cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In Pursuit of Social Justice: Collaborative Research and Practice in Teacher Education

Abstract Recent demographic trends in American education have reaffirmed the need to teach prospective teachers about social justice issues such as race, class, and disability. With this goal in mind, fourteen members of the Boston College of Teacher Education faculty and three administrators engaged in a year-long series of conversations over the meaning of social justice. The goal of these “social justice conversations” was to investigate individual understandings of the meaning of social justice and find the commonality necessary to “teach for social justice” A sub-group of faculty, including the authors, studied these conversations. The authors found that participants unanimously embraced the goal of teaching for social justice but that their definitions of social justice ranged along a “continuum of beliefs” They identify three categories of divergence around the meaning of social justice: Definitions of fairness and equity; institutional vs. individual understandings of injustice; and the responsibi...
A sex offender therapist's story.

A therapist who works with sex offenders explains how she got involved in this work, what the treatment program entails, and the difficult homework the offenders must complete to graduate. She also describes the remodeling process offenders experience as they progress through treatment. Most of the offenders she has worked with are remorseful, have been victims themselves, work very hard in treatment, and make remarkable changes to become safe, productive members of society. That is why she has found this work to be some of the most challenging and rewarding work of her life. Language: en
Vulnerability of CA1 neurons to glutamate is developmentally regulated

Although it is well documented that glutamate receptor subtypes are differentially expressed during central nervous system development postnatally, how glutamate affects neurons during postnatal development is unclear. We therefore examined the development of the intrinsic neuronal response to glutamate receptor activation by studying single, hippocampal CA1 neurons that had been acutely dissociated from newborn (P1-3), 1 week old (P6-8), and 3 week old (P21-25) rats. Using laser scanning confocal microscopy and the calcium dye Fluo-3, we made time-lapse studies of the effects of glutamate stimulation on free intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) and simultaneous changes in neuronal morphology. In P21-25 neurons, glutamate increased [Ca2+]i fluorescence, and caused marked somal swelling, blebbing, and retraction of dendrites into the soma. These major morphological changes were followed by sudden loss of intracellular fluorescence, indicative of a loss of membrane integrity and cell death. In P6-8 neurons, glutamate increased [Ca2+]i to the same extent, but this increase was not followed by either major morphological changes or loss of membrane integrity. In P1-3 neurons, glutamate increased [Ca2+]i minimally, and no morphologic changes were observed. P1-3 neurons dissociated without enzymatic digestion demonstrated glutamate responses identical to responses seen in neurons dissociated with enzymatic digestion. In the presence of MK-801 (15 microM), glutamate still increased [Ca2+]i and caused cell death in P21-25 neurons, but the latency to these effects more than tripled. This late, MK-801-resistant [Ca2+]i increase was not eliminated by DNQX or Ni2+/Cd2+, suggesting that this increase is mediated by metabotropic receptors. These findings demonstrate that (1) hippocampal neurons from newborns are intrinsically less vulnerable to glutamate toxicity than neurons from 3 weeks old animals, and (2) multiple glutamate receptor subtypes affect the magnitude of the [Ca2+]i increase in response to glutamate in the neuronal microenvironment.
Ethyl 6-methyl-2-oxo-4-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetra­hydro­pyrimidine-5-carboxyl­ate

The title compound, C14H16N2O3, belongs to a group of esters of 2-oxo- and 1,2,3,4-tetra­hydro­pyrimidine-5-carboxylic acids, which exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activities. The dihydro­pyrimidine ring adopts a screw-boat conformation. The crystal packing is stabilized by strong N—H⋯O and weak C—H⋯O inter­molecular hydrogen bonds. An intra­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bond is also present.
An image-based automatic Arabic translation system

In this paper, we present a system that automatically translates Arabic text embedded in images into English. The system consists of three components: text detection from images, character recognition, and machine translation. We formulate the text detection as a binary classification problem and apply gradient boosting tree (GBT), support vector machine (SVM), and location-based prior knowledge to improve the F1 score of text detection from 78.95% to 87.05%. The detected text images are processed by off-the-shelf optical character recognition (OCR) software. We employ an error correction model to post-process the noisy OCR output, and apply a bigram language model to reduce word segmentation errors. The translation module is tailored with compact data structure for hand-held devices. The experimental results show substantial improvements in both word recognition accuracy and translation quality. For instance, in the experiment of Arabic transparent font, the BLEU score increases from 18.70 to 33.47 with use of the error correction module.
The Power of Whispering: Near Field Assertions via Acoustic Communications

Asserting whether two devices are in close proximity is very important to many smartphone assisted security systems. For example, the smartphone based two-factor authentication usually requires the smartphone to stay in close proximity to the other device during authentication. However, relay attacks pose a serious threat to existing approaches for proximity assertions. In this paper, we present a novel near field assertion system that restricts the distance between the two devices to the scale of several centimeters. Our system explores acoustic communications and can prevent relay attacks. The generated assertion is a confidential binary sequence known only to the two devices. Our system is fully automated and light-weight, as demonstrated by extensive evaluations on a prototype.
A Marcus Treatment of Rate Constants for Protonation of Ring-Substituted α-Methoxystyrenes: Intrinsic Reaction Barriers and the Shape of the Reaction Coordinate

Rate and equilibrium constants were determined for protonation of ring-substituted α-methoxystyrenes by hydronium ion and by carboxylic acids to form the corresponding ring-substituted α-methyl α-methoxybenzyl carbocations at 25 °C and I = 1.0 (KCl). The thermodynamic barrier to carbocation formation increases by 14.5 kcal/mol as the phenyl ring substituent(s) is changed from 4-MeO- to 3,5-di-NO2-, and as the carboxylic acid is changed from dichloroacetic to acetic acid. The Bronsted coefficient α for protonation by carboxylic acids increases from 0.67 to 0.77 over this range of phenyl ring substituents, and the Bronsted coefficient β for proton transfer increases from 0.63 to 0.69 as the carboxylic acid is changed from dichloroacetic to acetic acid. The change in these Bronsted coefficients with changing reaction driving force, ∂α/∂Δ =∂β/∂Δ = 1/8Λ = 0.011, is used to calculate a Marcus intrinsic reaction barrier of Λ = 11 kcal/mol which is close to the barrier of 13 kcal/mol for thermoneutral proton tran...
Congenital cardiac defects in neonatal foals: 18 cases (1992-2007).

Background: Literature available regarding congenital cardiac defects in foals is limited to reports of individual cases or small case series. Objective: To describe the clinical, echocardiographic, and necropsy findings and breed predilection of congenital cardiac defects in neonatal foals. Animals: Eighteen foals <15 days of age with 1 or more congenital cardiac defects. Methods: Medical records of foals diagnosed with congenital cardiac defects at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital were reviewed. Data collected included history, signalment, clinical signs, laboratory data, diagnostic and necropsy results, and outcome. Results: Arabian foals represented 39% of cases with congenital cardiac defects and were significantly (P= .004) overrepresented (OR = 4.7 [CI: 1.8–12.4]) compared with the general hospital population. Ventricular septal defect (VSD) (14/18), tetralogy of Fallot (5/18), and tricuspid valve atresia (4/18) were the most common defects identified. A ≥3/6 heart murmur (14/14) accompanied by tachycardia (14/17), tachypnea (17/17), and cyanosis of mucous membranes (7/16) were the most common clinical signs. Concurrent congenital defects were common (9/18). Two foals, both with VSD, survived for ≥ 8 years after diagnosis and 1 was a successful performance horse. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Arabian horses appear to have a predisposition for cardiac defects. The presence of a loud murmur (≥ 3/6), cyanotic membranes, and tachycardia or tachypnea in a neonatal foal should warrant thorough evaluation of the heart for congenital defects. Foals with cardiac defects should be closely evaluated for concurrent congenital defects in other body systems.
Parallel algorithms for the longest common subsequence problem

A subsequence of a given string is any string obtained by deleting none or some symbols from the given string. A longest common subsequence (LCS) of two strings is a common subsequence of both that is as long as any other common subsequences. The problem is to find the LCS of two given strings. The bound on the complexity of this problem under the decision tree model is known to be mn if the number of distinct symbols that can appear in strings is infinite, where m and n are the lengths of the two strings, respectively, and m/spl les/n. In this paper, we propose two parallel algorithms far this problem on the CREW-PRAM model. One takes O(log/sup 2/ m + log n) time with mn/log m processors, which is faster than all the existing algorithms on the same model. The other takes O(log/sup 2/ m log log m) time with mn/(log/sup 2/ m log log m) processors when log/sup 2/ m log log m > log n, or otherwise O(log n) time with mn/log n processors, which is optimal in the sense that the time/spl times/processors bound matches the complexity bound of the problem. Both algorithms exploit nice properties of the LCS problem that are discovered in this paper. >
Diversification of Food Production and Consumption Patterns in India

ABSTRACT Agricultural diversification in India is steadily accelerating towards high value crops and livestock activities to augment farm income. Some of the factors that influence the nature and pace of agricultural diversification from staple food to high value crops are technological change in crop production, improved rural infrastructure and diversification in food demand. The nature of agricultural diversification differs across regions due to wide heterogeneity in agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions. Generally, the pattern of agricultural diversification shows a shift from crop production to livestock production during the 1980s to 1990s. The livestock sub-sector across different regions has grown as a result of the mounting demand for livestock products, namely, milk, meat, eggs, etc. Diversification in favour of horticulture and livestock commodities is more pronounced in rainfed areas. The focus of this paper relates to diversification of food production and consumption in both rural and...
MBE Growth of Epitaxial Calcium Fluoride on Silicon

The growth of an epitaxial insulator such as CaF2 on Si substrates and ita subsequent overgrowth with epitaxial semiconductors have a number of important applications in the electronics industry. In addition, it presents a unique opportunity to study an insulator/semiconductor interface under controlled conditions. We have studied the growth of epitaxial CaF2 on Si substrates and their subsequent overgrowth with Si or Ge under various conditions. While epitaxial growth of CaF2 (which has an fee lattice structure as does Si) can be obtained on (100), (110) and (111) oriented Si substrates, the best quality crystal growth and surface morphology is obtained on (111) substrates as the CaF2 (111) surface has the lowest free energy. Atomic steps on the original Si substrate surface are shown to have a detrimental effect on the epitaxial growth of CaF2. I-V measurements on the epitaxial (111) films show that the intrinsic breakdown field strength exceeds 2 MV/cm, however, high-field induced ionization can cause thermal breakdown at lower voltages. C-V measurements typically show ~1012 states/cm2 in the Si band gap as grown. However, it is possible to reduce this number to less than 1011 by annealing procedures after growth.
Seed proteins and systematics of Tripsacum

Abstract The genus Tripsacum (Gramineae) is distributed between the latitude 42°N and 24°S in the New World. It is divided into two sections. Section Tripsacum includes 11 species with T. dectyloides (L) L. extending across the range of the genus. Section Fasciculata includes five Meso-American species with T. lanceolatum Rupr. ex Fourn. extending into southern Arizona. The genus displays considerable diversity in seed proteins. Variation patterns are of limited use in distinguishing sections, but are species and habitat specific. Protein data are particularly useful in subspecific classification, and consistently distinguish diploid from polyploid races of T. zopilotense Hern. and Randolph and T. bravum Gray. The tetraploid ectotype of T. bravum deserves specific rank and the robust ecotype of T. dactyloides var. meridonate de Wet and Timothy deserves varietal rank.
Strength and fatigue behaviour of bare fused silica optical glass fibres

On etudie l'influence du revetement protecteur en polymere sur la resistance et la fatigue pour des fibres optiques commerciales en silice (Laboratoire Belle, diametre = 126μm)
Fragmented imperialism US control over radio in Panama, 1914–36

This article explains the rise and demise of the US Navy’s monopoly over radio communication in Panama (1914–36) via an interactive analysis of the conflicting logics of territorial and capitalist ...
Dual optimum aerodynamic design for a conventional windmill

The theoretical possibility of designing the blading of a conventional windmill so as to match the optimum loading for maximum output at two different operating conditions (i.e., at two different values of the ratio of tip speed to wind speed) is investigated using the vortex blade element theory. The theory of optimum loading is developed, including the effect of profile drag. For the range of parameters considered, it is shown that the effect of profile drag on blade loading is quite small, although the effect on efficiency is significant. The simpler theory, neglecting profile drag, and first presented by Glauert, then is used to design three sets of blading which match the Glauert loading conditions at two conditions, tip speed ratios of 4 and 5. The first design is for fixed blading and the other two involve pitch changes of 1.5° and 2° between the two conditions, the latter two showing a moderate degree of taper and being more desirable from a structural design point of view. It is concluded that the possibility of designing blading having high efficiency over a considerable range of operating conditions exists and can be used.
Photorefractive keratectomy for myopia in the setting of adenoviral subepithelial infiltrates

Abstract PURPOSE: To report a patient with persistent subepithelial corneal opacities 18 months after adenoviral keratoconjunctivitis who underwent photorefractive keratectomy for the correction of myopia. METHODS: Case report, review of medical literature, and slit-lamp photography. RESULTS: The patient underwent photorefractive keratectomy in each eye, 1 week apart, with ablation of central corneal opacities and resultant best-corrected visual acuity of BE, 20/20. Symptomatic subepithelial stromal infiltrates recurred in the peripheral but not the central cornea of each eye 3 months after laser treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Photorefractive keratectomy was successful in the correction of myopia and prevented the recurrence of adenoviral subepithelial corneal infiltrates within the laser-treated central cornea.
Recurrent dense deposit disease in renal allograft

This report documents the recurrence of dense deposit disease in a renal allograft thirty-three days post-transplantation and stresses the usefulness of immunofluorescence in early detection.
Human Tracheobronchial Secretions: Development of Mucous Glycoprotein and Lysozyme-secreting Systems

Human Tracheobronchial Secretions: Development of Mucous Glycoprotein and Lysozyme-secreting Systems
Medical students' comfort with pregnant women with substance-use disorders: a randomized educational study.

Objective The study objective was to determine whether medical students’ attendance at a rehabilitation residence for pregnant women with substance-use disorders yielded changes in their attitudes and comfort levels in providing care to this population.
Utility of α-methylacyl-coenzyme-A racemase (p504s) immunohistochemistry in distinguishing endometrial clear cell carcinomas from serous and endometrioid carcinomas.

The expression of α-methylacyl-coenzyme-A racemase (AMACR) has previously been reported in 75% to 100% of urethral/bladder clear cell carcinomas, tumors that are known to display broad phenotypic overlap with their identically named mullerian counterparts. Herein, we assess the utility of AMACR in distinguishing endometrial clear cell carcinomas (CCCs) from endometrial serous carcinomas (ESCs) and endometrial endometrioid carcinomas (EECs). A total of 111 endometrial carcinomas in a tissue microarray, including 49 CCCs, 13 ESCs, and 49 EECs, were assessed for AMACR immunoreactivity, with results scored semiquantitatively (scores 0, 1+, 2+, 3+ for 0%, 1%-5%, 6%-50%, >50% immunoreactive cells, respectively). Fifty (45%) of the 111 carcinomas were AMACR positive, with the following score distribution: CCC: 0 (n = 12), 1+ (n = 12), 2+ (n = 3), 3+ (n = 22); EEC: 0 (n = 38), 1+ (n = 4), 2+ (n = 4), 3+ (n = 3); ESC: 0 (n = 11), 1+ (n = 1), 2+ (n = 0), 3+ (n = 1). AMACR expression was significantly more frequent in CCC (75%) than in ESC (15%) or EEC (22%); P < .0001. The sensitivity and specificity of AMACR expression in classifying a carcinoma as CCC were 0.75 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61-0.86) and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.66-0.88), respectively, with an odds ratio of 11.62 (95% CI, 5-28; P < .001) and an area under the curve of 0.79 (95% CI, 0.68-0.88). These findings indicate that AMACR expression is strongly associated with CCC and displays a relatively robust diagnostic test performance. However, its practical utility may be limited by the focal nature of its expression in 32% of the AMACR-positive CCC cases as well as its expression in 15% to 22% of the non-CCC histotypes.
On masking topical intent in keyword search

Text-based search queries reveal user intent to the search engine, compromising privacy. Topical Intent Obfuscation (TIO) is a promising new approach to preserving user privacy. TIO masks topical intent by mixing real user queries with dummy queries matching various different topics. Dummy queries are generated using a Dummy Query Generation Algorithm (DGA).
Clinical Utility of an Automated Instrument for Gram Staining Single Slides

Gram stains of 87 different clinical samples were prepared by the laboratory's conventional methods (automated or manual) and by a new single-slide-type automated staining instrument, GG&B AGS-1000. Gram stains from either heat- or methanol-fixed slides stained with the new instrument were easy to interpret, and results were essentially the same as those from the methanol-fixed slides prepared as a part of the routine workflow. This instrument is well suited to a rapid-response laboratory where Gram stain requests are commonly received on a stat basis.
Inhibition of prothrombin synthesis and epoxidation of vitamin K1 by anticoagulants invitro

Summary A number of 4-hydroxycoumarin and indanedione anticoagulatns completly inhibited prothrombin synthesis in vitro at concentrations of less than 10 mM. Since the high concentration of vitamin K1 used to stumulate prothrombin synthesis made it unlikely that the anticoagulants were inhiting prothrombin synthesis by prevention the regeneration of vitamin from vitamin K1 epoxide, this suggested a second site of action of anticoagulants. This second site may be the epoxication of vitamin K since all the anticoagulants inhibited the epoxidation at concentrations less than 7 mM. 3-Phenyl-4-hydroxycoumarin, Dicumarol, Marcoumar and phenylindanedione were the most potent in inhibiting prothrombin synthesis and epoxidation while Warfarin, 4-hydrocoumarin and indanedione were the least effective.
Identification of discrete electrophoretic components among the products of mitochondrial protein synthesis in HeLa cells

Abstract Proteins synthesized in vivo by HeLa cell mitochondria in the presence of emetine, an inhibitor of cytoplasmic protein synthesis, have been characterized as to their electrophoretic mobility, solubility properties in organic solvents, and kinetics of labeling with [3H]isoleucine. Ten distinct electrophoretic components in the molecular weight range from about 11,000 to 42,000 have been identified with high reproducibility among the products of mitochondrial protein synthesis. Control experiments involving direct sodium dodecyl sulfate lysis of whole cells, or the use of the protease inhibitor phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride during cell homogenization and fractionation, have excluded a significant role of enzymic degradation during extraction in producing the observed electrophoretic pattern of mitochondrial protein products. A selective solubilization of mitochondrial protein products, representing a 20 to 30-fold purification with respect to the cytoplasmically synthesized proteins, has been obtained by using a neutral chloroform/methanol mixture. At least six of the electrophoretic components with a molecular weight greater than 20,000 were found to be extracted to an appreciable extent with neutral chloroform/methanol. A fairly co-ordinate labeling of the discrete electrophoretic components has been observed during a one-hour exposure period of the cells to [3H]isoleucine in the presence of emetine, without any clear evidence of intorconversion.
Competitive interactions between native and exotic earthworm species as influenced by habitat quality in a California grassland

Worldwide, anthropogenic disturbance has contributed to reductions in native earthworm abundance and diversity and subsequent establishment of exotic populations. Exotic earthworm species dominate the earthworm community primarily in nutrient-enriched soils characteristic of urbanized and rural areas, while native species persist in less disturbed habitat. We hypothesized that exotic species may displace native species through competitive interactions, but only under conditions of high resource availability. To test this we manipulated both grassland productivity and the presence and density of intra- and interspecific competitors in field and laboratory experiments with two common species, the native megascolecid Argilophilus marmoratus Eisen 1893 and the exotic lumbricid Aporrectodea trapezoides Duges 1828. Overall, Ap. trapezoides maintained greater relative growth than Ar. marmoratus. The difference in growth between the two species declined with decreasing habitat quality, primarily due to lower relative growth of Ap. trapezoides in less productive grasslands. As the competitor species, Ap. trapezoides had a negative effect on both itself and Ar. marmoratus in all habitat types, while Ar. marmoratus as competitor had a more neutral effect. Reproductive development followed the same general pattern, but to become reproductive Ap. trapezoides required almost double the amount of relative growth as Ar. marmoratus. Both species had a negative effect on potential food resources, including microbial biomass and belowground plant biomass, but Ap. trapezoides reduced resources more than Ar. marmoratus in all habitat types. Ap. trapezoides achieved a greater relative growth than Ar. marmoratus in soils with high resource availability, but it lost proportionally more mass as resources declined. Thus, Ap. trapezoides attempting to colonize less productive grasslands may simply deplete available resources and fail to achieve sufficient growth for reproductive development. Our results suggest that interspecific competition has the potential to prevent Ar. marmoratus from recolonizing pastures dominated by Ap. trapezoides. Both species respond to enhanced resources in these pastures, but in resource-rich habitats Ap. trapezoides may exclude Ar. marmoratus through greater and faster growth per unit resource consumption coupled with earlier onset of reproduction. Ar. marmoratus is the weaker competitor of the two, but its negative effect on Ap. trapezoides in less productive grassland may exacerbate the role of resource limitation in preventing Ap. trapezoides from expanding its range.
Effects of in vitro supplementation with α-tocopherol and selenium on bovine neutrophil functions: implications for resistance to mastitis

A low vitamin E/selenium status has been associated with increased vulnerability of dairy cattle to mastitis. Since polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN) provide the major cellular defence mechanism within the mammary gland, the effect of in vitro supplementation with vitamin E and selenium on the function of these cells was investigated. Both vitamin E and selenium enhanced the chemotactic and random migration of PMN and increased the production of superoxide following stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate. Vitamin E, but not sodium selenite, was also found to enhance the phagocytosis of opsonised Staphylococcus aureus by PMN. No synergistic effects of the two nutrients were observed. These results obtained in vitro may indicate the potential benefits of in vivo supplementation of dairy cows with vitamin E and selenium in terms of enhancing their natural resistance to mastitis.
Growth inhibition ofChlorella pyrenoidosa produced by sodium dihydrogen phosphate and its reversal by calcium

The growth ofChlorella pyrenoidosa in a special medium based on the critical concentrations of nutrients for autotrophic growth has been shown to be stimulated more by chloride with the sodium salt than with the potassium salt, more by sulphate in the presence of sodium than in the presence of potassium, and to be inhibited by sodium dihydrogen phosphate and not by potassium dihydrogen phosphate. Furthermore, it has been found that calcium reversed the growth inhibition produced by sodium dihydrogen phosphate, and that strontium only partially substituted for calcium.
Brief communication: Integrating subcellular location for improving machine learning models of remote homology detection in eukaryotic organisms

A significant challenge in homology detection is to identify sequences that share a common evolutionary ancestor, despite significant primary sequence divergence. Remote homologs will often have less than 30% sequence identity, yet still retain common structural and functional properties. We demonstrate a novel method for identifying remote homologs using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier trained by fusing sequence similarity scores and subcellular location prediction. SVMs have been shown to perform well in a variety of applications where binary classification of data is the goal. At the same time, data fusion methods have been shown to be highly effective in enhancing discriminative power of data. Combining these two approaches in the application SVM-SimLoc resulted in identification of significantly more remote homologs (p-value<0.006) than using either sequence similarity or subcellular location independently.
Buoyancy-induced convection heat transfer in a staggered vertical channel

Buoyancy-induced convection in a staggered vertical channel is studied numerically, in order to determine the effect of vertical stagger between the channel walls on the channel heat transfer. Results are compared with the baseline case of an unstaggered vertical channel. It is found that as the vertical stagger is initially increased, channel velocities increase, accompanied by a very small enhancement in heat transfer rate. However, beyond a certain amount of vertical stagger, both the velocities and the heat transfer rate decrease with increasing stagger. At a stagger ratio of 0.5 (i.e., the left channel wall overlaps half the right channel wall), velocities and heat transfer rate are lower than those in an unstaggered channel.
I.v. risk reducers.

The trend of rapid advancements in infusion therapy continues, specifically regarding catheters and insertion techniques.
Calcium Utilization Associated with U-46619 and PGF2a Vascular Responses in Rat Lungs

The pulmonary vasoconstrictor responses to U-46619 and PGF2a are calcium dependent. The purpose of this investigation was to determine to what extent extracellular and intracellular calcium pools are utilized during the dose-dependent pulmonary vasopressor responses induced by multiple doses of U-46619 and PGF2a. Increasing doses of these agonists were administered to isolated rat lungs perfused with Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate (KRB) or KRB not containing CaCL2. The data indicate that U-46619 uses predominantly extracellular calcium at low doses (0.1 microgram) and depends solely on intracellular calcium at the highest dose (0.4 microgram). In contrast PGF2a appears to use depletable intracellular calcium stores to achieve contraction.
"Short" loop feedback regulation of hypothalamic and brain thyrotropin-releasing hormone content in the rat and dwarf mouse.

In order to determine whether T4, TSH, or both affect hypothalamic TRH content, primary or secondary hypothyroidism was induced in the rat by thyroidectomy (Tx) or hypophysectomy (Hx), respectively. Two weeks later, rats were treated with T4, TSH, or both for 14--16 days. Tx or Hx significantly decreased hypothalamic TRH content, and T4 treatment restored hypothalamic TRH to normal in the Tx but not in the Hx rats. When TSH was administered simultaneously with T4 to Hx rats, hypothalamic TRH content was restored to normal. Whole brain TRH content was not affected by Tx, Hx, or by the various treatment regimens. Similar experiments were performed in Snell dwarf (dw/dw) mice. Hypothalamic TRH content was significantly decreased when compared to normal litter mates (dw/+). As in Hx rats, T4 administration to dw/dw mice for 16 days did not restore hypothalamic TRH content to normal. Brain TRH content was similar in both groups and was not altered by T4 treatment. It is concluded that T4 affects hypothalamic TRH content, but that TSH is required for this T4 effect. Whole brain TRH, on the other hand, is unaffected by any of these alterations in thyroid-pituitary function.
Wafer-scale oxide fusion bonding and wafer thinning development for 3D systems integration: Oxide fusion wafer bonding and wafer thinning development for TSV-last integration

300mm Si wafer-scale oxide fusion bonding and mechanical/wet etch assisted wafer thinning processes were combined with a TSV-last 3D integration strategy to fabricate electrical open/short yield learning on through-wafer electrical TSV test chains.
TH‐D‐M100J‐06: Evaluation of Breast Density Using Sound Speed Measurements

Purpose: Women with high mammographic breast density are at a 4‐ to 6‐fold increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to women with fatty breasts. The purpose of this investigation was to confirm preliminary acoustic velocity measurements for breast density assessment, and to evaluate them with the current standard of care. Method and Materials: A sample of ∼100 patients was imaged with our computed ultrasound tomography clinical prototype with each dataset comprised of 45–75 tomograms ranging from near the chest wall through the nipple region. Whole breast acoustic velocity was determined by creating image stacks and evaluating the sound speed frequency distribution. The acoustic measures of breast density were evaluated by comparing these results to two mammographic density measures: (1) qualitative, as determined by a certified radiologist using the BI‐RADS Categorical Assessment based on a 1 (fatty) to 4 (dense) scale, and (2) quantitative, via digitization and computerized analysis of archival mammograms. The former involved a radiologist's visual assessment of each mammogram, while the latter required digitizing cranio‐caudal (CC) and mediolateral oblique (MLO) mammograms and implementing semi‐automatic segmentation routines. Results: Approximately 140 m/s difference in acoustic velocity was found between the fatty and dense BI‐RADS Categories, with statistically significant differences in mean sound speed demonstrated between each category (ANOVA, α= 0.05). In addition, an increased sound speed was exhibited with increased BI‐RADS Category. Furthermore, moderately strong positive associations were demonstrated between mean acoustic velocity and quantitative measures of mammographic percent breast density for both MLO and CC views (r2 = 0.65–0.76), respectively. Conclusion: These results confirm the hypothesis that utilizing acoustical velocity can be used as an indicator of breast tissue density. Having an operator independent and non‐ionizing means of whole‐breast density evaluation has important clinical implications which include tracking temporal changes, identifying high‐risk populations, and evaluating treatment response.
Comments on "A Minimization Technique for TANT Networks

Some comments on a recent note for the synthesis of TANT networks are presented. Counter examples that show some defects of the technique are also included.
Comparison of Industry Expectations and Student Perceptions of Knowledge and Skills Required for Construction Career Success

Construction education is designed to prepare students to work efficiently in the construction industry after graduation. Due to the inherent complexities of the construction industry and constantly evolving technologies, industry expectations of new graduates are continually changing. The purpose of this study was to compare industry expectations of recent graduates with student perceptions of requisite knowledge and skills for professional success. A survey was conducted among prospective employers and students nearing graduation to classify the expectations and the perceptions. Survey data was analyzed using Simple Relative Index and Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient techniques to identify the level of importance and degree of agreement between the responses of the employers and the students. Overall, the expectations of the industry and the perceptions of the students showed high agreement on required construction knowledge, but weak agreement on the necessary interpersonal skills. The findings pr...
Narcolepsy: a review of a common, life‐long sleep disorder

Narcolepsy is a severe debilitating chronic life-lotig sleep disorder that can be ameliorated but not cured. In the United States, its prevalence is at least 1 in 1000 making it more common than multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease. Its symptoms lead to severe lifestyle consequences, with profound impact on the affected persons, their interpersonal relationships, job, school experiences, and family life. Despite this, little has appeared in the nursing literature about the disorder. The most characteristic symptoms include uncontrollable excess daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (bilateral voluntary muscle weakness), sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations and disturbed night-time sleep. Characteristics of normal sleep are reviewed and compared with disturbances seen in narcolepsy. The aetiology, assessment, diagnosis, pharmacologic therapy, non-pharmacologic therapy and psychosocial issues are discussed along with needed research directions.
Development of a microreactor as a thermal source for microelectromechanical systems power generation

An alumina ceramic 12.5×12.5×5.0 mm microreactor was constructed using a modified stereolith-ography process. The design was based on a “Swiss roll” concept of double spiral-shaped channels to facilitate a high level of heat transfer between the reactants and combustion products and wall surface contact of the flow through the microreactor body. Self-sustained combustion of hydrogen and air mixtures was demonstrated over a wide range of fuel/air mixtures and flow rates for equivalence ratios from 0.2 to 1.0 and chemical energy inputs from 2 to 16 W. Depositing platinum on gamma alumina on the internal walls enabled catalytic ignition at or near room temperature and self-sustained operation at temperatures to 300°C. Catalyst degradation was observed at higher operating temperatures and reignition capabilities were lost. However, sustained operation coul be obtained at wall temperatures in excess of 300 °C. apparently stabilized by a combination of surface and gas-phase reaction phenomena. A global energy balance model was developed to analyze overall reactor performance characteristics. The reactor design and operating temperature range have potential applications as a heat source for thermoelectric and pyroelectric power generation at small scales compatible with microelectromechanical systems applications.
Poststreptococcal Reactive Arthritis in Children: A Retrospective Study

The duration of treatment and appropriate guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis for children with poststreptococcal reactive arthritis (PSRA) have not been determined. The authors performed a retrospective chart review of 40 children with PSRA and examined their clinical features at initial evaluation and at 6, 12, and 24 months. At baseline, 18% (n = 7) had a finding noted on the echocardiogram. Although most patients developed cardiac findings early on in the course of their disease, 2 patients with a normal baseline echocardiogram may have developed findings after 12 months of follow-up. The mean duration of prophylaxis was 22 months. During the follow-up period, there was improvement in Physician's Global Assessment, number of patients with arthralgia, tender and swollen joints, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, anti-streptolysin O, and anti-DNAse B antibody titers. The authors conclude that marked improvement in clinical features and laboratory values was seen over time. Patients may benefit with long-term cardiac follow-up.
Latent Sensitization: A Model for Stress‐Sensitive Chronic Pain

Latent sensitization is a rodent model of chronic pain that reproduces both its episodic nature and its sensitivity to stress. It is triggered by a wide variety of injuries ranging from injection of inflammatory agents to nerve damage. It follows a characteristic time course in which a hyperalgesic phase is followed by a phase of remission. The hyperalgesic phase lasts between a few days to several months, depending on the triggering injury. Injection of μ-opioid receptor inverse agonists (e.g., naloxone or naltrexone) during the remission phase induces reinstatement of hyperalgesia. This indicates that the remission phase does not represent a return to the normal state, but rather an altered state in which hyperalgesia is masked by constitutive activity of opioid receptors. Importantly, stress also triggers reinstatement. Here we describe in detail procedures for inducing and following latent sensitization in its different phases in rats and mice.
A Novel Technique for Demonstrating the Real-Time Subsurface Tissue Thermal Profile of Two Energized Surgical Instruments

Currently the primary methods for obtaining hemostasis during minimally invasive surgery include systems that incorporate either ultrasonic or radiofrequency energy. Although the use of improved energy systems has dramatically facilitated laparoscopic dissection and hemostasis, the threat of thermal collateral damage remains and detracts from the usefulness of these devices. Traditionally the thermal spread from these instruments has been determined with a combination of in situ dynamic thermography and histopathologic studies that result in varying degrees of cross-correlation. The ability to obtain a real-time subsurface tissue thermal profile without the use of thermography in either an electrosurgical or ultrasonic device is feasible with a microthermistor placed at a predetermined distance and depth from the instrument tool edge. A comparison with traditional thermographic measurements and their correlation with histologic study are warranted with future studies.
Reply to “Comment on ‘Method for the determination of the index of refraction of particles suspended in the ocean’ ”

This paper was published in the Journal of the Optical Society of America and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/josa/Issue.cfm. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.
WERCCS: A Client-side Workflow Enactment Service Using AJAX

Embedded workflow engine map actions to sequences of web screens. Client-side technologies such as AJAX enhance the user experience of web applications. In this paper we present WERCCS, a framework for Workflow Enabled Reusable Components on the Client-Side. WERCCS combines the best of server-side embedded workflow ideas with AJAX client-side processing to distribute lightweight process capabilities to the browser.
Modified Dendrogram of Attribute Space for Multidimensional Transfer Function Design

We introduce a modified dendrogram (MD) (with subtrees to represent clusters) and display it in 2D for multidimensional transfer function design. Such a transfer function for direct volume rendering employs a multidimensional space, termed attribute space. The MD reveals the hierarchical structure information of the attribute space. The user can design a transfer function in an intuitive and informative manner using the MD user interface in 2D instead of multidimensional space, where it is hard to ascertain the relationship of the space. In addition, we provide the capability to interactively modify the granularity of the MD. The coarse-grained MD primarily shows the global information of the attribute space while the fine-grained MD reveals the finer details, and the separation ability of the attribute space is completely preserved in the finest granularity. With this so called multigrained method, the user can efficiently create a transfer function using the coarse-grained MD, and then fine tune it with the fine-grained MDs. Our method is independent on the type of the attributes and supports arbitrary-dimension attribute space.
Prevalence and correlates of psychiatric disorders among former juvenile detainees in the United States

Objective: Juvenile offenders face increased liability for psychiatric disorders and greater psychopathology, but little is known about the psychiatric status of former juvenile delinquents as adults. Method: Drawing on data from Wave 1 and Wave 2 of the NESARC, logistic regression models examine correlates of psychiatric disorders in a large nationally representative sample of former juvenile detainees in adulthood (n = 1177) compared to adults who did not have a history of juvenile offending (n = 33,193). Further, we explored the psychosocial correlates associated with the increased likelihood of psychiatric disorders among former juvenile detainees. Results: Nearly half of former juvenile detainees met criteria for one or more psychiatric disorders in the past twelve months and approximately two-thirds meet criteria for any lifetime personality disorder. Compared to the general population, former juvenile detainees not only denote greater psychiatric comorbidity across a range of affective, personality, and substance use disorders but are also more likely to report childhood adversity. Conclusions: Former juvenile detainees experience significantly greater and more varied psychiatric problems across adulthood.
Treatment of Rats with 17β-Estradiol or Relaxin Rapidly Inhibits Uterine Estrogen Receptor β1 and β2 Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Levels

Estrogen regulates the growth and differentiation of the uterus via binding to estrogen receptors (ERs), members of the nuclear receptor family of transcription factors. Two forms of ER exist: ERa and ERb. The former is a well-characterized mediator of estrogen-induced transcription, but the function of the latter is unclear. Recent in vitro studies suggest that both splicing forms of ERb expressed in rat tissues, b1 and b2, may function as inhibitors of ERa transcriptional activity. To gain insight into the role of ERb in estrogen action, we examined the effects of estrogen and relaxin, a ligand-independent activator of ERs, on the expression of ERb1 and ERb2 mRNA in the uterus in vivo. Eighteen-day-old female rats were ovariectomized and, after recovery, treated with 17b-estradiol, relaxin, or vehicle. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses of uterine RNA from estrogen-treated animals revealed marked decreases in the steady-state levels of the mRNAs for both ERb1 and ERb2 at 3, 6, and 24 h after treatment. Relaxin induced a similar effect. Neither hormone had any significant effect on ERa mRNA levels. To determine if endogenous estrogen exerts this effect, we examined the expression of ERbs in the uterus during the estrous cycle. Levels of both isoforms were highest at diestrus (low estrogen), were significantly lower at early proestrus (rising estrogen), reached a nadir during late proestrus (peak estrogen), and rebounded at estrus (declining estrogen). These data suggest that down-regulation of ERb expression may be required for estrogen to exert its full trophic effects on the uterus. estradiol, estradiol receptor, gene regulation, relaxin, uterus
Neuronal Avalanches in Neocortical Circuits

Networks of living neurons exhibit diverse patterns of activity, including oscillations, synchrony, and waves. Recent work in physics has shown yet another mode of activity in systems composed of many nonlinear units interacting locally. For example, avalanches, earthquakes, and forest fires all propagate in systems organized into a critical state in which event sizes show no characteristic scale and are described by power laws. We hypothesized that a similar mode of activity with complex emergent properties could exist in networks of cortical neurons. We investigated this issue in mature organotypic cultures and acute slices of rat cortex by recording spontaneous local field potentials continuously using a 60 channel multielectrode array. Here, we show that propagation of spontaneous activity in cortical networks is described by equations that govern avalanches. As predicted by theory for a critical branching process, the propagation obeys a power law with an exponent of -3/2 for event sizes, with a branching parameter close to the critical value of 1. Simulations show that a branching parameter at this value optimizes information transmission in feedforward networks, while preventing runaway network excitation. Our findings suggest that “neuronal avalanches” may be a generic property of cortical networks, and represent a mode of activity that differs profoundly from oscillatory, synchronized, or wave-like network states. In the critical state, the network may satisfy the competing demands of information transmission and network stability.