cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pedagogical Reflection on Desire and Perspectives for an Education of Identity

Desire is a human dimension that plays a central role in the formation of personal identity. Studies on desire are increasingly frequent and draw attention to the need to overcome perspectives on desire as a dynamic of satisfaction subjected to the influence of hyperedonism. One of the paths to pursue is to humanize desire by recognizing it as an anthropological and inner dynamic dimension that opens us to the other. The contribution aims to develop a pedagogical reflection on desire in dialogue with the most current perspectives of psychoanalysis, such as the view of the Italian psychoanalyst Massimo Recalcati. He affirms that we tend to identify desire with its enjoyment and to attribute it above all to the drive toward infinite potential, disengaging it from the limits of any law. With desire liberated, we end up degrading it rather than recognizing it in its generative dimension as an openness to a positive horizon of the other and of the elsewhere (2012).
Inorganic arsenic promotes luminal to basal transition and metastasis of breast cancer.

Inorganic arsenic (iAs/As2 O3 2- ) is an environmental toxicant found in watersheds around the world including in densely populated areas. iAs is a class I carcinogen known to target the skin, lungs, bladder, and digestive organs, but its role as a primary breast carcinogen remains controversial. Here, we examined a different possibility: that exposure to iAs promotes the transition of well-differentiated epithelial breast cancer cells characterized by estrogen and progesterone receptor expression (ER+/PR+), to more basal phenotypes characterized by active proliferation, and propensity to metastasis in vivo. Our results indicate two clear phenotypic responses to low-level iAs that depend on the duration of the exposure. Short-term pulses of iAs activate ER signaling, consistent with its reported pseudo-estrogen activity, but longer-term, chronic treatments for over 6 months suppresses both ER and PR expression and signaling. In fact, washout of these chronically exposed cells for up to 1 month failed to fully reverse the transcriptional and phenotypic effects of prolonged treatments, indicating durable changes in cellular physiologic identity. RNA-seq studies found that chronic iAs drives the transition toward more basal phenotypes characterized by impaired hormone receptor signaling despite the conservation of estrogen receptor expression. Because treatments for breast cancer patients are largely designed based on the detection of hormone receptor expression, our results suggest greater scrutiny of ER+ cancers in patients exposed to iAs, because these tumors may spawn more aggressive phenotypes than unexposed ER+ tumors, in particular, basal subtypes that tend to develop therapy resistance and metastasis.
It's Not Always Gynecomastia: A Case of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Presenting as Breast Mass in a Male Patient.

We report a case of diffuse large B-cell breast lymphoma that presented as a palpable breast lump in a male patient evaluated with digital mammography and targeted breast ultrasound (US) but ultimately confirmed by US-guided core needle biopsy. We will discuss the appropriate workup algorithm for a palpable breast lump in a male patient as outlined by the American College of Radiology (ACR) Appropriateness Criteria. While gynecomastia is the most common reason for a new palpable breast lump in a male patient, male breast cancer (including lymphoma and metastasis) can have a similar appearance on imaging. Our goal is to provide clarity on proper radiographic assessment protocols and imaging features of palpable breast masses in men by emphasizing the role of anatomical location and symmetry in distinguishing it from more common causes, such as gynecomastia, in future diagnostic imaging scenarios.
Optimizing Intubation Positioning

This chapter delves into common mistakes made when positioning a patient for intubation. It starts with the three key requirements to ensuring optimal intubation positioning, also known as the sniffing position. Next it discusses techniques and materials for creating a ramp for larger patients who would be otherwise suboptimally positioned and reviews common patient factors or environments where it is difficult to position a patient well. This includes intubating outside of the operating room, intubating in a gurney or ICU bed, intubating obese patients, and intubating under cervical spine precautions.
Systemic gene expression profiles according to pain types in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury

Pain affects most individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Major pain types after SCI are neuropathic or nociceptive, often experienced concurrently. Pain after SCI may be refractory to...
A Weary Land: Slavery on the Ground in Arkansas: by Kelly Houston Jones, Athens, The University of Georgia Press, 2021, 280 pp., $60 (hbk), ISBN 9780820360201

A Weary Land is a ‘bottom-up study’ of slavery in Arkansas that attempts to ‘resolve the need for a broad and in-depth look at the experience of black enslavement on the ground’ (p. 4–5). It is the...
Closed-loop modeling and related problems of embedded control systems in engineering

The contribution tries to present some issues coming from control technology in a way that is related to embedded or reactive systems in computer science and technology. It therefore reviews some of the very basic design patterns of control engineering and shows the differences and similarities of the control engineering approach and methodologies taken from computer science and technology. It focuses on development of closed-loop and model-based design patterns for Programmable Logic Controllers for discrete state/transition or even hybrid systems. Some of the major issues in this field are discussed. Current limitations and obstacles are highlighted, and some ideas about how they could be overcome in future are presented.
The making of a bell pepper-shaped tomato fruit: identification of loci controlling fruit morphology in Yellow Stuffer tomato

The heirloom tomato cultivar Yellow Stuffer produces fruit that are similar in shape and structure to fruit produced by the bell pepper varieties of garden pepper. To determine the genetic basis of this extreme fruit type in tomato, quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis was performed on an F(2) population derived from a cross between Yellow Stuffer and the related species, Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium, which produces a small, round fruit typical of most wild species. F(2) plants were analyzed for both fruit size and the degree to which their fruit resembled the bell pepper. Three QTL were determined to influence bell pepper shape and seven QTL influenced fruit mass. The map positions of all three bell shape and six out of seven fruit size QTL appear to be allelic to components of fruit morphology analyzed in this population and to major fruit morphology QTL reported previously, adding support to the hypothesis that the majority of fruit size and shape variation in cultivated tomato is attributable to allelic variation at a limited number of loci. However, novel loci controlling components of fruit morphology, such as elongated fruit shape, bumpiness, number of seed per fruit and flowers per inflorescence were identified in this study as well. The three bell shape loci involved are: bell2.1, bell2.2 and bell8.1, and appear to correspond to locule number2.1 ( lcn2.1) and fruit weight 2.2 ( fw2.2) and fruit shape 8.1 ( fs8.1), respectively. The Yellow Stuffer alleles at lcn2.1 and fw2.2 increase locule number and fruit size, respectively, hence contributing to the overall bell pepper shape. The Yellow Stuffer allele at fs8.1 causes convex locule walls, giving the extended, bumpy shape characteristic of bell peppers. In addition, most fruit size QTL correspond to loci controlling number of flowers per inflorescence and/or stem-end blockiness. Comparisons among previously identified fruit morphology loci in tomato, eggplant and pepper suggest that loci affecting several aspects of fruit morphology may be due to pleiotrophic effects of the same, orthologous loci in these species. Moreover, it appears that the evolution of bell pepper-shaped tomato fruit may have proceeded through mutations of some of the same genes that led to bell pepper-type fruit in garden pepper.
Chapter 8 Making safer chemicals

Publisher Summary Recently instead of trying to create a more comprehensive science for generating highly functional, inexpensive and safe chemicals, the emerging knowledge about the hazards of chemicals was used to construct a vast array of professional guide- lines and government public health and environmental regulations. In this chapter, it is discussed that the conventional approach for establishing these regulations has focused on the perceived dangers of chemicals and the likelihood of human or environmental exposures. Government agencies employ scientific tests and risk determining protocols to assess the dangers associated with exposure to chemicals identified by scientific or public concern. Once exposure to a substance is demonstrated to result in unacceptable levels of harmfulness, agency professionals draft regulations to restrict or condition the use of those substances. This represents a problem-focused approach to chemicals management. It is suggested that a parallel approach is needed that focuses less on the characterization of problems and more on the development of solutions. Such a solution-focused approach would eagerly accept the large accumulation of scientific understanding as a basis for designing chemicals that are safer, cleaner and more environmentally compatible. Solution-seeking approaches to chemical and material development would involve designing chemicals that are not only of high performance and cost effective, but also biologically safe and ecologically sustainable
Relative Performance Auctions

We study a multi-unit auction environment in which the bidding agents are rewarded according to the ranking of the surpluses that they make in the auction. We show that if a symmetric equilibrium exists in our auction game, then an efficient allocation may not be attainable. Our auction mechanism may be viewed as combining the features of both a discriminatory auction and a tournament. The inefficient outcome of our auction is remarkable because, when considered separately, both the the discrimininatory auction and the tournament yield efficient outcomes.
Non Cepheids in the Instability Strip

The question of whether non-Cepheids populate the cepheid instability strip has been the subject of much recent interest. Several investigators (see especially Fernie and Hube 1971 and Fernie 1976) have concluded that indeed there are an appreciable number of objects not presently recognized as Cepheids within the strip, though both the size and position of the strip and the placement of supergiants in the H-R diagram are subject to considerable uncertainty. In view of the interest in this matter, I have attempted to shed some light on this situation by simply considering the nature of the stars spectroscopically classified as of high luminosity in spectral classes F and G. For this one needs, of course, a complete sample of the relevant stars, which fortunately is now to some extent available.
Enhanced stent imaging improves the diagnosis of stent underexpansion and optimizes stent deployment

Objectives To investigate the clinical value and diagnostic accuracy of enhanced stent imaging (ESI) as compared with quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Background ESI is an image acquisition and processing angiography-based software that improves visualization and provides measurements of deployed stents. Methods A total of 40 consecutive patients (42 stents) were studied. Stent deployment was evaluated sequentially and independently by angiography, ESI, and IVUS. Following each imaging modality, the operator determined the necessity of postdilation unrelated to the other modalities. Stent diameters were measured off-line by QCA, ESI, and IVUS at several sites along the deployed stent and compared. Results Following stent deployment and based solely on angiography, the operator decided to postdilate seven of the 42 stents (16.7%). This decision was not changed after reviewing the ESI images of these seven stents. Of the 35 stents not requiring postdilation based on angiography alone, ESI influenced the operator to change the decision and postdilate 10 of 35 stents (28.6%). The ESI-based measurements had better correlation with IVUS (r = 0.721, P < 0.0001) than did QCA with IVUS (r = 0.563, P < 0.0001). Bland-Altman analysis showed a trend towards better agreement between ESI and IVUS than between QCA and IVUS (mean differences = 0.038 vs. 0.121; P = 0.19, respectively). Conclusions ESI is an easy to use modality that enhances stent visualization, helps in the decision making process whether to postdilate the stent, and provides estimation of stent expansion with better correlations than QCA when compared to IVUS. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Synergism between mTOR pathway and ultraviolet radiation in the pathogenesis of squamous cell carcinoma and its implication for solid-organ transplant recipients

Nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) are the most common malignancies in the United States in immunocompetent patients. Among the solid-organ transplant recipients, NMSCs represent a significant disease burden, and they tend to be multiple and more aggressive. While the precise mechanisms responsible for the higher risk of developing cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) have not been completely elucidated, ultraviolet (UV) light has been established to be critical in initiation and promotion of tumor development. More recently, significant emphasis has been placed on the role of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in SCC pathogenesis. Furthermore, some studies have demonstrated the ability of mTOR inhibitors to decrease the incidence of new SCCs in the immunosuppressed transplanted patient population. In this review, we will highlight and examine the most recent available data on the role of UV radiation and its interaction with mTOR pathway signaling in SCC pathogenesis.
Flexible and robust methods for rare-variant testing of quantitative traits in trios and nuclear families.

Most rare-variant association tests for complex traits are applicable only to population-based or case-control resequencing studies. There are fewer rare-variant association tests for family-based resequencing studies, which is unfortunate because pedigrees possess many attractive characteristics for such analyses. Family-based studies can be more powerful than their population-based counterparts due to increased genetic load and further enable the implementation of rare-variant association tests that, by design, are robust to confounding due to population stratification. With this in mind, we propose a rare-variant association test for quantitative traits in families; this test integrates the QTDT approach of Abecasis et al. [Abecasis et al., 2000a] into the kernel-based SNP association test KMFAM of Schifano et al. [Schifano et al., 2012]. The resulting within-family test enjoys the many benefits of the kernel framework for rare-variant association testing, including rapid evaluation of P-values and preservation of power when a region harbors rare causal variation that acts in different directions on phenotype. Additionally, by design, this within-family test is robust to confounding due to population stratification. Although within-family association tests are generally less powerful than their counterparts that use all genetic information, we show that we can recover much of this power (although still ensuring robustness to population stratification) using a straightforward screening procedure. Our method accommodates covariates and allows for missing parental genotype data, and we have written software implementing the approach in R for public use.
Dynamics of the Antarctic circumpolar current : evidence for topographic effects from altimeter data and numerical model output

Geosat altimeter data and numerical model output are used to examine the circulation and dynamics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). The mean sea surface height across the ACC has been reconstructed from height variability measured by the altimeter, without assuming prior knowledge of the geoid. The results indicate locations for the Subantarctic and Polar Fronts which are consistent with in situ observations and indicate that the fronts are substantially steered by bathymetry. Detailed examination of spatial and temporal variability indicates a spatial decorrelation scale of 85 km and a temporal e-folding scale of 34 days. Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis suggests that the scales of motion are relatively short, occuring on 1000 km length-scales rather than basin or global scales. The momentum balance of the ACC has been investigated using output from the high resolution primitive equation model in combination with altimeter data. In the Semtner-Chervin quarter-degree general circulation model topographic form stress is the dominant process balancing the surface wind forcing. In stream coordinates, the dominant effect transporting momentum across the ACC is bibarmonic friction. Potential vorticity is considered on Montgomery streamlines in the model output and along surface streamlines in model and altimeter data. (AN)
The effects of exercise and a moderate hypercholesterolemic diet on plasma and hepatic lipoproteins in the rat.

Abstract Exercise generally has been found to produce beneficial effects on plasma lipid and lipoprotein profiles, but the mechanisms involved and possible dietary interactions have not been well defined. Weanling male Fischer 344 rats were assigned to three groups: normocholesterolemic diet sedentary (NS), hypercholesterolemic diet sedentary (HS), and hypercholesterolemic diet exercised (HE). Exercise consisted of treadmill running at 1.2 to 1.4 km/h at a 9% grade, six days weekly, for a 10-week experimental period. Lipoproteins from plasma and from a recirculating in situ liver perfusion system were then isolated and analyzed. The values of several parameters for HE tended to fall intermediate between HS and NS. Final total plasma cholesterol and liver cholesterol concentrations were significantly different among all three groups (HS > HE > NS). Plasma HDL-cholesterol and phospholipids and perfusate HDL-cholesterol production rate per gram liver were all significantly lower in HS v NS, with HE lying in between. Plasma HDL protein was lower in HS than in both other groups. Plasma total triglyceride levels were significantly lowered by exercise, but neither plasma nor perfusate VLDL triglyceride levels differed significantly among the three groups. Food intakes of HE and HS rats were similar, but HE rats had significantly lower final body weights. The results suggest that (1) exercise may ameliorate many of the changes in lipoprotein and cholesterol metabolism induced by a diet containing lard and cholesterol, and (2) some of these changes may be mediated by changes in hepatic lipoprotein production.
Carbohydrates: Cracking the glycan sequence code.

For years scientists have debated whether glycans, like DNA, RNA and proteins, have a true sequence. In a recent study, researchers show that the proteoglycan bikunin has a defined and predictable sequence, opening the door for a new understanding of the glycome.
Proceduralism and implicatures in dialogue: Reflections on improving rational cooperation under bounded reasoning conditions

This article aims at discussing some of the problems for the construction of a shared moral point of view in dialogical context, through a revision of both Habermas’ proceduralistic discourse ethics and Grice’s pragmatist conversational implicatures project. I claim that a) by discounting the undue idealization of both projects, supported by their Kantian underpinnings, and b) by refreshing them with a consequentialist approach to rationality in a fallibilistic bounded reasoning approach, one could achieve a more realistic understanding of the dialogical problems between moral strangers. By following such a revision, I suggest to be then possible to operate c) a reversal of the principle of rational cooperation in Grice, in convergence with Sperber & Wilson’s relevance theory, while also considering the role of other additional mechanisms in interaction, such as empathy (in Alvin Goldman’s sense). These modifications result in a fallibilistic understanding of the process of the dialogical construction of a shared moral point of view among moral strangers, with the aid of a non-idealized use of procedures and implicatures.
The 'ventral urethral elevation plus' sling: a novel approach to treating stress urinary incontinence in men.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the urodynamic changes after placing a novel ‘ventral urethral elevation plus’ (VUE+) sling (LeveraTM, Caldera Medical, Agoura Hills, CA, USA) in a cadaveric study, and in our initial experience in two patients. PATIENTS, MATERIALS AND METHODS In two male cadavers (A and B) the maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP) and retrograde leak-point pressure (RLPP) were measured before and after transperineal placement of the Levera sling. A 5.5 × 7 cm sling, with two 1.5 × 22.5 cm inferior extensions and two 1.5 × 25 cm superior extensions, was placed over the bulbar urethra. The inferior extensions were passed using the transobturator approach, and the superior extensions by a prepubic approach. This procedure was offered to two men (C and D) with severe neurogenic intrinsic sphincter deficiency. RESULTS The mean baseline MUCP in specimen A was 55 cmH2O and the RLPP 35 cmH2O; after placing the sling the respective values increased to 75 and 70 cmH2O. In specimen B the respective mean values were 56 and 50 cmH2O, and after placing the sling were 82 and 75 cmH2O. In patient C, the RLPP increased from 17 cmH2O before surgery to 65 cmH2O afterward, and in patient D, from 20 to 70 cmH2O. At the 12-month follow-up, there was complete resolution of urinary incontinence in both patients. CONCLUSIONS The VUE+ Levera sling provides urethral compression against the perineal membrane using a straightforward pre-pubic approach, and ventral elevation and compression of the bulbous urethra using the transobturator approach, avoiding the risks associated with of bone screws and retropubic needle passage. In our initial two patients stress incontinence was cured at 1 year of follow-up. A long- term follow-up and a larger prospective study of the VUE+ sling is needed to objectively assess the efficacy of this novel procedure.
Reduction in benzodiazepine receptors associated with Purkinje cell degeneration in ‘nervous’ mutant mice

HIGH affinity benzodiazepine binding sites which are both stereospecific and saturable1–3 have recently been characterised in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). The good correlations obtained between the binding affinities of a series of benzodiazepines and their potencies as anticonvulsants, anxiolytics and muscle relaxants strongly suggest that these sites may function as pharmacological receptors for the benzodiazepines1,4. Although both the gross anatomical3,5 and subcellular distribution6 of these sites have been described, the cellular localisation of these sites is not known, nor has a direct functional link been established between benzodiazepine binding sites and the neuropharmacological effects of these drugs. We now report that ‘nervous’ mutant mice, which undergo a selective loss of more than 90% of their cerebellar Purkinje cells during maturation7,8, have a marked reduction in the number of cerebellar benzodiazepine receptors. This loss in benzodiazepine receptors seems to be confined to the cerebellum, and is not accompanied by an alteration in the affinity of the receptor for diazepam. These data clearly demonstrate the loss of benzodiazepine receptors in a cell type which has been shown to be both neurochemically9 and electrophysiologically10 sensitive to benzodiazepines, thus providing evidence that benzodiazepine receptors function in the pharmacological actions of these drugs.
An examination of the dow and NBS 705 polystyrene standards via gel permeation chromatography

An examination of the molecular weight distribution via gel permeation chromatography of the Dow S-109 and NBS 705 polystyrenes has revealed that these two samples are the same. Within experimental error, both polystyrenes possess identical number -and weight-average molecular weights. In addition, the molecular characteristics of the Dow S-102, Dow S-105, Dow S-108, and Dow S-111 polystyrenes were determined. Of the samples examined, the near-monodisperse NBS 705, Dow S-102, Dow S-109, and Dow S-111 were found to have either low or high molecular weight components in their molecular weight distributions. The characterization results on the Dow S-109 polystyrene fail, though, to explain the melt viscosity anomalies reported for this polymer.
Delivery of single-mode and multi-mode therapeutic laser light using a single and dual cladding optical fiber for a scanning fiber endoscope

The integration of thermal and photodynamic therapy into a scanning fiber endoscope (SFE) for the purpose of pixel accurate laser therapy during an endoscopic procedure has been examined using two distinct methods: combining R- 635nm, G-532nm, B-440nm (RGB) laser light for imaging with high-power 405nm single-mode or multi-mode laser light for therapy. The single-mode system utilizes a SIFAM 405/635nm fused fiber device to combine single-mode 405nm and 635nm laser light into the core of a single output fiber. The multi-mode system uses a custom combiner (Lightel Technologies) to guide single-mode RGB light from one fiber into the core of a custom single-mode dual cladding fiber (DCF, Coherent) and places multi-mode 405nm light from a second input optical fiber into the inner cladding of the DCF. This multi-mode system has a higher output power measured at 300mW compared to the singlemode system measured at 30mW before the addition of combiners. A lens system from the SFE at the distal tip of each therapeutic system was used to focus the light without scanning. The resulting minimum spot diameters were 77microns for the single-mode system and 311microns for the multi-mode system, which equates to fluence rates of 644W/cm2 and 395W/cm2 respectively. Future studies will integrate a scanning fiber probe to the outputs of each system allowing the therapeutic light to be directed throughout an entire image as well as the ability to use wide-field fluorescence imaging with 405nm excitation.
Recent developments on the 110 GHz electron cyclotron installation on the DIII-D tokamak

OAK A271 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ON THE 110 GHZ ELECTRON CYCLOTRON INSTALLATION ON THE DIII-D TOKAMAK. Significant improvements are being implement4ed to the capability of the 110 GHz electron cyclotron system on the DIII-D tokamak. Chief among these is the addition of the fifth and sixth 1 MW class gyrotrons, increasing the power available for auxiliary heating and current drive by nearly 60%. These tubes use artificially grown diamond rf output windows to obtain high power with long pulse capability. The beams from these tubes are nearly Gaussian, facilitating coupling to the waveguide. A new fully articulating dual launcher capable of high speed spatial scanning has been designed and tested. The launcher has two axis independent steering for each waveguide. the mirrors can be rotated at up to 100{sup o}/s. A new feedback system linking the DIII-D Plasma Control System (PCS) with the gyrotron beam voltage waveform generators permits real-time feedback control of some plasma properties such as electron temperature. The PCS can use a variety of plasma monitors to generate its control signal, including electron cyclotron emission and Mirnov probes. Electron cyclotron heating and electron cyclotron current drive (ECH and ECCD) were used during this year's DIII-D experimental campaign to control electron temperature, density, and q profiles, induce an ELM-free H-mode, and suppress the m=2/n=1 neoclassical tearing mode. The new capabilities have expanded the role of EC systems in tokamak plasma control.
In-vitro activity of miltefosine and voriconazole on clinical isolates of free-living amebas: Balamuthia mandrillaris, Acanthamoeba spp., and Naegleria fowleri.

The anticancer agent miltefosine and the antifungal drug voriconazole were tested in vitro against Balamuthia mandrillaris, Acanthamoeba spp., and Naegleria fowleri. All three amebas are etiologic agents of chronic (Balamuthia, Acanthamoeba) or fulminant (Naegleria) encephalitides in humans and animals and, in the case of Acanthamoeba, amebic keratitis. Balamuthia exposed to or=40 microM were generally amebacidal, with variation in sensitivity between strains. At amebastatic drug concentrations, recovery from drug effects could take as long as 2 weeks. Acanthamoeba spp. recovered from exposure to 40 microM, but not 80 microM miltefosin. Attempts to define more narrowly the minimal inhibitory (MIC) and minimal amebacidal concentrations (MAC) for Balamuthia and Acanthamoeba were difficult due to persistence of non-proliferating trophic amebas in the medium. For N. fowleri, 40 and 55 microM were the MIC and MAC, respectively, with no trophic amebas seen at the MAC. Voriconazole had little or no inhibitory effect on Balamuthia at concentrations up to 40 microg/ml, but had a strong inhibitory effect upon Acanthamoeba spp. and N. fowleri at all drug concentrations through 40 microg/ml. Following transfer to drug-free medium, Acanthamoeba polyphaga recovered within a period of 2 weeks; N. fowleri amebas recovered from exposure to 1 microg/ml, but not from higher concentrations. All testing was done on trophic amebas; drug sensitivities of cysts were not examined. Miltefosine and voriconazole are potentially useful drugs for treatment of free-living amebic infections, though sensitivities differ between genera, species, and strains.
Phylogenetic relationships in Ephedra (Ephedraceae) inferred from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences

Sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region 1 and the chloroplast-encoded genes maturase K and ribulose-1,5 biphosphate carboxylase large subunit were obtained from species of Ephedra (Ephedraceae) representing the geographic range and morphological diversity of the genus. Phylogenetic analyses of the DNA data indicate that relationships within the genus are better predicted by geographic region of origin than by ovulate cone characters. The sampled species with dry, winged (versus fleshy) ovulate cone bracts or single-seeded cones do not form monophyletic groups and therefore the previous classification systems of Ephedra based on these aspects of bract morphology appear to be largely unnatural. Three groups were identified among the Old World species studied, one comprising European and Mediterranean species and two including only Asian species. The sequence data suggest a possible early divergence of a New World clade of Ephedra from among the Old World groups. The South American species form a distinct clade apparently related to one of two groups of North American species, which accords with a frequent floristic pattern of close relationships between species groups in western South America and southwestern North America.
Electricity in chemical plants

Because many chemical plants require heat for process use, many opportunities exist for the development of combined heat and electric-power supply systems in these plants, which are among the largest industrial users of electricity. Special precautions must be observed in selecting electrical equipment for use in chemical plants, because of the prevalence of flammable or corrosive fumes.
Rapid Vapor Deposition of Highly Conformal Silica Nanolaminates

Highly uniform and conformal coatings can be made by the alternating exposures of a surface to vapors of two reactants, in a process commonly called atomic layer deposition (ALD). The application of ALD has, however, been limited because of slow deposition rates, with a theoretical maximum of one monolayer per cycle. We show that alternating exposure of a surface to vapors of trimethylaluminum and tris(tert-butoxy)silanol deposits highly conformal layers of amorphous silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide nanolaminates at rates of 12 nanometers (more than 32 monolayers) per cycle. This process allows for the uniform lining or filling of long, narrow holes. We propose that these ALD layers grow by a previously unknown catalytic mechanism that also operates during the rapid ALD of many other metal silicates. This process should allow improved production of many devices, such as trench insulation between transistors in microelectronics, planar waveguides, microelectromechanical structures, multilayer optical filters, and protective layers against diffusion, oxidation, or corrosion.
A Community-Based Intervention to Prevent Obesity Beginning at Birth Among American Indian Children: Study Design and Rationale for the PTOTS Study

Eating and physical activity behaviors associated with adult obesity have early antecedents, yet few studies have focused on obesity prevention interventions targeting very young children. Efforts to prevent obesity beginning at birth seem particularly important in populations at risk for early-onset obesity. National estimates indicate that American Indian (AI) children have higher rates of overweight and obesity than children of other races/ethnicities. The Prevention of Toddler Obesity and Teeth Health Study (PTOTS) is a community-partnered randomized controlled trial designed to prevent obesity beginning at birth in AI children. PTOTS was developed to test the effectiveness of a multi-component intervention designed to: promote breastfeeding, reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, appropriately time the introduction of healthy solid foods, and counsel parents to reduce sedentary lifestyles in their children. A birth cohort of 577 children from five AI tribes is randomized by tribe to either the intervention (three tribes) or the comparison condition (two tribes). The strengths and weaknesses of PTOTS include a focus on a critical growth phase, placement in the community, and intervention at many levels, using a variety of approaches.
Anxiety and Outcome Predictions

Research shows that people display a downward shift in their predictions in anticipation of performance and feedback. The authors used a misattribution paradigm to explore whether anxiety serves as a signal for predictions. Participants (N = 108) anticipating results from an important test either immediately or in a few days were or were not encouraged to attribute any arousal they experienced to coffee they consumed earlier. Consistent with predictions, participants encouraged to attribute their arousal to the coffee were optimistic in their predictions even when anticipating immediate test feedback. In addition, the more participants attributed their arousal to the coffee, the more optimistic they were in their predictions. Ancillary analyses suggest that anxiety can be a cause rather than a consequence of less optimistic predictions.
Error spectrum shaping quantizers with non-ideal reconstruction filters and saturating quantizers

It is pointed out that previous analyses of ESS (error spectrum shaping) quantizers did not consider either the limitations of realizable reconstruction filters or the effects of quantizer saturation. Consequently, predictions of ESS distortion were often optimistic. The authors extend the original analysis to include the use of nonideal reconstruction filters. Simulations show that this extended analysis predicts accurately the distortion of nonsaturating ESS quantizers. An attempt to account analytically for saturation effects led to a difficult nonlinear design problem. A constraint on the energy feedback filter impulse response was effective in suppressing saturation and led to a straightforward linear optimization problem. >
A quantitative assessment of the accuracy and reliability of O-arm images for deep brain stimulation surgery.

Background Deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery has an average accuracy of 2 to 3 mm (range, 0-6 mm). Intraoperative detection of track location may be useful in interpreting physiological results and thus limit the number of brain penetrations as well as decrease the incidence of reoperations. The O-arm has been used to identify the DBS lead position; however, early results have indicated a significant discrepancy with lead position on postoperative imaging. Objective This prospective study was conducted to determine the accuracy and reliability of fiducial and track localization and to assess the accuracy of O-arm image-based registration. The computed tomography (CT) image was considered the gold standard, and so for this study, the locations of all objects on the O-arm image were compared with their CT location. Methods Thirty-three DBS surgeries were performed using the O-arm to image each track with detailed analysis of fiducial and track localization accuracy. Twenty-one subsequent surgeries were performed using O-arm registration. Only the final lead position was assessed in these individuals. Results The measurement error of the system was 0.7 mm, with a maximum error of 1.9 mm. Twenty-two percent of the parallel tracks through the BenGun exceeded this error and demonstrated the ability of the O-arm to detect these skewed tracks. The accuracy of final lead position was 2.04 mm in procedures with registration based on an O-arm image. This was not significantly different from CT-based registration at 2.16 mm. Conclusion The O-arm was able to detect skewed tracks and provide registration accuracy equivalent to a CT scan.
Perceptions of professional needs, practice patterns and critical issues facing family therapy trainers and supervisors

Abstract The field of family therapy has grown dramatically in the past decade. However, the field's training and supervision subsystems have lagged developmentally compared to the advancement of clinical methodologies. Recent reviews of the family therapy training literature found this corner of the field fragmented and disorganized despite the impressive proliferation of training opportunities. Few attempts have been made to provide an overall, empirically based view of the family therapy training and supervision field. This article presents some of the results of a 2-year study of the training and supervision field as seen through the eyes of the trainers and supervisors themselves. The research explored this field's contents, boundaries, prevalent themes, and prediction of future trends, drawn from a representative portion of the field's members—the Approved Supervisors of the American Association of Marital and Family Therapists and the members of the American Family Therapy Association.
THE HYDRAULIC GEOMETRY OF A SHALLOW ESTUARY

Synopsis An analogy with entropy production in steady-state systems leads to a statement that the geometry of natural waterways is governed by two opposing influences: a) equal work per unit of area of bed, and b) minimum work done in the system as a whole. The resulting calculations applied to shallow, estuaries are verified by field measurements.
Computational Analysis of Self-Healing in a Polymer Matrix With Microvascular Networks

For the last decade, many researchers have been working to develop self-healing materials, and have obtained good results in the field of polymers, these components with microencapsulated healing agent have exhibited noticeable mechanical performance and regenerative property The research described in this paper applies the concept of self healing to simulate self healing polymer matrix composites, with the aid of models developed by the authors for the manufacturing processes and self-healing behavior. The development of self-healing is a novel idea that has not been totally explored in great detail yet. The concept of self-healing described in this paper consists of simulation of a healing agent dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) inside of a microvascular network within a polymer matrix coating with catalyst forming a self-healing composite (SHC). When this SHC is damaged or cracked, the healing agent by capillary action will flow inside of the microvascular network; when the liquid enter in contact with the catalyst will form a polymer structure and sealing the crack. The study consists of theoretical analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics of a self-healing polymer. The objective of the study reported here was to find the influence and efficiency of the microvascular network in healing a polymer matrix. To check this effect a computational model was created to simulate the healing treatment, thus a crack was created on the matrix surface piercing the microvascular network filled with healing agent and the method to simulate healing behavior of the composite allows assessment of the effects of the autonomously repairing repeated damage events.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
An efficient ruby laser pumped, diffraction limited dye laser

Abstract A longitudinal pumping configuration is described whereby diffraction limited pulses of 15 nsec duration are obtained from a dye oscillator pumped by a giant-pulse single gaussian mode, ruby laser system. Tunable output pulses of 100 kW peak power and a linewidth of 0.16 A are obtained with a high degree of reproducibility and a conversion efficiency of 6%.
Factor analyses of Big Five Markers with the Comrey Personality Scales and the Howarth Personality Tests

Abstract The relation of Big Five Marker variables to the Comrey Personality Scales (study 1) and the Howarth Personality Tests (study 2) was investigated. In study one a joint factor analysis of 284 participants (179 females) revealed that seven oblique factors accounted for 40% of the variance in the Big Five Markers and the Comrey Personality Scales. Extraversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism were assessed by roughly parallel scales in both tests. Three factors were defined uniquely by the Comrey Personality Scales (mental toughness, trust and empathy) and one factor was defined uniquely by the Big Five (openness). In study two a joint factor analysis of 197 participants (130 females) revealed that five orthogonal factors accounted for 57% of the variance in the Big Five Markers, the Howarth Personality Questionnaire and the Howarth Additional Personality Factors Inventory. The higher order factor structure of Howarth's tests resembles the Big Five. Eleven of the 20 Howarth scales were very similar to the Big Five. Additionally, six Howarth scales appear to be blends of pairs of Big Five factors. Both studies provide considerable support for the Big Five as an adequate, although perhaps not exhaustive, taxonomy of personality traits.
Electron Beams Carrying Quantized Orbital Angular Momentum

We use nanofabricated diffraction holograms to demonstrate electron vortex beams carrying quantized orbital angular momentum. These beams are analogous to optical vortices but are composed of charged particle wavefunctions possessing mass.
First-principles-derived dynamics of a surface reaction: Fluorine etching of Si(100).

We present a realistic simulation of the reaction of fluorine with Si(100). Isothermal molecular dynamics simulations, using an analytic many-body potential fit to first-principles quantum mechanical adsorbate-surface and experimental gas phase data, show the initial buildup of the fluorosilyl layer necessary for etching. Several aspects of the microscopic mechanism are revealed. These simulations represent the first time that first-principles-derived surface reaction dynamics have been carried out; we show that this approach is critical to obtaining physically correct results.
Estimation of surface-enhanced raman scattering from surface-averaged electromagnetic intensities

The enhancement of Raman scattering by a monolayer on silver and gold spheres calculated by an electrodynamic theory which includes reradiation is compared with the surface-averaged electromagnetic intensity factors. The two sets of results agree sufficiently well, considering the uncertainties in presently measured systems, so that application of the latter method to nonspherical particles is justified.
Antigenic triggers and molecular targets for anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies

While anti-double-stranded (ds)DNA antibodies are a characteristic serologic hallmark for SLE, the triggering antigen is unknown. Using phage display libraries, we identified DWEYSVWLSN as a peptide mimic of DNA for a pathogenic anti-dsDNA antibody. Peptide immunization of non-autoimmune mice induced anti-dsDNA as well as other lupus-associated antibodies. Molecular analysis of the induced anti-dsDNA antibodies revealed several similarities with anti-dsDNA antibodies that appear spontaneously in lupus mice. Furthermore, lupus-prone mice immunized with this peptide DNA mimic had higher autoantibody titers as well as more severe nephritis. Anti-DNA antibodies may contribute to lupus nephritis via cross-reactivity with renal antigen. Using western blotting of lysates of mesangial cells from a lupus mouse, we found that a pathogenic anti-DNA antibody binds to alpha-actinin. High titers of anti-alpha-actinin antibodies were present in the sera and kidney eluates of lupus mice with active disease. Binding to alpha-actinin was diminished in mesangial cells derived from BALB/c mice, suggesting that target antigen expression may play a role in determining autoantibody binding to the kidney. We conclude that a pathogenic, lupus-like autoantibody response can be induced by a peptide antigen, and that alpha-actinin is a cross-reactive renal target for the pathogenic anti-dsDNA autoantibody response in lupus mice.
Response to Letter by Krischek and Kasuya

Response: We appreciate Dr Krischek and Kasuya’s thoughtful comments regarding our recent article “Genomics of Human Intracranial Aneurysm Wall” published in Stroke .1 Our 2 study centers independently showed the potential critical role of the inflammatory and immune response pathways in aneurysm pathobiology.1,2 We congratulate the authors on their work and innovative approach. We agree that using the superficial temporal artery has limitations, but it is likely the best current option. Other …
Supinator extender (SUE): A pneumatically actuated robot for forearm/wrist rehabilitation after stroke

The robot described in this paper, SUE (Supinator Extender), adds forearm/wrist rehabilitation functionality to the UCI BONES exoskeleton robot and to the ArmeoSpring rehabilitation device. SUE is a 2-DOF serial chain that can measure and assist forearm supination-pronation and wrist flexion-extension. The large power to weight ratio of pneumatic actuators allows SUE to achieve the forces needed for rehabilitation therapy while remaining lightweight enough to be carried by BONES and ArmeoSpring. Each degree of freedom has a range of 90 degrees, and a nominal torque of 2 ft-lbs. The cylinders are mounted away from the patient's body on the lateral aspect of the arm. This is to prevent the danger of a collision and maximize the workspace of the arm robot. The rotation axis used for supination-pronation is a small bearing just below the subject's wrist. The flexion-extension motion is actuated by a cantilevered pneumatic cylinder, which allows the palm of the hand to remain open. Data are presented that demonstrate the ability of SUE to measure and cancel forearm/wrist passive tone, thereby extending the active range of motion for people with stroke.