cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Translational science in ophthalmology.

Over the past decade, a new discipline in biomedical research has emerged. Translational science, as it has been termed, is concerned with the application of laboratory or “bench” science to the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. The importance and potential impact of this new discipline for collaboration, education, funding and public interest have been widely discussed.1 Moreover; the role of well-informed clinicians, invested in promoting as well as utilizing new research, is clearly recognized as crucial for the communal advancement of medicine and continued support of basic science.2 To meet these emergent objectives for vision scientists, Journal of Ophthalmic and Vision Research is establishing a new section entitled Translational Eye Research, to stimulate communication between basic scientists and clinicians. Basic research is expanding scientific knowledge at a phenomenal rate through in vitro experiments, investigations of model organisms and using cross-discipline methodologies. Yet, the development of improved clinical applications utilizing this information is complex and unpredictable. Progress does occur via studies designed to understand a specific disease or treatments developed according to defined strategies. Often, however, novel concepts arise in ways not readily connected to an obvious clinical problem. The language and ideas, not to mention the methods of investigation, can be foreign and impenetrable to those not yet experienced with the diverse experimental and biological systems in use today. The fact that many breakthroughs occur outside the realms of visual system research presents a severe and mounting challenge for ophthalmologists. This new section will meet the needs for the vision community by presenting up to date reviews in translational science. The articles will have two goals: first, to review an area of basic research at a level accessible to clinicians and second, to highlight clinical applications in ophthalmology. The ultimate goal is to present concepts and methods that may have applications not yet realized for treating patients. We hope to draw attention to basic science areas with potential for further development or exploration in the eye and ocular diseases. The goal is to stimulate the clinical audience to investigate unexpected avenues for possible applications in their own specialty and to expose basic researchers to opportunities for applying their expertise to clinical problems.
Evolutionary learning of virtual team member preferences

Virtual team members do not have a complete understanding of other team member (agent) preferences, which makes team coordination somewhat difficult. Traditional approaches for team coordination require a lot of inter-agent electronic communication and often result in wasted effort. Methods that reduce inter-agent communication and conflicts are likely to increase productivity of virtual teams. In this research, we propose an evolutionary genetic algorithm based intelligent agent that will learn team member preferences from past actions and develop an agent-coordination schedule by minimizing schedule conflicts between different members serving on a virtual team. Since the intelligent agent learns individual team member preferences, the potential for conflict is greatly reduced, which in turn results in lower inter-agent communication cost and increased team productivity.
Computer Access and Computer Use for Science Performance of Racial and Linguistic Minority Students.

This study examined the effects of computer access and computer use on the science achievement of elementary school students, with focused attention on the effects for racial and linguistic minority students. The study used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) database and conducted statistical analyses with proper weights and design-effect adjustments. After controlling for age, gender, prior science performance, and family socioeconomic level, the effects of computer access and computer use on English Language Learners (ELL) and on English-speaking students were examined and compared by subdividing the participants into four racial groups: Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Asian. The results revealed that access to home computers and purposeful computer use had positive effects on the science performance of English-speaking students. In contrast, mere frequent computer use by English-speaking students yielded negative effects. Home computer access for ELL students indicated negative effects, especially for Hispanic ELL students. Frequent computer use also indicated negative effects for African-American and Hispanic English-speaking students, and for Asian ELL students. These results enhance our understanding of computer use in regard to science learning, and provide implications for future practice.
Prices and quality of broadband in Latin America: benchmarking and trends

Fil: Galperin, Hernan. Universidad de San Andres. Centro de Estudios de Tecnologia y Sociedad; Argentina.
Non-gradient methods in MDO - Status and future directions

A number of multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) problems are characterized by the presence of discrete and integer design variables, over and beyond the more traditional continuous variable problems. In some applications, the number of design variables may be quite large. Additionally, the design space in such problems may be nonconvex, and in some situations, even disjointed. The use of conventional mathematical programming methods in such problems is fraught with hazards. First, these gradient-based methods cannot be used directly in the presence of discrete variables. Their use is facilitated by creating multiple equivalent continuous variable problems; in the presence of high-dimensionality, the number of such problems to be solved can be quite large. Finally, it must be borne in mind that these methods have a propensity to convergence to a relative optimum closest to the starting point, and this is a major weakness in the presence of multimodality in the design space. This paper focuses on non-gradient optimization methods such as simulated annealing (SA), and genetic algorithms (GA), Tabu search (TS) and rulebased expert systems. It also examines issues pertinent to using these methods in MDO problems.
Numerical Investigation of Fluidic Enhanced Chevrons for Noise Reduction in Supersonic Jets

Large-eddy simulations of highly over-expanded jet flows from a convergent-divergent nozzle with chevrons coupled with fluidic injection, referred to as fluidic enhanced chevrons, have been carried out. The mean flow and turbulence quantities of both baseline nozzle and the nozzle with fluidic enhanced chevrons agree well with the available PIV data. Chevrons alone cannot induce streamwise vortices effectively for this overexpanded condition. However, fluidic enhanced chevrons generate vortices more effectively than fluidic injection or chevrons alone. Fluidic enhanced chevrons increase shear-layer spreading and thus reduce shock-cell size and spacing. They eliminate the screech tone very effectively and reduce the near-field shockassociated noise area. To increase the turbulence level at the nozzle exit, small amounts of pressure perturbations inside the nozzle are used in simulations. It is found that if there is a strong screech tone, increasing the inflow turbulence level increases the jet core length and reduce the screech intensity. On the other hand, if the screech tone is eliminated, such as by using fluidic enhanced chevrons, increasing the turbulence level at the nozzle exit does not increase the jet core length, rather, it reduces the jet core length slightly because of the increased mixing. The results presented suggest that there is a strong correlation between the screech tone and the coherent structure in the shear layer.
The Common Good in a Secular Society: The Relevance of a Roman Catholic Notion to the Healthcare Allocation Debate

This essay analyzes Roman Catholic social teaching on the right to health care and the legitimacy of healthcare rationing. It considers that discussion at two levels: (1) the specific warrants that undergrid key terms; and (2) the accessibility and applicability of those warrants to policy choices in a secular society. The essay concludes with a number of broader reflections meant to reserve an appropriate place for religious voices in the process of policy-making, as distinguished from its justification.
245 OUTCOME OF EXTREMELY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS TREATED WITH SURFACTANT (CUROSURF) AND NASAL CONTINUOUS POSITIVE ARIWAY PRESSURE: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS.

Recent studies have shown a reduction in the need for mechanical ventilation in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants who are treated with surfactant followed by nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP). However, whether this therapy reduces the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is uncertain. As we have been using this approach in ELBW infants we conducted a retrospective analysis using electronic data and hospital records of all infants at 500 to 1250 g who survived to 7 days of age from 1/5/2005 to 2/28/2006 (n = 84), of whom 68 infants (BW −0.91 ± 0.19 kg, GA 26 ± 2 weeks) met the criteria for inclusion. Infants who did not receive surfactant were excluded from the study. Time of intubation, dosing of surfactant, and time of first extubation were recorded. If infants required reintubation, the timing of first reintubation was recorded, as well as the time of final extubation. Patients were grouped by those extubated to high-flow nasal cannula, NCPAP, and those that required reintubation. Indication for reintubation was recorded. Outcome data were collected looking at oxygen need at 36 weeks adjusted age (BPD), death, as well as secondary outcomes, including IVH greater than grade 2, ROP, NEC, and PDA requiring treatment. The results are shown in the Table. Conclusion In our cohort of ELBW infants, 58% of infants did not require reintubation. In this group, the incidence of BPD was significantly reduced. Secondary outcomes (ROP, IVH, NEC) were statistically significant between the groups except for PDA and PDA treatment (Fisher9s exact test).
The role of exercise testing in the identification of patients with silent myocardial ischemia.

Is the exercise test a reasonable way to identify patients who might have silent myocardial ischemia? In this article, the author discusses the prevalence of an abnormal ST-segment response in asymptomatic persons, reviews Bayes theorem, and attempts to present guidelines as to which asymptomatic individuals might be tested.
The role of hydrogen peroxide production and catalase in hepatic ethanol metabolism.

Catalase is present in high concentrations in liver (Sumner & Dounce, 1937), and the existence of its complex with hydrogen peroxide has been previously demonstrated in bacterial systems (Chance, 1952) as well as in liver (Sies and Chance, 1970).
Reducing CVBEM Approximation Error

In the previous chapters, the complex variable boundary element method (CVBEM) is used to develop an approximation function \(\hat{\omega }\left( z \right)\) which is analytic in the interior of the region Ω ⋃ Γ I P, where the boundary Γ is a simply connected contour. The function \(\hat{\omega }\left( z \right)\), therefore, exactly satisfies the Laplace equation in Ω and generally approximates the boundary conditions on Γ. Let ω(z) be the solution of the boundary value problem (Laplace equation) on Ω ⋃ Γ. Then an error function is defined on Ω ⋃ Γ by e(z) = ω(z) − \(\hat{\omega }\left( z \right)\). Should e(z) = 0 on Γ, then \(\hat{\omega }\left( z \right)\) = ω(z) on ⋃ Ω Γ.
Suppression of Murine Platelet Activation by the β Isoform of the Catalytic Subunit of Protein Phosphatase 2B

Abstract 190 Signal transduction mediated by the kinases and phosphatases are critical for platelet activation at the site of vascular injury. Compared to the kinases, a role for phosphatases in platelet activation is less understood. Our previous studies have focused on the roles of serine/threonine protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and 2A (PP2A) in regulating integrin α IIb β 3 functions. However, platelets also express protein phosphatase 2B (PP2B) and its role in platelet function is unexplored. PP2B-Aα and PP2B-Aβ constitute two ubiquitous isoforms of the PP2B catalytic subunit. Due to the general concerns regarding the specificity of the PP2B inhibitors, we have utilized mice deficient in the β isoform of the catalytic subunit of PP2B (PP2B-Aβ) to explore the role of PP2B in platelet functions. Mice lacking PP2B-Aα are short lived and are not considered in this study. Loss of PP2B-Aβ did not cause any compensatory increase in the PP2B-Aα levels in platelets. Compared to the wild type (WT) platelets, PP2B-Aβ −/− platelets displayed increased aggregation in response to low doses of protease-activated receptor 4-activating peptide (PAR4-AP), ADP, collagen and collagen related peptide (CRP). Enhanced α granule secretion in response to the low doses of PAR4-AP and CRP was noticed in PP2B-Aβ −/− platelets, relative to the WT platelets. Functions regulated by the outside-in α IIb β 3 integrin signaling like adhesion to immobilized fibrinogen and fibrin clot retraction were enhanced in the PP2B-Aβ −/− platelets. These studies indicate that PP2B-Aβ negatively regulate platelet functions in vitro . Consistent with these observations, PP2B-Aβ −/− mice exhibited a shorter tail bleeding time compared to the WT mice. In a FeCl 3 induced endothelial denudation injury model, PP2B-Aβ −/− mice showed decreased time to occlusion in the carotid artery, and reduced number of emboli compared to the WT mice. These studies indicate that PP2B-Aβ suppress multiple murine platelet functions that contribute to an occlusive thrombi. Unlike a positive thrombus promoting role for the PP1cγ that was noticed in our previous study, PP2B-Aβ suppressed murine platelet activation, suggesting that different subtypes of Ser/Thr phosphatases have distinct roles in murine platelet activation. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Is Go Set a Watchman Authentic

For many lawyers, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird represents an important goal to which law and its practitioners should strive. The novel describes the struggle to achieve justice for a black man in the face of deep-seated institutional racism. It stands as a beloved work of literature, widely read and deeply appreciated. Therefore, any work that Lee would have written after To Kill a Mockingbird would have sparked tremendous interest, given the beloved place her first novel holds. But many other questions have arisen since the release of Go Set a Watchman. This essay aims to address how the authenticity of the novel should be weighed by using the tools of art historians and the art market.
Immune microenvironment in microsatellite-instable endometrial cancers: Hereditary or sporadic origin matters

Purpose: Recent studies show that colorectal tumors with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) have increased immunogenicity and response to immunotherapy compared with microsatellite-stable (MSS) tumors. It is not yet clear whether MSI-H endometrial cancer may also benefit from these therapies. It is also unknown whether immune response is equivalent in MSI-H endometrial cancer with sporadic or inherited Lynch syndrome origins.Experimental Design: Multiplexed fluorescent IHC was used to compare matched MSI-H (n = 60) and MSS (n = 96) endometrial cancer specimens by evaluating immune cell populations in tumor and stroma compartments. Sporadic MSI-H and Lynch syndrome-associated (LS) MSI-H endometrial cancers were also directly compared.Results: Increased immune cells were present in stroma of MSI-H endometrial cancer compared with MSS, including granzyme B+ cells, activated CTLs (CD8+granzyme B+), and PD-L1+ cells. Granzyme B+ cells and activated CTLs were also increased in the tumor compartment of MSI-H endometrial cancers. Comparing sporadic and LS MSI-H endometrial cancer showed distinct differences in immune cell populations, indicating that mechanisms underlying microsatellite instability alter immune response. Specifically, LS MSI-H endometrial cancer showed increased CD8+ cells and activated CTLs in stroma, with reduced macrophages in stroma and tumor compared with sporadic MSI-H. Sporadic MSI-H had increased PD-L1+ macrophages in stroma and tumor compared with LS MSI-H endometrial cancer.Conclusions: MSI-H endometrial cancer has increased immune cell infiltration compared with MSS endometrial cancer and the hereditary or sporadic origin of microsatellite instability impacts immune response. Clinical trials to determine the role of immunotherapy in patients with MSI-H endometrial cancer must evaluate Lynch syndrome-related and sporadic MSI-H tumors separately. Clin Cancer Res; 23(15); 4473-81. ©2017 AACR.
Influence of microstructure on the durability of gadolinium zirconate thermal barrier coatings using APS & SPPS processes

Abstract Excellent CMAS resistance in Gadolinium Zirconate, Gd2Zr2O7 (GZO) coatings is attributed to vigorous reactions between the CMAS melt and the GZO that form secondary phases that rapidly crystallize and block further infiltration of CMAS. In this study, Gd2Zr2O7 (GZO) coatings were deposited using air plasma spraying (APS) and solution precursor plasma spraying (SPPS) processes. The relative performance of GZO in furnace thermal cycle tests with and without CMAS was determined. SPPS GZO TBCs showed 8 × longer lives in thermal cycling but 10 × shorter lives in CMAS testing, as compared to APS GZO TBCs. Superior performance of the SPPS coatings without CMAS can be attributed to characteristic stress relieving vertical cracks in the microstructure, which are absent in APS TBCs. These vertical cracks also act as channels to CMAS melt infiltration, which causes the loss of strain compliance and hence poorer CMAS resistance. X-ray diffraction of the failed SPPS GZO coatings revealed the formation of apatite phases, but the majority of vertical cracks were not sealed. The denser than typical APS coatings on the other hand effectively blocked the CMAS infiltration with CMAS arrest observed at a depth of ~ 25 μm. The SPPS results suggest that the width of vertical cracks is an important parameter for sealing and hence impeding CMAS infiltration Sealing was observed in cracks with
Transmission and reception by UWB antennas

Broadband antennas are very useful in many applications as it must operate over a wide range of frequencies. The objective of this paper is to study the operation of various well-known antennas over a broad frequency range. The response is converted to the time domain. It is seen that all of the antennas show resonant properties and numerous reflections exist in the output waveform.
High Assurance Software Lessons and Techniques

To understand the principles needed to manage security in FPGA designs, this chapter presents lessons learned from the development of high assurance systems. These principles include risk assessment, threat models, policy enforcement, lifecycle management, assessment criteria, configuration control, and development environments.
The amino acid composition of hemoglobin. II. Analytical technics.

A detailed description of our current methods of "fingerprinting" and of amino acid analysis of the hemoglobins has been presented. They differ in several respects from comparable technics used elsewhere. Preliminary results of analyses of several human hemoglobins are briefly described.
To Treat or Not to Treat: Early Withdrawal of Therapy and the Limits of Prognostic Ability

The development of computed tomography (CT), simple classifications of the severity of traumatic brain injury such as the Glasgow Coma Scale, monitoring of intracranial pressure, and the concept of prevention of secondary brain injury have helped advance the ability to prognosticate and improve outcomes after traumatic brain injury. However, the art of determining prognosis after severe traumatic brain injury remains imprecise in many situations, leading to controversy over which patients may benefit from aggressive treatment and which patients may suffer futile outcomes despite intervention. A 2005 survey found that 80% of physicians thought that an accurate prognostic assessment was required for decisions on whether or not to withdraw treatment, but only around a third felt that they could accurately assess prognosis.
Life cycle considerations of solvents

The most sustainable solvent is the solvent that is not used. However, avoiding the use of solvents is oftentimes not possible, and efforts are needed to minimize their environmental footprint. This includes both minimizing the amount of solvent used and minimizing the impacts across the solvent's life cycle, which include raw material extraction and production, manufacturing, transportation, use, recycling, and final disposal. Evaluating solvents without using a life cycle approach would underestimate impacts, conceal trade-offs, and could result in regrettable substitution. This article discusses key aspects to be considered when evaluating and selecting solvents using a life cycle assessment approach.
High‐Dose Gabapentin for the Treatment of Severe Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis

STUDY OBJECTIVE Gabapentin has been proved to be beneficial in promoting abstinence, decreasing alcohol cravings, and improving mood and sleep quality when given at higher doses; however, data are limited regarding the efficacy and safety of using high-dose gabapentin as part of the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of high-dose gabapentin on benzodiazepine requirements, alcohol withdrawal symptoms, and hospital length of stay in patients hospitalized with AWS. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Large academic medical center. PATIENTS All adults presenting to the emergency department between January 2015 and April 2018 with a diagnosis of severe AWS (Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol Scale, Revised [CIWA-Ar] score ≥ 15) and prescribed the institution's alcohol withdrawal agitated delirium protocol were eligible for inclusion in the study. Of these, 50 patients who received high-dose gabapentin (≥ 1800 mg/day) in the first 48 hours of hospital admission (treatment group) were propensity score-matched to 50 patients who did not receive gabapentin (control group). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Patients who received high-dose gabapentin required a significantly lower overall amount of benzodiazepines (mean ± SD 109.5 ± 53.4 mg vs 88.5 ± 35.6 mg [lorazepam equivalents], p=0.023) and had a significantly lower mean CIWA-Ar score (10.1 ± 4.7 vs 7.7 ± 3.9, p=0.010) and maximum CIWA-Ar score (16.0 ± 7.0 vs 12.6 ± 6.1, p=0.016) on day 3 of hospitalization. The high-dose gabapentin regimen was well tolerated, without an increased risk of oversedation, compared with the control group (Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale score < -1: 34% in the treatment group vs 20% in the control group, p=0.115). Patients receiving high-dose gabapentin had a shorter length of hospital stay (7.4 ± 4.0 days vs 6.0 ± 2.6 days, p=0.034) and increased likelihood of being discharged home (66% vs 88%, p=0.009) compared with the control group. CONCLUSION Early initiation of high-dose gabapentin was associated with a significant reduction in benzodiazepine exposure, faster stabilization of alcohol withdrawal-related symptoms, and shorter hospital length of stay. Future studies evaluating gabapentin's effect on long-term safety and hospital readmission are warranted.
Low Power Computing and Simultaneous Electro-Optical/Radar Data Processing using IBM’s NS16e 16-chip Neuromorphic Hardware

For the first time ever, advanced machine learning (ML) compute architectures, techniques, and methods were demonstrated on United States Geological Survey (USGS) optical imagery and Department of Defense (DoD) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, simultaneously, using IBM’s new NS16e neurosynaptic processor board comprised of 16 TrueNorth chips. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Information Directorate Advanced Computing and Communications Division continues to develop and demonstrate new bio-inspired computing algorithms and architectures, designed to provide advanced, ultra-low power, ground and airborne High-Performance Computing (HPC) solutions to meet operational and tactical, real-time processing needs for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions on small form factor hardware, and in Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) constrained environments. With an average throughput of 16,000 inferences per second, the system provided a processing efficiency of 1,066 inferences per Watt. The NS16e power utilization never exceeded 15 Watts for this application. The contribution of power consumption from TrueNorth processors was bound to less than 5.5 Watts.
Forecasting, hindcasting and feature selection of ocean waves via recurrent and sequence-to-sequence networks

Abstract This article explores the concepts of ocean wave multivariate multistep forecasting, reconstruction and feature selection. We introduce recurrent neural network frameworks, integrated with Bayesian hyperparameter optimization and Elastic Net methods. We consider both short- and long-term forecasts and reconstruction, for significant wave height and output power of the ocean waves. Sequence-to-sequence neural networks are being developed for the first time to reconstruct the missing characteristics of ocean waves based on information from nearby wave sensors. For the case of significant wave height reconstruction, we show the superiority of the proposed methods on a well-studied dataset considering several error metrics. We design a new case study based on measurement stations along the east coast of the United States and investigate the integration of feature selection concept into the presented models. Comparisons substantiate the benefit of utilizing Elastic Net. Moreover, case study results indicate that when the number of features is considerable, having deeper structures improves the performance.
A Distributed Lumped Parameter Model of Blood Flow

We propose a distributed lumped parameter (DLP) modeling framework to efficiently compute blood flow and pressure in vascular domains. This is achieved by developing analytical expressions describing expected energy losses along vascular segments, including from viscous dissipation, unsteadiness, flow separation, vessel curvature and vessel bifurcations. We apply this methodology to solve for unsteady blood flow and pressure in a variety of complex 3D image-based vascular geometries, which are typically approached using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The proposed DLP framework demonstrated consistent agreement with CFD simulations in terms of flow rate and pressure distribution, with mean errors less than 7% over a broad range of hemodynamic conditions and vascular geometries. The computational cost of the DLP framework is orders of magnitude lower than the computational cost of CFD, which opens new possibilities for hemodynamics modeling in timely decision support scenarios, and a multitude of applications of imaged-based modeling that require ensembles of numerical simulations.
Resident involvement in the prostatic urethral lift: implementing innovative technology in an academic setting

Adoption of the prostatic urethral lift (PUL) as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia highlights the importance of training residents with novel technology without compromising patient care. This study examines the effect of resident involvement during PUL on patient and procedural outcomes. Retrospective chart review was conducted on all consecutive PUL cases performed by a single academic urologist between October 2017 and November 2019. Trainees in post-graduate year (PGY) 1-3 are considered junior residents, while those in PGY 4-6 are senior residents. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and quality of life (QOL) scores were used to measure outcomes. Simple and mixed-effects linear regression models were used to compare differences. There were 110 patients with a median age of 66.4 years. Residents were involved in 73 cases (66.4%), and senior residents were involved in 31 of those cases. Resident involvement was not associated with adverse perioperative outcomes with respect to the number of implants fired, the percentage of implants successfully placed, or the postoperative catheterization rate. After adjustment for confounding factors, junior residents were associated with significantly longer case length compared to the attending alone (+12.6 min, P = 0.003) but senior residents were not (+2.4 min, P = 0.59). IPSS and QOL scores were not significantly affected by resident involvement (P = 0.12 and P = 0.21, respectively). The presence of surgeons-in-training, particularly those in the early stages, prolongs PUL case length but does not appear to have an adverse impact on patient outcomes.
First Report of Macrophomina phaseolina, Fusarium brachygibbosum, and Lasiodiplodia theobromae Causing Fungal Watermelon Vine Decline in Southwest and West-Central Florida

Wilt and vine decline symptoms were observed on watermelon plants in Glades and Hardee Counties in Florida in spring 2017 that resembled viral watermelon vine decline caused by squash vein yellowin...
10 – BITING MIDGES (Ceratopogonidae)

Biting midges are minute blood-sucking flies. They are commonly known as “no-see-ums” owing to their small size and the fact that they often go unnoticed despite the discomforting bites, which they cause. There are 78 genera and 4000 described species of biting midges. Ceratopogonid larvae are typically long and slender, ranging from 2─5 mm in length when mature. Adult females typically require a blood meal to develop their eggs. Some are autogenous and carry over enough nutrients from the larval stage to develop eggs during the first gonotrophic cycle without feeding on blood. Ceratopogonid larvae develop in a wide range of aquatic and semiaquatic habitats. Biting midges are most abundant in proximity to productive breeding sites. They are annoying pests for humans and both domestic and wild animals. They also serve as vectors of a number of viruses, protozoans, and nematodes. Among the more important viral diseases are Oropouche fever in humans, bluetongue disease and epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in ruminants, and African horsesickness (AHS) in equines. Blood protozoans that are transmitted by biting midges cause diseases in poultry; and certain nematodes are the cause of mansonellosis in humans and onchocerciasis in various domestic and wild animals. . Proper maintenance of farm ponds and fluctuation of the water level in dairy ponds and waste lagoons helps to reduce the number of adult biting by midges.
A PLZT optical phase modulator and its applications

An electrooptic phase modulator was designed and fabricated, using the quadratic electrooptic effect in PLZT (lead lanthanum zirconate titanate) ceramic of composition 10/65/35. The modulator can be operated at either the fundamental or double frequency of the AC signal driver. The modulator proved effective as a phase modulation device in a phase-detection-based measurement of a small birefringence shift in thin-film materials. >
Liquid chromatographic determination of indolidan and its dehydro metabolite in plasma. Use of the Varian AASP for solid-phase extraction.

Abstract A method is described for the determination of indolidan and its dehydro metabolite in human plasma. Two procedures are given, one manual and one which is semi-automated by use of the Varian AASP® (Automated Analytical Sample Processor). The method involves solid-phase extraction to isolate the drug, metabolite, and an internal standard from plasma. The manual procedure requires elution of the analytes from the extraction column with methanol, evaporation of the methanol to dryness, and reconstitution in mobile phase prior to injection into a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic system. Using the AASP® (semi-automated procedure), the analytes are eluted from the extraction column directly into the chromatographic system, resulting in substantial savings in sample preparation time. The limit of detection for both drug and metabolite is 0.25 ng/ml in plasma. Detection was made by ultraviolet absorbance, using wavelength programming to optimize the sensitivity of the assay for each compound.
Guidelines for plunge needle recording for effective detection of purkinje activation.

� Abstract—Direct recording of Purkinje fiber activity may lead to a better understanding of the role of the specialized conduction system in pathological cardiac conditions. Two studies were conducted in pigs to determine guidelines for effective plunge needle recording techniques. In the first experiment, Purkinje fiber activations were recorded at 16 KHz with 3 bipolar electrodes (2 mm spacing) on epoxy plunge needles, and were later lowpass filtered and downsampled to determine the rate required for effective identification of Purkinje activation. Purkinje spikes were identifiable at sampling rates of 4 KHz and greater, but were not easily distinguished at sampling rates of 2 KHz or less. In the second experiment, 4 plunge needles with 15 electrodes (1 mm spacing) were inserted 8 times into different locations around the left ventricle. Unipolar (15 per needle) and bipolar (14 per needle) signals were recorded simultaneously at a sampling rate of 8 KHz. Purkinje activations were identified in 13/32 plunge needle sites. Of the 13 sites with identified Purkinje activations, 10 were within 2 mm of the endocardium. Bipolar recordings demonstrated Purkinje potentials that were 13% of the amplitude of the following myocardial activation, while unipolar recordings from the same electrodes recorded Purkinje potentials that were only 5% of the amplitude of the following myocardial activations. Three guidelines were developed for effective Purkinje fiber recording: 1) use a minimum sampling rate of 4 KHz., 2) record near the endocardium, and 3) use bipolar rather than unipolar recording electrodes.
The determination of ion association constants from cation exchange measurements—I: The cadmium chloride and cadmium bromide systems

Abstract Studies of ion association reactions involving cadmium bromide and cadmium chloride have been made using cation exchange equilibrium measurements over the temperature range 0–98°. The cadmium chloride ion pair formation constants increase with temperature over the entire temperature range while those of cadmium bromide initially decrease and then increase at temperatures above about 60°. This results in a change in sign of the value of ΔH ° for the bromide ion association constant as the temperature is increased. Values of both the formation constants and enthalpies of formation for those ions agree with those found in the literature at 25°.
The Effect of Severe Stress on Early Brain Development, Attachment, and Emotions : A Psychoanatomical Formulation

Child abuse is the most extreme form of stress in childhood and adolescence, and has severe effects on the child's development. Limbic nuclei and circuitry development are especially vulnerable to child abuse and neglect during the first year of life. Development at the neuronal level can be severely disturbed by trauma during early infancy, resulting in maladaptive synaptic formation, impeding experience-expectant brain development. Development of basic emotions may favor the development of negative instead of positive emotions. The new concept of psychoanatomical formulation is introduced. A case vignette is presented and analyzed, based on the disturbed neuroanatomy underlying symptom expression.
X: A Case Study of a Swedish Neo-Nazi and His Reintegration into Swedish Society

This article provides a case study of a Swedish neo-Nazi and the reintegration program being provided to him. During an extensive interview that took place over two days, he told a researcher that he was interested in having a violent adventure, and that he was drawn to Nazi symbols and history more than their creed. In comparison with ordinary crime, terrorist crime is quite rare, and access to detailed case studies is rarer still, making the development of a prospective risk-assessment instrument extremely difficult. Researchers' “thick descriptions” of their encounters with terrorists can help us to develop putative risk factors which can then be tested against controls. The article concludes by arguing that just as there is no single pathway into or out of terrorism, there can be no single reintegration program. A series of thick descriptions is a first step toward understanding what leads individuals into and out of terrorism. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Programmable Control of Column Selectivity for High-Speed GC

A tandem-column ensemble consisting of two capillary columns with different stationary-phase chemistries and computer-controlled carrier-gas pressure at the column junction point is used to change the ensemble selectivity on-the-fly during a separation. When the pressure at the column junction point is changed, differential changes occur in the carrier gas velocities in the two columns. This changes the relative contribution that each column makes to the ensemble selectivity. This programmable selectivity control is applied to the problem of high-speed, isothermal GC analysis of volatile organic compound (VOC) mixtures. For the ensemble configuration described here, the pressure control system provides over 200 computer-selected junction-point pressures in 0.1 psi steps. Repeatability typically is ±0.01 psi. This provides for very stable retention patterns. The relatively large dead volume in the controller is managed by the use of a pneumatic vent line. The vent line restriction is set to give pressure s...
Drugs of abuse and HIV—a perspective

Abstract HIV and drugs of abuse have each been implicated as promoters of human organ specific diseases which include the heart, kidney, lung, CNS etc. Whether the drugs of abuse directly and/or indirectly increase the susceptibility of HIV-1induced pathology and whether the drugs of abuse and HIV effects are cumulative and/or synergistic remain to be established. The scope of the studies that are needed to address this issue and the limitations inherent in such studies are summarized below.
An ultra-broadband compact mm-wave butler matrix in CMOS for array-based MIMO systems

This paper presents the design scheme of an ultra-broadband compact mm-wave Butler Matrix. The design employs new transformer-based swapped-port couplers and lumped LC-based π-network phase shifters to achieve an extremely compact chip size and ultra-broad bandwidth. This scheme is implemented as a 4×4 Butler Matrix in a standard 65nm CMOS technology with a core area of 0.335×0.215 mm2 and a broad bandwidth of 9.8 GHz with the center frequency of 63 GHz. This Butler Matrix design also achieves small insertion loss of 2.77 dB and high-quality matching among the ports with less than 0.6 dB amplitude mismatch and less than 5° phase imbalance at 63 GHz. Based on the measured S-parameters, the four concurrent electrical array patterns of the Butler Matrix achieve its array peak-to-null ratio of better than 17dB between 57 GHz and 67 GHz.
Synthesis and NMR characterization of the alternating copolymer of methyl α-fluoroacrylate with styrene

Alternating copolymers of methyl α-fluoroacrylate (MFA) with styrene (S), α-deuteriostyrene and β,β-dideuteriostyrene were prepared at −15°C using ethyl aluminium sesquichloride as a complexing agent. The 300 MHz 1H, 20 MHz 13C, 75 MHz 13C, and 282 MHz 19F NMR spectra of the copolymers were recorded and analyzed to obtain information about their stereochemical structures. The coisotacticity parameter of poly(MFA-alt-S) was determined to be 0.66.
On the best use of trade controls in the presence of foreign market power

This paper derives optimum tariffs for a country whose trading partner always exploits its own market power but assumes naively that the home country will leave its restriction unchanged. It then shows that a country which is a monopolist or monopsonist will always prefer its best price limit (price floor or ceiling) to its best tariff and prefer free trade to any quota. However, a duopsonist or duopolist will prefer its best quota to its best tariff and free trade to any price limit. Finally, the best import or export tariff of a country which fears retaliation may be negative.
EFFECT OF CHLORPROMAZINE ON THE RESPONSE PATTERNS OF HYPOTHALAMIC UNITS.

Abstract The effect of chlorpromazine (1 mg/kg i.v.) on the activity of single units in the lateral hypothalamus and on their responses to reticular and to amygdaloid stimulation was studied in cats immobilized with decamethonium. Spontaneous rate of firing of the lateral hypothalamic units was significantly lower after chlorpromazine pretreatment. The influence of repetitive reticular stimulation was examined on 102 units in the controls and on 110 units after chlorpromazine administration; of these, 39·2 per cent and 43·6 per cent respectively, were responsive. The effects of repetitive amygdaloid stimulation were observed on the activity of 49 control units and on 88 units after drug administration; of these, 32·6 per cent and 21·6 per cent respectively responded to stimulation of the amygdala. The units showing a response to stimulation of either the reticular or the amygdaloid structures, could be grouped into one of eight classes depending on the increase, decrease, or no effect on the resting rate of firing of the unit during and after stimulation. Chlorpromazine produced no significant change of the response patterns during the stimulation period. On the other hand, appreciable differences between the control group and the chlorpromazine pretreated group were noted in the post-stimulatory period. Predominance of increased firing rate after the stimulation characterized the control units, while the majority of units exhibited after drug administration a decrease of the firing rate. The data indicate that the lateral hypothalamus may be an important site of action of chlorpromazine.
Developing and Validating the Loran Temporal ASF Bound Model for Aviation

For Loran to be used for aviation navigation, it must meet strict integrity requirements. A key integrity requisite is the ability to bound position errors to a high degree of confidence. This, in turn, means bounding range domain errors and variations. One major source of variation is the temporal variation of propagation delay known as the additional secondary factor (ASF). This paper presents the development and validation analysis of the model for bounding the temporal variation of ASF. It examines the performance of the range and position domain bounds using recently collected data. For each signal, the magnitude and distribution of the bounds into correlated and uncorrelated components is assessed. Position domain bounds and errors are also analyzed. The results show the bounds to be sufficient with exceptions attributable to non-ASF related error sources. The objective is to form the foundation for proving the integrity of the ASF bound methodology.
On the evaluation of alternative phonological descriptions

It has been repeatedly suggested in the literature on generative phonology that the number of features which appear in phonological rules be used in an evaluation measure for alternative descriptions of the phonology of a language; thus Halle states (1962: 55): ‘Given two alternative descriptions of a particular body of data, the description containing fewer… symbols will be regarded as simpler and will, therefore, be preferred over the other.’ The purpose of the present paper is to examine critically the application of the proposed feature-counting evaluation measure to alternative analyses of a very restricted body of data in the phonology of Turkish. The data considered are, as far as I can see, self-contained in that the analyses to be discussed do not have any implications elsewhere in the system of phonological rules; the adequacy of the decision based on the evaluation measure in question can therefore be fully assessed in connexion with the minor problem we shall be examining.
Laser preparation of cesium atoms for degenerate four-wave mixing

Abstract We show that the nonlinear optical response of an atomic vapor can be enhanced by the utilization of a second laser which selectively alters the atomic populations. We use a second, state-preparation laser to assist the degenerate four wave mixing and observe a signal at a non-cyclic transition in cesium vapor. In the absence of this state-preparation laser, the non-cycling transition is subject to optical pumping and consequently the four wave mixing signal is not observed.
Some remarks on the kuder-richardson reliability coefficient

The Kuder-Richardson reliability coefficient is derived in a manner independent of that originally given. Various alternative forms applicable to special situations are exhibited with the purpose of making them available to others interested in using this formula. A simplification in computation is suggested for use with a calculating machine.
Pinealectomy abolishes the circadian rhythm of migratory restlessness

Pinealectomy of White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) free-running under constant conditions in dim light abolishes the circadian rhythm of nocturnal spring and fall migratory restlessness (Zugunruhe) as well as the rhythm of summer “daytime” locomotor activity (Pigs. 1 and 2). Rhythmicity persists in sham-operated birds. Pinealectomized birds are synchronized by a light cycle but their activity rhythm decays to arrhythmicity when they are released from entrainment into constant dim light. The pineal of the white-throat seems essential for the expression of circadian rhythms of both “daytime” activity and migratory restlessness. These findings support the hypothesis that the avian pineal is fundamentally involved in circadian organization.
Competitive dynamics and pattern formation in a large array of optoelectronic feedback circuit system

In artificial neural networks (ANN) individual nodes are used as processing units that perform simple computations. The computations can be performed based on unsupervised or supervised learning schemes. One type of learning scheme is a competitive unsupervised approach. In the competitive approach different nodes compete to become the "winner(s)", representing the highest activity level. In a large array opto-electronic system the competitive dynamics is not restricted to single elements but is some specially distributed structure. This interaction is typical for partially distributed nonlinear systems with complex behavior but may be unusual behavior in other systems with large arrays of elements for example some ANN. With an opto-electronic system it may be possible to consider new dynamics and more complex behavior for systems with large arrays. A different approach for parallel high resolution information processing that potentially goes beyond processing large numbers of neurons or elements is considered. NN has been successful in processing low-resolution images. Hopefully opto-electronic systems can generate similar mechanisms seen in NN such as cooperation and competition. Perhaps different self-organizing structures or patterns generated by these systems have some features similar to competition and cooperation. These types of structure or pattern interactions can be possible building blocks for more robust computational processes.