrogenic. Because a cotransporter with a Na:HCO stoichiometry of 1:3 or higher would predict a net HCO efflux, rather than the required influx, we conclude that rat hippocampal astrocytes have an electrogenic Na/HCO cotransporter with a stoichiometry of 1:2.
Axons regulate Schwann cell expression of the major myelin and NGF receptor genes.

The elaboration of myelin by Schwann cells is triggered by contact with appropriate peripheral axons. Among the most prominent features of this interaction is the activation and high-level expression of the genes encoding the major myelin proteins P0 and Myelin Basic Protein (MBP). Although the initial induction of these genes is thought to be dependent upon contact with axons, neither the inductive signal of the axon nor the receptor and associated second messenger system of the Schwann cell that transduces this signal has been identified. In this report, we demonstrate that expression of the P0 and MBP genes in rapidly myelinating Schwann cells is sharply reduced upon withdrawal of axons, but that this expression can be substantially restored by agents that raise the intracellular concentration of cyclic AMP. We further show that Schwann cell expression of a third gene, i.e. that encoding the Nerve Growth Factor receptor, is strongly activated by the withdrawal of axons, and that this activation is largely independent of cAMP.
Internal models underlying fingertip force control during object manipulation in humans

Since sensory information pertaining to an object's weight and weight distribution is not available until after an object has been grasped and lifted from its support surface, skillful manipulation requires predictive scaling of fingertip forces. The predictive control is based on internal models of the object formed during prior manipulatory experience. The present study investigates the extent to which such predictive control achieved with practice of one hand can be generalized to the contralateral hand. Subjects grasped and lifted an object instrumented with force transducers. The object's center of mass (CoM) was displaced 2 cm laterally from the object's center, requiring asymmetric partitioning of tangential force development to prevent tilting. They first performed five lifts using their right hand with the CoM located on a given side with a given weight. Then the subjects translated the object the left side of the body and performed one lift with the left hand. The procedure was repeated five times with the CoM located on each side of the object and with a total object weight of 400 g and 800 g. On the last pre-translation lift, the rate of tangential force development was appropriately higher in the digit opposing the CoM (p 0.05). Nevertheless the force rates were higher in both digits for lifts with the heavier (800g) object (p<0.05). The results suggest there is a dichotomy between the generalizability of predictive control based on the object's weight and CoM. We propose that the control may be hierarchical in nature, with parameters that can be globalized representing higher level control and those that cannot (e.g., individuated digit control) representing a lower level control.