cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transumbilical laparotomy in infants: a novel approach for a wide variety of surgical disease.

Abstract Background/purpose Laparoscopy has kindled an interest in minimally invasive surgery in infants. To combine improved cosmesis with the advantages of open exposure, we adopted the transumbilical approach for laparotomy in babies up to 26 months of age. Methods Only hemodynamically stable babies were considered candidates. The umbilicus was incised nearly circumferentially, and the peritoneum was entered in the midline. The procedure was completed in the standard, open fashion by positioning the incision over the area of interest, and the periumbilical wound was closed subcuticularly. Results Since 1998, 42 infants have undergone 44 transumbilical laparotomies, with only one conversion to a traditional incision (operating time, 35 to 202 minutes). Twenty-nine newborns were treated transumbilically for duodenal atresia/stenosis/web (n = 11), malrotation (n = 7), intestinal atresia/stricture (n = 5), and other pathology (n = 7). Thirteen older infants (1 to 9 months) were treated transumbilically for intussusception (n = 4), malrotation (n = 4), and other pathology (n = 5). Three toddlers (13 to 24 months) also underwent successful transumbilical laparotomy. There were 2 wound infections and one anastomotic leak. Conclusions These results suggest that a transumbilical approach is feasible, safe, and cosmetically superior to the open operation for a broad spectrum of surgical procedures in infants, and it may also be useful in older children.
The Dynamics of Rings: From Benzene to Saturn

In this paper I draw the connection between the chemist’s analysis of the vibrational dynamics of benzene and the analysis of dynamics of celestial rings. Chief among the results is the identification of the hip-hop orbit as the B1g out-of-plane ring mode of benzene. Three additional periodic orbits are predicted to occur. These correspond to the A1g breathing mode and the B1u and B2g in-plane ring modes. These last two are seen to be analogous to out-of-plane hip-hop orbit. The doubly-degenerate modes, E1u, E2u, E2g give rise to one-parameter families of period orbits. These are also discussed. And finally the implications of these results for models of the rings of Saturn are also discussed.
Personality correlates of pathological gambling derived from Big Three and Big Five personality models

Abstract Personality traits have proved to be consistent and important factors in a variety of externalizing behaviors including addiction, aggression, and antisocial behavior. Given the comorbidity of these behaviors with pathological gambling (PG), it is important to test the degree to which PG shares these trait correlates. In a large community sample of regular gamblers ( N =354; 111 with diagnoses of pathological gambling), the relations between measures of two major models of personality – Big Three and Big Five – were examined in relation to PG symptoms derived from a semi-structured diagnostic interview. Across measures, traits related to the experience of strong negative emotions were the most consistent correlates of PG, regardless of whether they were analyzed using bivariate or multivariate analyses. In several instances, however, the relations between personality and PG were moderated by demographic variable such as gender, race, and age. It will be important for future empirical work of this nature to pay closer attention to potentially important moderators of these relations.
Molecular modeling and biophysical analysis of the c-MYC NHE-III1 silencer element.

G-Quadruplex and i-Motif-forming sequences in the promoter regions of several oncogenes show promise as targets for the regulation of oncogenes. In this study, molecular models were created for the c-MYC NHE-III1 (nuclease hypersensitivity element III1) from two 39-base complementary sequences. The NHE modeled here consists of single folded conformers of the polypurine intramolecular G-Quadruplex and the polypyrimidine intramolecular i-Motif structures, flanked by short duplex DNA sequences. The G-Quadruplex was based on published NMR structural data for the c-MYC 1:2:1 loop isomer. The i-Motif structure is theoretical (with five cytosine–cytosine pairs), where the central intercalated cytosine core interactions are based on NMR structural data obtained for a tetramolecular [d(A2C4)4] model i-Motif. The loop structures are in silico predictions of the c-MYC i-motif loops. The porphyrin meso-tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphine (TMPyP4), as well as the ortho and meta analogs TMPyP2 and TMPyP3, were docked to six different locations in the complete c-MYC NHE. Comparisons are made for drug binding to the NHE and the isolated G-Quadruplex and i-Motif structures. NHE models both with and without bound cationic porphyrin were simulated for 100 ps using molecular dynamics techniques, and the non-bonded interaction energies between the DNA and porphyrins calculated for all of the docking interactions.
Breast cancer risk and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism.

Objective. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), a polymorphic enzyme involved in folate metabolism, plays a role in DNA biosynthesis, methylation, and repair in actively dividing cells. Because breast-cell division occurs in women with active ovulatory cycles, polymorphisms in the MTHFR gene could be a risk factor for breast cancer.
Forecasting methods for industry and business

Abstract Seven predictors are presented in this paper. They are linear, quadratic, cubic, exponential, modified exponential, Gompertz, and logistic predictors. The first three predictors belong to the class of polynomial predictors. And the last four predictors belong to the class of exponential predictors. All these predictors were written in Fortran, run on a VAX/VMS minicomputer, and tested with Dow Jones Industrial Average daily, monthly, and quaterly data. This paper provides a variety of forecasting methods for industry and business.
Postshock annealing and postannealing shock in equilibrated ordinary chondrites: implications for the thermal and shock histories of chondritic asteroids

In addition to shock effects in olivine, plagioclase, orthopyroxene and Ca-pyroxene, petrographic shock indicators in equilibrated ordinary chondrites (OC) include chromite veinlets, chromite-plagioclase assemblages, polycrystalline troilite, metallic Cu, irregularly shaped troilite grains within metallic Fe-Ni, rapidly solidified metal-sulfide intergrowths, martensite and various types of plessite, metal-sulfide veins, large metal and/or sulfide nodules, silicate melt veins, silicate darkening, low-Ca clinopyroxene, silicate melt pockets, and large regions of silicate melt. The presence of some of these indicators in every petrologic type-4 to -6 ordinary chondrite (OC) demonstrates that collisional events caused all equilibrated OC to reach shock stages S3-S6. Those type-4 to -6 OC that are classified as shock-stage S1 (on the basis of sharp optical extinction in olivine) underwent postshock annealing due to burial beneath materials heated by the impact event. Those type-4 to -6 OC that are classified S2 (on the basis of undulose extinction and lack of planar fractures in olivine) were shocked to stage S3-S6, annealed to stage S1 and then shocked again to stage S2. Some OC were probably shocked to stage 253 after annealing. It seems likely that many OC experienced multiple episodes of shock and annealing. Because 40Ar-39Ar chronological data indicate that MIL 99301 (LL6, Sl) was annealed approximately 4.26 Ga ago, presumably as a consequence of a major impact, it seems reasonable to suggest that other equilibrated S1 and S2 OC (which contain relict shock features) were also annealed by impacts. Because some type-6 S1 OC (e.g., Guarena, Kernouve, Portales Valley, all of which contain relict shock features) were annealed 4.44-4.45 Ga ago (during a period when impacts were prevalent and most OC were thermally metamorphosed), it follows that impact-induced annealing could have contributed significantly to OC thermal metamorphism.
Minimizing hospital length of stay in children undergoing ureteroneocystostomy

Objectives. Shortening hospital stay yet not compromising quality of care can result in significant cost savings for children undergoing surgical correction of vesicoureteral reflux. Methods. We reviewed the medical records of pediatric patients who underwent ureteroneocystostomy between July 1995 and July 1997. A total of 43 patients, aged 0.2 to 18 years (mean 5.2) who all received identical postoperative care, except for their pain management and the time of bladder catheter removal, were included in the study. Twenty-three were treated with intravenous ketorolac tromethamine (Toradol); the remaining 20 received narcotics in the immediate postoperative period. The bladder catheter was removed in less than 24 hours in 22 children, and greater than 24 hours in 21. Results. Patients who received ketorolac tromethamine for postoperative analgesia had on average shorter hospital length of stays than those treated with narcotics (1.4 versus 2.5 days, respectively; P < 0.001). The average stay for children whose bladder catheter was removed within 24 hours postoperatively was significantly shorter than those whose catheter was removed after a 24-hour period (1.4 versus 2.4 days, respectively; P < 0.001). There were no reimplantation failures. One child presented 2 days postoperatively with anemia, which did not require transfusion. Conclusions. Our review demonstrates that ketorolac tromethamine can be used safely and effectively in children for immediate postoperative analgesia, and that its proper use combined with early catheter removal can reduce the length of hospital stay for pediatric patients undergoing ureteroneocystostomy.
Dislocation-Driven Nanowire Growth and Eshelby Twist

Hierarchical nanostructures of lead sulfide nanowires resembling pine trees were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition. Structural characterization revealed a screwlike dislocation in the nanowire trunks with helically rotating epitaxial branch nanowires. It is suggested that the screw component of an axial dislocation provides the self-perpetuating steps to enable one-dimensional crystal growth, in contrast to mechanisms that require metal catalysts. The rotating trunks and branches are the consequence of the Eshelby twist of screw dislocations with a dislocation Burgers vector along the 〈110〉 directions having an estimated magnitude of 6 ± 2 angstroms for the screw component. The results confirm the Eshelby theory of dislocations, and the proposed nanowire growth mechanism could be general to many materials.
HLA-DS molecules and their relation to supertypic specificities☆

We have analyzed the structures of HLA-DS molecules from DR1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 cell lines by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and examined the relationship of HLA-DS molecules to those expressing the supertypic specificities MT1, MB3, and MT3. These studies have allowed us to conclude that the HLA-DS locus is as polymorphic as HLA-DR and that the MT1 and MB3 supertypic specificities reside on DS molecules. Furthermore, MT1 molecules from DR1, DR2, and DRw6 cell lines are structurally different as are MB3 molecules from DR4 and DR5 cell lines. In addition, studies using two MT3 specific reagents, a monoclonal antibody, 109d6, and an alloantiserum, Hon, suggest that MT3 is a cross-reactive determinant present on products of two different loci: a DS4 molecule and a DR7-like molecule.
Poe's Other Audience

David Galloway, ed. The Other Poe: Comedies and Satires. Baltimore: Penguin Books Dennis W. Eddings, ed. The Naiad Voice: Essays on Poe's Satiric Hoaxing.
Effects of Computer-Based Test Accommodations on Mathematics Performance Assessments for Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities:

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of computer-based test accommodations to a noncomputer-based test accommodation and to no accommodation on mathematics performance assessment (PA) scores for secondary students with learning disabilities. Over four weeks, each student (N = 81) was tested on four parallel PAs, each time under a different condition: (a) standard administration (SA), (b) teacher-read (TR), (c) com- puter-read (CR), and (d) CR with video (CRV). PA alternate forms and order of conditions were counterbalanced across classrooms. After each PA administration, a student questionnaire assessed perceptions of the benefits of the testing condition. Results indi- cated that providing a reader, either human or computer, increas- es scores, but no significant difference was seen among TR, CR, and CRV. Implications are discussed with respect to reading accommodations, computerized testing, and the effects of reading accommodations on students with differing reading achievement levels.
Modulating Drug Effects of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 1 Alpha (mGluR1α) by Extracellular Ca2

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 1α (mGluR1α), known as a member of the family C GPCRs, couples to Gq and modulates consequent PLC activity, IP3 accumulation and intracellular Ca2+ extrusion from ER lumen. The mGluR1α is abundantly expressed in central nervous system and has been shown to be responsive to the slow phase of the action potential in post-synapses, and to be involved in chronic neuronal degenerative diseases, like Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease. We have predicted a potential Ca2+ binding site adjacent to the binding site to reported endogenous agonist glutamate and antagonists. In this study, we have applied single cell imaging, IP1 binding, and radioactive assay to probe the effect of extracellular calcium in modulating various types of the drugs of modulating mGluR1a such as agonists, antagonists and allosteric modulators. We have shown that extracellular Ca2+ enhances the agonist's activation of intracellular calcium responses of mGluR1α by increasing the drug binding to the receptor. In addition, extracellular Ca2+ also differentially modulates the inhibition of the receptor by antagonists and allosteric modulators. Our studies open a new avenue for modulating drug effects and developing novel drugs against neurodegenerative diseases.
RAINDROP SIZE-DISTRIBUTION IN HAWAIIAN RAINS

Abstract A brief survey of the major techniques of raindrop size-sampling is given. The filter-paper technique, finally adopted for use in this study, adapts itself admirably to the sampling of Hawaiian orographic rains. The change in the drop-size distribution of rain as it falls from cloud to ground may be considerable. It is affected by wind shear, gravity separation, evaporation and drop collision. The evaporation error alone can be appreciable. The many small drops of the Hawaiian orographic rains may completely evaporate in a sub-cloud fall of only 1000 m. The evaporation problem was eliminated, and the others minimized, by sampling all the orographic rain at cloud base or within the cloud itself. Drop-size distributions were obtained in such non-orographic rains as thunderstorms and cyclonic storms. The pertinent meteorological parameters, such as liquid-water content, median drop diameter, and radar reflectivity, agree reasonably well with the values given by other investigators. The measurements ...
Experimental Studies of Reflections From Single And Multiple-Fractures Using Lucite Models

Laboratory acoustic measurements are performed with Lucite fracture models to understand the reflection characteristics of a seismic wave in a fracture zone. The fracture models include single fracture, dual fracture, and fracture zones having different fracture geometries. First we check the acoustic measurement system without fractures so we can identify the surface waves and the characteristics of the acoustic source and receiver. We then measure P-waves reflected and scattered by the different fracture models using a suite of illumination directions and receiver positions. The acoustic waves are reflected from the top of the fractures and their arrival times, frequencies and amplitudes are related to the depth and width of the fracture. We compare the acoustic waves reflected from dual fracture with those reflected from the single fracture and observe the effects of multiple scattering between the two fractures. In the fracture zone model, the scattered waveforms vary in different acquisition directions, which can help determine the fracture orientation. Variations in the scattering characteristics from the top and base of the fractures may provide information on fracture geometry, spacing, and orientation.
The effect of ovarian function on insulin-like growth factor I plasma levels and hepatic IGF-I mRNA levels in diabetic rats treated with insulin.

Abstract When insulin was administered to streptozotocin-induced diabetic female rats, the percentage of glycohemolobin, growth rate, ovulatory cycle, uterus to body weight ratio, and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) level returned to near normal. In untreated diabetic rats there were no normla estrous cycles, and hepatic IGF-I mRNA (8.94 ± 1.02 O.D. units per μg total RNA) levels were significantly lower than the control or insulin-treated groups in proestrus (16.47 ± 0.91 and 17.15 ± 1.84, respectively). Insulin therapy restored the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis with the reinstitution of normal estrous cycles. Plasma IGF-I levels were highest in non-diabetic proestrous animals (277 ± 36.9 ng/ml), significantly higher than IGF-I levels in insulin-treated diabetic rats in diestrus (174 ± 23.1 ng/ml), non-diabetic diestrous rats (165 ± 18.4 ng/ml) and untreated diabetic rats (135 ± 19.7 ng/ml). Plasma IGF-I levels were elevated in insulin-treated diabetic rats in proestrus (221 ± 78.3 ng/ml), however this was not significantly different from any other group. The increases observed in plasma IGF-I and hepatic IGF-I mRNA after insulin theraphy correlate with the normalization of sex hormone secretion. Though this study does not prove a causal relationship between restoration of ovarian function and normalization of circulating IGF-I levels, a relationship has been established, as evidenced by higher levels of IGF-I in both the control and insulin-treated diabetic proestrous groups when compared to the diestrous groups.
Social and economic cost-benefit analysis of sanitation in Odisha State, India

This study estimates the social and economic impact of achieving full sanitation in Odisha State, the first time such a study has been conducted at a sub-national (entire State) level in India. The economic costs and associated social benefits to society via the elimination of open defecation by 2025 are estimated and compared to progress at the current pace. The findings show that net benefits of sanitation conservatively amount to at least 1.6% State GDP (range 0.4 to 2.7% under varying growth and discount rates). The benefit-cost ratio is estimated at 5.7 (range 3.1 to 7.7). These results provide strong evidence to planners and decision-makers that sanitation gives significant returns, both social and economic, on investment and gives ample evidence for the acceleration of the elimination of open defecation.
Digging for dead genes: an analysis of the characteristics of the pseudogene population in the Caenorhabditis elegans genome

Pseudogenes are non-functioning copies of genes in genomic DNA, which may either result from reverse transcription from an mRNA transcript (processed pseudogenes) or from gene duplication and subsequent disablement (non-processed pseudogenes). As pseudogenes are apparently 'dead', they usually have a variety of obvious disablements (e.g., insertions, deletions, frameshifts and truncations) relative to their functioning homologs. We have derived an initial estimate of the size, distribution and characteristics of the pseudogene population in the Caenorhabditis elegans genome, performing a survey in 'molecular archaeology'. Corresponding to the 18 576 annotated proteins in the worm (i.e., in Wormpep18), we have found an estimated total of 2168 pseudogenes, about one for every eight genes. Few of these appear to be processed. Details of our pseudogene assignments are available from http://bioinfo.mbb.yale.edu/genome/worm/pseudogene. The population of pseudogenes differs significantly from that of genes in a number of respects: (i) pseudogenes are distributed unevenly across the genome relative to genes, with a disproportionate number on chromosome IV; (ii) the density of pseudogenes is higher on the arms of the chromosomes; (iii) the amino acid composition of pseudogenes is midway between that of genes and (translations of) random intergenic DNA, with enrichment of Phe, Ile, Leu and Lys, and depletion of Asp, Ala, Glu and Gly relative to the worm proteome; and (iv) the most common protein folds and families differ somewhat between genes and pseudogenes-whereas the most common fold found in the worm proteome is the immunoglobulin fold and the most common 'pseudofold' is the C-type lectin. In addition, the size of a gene family bears little overall relationship to the size of its corresponding pseudogene complement, indicating a highly dynamic genome. There are in fact a number of families associated with large populations of pseudogenes. For example, one family of seven-transmembrane receptors (represented by gene B0334.7) has one pseudogene for every four genes, and another uncharacterized family (represented by gene B0403.1) is approximately two-thirds pseudogenic. Furthermore, over a hundred apparent pseudogenic fragments do not have any obvious homologs in the worm.
Health Information Seeking and Cancer Screening Adherence Rates

Effective screening tools are available for many of the top cancer killers in the USA. Searching for health information has previously been found to be associated with adhering to cancer screening guidelines, but Internet information seeking has not been examined separately. The current study examines the relationship between health and cancer Internet information seeking and adherence to cancer screening guidelines for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer in a large nationally representative dataset. The current study was conducted using data from the Health Information National Trends Survey from 2003 and 2007. The study examined age-stratified models which correlated health and cancer information seeking with getting breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening on schedule, while controlling for several key variables. Internet health and cancer information seeking was positively associated with getting Pap screening on schedule, while information seeking from any sources was positively associated with getting colorectal screening on schedule. People who look for health or cancer information are more likely to get screened on schedule. Some groups of people, however, do not exhibit this relationship and, thus, may be more vulnerable to under-screening. These groups may benefit more from targeted interventions that attempt to engage people in their health care more actively.
Schedule-induced polydipsia in F1 hybrid rats of wild-caught and domestic Norway rats☆

Abstract Five F1 hybrid rats of a wild-caught Norway male rat and a domestic, albino Norway female rat and five domestic, albino Norways rats were tested on fixed-time 1-min food schedules for the development of schedule-induced polydipsia. All five F1 hybrid rats and three domestic rats developed polydipsia. These data generalized schedule-induced polydipsia to the F1 hybrid generation of wild-caught and domestic rats. The implications of these results for Symons and Sprott's [12] suggestion of a genetic component for schedule-induced polydipsia are discussed.
Immunity in Mammals to Helminths of the Circulatory and Lymphatic Systems, Emphasizing Nonhuman Primate Models and Their Comparison to Human Infections and Rodent Models

The host—parasite relationship of intravascular helminths in mammalian hosts is complex, consisting of several interrelated aspects. These organisms are often very long lived in these hosts that possess highly evolved immune systems, which implies the existence of mechanisms in these complex parasites for evading the immune response. On the other hand, mammalian hosts appear to be very successful in limiting their worm burdens, mainly by preventing reinfection. Thus, a balance between host and parasite is often achieved. This balance extends to the immunopathological consequences of the infections as well. Especially in the schistosomes, where relatively more is known about immunopathology, it is becoming increasingly apparent that immunopathological reactions to the eggs are multifunctional and paradoxical: they cause disease, they limit disease, and they even serve the schistosome by making possible the escape of its eggs, laid deep within the tissues, from the host's body to propagate the life cycle. The comparative approach, using different species of schistosomes and filarids in different mammalian hosts, has proved to be valuable for understanding the immunological basis of these complex relationships. The knowledge gained from these model systems is already being vigorously applied to the human diseases, two of the great scourges of the tropics, schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis, to the end of their eradication from the earth by mass immunization.
Perceptual comparison of pulsed and continuous fluoroscopy

Pulsed fluoroscopy (hereafter called pulsed) at reduced acquisition rates, typically 15 acq/s (pulsed-15), is proposed to reduce x-ray dose in interventional procedures. However, since the human visual system (HVS) acts as a temporal low-pass filter that interacts with such acquisitions, the proper dose for pulsed must be obtained in perception experiments. We determine the dose for low-frame-rate pulsed that gives visualization equivalent to that of conventional 30 acq/s fluoroscopy, hereafter called continuous. Computer-generated phantoms are used. They consist of stationary, low-contrast disks on a flat background containing Poisson noise that mimics quantum noise in fluoroscopy. Image sequences are displayed on the video tachistoscope, a device with considerable display flexibility. Three experimental paradigms are used. (1) In a paired-comparison study, pulsed and continuous are displayed side-by-side on the same monitor, and the visibility of a contrast detail phantom is compared. (2) Using this same display, subjects record the minimally detectable disk contrast (the min-contrast measurement). (3) In a four-alternative forced-choice experiment, a disk is placed in one of four positions, and the subject determines the position of the disk. The methods are complementary--the forced-choice experiment properly eliminates the subjectivity of the observer threshold while the paired-comparison study is much more time efficient. With regard to pulsed and continuous comparisons, remarkable similarity is found between the supra-threshold experiments (1 and 2) and the detectability experiment (3); i.e., the average absolute differences in the equivalent-perception dose as determined by the three measures is approximately 3%. No difference is found between interlaced and noninterlaced display. A relatively small dependence of dose savings on disk size is found with larger disks giving increased dose savings. Average dose savings of 22%, 38%, and 49% are found for pulsed-15, pulsed-10, and pulsed-7.5, respectively.
Integrated Photoacoustic Ophthalmoscopy and Spectral-domain Optical Coherence Tomography

Both the clinical diagnosis and fundamental investigation of major ocular diseases greatly benefit from various non-invasive ophthalmic imaging technologies. Existing retinal imaging modalities, such as fundus photography1, confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (cSLO)2, and optical coherence tomography (OCT)3, have significant contributions in monitoring disease onsets and progressions, and developing new therapeutic strategies. However, they predominantly rely on the back-reflected photons from the retina. As a consequence, the optical absorption properties of the retina, which are usually strongly associated with retinal pathophysiology status, are inaccessible by the traditional imaging technologies. Photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy (PAOM) is an emerging retinal imaging modality that permits the detection of the optical absorption contrasts in the eye with a high sensitivity4-7 . In PAOM nanosecond laser pulses are delivered through the pupil and scanned across the posterior eye to induce photoacoustic (PA) signals, which are detected by an unfocused ultrasonic transducer attached to the eyelid. Because of the strong optical absorption of hemoglobin and melanin, PAOM is capable of non-invasively imaging the retinal and choroidal vasculatures, and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) melanin at high contrasts 6,7. More importantly, based on the well-developed spectroscopic photoacoustic imaging5,8 , PAOM has the potential to map the hemoglobin oxygen saturation in retinal vessels, which can be critical in studying the physiology and pathology of several blinding diseases 9 such as diabetic retinopathy and neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Moreover, being the only existing optical-absorption-based ophthalmic imaging modality, PAOM can be integrated with well-established clinical ophthalmic imaging techniques to achieve more comprehensive anatomic and functional evaluations of the eye based on multiple optical contrasts6,10 . In this work, we integrate PAOM and spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) for simultaneously in vivo retinal imaging of rat, where both optical absorption and scattering properties of the retina are revealed. The system configuration, system alignment and imaging acquisition are presented.
Mustard oil enhances spinal neuronal responses to noxious heat but not cooling

The TRPA1 agonist mustard oil (allyl isothiocyanate=AITC) induces heat hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia in human skin and sensitizes rat spinal wide dynamic range (WDR) neuronal responses to noxious skin heating. We presently used electrophysiological methods to investigate if AITC affects the responsiveness of individual spinal WDR neurons to intense skin cooling. Recordings were made from cold-sensitive WDR neurons in lamina I and deeper dorsal horn; 21/23 also responded to noxious skin heating. Topical application of AITC excited 8/18 units and significantly enhanced their responses to noxious heat while not significantly affecting responses to the cold stimulus. Vehicle (mineral oil) had no effect on thermal responses. The data confirm a role for the TRPA1 agonist AITC in enhancing heat nociception without significantly affecting cold sensitivity.
Phenol red absorption from the rat lung: Evidence of carrier transport

Abstract To investigate the absorption of [ 35 S]phenol red from the rat lung, 0.1 ml of Krebs-Ringer phosphate solution (pH 7.4) containing the compound was administered to anesthetized animals by way of a catheter introduced through a tracheal cannula. After various times, the lungs were removed and assayed for the amount of dye that remained. Studies with 0.01–1 mmol concentrations of phenol red indicated that pulmonary absorption of this anion occurred in part by a saturable, carrier-type transport process and in part by diffusion. Carrier transport became saturated at phenol red concentrations greater than 0.7 mmol, and the transport maximum was estimated to be at least 1.2 μg/ hour. Transport was inhibited by other sulfonic acid dyes and also by benzylpenicillin and cephalothin. The diffusion component of phenol red absorption was in close accord with the rate predicted from the molecular size and diffusion coefficient of the compound. The results indicate that the respiratory tract epithelium, like certain other body membranes, possesses a specialized process for the transport of certain organic anions.
Heavy-metal-induced ethylene production in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Summary Different plant parts varied in copper sulfate (CuSO4) and cadmium sulfate (CdSO4)-induced ethylene production, inflorescences showed the greatest induction, while all other plant parts tested produced significantly less. Leaf age had a dramatic effect on CuSO4 and CdSO4-induced ethylene production with the youngest leaves showing the greatest stimulation and as the age of the leaf increased there was a reduction in their ability to produce ethylene. However, there was no significant difference in CuSO4, CdSO4 and wound-induced ethylene production when whole rosettes were taken from plants that were 7, 14 or 21-day-old. The highest amount of CuSO4 and CdSO4-induced ethylene production was produced in the root tip with regions below this producing less. CuSO4 and CdSO4-induced ethylene production was also greatest from the tip of the inflorescence to 2 cm below the tip and from this point down there was a reduction in ethylene production. When inflorescence stalks or leaves were treated with CuSO4 or CdSO4 over a range of concentrations from 0 to 800 μM, there was an increase in ethylene production starting at 50 μM with increasingly greater responses up to 400 μM. There was no further increase at the 800 μM CuSO4 concentration; however, there was a slight decline with 800 μM CdSO4. Inflorescence stalks or leaves treated with either 400 μM CuSO4 or CdSO4 exhibited a dramatic increase in ethylene production 2 h following treatment initiation and remained high over a 24-h period with a decline in ethylene production after this time in inflorescence stalks but not the leaves. It was found that light caused a dramatic decrease in CuSO4, CdSO4 and wound-induced ethylene production in both inflorescence stalks and leaves. When inflorescence stalks or leaves were treated at 43 °C, there was a dramatic effect on CuSO4, CdSO4 and wound-induced ethylene production in each.
Long term organ culture of rat liver rudiment in a synthetic medium: morphological and biochemical development.

Abstract Embryonic rat liver rudiments were grown and maintained in a chemically defined medium for up to 16 weeks. Liver explants grew and developed liver plates, bile canaliculi and ductules. Liver cells differentiated and, by the end of the second culture week, revealed cytological and ultrastructural features of adult rat liver cells. Glycogen synthetase activity appeared and reached a plateau within 2 weeks. Plasma proteins produced by the explants appeared sequentially in the culture medium. Their relative concentrations in the medium increased progressively to a plateau and they persisted throughout the culture period. Albumin was present in trace amounts during early days of culture. Its relative concentration increased and it became the major protein constituent of the medium by the second week. Transferrin, α 1 M-globulin, haptoglobin, β 1 c- and α 1 B-globulin appeared in that order. The three fibrinogen subunits were identified during the first week of culture. Fetal proteins were identified during the early culture period, the most prominent being α-fetoprotein. The relative concentration of fetal proteins declined steadily as the culture progressed.
Discrete forebrain neuronal networks supporting noradrenergic regulation of sensorimotor gating

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) refers to the reduction in the startle response when a startling stimulus is preceded by a weak prestimulus, and is an endophenotype of deficient sensorimotor gating in several neuropsychiatric disorders. Emerging evidence suggests that norepinephrine (NE) regulates PPI, however, the circuitry involved is unknown. We found recently that stimulation of the locus coeruleus (LC), the primary source of NE to the forebrain, induces a PPI deficit that is a result of downstream NE release. Hence, this study sought to identify LC-innervated forebrain regions that mediate this effect. Separate groups of male Sprague–Dawley rats received a cocktail solution of the α1-NE receptor agonist phenylephrine plus the β-receptor agonist isoproterenol (equal parts of each; 0, 3, 10, and 30 μg) into subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), nucleus accumbens (NAcc), extended amygdala, mediodorsal thalamus (MD-thalamus), or the dorsal hippocampus (DH) before PPI testing. NE agonist infusion into the posterior mPFC, NAcc shell, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, basolateral amygdala, and the MD-thalamus disrupted PPI, with particularly strong effects in MD-thalamus. Sites in which NE receptor stimulation did not disrupt PPI (anterior mPFC, NAcc core, central amygdala, and DH) did support PPI disruptions with the dopamine D2 receptor agonist quinpirole (0, 10 μg). This pattern reveals new pathways in the regulation of PPI, and suggests that NE transmission within distinct thalamocortical and ventral forebrain networks may subserve the sensorimotor gating deficits that are seen in disorders such as schizophrenia, Tourette syndrome, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Permanence and Flux

The numerous efforts to provide a method with sufficient compass for inner-cultural and cross-cultural comprehension, have been, for the most part, vulnerable to the following set of charges: that proponents of a given methodology either lack expertise in diverse disciplines or in the complexities of other cultures; or that they borrow a methodology from one discipline or one culture which ipso facto cannot be granted the universal validity necessary for cross-cultural or interdisciplinary studies. No doubt, each positive and human science, and each culture, has a dream of its supremacy and all inclusiveness. Phenomenologically speaking, such a dream is understandable; all modes of awareness have an eidetic generality that is prior to, and assumed by both empirical generalizations and rationalist categorical universalities. Yet it ought to be equally clear that each mode of awareness is restricted to the essential morphology of its specific content. As a result, the methodological issue that must be faced concerns the question of whether the diverse contents of the positive and human sciences are essentially incompatible. Given this issue it may be contended that each content may demand a specific methodology. This is most pertinent to contemporary Western scientific and scholarly disciplines and their radical fragmentations. As postmodern writers suggest, there is no longer a master discourse. It seems, then, that given this context, any effort to proffer some encompassing methodology will end up in a peculiar and at times nonsensical aggregate of concepts borrowed from various fields.
Close-In Phase Noise Measurements of Injection Locked Oscillators

Independent implementation and verification is described for a published injection locking approach to close-in phase noise measurements. Experimentation was conducted to study the sensitivity of the measured results to various parameters within the system, including oscillator-under-test power level, and the need for an isolator in the test system. The results show that the phase noise measurement is relatively robust to power level variations within the system, and that the isolator, although bandwidth limiting, does perform a necessary role for the measurement. A pair of 1.4GHz free running oscillators are used as test cases in this study. Measurements from the injection locking technique are compared to those made using the more traditional detector and discriminator methods.
Design of a Reconfigurable Embedded Data Cache

Performance and power consumption are very important aspects of embedded systems design. Several studies have shown that cache memory consumes as much as 50\% of the total power in such systems. Thus, the architecture of the cache governs both performance and power usage of the embedded system. In this paper a new Reconfigurable Embedded Data (RED) cache is proposed especially targeted towards embedded systems. This paper further explores the issues and considerations involved in designing such a reconfigurable cache. The novelty of the RED cache architecture lies in the fact that it can be configured as direct-mapped, two-way, or four-way set associative using a mode selector function. Thus, one cache design can be used for different applications. The module has been designed, simulated and synthesized in Xilinx ISE 9.1i and ModelSim SE 6.3e using the Verilog hardware description language.
Network information flow: Gossiping with groups

In this paper, we consider a networking scenario in which a group of nodes wants retrieve a function of another group of nodes data. Here we assume that the function can be cast into a sum of functions of the local variables, a case that subsumes several interesting types of queries. One approach to solve this problem is to route the information from each node to the interested parties one at a time, relaying it over a tree of paths. A second strategy is to reuse the paths when possible, multicasting to the intended recipients the data. A third one, which is the one we are interested in exploring, computes along the routes as well. More specifically, the goal of this paper is to examine how the sought information be forwarded to the intended recipients, computing along the routes by gossiping with selected neighbors. Unlike the context of standard gossiping, in our problem the information needs to flow in a specific direction. In this work we provide a sufficient condition for the convergence to the desired result, and propose a method how to design the information flow for a given network and a problem.
Agent and library augmented shared knowledge areas (ALASKA)

This paper reports on an NSF-funded effort now underway to integrate three learning technologies that have emerged and matured over the past decade; each has presented compelling and oftentimes moving opportunities to alter educational practice and to render learning more effective. The project seeks a novel way to blend these technologies and to create and test a new model for human-machine partnership in learning settings. The innovation we are prototyping in this project creates an applet-rich shared space whereby a pedagogical agent at each learner's station functions as an instructional assistant to the teacher or professor and tutor to the student. The platform is intended to open a series of new -- and instructionally potent -- interactive pathways.
Applications of Evidence-Based Medicine: Cranial Cruciate Ligament Injury Repair in the Dog

Objective— To evaluate the literature reporting surgical interventions pertaining to canine cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) injury using an evidence-based medicine paradigm. Study Design— Systematic literature review. Methods— An on-line bibliographic search through Medline, PubMed, Veterinary Information Network, and Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau Abstracts was performed during August 2004. Two hundred and forty resources of information were identified. Studies were compared and evaluated with regard to study design (retrospective, prospective, randomization), surgical technique, short- and long-term follow-up, and evidence classification. Results— Twenty-eight resources qualified to assist with evidence classification. No class I or class II studies were present, 5 studies were categorized as a class III and 23 studies were categorized as a class IV. Seventeen studies were retrospectively designed and 11 studies were prospectively designed. Proposed results ranged from a wide variety of subjective findings including clinical impression, radiographic analysis, synovial fluid analysis, gross pathology, and histopathology. Objective results, although infrequent, included force plate analysis and cadaveric biomechanical testing. Conclusions— At this time, the application of evidence-based medicine in analyzing the current available evidence suggests that there is not a single surgical procedure that has enough data to recommend that it can consistently return dogs to normal function after CCL injury. The requirement for assessing and categorizing the available evidence becomes increasingly important as more data becomes available and the quality of research improves. Clinical Relevance— An evidence-based medicine paradigm did not provide sufficient evidence favoring 1 surgical technique for management of canine CCL injury.
Reliability of bi-stable single domain nano magnets for Cellular Automata

Quantum cellular automata, also known as QCA, has been touted as a pragmatic use of quantum phenomena which currently are detrimental in nano-transistor technology. Recently, QCA technologies has expanded into magnetism, an area referred to as magnetic QCA, by exploiting the magnetic coupling interaction between neighboring cells (nano-magnets). The interactions of orderly fabricated nano-magnets and the viability of nano-magnetic structures as logical building blocks has yet to be explored in great detail. We have fabricated nano-scale magnetic QCA cells and currently the scope entails determining how factors such as material, size, placement, and surface roughness affect the magnetic properties and coupling interactions between the nano- magnetic QCA cells.
Simulation and Analysis of Unbonded Nonwoven Fibrous Structures

In this work we report on our algorithm for generating 3-D virtual structures resembling un-bonded fibrous webs. The paper discusses short and infinitely long fibers, each emulating a category of nonwoven fibrous medium. The structure Solid Volume Fraction (SVF), being the most important characteristic of a fibrous porous medium, is calculated for different fiberwebs and discussed in details. It is shown that the SVF of the fibrous structures generated by our algorithm is independent of the basis weight. In other words, the porosity of the medium is only a function of the fiber properties – this is as expected. It is also demonstrated that by decreasing the fiber diameter while keeping other properties of the virtual fiberweb constant causes the SVF to decrease almost linearly. The same is not observed for the fiber rigidity. The capability of our algorithm for generating fibrous webs made up of layers of different fibers is demonstrated and their properties are discussed. The application of such virtual fibrous structures in modeling transport phenomena in nonwoven materials and their potential applications in loaddeformation studies are discussed.
Knowledge, probability, and credibility

This paper concerns study of the credibility of human sources of evidence and its relation to the inferential value of testimony they provide. From a certain view of 'knowledge' in epistemology comes the suggestion that credibility assessment can be construed as a cascaded inference in which attributes of human source credibility are identified. Scholarship from evidence law in jurisprudence suggests an evidential basis for credibility assessment in terms of these attributes. Applying Bayes' rule to this cascaded inference offers a way of expressing and combining credibility-related beliefs in the process of assessing the inferential value of evidence.
Raconteur: integrating authored and real-time social media

Social media enables people to share personal experiences, often through real-time media such as chat. People also record their life experiences in media collections, with photos and video. However, today's social media force a choice between real-time communication, and authoring a coherent story illustrated with digital media. There is simply not enough time in real-time communication to select and compose coherent multimedia stories. We present Raconteur, which introduces a new style of social media combining aspects of the real-time and authored styles of communication. It is structured around a text chat, augmented by an agent that continuously interprets the chat text to suggest appropriate media elements to illustrate the story. A small experiment shows that storytellers find Raconteur's suggestions helpful in presenting their experiences, and audiences find the interaction engaging.