cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Epicardial Ablation Performance of a Novel Radiofrequency Device on the Beating Heart in Pigs

Purpose Only bipolar clamps create reliable transmural lesions on the beating heart. This study evaluated the performance of a new radiofrequency (RF) device on the beating heart in an acute porcine model. Description Six domestic pigs were ablated with a novel bipolar RF linear device on the beating heart (ablation time of 40 s, 3 each on right and left atria and 1 each on superior and inferior vena cavae). The heart was stained with 2, 3, 5-triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride, and each lesion was cross-sectioned for lesion depth and transmurality. Evaluation Transmurality was documented in 89% of the cross-sections. Sixty-three percent of lesions were transmural along the entire lesion length. Overall, 85% of the nontransmural cross-sections were located on the right atrium, and half of the nontransmural sections were in the superior or inferior vena cavae lesions. Conclusions This novel device was able to create transmural lesions on the beating heart, more effectively in the left atrium than in the right atrium.
Should soft tissue sarcomas be treated at high-volume centers? An analysis of 4205 patients.

Objective : To define the prognostic significance of surgical center case volume on outcome for soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Methods : STS cases registered in the Florida Cancer Data System (FCDS) between 1981 and 2001 were analyzed. Medical facilities were ranked by STS operative volume. Facilities above the 67th percentile for volume were defined as high-volume centers (HVCs). Results : Of the 4205 operative cases of STS identified, 68.1% were treated at low-volume centers (LVCs) and 31.9% at HVCs. A larger proportion of high-grade tumors (53.8% vs. 44.3%) and lesions over 10 cm (40.7% vs. 28.7%) were resected at HVC (P Conclusions : STS patients treated at HVC have significantly better survival and functional outcomes. Patients with either large (>10 cm), high-grade or truncal/retroperitoneal tumors should be treated exclusively at a high-volume center.
Social anxiety and insomnia: the mediating role of depressive symptoms

Anxiety is commonly associated with insomnia. Given that social anxiety disorder is one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders, socially anxious individuals may be particularly vulnerable to insomnia. However, there is currently very little empirical work on this relationship. This study used bivariate correlations to examine whether social anxiety was related to insomnia in an undergraduate sample (n=176) using the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Insomnia Severity Index. Further, we utilized responses from the Beck Depression Inventory to investigate the role of depressive symptoms in the association between social anxiety and insomnia. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to examine the moderational and mediational role of depressive symptoms in the link between social anxiety and insomnia. To increase generalizability to clinical samples, analyses were repeated on a subset of the sample with clinically significant social anxiety symptoms (n=23) compared to a matched control group (n=23). Consistent with expectation, social anxiety was associated with increased insomnia symptoms. Specifically, social anxiety was correlated with sleep dissatisfaction, sleep-related functional impairment, perception of a sleep problem to others, and distress about sleep problems. Importantly, depressive symptoms mediated the relationship between social anxiety and insomnia, thereby at least partially accounting for insomnia among socially anxious individuals. Our data support the contention that social anxiety is associated with insomnia and suggest that depression may play a vital role in this co-occurrence.
Memory and Mourning in Berlin: On Peter Eisenman's Holocaust-Mahnmal (2005)

In the heart of Berlin, on what was once the Ministergarten, now stands a memorial so gigantic and abstract that it demands not simply notice but also interpretation as metaphor, especially because it lacks signage (figure 1). Courting mystery by design, its title and purpose are presented and explained solely in cellar, off to a corner. The monument is neither arch nor column, wall or plaque, but a hilly yard of concrete stelae—all grayish in color and glossed to a shine. While severe and angular, this edifice suggests stands of grain, bowing under the forces of weather; waves crashing over dunes, or the bed of an ocean, rutted and jagged in shape as the glacier once created it; alternatively the topography of a city, a relic perhaps. Yet the work, by American-Jewish architect Peter Eisenman, based in New York City’s Flatiron District, was commissioned to commemorate genocide. It is the Denkmal fur die ermordeten Juden Europas, or Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, there to honor the Jews—between five and six million—who at the hands of Nazis and their allies, in Germany and elsewhere, suffered death in the ‘‘Holocaust’’ of 1933–1945. The artist, born in 1932 (educated at Cornell University and the University of Cambridge, U.K.), allows however that ‘‘people walk by and they do not know what it is.’’ A man of wry smiles and sundry hats, Eisenman does not mind such bafflement. He treasures ambiguity and contradiction in art,
A computationally advantageous system for fitting probabilistic decompression models to empirical data

To investigate the nature and mechanisms of decompression sickness (DCS), we developed a system for evaluating the success of decompression models in predicting DCS probability from empirical data. Model parameters were estimated using maximum likelihood techniques. Exact integrals of risk functions and tissue kinetics transition times were derived. Agreement with previously published results was excellent including: (a) maximum likelihood values within one log-likelihood unit of previous results and improvements by re-optimization; (b) mean predicted DCS incidents within 1.4% of observed DCS; and (c) time of DCS occurrence prediction. Alternative optimization and homogeneous parallel processing techniques yielded faster model optimization times.
Oxidant stress following renal ischemia: changes in the glutathione redox ratio.

Oxidant stress following renal ischemia: Changes in the glutathione redox ratio. Pretreatment of animals with certain antioxidant enzymes and substances decreases renal damage following ischemia and reperfusion. The hypothesis that reoxygenation imposes an oxidant stress has been used to explain this. The present study has directly assessed oxidant stress under these conditions by measuring the glutathione redox ratio ([GSSG/(GSH + GSSG)] × 100) in freeze-clamped kidney. The glutathione peroxidase system plays a role in removing peroxides which result from oxidant stress, generating GSSG from GSH in the process. The selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase can metabolize H 2 O 2 and other hydroperoxides. A non-selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase activity is present and can metabolize organic hydroperoxides, but it cannot metabolize H 2 O 2 . Under anesthesia, the left renal artery was occluded for 40 minutes and then reflow was allowed. Kidneys were freeze clamped before reflow and after 5, 10, and 15 minutes of reflow. The contralateral kidney was freeze clamped and used as a control. The control value for the glutathione redox ratio was 1.09 ± 0.05. This fell during ischemia to 0.67 ± 0.22 and increased significantly to 1.66 ± 0.29 after five minutes of reperfusion. By 15 minutes it had returned to 1.09 ± 0.22. Treatment of rats with diquat, which causes a severe oxidant stress, raised the glutathione redox ratio from 0.88 ± 0.12 to 1.89 ± 0.15. Thus, reperfusion was concluded to cause a large but transient oxidant stress. Selenium-deficient rats were used to examine the nature of the oxidant stress. Activity of the selenoenzyme glutathione peroxidase was depressed to 2% of control in the kidneys of these rats. Reperfusion raised the glutathione redox ratio from 0.79 ± 0.09 to 1.17 ± 0.30. This was a smaller increase than occurred in the selenium-replete kidneys. These results suggest that H 2 O 2 was largely responsible for GSSG formation in selenium-replete kidneys. Malondialdehyde was measured, and no increase was detected in selenium-replete kidneys, suggesting that little lipid peroxidation occurred as a result of the oxidant stress. The results of this study provide direct evidence for an oxidant stress during reperfusion of the kidney after ischemia and indicate that H 2 O 2 was produced.
Matchsticks on parade: Vertical axis rotation in oblique divergence

[1] Our physical experiments investigate vertical axis rotation of long rigid blocks of continental crust during oblique divergence. Experiments use matchsticks embedded in a 2-cm-thick layer of silicone gel that overlies a rubber sheet. A new device uses two motors to create oblique divergence, resulting in transtensional deformation in the rubber sheet and silicone gel. During experiments, single matchsticks behave like material lines because they rotate into parallelism with the direction of oblique divergence. Matchsticks in arrays, however, rotate away from parallelism with this direction. The sense and rate of rotation of these matchsticks in arrays depend on the geometry of the array, the scaling of experiments (using the Argand number), and the spacing of the matchsticks. Strain incompatibility between the rigid matchsticks and the deformable silicone builds relief on the surface of experiments. Gravity-driven flow of silicone away from zones of positive relief causes instability in the orientation of matchsticks in arrays. These dynamic instabilities are consistent with the predictions by Lamb [1994]. Our results have two tectonic implications. First, long, continental crustal blocks may not rotate into parallelism with the direction of oblique divergence. Second, rigid rotation of crustal blocks may create dynamic topography in the rheological layers of the Earth.
Application of the Rosner-Wei risk-prediction model to estimate sexual orientation patterns in colon cancer risk in a prospective cohort of US women.

Purpose We examined whether lesbian and bisexual women may be at greater risk of colon cancer (CC) than heterosexual women.
P2 purinergic receptor modulation of cytokine production.

Cytokines serve important functions in controlling host immunity. Cells involved in the synthesis of these polypeptide mediators have evolved highly regulated processes to ensure that production is carefully balanced. In inflammatory and immune disorders, however, mis-regulation of the production and/or activity of cytokines is recognized as a major contributor to the disease process, and therapeutics that target individual cytokines are providing very effective treatment options in the clinic. Leukocytes are the principle producers of a number of key cytokines, and these cells also express numerous members of the purinergic P2 receptor family. Studies in several cellular systems have provided evidence that P2 receptor modulation can affect cytokine production, and mechanistic features of this regulation have emerged. This review highlights three separate examples corresponding to (1) P2Y6 receptor mediated impact on interleukin (IL)-8 production, (2) P2Y11 receptor-mediated affects on IL-12/23 output, and (3) P2X7 receptor mediated IL-1β posttranslational processing. These examples demonstrate important roles of purinergic receptors in the modulation of cytokine production. Extension of these cellular observations to in vivo situations may lead to new therapeutic strategies for treating cytokine-mediated diseases.
Molecular dynamics imaging in micropatterned living cells

Micropatterning approaches using self-assembled monolayers of alkyl thiols on gold are not optimal for important imaging modalities in cell biology because of absorption of light and scattering of electrons by the gold layer. We report here an anisotropic solid microetching (ASOMIC) procedure that overcomes these limitations. The method allows molecular dynamics imaging by wide-field and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy of living mammalian cells and correlative platinum replica electron microscopy.
Like Father, Like Son: Periventricular Nodular Heterotopia and Nonverbal Learning Disorder

Periventricular nodular heterotopia is a common malformation of cortical development in which the migration of developing neurons destined for the cerebral cortex is abbreviated. Bilateral periventricular nodular heterotopia is most commonly an X-linked disorder that involves mutations in the filamin A (FLNA) gene, but an autosomal recessive form and sporadic forms have been identified. To our knowledge, autosomal dominant transmission of isolated periventricular nodular heterotopia has not been reported. Periventricular nodular heterotopia has a heterogeneous phenotype, associated commonly with seizure disorder, and more recently with reading deficits and visual-spatial deficits in some patients. We present a father and son with bilateral periventricular nodular heterotopia and similar visual-spatial learning deficits, consistent with nonverbal learning disability.
Voronoi diagrams and offset curves of curvilinear polygons

This paper studies the practical generation of Voronoi diagrams and offset curves of simply-connected planar areas bounded by straight lines and circular arcs. We present and analyze a wavefront-propagation algorithm for the generation of Voronoi diagrams and compare it experimentally to a tuned version of Lee's divide-and-conquer algorithm. Key performance parameters of these two algorithms are compared based on machine-generated test data. We conclude that the wavefront-propagation algorithm can be expected to outperform the divide-and-conquer algorithm for all, but pathological test data. In particular, its practical running time seems to grow only linearly. We also used our implementation in order to gather statistics on the CPU-consumption of offsetting based on Voronoi diagrams. All tests clearly showed the practical suitability of using Voronoi diagrams for the offsetting of curvilinear polygons. The CPU-time consumptions recorded also compare very favorably with other published codes for computing Voronoi diagrams.
pH-dependent interactions of indinavir and lipids in nanoparticles and their ability to entrap a solute.

We have investigated the ability of lipid–indinavir particles composed of 3-to-1 lipid–drug molar ratio to encapsulate an aqueous marker calcein and anti-HIV drug 3H-phosphonylmethoxypropyl-adenine (PMPA). Even at a high density of indinavir associated to lipid–indinavir nanoparticles, they form an enclosed lipid membrane that allows encapsulation of calcein and PMPA in an aqueous compartment. At neutral pH, practically all indinavir was incorporated into lipid bilayer and lipid associated indinavir can be dissociated with half-maximum pH recorded between 5.2 and 5.5. pH-Dependent release of indinavir did not influence calcein release significantly. However, pH-dependent release of indinavir affected PMPA release. By lowering pH, PMPA release was enhanced in the presence of indinavir in the lipid bilayer. Collectively, these data indicate that indinavir incorporated in lipid particles provides (1) stable bilayers capable of encapsulating other hydrophilic drugs, (2) ability to dissociate indinavir (which is acid stable) from lipid membranes, by lowering the pH, and (3) enabling enhancement in pH-dependent release of aqueous contents. However, the degree of pH-dependent release could be related to the charge and size of an aqueous molecule. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 97:931–943, 2008
On Minimum Boundary Image Maps

A Nyquist-like technique using boundary image maps for the assessment of stability of two-dimensional (2-D) digital control system models was first reported by De Carlo et al. in 1977. However, this method, although attractive in principle, is time-consuming and complicated. In a recent paper by Whalley and Zeng in 1992, a more efficient technique using minimum boundary image maps was reported. The technique, if correct, turns out to be even simpler than the tabular algorithms, which are probably the most convenient of all stability algorithms to program. However, with the use of two counter-examples it is shown that this method is not consistent with either De Carlo's theory or the modified Jury table (MJT) method. It is also shown that the new method does not guarantee stability even under conditions which are stronger than those proposed by Whalley and Zeng.
Ontology-centered integration of project management, cost and resource modeling with analysis, simulation and visualization: a case study of space port operations

As the size and complexity of space launches continues to grow an architecture is becoming ever more necessary to accurately organize and determine workforce requirements for the involved organizations. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center has recently begun using a tool developed by the technology consulting firm Booz-Allen Hamilton specifically for this purpose. This paper addresses the possibility of transferring the information developed and organized by the Kennedy Workforce Planning Tool into a standard Microsoft Project document with integrated cost, resource modeling and analysis, simulation and visualization using an ontology- centered approach. The study emphasize on the potential of being able to forecast the workforce resource requirements.
Nonactin biosynthesis: the potential nonactin biosynthesis gene cluster contains type II polyketide synthase-like genes.

Nonactin is the parent compound of a group of highly atypical polyketide metabolites produced by Streptomyces griseus subsp. griseus ETH A7796. In this paper we describe the isolation, sequencing, and analysis of 15? omitted?559 bp of chromosomal DNA, containing the potential nonactin biosynthesis gene cluster, from S. griseus subsp. griseus ETH A7796. Fourteen open reading frames were observed in the DNA sequence. Significantly, type II polyketide synthase (PKS) homologues were discovered in an apparent operon structure, which also contained the nonactate synthase gene (nonS), clustered with the tetranactin resistance gene. The deduced products of two of the genes (nonK and nonJ) are quite unusual ketoacyl synthase (KAS) alpha and KASbeta homologues. We speculate that nonactic acid, the polyketide precursor of nonactin, is synthesized by a type II PKS system.
Hydronephrosis and Urine Retention in Estrogen-Implanted Athymic Nude Mice

Subcutaneous estrogen pellet implantation is commonly practiced to induce tumor promotion in nude (Nu-FOXn1 nu ) mice for xenograft tumor modeling. Twelve of 23, 18-week-old nude mice developed dysuria after estrogen pellet implantation. Physical examination revealed variably distended abdomens with palpable distended bladders. All mice were euthanatized and postmortem examinations were made. Blood samples of the mice were collected, and serum estrogen concentration was measured. Postmortem examination revealed variable dilation of the urinary bladder and unilateral or bilateral dilations of ureters and kidneys. Microscopically, 12 of 23 mice and 13 of 23 mice showed dilated urinary bladder and hydronephrosis, respectively.
Study of Soil Layering Effects on Lateral Loading Behavior of Piles

This paper presents results of the finite element study on the behavior of a single pile in elastic-plastic soils. Pile behavior in uniform sand and clay soils as well as cases with a sand layer in a clay deposit and a clay layer in a sand deposit were analyzed using finite element modeling. Finite element results were used to generate p-y response curves, which were cross compared to investigate the soil layering effects.
Characteristics of surface waves generated by events on and near the Chinese nuclear test site

Our goal is to characterize surface waves at intermediate periods (5–30s) generated by nuclear explosions and natural earthquakes occurring in and around the Chinese nuclear test site at Lop Nor observed at epicentral distances between 10° and 20°. We present observations of Rayleigh- and Love-wave group velocities, spectral amplitudes and polarizations for eight nuclear explosions and nine earthquakes recorded at IRIS and GEOSCOPE broad-band digital stations and at the Kirghiz Telemetered Seismic Network (KNET). the wave paths studied cross complex geological regimes. Waveforms are extremely complicated, yet observations made with frequency-time analysis are robust and repeatable. (1) Group velocity and spectral amplitude measurements vary strongly across the studied region, but display understandable systematics related to known tectonic features. (2) Both group velocity and spectral amplitude measurements across the KNET array are generally similar at periods above 10s, but differences are striking at shorter periods. Stacking methods dependent on waveform coherence across the network should only succeed at periods above 10 s for this large-scale array. (3) Group velocity measurements for earthquakes and nuclear explosions that share a common wave path agree well, but spectral amplitudes differ appreciably, especially for Rayleigh waves. Typically, earthquake spectra are enriched in longer periods (12–20s) relative to explosion spectra for events of the same magnitude. (4) Higher modes are observed on frequency-time diagrams for Rayleigh waves generated by earthquakes, but are not observed for explosions. (5) Multipathing is observed in both frequency-time diagrams and polarization analyses, but, again, is qualitatively understandable in terms of known structural features. In particular, the channelling of Love waves by the Tarim Basin is documented. (6) Large-amplitude Love waves are generated by nuclear explosions at Lop Nor, indicative of significant tectonic release. We discuss the relevance of the differences in spectral amplitudes between earthquakes and explosions and of the appearance of higher modes on earthquake frequency-time diagrams to the problem of discriminating nuclear explosions from earthquakes.
Moral enhancement, freedom, and what we (should) value in moral behaviour

The enhancement of human traits has received academic attention for decades, but only recently has moral enhancement using biomedical means – moral bioenhancement (MB) – entered the discussion. After explaining why we ought to take the possibility of MB seriously, the paper considers the shape and content of moral improvement, addressing at some length a challenge presented by reasonable moral pluralism. The discussion then proceeds to this question: Assuming MB were safe, effective, and universally available, would it be morally desirable? In particular, would it pose an unacceptable threat to human freedom? After defending a negative answer to the latter question – which requires an investigation into the nature and value of human freedom – and arguing that there is nothing inherently wrong with MB, the paper closes with reflections on what we should value in moral behaviour.
Dependence of orientation and electrical properties in sputtered ZnO upon deposition conditions and substrate

The authors have studied how orientation of planar magnetron sputtered ZnO varies as a function of radius from the center of the sputter target. They show that orientation deviates from the normal with increasing radius from center, even on substrates parallel to the sputter cathode. The ZnO was deposited upon C-axis normal sapphire Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/, fused quartz, and 111-Si under varied conditions, including variations in temperature, gas flow rate, sputter power, radial position relative to target center, and substrate angle. Production of high-quality ZnO, as evidenced by the X-ray rocking curve, is demonstrated. The ZnO, quality is correlated to composition by stoichiometric measurements. Changes in orientation angle, crystal quality, and deposition angle with increased radius are shown and compared with computer simulations of the extended source. >
Module-First Matching Schemes for Scalable Input-Queued Space-Space-Space Clos-Network Packet Switches

Clos-network switches were proposed as a scalable architecture for the implementation of large-capacity circuit switches. In packet switching, the three-stage Clos-network architecture uses small switches as modules to assemble a switch with large number of ports or aggregated ports with high data rates. Current schemes for configuration of input-queued three- stage Clos-network (IQC) switches involve port matching and path routing assignment, in that order. The implementation of a scheduler capable of matching thousands of ports in large-size switches is complex because of the large port count. To decrease the scheduler complexity for such switches (e.g., 1024 ports or more), we propose a configuration scheme for IQC switches that hierarchizes the matching process. In a practical scenario our scheme performs routing first and port matching thereafter. This approach applies the reduction concept of Clos networks to the matching process. The application of this approach results in a feasible size of schedulers for up to Exabit-capacity switches, an independent configuration of the middle stage modules from port matches, a reduction of the matching communication overhead between different stages, and a release of the switching function to the last-stage modules in a 3-stage switch. We show that the switching performance of the proposed approach using weight- based and weightless selection schemes is high under uniform and nonuniform traffic.
Resource allocation for multiparty connections

Abstract This article addresses the problems of specifying complex multimedia multiparty connections and allocating resources to set up multimedia multipoint connections while efficiently using network resources in a network that includes signal converters to resolve the heterogeneity of customer/network equipment and information mixers for conference services. A notation called logical connection is proposed to capture the special resources and connectivity requirements. Given a connection request and a physical network, we consider the general resource allocation problem in which the allocation costs of special resources and links are comparable, so that neither can be neglected. The problem is shown to be NP-hard. A resource allocation software system that integrates an optimal algorithm, several heuristic algorithms, and a distributed algorithm was implemented, and the performance result of these algorithms is presented.
Lateral electrical injection into Si/SiO2 horizontal multislot waveguides

Development of a silicon-based on-chip light source could be facilitated by the incorporation of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) into a multislot waveguide structure 1 , using erbium embedded in silicon oxide as a luminescence source. The multislot waveguide confines TM polarized light in the oxide (low-index) layers, thus reducing the loss caused by interaction with free carriers in the nc-Si layers. Here we demonstrate a lateral electrical injection scheme using a p-i-n junction embedded into the multislot, allowing much more efficient charge injection than alternative vertical injection approaches which have been limited by the highly insulating oxide layers. By exploiting the difference in the mode profiles of TE and TM light, we were able to gauge the injection of free carriers as a function of applied voltage, by measuring the polarization-dependent optical loss for light transmitted through the multislot waveguide. Experimental measurements are well-predicted by numerical computations using both FDTD and the transfer matrix method.
Epidural spinal cord compression from metastatic tumor: Diagnosis and treatment

The clinical findings in 130 conseucutive cases of spinal cord compression by metastatic extradural tumors were analyzed. These 130 patients were combined with a previous survey of 105 patients to compare the effectiveness of radiation therapy (RT) alone with that of surgical decompression followed by RT. Ambulation after treatment was considered a successful outcome. The most common primary tumors producing spinal cord compression were (in order) breast, lung, prostate, and kidney. In 68% of these tumors the thoracic region was involved. Pain was the primary symptom of 96% of the patients, while motor or sensory deficits (or both) were found in 82% of them. Therapy consisted of surgery and RT in 65 patients and RT alone in 170 patients. There were no differences in outcome between those treated by surgery combined with RT and those managed by RT alone. Patients with radiosensitive tumors and those ambulatory at the onset of treatment benefited whether treated by surgery or by RT. Seventy-five percent of living patients who improved from treatment remained ambulatory at 6 months, and approximately 50% of living patients were ambulatory at 1 year. We conclude that RT without decompressive laminectomy is as effective as decompressive laminectomy in treating epidural spinal cord compression from systemic cancer.
Mirror-imaged doublets of Tetmemena pustulata: implications for the development of left-right asymmetry.

Abstract Ciliated protozoa possess cellular axes reflected in the arrangement of their ciliature. Upon transverse fission, daughter cells develop an identical ciliary pattern, ensuring perpetuation of the cellular phenotype. Experimentally manipulated cells can be induced to form atypical phenotypes, capable of intraclonal propagation and regeneration after encystment. One such phenotype in the ciliate Tetmemena pustulata (formerly Stylonychia pustulata) is the mirror-imaged doublet. These cells possess two distinct sets of ciliature, juxtaposed on the surfaces in mirror image symmetry, with a common anterior–posterior axis. We have examined whether individual ciliary components of Tetmemena mirror-image doublets are mirror imaged. Ultrastructural analysis indicates that despite global mirror imaging of the ciliature, detailed organization of the membranelles is reversed in the mirror-image oral apparatus (OA), such that the ciliary effective stroke propels food away from the OA. Assembly of compound ciliary structures of both OAs starts out identically, but as the structures associated with the mirror-image OA continue to form, the new set of membranelles undergoes a 180° planar rotation on the ventral surface relative to the same structures in the typical OA. The overall symmetry of the OA thus appears to be separable from the more localized assembly of individual basal bodies. True mirror imagery of the membranelles would require new enantiomorphic forms of the individual ciliary components, particularly the basal bodies, which is never observed. These observations suggest a mechanistic hypothesis with implications for the development of left–right asymmetry not only in ciliates, but perhaps also in development of left–right asymmetry in general.
Genetic component of sensorimotor capacity in rats

Creation of generalized genetic models for low and high sensorimotor capacity would be important tools for resolution of this complex trait. As proof-of-principle we estimated phenotypic variation ...
Value of pelvic sonography in the diagnosis of various forms of precocious puberty in girls

Purpose. To evaluate the role of pelvic sonography (US) in the diagnosis and differentiation of various forms of precocious puberty in girls, and to explore reliable cutoff points of pelvic US measurements for differentiating between these conditions. Methods. Uterine length, uterine cross-sectional area, uterine volume, fundocervical ratio, and ovarian volumes of 143 healthy girls were compared with those of 125 girls with different forms of sexual precocity. Ovaries were morphologically classified as homogenous, paucicystic, multicystic, macrocystic, and isolated cystic. Results. Almost all US measurements of girls with central precocious puberty in the 0- to 8-year age group were significantly increased compared with controls and girls with premature thelarche and adrenarche (p 0.05). Ovarian morphology distributions did not differ significantly between patient subgroups, but all had more mature forms compared with controls. Due to the wide overlap between the measurements, no reliable cutoff points could be determined by charting receiver operating characteristics curves. Conclusions. Pelvic US can improve the diagnosis of central precocious puberty in girls of 0–8 years of age but provides no reliable type differentiation alone. It provides no valuable information for this diagnosis in girls of 8–10 years of age. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2013.
Uncertainty Resolution, Private Information Aggregation and the Cournot Competitive Limit

A Cournot model of oligopoly in which otherwise identical firms have private differential information about the common cost of production and a shared (but unknown) demand curve is examined. A Bayesian equilibrium of the corresponding game of incomplete information is solved for explicitly and analysed. In the symmetric equilibrium, different firms produce at different output levels because they have different information. Because the information individual firms have is random, total output and hence market price is also random for any finite number of firms. The main result of the paper relates to the asymptotic properties of the equilibrium, when the number of firms becomes large. Under fairly general conditions on the joint distribution of demand and individual firms' information about demand, the random equilibrium price converges almost surely to a constant in the limit. More importantly, this price equals the perfectly competitive price. In other words, in large markets, even if no firm knows the true market demand curve and firms are not price-takers and do not use price as a signal to improve their information, the competitive price will prevail with certainty. In the limit, aggregate outcomes are as if all firms shared their private information with each other.
The principle of charity

The recent publication of a third anthology of Donald Davidson's articles, and anticipated publication of two more, encourages a consideration of themes binding together Davidson's lifetime of research. One such theme is the principle of charity (PC). In light of the mileage Davidson gets out of PC, I propose a careful examination of PC itself. In Part 1, 1 consider some ways in which Davidson articulates PC. In Part 2, 1 show that the articulation that Davidson requires in his work on epistemology is untenable given what Davidson says in his work on semantics. I conclude that Davidson can use PC only in his work on semantics or not at all.
HTreeQA: Using Semi-Perfect Phylogeny Trees in Quantitative Trait Loci Study on Genotype Data

With the advances in high-throughput genotyping technology, the study of quantitative trait loci (QTL) has emerged as a promising tool to understand the genetic basis of complex traits. Methodology development for the study of QTL recently has attracted significant research attention. Local phylogeny-based methods have been demonstrated to be powerful tools for uncovering significant associations between phenotypes and single-nucleotide polymorphism markers. However, most existing methods are designed for homozygous genotypes, and a separate haplotype reconstruction step is often needed to resolve heterozygous genotypes. This approach has limited power to detect nonadditive genetic effects and imposes an extensive computational burden. In this article, we propose a new method, HTreeQA, that uses a tristate semi-perfect phylogeny tree to approximate the perfect phylogeny used in existing methods. The semi-perfect phylogeny trees are used as high-level markers for association study. HTreeQA uses the genotype data as direct input without phasing. HTreeQA can handle complex local population structures. It is suitable for QTL mapping on any mouse populations, including the incipient Collaborative Cross lines. Applied HTreeQA, significant QTLs are found for two phenotypes of the PreCC lines, white head spot and running distance at day 5/6. These findings are consistent with known genes and QTL discovered in independent studies. Simulation studies under three different genetic models show that HTreeQA can detect a wider range of genetic effects and is more efficient than existing phylogeny-based approaches. We also provide rigorous theoretical analysis to show that HTreeQA has a lower error rate than alternative methods.
Using Synchronous Distance-Education Technology to Deliver a Weight Management Intervention

Abstract Objective To compare the effectiveness of online delivery of a weight management program using synchronous (real-time), distance-education technology to in-person delivery. Methods Synchronous, distance-education technology was used to conduct weekly sessions for participants with a live instructor. Program effectiveness was indicated by changes in weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and confidence in ability to eat healthy and be physically active. Results Online class participants (n = 398) had significantly greater reductions in BMI, weight, and waist circumference than in-person class participants (n = 1,313). Physical activity confidence increased more for in-person than online class participants. There was no difference for healthy eating confidence. Conclusions and Implications This project demonstrates the feasibility of using synchronous distance-education technology to deliver a weight management program. Synchronous online delivery could be employed with no loss to improvements in BMI, weight, and waist circumference.
Development of an HIV educational needs assessment tool

The learning needs of persons with HIV/AIDS continue to grow more complex as new treatments are developed and HIV disease shifts from being a terminal to a chronic illness. Clinicians could use a simple tool to help them to focus on what clients think is important to know about living with HIV/AIDS. This article describes the development of the HIV Educational Needs Assessment Tool (HENAT). HIV+ persons (N=363) who were receiving health care in a variety of ambulatory and institutional settings participated in this research during 1990 and 1993–1994. Factor analysis was used to shorten the instrument into a form that could be used in any nurse/client interaction. Principal axis factor extraction and varimax rotation deleted 16 items. The remaining 34 items were grouped into six factors: Treatments, Entitlements, Relationships, Preventing Infections, Social Support, and Working. Cronbach's alphas were computed and results ranged from .70 to .88. Two month test-retest correlations for a subset of participants (n=195) ranged from .54 to .67. HENAT can be used (a) to examine differences in perception of learning needs between clients with HIV disease and their health care providers, (b) to measure shifts in learning needs over time, (c) to relate HIV-specific learning needs to length of time living with HIV disease, (d) to give clients an opportunity to assess their learning needs, and (e) as part of a larger intervention study that evaluates the effectiveness of patient education.
Aspects of chiral symmetry and the lattice

This article is a pedagogical exploration of the nonperturbative issues entwining lattice gauge theory, anomalies, and chiral symmetry. After briefly reviewing the importance of chiral symmetry in particle physics, the author discusses how anomalies complicate lattice formulations. Considerable information can be deduced from effective chiral Lagrangians, helping interpret the expectations for lattice models and elucidating the role of the CP-violating parameter \ensuremath{\Theta}. One particularly elegant scheme for exploring this physics on the lattice is presented in some detail. This uses an auxiliary extra space-time dimension, with the physical world being a four-dimensional interface.
ASSESSING (AND NOT ASSESSING) THE ITALIAN CONTRIBUTION TO HISTORIOGRAPHY AND POLITICAL THOUGHT

Edited by Giuseppe Galasso, one of Italy's most distinguished historians, this large volume seeks to convey the Italian contribution to historiography and political thought from the dawn of the Middle Ages into the present century, though it is overwhelmingly concentrated on the centuries since 1400. It includes six overview essays, but over 70 percent of its bulk consists of short articles, 108 in all, the vast majority on individual figures, and most of them five to seven pages in length. Whereas the approach, through individual figures, makes the volume especially valuable as a reference work, the approach also entails limitations making it hard to delineate and assess a distinctively Italian contribution. Readers must often connect the dots on their own if they are to discern the strands of a distinctive tradition. In his introductory overview, Galasso suggests a special Italian sensitivity to history, or capacity for the philosophy of history, but the suggestion is left vague and is followed up only in the most ad hoc way in the subsequent essays. The book offers little on how Italian idiosyncrasy might have either compromised or enhanced wider impact. Although the extent of Italian international interaction is well documented, there is little attention to reciprocity and the scope for synergy. Nor is there much assessment of the implications of changes in the valences of that interaction over the centuries, especially in breeding self-criticism and sometimes compensatory myth-making that might have further complicated the resonance of Italian offerings. But the volume demonstrates the richness of the Italian contribution and implicitly invites us to better encompass it, perhaps through comparative work and further research on multinational interplay.
No-Harm Contracts: A Review of What We Know.

Few events in the practice of a mental health clinician can be as devastating as the suicide of a client. Although suicide is a rare occurrence, clinicians face assessment of clients' risk for harming themselves on a regular basis. One well-accepted and widely practiced intervention for suicidal ideation is the use of no-harm contracts (NHC), although opinions about NHCs range from enthusiasm to apathy. The existing research does not support the use of such contracts as a method for preventing suicide, nor for protecting clinicians from malpractice litigation in the event of a client suicide.
Airfoil Aerodynamic Performance Modification using Hybrid Surface Actuators

Global modifications of the aerodynamic characteristics of a commercial transport swept airfoil at cruise (low) angles of attack (when the baseline flow is fully attached) are achieved without moving control surfaces using hybrid actuators that are surface mounted on the pressure side of the airfoil 0.21c downstream of its leading edge. Control is effected by the manipulation of trapped vorticity concentrations that are induced by leveraging the presence of a miniature, O(0.01c) obstruction integrated with a synthetic jet actuator. At Rec = 1.3·10 6 , the operation of the hybrid actuators with maximum Cµ = 0.5 10 -3 results in continuous variation of the pressure drag from 15% greater to 50% less than the pressure drag of the baseline airfoil with minimal lift penalty and consequently an increase of the lift to pressure drag ratio in excess of a factor of two. High-resolution particle image velocimetry measurements at Rec = 6.7·10 5 are used to characterize the evolution of the boundary layer on the surface of the airfoil and estimate the total drag coefficient. It is shown that the overall drag is reduced by 29% and yields an increase in L/D of 27%.
V2V: a second variation on query-by-humming

Music information retrieval (MIR) systems tend to fall into two camps: that camp developing cataloging and providing advanced access systems for large collections of music and that camp developing specific query or access mechanisms. We have started to merge these camps by integrating Variations2, which provides access to a digitized portion of Indiana University's vast music library, with Michigan's VocalSearch, which provides a query-by-humming (QBH) search engine. The joint system, V2V, demonstrates how QBH can be used in connection with a large number of holdings in a real-world environment.
Kevin: On the Transfer of Emotions 866

A white Rhodesian living in South Africa tells an ethnographer the story of his experiences as a charismatic Christian and a veteran of warfare involving terrorism. Like a testimony, the story is designed to produce an effect on its hearer. With an ethnopsychiatric approach, such a story must be understood dialogically, as an exchange in which a game of “who has the emotion” is played.
Applying Multivariate Discrete Distributions to Genetically Informative Count Data

We present a novel method of conducting biometric analysis of twin data when the phenotypes are integer-valued counts, which often show an L-shaped distribution. Monte Carlo simulation is used to compare five likelihood-based approaches to modeling: our multivariate discrete method, when its distributional assumptions are correct, when they are incorrect, and three other methods in common use. With data simulated from a skewed discrete distribution, recovery of twin correlations and proportions of additive genetic and common environment variance was generally poor for the Normal, Lognormal and Ordinal models, but good for the two discrete models. Sex-separate applications to substance-use data from twins in the Minnesota Twin Family Study showed superior performance of two discrete models. The new methods are implemented using R and OpenMx and are freely available.
Misguided Memories: Sincere Distortions of Reality

Considerable research has demonstrated that people can produce sincere but inaccurate recollections by unwittingly assimilating the misleading suggestions of others. Although the boundary conditions that mediate the influence of misinformation have been intensively investigated, considerable debate continues regarding how misleading suggestions influence memory. Additional research has investigated ways to distinguish real from suggested memories. Typically people have great difficulty determining whether or not a memory is real. However, researchers have identified a number of attributes of memory descriptions that can sometimes be diagnostic, e.g., real memory descriptions tend to include more sensory characteristics. A recent exploratory study examined a new potential technique for discriminating real from suggested memories: negative feedback. We explored the hypothesis that subjects would be less reluctant to believe they were incorrect when recalling a suggested memory compared to a real memory. Surprisingly, we found no support for this hypothesis. Subjects often adamantly defended their suggested memories, illustrating the magnitude to which these “unreal” recollections are sincerely adopted.