cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A review of indications and comorbidities in which warfarin may be the preferred oral anticoagulant

What is known and objective Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are increasingly prescribed instead of warfarin for chronic anticoagulation for ease of dosing, fewer interactions, and less stringent monitoring. However, it is important to consider indications and comorbidities for which warfarin is still the preferred anticoagulant. This review aims to capture these clinical scenarios in which warfarin may still be preferred over DOACs. Methods We undertook a comprehensive literature search using the PubMed database. Key search terms were based on DOAC clinical trial exclusion criteria, as well as indications and conditions in which the use of DOACs for anticoagulation has suggested harm. Society guidelines and tertiary literature were used to inform expert opinion where necessary. Studies were included if they investigated the use of DOACs or warfarin in the identified indications or conditions. Results and discussion Currently, evidence for the use of warfarin over DOACs for anticoagulation is strongest for patients with prosthetic valves, antiphospholipid syndrome, or a high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. For several clinical situations, including mitral stenosis, obesity, altered gastrointestinal anatomy, pulmonary arterial hypertension, renal or hepatic impairment, and left ventricular thrombus, evidence is lacking but may eventually support the use of DOACs. Depending on indication and condition, appropriateness of DOAC use may vary by agent. What is new and conclusion New evidence continues to support new indications and conditions in which DOACs may be appropriate to use for anticoagulation. There are key clinical scenarios, however, in which emerging literature continues to support warfarin as the preferred anticoagulant.
Punctual Urbanisms: Rapid Planning Responses to Urban Problems:

Traditional urban planning projects require considerable time, political buy-in, and capital. Conversely, small-scale urban interventions can be executed quickly and inexpensively. However, the ter...
CRISPR Screens in Toxicology Research: An Overview

The use of genome editing tools is expanding our understanding of various human diseases by providing insight into gene-disease interactions. Despite the recognized role of toxicants in the development of human health issues and conditions, there is currently limited characterization of their mechanisms of action, and the application of CRISPR-based genome editing to the study of toxicants could help in the identification of novel gene-environment interactions. CRISPR-based functional screens enable identification of cellular mechanisms fundamental for response and susceptibility to a given toxicant. The aim of this review is to inform future directions in the application of CRISPR technologies in toxicological studies. We review and compare different types of CRISPR-based methods including pooled, anchored, combinatorial, and perturb-sequencing screens in vitro, in addition to pooled screenings in model organisms. © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
FOIL Axiomatized

In an earlier paper, [5], I gave semantics and tableau rules for a simple firstorder intensional logic called FOIL, in which both objects and intensions are explicitly present and can be quantified over. Intensions, being non-rigid, are represented in FOIL as (partial) functions from states to objects. Scoping machinery, predicate abstraction, is present to disambiguate sentences like that asserting the necessary identity of the morning and the evening star, which is true in one sense and not true in another.
The Struggle for Mexican American Studies in Texas K-12 Public Schools: A Movement for Epistemic Justice through Creation/Resistance

This article traces how Mexican American Studies (MAS) scholar activists led and supported a statewide movement for MAS in Texas. As a Xicana feminist scholar activist, Saldana draws from her retrospective memory and personal archive of organizational notes, movement documents, personal testimonies before the State Board of Education, and photos, to document her journey within this epistemic justice movement. In doing so, she narrates the processes of creation/resistance that led to change in a state that has historically excluded Black, Brown, and Indigenous histories from school curricula. As a scholar activist involved in various parts of this movement, Saldana also examines the various interconnected layers of this movement—from local efforts in San Antonio, where she teaches, to statewide organizing—to chronicle the institutional and grassroots processes that led to this historic victory in Texas.
Intravital assessment of precapillary pulmonary arterioles of type 1 diabetic mice shows oxidative damage and increased tone in response to NOS inhibition.

Diabetes pulmonary and microvascular consequences are well recognized but have not been characterized. We assessed lung microvascular changes in a live anesthetized mouse model of type 1 diabetes, ...
Imaging Novel Ruthenium bipyridine-based Nanophotoswitches in Retina

Nanophotoswitches (NPSs) offer a new tool for optical stimulation of neuronal activity, in vitro and also potentially in vivo. Our group previously reported a ruthenium bipyridine (Rubpy)-based NPS that inserts into the plasma membrane and upon visible illumination generates an electrical dipole, triggering action potentials in adrenal chromaffin cells. We have recently demonstrated that after intravitreal injection of this NPS into the eyes of blind rats, illumination of the eye elicited electrical activity in the contralateral superior colliculus. To better understand the site of action of the NPS in retina, we examined the distribution of the molecules in different retinal layers after intravitreal injection. Methods: Rubpy molecules can be visualized by their luminescence (610 nm) upon visible wavelength illumination (460 nm). To resolve the luminescence from different retinal layers, a rapid-scan twophoton imaging system (LaVison) was used (Ti:Sapphire laser tuned to 900 nm). Intravitreal injection (1 mM, 4 μL Rubpy-based NPSs in BSS), followed by eye removal and retina isolation 2-5 hrs after, was performed on young RCS rats. Luminescence images of the wholemount retina were captured by an EM-CCD camera (Andor). Results: At 2 hrs after intravitreal injection and with continuous superfusion of Ames medium, luminescence was confined near the injection site. Luminescence was observed localized to surface membranes of axons and somata of retinal ganglion cells (RGC), demonstrating the impermeability of the cell membrane to the NPS molecules. The outer retina did not show significant luminescence. After 3 additional hours, luminescence was more diffused within the RGC layer and still did not extend to the outer retina. Conclusions: This study shows marked staining of RGC layer by intravitreally injected Rubpy-based NPS molecules, consistent with the hypothesis that the photoactivated NPS molecules induce electrical activity in the superior colliculus by acting on the RGCs that deliver electrical signals to the visual pathway outside the eyes. Distinct from other nano-scale optical cellular modulating approaches using optogenetics or azobenzene-based photoswitches, the NPS approach obviates the need for gene manipulation or toxic UV illumination, highlighting its potential in generating high-acuity prosthetic vision in patients blinded by retinal degenerative diseases.
Admissible Recursion Theory

The purpose of these lectures is to develop some deeper results in α-recursion theory which will hold in somewhat more general setting than L(α) and in particular in many other admissible sets and structures. In addition, I will briefly mention some applications to structures which arise from other areas of recursion theory and which are inadmissible.
Microscroll Invisibility Cloak

We present a design for a self-assembled cylindrical invisibility cloak, based on strained-induced rolling. Here, a 2D slab metamaterial is patterned by electron beam lithography on a compressively strained InGaAs thin film. The metamaterial is composed of an array of periodically spaced silver nanorods embedded in a polymer background. The anisotropic effective permittivity of the slab is defined by on the aspect ratio and pitch of the nanorods, and is modeled by Effective Medium Theory and the Finite Difference Time Domain method (FDTD). The stained film is released from the substrate by wet etching, and the film strain relaxes, causing the combined metamaterial/thin-film to curl into a tight roll. The rolling radius is modeled by continuum strain theory and confirmed by experiment. Resulting microscroll has an anisotropic and radially-dependent effective permittivity, which is inherited from the original slab metamaterial. Depending on the nanorod spacing in the metamaterial layer, we can tune the radial dependence of the permittivity. This design can be used to realize a variety of transformation optical devices with cylindrical symmetry. In particular, we analyze the case of a TE cylindrical invisibility cloak with reduced parameters using FDTD.
Referral selection bias in the Medicare hospital mortality prediction model: Are centers of referral for Medicare beneficiaries necessarily centers of excellence?

Abstract OBJECTIVE. Although the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) uses Medicare hospital mortality data as a measure of hospital quality of care, concerns have been raised regarding the validity of this concept. A problem that has not been fully evaluated in these data is the potential confounding effect of illness severity factors associated with referral selection and hospital mortality on comparisons of risk-adjusted hospital mortality. We address this issue. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING. We analyzed the 1988 Medicare hospitalization data file (MEDPAR). We selected data on patients treated at the two Mayo Clinic-associated hospitals in Rochester, Minnesota, and a group of seven other hospitals that treat many patients from large geographic areas. These hospitals have had observed mortality rates substantially lower than those predicted by the HCFA model for the period 1987-1990. STUDY DESIGN. Using the multiple logistic regression model applied by HCFA to the 1988 data, we evaluated the relationship between distance from patient residence to the admitting hospital and risk-adjusted hospital mortality. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. Among patients admitted to Mayo Rochester-affiliated hospitals, residence outside Olmsted County, Minnesota was independently associated with a 33 percent lower 30-day mortality rate (p < .001) than that associated with residence in Olmsted County. When patients at Mayo hospitals were stratified by residence (Olmsted County versus non-Olmsted County), the observed mortality was similar to that predicted for community patients (9.6 percent versus 10.2 percent, p = .26), whereas hospital mortality for referral patients was substantially lower than predicted (5.0 percent versus 7.5 percent, p = < .001). After incorporation of the HCFA risk adjustment methods, distance from patient residence to the hospitals was also independently associated with mortality among the Mayo Rochester-affiliated hospitals and seven other referral center hospitals. CONCLUSIONS. The HCFA Medicare hospital mortality model should be used with extreme caution to evaluate hospital quality of care for national referral centers because of residual confounding due to severity of illness factors associated with geographic referral that are inadequately captured in the extant prediction model.
A context-weighting algorithm achieving model-adaptability in lossless bi-level image compression

A context-weighting algorithm as an improvement of previously proposed block arithmetic coder for image compression (BACIC) is presented. The proposed algorithm weights two context models, so that it can automatically select the better model over different regions of an image, producing better probability estimates. The overall performance of this algorithm is better than single context BACIC; it is the same as JBIG1 for the eight CCITT business-type test images, and outclasses JBIG1 by 13.8% on halftone images, by 25.7% for images containing both text and halftones. Furthermore, users no longer need to select models as in JBIG1 and BACIC to get the better performance. Rather than using segmentation algorithm in JBIG2, the context-weighting BACIC may be a good choice in many applications due to its simplicity.
The nature of topological parameters. II. The composition of topological parameters.

The composition of thirty topological parameters of various types including the χ, κand τparameters and the Wiener indices was determined. Those derived from alkyl and substituted alkyl groups are a function of branching and steric effects; those derived from haloalkanes and haloalkenes are a function of some combination of polarizability, dipole moment, the number of halogen atoms of each type, and the ration of the number of branches to the number of atoms in the longest chain. It follows that topological parameters are actually counts of the number of atoms of each type, bonds of each type, valence, nonbonding and core electrons, branches at each position, OH and NH bonds, and nonbonding electron pairs on O and/or N atoms. These counts can be related to polarizability, dipole moment, hydrogen bonding, and steric effects, which are the true determinants of properties and biological activities. Topological parameters themselves do not have a cause and effect relationship with the quantities they are used to model. They function because: 1. They are counts of quantities that are related to the fundamental quantities that determine properties. 2. They are composite parameters which for the purpose of obtaining a predictive empirical relationship are able to represent a data set as well as pure parameters.
Robotic Nd:YAG-Laser Welding System and Its Applications

In this paper, the robotic Nd:YAG-laser welding system operated by the Aerospace Manufacturing Technology Center of NRC-IAR is described. The system is an advanced laser processing system built around a 4000W Haas Nd:YAG-laser, which has fiber optics for laser beam transmission. An ABB 4400 industrial robot is used for holding the processing optics. Various beam configurations can be used for different processes, including welding, cutting and heat treatment, either with single beam or dual beam laser spots. The system is also equipped with a sophisticated MVS vision-tracking device, which enables reliable and repeatable processing conditions. A convenient electro-magnetic base equipped with different fixtures is available for accurate positioning of the parts. The system also comes with a state-of-art wire feeder specially designed for welding aluminum alloys and super alloys used in the aerospace industry. Welding can be run in manual or automatic mode, making the system suitable for both research and production work. Several applications of this welding system will be presented.
Universal Subgoaling and Chunking: The Automatic Generation and Learning of Goal Hierarchies

I. Universal Subgoaling.- 1. Introduction.- 1.1. A Universal Weak Method.- 1.2. Requirements for Universal Subgoaling.- 1.3. Problem Spaces.- 2. The Soar Achitecture.- 2.1. Architecture Description.- 2.2. Soar as a Production System.- 2.3. Universal Subgoaling in Soar.- 2.4. The Universal Weak Method of Soar.- 2.5. The Rest of Soar.- 2.6. Review of Soar.- 3. Empirical Demonstration.- 3.1. Deliberate Subgoals.- 3.2. Universal Subgoaling.- 3.3. The Weak Methods.- 4. Discussion.- 4.1. Goals.- 4.2. Memory Management.- 4.3. Preferences.- 4.4. Production Systems.- 4.5. Future Work.- 5. Conclusion.- Acknowledgment.- References.- Appendix A. Universal Weak Method.- Appendix B. Weak Method Search Control.- II. The Chunking of Goal Hierarchies.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Practice.- 2.1. The Power Law of Practice.- 2.2. The Chunking Theory of Learning.- 2.3. The Results of Chunking in One Task.- 3. Stimulus-Response Compatibility.- 3.1. The Phenomena.- 3.2. Existing Stimulus-Response Compatibility Theory.- 3.3. The Algorithmic Model of Stimulus-Response Compatibility.- 3.4. Other Subphenomena and Experiments.- 4. Goal-Structured Models.- 4.1. The Basics of Goal Hierarchies.- 4.2. Chunking on Goal Hierarchies.- 4.3. A Revised Analysis of the Chunking Curve.- 5. The Xaps3 Architecture.- 5.1. Working Memory.- 5.2. Production Memory.- 5.3. The Cycle of Execution.- 5.4. Goal Processing.- 5.5. Chunking.- 6. Simulation Results.- 6.1. Update on the Seibel (1963) Task.- 6.2. The Compatibility Hierarchies.- 6.3. Compatibility and Practice.- 7. Discussion.- 7.1. On Choosing a Set of Model Operators.- 7.2. The Rate of Learning.- 7.3. Errors.- 7.4. Other Reaction-Time Phenomena.- 7.5. Relation to Previous Work on Learning Mechanisms.- 7.6. Chunking in More Complex Tasks.- 7.7. Chunking, Learning, and Problem-Space Search.- 8. Conclusion.- Acknowledgment.- References.- III. Towards Chunking As A General Learning Mechanism.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Soar-A General Problem-Solving Architecture.- 3. Chunking in Soar.- 4. Demonstration.- 4.1. Eight Puzzle.- 4.2. Tic-Tac-Toe.- 4.3. R1.- 4.4. Over-generalization.- 5. Conclusion.- Acknowledgment.- References.- Author Index.- I.- II.- III.
System Identification and Control using Diagonal Recurrent Neural Networks

This paper presents an approach for control and system identification using Diagonal Recurrent Neural Networks (DRNN). An unknown plant is identified by a Diagonal Recurrent Neuroidentifier (DRNI), and provides the sensitivity information of the plant to a Diagonal Recurrent Neurocontroller (DRNC). A dynamic backpropagation (DBP), is developed to train both DRNC and DRNI. The DRNN captures the dynamic nature of a system and since it is not fully connected, training is much faster than a fully connected recurrent neural network. The architecture of DRNN is a modified model of the fully connected recurrent neural network with one hidden layer. The hidden layer is comprised of self-recurrent neurons, each feeding its output only into itself. The dynamic backpropagation algorithm (DBP) is developed to train the recurrent neural networks for dynamic mappings, which are found in applications such as control, speech processing and sequential cognition. The proposed DRNN architecture is applied to numerical problems and the simulation results are included.
Barcoded pyrosequencing reveals that consumption of galactooligosaccharides results in a highly specific bifidogenic response in humans

Prebiotics are selectively fermented ingredients that allow specific changes in the gastrointestinal microbiota that confer health benefits to the host. However, the effects of prebiotics on the human gut microbiota are incomplete as most studies have relied on methods that fail to cover the breadth of the bacterial community. The goal of this research was to use high throughput multiplex community sequencing of 16S rDNA tags to gain a community wide perspective of the impact of prebiotic galactooligosaccharide (GOS) on the fecal microbiota of healthy human subjects. Fecal samples from eighteen healthy adults were previously obtained during a feeding trial in which each subject consumed a GOS-containing product for twelve weeks, with four increasing dosages (0, 2.5, 5, and 10 gram) of GOS. Multiplex sequencing of the 16S rDNA tags revealed that GOS induced significant compositional alterations in the fecal microbiota, principally by increasing the abundance of organisms within the Actinobacteria. Specifically, several distinct lineages of Bifidobacterium were enriched. Consumption of GOS led to five- to ten-fold increases in bifidobacteria in half of the subjects. Increases in Firmicutes were also observed, however, these changes were detectable in only a few individuals. The enrichment of bifidobacteria was generally at the expense of one group of bacteria, the Bacteroides. The responses to GOS and the magnitude of the response varied between individuals, were reversible, and were in accordance with dosage. The bifidobacteria were the only bacteria that were consistently and significantly enriched by GOS, although this substrate supported the growth of diverse colonic bacteria in mono-culture experiments. These results suggest that GOS can be used to enrich bifidobacteria in the human gastrointestinal tract with remarkable specificity, and that the bifidogenic properties of GOS that occur in vivo are caused by selective fermentation as well as by competitive interactions within the intestinal environment.
SU‐FF‐T‐384: Statistical Analysis of a System for Radiation Treatment Positioning Accuracy

The purpose of this research is to provide an improved system for accurately positioning patients for external beam radiation treatments. Specifically, this paper addresses the statistics of the process and the selection of the source energy to obtain the greatest positioning accuracy. A change in detected counts of 1% results in either a dose change of 5% to 10% due to a position error or a dose change of around 1% due to density changes. Using a single high energy source and assuming the density doesn't change is more accurate than the uncertainties created by the dual source method. The dual source method has greater distance uncertainty than the single source if small changes in density are assumed. However, high energy sources are less sensitive to tissue density changes and are more precise for positioning confirmation. Therefore, a single marker source with high energy which is on the order of MeV range provides the greatest dose delivery accuracy by simply assuming all measured discrepancies are attributed to positioning errors only.
Bromine oxidation of inositols for preparation of inosose phenylhydrazones and phenylosazones

Abstract The application of bromine oxidation of inositols to give inososes, followed by conversion of the latter into phenylhydrazones or phenylosazones, is described. The diketone from myo -inositol gives a phenylosazone in 22–30% yield, and l -inositol gives a monoketone phenylhydrazone (12% yield) and a diketone phenylosazone (28% yield); the corresponding enantiomorphs were obtained in 8% and 29% yield, respectively. The diketone from quebrachitol yields a new phenylosazone (29% yield) and no monoketone was isolated. Pinitol gave a new diketone phenylosazone (10–15% yield) which showed rapid mutarotation in 1:1 (v/v) ethanol- p -dioxane. In addition, a new phenylosazone has been obtained from dl - epi -inosose-2 phenylhydrazone. (+)- proto -Quercitol (from acorns) has been converted into a phenylosazone (20% yield). myo -Inositol has been converted by bromine oxidation into dl - xylo -pentahydroxy-2-cyclohexen-1-one in low yield.
Global Ratcheting by Elastic-Plastic FEA According to ASME Section VIII Rules

A framework of global ratcheting is developed for which the ratcheting measure is incremental permanent change of shape of a vessel or component. The changes of shape are such that they reduce the resistance to collapse, and, upon extended cycling, can lead to eventual failure by collapse. A ratcheting check is designed to prevent this failure. This framework fits the ratcheting rules that are currently in the 2010 Section VIII of the ASME B&PV Code. Tools are provided for ratcheting assessment based on this framework, and examples are presented that illustrate their application.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Two Examples in the Theory of Fixed Rings

An example is given of an Artinian local (commutative unital) ring R and a finite group G acting on R (via ring automorphisms) such that R G is not an Artinian ring; in this example, |G| necessarily fails to be a unit of R. Also, an example is constructed of a ring R on which an infinite cyclic group G acts such that the ring extension R G ⊆ R does not satisfy the going-down property GD; in this second example, the G-action on R is necessarily not locally finite, and it can be arranged that R is a monoid ring with any desired infinite cardinality and that R G is an integral domain with any (prime or 0) characteristic.
Fertility, sex role attitudes, and labor force participation.

Data from the 1970 National Fertility Study were used to investigate the relationships between sex role attitudes and the childbearing and labor force participation of women. While several relevant dimensions of sex role attitudes were identified, it was found that the most crucial aspect for working and fertility was the extent to which the woman identified the female role as that of housewife and homemaker. Those having traditional definitions concerning this role were less likely to be working, and had fewer plans to work in the future. In addition, as expected, women with traditional sex role definitions had more children than others. While the orientation of the woman toward the home was the primary correlate of work and fertility, those who felt that women had little control over their lives had higher fertility than others—a relationship which could be explained partially, but not entirely, in terms of unplanned childbearing.
Expression and localization of human kallistatin in rat submandibular gland after intracapsular gene injection.

Abstract Gene delivery into rat submandibular gland in vivo by direct intracapsular injection has been studied. After the administration of adenovirus constructs, Ad-RSV-LacZ and Ad-CMV-LacZ, β-galactosidase expression was localized in the granular convoluted tubular and striated duct cells of rat submandibular gland by in situ enzyme histochemistry. Adenovirus-mediated delivery of the human kallistatin gene (Ad-RSV-HKBP) into rat submandibular gland results in the expression of human kallistatin in a time-dependent manner. The expression of immunoreactive kallistatin in submandibular gland was detected 1 day after the Ad-RSV-HKBP injection and it reached a plateau (1-2 ng/mg protein) 2 days after gene delivery. Higher levels of human kallistatin were found in the submandibular gland of 6-month-old rats than in one-month-old rats. After direct gene injection, human kallistatin was localized mainly in cells of the granular convoluted tubules and striated ducts of rat submandibular gland using a specific monoclonal antibody to human kallistatin. The results indicate that direct intracapsular gene delivery into the submandibular gland provides a simple and reliable method for introducing foreign genes into the gland. This method can be used for studying gene regulation in vivo and may have potential for gene therapy in oral diseases.
Applications of laser methods to automative seat modal testing

Laser methods are being applied to automotive seat vibration testing methods. The ability to perform non-contact tests is very useful when test specimens are handmade prototypes which cannot be damaged. More importantly, the low input force levels required by laser vibrometers results in more linear response from seats during modal tests; low input force levels limit the effect of freeplay in the recliner and tracks. Finally, the absence of mass loading allows exploring the dynamic interaction of the cover and frame.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Data interpolation, causality structure, and system identification

Given a finite set {(xi, yi)} of ordered pairs from X × Y where X, Y are Hilbert spaces over the same field, there are numerous techniques for constructing a function, ƒ, on X to Y such that ƒ(xi) = yi. However, when X, Y have a causality structure and ƒ must be causal then the data interpolation problem is much more complicated. In this paper two interpolation methods, namely linear interpolation and interpolation via generalized Lagrange polynomials are considered. It is shown that these techniques can be modified to accomodate the causality constraint. The development is indicative of the modifications that must be made in any existing data interpolation algorithm if causal interpolation is required.
Income Inequality, Party Polarization, and Roll-Call Voting in the U.S. Senate

McCarty, Poole, and Rosenthal (2006) demonstrate that political parties—both in the electorate and in government—become more ideologically polarized during periods of high income inequality, while differences between the parties wane during periods of relative equality of incomes. I suggest that the processes described by McCarty, Poole, and Rosenthal at the national level are applicable to the American state electorates and their elected representatives. Using data on individual attitudes, state-level income inequality, state mass polarization, and U.S. senators’ roll-call behavior, I consider the possible effects of state-level income inequality on mass attitudes and the roll-call behavior of U.S. senators since the early 1960s. I hypothesize that (1) Democratic and Republican identifiers in the mass public should be more polarized in states with high income inequality, and (2) state mass polarization and state income inequality should be translated into polarized behavior by U.S. senators representing ...
Detection of West Nile Virus in Oral and Cloacal Swabs Collected from Bird Carcasses

We evaluated if postmortem cloacal and oral swabs could replace brain tissue as a specimen for West Nile virus (WNV) detection. WNV was detected in all three specimen types from 20 dead crows and jays with an average of >105 WNV PFU in each. These findings suggest that testing cloacal or oral swabs might be a low-resource approach to detect WNV in dead birds.
The Reactive Element Effect – Past, Present and Future

The “reactive element effect”, modified from its earlier representation of the “rare earth effect”, is a well known term within the oxidation community. It describes several beneficial outcomes on the oxidation behavior of alumina and chromia forming alloys. Any element can be considered “reactive” if it is more oxygen active than the scale forming element, namely that of Al or Cr. However, the relative effectiveness of each element can be quite different. Numerous scientific studies have been carried out on this topic since its discovery more than 70 years ago to gain understanding of the manifestations of and reasons for these effects. This paper gives an overview that summarizes current understandings on this effect and points to issues that warrant further studies.
Automatic registration of fused lidar/digital imagery (texel images) for three-dimensional image creation

Several photogrammetry-based methods have been proposed that the derive three-dimensional (3-D) information from digital images from different perspectives, and lidar-based methods have been proposed that merge lidar point clouds and texture the merged point clouds with digital imagery. Image registration alone has difficulty with smooth regions with low contrast, whereas point cloud merging alone has difficulty with outliers and a lack of proper convergence in the merging process. This paper presents a method to create 3-D images that uses the unique properties of texel images (pixel-fused lidar and digital imagery) to improve the quality and robustness of fused 3-D images. The proposed method uses both image processing and point-cloud merging to combine texel images in an iterative technique. Since the digital image pixels and the lidar 3-D points are fused at the sensor level, more accurate 3-D images are generated because registration of image data automatically improves the merging of the point clouds, and vice versa. Examples illustrate the value of this method over other methods. The proposed method also includes modifications for the situation where an estimate of position and attitude of the sensor is known, when obtained from low-cost global positioning systems and inertial measurement units sensors.
Quantitative metrics for SHG imaging of collagen-based biological structures

We present the application of 3D Fourier transform-second harmonic generation (3D FT-SHG) imaging to evaluate the spatial organization of collagen fibers in biological tissues. Using 3D FT-SHG, we quantified the lamellar structure in porcine sclera.
Common Medications Prescribed for Adolescent Dental Patients

Common prescription medications taken by adolescent patients include various psychopharmacologic agents (to manage depression,obsessive-compulsive disorders, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders), pulmonary drugs (to prevent and treat asthma), and dermatologic agents (to treat acne). Other agents encountered when treating adolescent patients are antidiabetes agents, antibiotics, and birth control medications. This overview identifies prescription medications commonly used by adolescent patients and discusses their possible impact on dental care.
A hybrid vector system expands adeno-associated viral vector packaging capacity in a transgene-independent manner.

The trans-splicing (ts) and overlapping (ov) vectors expand the packaging capacity of adeno-associated virus (AAV). But their application depends on the inherent properties of the target gene. The ts vectors require an optimal gene-splitting site and the ov vectors require a highly recombinogenic domain. In order to overcome these limitations, we developed a hybrid dual (hd) vector system. In the hd vectors, we inserted a highly recombinogenic alkaline phosphatase (AP) sequence in the ts vectors to allow for transgene-independent reconstitution through homologous recombination of the AP sequences. We first tested the hybrid system with the LacZ gene. Both in the cell line (in vitro) and in the mouse muscle (in vivo), the hd vectors significantly outperformed the ts and ov vectors. In muscle, the transduction efficiency of the hybrid vectors reached 80% of that from the single intact vector. Southern blot confirmed AP sequence–mediated transgene reconstitution. In order to validate the hybrid system, we split the 6 kilobase (kb) mini-dystrophin gene at the exon 55/56 junction, a predicted poor site for the ts approach. In dystrophic mdx mouse muscle, the hd vectors yielded 5.6-fold higher transduction than the ts vectors did. Taken together, these data suggest that the hybrid system efficiently expresses large therapeutic genes that are poor candidates for the ts and ov approaches.
Subset Choice Conditions and the Computation of Social Choice Sets

I. Subset choice conditions, 320. — II. Methods for computing C, 323. — III. Two examples, 325. — IV. Discussion, 326.
In vivo glutamine hydrolysis in the formation of extracellular glutamate in the injured rat brain.

Hydrolysis of extracellular glutamine as a potential source of increased extracellular glutamate in the quinolinic acid (QUIN)-injured brain of the unanesthetized, free-moving rat was examined by microdialysis and HPLC analysis. Injury was initiated by injection of 100 nmoles of QUIN into the hippocampus. Immediately postinjury or 24 hr postinjury, the injection site was perfused with artificial cerebrospinal fluid + (14)C-glutamine to measure its conversion to (14)C-glutamate. L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylate (L-PDC), a glutamate uptake inhibitor, was added to the perfusate to enhance the detection of extracellular (14)C-glutamate. QUIN injury was followed by an immediate increase in extracellular glutamate that persisted 24 hr later. When (14)C-glutamine was added to the perfusate, a significant amount of (14)C-glutamate was recovered, and it was greater following QUIN injury than in control animals (P < 0.001). Up to 32% of the extracellular (14)C-glutamine was converted to (14)C-glutamate following QUIN injury. Considering the high concentration of glutamine normally present in the extracellular fluid, glutamine hydrolysis is a potential and important source for the increase in extracellular glutamate after neuronal injury in vivo.
Convergence of integrated processes of arbitrary Hermite rank

Let {X(s), −∞<s<∞} be a normalized stationary Gaussian process with a long-range correlation. The weak limit in C[0,1] of the integrated process $$Z_x \left( t \right) = \frac{1}{{d\left( x \right)}}\mathop \smallint \limits_0^{xt} G\left( {X\left( s \right)} \right)ds,{\text{ }}x \to \infty$$ , is investigated. Here d(x) = x H L(x) with $$\frac{1}{2}$$ <H<1 and L(x) is a slowly varying function at infinity. The function G satisfies EG(X(s))=0, EG 2 (X(s))<∞ and has arbitrary Hermite rank m≧1. (The Hermite rank of G is the index of the first non-zero coefficient in the expansion of G in Hermite polynomials.) It is shown thatZ x (t) converges for all m≧1 to some process ¯Z m (t) that depends essentially on m. The limiting process ¯Z m (t) is characterized through various representations involving multiple Ito integrals. These representations are all equivalent in the finite-dimensional distributions sense. The processes ¯Z m (t) are non-Gaussian when m≧2. They are self-similar, that is,¯Z m (at) and a H ¯Z m (t) have the same finite-dimensional distributions for all a>0.
Mitochondrial damage by nitric oxide is potentiated by dopamine in PC12 cells

Mitochondrial damage in PC12 cells, a model for dopaminergic cells, was examined in terms of the contribution of oxidative stress, nitric oxide (*NO), and dopamine to impairment of mitochondrial respiratory control (RC). A kinetic analysis suggested that the oxidative deamination of dopamine catalyzed by monoamine oxidase (MAO) was not a significant source of hydrogen peroxide, because of constrains imposed by the low cytosolic level of dopamine. *NO induced irreversible damage of mitochondrial complex I in PC12 cells: this damage followed a sigmoid response on *NO concentration with a well-defined threshold level. Dopamine did not elicit damage of mitochondria in PC12 cells; however, the amine potentiated the effects of *NO at or near the threshold level, thus leading to irreversible impairment of mitochondrial respiration. This synergism between *NO and dopamine was not observed at *NO concentrations below the threshold level. Depletion of dopamine from the storage vesicles by reserpine protected mitochondria from *NO damage. Dopamine oxidation by *NO increased with pH, and occurred at modest levels at pH 5.5. In spite of this, calculations showed that the oxidation of dopamine in the storage vesicles (pH 5.5) was higher than that in the cytosol (pH 7.4), due to the higher dopamine concentration in the storage vesicles (millimolar range) compared to that in the cytosol (micromolar range). It is suggested that storage vesicles may be the cellular sites where the potential for dopamine oxidation by *NO is higher. These data provide further support to the hypothesis that dopamine renders dopaminergic cells more susceptible to the mitochondrial damaging effects of *NO. In the early stages of Parkinson's disease, *NO production increases until reaching a point near the threshold level that induces neuronal damage. Dopamine stored in dopaminergic cells may cause these cells to be more susceptible to the deleterious effects of *NO, which involve irreversible impairment of mitochondrial respiration.
Automated dynamic detection of busy–wait synchronizations

With the advent of multicores, multithreaded programming has acquired increased importance. In order to obtain good performance, the synchronization constructs in multithreaded programs need to be carefully implemented. These implementations can be broadly classified into two categories: busy–wait and schedule-based. For shared memory architectures, busy–wait synchronizations are preferred over schedule-based synchronizations because they can achieve lower wakeup latency, especially when the expected wait time is much shorter than the scheduling time. While busy–wait synchronizations can improve the performance of multithreaded programs running on multicore machines, they create a challenge in program debugging, especially in detecting and identifying the causes of data races. Although significant research has been done on data race detection, prior works rely on one important assumption—the debuggers are aware of all the synchronization operations performed during a program run. This assumption is a significant limitation as multithreaded programs, including the popular SPLASH-2 benchmark have busy–wait synchronizations such as barriers and flag synchronizations implemented in the user code. We show that the lack of knowledge of these synchronization operations leads to unnecessary reporting of numerous races. To tackle this problem, we propose a dynamic technique for identifying user-defined synchronizations that are performed during a program run. Both software and hardware implementations are presented. Furthermore, our technique can be easily exploited by a record-replay system to significantly speedup the replay. It can also be leveraged by a transactional memory system to effectively resolve a livelock situation. Our evaluation confirms that our synchronization detector is highly accurate with no false negatives and very few false positives. We further observe that the knowledge of synchronization operations results in 23p reduction in replay time. Finally, we show that using synchronization knowledge livelocks can be efficiently avoided during runtime monitoring of programs. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Phloretin inhibition of glucose transport by the tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta: a kinetic analysis.

Abstract 1. 1. Phloretin non-competitively inhibits glucose and methionine absorption by Hymenolepis diminuta (Ki = 0.24 and 1.48 mM, respectively). 2. 2. Inhibition of glucose transport by phloretin is reversible. 3. 3. Phloretin and phlorizin binding sites on the surface of H. diminuta are distinct. 4. 4. Phloretin does not inhibit Na+ transport independent of glucose transport in H. diminuta. 5. 5. The data suggest that phloretin inhibits absorptive functions across the surface of H. diminuta via non-specific binding sites associated with the lipid portion of the worm outer membrane.
A technique for fabrication of textured thin carbon substrates

Abstract The technique for fabrication of thin textured carbon films is described. These textured films are made by a carbon/Victawet evaporation on a textured silicon substrate. This process lends itself to reproductions of dozens of textured films from the same master template.
Transition structures of the ene reactions of cyclopropene.

The transition structures for the ene reactions of cyclopropene with ethylene, propene, and cyclopropene have been located with ab initio molecular orbital calculations and the 6-31G* basis set and by DFT calculations with the Becke3LYP functional and the 6-31G* basis set. Several of the transition structures have also been located with CASSCF calculations. Energies of all stationary points were also evaluated with second-order Moller-Plesset theory using the RHF/6-31G* optimized geometry. The geometries of each transition structure and the energetics of each reaction are discussed and compared to the ene reaction of propene with ethylene. Calculations show that the cyclopropene ene reactions have much lower activation barriers than the propene-ethylene ene reaction, in agreement with experimental results. The transition structures have varying degrees of asynchronicity. The stabilities of the possible radical intermediates for each reaction are reflected in the geometries of the transition structures. The relief of strain in a cyclopropene, when acting as the enophile, accounts for the energetic differences in these reactions. The endo transition structure for the dimerization is lower in energy than the exo transition structure by 2.7 kcal/mol at the Becke3LYP/6-31G* + ZPE level of theory. Secondary orbital overlap of a CH bond of the enophile with the π-system at the central carbon of the ene is proposed to account for the preference for the endo transition structure. Barely stable diradical intermediates have been found for both endo and exo cyclopropene dimerization reactions, but it is likely that they are artifacts of the current level of theory.
Contemporary Review of the Management of Brain Metastasis with Radiation

Brain metastases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality, afflicting approximately 200,000 Americans annually. The prognosis for these patients is poor, with median survivals typically measured in months. In this review article, we present the standard treatment approaches with whole brain radiation and as well as novel approaches in the prevention of neurocognitive deficits.
Orson Welles, Harry Alan Towers, and the Many Lives of Harry Lime

In 1951, prolific radio producer Harry Alan Towers created The Lives of Harry Lime, a 52-episode series starring Orson Welles. It was based on the character Welles made famous in the popular Carol Reed film, The Third Man. Its success was the result of Towers's aptitude for seeing the untapped marketing potential of an existing fictional character, combined with his facility at working through the legal restrictions, and his ability to convince a reluctant Welles to participate. This article traces the genesis, production, and distribution of the only radio series on which Welles played a recurring dramatic role, and examines Welles's limited involvement in his temporary return to radio well after becoming a filmmaker.
A reinvestigation of 5′→3′ polarity in 40S ribosomal RNA precursor of xenopus laevis

Abstract The 5′→3′ polarity of the 40S precursor rRNA molecule relative to the location of the 18S and 28S RNA regions in the precursor has been reinvestigated. Fragments of rDNA derived by the restriction endonuclease EcoRI and cloned in E. coli were partially digested with the exonuclease induced by bacteriophage λ and with exonuclease III from E. coli. The resulting rDNA fragments with single-stranded tails were hybridized separately with 18S and 28S rRNA, and the formation of the hybrid was monitored by determination of radioactivity and by electron microscopy. Since the location of the EcoRI sites in rDNA is known, and the specificity of the two exonucleases for 5′ and 3′ ends of DNA strands has been established, the hybridization of the different partially digested rDNA fragments with either 18S or 28S rRNA could be interpreted in terms of polarity of the coding strand of rDNA, and consequently of the RNA (see models in Figure 1). The results support the following model for the rRNA precursor molecule: 5′ end-transcribed spacer-18S gene-transcribed spacer-28S gene-3′ end.
A Message From the JLT Editor-in-Chief: “State of the Journal”

DEAR JLT authors, readers, reviewers, and enthusiastic supporters: First of all, I would like to thank you for your continued support to IEEE/OSA JOURNAL OF LIGHTWAVE TECHNOLOGY (JLT). It has been a little over two years since my last editorial “Raising the Bar for Publication,” published in April 2010. Since then, we have been vigilant on the adoption of faster publication cycle and more stringent review criteria to publish papers with high technical quality, noteworthy ground-breaking results and novelty. This effort has paid off with the dedication and hard work of the entire JLT Editorial Board and staff. We are delighted to report that the ISI impact factor for JLT is 2.784 in 2011, significantly increased from the previous two years of 2.22. It is ranked 5th of 78 publications in Telecommunications, 9th of 77 in Optics, and 25th in all of 244 publications in electrical and electronic engineering, including all types and lengths.
The effect of personal relationship and consultative task behaviors on buyer perceptions of salesperson trust, expertise, and loyalty

Creating long-lasting business partnerships between buyers and sellers continues to be a major concern of marketing managers and scholars. The effect of salesperson personal relationship and consultative task behaviors on buyer perceptions, however, has not been thoroughly explored. In response, this study investigates the connection between sales behaviors and buyer assessment of salesperson attributes and loyalty. The results support the contention that consultative task and personal relationship behaviors play a vital role in influencing buyer perceptions of expertise, trust, and relationship loyalty.