cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Under the Scope: Microscopy Techniques to Visualize Plant Anatomy & Measure Structures

Microscopy and stained specimens engage students visually as they learn about plant anatomy, a topic covered in many biology and introductory science courses. In this activity, students section plant material and prepare specimens to view under a brightfield microscope. Using a camera or cell phone, images of microscope slide contents allow students to label plant parts and engage in discussions with peers. The addition of scale bars to their images will allow a better understanding of the relationships of the various structures observed in the functioning of plants.
Chapter 4 – Polynomial Approximation

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses polynomial approximation. One advantage of a polynomial is that it can be easily evaluated in terms of the usual computer operations of addition or subtraction and multiplication. Also, a polynomial can be easily integrated or differentiated to obtain approximations to the integral or derivative of the original function. A disadvantage of approximation by a polynomial is that it cannot approximate for a large function. However, such functions can sometimes be approximated by a rational function, which is the ratio of two polynomials. Also, in many cases, the function to be approximated has properties, such as being positive or being monotone that the approximating functions should also satisfy. This imposes constraints that may make the approximation problem much more difficult. One of the basic approaches to finding an approximating polynomial is by the use of Taylor series. There are many ways to represent the same polynomial and, as it happens, one representation could have computational or other advantages over another.
CustNER: A Rule-Based Named-Entity Recognizer With Improved Recall

This article describes CustNER: a system for named-entity recognition (NER) of person, location, and organization. Realizing the incorrect annotations of existing NER, four categories of false negatives have been identified. The NEs not annotated contain nationalities, have corresponding resource in DBpedia, are acronyms of other NEs. A rule-based system, CustNER, has been proposed that utilizes existing NERs and DBpedia knowledge base. CustNER has been trained on the open knowledge extraction (OKE) challenge 2017 dataset and evaluated on OKE and CoNLL03 (Conference on Natural Language Learning) datasets. The OKE dataset has also been annotated with the three types. Evaluation results show that CustNER outperforms existing NERs with F score 12.4% better than Stanford NER and 3.1% better than Illinois NER. On another standard evaluation dataset for which the system is not trained, the CoNLL03 dataset, CustNER gives results comparable to existing systems with F score 3.9% better than Stanford NER, though Illinois NER F score is 1.3% better than CustNER.
The Bank Staff Perspective on Reducing Financial Exclusion through Affordable Bank Accounts

In semi-structured in-depth interviews in one mid-western city with a high percentage of financially excluded consumers, 22 staff members from 15 banks describe their employer bank’s efforts to ser...
Characterization of the mitogen regulated protein receptor

Mitogen regulated protein (MRP; also called proliferin) is a 34 IcDa glycoprotein secreted during murine gestation. Its temporal profile of synthesis and secretion and its homology to prolactin indicate an hormonal role in fetal development. To identify its target tissues in 125 vivo, we injected tracer amounts of I-labeled MRP into nonpregnant mice and mice at various days of gestation. At mid-gestation the clearance profile was biphasic and provided evidence for two half-lives for MRP of 0.6 hour and about 8 hours. Both half-lives of MRP were significantly shorter than the half-life of 10 hours measured for serum albumin. Our data show that mammary gland and uterus take up and degrade MRP whereas MRP is taken up but not degraded by liver, heart, spleen, and kidney. MRP degradation in the mammary gland and uterus is reduced by prior treatment with chloroquine which inhibits lysosomal-mediated degradation. We propose that MRP is cleared from the blood by receptormediated endocytosis with subsequent degradation by mammary gland and uterus. Because degradation by their target cells is a fate of many hormones and growth factors, we suggest that mammary gland and uterus are also target tissues for MRP action.
County-level phenomapping to identify disparities in cardiovascular outcomes: An unsupervised clustering analysis: Short title: Unsupervised clustering of counties and risk of cardiovascular mortality.

Introduction Significant heterogeneity in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and healthcare resource allocation has been demonstrated in the United States, but optimal methods to capture heterogeneity in county-level characteristics that contribute to CVD mortality differences are unclear. We evaluated the feasibility of unsupervised machine learning (ML)-based phenomapping in identifying subgroups of county-level social and demographic risk factors with differential CVD outcomes. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study using county-level data from 2008 to 2018 from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) WONDER platform and the 2020 Robert Wood Johnson County Health Rankings program. Unsupervised clustering was performed on 46 facets of population characteristics spanning the demographic, health behaviors, socioeconomic, and healthcare access domains. Spatial autocorrelation was assessed using the Moran's I test, and temporal trends in age-adjusted CVD outcomes were evaluated using linear mixed effect models and least square means. Results Among 2676 counties, 4 county-level phenogroups were identified (Moran's I p-value <0.001). Phenogroup 1 (N ​= ​924; 24.5%) counties were largely white, suburban households with high income and access to healthcare. Phenogroup 2 counties (N ​= ​451; 16.9%) included predominantly Hispanic residents and below-average prevalence of CVD risk factors. Phenogroup 3 (N ​= ​951; 35.5%) counties included rural, white residents with the lowest levels of access to healthcare. Phenogroup 4 (350; 13.1%) comprised counties with predominantly Black residents, substantial cardiovascular comorbidities, and physical and socioeconomic burdens. Least square means in age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality over time increased in a stepwise fashion from 223 in phenogroup 1 to 317 per 100,000 residents in phenogroup 4. Conclusions Unsupervised ML-based clustering on county-level population characteristics can identify unique phenogroups with differential risk of CVD mortality. Phenogroup identification may aid in developing a uniform set of preventive initiatives for clustered counties to address regional differences in CVD mortality.
Demarginalizing Trans Rights

For almost as long as transgender people have openly existed in public life, our relationship to antidiscrimination law has been fraught. Most states still lack explicit protections for transgender people and the U.S. Congress has tried but failed to amend existing antidiscrimination laws to expressly protect us. Making things more difficult, over the last four decades trans rights and gay rights have repeatedly been pit against each other, erupting at times in contentious struggles to garner protections for gays but excluding trans folks from protection in a misdirected hope that trans-exclusionary amendments would be more palatable to the masses. See generally Rose (2009). Lacking the political power to win express protections outright, our only hope has been to convince the courts that existing laws already protect us. Federal law and most state laws extend protection on the basis of sex and disability—both grounds which should shield transgender people from the most pernicious forms of public and private bias. But, for several decades, state and federal courts uniformly deemed us beyond the reach of these protections simply because we are transgender. This unprincipled juridical exclusion, coupled with voracious and open anti-trans bias in society at large, has relegated transgender Americans to the margins of society. See generally Injustice at Every Turn (2011). Against this backdrop, Gavin’s fight to use the boy’s restroom is but one part of a continued struggle to vindicate trans rights by recasting old laws to protect us. As we guard ourselves for the next trip up to the Supreme Court, we must carefully consider a few things, among them—what interventions we push for, who we choose to carry our banner forward, and how exactly we might hone our legal arguments to overcome both pernicious precedents and entrenched bias inside and outside of the courts. I believe that one critical step our movement must take is retooling how we approach transgender rights in and outside of the courts. For far too long, advocates have tethered transgender rights to gay rights, hoping that incremental progress for gay Americans would help us break down barriers uniquely subjugating trans Americans. Though our communities share important similarities, tensions abound and the reflexive prioritization and centering of gay experiences has proven to be our undoing politically and, I fear, bleeds over into the legal theories long leaned on to propel our movement. To set ourselves up for big wins before the Supreme Court, I believe that we will need to rethink how we conceptualize transgender rights. We must disabuse ourselves of uncritical reliance on the tools and strategies of the gay rights movement, including queer legal theory. This Essay proposes another way forward—centering trans rights by deploying an intersectional frame.
Controlling tissue patterning by translational regulation of signaling transcripts through the core translation factor eIF3c

Summary Although gene expression is tightly regulated during embryonic development, the impact of translational control has received less experimental attention. Here, we find that eukaryotic translation initiation factor-3 (eIF3) is required for Shh-mediated tissue patterning. Analysis of loss-of-function eIF3 subunit c (Eif3c) mice reveal a unique sensitivity to the Shh receptor patched 1 (Ptch1) dosage. Genome-wide in vivo enhanced cross-linking immunoprecipitation sequence (eCLIP-seq) shows unexpected specificity for eIF3 binding to a pyrimidine-rich motif present in subsets of 5′-UTRs and a corresponding change in the translation of these transcripts by ribosome profiling in Eif3c loss-of-function embryos. We further find a transcript specific effect in Eif3c loss-of-function embryos whereby translation of Ptch1 through this pyrimidine-rich motif is specifically sensitive to eIF3 amount. Altogether, this work uncovers hidden specificity of housekeeping translation initiation machinery for the translation of key developmental signaling transcripts.
Impact of Age on 30-Day Mortality and Morbidity in Patients Undergoing Surgery for Ovarian Cancer.

Objective To examine the effect of age on postoperative 30-day morbidity and mortality after surgery for ovarian cancer. Methods The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program files were used to identify patients with ovarian cancer who underwent surgery in 2005 to 2011. Women were divided into 4 age groups: Results Of 2087 patients included, 47% were younger than 60 years, 28% were 60 to 69 years old, 18% were 70 to 79 years old, and 7% were 80 years or older. Overall 30-day mortality and morbidity rates were 2% and 30%. Elderly patients 80 years or older were more likely to die within 30 days compared with patients younger than 60 years, 60 to 69 years old, and 70 to 79 years old (9.2% vs. 0.6% vs .2.8% vs 2.5%, P Conclusions Elderly patients have a higher risk of perioperative mortality and morbidity within 30 days. Therefore, those patients should be counseled thoroughly about the risk of primary debulking surgery vs neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Chapter 20 Nuclear Transplantation with Mammalian Cells

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the techniques required to construct large, viable, homogeneous populations of true cytoplasmic-nuclear hybrids. These techniques are being applied to the construction of novel systems for investigating gene expression and its control in mammalian cells. Thus, the cytoplasts and karyoplasts prepared from various differentiated and transformed cell lines that exhibit distinct morphological and/or biochemical traits are fused to form true cytoplasmic-nuclear hybrid cells. The hybrids and their progeny are analyzed for the maintenance, loss, or acquisition of the parental cell traits. The chapter outlines the methods for the Preparation and Characterization of Karyoplasts and of Cytoplasts. The procedure for nuclear transplantation involves the preparation of Sendai virus, virus-mediated fusion, characterization of hybrids, and genetic selection techniques. The selection procedure should be applicable for the selection of cytoplasmic-nuclear hybrids. Thus, before fusing cytoplasts and karyoplasts derived from cell lines of interest, the mutants resistant to appropriate drugs, and toxins can first be selected.
The Chinese Model of Development and Its Implications

At the end of the Cold War, scholars were pondering how far Western ideas would spread in an international environment defined by â€œthe end of history.â€ Chinaâ€™s rapid and continuous growth in the past three decades alters this backdrop. Today, the debate seems to be on how far Chinese ideas (also known as the â€œBeijing Consensusâ€) could reach. This paper focuses on the following aspects of the Chinese model of development and its implications: What does the China model contain? What are major critiques and limitations of the China model? Is the Chinese model applicable to other nations? It should be noted that due to its recent economic slowdown, the China model of development is losing some luster. Todayâ€™s Chinese leadership does not claim that the Chinese developmental model to be an alternative to other models. China seems to enter a new era of Chinese exceptionalism. The paper concludes that the increasingly prosperous China does represent an alternative development model that has gained some traction in the developing world, and the fears that the China development model will dominate the world are premature.
Computers in chemistry conference: Computers, chemists, and crystallography

Abstract The impact of the development of fast digital computers has been felt in all phases of crystallography, and the crystallographer has been among the most sophisticated users of computers in chemistry. The important interaction between man, machine, and chemical problem has been exhibited in the areas of data acquisition and presentation of the results in a concise and meaningful manner. In addition, the speed of the modern digital computer has made possible the rapid solution and refinement of crystal structures which at one time would have been thought to be near-impossible. The use of the Brookhaven Multiple Spectrometer Control System, an on-line, time-sharing system for computer-controlled data acquisition, is described in detail. Some examples of direct methods of crystal structure determination are discussed briefly. The techniques of three-dimensional illustration of crystal and molecular structures and computer analysis of thermal motions to present the wealth of material available in a crystal structure determination are discussed with examples. Finally, the importance of improved literature and data retrieval techniques are discussed.
A 15-year prospective follow-up of bipolar affective disorders: comparisons with unipolar nonpsychotic depression

Goldberg JF, Harrow M. A 15-year prospective follow-up of bipolar affective disorders: comparisons with unipolar nonpsychotic depression. Bipolar Disord 2011: 13: 155–163. © 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objectives: Outcome studies have previously documented substantial functional disability among individuals with bipolar disorder, although few follow-up studies have examined the prospective course of illness beyond 10 years’ duration. Methods: A total of 95 patients with mood disorders (46 with bipolar I disorder and 49 with unipolar nonpsychotic depression) were assessed 15 years after index hospitalization. Logistic and linear regression models were used to identify predictors of global functioning, work disability, and social adjustment. Results: At 15-year follow-up, good overall functioning was significantly less common among subjects with bipolar disorder (35%) than unipolar depression (73%) (p < 0.001). Work disability was significantly more extensive in bipolar than unipolar disorder subjects (p < 0.001). Logistic regression indicated that good outcome 15 years after index hospitalization was significantly predicted by a unipolar rather than bipolar disorder diagnosis and the absence of a depressive episode in the preceding year. Past-year depressive, but not past-year manic, syndromes were associated with poorer global outcome and greater work disability. In addition, subsyndromal depression was significantly associated with poorer global, work, and social outcome among bipolar, but not unipolar disorder subjects. Conclusions: A majority of individuals with bipolar I disorder manifest problems with work and global functioning 15 years after an index hospitalized manic episode Recurrent syndromal and subsyndromal depression disrupts multiple domains of functional outcome more profoundly in bipolar than unipolar mood disorders. The prevalence, and correlates, of impaired long-term outcome parallel those reported in shorter-term functional outcome studies of bipolar disorder.
Ocean energy design projects at the U.S. Naval Academy

This paper presents a synopsis of three different ocean energy capstone design projects performed as part of the undergraduate ocean engineering curriculum at the U.S. Naval Academy dealing with: (1) offshore wind energy, (2) tidal-induced current energy, and (3) ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). As more types and more quantities of renewable energy sources are contributing to our nation's energy supply, the feasibility of ocean-related renewable energy is being more carefully considered and comprehensively investigated. While there are many advantages to harnessing energy from ocean sources, there are also many challenges - including environmental, structural, regulatory and socio-political challenges. The design approach, design process highlights and final findings from the three ocean-based renewable energy projects are presented here
Population Forecasts for South Pacific Nations using Autoregressive Models 1985 — 2000

This paper uses an autoregressive statistical model to forecast population for Fiji, Western Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu and compares these forecasts with those obtained from other methods. The growth rate of population is predicted to continue to fall in Fiji and Tonga, rise a little for Western Samoa, and rise considerably in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. The implications of the forecasts for recent government development plans are also discussed.
Management of children with solid organ injuries after blunt torso trauma.

BACKGROUND: Management of children with intra-abdominal solid organ injuries has evolved markedly. We describe the current management of children with intra-abdominal solid organ injuries after blunt trauma in a large multicenter network. METHODS: We performed a planned secondary analysis of a prospective, multicenter observational study of children (RESULTS: A total of 12,044 children were enrolled; 605 (5.0%) had intra-abdominal solid organ injuries. The mean (SD) age was 10.7 (5.1) years, and injured organs included spleen 299 (49.4%), liver 282 (46.6%), and kidney 147 (24.3%). Intraperitoneal fluid was identified on computed tomography in 461 (76%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 73-80%), and isolated solid organ injuries were present in 418 (69%; 95% CI, 65-73%). Treatment included therapeutic laparotomy in 17 (4.1%), angiographic embolization in 6 (1.4%), and blood transfusion in 46 (11%) patients. Laparotomy rates for isolated injury were 11 (5.4%) of 205 (95% CI, 2.7-9.4%) at non-freestanding children's hospitals and 6 (2.8%) of 213 (95% CI, 1.0-6.0%) at freestanding children's hospitals (difference, 2.6%; 95% CI, -7.1% to 12.2%). Dispositions of the 212 children with isolated Grade I or II organ injuries were home in 6 (3%), emergency department observation in 9 (4%), ward in 114 (54%), intensive care unit in 73 (34%), operating suite in 7 (3%), and transferred in 3 (1%) patients. Intensive care unit admission for isolated Grade I or II injuries varied by center from 9% to 73%. CONCLUSION: Most children with solid organ injuries are managed with observation. Blood transfusion, while uncommon, is the most frequent therapeutic intervention; angiographic embolization and laparotomy are uncommon. Emergency department disposition of children with isolated Grade I to II solid organ injuries is highly variable and often differs from published guidelines. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic/epidemiologic study, level III; therapeutic study, level IV. Language: en
Modulation index regulation of a multilevel inverter for static var compensation

A strategy is presented to minimize the voltage total harmonic distortion when controlling a multilevel converter to act as a static var compensator. Use of resultant theory has enabled the complete set of solutions to be found for switching a multilevel inverter's power electronic devices at the fundamental frequency while eliminating the lower order harmonics. A scheme is also presented to regulate the voltage levels of the multilevel inverter so that it operates in an optimum amplitude modulation index regime.
Films at oil-water interfaces. III

Abstract Experiments on the properties of films adsorbed at oil-water interfaces have been extended to include variation of the chain length of the adsorbed molecules, temperature, and the nature of the oil. In general, the evidence supports the hypothesis of an interfacial film in which the polar group is anchored at the interface and the hydrocarbon chain is entirely within the oil phase. Changes in the degree of “condensation” or “expansion” of the films adsorbed from a number of solvents support the hypothesis that the cohesion between the solvent molecules and the hydrocarbon chain of the film molecule is an important factor, and reasons are adduced to show that lateral adhesion in films adsorbed at oil-water interfaces may be greater, rather than less, than at air-water surfaces.
Cognitive and motor development of infants coping with cancer: Longitudinal observations

The prognosis for infants diagnosed with cancer before the age of 12 months continues to be generally dismal. Consequently, these babies receive very aggressive treatment and regularly endure many events that cause distress. This study followed a cohort of six infants diagnosed with cancer from the onset of treatment utilizing repeated assessments of cognitive and motor development. The purpose of the study was to evaluate systematically the impact of stressful life events and the protective effects of parents' remaining with their children during repeated hospitalizations. Across lengthy and aggressive treatments with chemotherapy, these infants demonstrated no signs of developmental lags or abnormalities, and parents reported generally positive effects for their marriages when remaining in the hospital with their baby. Results are discussed within a framework of coping with stressful life events and the protective effects for infants associated with encouraging parents to remain with their sick children as much as possible during hospitalizations.
Nonlinear optical absorption in laser modified regions of fused silica substrates

The presence of strong nonlinear absorption has been observed in laser modified fused silica. Intensity-dependent transmission measurements using 355, 532 and 1064 nm laser pulses were performed in pristine polished regions in fused silica substrates and in locations that were exposed to dielectric breakdown. The experimental results suggest that multiphoton absorption is considerably stronger in the modified regions compared to pristine sites and is strongly dependent on the excitation wavelength.
POSTER: Compromising Cloaking-based Location Privacy Preserving Mechanisms with Location Injection Attacks

Cloaking-based location privacy preserving mechanisms have been widely adopted to protect users' location privacy while traveling on road networks. However, a fundamental limitation of such mechanisms is that users in the system are inherently trusted and assumed to always report their true locations. Such vulnerability can lead to a new class of attacks called location injection attacks which can successfully break users' anonymity among a set of users through the injection of fake user accounts and incorrect location updates. In this paper, we characterize location injection attacks, demonstrate their effectiveness through experiments on real-world geographic maps and discuss possible defense mechanisms to protect against such attacks.
State of charge estimation of a lithium ion cell based on a temperature dependent and electrolyte enhanced single particle model

SOC (state of charge) estimation provides critical information to system engineers and end users of consumer electronics to electric vehicles. The accuracy of model-based SOC estimation depends on the accuracy of the underlying model, including temperature effects that greatly influence cell dynamics. This paper uses a 7
An interview with arthur M. Horne

Abstract Andy Horne discusses his work with families, conduct disorders of children, multicultural issues, a social learning approach to groups, and recent developments in group work.
Synthesis of a radiotracer for studying nicotinic acetylcholine receptors : (+/−)-exo-2-(2-[18F]fluoro-5-pyridyl)-7-azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane

The radiochemical synthesis of (+/-)-exo-2-(2-[ 18 F]fluoro-5-pyridyl)-7-azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane ([ 18 F]1) was accomplished by Kryptofix® 222 assisted nucleophilic no-carrier-added [ 18 F]fluorination of (+/-)-exo-2-(2-bromo-5-pyridyl)-7-azabicyclo[2.2.1] heptane (3a). The average radiochemical yield of the final product was 10% and the average specific activity was greater than >2000 mCi/μmol, calculated at end-of-synthesis. The stable fluorine ligand ([ 19 F]1 was prepared by Kryptofix® 222 assisted nucleophilic fluorination of (+/-)-exo-2-(2-bromo-5-pyridyl) - 7- methoxycarbonyl - 7 - azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane (3b) followed by acid deprotection.
The Walrasian simulator

This article describes the use of an auction-trading market simulation in a 75-minute class to teach the different ways in which markets approach equilibrium.
Button battery ingestion and insertion by children—an international approach to an emerging dangerous injury

The Seminar will include a variety of presenters, on behalf of • Product safety regulators—USA, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan • Community organisations—Safe Kids Worldwide, Safe Kids USA, Safe Kids Canada, Safekids NZ, Kidsafe in Australia • Paediatricians will outline the nature and consequences of ingestion or insertion • Research—Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit; Safe Kids Worldwide and Fleishman; Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Each presenter will outline a brief summary of issues and implications from their work in the area. Background Extensive cooperative work is being undertaken internationally at regulatory, community and industry levels to address this emerging cause of severe injury. This, like many developing issues, is complex. The problem arises from the misuse of batteries (often unnoticed) by young children who were never intended to have access to them; community awareness is very low; data is difficult and misdiagnosis easy; the result can be catastrophic and deadly; containing the risk is complex. Aims/Objectives The Seminar will address all three themes for the Conference and provide a round table discussion on the issue; lessons from work to date; and next steps in addressing the trends internationally—to synthesise the issue and consider the implications for ongoing efforts. Structure of Seminar • Introduction and outline • Outline of the Battery Controlled Programme and history • Input and implications from research • A medical profession perspective • Industry issues and actions • Community awareness campaign • Regulatory responses • Summary and conclusion Results The Seminar will demonstrate • How Governments, the medical profession, researchers, community groups and industry are working together to find practical solutions to the issue and benefits of this approach; • A variety of research issues; work to overcome these; and how research has been put to immediate use in the Programme; • Development of a successful awareness Programme and how this has started to be transported across countries and cultures; • The process of addressing complex regulatory and standards issues impacting many areas. Significance The Seminar9 significance lies in • Demonstration of the capacity to address emerging issues quickly when regulators, community organisations, researchers and industry work together • An international opportunity to consider progress in addressing this emerging risk to children and the key next steps.
Lurasidone Ingestions Reported to Texas Poison Centers

Background: Lurasidone is an atypical antipsychotic approved for the treatment of schizophrenia in 2010. There is limited information on potentially toxic events involving lurasidone outside of clinical investigations. Objective: This investigation describes potentially toxic lurasidone ingestions from a single data source. Methods: Cases were lurasidone ingestions reported to Texas poison centers during 2011 to 2013. The distribution was determined for selected characteristics. For management and outcome factors, analyses were limited to those cases without coingestants. Results: There were 140 lurasidone ingestions. Of the 72 cases with a reported dose, the mean dose was 536 mg (range = 20-4000 mg). The patient age was 5 years or less in 8.6% of the cases, 6 to 12 years in 2.1%, 13 to 19 years in 17.9%, and 20 years or more in 70.7%; 65.7% of the patients were female. The most commonly reported reason for the exposure was suspected attempted suicide, reported in 54.3% of the cases. No coingestants were reported in 55 (39.3%) of the cases. For these cases, the management site was 56.4% already at/en route to health care facility, 29.1% managed on site, and 10.9% referred to a health care facility. The medical outcome was known or suspected to not be serious in 65.5% of the cases. The most commonly reported clinical effects were drowsiness, agitation, and nausea. Conclusions: The majority of lurasidone ingestions reported to Texas poison centers involved adults and females. Over half were suspected attempted suicides and most involved coingestants. The majority of lurasidone ingestions without coingestants did not have serious outcomes.
The Ecobiopolitics of Space Biomedicine

Using data from an ethnographic study of American astronautics, I argue that, in an inversion of the usual clinical model, astronaut medical subjecthood is fundamentally environmental rather than biological. In extreme environments like outer space, the concept of environment cannot be bracketed out from life processes; as a result, investments of power and knowledge shift from life itself to the sites of interface among living things, technologies, and environments. To illustrate what this means on the ground, I describe space biomedicine as a form of environmental medicine that seeks to optimize and manage technically enabled human ecologies where life and environment are dually problematized. I provide two examples of what I term its ecobiopolitical strategies: creating a new “space normal” physiological category and situating humans as at-risk elements within integrated biological/technological/environmental systems.
Basic aspects of superalloy design for crack growth resistance

It is pointed out that the major difficulty concerning an understanding of the flaw growth resistance properties of superalloys is related to the lack of basic theories. An attempt is made to develop these theories, taking into account their use for the identification of tentative alloy design guidelines for flaw growth resistance. A brief review of the fatigue crack growth literature is provided. Attention is given to continuous fatigue crack growth theory, threshold fatigue crack growth, planar slip superalloy fatigue crack growth, and aspects of creep crack growth resistance.
Spectral stability of symmetric spaces

Let M be a complete Riemannian manifold. Associated to the metric g of M , there is a second order elliptic operator . The Laplacian extends to an unbounded self adjoint operator on L2 M . If M is compact, then has pure point spectrum. In general, has both discrete and continuous spectrum. We say that g is spectrally stable if for any compactly supported two tensor h, there is a δ(h) > 0, such that g is unitarily equivalent to g+λh , for any λ with |λ| < δ(h). We presume that g + λh is positive definite, which is assured for δ(h) sufficiently small. To illustrate the notion of spectral stability, here are some examples: (i) If M is compact, any metric on M is unstable, (ii) Rn is stable when endowed with the standard metric, (iii) If X is compact and M = X × R is a Riemannian product, then M is unstable. The symmetric spaces of noncompact type have purely absolutely continuous spectrum with support a half line, contained in the non–negative real axis. Our main goal is to prove the following:
Catalytic efficiency determines the in-vivo efficacy of PON1 for detoxifying organophosphorus compounds

Human paraoxonase (PON1) is a polymorphic, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-associated esterase that hydrolyzes the toxic metabolites of several organophosphorus (OP) insecticides and nerve agents. The activity polymorphism is determined by a Gln/Arg (Q/R) substitution at position 192. Injection of purified PON1 protects animals from OP poisoning. In the present study, we investigated the in-vivo function of PON1 for detoxifying organophosphorus insecticides in PON1-knockout mice that were challenged via dermal exposure with diazoxon, diazinon and paraoxon. PON1-knockout mice were extremely sensitive to diazoxon. Doses (2 and 4 mg/kg) that caused no cholinesterase (ChE) inhibition in wild-type mice were lethal to the knockout mice, which also showed slightly increased sensitivity to the parent compound diazinon. Surprisingly, these knockout mice did not show increased sensitivity to paraoxon. In-vitro assays indicated that the PON1R192 isoform hydrolyzed diazoxon less rapidly than did the PON1Q192 isoform. In-vivo analysis, where PON1-knockout mice received the same amount of either PON1(192) isoform via intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection 4 h prior to exposure, showed that both isoforms provided a similar degree of protection against diazoxon, while PON1R192 conferred better protection against chlorpyrifos-oxon than PON1Q192. Injection of purified rabbit PON1 or either human PON1(192) isoform did not protect PONI-knockout mice from paraoxon toxicity, nor did over-expression of the human PON1R192 transgene in wild-type mice. Kinetic analysis of the two human PON1(192) isoforms revealed that the catalytic efficiency (Vmax/Km) determines the in-vivo efficacy of PON1 for organophosphorus detoxication. The results indicate that PON1 plays a major role in the detoxication of diazoxon and chlorpyrifos oxon but not paraoxon.
PKA delivery to the distal lung air spaces increases alveolar liquid clearance after isoproterenol-induced alveolar epithelial PKA desensitization

Isoproterenol (Iso) infusion for 48 h in rats decreases the ability of β-adrenoceptor (β-AR) agonists to increase alveolar liquid clearance (ALC). An impairment in protein kinase A (PKA) function a...
A game between communal breeders: When is food-sharing stable?

In some communal species reproductives feed both their own and other dependent young. Maintenance of the interaction does not always require close kinship. We hypothesize that food-sharing by non-relatives may reduce predation in some communally breeding bird species. If communal fostering reduces the probability that any fledgling's begging attracts a predator, a parent might better share food than restrict care to its own young. To advance our hypothesis we analyse a 2-person game in which foragers exploit a stochastic environment. Food-sharing can be (i) disadvantageous, (ii) the cooperative solution to the game, or (iii) the only stable solution—depending on food density, time constraints, and the degree to which the foragers' offspring are spatially aggregated. We also examine the case where starvation, rather than predation, is the ultimate cost. In this situation food-sharing requires mutual cooperation. Finally, we compare communal and colonial breeding systems with reference to the stability of food-sharing and discuss the model's relevance to the communally breeding Mexican Jay.
Deadline-aware broadcasting in wireless networks with network coding

Broadcasting with network coding mixes different packets to minimize the number of transmissions, which improves the energy efficiency of wireless networks. On the other hand, delaying the transmissions increases coding opportunities at the intermediate nodes, but increases the delay of the packets. In this paper, we consider these two contradicting factors and study the problem of minimizing the number of transmissions in wireless networks while meeting the deadlines of different packets. We show that this problem is NP-complete; therefore, we provide a heuristic to solve the problem. First, we construct broadcasting trees, each of them rooted at one source. We then specify overlapping conditions based on the constructed trees to determine the number of transmissions each node has to perform without the deadline constraints. Then, we partition the set of packets such that coding is performed among the packets of the same partition, which does not result in deadline misses. Our simulation results show that our technique not only reduces the number of transmissions, but also allows the majority of the nodes to receive their packets on time.
Efficient motion retrieval in large motion databases

There has been a recent paradigm shift in the computer animation industry with an increasing use of pre-recorded motion for animating virtual characters. A fundamental requirement to using motion capture data is an efficient method for indexing and retrieving motions. In this paper, we propose a flexible, efficient method for searching arbitrarily complex motions in large motion databases. Motions are encoded using keys which represent a wide array of structural, geometric and, dynamic features of human motion. Keys provide a representative search space for indexing motions and users can specify sequences of key values as well as multiple combination of key sequences to search for complex motions. We use a trie-based data structure to provide an efficient mapping from key sequences to motions. The search times (even on a single CPU) are very fast, opening the possibility of using large motion data sets in real-time applications.
Threshold voltage characteristics of depletion-mode MOSFET's

This paper presents the results of a study of the characteristics of the depletion-mode MOSFET. In particular, it is shown that the threshold voltage of this device is a function of its mode of operation (linear or saturated) due to a change in dominant conduction mechanisms caused by the finite depth of donor impurities in the channel. The effect of these impurities on the short channel behavior of the devices also is examined.
Effect of chromosome-doubling agents on somaclonal variation in the progeny of doubled haploids of maize

This study was carried out to determine whether the treatment of anther-culture-derived haploid callus of maize (Zea mays) with chromosome-doubling agents, such as colchicine or the herbicides pronamide and amiprophos-methyl (APM), induces higher than normal levels of somaclonal variation. A total of 79 R1 families produced by diploid regenerated plants resulting from chromosome-doubling treatments were evaluated in the field in comparison with the three parental inbreds. Four qualitative variant phenotypes — male sterility, chlorophyll deficiency, earless plants, and short plants with narrow leaves and thin stalks —– were observed. The last phenotype (narrow leaves and thin stalks) was also found in the inbreds FR16 and H99 grown from seed, so it may not be directly related to the tissue-culture conditions or the anti-microtubule-agent treatments. The frequency of R1 families segregating for the other three mutations was 3.8%, which is no higher than the somaclonal variation frequencies observed previously in tissue-culture-derived maize plants. Observations of three quantitative traits—–days to anthesis, days to silk emergence, and plant height—– also failed to detect any extra variation that could be related to the treatments with anti-microtubule agents. These studies indicate that the anti-microtubule agents APM, pronamide and colchicine can be used to induce chromosome doubling of anther-culture-derived callus to produce a high proportion of doubled haploid plants without causing increased rates of mutation (somaclonal variation).
Michel Leiris: Ethnography or Self‐Portrayal? Review Essay of Sulfur 15, featuring new translations of Michel Leiris's work

The outside observer, whose interest in anthropology has always been essentially "literary" or "philosophical," cannot help being struck by the literarization of much recent anthropological metadiscourse, and by its wholesale adoption of paradigms derived from recent literary theory. Besides, rough, "preethnographic" forms, such as unpublished notes, field diaries, and letters, are receiving increasing attention, while autobiographies and all sorts of first-person writings are scrutinized for their anthropological metaphors and their quasi-ethnographic approach to the analysis of self and culture. This shift, incidentally, is a bit of a letdown for those literary scholars who, not so long ago, were looking to linguistics and anthropology for epistemological and methodological guidance. But no matter: now we're even. These, at any rate, seem to be the emergent conditions explaining why American cultural anthropologists are beginning to be interested in the works of Michel Leiris, if the recent issue of Sulfur, edited by James Clifford, is symptomatic. For Leiris is a writer whose works combine autobiography and anthropology. Michel Leiris is little known in this country, even among the few who are familiar with contemporary French literature and are wont to deplore its inability to produce great literary figures comparable with Gide, Malraux, Sartre, or Camus. It may be that the powerful influence exerted by "thinkers" such as Braudel, LeviStrauss, Lacan, Foucault, or Derrida on American literary criticism and social science makes up for this deficiency. Yet, the American reputation of Leiris has benefited neither from the passing away of his more famous contemporaries (he was born in 1901), nor from the triumph of so-called French "theory." One reason for this prolonged obscurity is often mentioned in the issue of Sulfur, which offers a substantial and well-chosen selection of his work in English: it lies in the uncommon difficulties facing translators owing to Leiris's reliance on wordplay
Characterizing, modeling, and generating workload spikes for stateful services

Evaluating the resiliency of stateful Internet services to significant workload spikes and data hotspots requires realistic workload traces that are usually very difficult to obtain. A popular approach is to create a workload model and generate synthetic workload, however, there exists no characterization and model of stateful spikes. In this paper we analyze five workload and data spikes and find that they vary significantly in many important aspects such as steepness, magnitude, duration, and spatial locality. We propose and validate a model of stateful spikes that allows us to synthesize volume and data spikes and could thus be used by both cloud computing users and providers to stress-test their infrastructure.
Signal characteristics analysis of GEO SAR

Due to the advantage of one day repeating-cycle period, Geosynchronous SAR (GEO SAR) has caused much more increasing attention in the academia and industry. In order to describe GEO SAR accurately, the signal characteristics including synthetic aperture, temporal resolution, imaging swath, satellite velocity and resolution improvement factor in GEO SAR are analysed in this paper. Based on the signal characteristics, the signal processing methods of chirp scaling algorithm, range Doppler algorithm and Back Projection algorithm are applied for GEO SAR imaging. By analysis of simulation results of point target imaging, it is found that Back Projection algorithm can produce the best point target imaging. At last, some typical applications of GEO SAR are also introduced. The study on GEO SAR has remarkable economic benefits and social effects. (5 pages)
Variation in the spillover effects of illness on parents, spouses, and children of the chronically ill

Given the broad scope of the spillover effects of illness, it is important to characterize the variability in these outcomes to identify relationship types in which secondary impacts of illness are particularly important to include in health economic evaluations. To examine heterogeneity in spillover effects of chronic conditions on family members by type of familial relationship with patient. Adults (aged ≥18 years) and adolescents (aged 13–17 years) who had a parent, spouse, or child in their household with a chronic condition (Alzheimer’s disease/dementia, arthritis, cancer, or depression) were recruited from a US national panel to participate in an on-line survey. Respondents were asked to rate the spillover effect of their family member’s illness on their own health on a 0–100 scale, with lower scores indicating greater spillover. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between rating scale scores and relationship with an ill family member (ill parent, child, or spouse) for each illness separately, controlling for caregiving responsibility and the health status of the ill family member. 1,267 adults and 102 adolescents met inclusion criteria. In adjusted analyses, having a sick child was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with lower rating scale scores compared with having a spouse with the same condition (cancer: −24.2; depression −9.7). Having a non-elderly or elderly adult parent with a condition, compared with a spouse, was significantly associated with lower rating scale scores for arthritis (−3.8) and depression (−5.3), but not for Alzheimer’s disease/dementia or cancer. The impact of illness on family members, measured with a rating scale, varies by relationship type for certain illnesses. Having a child with cancer, a parent with arthritis, or either with depression, is significantly associated with greater spillover, compared with having a spouse with one of these conditions.
Comparison of the theoretical and experimental band structure of poly(vinylidene fluoride) crystal

The electronic structure and band symmetries of the ferroelectric phase of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) are studied by using the first-principles density-functional method. Our calculated results agree well with the angle-resolved photoemission experiments. We find that the PVDF crystal has an energy gap of about 6 eV at the Γ-point. Large dispersion of the valence band is found only along the chain direction, which is consistent with the quasi–one-dimensional nature of PVDF. In particular, the band symmetries of the valence states deduced theoretically are in good agreement with experiment. Finally, further investigations on the electronic structure of poly(trifluoroethylene) (PTrFE) reveal that the replacement of -(CH2-CF2)- by -(CHF-CF2)- does not change major features of the band structure.