cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A 260 GHz fully integrated CMOS transceiver for wireless chip-to-chip communication

A fully integrated 260GHz OOK transceiver is demonstrated in 65nm CMOS. Communication at 10Gb/s has been verified over a range of 40 mm. The Tx/Rx dual on-chip antenna array is implemented with half-width leaky wave antennas. Each Tx consists of a quadrupler driven by a class-D−1 PA with a distributed OOK modulator, and outputs +5 dBm of EIRP. The Rx uses a double balanced mixer to down-convert to a V-band IF signal that is amplified with a wideband IF driver and demoduated on-chip.
A time scale decomposition approach to adaptive ECN marking

Fair resource allocation in high-speed networks such as the Internet can be viewed as a constrained optimization program. Kelly and his co-workers have shown that an unconstrained penalty function formulation of this problem can be used to design congestion controllers that are stable. In this paper, we examine the question of providing feedback from the network such that the congestion controllers derived from the penalty function formulation lead to the solution of the original unconstrained problem. This can be viewed as the decentralized design of early congestion notification (ECN) marking rates at each node in the Internet to ensure global loss-free operation of a fluid model of the network. We then look at the stability of such a scheme using a time-scale decomposition of the system. This results in two separate systems which are stable individually and we show that under certain assumptions the entire system is semi-globally stable and converges to the equilibrium point exponentially fast.
Reproductive Strategies of Primary Parasitoids of the Green Cloverworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Cotesia marginiventris (Cresson), Diolcogaster facetosa (Weed), and Rogas nolophanae Ashmead, which respectively parasitize progressively older green cloverworm, Plathypena scabra (F.) larvae, produced (x ± SE) 362.7 ± 24.1, 83.2 ± 11.4, 66.3 ± 6.1 offspring, respectively, during their lifetimes. Adult female longevity at 24°C averaged lS.l ± O.S, ~3.0 ± 0.9, and 29.9 ± 2.7 d for these species, respectively. Numbers of mature eggs from dissections of 2-d-old females were 105 ± 7.1,57 ± 5.9, and 5.2 ± 0.9. Primary braconid and tachinid parasitoids of the green cloverworm exhibited decreasing observed or estimated fecundities with respect to increasing age of host larvae attacked. Decreasing fecundities of these parasitoid species may reflect increasing potential for survival until time of parasitoid emergence of the progressively older host larvae which these species attack. Other factors suggested as influencing fecundity are breadth of host range and complexity of host location, capture, and oviposition behaviors.
Effects of relatedness on social interaction rates in a solitary marmot

Kinship often influences social interactions, such that animals behave more amicably towards close kin than towards distant kin or unrelated individuals. However, competition also may affect interactions among kin and the degree of sociality in a population. I used microsatellite DNA markers and behavioural observations to examine effects of kinship on social interactions among woodchucks, Marmota monax, which generally are considered asocial or aggressive. Rates of agonistic interactions did not change with relatedness, but rates of amicable interactions increased with increasing relatedness. I observed more amicable interactions than expected between mother–offspring and littermate sibling dyads, but I observed fewer amicable interactions between nonlittermate siblings and more distant kin. Instances of physical aggression were less frequent than expected in mother–offspring, nonlittermate siblings and distant kin dyads, but more frequent than expected among littermate siblings. Interactions between mother–offspring dyads also changed with offspring age, with mothers behaving more amicably towards younger offspring and more agonistically towards older offspring, especially females. Among littermate siblings, rates of amicable interactions were highest between juveniles and yearlings, but then decreased between adult siblings. Social interactions reflected a balance between cooperation and competition. Although woodchucks in this population lived near kin and biased interactions based on kinship, many interactions were agonistic, and animals did not show greater degrees of sociality. Ecological factors, such as predation risk, resource distribution and climate, may favour solitary living in this population.
On applications of first excess level random processes to queueing systems with random server capacity and capacity dependent service time

The paper deals with a class of single-server queueing systems with compound input process, a queue length dependent service delay and a random server capacity. Under the assumption that the server does not begin to process a group of units until the number of available units matches the server capacity (r≥1), such a model generalizes many known queueing systems. Since units arrive in batches, the queue length at the instant of the first passage time is more likely to exceed rather than to reach level r. Consequently, the analysis of models like this requires knowledge of the first excess level process and other related processes which were studied in the recent work of Abolnikov and Dshalalow [1] on the first passage problem. The authors study discrete and continuous time parameter queueing processes by employing and developing semi-regenerative techniques and the theory of fluctuations. They establish a necessary and sufficient ergodicity criterion for both processes and obtain explicit expressions for ...
Quantitative Shape Analysis of Carbonate Sands by Use of Contour Registration and Template Matching: ABSTRACT

Carbonate sands are composed of relatively few particle types (e.g., Halimeda, coralline algae, corals, mollusks, and foraminifera). The shape of a particular sand grain is highly dependent on the particle type of which it is composed. Previous, studies of modern carbonate environments show that the composition of sand substrates from different subenvironments are dependent on the organisms that inhabit them. These depositional environments can thus be distinguished from each other according to their constituent particle compositions and, therefore, also by analysis of particle shapes. Template (shape) matching can be accomplished only after the digitized shapes have been normalized to a unit-sized circle and registered. Registration involves the simple computation of shape-specific points within, on, or near the 2-dimensional contour of the sand grain. Shapes are subsequently rotated so that all of the shapes are in a similar position relative to their shape-specific points, allowing more meaningful comparisons between particles. After registration, 36 equi-angular radial lengths are calculated for grain from the center of mass to the boundary outline. A template-matching algorithm was devised in order to determine the relative percentages of several reference shape types, representing the constituents contained within 35 samples from 4 carbonate beaches and associ ted subtidal environments from the Florida Keys. Reference shapes may be chosen arbitrarily or obtained by computing average shapes of the various constituents. The precision of the shape classifications may be enhanced by adding supplemental reference shapes to the algorithm. End_of_Article - Last_Page 287------------
Fear of Crime and the Likelihood of Victimization: A Bi-Ethnic Comparison

Fear of crime and the likelihood of future victimization for Hispanics and Blacks in the United States was examined. The sample size was 2,235 (1,696 Black and 539 Hispanic respondents). Fear of crime and the likelihood of victimization were perceived as serious social problems by both Hispanics and Blacks, but Hispanics and women reported higher levels of fear of crime and felt more likely to be victimized than Blacks and men did.
Test for low cost CMOS image sensors

Summary form only given. Low cost CMOS image sensors are used in various applications, but the most prominent are camera phones, the fastest growing consumer electronics product in history, going mainstream in less than 5 years from initial introduction. The use of CMOS rather than CCD is discussed, and circuit details given of common pixel designs. The more recent four transistor cell is compared with three transistor cells with respect to image quality and noise. Necessary enhancements to a traditional CMOS process are discussed, needed to produce color filters over individual pixels and a microlens array to capture more light. An integral part of typical systems is an image processor, which takes raw sensor data and converts it into a color image. Brief details of a typical image pipeline are presented, which includes descriptions of demosaic, white balance, color correction and gamma correction. Test considerations deal primarily with the sensor array. The image pipeline is digital logic and tested using traditional approaches. Although these are primarily structural, the dedicated nature of the logic allows some functional tests to be used as effective screeners. Wafer test of digital logic must have high coverage as scan based tests are typically not able to be applied at module level. Array defects can give rise to either random or fixed pattern noise. The eye is significantly more sensitive to fixed pattern noise so special effort is needed to detect it. Causes of defects are discussed, breaking them down into silicon defects and fall-on particles. It is shown how manifestation of these defects, as image blemishes, varies considerably according to test conditions. These conditions include illumination level, exposure, temperature, and whether raw sensor images or demosaiced color images are analyzed. Defective pixel cluster size and amount of deviance are also parameters which need to be considered. Finally, pixel correction is discussed. Since the sensor is a large array, spatial redundancy is utilized to correct isolated defective pixels based on values of neighbor pixels. The challenge is to avoid classifying good pixels as bad, which results in replacing their values, thereby corrupting an otherwise perfectly good image.
CASEIN VISCOSITY STUDIES

1. Viscosity and pH curves of casein dissolved in NaOH, KOH, LiOH, and NH(4)OH are shown and it is found that a maximum viscosity occurs at about the same pH point with each alkali; i.e., 9.1 to 9.25. The magnitude of the viscosity is largest in ammonia solutions. 2. The maximum viscosity occurs in 8 to 10 per cent solutions of casein in alkalies when about 98 x 10(-5) gram equivalents of base are combined with 1 gram of casein. 3. A maximum viscosity occurs in the same region (pH 9.1 to 9.25) when casein is dissolved in Na(2)CO(3), Na(3)AsO(4), Na(2)SO(3), NaF, and Na(2)PO(3). 4. The maximum viscosity obtained with borax solutions of casein occurs at 8.15 to 8.2 pH. It is suggested that casein acts like mannitol, glycerol, etc., in increasing the dissociation of boric acid. 5. The flattening of the viscosity curves of casein solutions, following the decline from maximum, is shown to be due to alkaline hydrolysis whence casein no longer exists as such but is cleaved into a major protein containing no phosphorus or sulfur and less nitrogen. This cleavage commences at pH 10.0 to 10.5. 6. When casein is prepared from solutions that have been subjected to high temperatures (60 degrees C. and above) or has otherwise been heated during its preparation, it yields solutions in alkalies of high viscosity.
Effects of intentional gaps in spray coverage on the efficacy of gypsy moth mating disruption

The study was conducted during 2001 and 2002 in forested areas in Virginia, US to examine the effects of gaps in coverage of pheromone on gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lep., Lymantriidae), mating disruption. Gypsy moth male moth catches in pheromone-baited traps were significantly reduced in plots treated with the gypsy moth sex pheromone, disparlure, at an overall application rate of 37.5 g of active ingredient (AI)/ha but with untreated gaps of 30 or 90 m between 30-m wide treated swaths. In one of the two plots with 90 m gaps, significantly more males were captured in traps in the untreated areas compared with the treated areas within the plot. However, in another plot, significant differences in trap catches between treated and untreated areas were not observed. No difference in male moth catches in the pheromone-baited traps was observed between treated and untreated areas within the plots treated with 30 m gaps. Female mating success did not differ significantly between treated and untreated areas within the one plot in which it was measured. These results suggest that it may be possible to lower costs associated with gypsy moth mating disruption applications by alternating treated and untreated swaths, which would reduce flight time and fuel costs, without a reduction in efficacy.
Optimization opportunities created by global data reordering

Memory access has proven to be one of the bottlenecks in modern architectures. Improving memory locality and eliminating the amount of memory access can help release this bottleneck. We present a method for link-time profile-based optimization by reordering the global data of the program and modifying its code accordingly. The proposed optimization reorders the entire global data of the program, according to a representative execution rate of each instruction (or basic block) in the code. The data reordering is done in a way that enables the replacement of frequently-executed Load instructions, which reference the global data, with fast Add Immediate instructions. In addition, it tries to improve the global data locality and to reduce the total size of the global data area. The optimization was implemented into FDPR (Feedback Directed Program Restructuring), a post-link optimizer, which is part of the IBM AIX operating system for the IBM pSeries servers. Our results on SPECint2000 show a significant improvement of up to 11% (average 3%) in execution time, along with up to 97.9% (average 83%) reduction in memory references to the global variables via the global data access mechanism of the program.
Triassic blueschist from northern California and north-central Oregon

Four samples of blueschist from the eastern Klamath Mountains near Yreka, northern California, and from north-central Oregon near Mitchell have radiometric ages of approximately 220 m.y. (Middle Triassic). In the Klamath Mountains, there are two types of blueschist occurrence: (1) tectonic blocks of mafic composition in a phyllitic quartzite and siliceous phyllite terrane, which has also undergone blueschist-facies meta-morphism and lies between a belt of serpentinite and an upper Paleozoic or lower Mesozoic greenstone-chert terrane, and (2) discontinuous layers and tectonic blocks in phyllitic rocks of the greenschist metamorphic facies, which occur beneath a thrust plate of lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. In north-central Oregon, blueschist blocks occur in strongly sheared upper Paleozoic metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks overlain by Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. The blueschist blocks in the Klamath Mountains and north-central Oregon are inferred to have formed during subduction that accompanied widespread Middle Triassic tectonism in the western Cordillera.
Mechanistic insights into the recycling machine of the SNARE complex

Evolutionarily conserved SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptors) proteins form a complex that drives membrane fusion in eukaryotes. The ATPase NSF (N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor), together with SNAPs (soluble NSF attachment protein), disassembles the SNARE complex into its protein components, making individual SNAREs available for subsequent rounds of fusion. Here we report structures of ATP- and ADP-bound NSF, and the NSF/SNAP/SNARE (20S) supercomplex determined by single-particle electron cryomicroscopy at near-atomic to sub-nanometre resolution without imposing symmetry. Large, potentially force-generating, conformational differences exist between ATP- and ADP-bound NSF. The 20S supercomplex exhibits broken symmetry, transitioning from six-fold symmetry of the NSF ATPase domains to pseudo four-fold symmetry of the SNARE complex. SNAPs interact with the SNARE complex with an opposite structural twist, suggesting an unwinding mechanism. The interfaces between NSF, SNAPs, and SNAREs exhibit characteristic electrostatic patterns, suggesting how one NSF/SNAP species can act on many different SNARE complexes.
Multiscale Hybrid Linear Models for Lossy Image Representation

In this paper, we introduce a simple and efficient representation for natural images. We view an image (in either the spatial domain or the wavelet domain) as a collection of vectors in a high-dimensional space. We then fit a piece-wise linear model (i.e., a union of affine subspaces) to the vectors at each downsampling scale. We call this a multiscale hybrid linear model for the image. The model can be effectively estimated via a new algebraic method known as generalized principal component analysis (GPCA). The hybrid and hierarchical structure of this model allows us to effectively extract and exploit multimodal correlations among the imagery data at different scales. It conceptually and computationally remedies limitations of many existing image representation methods that are based on either a fixed linear transformation (e.g., DCT, wavelets), or an adaptive uni-modal linear transformation (e.g., PCA), or a multimodal model that uses only cluster means (e.g., VQ). We will justify both quantitatively and experimentally why and how such a simple multiscale hybrid model is able to reduce simultaneously the model complexity and computational cost. Despite a small overhead of the model, our careful and extensive experimental results show that this new model gives more compact representations for a wide variety of natural images under a wide range of signal-to-noise ratios than many existing methods, including wavelets. We also briefly address how the same (hybrid linear) modeling paradigm can be extended to be potentially useful for other applications, such as image segmentation
Inclusive chemical characterization of tourmaline: Mossbauer study of Fe valence and site occupancy

We report here the results of a series of inclusive chemical characterizations, including all elements except oxygen, for a suite of 54 tourmaline samples. A combination of analytical techniques was used to analyze for major and light elements (electron microprobe), Fe 31 (Mossbauer spectroscopy), H (U extraction), and B, Li, and F (ion microprobe, or SIMS). The B content of the tourmalines studied ranges from 2.86 to 3.26 B per formula unit (pfu) with 31 anions; excess boron is believed to reside in the Si site. Li ranges from 0.0 to 1.44 Li pfu and F contents are 0.0-0.91 pfu. H contents range from nearly anhydrous up to 3.76 H pfu and do not correlate simply with Fe 31 content. Mossbauer results show that tourmaline exhibits the entire range of Fe 31 /SFe from 0.0-1.0. Fe 21 is represented in the spectra by three doublets, with occupancy in at least three distinct types of Y sites (with different types of nearest and next nearest neighbors). Fe 31 was found in 26 of the 54 samples studied. Although Mossbauer data do not allow the distinction between (Y) Fe 31 and (Z) Fe 31 site occupancies to be made, XRD data on these samples suggest that the majority of Fe 31 is also in Y. Of the samples studied, (4) Fe 31 occurs in nine; five of those were either olenite or uvite with extensive Na substitution. A mixed valence doublet corresponding to delocalized electrons shared between adjacent octahedra was observed in 14 of the samples studied. Projection pursuit regression analysis shows that distribution of Fe among doublets is a function (albeit a complex one) of bulk composition of the tourmaline and supports the interpretation of doublets representing different populations of neighbors. Variations in Fe 31 /
Survival Impact of Followup Care after Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer

Purpose: Due to substantial variation in patient followup after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer, we sought to understand the effect of urine and laboratory tests, physician visits and imaging on overall survival.Materials and Methods: We analyzed a cohort of patients treated in the fee for service Medicare population from 1992 through 2007 using Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare data. Using propensity score analysis, we assessed the relationship between time and geography standardized expenditures on followup care and overall survival during 3 postoperative periods, including perioperative (0 to 3 months), early followup (4 to 6 months) and later followup (7 to 24 months). Using instrumental variable analysis, we assessed the overall survival impact of the quantity of followup care by category, including physician visits, imaging, and laboratory and urine tests.Results: We found no improvement in survival due to followup care in the perioperative and early followup periods. R...
RiTa: creativity support for computational literature

The RiTa Toolkit for Computation Literature is a suite of open-source components, tutorials, and examples, providing support for a range of tasks related to the practice of creative writing in programmable media. Designed both as a toolkit for practicing writers and as an end-to-end solution for digital writing courses (the focus of this paper), RiTa covers a range of computational tasks related to literary practice, including text analysis, generation, display and animation, text-to-speech, text-mining, and access to external resources such as WordNet. In courses taught at Brown University, students from a wide range of backgrounds (creative writers, digital artists, media theorists, linguists and programmers, etc.) have been able to quickly achieve facility with the RiTa components, to gain an understanding of core language processing tasks, and to quickly progress on to their own creative language projects.
Comparative Bureaucracy: Today as Yesterday

Today, as yesterday, despite such movements as debureaucratization, contracting out, privatization, and networking, bureaucracy remains the predominant form of governmental organization in much of the world. But though Max Weber's ideal model encompasses bureaucracy's core characteristics, bureaucratic systems differ. Far from being the stable, closed systems he describes, they are contentious, politicized places in which important issues remain unresolved. Faced with turbulent conditions and
Scaling Consensus: Increasing Decentralization in Wikipedia Governance

How does "self-governance" happen in Wikipedia? Through in-depth interviews with eleven individuals who have held a variety of responsibilities in the English Wikipedia, we obtained rich descriptions of how various forces produce and regulate social structures on the site. Our analysis describes Wikipedia as an organization with highly refined policies, norms, and a technological architecture that supports organizational ideals of consensus building and discussion. We describe how governance in the site is becoming increasingly decentralized as the community grows and how this is predicted by theories of commons-based governance developed in offline contexts. The trend of decentralization is noticeable with respect to both content-related decision making processes and social structures that regulate user behavior.
A review of Xilinx FPGA architectural reliability concerns from Virtex to Virtex-5

This paper presents heavy ion static results for Xilinx field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The paper analyzes static bit cross-sections, resources, multiplebit upsets (MBUs) and resource effects for implications to triple-modular redundancy.
Clinical Care Pathways

Clinical care pathways have been developed to integrate multidisciplinary treatment for a defined diagnosis or treatment. The concept of surgical pathways is not new, with published examples ranging from craniotomy to the treatment diabetic foot ulcers. From the standpoint of the surgical care, such pathways represent an algorithmic approach to patient care beginning with preoperative evaluation and extending through each treatment stage to discharge and follow-up.
Catecholamine Measurement in Behavioral Research

The catecholamines norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), and dopamine (DA) are released from nerves and the adrenal into blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and urine. E is released from the adrenal medulla into the bloodstream where it acts as a hormone by stimulating α- and β-adrenergic receptors. Blood levels of E provide a good guide to adrenomedullary stimulation. A small increase in a resting subject’s blood E levels from a low normal of 20 pg/ml to a high normal of 80 pg/ml is sufficient to alter glucose metabolism. NE is also present in the adrenal, but most blood NE comes from sympathetic nerves. Blood levels of NE in the normal range for a resting, recumbent subject (150–500 pg/ml) have little physiologic effect, but blood levels of 1000 pg/ml cause subtle hemodynamic changes. NE has its major effect following release from sympathetic nerves across a synapse onto adjacent adrenergic receptors. A small fraction of this NE finds its way into the bloodstream. Blood levels of NE correlate with sympathetic nerve activity and double 5 min after one stands from a recumbent posture. Blood levels of the catecholamines are a potentially valuable guide to sympathetic nervous activity. Unfortunately, the use of catecholamine levels as a research tool has sometimes preceded adequate understanding of their chemistry or biology.
Low frequency of broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies during chronic infection even in quaternary epitope targeting antibodies containing large numbers of somatic mutations

Neutralizing antibodies (Abs) are thought to be a critical component of an appropriate HIV vaccine response. It has been proposed that Abs recognizing conformationally dependent quaternary epitopes on the HIV envelope (Env) trimer may be necessary to neutralize diverse HIV strains. A number of recently described broadly neutralizing monoclonal Abs (mAbs) recognize complex and quaternary epitopes. Generally, many such Abs exhibit extensive numbers of somatic mutations and unique structural characteristics. We sought to characterize the native antibody (Ab) response against circulating HIV focusing on such conformational responses, without a prior selection based on neutralization. Using a capture system based on VLPs incorporating cleaved envelope protein, we identified a selection of B cells that produce quaternary epitope targeting Abs (QtAbs). Similar to a number of broadly neutralizing Abs, the Ab genes encoding these QtAbs showed extensive numbers of somatic mutations. However, when expressed as recombinant molecules, these Abs failed to neutralize virus or mediate ADCVI activity. Molecular analysis showed unusually high numbers of mutations in the Ab heavy chain framework 3 region of the variable genes. The analysis suggests that large numbers of somatic mutations occur in Ab genes encoding HIV Abs in chronically infected individuals in a non-directed, stochastic, manner.
Emergency Contraception: Review and Update

Unintended pregnancy continues to be a substantial public health problem. Emergency contraception (EC) provides a last chance at pregnancy prevention. Several safe and effective options for emergency contraception are currently available. The Yuzpe method, a combined hormonal regimen, was essentially replaced by other oral medications including levonorgestrel and the antiprogestin ulipristal. The antiprogestin mifepristone has been studied for use as emergency contraception. The most effective postcoital method of contraception is the copper intrauterine device (IUD). Obesity and the simultaneous initiation of progestin-containing contraception may decrease the effectiveness of some emergency contraception.
The 2002 Ohio State University FutureTruck - The BuckHybrid002

This year, in the third year of FutureTruck competition, the Ohio State University team has taken the challenge to convert a 2002 Ford Explorer into a more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly SUV. This goal was achieved by use of a post-transmission, charge sustaining, parallel hybrid diesel-electric drivetrain. The main power source is a 2.5-liter, 103 kW advanced CIDI engine manufactured by VM Motori. A 55 kW Ecostar AC induction electric motor provides the supplemental power. The powertrain is managed by a state of the art supervisory control system which optimizes powertrain characteristics using advanced energy management and emission control algorithms. A unique driver interface implementing advanced telematics, and an interior designed specifically to reduce weight and be more environmentally friendly add to the utility of the vehicle as well as the consumer appeal. The BuckHybrid002 achieves 23 mpg city and 32 mpg highway, meets ULEV emissions standards and meets or exceeds all of the performance and customer demands embodied in the stock Explorer.
MONTE CARLO METHOD FOR GEOMETRICAL PERTURBATION AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE PULSED FAST REACTOR.

The Monte Carlo method is applied to calculate the reactivity change due to a moving reflector block in the pulsed fast reactor system. This reactivity change is an important quantity in the determination of the power pulse width. In the important region of small displacements about the maximum reactivity point, the reactivity change is so small that the ordinary Monte Carlo methods, using the importance sampling, Russian roulette, or splitting techniques, require prohibitively long calculation times. To avoid this difficulty, a new Monte Carlo method, which directly calculates the geometry coefficient of reactivity due to a geometry perturbation, is developed by adopting the method used in the calculation for the Doppler coefficient by Olhoeft. The formulation of the new method is discussed. The GEMCM code for this geometry perturbation, which is made by modifying the 05R code, is described. Finally, an analysis of the critical experiment for the pulsed fast reactor is carried out using this method and t...
Testing the Relations Among Family Disorganization, Delay Discounting, and Adolescent Alcohol Use: A Genetically Informed Study.

BACKGROUND: Delay discounting is a potential etiological factor in adolescents' alcohol use, making it important to understand its antecedents. Family disorganization might contribute to delay discounting, but few studies have tested this relation. Moreover, because delay discounting is heritable, the effects of family disorganization on delay discounting might be moderated by adolescents' genetic risk for delay discounting. Thus, the current study examined the role of family disorganization, in interaction with genetic risk, in predicting adolescents' delay discounting and subsequent alcohol use. METHODS: Adolescents participated in 4 waves of data collection. Adolescents self-reported their family disorganization at T1, completed a delay discounting questionnaire at T3, and self-reported their alcohol use both at T2 (covariate) and T4 (outcome). Using results from an independent sample, we created a polygenic risk score consisting of dopaminergic genes to index genetic risk for delay discounting. RESULTS: Greater family disorganization predicted adolescents' greater delay discounting, but only for adolescents with low levels of genetic risk for delay discounting. Adolescents with high and mean levels of genetic risk for delay discounting showed elevated delay discounting regardless of their family's disorganization. Greater delay discounting prospectively predicted adolescents' greater alcohol use. Finally, the effects of family disorganization on adolescents' alcohol use were mediated through delay discounting, but only for adolescents with low levels of genetic risk. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest multiple pathways to delay discounting. Although there are genetically influenced pathways to delay discounting, family disorganization might represent an environmental pathway to delay discounting (and subsequent alcohol use) for a subset of adolescents at low genetic risk. These findings reinforce the utility of family interventions for reducing adolescents' delay discounting and alcohol use, at least for a subgroup of adolescents. Because higher family organization did not buffer against delay discounting among adolescents with high genetic risk, future research should explore other early environmental influences that could protect these high-risk adolescents from developing these risky behaviors. Language: en
Nanoscale damping characteristics of boron nitride nanotubes and carbon nanotubes reinforced polymer composites.

This study compares the damping behavior of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as reinforcement in PLC, a biodegradable copolymer. The damping behavior of PLC composites re...
The stimulation of nerve-endings in muscle and the theory of receptive substances

Langley has shown that the stimulating action of nicotine upon muscle is prevented by curare and that this antagonism is exhibited also in muscles in which the nerve fibers have been removed by degeneration. This and other facts have led him to formulate the hypothesis of special receptive substances present in the muscle upon which these drugs and other chemical stimuli exert their action, and furthermore he ventures the generalization, in contradiction of the usual belief, that “in no case do chemical substances have a special action on nerve-endings.”The series of experiments here reported were made at the suggestion of Dr. J. W. Warren to test the above hypothesis. The gastrocnemius muscle of the frog was used and its reactions were studied after immersion in solutions of sodium sulphocyanide and potassium sulphocyanide. The following results were obtained.1. Action of potassium sulphocyanide.—This salt was used in hypertonic solutions (2 per cent. KCNS made up in a Ringer's mixture) and in isotonic s...
Economic Take-off’s Looming Questions: Democracy, Human Rights, and Civil Society in the “New India”

In the last two decades, India has come into its own as its economic trajectory has “taken off” and entered new heights. Much of the world is taking notice of its new-found success and confidence. In many parts of the developed world, India is now looked upon as an economic rival rather than a charity case, a country with the brain and human-power to become the strategic and economic powerhouse that might someday soon be a potent, competitive force.
GENETIC VARIANCE OF BLOOD PRESSURE LEVELS IN INFANT TWINS

A cohort of 166 twin pairs (67 monozygotic and 99 dizygotic) born at the Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami Medical Center between July 1, 1976 and December 31, 1980, was followed from birth to one year of age in order to estimate the genetic variance of blood pressure during the first year of life. The sex-adjusted summary estimate of heritability for systolic blood pressure during all of infancy was 0.22 (p less than 0.001), but statistically significant genetic variance was not found for diastolic blood pressure. When using blood pressures from six to 12 months of age, adjusted for infant sex, heritability was estimated as 0.33 (p less than 0.001) for systolic blood pressure and 0.24 (p = 0.04) for diastolic blood pressure; adjustment for body weight reduced these estimates to 0.27 (p less than 0.001) and 0.17 (p = 0.13), respectively.
Movement Disorders in Children with Acute Bilateral Lesions of the Basal Ganglia: A Case Series (P01.233)

Objective: To review the clinical features of children with acute neurological symptoms associated with bilateral basal ganglia lesions. Background Acute bilateral lesions of the basal ganglia in childhood are a rare and heterogeneous group of disorders. Movement disorders are a prominent feature, but the full clinical spectrum remains incompletely characterized. Design/Methods: Retrospective case series. Results: We reviewed the charts of 6 patients who were evaluated by movement disorders specialists in our institution. The patients ranged in age from 10 months to 12 years. Neurological symptom onset was preceded by systemic infection in 4 patients, and surgery in 2 patients. Four of the patients were encephalopathic with altered consciousness at onset. Motor symptoms developed hyper-acutely in one patient, while the other 5 experienced worsening motor symptoms over the course of days. The movement disorder syndromes observed were generalized dystonia (n=3), dystonia-parkinsonism (n=2), and chorea (n=1). Brain MRI demonstrated lesions limited to the striatum in 3 patients, while 3 patients had involvement of the globus pallidus with other brain regions. Striatal lesions were associated with a variety of motor syndromes (chorea, dystonia, parkinsonism). Investigations revealed abnormal Mycoplasma pneumoniae serology in 1 patient with striatal necrosis, and elevated blood or CSF lactate in 3 patients, one of whom had a mutation in mitochondrial DNA. Two patients had normal mitochondrial respiratory chain function on muscle biopsy. None of the patients had evidence of infection or inflammation in the CSF. Four patients had follow-up >12 months at our center. All were non-ambulatory and had persistent residual symptoms responsive to symptomatic medical treatments including tetrabenazine, artane, clonazepam and levodopa-carbidopa. Conclusions: This case series illustrates the complex patterns of manifestations which may be associated with pallidal and striatal necrosis in children. Supported by: In part by the Parkinson9s Disease Foundation. Disclosure: Dr. Virmani has nothing to disclose. Dr. Pearson has nothing to disclose.
The Effectiveness of Visualization for Learning Expression Evaluation: A Reproducibility Study

A study was conducted to reproduce the results of an earlier study on the effectiveness of visualization for learning expression evaluation in a problem-solving software tutor on arithmetic expressions. In the current reproducibility study, data was collected from a software tutor on assignment expressions over six semesters. ANOVA analysis of the amount and speed of learning was conducted with treatment, sex and racial groups as fixed factors. Results include that visualization helped the students learn significantly more concepts, whether the students needed to use the tutor or benefited from using the tutor. However, it only benefited the less-prepared students. It did not help the students learn faster. It benefited both the sexes and traditionally represented as well as underrepresented groups. The current study confirmed almost all the results from the previous study, albeit for a harder topic. One reason why visualization was found to be effective in both these studies may be that the same visualization scheme was used by the students to both view feedback and construct their answers.
Immunomodulatory effects of tick saliva on dermal cells exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi , the agent of Lyme disease

The prolonged feeding process of ixodid ticks, in combination with bacterial transmission, should lead to a robust inflammatory response at the blood-feeding site. Yet, factors present in tick saliva may down-regulate such responses, which may be beneficial to spirochete transmission. The primary goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that tick saliva, in the context of Borrelia burgdorferi, can have widespread effects on the production of immune mediators in skin. A cross-section of tick feeding on skin was examined histologically. Human THP-1 cells stimulated with B. burgdorferi and grown in the presence or absence of tick saliva were examined by human DNA microarray, cytokine bead array, sandwich ELISA, and qRT-PCR. Similar experiments were also conducted using dermal fibroblasts. Tick feeding on skin showed dermal infiltration of histiocytes and granulocytes at the bite location. Changes in monocytic transcript levels during co-culture with B. burgdorferi and saliva indicated that tick saliva had a suppressive effect on the expression of certain pro-inflammatory mediators, such as IL-8 (CXCL8) and TLR2, but had a stimulatory effect on specific molecules such as the Interleukin 10 receptor, alpha subunit (IL-10RA), a known mediator of the immunosuppressive signal of IL-10. Stimulated cell culture supernatants were analyzed via antigen-capture ELISA and cytokine bead array for inflammatory mediator production. Treatment of monocytes with saliva significantly reduced the expression of several key mediators including IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha. Tick saliva had an opposite effect on dermal fibroblasts. Rather than inhibiting, saliva enhanced production of pro-inflammatory mediators, including IL-8 and IL-6 from these sentinel skin cells. The effects of ixodid tick saliva on resident skin cells is cell type-dependent. The response to both tick and pathogen at the site of feeding favors pathogen transmission, but may not be wholly suppressed by tick saliva.
Commentary: The Cognitive Costs of Context: The Effects of Concreteness and Immersiveness in Instructional Examples.

The research reported by Day et al. (2015) highlights important current and developing issues in the study of learning and memory. Consistent with laboratory studies, they found that testing students in a more naturalistic environment did not reverse a cost observed in using more concrete materials during learning. Although directly emphasized in their paper, this work highlights the value in extending laboratory work more ecologically valid circumstances, the ability of different kinds of training experiences to transfer to novel circumstances, and the very long-term retention of knowledge.
Examining student heuristic usage in a hydrogen bonding assessment

This study investigates the role of representational competence in student responses to an assessment of hydrogen bonding. The assessment couples the use of a multiple-select item ("Choose all that apply") with an open-ended item to allow for an examination of students' cognitive processes as they relate to the assignment of hydrogen bonding within a structural representation. Response patterns from the multiple-select item implicate heuristic usage as a contributing factor to students' incorrect responses. The use of heuristics is further supported by the students' corresponding responses to the open-ended assessment item. Taken together, these data suggest that poor representational competence may contribute to students' previously observed inability to correctly navigate the concept of hydrogen bonding. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(5):411-416, 2017.
Variable prognostic value of blood pressure response to exercise.

Abstract Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of patient background including exercise capacity on the relationship between the blood pressure (BP) response to exercise and prognosis in patients visiting a cardiovascular hospital. Methods A total of 2134 patients who were referred to our hospital underwent symptom-limited maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and were followed through medical records and mail. The BP response to exercise was defined as the difference between peak and rest systolic BP. The end point was set as cardiovascular events including cardiovascular death, acute coronary syndrome, hospitalization for heart failure, and cerebral infarction. Results During a median follow-up period of 3 years, 179 (8%) patients reached the end point (2.5%/year). Multivariate analysis showed that BP response was independently and negatively associated with the occurrence of the end point. This prognostic significance of BP response was consistent regardless of left ventricular ejection fraction, renal function, presence of heart failure symptoms, the presence of organic heart disease, and hypertension. However, peak VO2 showed a significant interaction with the effects of BP response on the end point, suggesting that the prognostic value of BP response was limited in patients with preserved exercise capacity. Conclusions The role of BP response to exercise as the predictor depends on exercise capacity of each patient.
C-Reactive protein in relation to fecundability and anovulation among eumenorrheic women.

Objective To assess systemic inflammation in relation to fecundability and anovulation. Design Prospective cohort study among participants in the Effects of Aspirin in Gestation and Reproduction trial who were assigned to the placebo. Setting Academic medical centers. Patient(s) Healthy eumenorrheic women (n = 572), 18–40 years of age, with one or two pregnancy losses, attempting spontaneous pregnancy. Intervention(s) Baseline serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) values Main Outcome Measure(s) Discrete Cox proportional hazards models estimated the fecundability odds ratio (FOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) and adjusted for potential confounders. Log-binomial regression estimated the risk ratio (RR) and 95% CI of anovulation. The algorithm to define anovulation used data on urinary concentrations of hCG, pregnanediol-3-glucuronide, and LH as well as fertility monitor readings. Result(s) Higher hsCRP was associated with reduced fecundability but not with an increased risk of anovulation. Conclusion(s) Among healthy women attempting pregnancy after one or two pregnancy losses, we found preliminary evidence that systemic inflammation is associated with reduced fecundability, but not independently from adiposity. Sporadic anovulation did not appear to drive this association. Clinical Trial Registration Number ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00467363.
Synthesis and evaluation of radiolabeled AGI-5198 analogues as candidate radiotracers for imaging mutant IDH1 expression in tumors.

Abstract Mutations in the metabolic enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) are commonly found in gliomas. AGI-5198, a potent and selective inhibitor of the mutant IDH1 enzyme, was radiolabeled with radioiodine and fluorine-18. These radiotracers were evaluated as potential probes for imaging mutant IDH1 expression in tumors with positron emission tomography (PET). Radioiodination of AGI-5198 was achieved using a tin precursor in 79 ± 6% yield (n = 9), and 18F-labeling was accomplished by the Ugi reaction in a decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 2.6 ± 1.6% (n = 5). The inhibitory potency of the analogous nonradioactive compounds against mutant IDH1 (IDH1-R132H) was determined in enzymatic assays. Cell uptake studies using radiolabeled AGI-5198 analogues revealed somewhat higher uptake in IDH1-mutated cells than that in wild-type IDH1 cells. The radiolabeled compounds displayed favorable tissue distribution characteristics in vivo, and good initial uptake in IDH1-mutated tumor xenografts; however, tumor uptake decreased with time. Radioiodinated AGI-5198 exhibited higher tumor-to-background ratios compared with 18F-labeled AGI-5198; unfortunately, similar results were observed in wild-type IDH1 tumor xenografts as well, indicating lack of selectivity for mutant IDH1 for this tracer. These results suggest that AGI-5198 analogues are not a promising platform for radiotracer development. Nonetheless, insights gained from this study may help in design and optimization of novel chemical scaffolds for developing radiotracers for imaging the mutant IDH1 enzyme.