cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relativistic many-body calculations of electric-dipole transitions between n = 2 states in B-like ions

Transition rates, oscillator strengths, and line strengths are calculated for the 49 possible electric-dipole transitions between the eight even-parity 2s2p{sup 2} states and the seven odd-parity 2s{sup 2}2p and 2p{sup 3} states in boronlike ions with nuclear charges ranging from Z=6 to 100. Relativistic many-body perturbation theory (MBPT), including the Breit interaction, is used to evaluate retarded E{sub 1} matrix elements in length and velocity forms. The calculations start from a 1s{sup 2} Dirac-Fock potential. First-order MBPT is used to obtain intermediate coupling coefficients and second-order MBPT is used to calculate transition matrix elements. Contributions from negative-energy states are included in the second-order E{sub 1} matrix elements to ensure gauge independence of transition amplitudes. The transition energies used in the calculation of oscillator strengths and transition rates are from second-order MBPT. Transition rates, line strengths, and oscillator strengths are compared with critically evaluated experimental values and with results from other recent calculations. Lifetimes of the five possible odd-parity upper levels and the five possible even-parity upper levels are given for Z=6{endash}100. Trends of the transition rates as functions of {ital Z} are illustrated graphically for selected transitions. thinsp {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}
Comments on “Uranium solution-mineral equilibria at low temperatures with applications to sedimentary ore deposits”

Abstract The necessity of considering protonation and complexation of weak acid ligands, for proper interpretation of their effect on solution equilibria, has been demonstrated. The solubility of uraninite in presence of σF = 2 ppm has been recalculated to be 0.88 ppb at pH 2.
EFFECT OF SODIUM ACETATE ON GROWTH AND AFLATOXIN PRODUCTION BY Aspergillus parasiticus NRRL 2999

The effect of sodium acetate and propionate on growth and aflatoxin oroduction by A. Darasiticus NRRL 2999 was studied in AMY medium imodified AM medium + 2% yeast extract) to determine the possible use of this compound as a means of controlling aflatoxin production. At pH 4.5, concentrations of sodium acetate ≥ 1.0g/100 ml completely inhibited growth and prevented aflatoxin production, while levels of 0.6 and 0.8g/100 ml partially inhibited growth and decreased aflatoxin production by 70% and 99%, respectively. Examination of the effect of initial pH on the inhibitory action of sodium acetate indicated that the extent of inhibition was a function of the initial pH. The effect of propionic acid on growth and aflatoxin production was also examined, and this compound was found to be more inhibitory than acetate. The role of sodium acetate and propionic acid as a means of controlling aflatoxin production appears to be promising.
Novel fourth-order cumulant-based equalization technique

We propose a new blind equalization technique based on second and fourth order cumulants. The algorithm proposed will equalize the second and fourth order cumulants of the input and output sequences. It is entirely driven by statistics, only requiring knowledge of the variance (power) of the input signal. Because of insensitivity of the higher-order cumulants to Gaussian processes, the algorithm performs well with additive Gaussian noise. Simulation examples are presented in which the proposed technique is compared with other existing equalization algorithms.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Effect of elevated glucose concentrations on cellular lipid peroxidation and growth of cultured human kidney proximal tubule cells.

This study has examined whether elevated glucose can induce lipid peroxidation and contribute to the inhibition of cell growth in human kidney proximal tubule(HPT) cells. HPT cells were cultured in media containing glucose concentrations of 8 mM (control), 25 mM, and 50 mM. Lipid peroxidation was assessed by the thiobarbituric acid reactivity and cell growth was assessed by 3H-thymidine uptake. Results show decreased (59%, p < 0.01) growth of HPT cells cultured in 50 mM glucose. Cells cultured in 50 mM mannitol did not show any growth inhibition, suggesting that the decreased cell growth associated with glucose is not due to osmolarity changes. There was an increase (108%, p < 0.02) in lipid peroxidation in cells cultured with high levels of glucose (50 mM) compared with controls and cells cultured with 50 mM mannitol. To examine if membrane lipid peroxidation or malondialdehyde (MDA, an end product of lipid peroxidation) has any role in the inhibition of cell growth, we examined the effect of tertiary butylhydroperoxide (TBH, known to cause lipid peroxidation and generate MDA) on the growth of HPT cells. TBH decreased cell growth (49, 17 and 3% of controls at 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 [mole TBH/ml medium). Similarly, a marked reduction in the growth was observed with exogenous MDA (72, 69 and 34% of controls at 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 μmole MDA/ml medium). This suggests that elevated glucose can induce membrane lipid peroxidation and accumulation of MDA, which in turn can inhibit cellular growth and contribute to the altered structure and function of HPT cells in diabetes.
Conditioning pulse trains in cochlear implants: effects on loudness growth.

Hypothesis: The addition of a high-rate (5 kpps) conditioning pulse train to the input signal of cochlear implants will result in shallower loudness growth across the dynamic range of cochlear implant patients. Background: High-rate conditioning pulse trains have been shown to increase the dynamic range of sinusoidal stimuli for cochlear implant recipients in a manner consistent with stochastic resonance. This study further characterizes the effects of conditioning stimuli on loudness by examining the loudness growth functions for sinusoidal stimuli both with and without conditioning. Methods: Seven postlingually deafened adults using the Clarion CII cochlear implant participated in this study. The loudness growth functions of each subject were characterized using sinusoidal stimuli, both with and without the presence of a high-rate conditioner. Loudness was measured using magnitude estimation. Results: The loudness growth functions of all seven subjects demonstrate an increase in dynamic range for sinusoidal stimuli with the addition of the conditioning pulse train. Shallower loudness growth is seen across the dynamic range with the addition of a conditioner. This result was shown for loudness growth fitted to exponential, power, and cumulative gaussian functions. Conclusion: The addition of high-rate conditioning pulse trains to sinusoidal stimuli presented to cochlear implant recipients results in larger dynamic ranges, with more gradual increases in loudness growth across the dynamic range. This suggests that signal-processing strategies incorporating conditioning may be clinically useful, requiring less compression of the input signal and leading to less distortion perceived by cochlear implant patients.
Effect of gastric bypass surgery on the incretins.

Aims Our studies were designed to understand the role of the gut hormones incretins GLP-1 and GIP on diabetes remission after gastric bypass surgery (GBP).
Glycoconjugates as noninvasive probes of intrahepatic metabolism: I. Kinetics of label incorporation with evidence of a common precursor UDP-glucose pool for secreted glycoconjugates

Abstract Conditions are described under which hepatic metabolism of administered labeled sugars can be monitored in the intact rat by measuring output of label from the liver in two secreted glycoconjugates derived from intracellular UDP-glucose, namely glucuronic acid linked to an administered drug (acetaminophen), and galactose secreted in glycoproteins. Rats with indwelling intrajugular catheters were given constant infusions of acetaminophen at nontoxic doses, and acetaminophen-glucuronide was isolated from rat urine by HPLC. When an unprimed continous infusion of [U-14C]glucose or [1-3H]galactose is begun during acetaminophen infusion, labeling of urinary acetaminophen-glucuronide attains a plateau with an apparent half-life of 2.1 h from labeled glucose as the 14C-donor, and 1.2 h from labeled galactose. The times required to attain steady-state are attributable either to formation or to hepatic secretion of the glucuronyl conjugate rather than to mixing in extracellular pools or to delays in renal excretion since the half-time of urinary excretion of intravenously injected acetaminophen-glucuronide is only 21 minutes. Consequently, the excreted glucuronide provides noninvasive evidence of the recent specific activity in the precursor pool of hepatic UDP-glucose feeding glucuronic acid. The second glycoconjugate used for comparison was galactose, isolated from the acute-phase plasma protein alpha 1-acid glycoprotein. This represents hepatic UDP-galactose labeling. Comparison of the labeling patterns of secreted galactose and glucuronic acid demonstrates that they are derived from the same intracellular pool of UDP-glucose. This is in contrast to the patterns of labeling of hepatic glycogen from (1-3H) and [U-14C]glucose which have been shown to diverge from those of secreted glucuronic acid.
Aortic distribution and binding of C14-labeled cholesterol and lipomul by native rat aortas and aldehyde-crosslinked bovine aortas

Summary A study has been conducted of the in vivo tissue distribution of intravenously administered C 14 -labeled cholesterol and triglyceride (Lipomul) preparations in Wistar rats and of the in vitro binding capacities of native and aldehyde-crosslinked bovine aortas and aortic elastin preparations for these materials. The data suggest: (a) that normal aortic wall cells are active phagocytic components of the reticuloendothelial system (RES) in vivo; (b) that recirculation of C 14 -labeled lipid macromolecules occurs with time, resulting in a transfer of label from liver and spleen depots to, primarily, the aorta and lung; (c) that the in vitro binding capacity of the aortic wall for either Lipomul or cholesterol is not significantly altered by the introduction of aldehyde-mediated crosslinkages; and (d) that the major portion of the observed in vitro adsorption represents physical adsorption (and not true chemical bonding) to both elastin and other constituents of the aortic wall. It is postulated that the occurrence of agedependent or “pathologic” crosslinkages in aortic wall protein chains is manifested essentially by changes in the mechanical properties of the wall as a structural (“fabric”) material, and that these are associated in vivo with alterations in the surface properties of the intima and/or in intraluminal blood flow patterns such that pinocytosis of circulating lipid macromolecules by normally phagocytic intimal cells can be significantly increased.
New evidence for a gating action of norepinephrine in central neuronal circuits of mammalian brain

Abstract Many previous studies have examined the effects of norepinephrine (NE) on neuronal responsiveness to synaptic inputs and putative transmitter substances and have described differential depressant actions of NE on stimulus evoked versus spontaneous discharge such that the “signal to noise” ratio of threshold responses was increased. In the present studies, similar experimental strategies employing a combination of microiontophoresis, single unit recording and afferent pathway stimulation in intact anesthetized and brain tissue slice preparations have revealed noradrenergic “gating” actions whereby weak or subthreshold synaptic stimuli can evoke threshold neuronal responses in the presence of iontophoretically applied NE or following electrical stimulation of the locus coeruleus. Overall, these results suggest that potentially threshold excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs may normally arrive at central neurons but appear weak or absent except during behavioral conditions favoring the synaptic release of NE. As such, these findings provide evidence that signal to noise ratio may not be the only potential modulatory action expressed by NE in noradrenergic target circuits of the mammalian brain.
Heavy metals in produce from urban farms in the San Francisco Bay Area

Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) concentrations were analysed in 96 samples of produce from seven urban farms, three suburban farms and three grocery stores in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2011-2012. Cd concentrations were highest in urban chard (0.043 mg kg(-1)) and lowest in urban, suburban and grocery squash (0.003 mg kg(-1)). Pb concentrations were highest in urban kale (0.080 mg kg(-1)) and lowest in grocery squash (0.008 mg kg(-1)). The mean heavy metal concentrations for Cd and Pb in all produce types were well below the maximum limits as set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Individual concentrations of Cd and Pb were below the limits of detection in 26 of 192 analyses. Cd and Pb concentrations in produce from urban farms were not significantly different from produce grown in suburban farms or grocery stores. It was concluded that produce from urban community farms in San Francisco, at least for the farms studied, is safe for human consumption.
Noncommutative Wess–Zumino–Witten actions and their Seiberg–Witten invariance

Abstract We analyze the noncommutative two-dimensional Wess–Zumino–Witten model and its properties under Seiberg–Witten transformations in the operator formulation. We prove that the model is invariant under such transformations even for the noncritical (non-chiral) case, in which the coefficients of the kinetic and Wess–Zumino terms are not related. The pure Wess–Zumino term represents a singular case in which this transformation fails to reach a commutative limit. We also discuss potential implications of this result for bosonization.
Ketovinylation of Alkyl Palladium Complexes

Abstract Stable chelated alkyl palladium II complexes di-μ-chloro-bis(2-methoxy-2-methyl-3-N,N-dimethylaminopropyl)dipalladium (1) and di-μ-chloro-bis(2-methoxy-3-N, N-dimethylaminopropyl)dipalladium (3) react with simple vinyl ketones to produce, in high yield, adducts derived by olefin insertion into the carbon-palladium σ bond.
Muting algorithms based on the use of side information generated by error control systems

Muting algorithms for mobile radio are developed through the use of side information generated by error control systems. The simplest of these algorithms uses the error detection capabilities of block codes to determine whether a received digital data packet contains bit errors. Erroneous packets are muted by converting them to an appropriate erasure value. The more complex algorithms combine error correction and detection to minimize the muting rate while maintaining a high level of data quality. Implementations of these algorithms using Hamming and Reed-Solomon codes are investigated. >
Pyrophosphate in the 5' Terminal Position of a Viral Ribonucleic Acid

A pancreatic ribonuclease digest of carbon-14-labeled Satellite Tobacco Necrosis Virus RNA was fractionated, according to charge, by column chromatography. Individual fractions were dephosphorylated with alkaline phosphomonoesterase and rechromatogramed. The fraction originally containing oligonucleotides with seven negative charges separated into two components corresponding to five and two negative charges, respectively, and therefore must have contained a terminal trinucleotide 5'-pyrophosphate, in addition to the internal hexanucleotides. Other fractions when similarly treated were found to contain only internal oligonucleotides.
Recent elephant-carcass utilization as a basis for interpreting mammoth exploitation

Abstract Studies of the patterned effects of human and non-human utilization of recent elephant carcasses provide context for understanding how similar processes in the past affected mammoth bones. This information might explain similarities and differences among mammoth sites and assemblages in different times and places in prehistory, such as the Pavlovian phase of early Gravettian in central Europe and the Clovis era in North America. Both Pavlovian and Clovis people often left behind sites dominated by proboscidean bones, but appear to have made very different uses of mammoth carcasses.
Editorial: A Message from the New Editor-in-Chief

BECOMING Editor-in-Chief of such an excellent journal as the IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics is a great honor as well as a big challenge for me. I am grateful to the search committee and to the IEEE Computer Society Publications Board for giving me the chance to infl uence and shape the future of one of the most outstanding scientifi c publications in the fi elds of computer graphics, visualization, virtual reality, and haptics. The excellent standing of TVCG is the result of the dedication and hard work by the previous EICs, Arie Kaufmann, Hans Hagen, and David S. Ebert, and it will be challenging to further improve on the high standards set by them. I am sure I can speak on behalf of the Computer Society publications staff, on behalf of the TVCG Editorial Board, and on behalf of the TVCG authors and its entire readership if I express my sincerest gratitude to the outgoing EIC, David S. Ebert. He has put tremendous effort into bringing TVCG into the excellent position it has today. Under his proactive leadership, many important metrics for the journal have improved signifi cantly. He has successfully broadened the scope and helped increase the number of submissions, while maintaining high quality, which led to a constant increase in published papers. His tight monitoring of the entire review process resulted in a major decrease in the time between submission and fi rst decision. Also, he took the lead in integrating the Proceedings of the IEEE Visualization Conference and Symposium on Information Visualization into the journal by establishing a review cycle that meets the high TVCG standards in a very tight time frame. I will surely rely on his support and advice in the future. While TVCG is in great shape, the conditions surrounding it are constantly changing. Our fi eld and our community are both growing, while research funding is decreasing. Researchers are evaluated by counting publications in top journals, while at the same time the growing number of conferences, symposia, and workshops leads to permanent deadline pressure. Electronic dissemination of scientifi c knowledge is becoming standard, while library budgets are shrinking. These new challenges for the journal must be addressed in the future. I rely on you, the readers and authors of TVCG, to share with me your creative ideas to further improve TVCG. The foundation upon which future developments are built is the increasing number of high quality submissions. I encourage you to submit your latest research results to TVCG and to take advantage of the Digital Library’s support for multimedia content. Please spread the word about TVCG’s short decision cycle, the early availability of issues in the Digital Library, and our continuing search for new and interesting topics for special issues.
Solvolysis of a single lignocellulose wafer by anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (HF) vapor : effect of temperature on HF adsorption, glucose production rate, and reversion kinetics

The solvolysis of a single lignocellulose wafer by anhydrous HF vapor at 1.0 atm was studied by exploring the effect of temperature (30 to 80 °C) on (1) HF adsorption and desorption, (2) reaction rate and glucose yield, and (3) glucosyl fluoride repolymerization. All three processes are coupled, and 100% HF vapor temperature is the key process variable. The HF loading (g HF adsorbed/g-lignocellulose) decreased with increasing HF vapor temperature (1.42 g HF/g-lignocellulose at 31 °C, 0.382 g HF/g lignocellulose at 60°C), indicating physical adsorption. Adsorbed HF was the limiting reagent for cellulose solvolysis: 0.4 g HF/g lignocellulose was required for saturation of hydroxyl groups and solvolysis of the glycosidic linkages. The extent of glucosyl fluoride repolymerization, as measured by HPLC-oligosaccharide profiling, increased with increasing HF vapor temperature. After posthydrolysis of water-soluble reaction products, glucose yields averaged 94% of theoretical.
A Schur complement formulation for solving free-boundary, Stefan problems of phase change

A Schur complement formulation that utilizes a linear iterative solver is derived to solve a free-boundary, Stefan problem describing steady-state phase change via the Isotherm-Newton approach, which employs Newton's method to simultaneously and efficiently solve for both interface and field equations. This formulation is tested alongside more traditional solution strategies that employ direct or iterative linear solvers on the entire Jacobian matrix for a two-dimensional sample problem that discretizes the field equations using a Galerkin finite-element method and employs a deforming-grid approach to represent the melt-solid interface. All methods demonstrate quadratic convergence for sufficiently accurate Newton solves, but the two approaches utilizing linear iterative solvers show better scaling of computational effort with problem size. Of these two approaches, the Schur formulation proves to be more robust, converging with significantly smaller Krylov subspaces than those required to solve the global system of equations. Further improvement of performance are made through approximations and preconditioning of the Schur complement problem. Hence, the new Schur formulation shows promise as an affordable, robust, and scalable method to solve free-boundary, Stefan problems. Such models are employed to study a wide array of applications, including casting, welding, glass forming, planetary mantle and glacier dynamics, thermal energy storage, food processing, cryosurgery, metallurgical solidification, and crystal growth.
An Improved Coded-Aperture System for Emission Computed Tomography (ECT)

The performance of an ECT system using an annular coded aperture and concentric annular detector has been studied by computer simulation. To Insure that the simulations are realistic, all appropriate geometrical factors (e.g. inverse-square attenuation) and tissue photon-interaction properties (both multiple Compton scattering and photoelectric effect) were Included. Also included was a 1% energy uncertainty to emulate solid-state detectors. The most Important features of the system were found to be that it: (1) produces highly reliable tomographic (ECT) Images of single-gamma radionuclide distributions, (2) uses a relatively large fraction of the emitted photons, about 0.2%. In the full three-dimensional Image system, also discussed, about 10% are used, (3) reconstructs pixel sizes as small a 1 mm using reasonable system design parameters, (4) uses gammas of any energy greater than about 125 keV, (5) determines the standard deviations of the activity in each pixel, thus enabling the statistical significance of any image feature to be calculated, and (6) measures absolute amounts of radioactivity.
Does the combination of 3% mepivacaine plain plus 2% lidocaine with epinephrine improve anesthesia and reduce the pain of anesthetic injection for the inferior alveolar nerve block? A prospective, randomized, double-blind study.

Abstract Introduction In theory, using 3% mepivacaine initially for an inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) block would decrease the pain of injection, provide faster onset, and increase anesthetic success. The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to compare the degree of pulpal anesthesia obtained with a combination of 3% mepivacaine/2% lidocaine (1:100,000 epinephrine) versus a combination of 2% lidocaine (1:100,000 epinephrine)/2% lidocaine (1:100,000 epinephrine) in IAN blocks. Injection pain was also studied. Methods One hundred asymptomatic subjects were randomly given a combination of a 1-cartridge volume of 3% mepivacaine plus a 1-cartridge volume of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and a combination of a 1-cartridge volume of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine plus a 1-cartridge volume of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine for the IAN block at 2 separate appointments. Subjects rated the pain of injection. The molars, premolars, and incisors were tested with an electric pulp tester in 4-minute cycles for 60 minutes. Anesthetic success was defined as the subject achieving 2 consecutive 80 readings within 15 minutes after completion of the IAN blocks and sustaining the 80 reading for 60 minutes. Results Success was not significantly different (P > .05) between the 2 combinations. No statistical differences in injection pain or onset times were found. Conclusions The combination of 3% mepivacaine plus 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine was equivalent to the combination of 2 cartridges of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine in terms of injection pain, onset time, and pulpal anesthetic success for the IAN block.
Superconducting dome from holography

We find a regime in which a strongly coupled striped superconductor features a superconducting dome. This regime is signified by i) a modulating chemical potential that averages to zero, and ii) a superconducting order parameter that has a scaling dimension $3/2l\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\le}3$. We also find that in this regime, the order parameter exhibits a mild dependence on the modulation wavelength of the stripes.
Recent advances in in vivo screening for antiarrhythmic drugs.

Introduction: Our understanding of the complexity of arrhythmogenesis has grown progressively over the last two decades. The range of established arrhythmia mechanisms now includes numerous pathways including ion channels, membrane adaptor proteins, transcription factors and cytoplasmic signaling cascades. Areas covered: This review outlines the emerging biology underlying potentially lethal rhythm disturbances, and highlights the problems that these novel mechanisms present for rational target identification in the traditional framework of drug discovery. The article describes the fundamental rationale for in vivo screening and highlights the utility of the zebrafish for this approach. The article also outlines initial efforts exploiting in vivo antiarrhythmic discovery and the potential for this approach to be disruptive even in the setting of disease mechanisms that operate across multiple timescales in multiple tissues. Expert opinion: In vivo screening in genetically faithful model organisms offers a...
Grain Boundary Analysis of Crept Alloy 617

Alloy 617, a high-temperature creep-resistant, nickel-based alloy, is being considered for the primary heat exchanger for the next generation nuclear plant, which is highly influenced by thermal creep. The main objective of this study is to inspect the crept grain boundaries under its imitated working condition, and to determine which boundaries are susceptible to damage and which are more resistant, in order to help improve its creep resistance in future manufacturing. Electron backscatter diffraction was used to measure the proportions of each boundary by observing and analyzing these crept microstructures. The grain-boundary distribution can be expressed in terms of five parameters including three parameters of lattice misorientation and two parameters of the grain-boundary plane normal. Three conditions were analyzed: the original material, metal that was annealed without stress, and ones that were crept at 1000°C at 19 MPa and 25 MPa for various times. Though observation, it is found that the voids seldom occur at low angle grain boundaries, and coherent twin boundaries are also resist to creep damage.
Using Calibrated Camera for Euclidean Path Modeling

In this paper, we address the issue of Euclidean path modeling in a single camera for activity monitoring in a multi-camera video surveillance system. The paper proposes to use calibrated cameras to detect unusual object behavior. During the unsupervised training phase, after metric rectifying the input trajectories, the input sequences are registered to the satellite imagery and prototype path models are constructed. During the testing phase, using our simple yet efficient similarity measures, we seek a relation between the input trajectories derived from a sequence and the prototype path models. Real-world pedestrian sequences are used to demonstrate the practicality of the proposed method.
Fostering Collaboration Among Students in Problem‐Based Learning

To foster positive interaction among students in collaborative groups, professors can establish behavioral norms by the way they form groups and train students to work effectively in goups.
Automated Identification of Synonyms in Biomedical Acronym Sense Inventories

Acronyms are increasingly prevalent in biomedical text, and the task of acronym disambiguation is fundamentally important for biomedical natural language processing systems. Several groups have generated sense inventories of acronym long form expansions from the biomedical literature. Long form sense inventories, however, may contain conceptually redundant expansions that negatively affect their quality. Our approach to improving sense inventories consists of mapping long form expansions to concepts in the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) with subsequent application of a semantic similarity algorithm based upon conceptual overlap. We evaluated this approach on a reference standard developed for ten acronyms. A total of 119 of 155 (78%) long forms mapped to concepts in the UMLS. Our approach identified synonymous long forms with a sensitivity of 70.2% and a positive predictive value of 96.3%. Although further refinements are needed, this study demonstrates the potential value of using automated techniques to merge synonymous biomedical acronym long forms to improve the quality of biomedical acronym sense inventories.
A Literature Review of Learning Collaboratives in Mental Health Care: Used but Untested

In recent years, the mental health field has made learning collaboratives the centerpiece of efforts to implement training in evidence-based practices. Lasting an average of 14 months, these interventions typically begin with in-person training for two days and can cost more than $100,000 per site. In this literature review of 16 peer-reviewed studies, the authors found minimal evidence of the effectiveness of LCs in mental health settings. They called for more rigorous research to evaluate the utility of these costly endeavors.
Enhancement of the thermoelectric figure of merit of Si1−xGex quantum wires due to spatial confinement of acoustic phonons

We have theoretically investigated the thermoelectricgure of merit of Si 1−xGex quantum wires rigorously taking into account spatial connement of both electrons and phonons. The calculations were carried out for cylindrical quantum wires with radius 1: 5n m iai 15 nm and innite potential barriers. A signicant enhancement of the thermoelectricgure of merit is predicted despite the decrease of the carrier mobility in very narrow-quantum wires. The enhancement is mostly due to the drop in the lattice thermal conductivity caused by the spatial connement of acoustic phonons and the corresponding increase in phonon relaxation rates. The predicted increase is important for the anticipated applications of Si1−xGex nanostructured materials for high-temperature thermoelectric devices. ? 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Synchronous up/down counter with clock period independent of counter size

The theory and practice of up-only or down-only prescaled (or constant time) counters is well understood both in industry and in the academia. Such counters are obtained by partitioning the counter into sub-blocks in order to be able to anticipate the CARRY propagation inside each block (similar to a carry-select adder). When properly designed, prescaled counters have a clock period independent of counter size. Until now it was not known whether it is possible to design a constant time up/down binary counter. The paper presents the theory behind building a synchronous up/down counter of arbitrary length and with period independent of counter size. The main idea behind the novel up/down counter is to recognize that the only extra difficulty with an up/down (vs. up-only or down-only) constant time counter is when the counter changes "direction" from counting up to counting down and vice-versa. For dealing with this difficulty the new design uses a "shadow" register inside each sub-block with the purpose of always storing the previous block value. When counting only up or only down the counter function like a standard up-only or down-only constant time counter but when it changes direction, instead of trying to compute the new value (which typically requires carry propagation), it simply uses the contents of the shadow register which contains the exact desired previous value. A 54-bit up/down counter running at 40 MHz was implemented in an Atmel AT6000 FPGA and similar up/down counters can be implemented in any technology.
Values-Based Education for Sustainability Marketers Two Approaches for Enhancing Student Social Consciousness

Sustainable development has been a hot button issue for decades, and yet business schools continue to struggle with accessible, meaningful and effective strategies to incorporate the topic into the...
Chronic tension-type headache: an investigation of the appraisal process.

SYNOPSIS The few existing studies that have explicitly examined appraisal of stress in tension-type headache sufferers have found that these individuals perceive events in a more negative manner than headache-free controls. However, can it necessarily be assumed that they perceive events in a less accurate manner than headache-free controls? To answer this question, sixty chronic tension-type headache sufferers and 60 controls engaged in a 40-trial contingency learning task in which they had to estimate the amount of control they could exert. Results provide little support for the notion that the cognitive appraisal of tension-type headache sufferers is more accurate than that of headache-free individuals. However, differences were found in perceived control when behavioral involvement was considered. This result is discussed in terms of learned helplessness theory.
1996 Remington lecture: modeling multivariate longitudinal data that are incomplete.

Abstract PURPOSE: We describe the impact that missing data may have on model selection for longitudinal multivariate data. METHODS: Maximum likelihood was used to fit several models to ultrasonographic measurements from the Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Progression Study (ACAPS). Graphical techniques were used to examine evidence concerning the underlying missing data mechanisms associated with each model. RESULTS: Using statistical methodology that addressed missing data substantially increased the statistical efficiency of our analysis of ultrasonographic data. Only complex models that included segment-specific parameterizations for longitudinal correlations appeared to allow missing data to be assumed to occur at random. CONCLUSION: Ignoring the nature of missing data in conducting statistical analyses can have serious consequences when missingness is not rare. It may be necessary to fit models of high dimension with maximum likelihood techniques to address missing data appropriately, however these approaches may improve statistical efficiency.
Network Dynamics to Evaluate Performance of an Academic Institution

Statistical assessments of performance are common in industry and for individual scientists, but the use of such measures to assess productivity in scientific organizations has lagged behind. The need for defined performance measures has grown as team science has begun to play a larger role in biomedical research, such as in the area of translational medicine. We used a metric, node degree over time, to measure the change in the rate of collaboration over the past five years within an organization, the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT). The number of collaborative papers and grants roughly doubled over the past five years among investigators within but not outside of ITMAT. Also, collaborations within institutions and departments were more frequent than those between them--an actionable area of improvement.
The Notch Target Hes1 Directly Modulates Gli1 Expression and Hedgehog Signaling: A Potential Mechanism of Therapeutic Resistance

Purpose: Multiple developmental pathways including Notch, Hedgehog, and Wnt are active in malignant brain tumors such as medulloblastoma and glioblastoma (GBM). This raises the possibility that tumors might compensate for therapy directed against one pathway by upregulating a different one. We investigated whether brain tumors show resistance to therapies against Notch, and whether targeting multiple pathways simultaneously would kill brain tumor cells more effectively than monotherapy. Experimental Design: We used GBM neurosphere lines to investigate the effects of a gamma-secretase inhibitor (MRK-003) on tumor growth, and chromatin immunoprecipitation to study the regulation of other genes by Notch targets. We also evaluated the effect of combined therapy with a Hedgehog inhibitor (cyclopamine) in GBM and medulloblastoma lines, and in primary human GBM cultures. Results: GBM cells are at least partially resistant to long-term MRK-003 treatment, despite ongoing Notch pathway suppression, and show concomitant upregulation of Wnt and Hedgehog activity. The Notch target Hes1, a repressive transcription factor, bound the Gli1 first intron, and may inhibit its expression. Similar results were observed in a melanoma-derived cell line. Targeting Notch and Hedgehog simultaneously induced apoptosis, decreased cell growth, and inhibited colony-forming ability more dramatically than monotherapy. Low-passage neurospheres isolated from freshly resected human GBMs were also highly susceptible to coinhibition of the two pathways, indicating that targeting multiple developmental pathways can be more effective than monotherapy at eliminating GBM-derived cells. Conclusions: Notch may directly suppress Hedgehog via Hes1 mediated inhibition of Gli1 transcription, and targeting both pathways simultaneously may be more effective at eliminating GBMs cells. Clin Cancer Res; 16(24); 6060–70. ©2010 AACR .
On the Design of Two-Degree-of-Freedom Multivariable Feedback Control Systems

A methodology for designing two-degree-of-freedom multivariable feedback control systems is described. A quadratic cost functional is used to measure such performance attributes as tracking error, saturation, and sensitivity to small plant perturbations. Stability margin is measured with and L ? -norm on an appropriately chosen stability margin matrix and a mechanism for tradeoff between performance and stability margin is outlined.
Assessment of functional MR imaging in neurosurgical planning.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Presurgical sensorimotor mapping with functional MR imaging is gaining acceptance in clinical practice; however, to our knowledge, its therapeutic efficacy has not been assessed in a sizable group of patients. Our goal was to identify how preoperative sensorimotor functional studies were used to guide the treatment of neuro-oncologic and epilepsy surgery patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 46 patients who had undergone preoperative sensorimotor functional MR imaging to document how often and in what ways the imaging studies had influenced their management. Clinical management decisions were grouped into three categories: for assessing the feasibility of surgical resection, for surgical planning, and for selecting patients for invasive functional mapping procedures. RESULTS: Functional MR imaging studies successfully identified the functional central sulcus ipsilateral to the abnormality in 32 of the 46 patients, and these 32 patients are the focus of this report. In epilepsy surgery candidates, the functional MR imaging results were used to determine in part the feasibility of a proposed surgical resection in 70% of patients, to aid in surgical planning in 43%, and to select patients for invasive surgical functional mapping in 52%. In tumor patients, the functional MR imaging results were used to determine in part the feasibility of surgical resection in 55%, to aid in surgical planning in 22%, and to select patients for invasive surgical functional mapping in 78%. Overall, functional MR imaging studies were used in one or more of the three clinical decision-making categories in 89% of tumor patients and 91% of epilepsy surgery patients. CONCLUSION: Preoperative functional MR imaging is useful to clinicians at three key stages in the preoperative clinical management paradigm of a substantial percentage of patients who are being considered for resective tumor or epilepsy surgery.
Depression and antiviral response to interferon-based therapy for hepatitis C virus infection†‡

To the Editor: Within the context of published literature on interferon (IFN)-induced depression and HCV, Leutscher et al. highlight the complex relationships among mood, IFN, antidepressants, and sustained viral response (SVR) (1). Consistent with previous studies, Leutscher et al. found that ~30% of patients receiving IFN-based therapy developed major depressive disorder (MDD). They also reported that IFN-induced depression was associated with a reduced likelihood of obtaining an SVR and stated that their study was the first to report this relationship (1). However, research has addressed this controversial topic (2–6). A prospective study (n = 394) analyzed the relationship between baseline and new-onset depression and treatment outcomes, and SVR rates did not differ between patients who developed MDD and those who did not (6). Results from our retrospective cohort study support and extend these findings by comparing rates of antiviral therapy completion and SVR between patients with HCV and MDD versus those without MDD (7). We found that the MDD group had completion and SVR rates similar to patients without MDD. In our study, all patients with MDD were on antidepressant medications prior to and during antiviral therapy. Untreated IFN-induced depression may lead to dose reductions, premature IFN therapy termination, and compromised treatment outcomes. Leutscher et al. reported that almost half of the patients with MDD did not receive psychotropic medication and that their study was insufficiently powered to evaluate whether antidepressants affected viral clearance (1). Prior literature shows that careful monitoring of neuropsychiatric symptoms during antiviral therapy and initiation of antidepressants if significant symptoms of depression develop can be an effective strategy for optimizing treatment outcomes in patients with HCV.
Aperture effects in squid jet propulsion

Squid are the largest jet propellers in nature as adults, but as paralarvae they are some of the smallest, faced with the inherent inefficiency of jet propulsion at a low Reynolds number. In this study we describe the behavior and kinematics of locomotion in 1 mm paralarvae of Dosidicus gigas , the smallest squid yet studied. They swim with hop-and-sink behavior and can engage in fast jets by reducing the size of the mantle aperture during the contraction phase of a jetting cycle. We go on to explore the general effects of a variable mantle and funnel aperture in a theoretical model of jet propulsion scaled from the smallest (1 mm mantle length) to the largest (3 m) squid. Aperture reduction during mantle contraction increases propulsive efficiency at all squid sizes, although 1 mm squid still suffer from low efficiency (20%) because of a limited speed of contraction. Efficiency increases to a peak of 40% for 1 cm squid, then slowly declines. Squid larger than 6 cm must either reduce contraction speed or increase aperture size to maintain stress within maximal muscle tolerance. Ecological pressure to maintain maximum velocity may lead them to increase aperture size, which reduces efficiency. This effect might be ameliorated by nonaxial flow during the refill phase of the cycle. Our model9s predictions highlight areas for future empirical work, and emphasize the existence of complex behavioral options for maximizing efficiency at both very small and large sizes.
Cascading costs of reproduction in female house wrens induced to lay larger clutches

In many species, females produce fewer offspring than they are capable of rearing, possibly because increases in current reproductive effort come at the expense of a female’s own survival and future reproduction. To test this, we induced female house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) to lay more eggs than they normally would and assessed the potential costs of increasing cumulative investment in the three main components of the avian breeding cycle – egg laying, incubation, and nestling provisioning. Females with increased clutch sizes reared more offspring in the first brood than controls, but fledged a lower proportion of nestlings. Moreover, nestlings of experimental females were lighter than those of control females as brood size and pre-fledging mass were negatively correlated. In second broods of the season, when females were not manipulated, experimental females laid the same number of eggs as controls, but experienced an intra-seasonal cost through reduced hatchling survival and a lower number of young fledged. Offspring of control and experimental females were equally likely to recruit to the breeding population, although control females produced more recruits per egg laid. The reproductive success of recruits from broods of experimental and control females did not differ. The manipulation also induced inter-seasonal costs to future reproduction, as experimental females had lower fecundity than controls when breeding at least two years after having their reproductive effort experimentally increased. Finally, females producing the modal clutch size of seven eggs in their first broods had the highest lifetime number of fledglings.
Geometric figure–ground cues override standard depth from accretion-deletion

Accretion-deletion is widely considered a decisive cue to surface depth ordering, with the accreting or deleting surface interpreted as behind an adjoining surface. However, Froyen, Feldman, and Singh (2013) have shown that when accretion-deletion occurs on both sides of a contour, accreting-deleting regions can also be perceived as in front and as self-occluding due to rotation in three dimensions. In this study we ask whether geometric figure-ground cues can override the traditional "depth from accretion-deletion" interpretation even when accretion-deletion takes place only on one side of a contour. We used two tasks: a relative-depth task (front/back), and a motion-classification task (translation/rotation). We conducted two experiments, in which texture in only one set of alternating regions was moving; the other set was static. Contrary to the traditional interpretation of accretion-deletion, the moving convex and symmetric regions were perceived as figural and rotating in three dimensions in roughly half of the trials. In the second experiment, giving different motion directions to the moving regions (thereby weakening motion-based grouping) further weakened the traditional accretion-deletion interpretation. Our results show that the standard "depth from accretion-deletion" interpretation is overridden by static geometric cues to figure-ground. Overall, the results demonstrate a rich interaction between accretion-deletion, figure-ground, and structure from motion that is not captured by existing models of depth from motion.