cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Donation after circulatory determination of death: time for transparency.

In this issue of Annals, 2 groups present views about appropriate paths forward in the controversial arena of uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death. These groups share a common, laudable goal: to improve thinking and practice around uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death to help it meet the growing needs of patients with end-stage organ dysfunction. The groups take different approaches to this shared goal: Dr. Bernat’s group attempts to provide a logically coherent definition of how death can be determined in the uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death setting to allow such protocols to proceed; the group led by Drs. Wall and Goldfrank focuses on ways to improve uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death protocols to promote the interests of prospective recipients and donors alike. Unfortunately, the groups also share tendencies to perpetuate arguments that have not previously engendered consensus. In addition, I have some concerns about the statistical analysis used to support their respective positions. Perhaps most importantly, both groups sidestep the elephant in the room: that the prevailing paradigm about the ethics of organ donation, which rests on the need for the donor to be unambiguously dead before organ recovery, is inherently flawed and ripe for replacement. Bernat’s group focuses on substituting a permanence standard for an irreversibility standard in determining death, failing to acknowledge that even if we achieved consensus on this distinction, it would not resurrect the dead-donor rule from its fatal flaws. Wall and Goldfrank’s group uses utilitarian reasoning to justify several uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death processes, but fails to provide an overall framework on which the ethics of organ donation might rest. This editorial will not detail the serious flaws with the dead-donor rule because these have been clarified in previous articles and can be summed up briefly with 3 points. First, dying is a process; therefore, death cannot be unambiguously diagnosed as present or absent at a given instant. This is more than a question of permanence versus irreversibility; it is a biologic reality that is made more obviously true with each passing year,
Enhanced function of pancreatic islets co-encapsulated with ECM proteins and mesenchymal stromal cells in a silk hydrogel.

Pancreatic islet encapsulation within biosynthetic materials has had limited clinical success due to loss of islet function and cell death. As an alternative encapsulation material, a silk-based scaffold was developed to reestablish the islet microenvironment lost during cell isolation. Islets were encapsulated with ECM proteins (laminin and collagen IV) and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), known to have immunomodulatory properties or to enhance islet cell graft survival and function. After a 7 day in vitro encapsulation, islets remained viable and maintained insulin secretion in response to glucose stimulation. Islets encapsulated with collagen IV, or laminin had increased insulin secretion at day 2 and day 7, respectively. A 3.2-fold synergistic improvement in islet insulin secretion was observed when islets were co-encapsulated with MSCs and ECM proteins. Furthermore, encapsulated islets had increased gene expression of functional genes; insulin I, insulin II, glucagon, somatostatin, and PDX-1, and lower expression of the de-differentiation genes cytokeratin 19 and vimentin compared to non-encapsulated cells. This work demonstrates that encapsulation in silk with both MSCs and ECM proteins enhances islet function and with further development may have potential as a suitable platform for islet delivery in vivo.
Signatures and S -discrete lattice-ordered groups

The central theme of this article is the approximation of lattice-ordered groups (l-groups) first by Specker groups and, subsequently, by the so-calledS-discretel-groups. The sense of these approximations is made precise via the notion of a signature, defined below, and by that ofa*-subgroups.
SRAM cell defect isolation methodology by sub micron probing technique

Abstract With the complexity of integrated circuitry and the decreasing size of components, usual isolation techniques (SEM inspections, Passive Voltage Contrast…) are not enough to find the defect. This paper presents an accurate methodology using the Sub Micron Probing (SMP) technique applied to a SRAM cell analysis. Indeed the number of non visual defect (NVD) becomes more and more important on the last technologies. In this context, the classical failure analysis must be improved with the electrical methodology. This method consists in using a quantitative electrical I/V characteristic measurement technique at the metallization, vias, and contacts levels during delayering without physical modification and electrical I/V alteration. Moreover, the efficiency of this methodology allows us to guide analysis and to segregate the failure mechanism.
Effect of subchronic dieldrin treatment on calmodulin-regulated Ca2+ pump activity in rat brain.

Calmodulin‐dependent (CaM‐dependent) and nondependent Ca2+ pump activity was determined in the brain P2 fraction of Sprague‐Dawley rats treated in vivo with 10 ppm dieldrin for 60 d. After 40 d of dieldrin intoxication, daily food consumption and body weight gain were found to be affected. Dieldrin inhibited both CaM‐dependent and ‐independent Ca2+‐ATPase activity and the enzyme activity decreased to 36% (CaM‐dependent)—and 18% (basal) respectively after 60 d of intoxication. Reduction in brain CaM levels and a subsequent inhibition of Ca2+‐ATPase activity suggests that chronic intoxication of dieldrin at very low doses alters calmodulin and its regulation of Ca2+‐ATPase activity.
Relationship between epidemiologic coronal caries assessments and practitioners' treatment recommendations in adults

Caries incidence determinations in adults reflect dentists' treatment decisions as well as epidemiologists' caries assessments because many patients receive treatment between the two assessments that are required to determine incidence. Yet knowledge of the relationship between epidemiologically assessed caries and practitioners' treatment recommendations is poor. In this study, the proportions of practitioners recommending treatment for a tooth, and the reasons for those recommendations, were compared across teeth grouped by their caries status as determined from an epidemiologic assessment. On average, for a tooth deemed carious by epidemiologic assessment, a mean of almost 90% of examining practitioners recommended treatment. Most but not all of these recommendations for treatment of teeth with epidemiologically determined caries were for caries-related reasons. Among teeth classified as sound by epidemiological assessment, the mean proportion of dentists recommending treatment was 11%. For restored, non-carious teeth a mean of 35% of examining dentists recommended treatment. Across all noncarious teeth, 25% of all treatment recommendations were related to caries. The mean patient F increment (number of newly filled surfaces) that would result from treatment recommendations practitioners indicated as being associated with caries was slightly less than one-half of the total F increment. Thus, F increments may substantially overestimate caries incidence.
Numerical prediction of coherent integration time at 75 Hz, 0.03 temporal resolution at 3250 km

Coherence time of sound is modeled for a 3250 km section in the Pacific at 75 Hz, 0.03 s resolution between a source and receiver both moored high above the ocean floor. The model is based on the temporal evolution of a standard spectrum of internal gravity waves and an accurate approximation for the acoustic wave equation. The probability is 0.6 that the signal-to-noise (s/n) ratio first decreases at times of 13 min or less. Afterward, the s/n usually increases, reaching a peak near 40 min. This is longer than the experimentally reported coherence time of 12.7 min. The discrepancy could be due to the fact that the experimental value was obtained assuming that movement between the source and receiver could be accounted for using a single Doppler speed correction for each transmission lasting between 10 and 40 min. However, accelerations of the source and receiver appear to be too large to use the single Doppler speed correction. Coherence times from the data should be re-analyzed with a variable Doppler scheme to see if they are consistent with the 40 min coherence time predicted from the model
HengHa: data harvesting detection on hidden databases

The back-end databases of web-based applications are a major data security concern to enterprises. The problem becomes more critical with the proliferation of enterprise hosted web applications in the cloud. While prior work has concentrated on malicious attacks that try to break into the database using vulnerabilities of web applications, little work has focused on the threat of data harvesting through web form interfaces, in which large collections of the underlying data can be harvested and sensitive information can be learnt by iteratively submitting legitimate queries and analyzing the returned results for designing new queries. To defend against data harvesting without compromising usability, we consider a detection approach. We summarize the characteristics of data harvesting, and propose the notions of query correlation and result coverage for data harvesting detection. We design a detection system called HengHa, in which Heng examines the correlation among queries in a session, and Ha evaluates the data coverage of the results of queries in the same session. The experimental results verify the effectiveness and efficiency of HengHa for data harvesting detection.
Fan pressurization uses for fire protection

Today's fire protection community is witnessing the coming-of-age of fan pressurization technology, which is currently providing much-needed support in the struggle to approve and maintain applications involving fire protection halons. Yet the advantages of this technology go far beyond halon applications. Fan pressurization techniques provide an effective tool for handling some of the most fundamental fire protection concepts.
A node covering algorithm

This paper describes a node covering algorithm, i.e., a procedure for finding a smallest set of nodes covering all edges of an arbitrary graph. The algorithm is based on the concept of a dual node-clique set, which allows us to identify partial covers associated with integer dual feasible solutions to the linear programming equivalent of the node covering problem. An initial partial cover with the above property is first found by a labeling procedure. Another labeling procedure then successively modifies the dual node-clique set, so that more and more edges are covered, i.e., the (primal) infeasibility of the solution is gradually reduced, while integrality and dual feasibility are preserved. When this cannot be continued, the problem is partitioned and the procedure applied to the resulting subproblems. While the steps of the algorithm correspond to sequences of dual simplex pivots, these are carried out implicitly, by labeling. The procedure is illustrated by examples, and some early computational experience is reported. We conclude with a discussion of potential improvements and extensions.
1-bromo-1-ethoxycyclopropane: a new reagent for cyclobutanone synthesis

Abstract A variety of of cyclobutanones have been prepared in high yield from 1-bromo-1-ethoxycyclopropane via lithiation, addition to aldehydes or ketones, and mild acid-catalyzed rearrangement of the adducts.
Classification of imperfectly time-locked image RSVP events with EEG device.

Classification based on EEG data in an RSVP experiment is considered. Although the latency in neural response relative to the stimulus onset time may be more realistically considered to vary across trials due to factors such as subject fatigue and environmental distractions, it is nevertheless assumed to be time-locked to the stimulus in most of the existing work as a means to alleviate the computational complexity. We consider here a more practical scenario that allows variation in response latency and develop a rigorous statistical formulation for modeling the uncertainty within the varying latency coupled with a likelihood ratio test (LRT) for classification. The new model not only improves the EEG classification performance, but also may predict the true stimulus onset time when this information is not precisely available. We test the proposed LRT algorithm on an EEG data set from an image RSVP experiment and show that, by admitting the latency variation, the proposed approach consistently outperforms a method that relies on perfect time-locking (AUC: 0.88 vs 0.86), especially when the stimulus onset time is not precisely available (AUC: 0.84 vs 0.71). Furthermore, the predicted stimulus onset times are highly enriched around the true onset time with p-value $= 5.2 \times 10^{-44}$ .
Motivations and obstacles to smartphone use by the elderly: developing a research framework

Smartphones are becoming the computing device of choice for many people. However, this change is not occurring evenly across the population. It appears to us that older people have just as much to gain from this technology, and possibly more, compared to younger people. We identified many potential motivations for smartphone use by the elderly, and also many obstacles. From this work we created a research framework which is the primary topic of this paper. A number of possible moderating variables were extrapolated as well. If seniors are going to benefit from mobile devices like the rest of the population, and if they are to become participants in the evolving world of m-commerce, mobile phones and services must pull seniors toward their use instead of driving them away. Only then will we be able to diminish the digital divide that exists between the young and the old, especially regarding smartphones.
Promises unfulfilled: American religious sisters and gender inequality in the post-Vatican II Catholic Church

In light of the Vatican’s recent doctrinal investigation of American Catholic nuns, this paper considers gender inequality in the Catholic Church immediately before, during and after the Second Vatican Council. Using Weber’s frameworks of authority construction and literature on corporate structures that reify inequality and gendered workplaces, the author argues that viewing the Church as a complex social organization allows for a fuller understanding of the ways in which its structures of power are constructed and reproduced. Ultimately, the author contends that religious sisters are stakeholders in a hierarchical organization that has prevented them from assuming leadership roles and from developing official Church teaching. Finally, he identifies several hegemonic forces that perpetuate gender barriers in the Catholic Church, specifically the obligatory wearing of the religious habit and the ban on women’s ordination.
Reactance of lines with ground return

Charts have been prepared which make possible the fairly accurate determination of the resistance and reactance of the earth return circuit. These values, together with the usual line and ground wire self-inductances, may be inserted in a simple formula to determine the positive or zero-phase-sequence impedance of the complete circuit.
New light on a dark subject: comment

In their article, “New light on a dark subject: On the use of fluorescence data to deduce redox states of natural organic matter,” Macalady and Walton-Day (2009) subjected natural organic matter (NOM) samples to oxidation, reduction, and photochemical transformation. Fluorescence spectra were obtained on samples, which were diluted “to bring maximum uvvisible absorbance values below 1.0.” The spectra were fit to the Cory and McKnight (2005) parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) model, and consistent variation in the redox state of quinone-like moieties was not detected. Based on these results they concluded that fitting fluorescence spectra to the Cory and McKnight (2005) PARAFAC model to obtain information about the redox state of quinone-like moieties in NOM is problematic. Recognizing that collection and correction of fluorescence spectra requires consideration of many factors, we investigated the potential for inner-filter effects to obscure the ability of fluorescence spectroscopy to quantify the redox state of quinone-like moieties. We collected fluorescence spectra on Pony Lake and Suwannee River fulvic acid standards that were diluted to cover a range of absorbance wavelengths, and fit these spectra to the Cory and McKnight (2005) PARAFAC model. Our results suggest that, in order for the commonly used inner-filter correction to effectively remove inner-filter effects, samples should be diluted such that the absorbance at 254 nm is less than 0.3 prior to the collection of fluorescence spectra. This finding indicates that inner-filter effects may have obscured changes in the redox signature of fluorescence spectra of the highly absorbing samples studied by Macalady and Walton-Day (2009).
Idiopathic Hypertrophic Subaortic Stenosis: III. Intraoperative Studies of the Mechanism of Obstruction and Its Hemodynamic Consequences

Pressures in the left ventricle and central aorta were recorded together with instantaneous aortic blood flow at the time of operation in 9 patients. Four patients had IHSS, 4 had valvular or discrete subvalvular aortic stenosis, and 1 was considered to have a normal aortic valve and left ventricular outflow tract. In each of the 4 patients with IHSS, the pattern of aortic blood flow was distinctly abnormal when significant obstruction was present and nearly 80% of total flow took place in the first half of systole. In contrast, [see figure in the PDF file] the distribution of flow was symmetrical in all patients with discrete aortic stenosis. When flow and the pressure gradient were related at brief intervals during systole, and the orifice size calculated, it was found that the orifice was always greatest at the onset of contraction, diminished rapidly in size, and often became totally obliterated toward the end of the ejection period in patients with IHSS. The size of the orifice remained constant during systole in the patients with discrete obstruction. The abnormalities of instantaneous aortic blood flow, and the rate of systolic narrowing of the subvalvular orifice were exaggerated following premature ventricular contractions, after the administration of pharmacologic agents with positive inotropic effects (isoproterenol and calcium chloride), and after reduction of the circulating blood volume. With valvular and discrete subaortic stenosis, however, these interventions did not change the symmetrical pattern of blood flow and the orifice area was constant. Augmentation of the circulating blood volume or partial occlusion of the ascending aorta decreased the severity of outflow obstruction in every patient with IHSS and converted the abnormal flow pattern to one characteristic of discrete stenosis. These studies provide the first evidence of the instantaneous changes which occur within the outflow tract of the left ventricle in patients with IHSS, and provide information concerning the various mechanisms by which the intensity of obstruction may be modified.
Assessment of Hypoxia Inducible Factor Levels in Cancer Cell Lines upon Hypoxic Induction Using a Novel Reporter Construct

Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF) signaling pathway is important for tumor cells with limited oxygen supplies, as it is shown to be involved in the process of proliferation and angiogenesis. Given its pivotal role in cancer biology, robust assays for tracking changes in HIF expression are necessary for understanding its regulation in cancer as well as developing therapies that target HIF signaling. Here we report a novel HIF reporter construct containing tandem repeats of minimum HIF binding sites upstream of eYFP coding sequence. We show that the reporter construct has an excellent signal to background ratio and the reporter activity is HIF dependent and directly correlates with HIF protein levels. By utilizing this new construct, we assayed HIF activity levels in different cancer cell lines cultured in various degrees of hypoxia. This analysis reveals a surprising cancer cell line specific variation of HIF activity in the same level of hypoxia. We further show that in two cervical cancer cell lines, ME180 and HeLa, the different HIF activity levels observed correlate with the levels of hsp90, a cofactor that protects HIF against VHL-independent degradation. This novel HIF reporter construct serves as a tool to rapidly define HIF activity levels and therefore the therapeutic capacity of potential HIF repressors in individual cancers.
Remote ischemic preconditioning confers late protection against myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury in mice by upregulating interleukin-10

Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) induces a prolonged late phase of multi-organ protection against ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that RIPC confers late protection against myocardial IR injury by upregulating expression of interleukin (IL)-10. Mice were exposed to lower limb RIPC or sham ischemia. After 24 h, mice with RIPC demonstrated decreased myocardial infarct size and improved cardiac contractility following 30-min ischemia and 120-min reperfusion (I-30/R-120). These effects of RIPC were completely blocked by anti-IL-10 receptor antibodies. In IL-10 knockout mice, RIPC cardioprotection was lost, but it was mimicked by exogenous IL-10. Administration of IL-10 to isolated perfused hearts increased phosphorylation of the protein kinase Akt and limited infarct size after I-30/R-120. In wild-type mice, RIPC increased plasma and cardiac IL-10 protein levels and caused activation of Akt and endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the heart at 24 h, which was also blocked by anti-IL-10 receptor antibodies. In the gastrocnemius muscle, RIPC resulted in immediate inactivation of the phosphatase PTEN and activation of Stat3, with increased IL-10 expression 24 h later. Myocyte-specific PTEN inactivation led to increased Stat3 phosphorylation and IL-10 protein expression in the gastrocnemius muscle. Taken together, these results suggest that RIPC induces late protection against myocardial IR injury by increasing expression of IL-10 in the remote muscle, followed by release of IL-10 into the circulation, and activation of protective signaling pathways in the heart. This study provides a scientific basis for the use of RIPC to confer systemic protection against IR injury.
Use of aerogel for imaging Cherenkov counters

Abstract In the past, detectors using silica aerogel as a Cherenkov radiator treated this material as a diffuse source of Cherenkov photons. In this paper we report on measurements made to explore the feasibility of using aerogel for imaging Cherenkov purposes. The results of the measurements are reproduced by a detailed Monte Carlo. This allows us to identify parameters critical for the use of aerogel as a radiator in imaging detectors. We conclude that commercially available aerogel can be used for these purposes.
A modular multi-location anonymized traffic monitoring tool for a WiFi network

Network traffic anomaly detection is now considered a surer approach to early detection of malware than signature-based approaches and is best accomplished with traffic data collected from multiple locations. Existing open-source tools are primarily signature-based, or do not facilitate integration of traffic data from multiple locations for real-time analysis, or are insufficiently modular for incorporation of newly proposed approaches to anomaly detection. In this paper, we describe DataMap, a new modular open-source tool for the collection and real-time analysis of sampled, anonymized, and filtered traffic data from multiple WiFi locations in a network and an example of its use in anomaly detection.
Measuring Social and Emotional Content in Children's Television: An Instrument Development Study

Few researchers have studied the television program characteristics that effectively facilitate social and emotional learning (SEL) in children. To further this line of investigation we created the SEL in Educational Children's Television (SELECT) rating instrument. SELECT ratings indicate whether an educational television episode presents any of 6 SEL skills using any of 5 pedagogical techniques. In this study, 3 raters used the SELECT to rate 80 episodes. Results from multi-facet Rasch analyses illustrated the SELECT's strong content validity, intra- and inter-rater reliability, and sensitivity. Episodes typically presented SEL content implicitly, emphasizing social and decision-making skills most strongly.
Central nervous system lesions in the Wistar rat fetus following direct fetal injections of cadmium.

During embryogenesis, maternal administration of cadmium (Cd) produces teratogenic effects, including hydrocephalus (HC), whereas later in gestation (during the fetal period), such effects have not been reported. Since there is little placental transfer of Cd late in gestation, such differences in response could be due to a lower Cd concentration in the fetus compared with the embryo after maternal Cd exposure, or could be due to a decreased sensitivity of the fetal central nervous system (CNS) to Cd. To test the susceptibility of the late gestational CNS to Cd, day 19 (sperm plug = day 0) rat fetuses were directly injected i.p. with CdCl2 (165, 100, 50 nmoles/fetus in 5 microliters saline). All fetuses in one horn were treated with Cd, while fetuses in the other horn were treated with saline. Fetuses were collected on day 21, grossly examined, weighed, fixed in Bouin's fixative, and later razor sectioned. Cd did not affect fetal viability or body weight. However, Cd caused a dose-dependent increase in hydrocephalus, with the total number of fetuses showing moderate to severe HC being 0/45, 0/11, 6/10, and 18/20 for controls, low, medium, and high doses, respectively. Mild HC was noted in one control and two low Cd fetuses. Brain necrosis was correlated with hydrocephalus, being observed in 0/45, 0/11, 5/10, and 16/20 fetuses, respectively. In medium-dose fetuses without HC or brain necrosis, extravasation of erythrocytes was noted histologically within the cortical parenchyma, suggesting that hemorrhaging may lead to brain necrosis and hydrocephalus in Cd-exposed fetuses. Thus, the fetal CNS is susceptible to the toxic effects of Cd.
Measurement of time-resolved local particle cloud temperature in a full-scale utility boiler

This paper reports experimental measurements of the time-resolved particle temperature fluctuations in an 80 MWc utility boiler. Results are presented in terms of mean and RMS temperature fluctuations, as well as power spectra and probability density functions of temperature. Results show significant variations in mean and RMS temperature with elevation in the boiler; RMS temperature fluctuations are high in the burner planes, decay to low levels just below the boiler nose, then increase again as the combustion products proceed over the nose toward the convective pass. Power spectra of the temperature fluctuations reveal significantly stronger high frequency content in the burner plane than at higher elevations. Preferred frequencies were observed downstream of the superheater pendants, and are believed to be due to vortex shedding from the pendant tubes. Probability density functions reveal that the turbulent fluctuations in particle temperature are not Gaussian in the flame zone, but exhibit very nearly normal distributions after complete burnout.
An algorithmic procedure for the synthesis of distillation sequences with bypass

Abstract When a separation system is to produce multicomponent products, it is frequently not necessary to separate a feed mixture completely into pure components. Instead, column bypasses can reduce both capital and operating costs by reducing mass load on the columns. This paper presents an algorithmic procedure for the synthesis of a sequence of simple, sharp split distillation columns with both bypasses and mixers that minimizes annualized costs. This procedure can solve problems in which a single feed is to be separated into two or more multicomponent products. We use models that are linear except for stream splitters. We present an analysis of the problem structure that suggest a decomposition which allows significant reductions both in the problem search space and nonlinearities caused by the splitters. The decomposition permits one to solve any three component problem for its global optimum as two linear programs. Four and five component problems require six and twenty-four nonlinear programs, respectively, each of which models a structurally different flowsheet for the process. For each flowsheet, one can establish a lower bound for the corresponding nonlinear program by using a relaxation that allows the splitters to be treated linearly : giving a linear program which is readily solved. For two example problems, we first produced lower bounds for each structural alternative (a linear program for each). Solving the nonlinear program for the most promising structure eliminated the need for solving the nonlinear program for all remaining alternatives. Upper and lower bounds within 1% of each other strongly imply the solutions were globally optimal.
Ultrafast catalytic processes in enzymes.

The study of biocatalysis and biotransformation in the transition-state region has been challenging and difficult, but recent advances on two important photoenzymes in nature, DNA photolyase and protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase, have enabled the investigation of their catalytic processes in real time. By following the entire evolution of substrate transformation, the functional dynamics constituting a series of elementary reactions have been mapped out. The five fundamental reactions in the enzymes, namely electron transfer, bond breaking and making, proton and hydride transfer, all occur ultrafast within subnanosecond. The direct clocking of catalytic transition states probes central, unmasked chemical processes and provides mechanistic insights into the role of the dynamics in enzyme function, which not only facilitates the formation of the enzyme–substrate complex in the transition-state configurations, but also modulates the subsequent catalytic reactions for maximum biotransformation efficiency.
Blunting of the neurotensin mRNA response to haloperidol in the striatum of aging rats: possible relationship to decline in dopamine D2 receptor expression.

Abstract Neuroleptic drugs such as haloperidol (H) induce a rapid increase in neurotensin/neuromedin N (NT/N) gene expression in the dorsolateral striatum (DLSt) and nucleus accumbens (NA) in young adult rats. This effect may be mediated by post-receptor effectors that are activated by dopamine D2 receptor antagonism. The regional pattern of induction of neurotensin gene expression correlates with the side effect profile of particular neuroleptics. As motor side effects of H differ in aged animals, we hypothesized that the regional expression of the neurotensin gene may differ between young and old animals. We administered H or saline acutely to 3, 14, and 25 month-old Fischer 344 rats, followed by in situ hybridization and quantitative autradiography for NT/N mRNA. There was a significant age effect on the H-induced NT/N mRNA response in the DLSt, but not the NA, of older animals. In addition to the blunted NT/N mRNA response, significant decreases in D2 receptor mRNA were observed in the lateral striatum of another group of young, middle-aged, and aged rats. Age-related blunting of the NT/N mRNA response to H in the DLSt may be due in part to a decrease in D2 receptors in this structure.
Dopamine induces sign reversal at mixed chemical-electrical synapses

A mixed chemical/electrical synapse can generate variable output when the strength of each synaptic component is modulated. At mixed synapses of the lobster pyloric network, the chemical component is inhibitory. Without neuromodulation, the chemical component is weak or absent and the electrical component often dominates. Dopamine reverses the sign of these mixed synaptic interactions by a reduction in the strength of electrical coupling and an enhancement of chemical inhibition, including activation of silent chemical synapses. Sign reversal at mixed synapses by neuromodulators may contribute to functional rewiring of neural networks.
Parasitoidism, not sociality, is associated with the evolution of elaborate mushroom bodies in the brains of hymenopteran insects

The social brain hypothesis posits that the cognitive demands of social behaviour have driven evolutionary expansions in brain size in some vertebrate lineages. In insects, higher brain centres called mushroom bodies are enlarged and morphologically elaborate (having doubled, invaginated and subcompartmentalized calyces that receive visual input) in social species such as the ants, bees and wasps of the aculeate Hymenoptera, suggesting that the social brain hypothesis may also apply to invertebrate animals. In a quantitative and qualitative survey of mushroom body morphology across the Hymenoptera, we demonstrate that large, elaborate mushroom bodies arose concurrent with the acquisition of a parasitoid mode of life at the base of the Euhymenopteran (Orussioidea + Apocrita) lineage, approximately 90 Myr before the evolution of sociality in the Aculeata. Thus, sociality could not have driven mushroom body elaboration in the Hymenoptera. Rather, we propose that the cognitive demands of host-finding behaviour in parasitoids, particularly the capacity for associative and spatial learning, drove the acquisition of this evolutionarily novel mushroom body architecture. These neurobehavioural modifications may have served as pre-adaptations for central place foraging, a spatial learning-intensive behaviour that is widespread across the Aculeata and may have contributed to the multiple acquisitions of sociality in this taxon.
A Critical Survey of New Elementary and Intermediate Latin Textbooks, 1969-1973.

Yes-The text makes provision for a variety of student interests, abilities and learning styles. No-The text makes no such provision. 14. Supplementary Materials: Are basic supplementary materials available? Yes-Teacher's edition or manual; workbook; audio materials; visuals; tests and quizzes. No One or more of the above is missing. 15. Suggested Supplementary Activities: Are suggestions made for supplementary activities?
Numbers versus nominalists

One who sincerely utters the latter, it is argued, is thereby committed, whereas one who utters the former is not, to there being besides the moons of Mars such a thing as their number. Therefore, by embracing (1E) while disowning (2E) the nominalist can consistently deny that there are numbers while accepting the sober pronouncements of mature science.1 The tactic is immediately suspect. The observational sentence (1E) logically entails a sentence that straightforwardly expresses that there is some number or other of a certain sort:
Brain tumor identification using Gaussian Mixture Model features and Decision Trees classifier

This paper concerns a new features type of Glioblastoma (GBM) detection based on the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM). We address the task of the new features to identify the brain tumor using the T1, T2 weighted and FLAIR MR images. An abnormal area is detected using the multithresholding segmentation with morphological operations of MR images, while discarding those that are either redundant or confusing, thereby improving the performance of the feature-based scheme to detected brain tumor. Decision Tree classifier is applied on GMM features reduced using three principal components to evaluate the performance of cancer and normal area discrimination. The discrimination between GBM and normal area including the images, was compared using three performance indicators, namely, accuracy, false alarm and missed detection, and three modes of MRI images T1, T2 and Flair were employed. The GMM features demonstrated the best performance overall. For the T1 and T2 weighted images, the accuracy performance was 100 % with 0% missed detection and 0% false alarm respectively. In FLAIR mode the accuracy decrease to 94.11 % with 2.95 % missed detection and 2.95 % false alarm. All the experimental result is promising to enhance the precocious GBM diagnosis.
Transgenic Prolactin-/- Mice: Effect of Trauma-Hemorrhage on Splenocyte Functions

Prolactin (PRL) is involved in the regulation of immune functions under normal and pathological conditions. Trauma-hemorrhage (T-H) produces profound immunosuppression in male mice but not in proes...
Evaluation of wormhole routed networks under hybrid traffic loads

The authors investigate the performance of wormhole-routed networks under hybrid traffic loads to examine the impact of long and short messages on each other. The short messages not only experience increased average latency but also experience a large increase in the variance of that latency. The negative performance impact of long messages increases proportionally with both the fraction and size of the long messages. The authors also explore two techniques, virtual lanes and adaptive routing, to improve network performance under the hybrid traffic loads. Performance losses due to long messages can be dramatically reduced with either technique. The two techniques are complementary, so employing them simultaneously yields the best performance, virtually eliminating performance losses experienced by short messages. This means that packetization may not be necessary in such networks. >
Understanding failure response in service discovery systems

Service discovery systems enable distributed components to find each other without prior arrangement, to express capabilities and needs, to aggregate into useful compositions, and to detect and adapt to changes. First-generation discovery systems can be categorized based on one of three underlying architectures and on choice of behaviors for discovery, monitoring, and recovery. This paper reports a series of investigations into the robustness of designs that underlie selected service discovery systems. The paper presents a set of experimental methods for analysis of robustness in discovery systems under increasing failure intensity. These methods yield quantitative measures for effectiveness, responsiveness, and efficiency. Using these methods, we characterize robustness of alternate service discovery architectures and discuss benefits and costs of various system configurations. Overall, we find that first-generation service discovery systems can be robust under difficult failure environments. This work contributes to better understanding of failure behavior in existing discovery systems, allowing potential users to configure deployments to obtain the best achievable robustness at the least available cost. The work also contributes to design improvements for next-generation service discovery systems.
A Review of “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education”

Diane Ravitch finds herself in a strange predicament, indeed. The distinguished educational historian and longtime conservative voice on educational reform is among the latest ideological turncoats...
Robust optimal power control for ad hoc networks

In this paper we apply robust optimization techniques to the problem of power control in mobile ad hoc wireless networks. Our approach is inherently multi-objective in that we seek a solution set that trades off the dual objectives of achieving optimality and maintaining feasibility. In particular, our objective is to minimize the aggregate power employed by the transmitters and the constraints are that the SINR at each receiver must exceed the threshold required for successful reception. The selection of the powers is complicated, however, by the fact that the channels incorporate random and unknown fading and attenuation components. A robust optimization framework for this problem is developed that penalizes the expected infeasibility of the proposed solution. The "cost of uncertainty" is measured by the total additional power required when all channel states are known. Our results demonstrate that communication dependability is enhanced through the robust formulation.
Fibrosing granulomas in the equine liver and peritoneum: a retrospective morphologic study

Fibrosing granulomas were found in the liver and occasionally on the intestinal and diaphragmatic serosae and in the lung of 11 horses submitted for necropsy. Although these granulomas were considered incidental findings in most of the horses, they had caused liver failure in 1 horse. The granulomas typically were characterized by a dense collagenous core that frequently was mineralized. The periphery contained a rim of inflammatory cells. Only in 1 of the 11 horses was there evidence of an egg shell suggestive of schistosomes. Schistosomal eggs were not detected in the feces of the horses. The typical architecture of the granulomas combined with the occasional finding of a residual egg led to the circumstantial conclusion that the fibrosing granulomas were the result of chronic schistosomiasis of undeterminable origin.
Will They Come? Get Out The Word About Going Mobile

To be effective, libraries must promote, market, and advertise mobile initiatives. When libraries introduce services that use new tools and modes of thought, they must demonstrate what is possible, how services are relevant, and how new resources can help.
Metallothionein Synthesis and mRNA Levels in Cultured Hepatocytes from Lethal Milk Mutant Mice

Primary hepatocyte cultures from adult lethal milk (1m) mutant mice displayed approximately a 2.5-fold increased metallothionein (MT) synthesis compared to wild-type cells in uninduced as well as zinc-treated cells, over a 0- to 160- JIMzinc dose-response range. Mutant hepatocytes also exhibited a greater level of MT-1 mRNA in both untreated and zinc-treated cultures compared to wild-type. Despite these measures of MT synthesis, untreated Im/lm hepatocytes exhibited twofold-reduced 6-h uptake of 65Zn compared to wild-type, zinc and copper levels in soluble fractions of Im/lm hepatocytes were equivalent to wild- type levels and Im/lm hepatocytes showed increased susceptibility to zinc toxicity as measured by zinc-induced detachment of cells from the culture dishes. These results suggest that the elevated MT synthesis observed in lethal milk mice does not, as previously reported in wild-type hepatocytes (1â€"3), increase zinc uptake or protect against heavy-metal toxicity (4, 5). Taken together with studies in vivo, our results suggest that an alteration in MT synthesis is probably a secondary affect of the lethal milk mutation. J. Nutr. 117: 183-188, 1987.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Treatment for Peripheral Arterial Disease: Current Status and Potential Impact of Type II Diabetes on Their Therapeutic Efficacy

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), due to their paracrine, transdifferentiation, and immunosuppressive effects, hold great promise as a therapy for peripheral arterial disease. Diabetes is an important risk factor for peripheral arterial disease; however, little is known of how type II diabetes affects the therapeutic function of MSCs. This review summarizes the current status of preclinical and clinical studies that have been performed to determine the efficacy of MSCs in the treatment of peripheral arterial disease. We also present findings from our laboratory regarding the impact of type II diabetes on the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs neovascularization after the induction of hindlimb ischemia. In our studies, we documented that experimental type II diabetes in db/db mice impaired MSCs’ therapeutic function by favoring their differentiation towards adipocytes, while limiting their differentiation towards endothelial cells. Moreover, type II diabetes impaired the capacity of MSCs to promote neovascularization in the ischemic hindlimb. We further showed that these impairments of MSC function and multipotency were secondary to hyperinsulinemia-induced, Nox4-dependent oxidant stress in db/db MSCs. Should human MSCs display similar oxidant stress-induced impairment of function, these findings might permit greater leverage of the potential of MSC transplantation, particularly in the setting of diabetes or other cardiovascular risk factors, as well as provide a therapeutic approach by reversing the oxidant stress of MSCs prior to transplantation.
Variable-speed wind power plant operating with reserve power capability

As the level of wind penetration increases, wind turbine technology must move from merely generating power from wind to taking a role in supporting the bulk power system. Wind turbines should have the capability to provide inertial response and primary frequency (governor) response. Wind turbine generators with this capability can support the frequency stability of the grid. To provide governor response, wind turbines should be able to generate less power than the available wind power and hold the rest in reserves, ready to be accessed as needed. In this paper, we explore several ways to control wind turbine output to enable reserve-holding capability. The focus of this paper is on doubly-fed induction generator (also known as Type 3) and full-converter (also known as Type 4) wind turbines.
The alarms project: a hardware/software approach to addressing parameter variations

Parameter variations (process, voltage, and temperature) threaten continued performance scaling of power-constrained computer systems. As designers seek to contain the power consumption of microprocessors through reductions in supply voltage and power-saving techniques such as clock-gating, these systems suffer increasingly large power supply fluctuations due to the finite impedance of the power supply network. These supply fluctuations, referred to as voltage emergencies, must be managed to guarantee correctness. Traditional approaches to address this problem incur high-cost or compromise power/performance efficiency. Our research seeks ways to handle these alarm conditions through a combined hardware/software approach, motivated by root cause analysis of voltage emergencies revealing that many of these events are heavily linked to both program control flow and microarchitectural events (cache misses and pipeline flushes). This talk will discuss three aspects of the project: (1) a fail-safe mechanism that provides hardware guaranteed correctness; (2) a voltage emergency predictor that leverages control flow and microarchitectural event information to predict voltage emergencies up to 16 cycles in advance; and (3) a proof-of-concept dynamic compiler implementation that demonstrates that dynamic code transformations can be used to eliminate voltage emergencies from the instruction stream with minimal impact on performance [1--9].
Some entries in Ramanujan's notebooks

Some of Ramanujan's original discoveries about hypergeometric functions and their relation to modular integrals, especially Eisenstein series of negative weight, are still not very well understood. These discoveries take the form of identities that he recorded, without proof, as entries in his notebooks. In the following sections I will introduce some of these entries, discuss their status, give new proofs of several of them and also provide new results of a similar nature.