cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Appearance of Type Ia Supernova Progenitors: If Not SSSs, then What Do They Look Like?

“What do the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) look like? How can we hope to find them?” We focus on the epoch during which mass is incident on a white dwarf (WD) at high rates (> 10−7M⊙ yr−1). Such epochs are expected in single-degenerate (SD) progenitors, double-degenerate (DD) progenitors, and in a wide range of binaries with WDs that will not achieve the Chandrasekhar mass, MCh. High-rate accretion onto a WD produces high luminosities through accretion alone; in addition, most calculations show that quasisteady or episodic nuclear burning can occur, increasing the luminosity by more than an order of magnitude. If the photosphere is not much larger than the WD, the emission will have values of kT in the range of tens of eV, and the source will appear as a luminous supersoft x-ray source (SSS). Studies of local SSSs that are good candidates for nuclear-burning WDs (NBWDs) suggest that many have low duty cycles of SSS activity. This is consistent with the fact that binary WD models predict about 100 times as many SSSs in external galaxies of all types as are actually detected. Interstellar absorption does not appear to be the problem. Instead, it is likely that the ~1037−1038 erg s−1 emitted by NBWDs emerges in other wavebands. The challenge we face is to search for highly luminous systems within the Milky Way and nearby galaxies that have unusual properties consistent with NBWDs, and inconsistent with other physical models. Model tests can then be conducted for individual candidates, allowing us to identify large numbers of progenitors years before explosion.
Fy 1989 budget proposal: More support for basic geoscience research

President Ronald Reagan's Fiscal Year (FY) 1989 budget—the final spending plan of his 8-year tenure—contains few real surprises, answers a few questions, and does not seem to have offended many in Congress. Hefty increases in money for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are proposed, while many federal programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are trimmed. After complete silence last year, the White House renewed support for the Space Station with a big request in the new budget, along with an ambitious space program (see Tables 1 and 2). Even though Congress showed lukewarm support for this program and some other parts of the Reagan science agenda, most congressional leaders and observers are predicting that the new spending plan should make it through the legislature without a big fight, partly because of the distractions of an election year.
Effect of chronic "binge cocaine" on basal levels and cocaine-induced increases of dopamine in the caudate putamen and nucleus accumbens of C57BL/6J and 129/J mice.

In vivo microdialysis was used to measure the effect of chronic "binge" pattern cocaine administration on basal and cocaine-induced dopamine levels in the caudate putamen and nucleus accumbens of C57BL/6J and 129/J mice. Mice were implanted with a guide cannula in the caudate putamen or nucleus accumbens and after 4 days recovery, one group received "binge" pattern cocaine administration for 13 days (15 mg/kg x 3, i.p. at hourly intervals) while another group received saline in the same pattern. On the day before microdialysis, dialysis probes were lowered into the caudate putamen and nucleus accumbens. The next morning, after baseline dopamine collection, all animals received "binge" cocaine administration. Dialysates were collected every 20 min and dopamine content was determined by HPLC with electrochemical detection. In the basal condition, the mean level of dopamine in the dialysate from both brain regions of mice pretreated with "binge" pattern cocaine administration was significantly lower than that of the mice pretreated with saline administration. The absolute levels of dopamine achieved following "binge" pattern cocaine challenge were lower in the mice that had received chronic cocaine administration. However, when expressed as percent increase over baseline, the dopamine response to cocaine in the nucleus accumbens was significantly higher in mice that received chronic than in mice that received acute cocaine administration. Chronic cocaine administration led to a lowering of both basal dopamine and the absolute levels of cocaine-induced increases of dopamine in the two brain regions, but enhanced the percent increases over the baseline in response to cocaine in the nucleus accumbens of both mouse strains.
Impact of pulmonary vein antrum isolation on left atrial size and function in patients with atrial fibrillation.

The success of PVAI in eliminating AF has been proven; however, its impact on the LA remains uncertain. This study aimed to determine the impact of pulmonary vein antrum isolation (PVAI) on left atrial (LA) size and function in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Consecutive patients with AF were included (n = 206). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed before and after PVAI in all patients. A subgroup (n = 52) underwent delayed enhancement MRI. Maximal LA volume (LAVmax) and minimal LA volume (LAVmin) were assessed by Simpson’s rule. LA function was determined by calculating LA ejection fraction (LA EF). LA fibrosis was manually encircled and summed in the region of interest. Single procedure success rate was 64 %. LAVmax decreased post-ablation in all patients (125.1 to 111.9 ml, p < 0.001). LAVmin only decreased in patients with a successful outcome post-ablation (65.6 to 58.8 ml, p < 0.001). As a result, LA EF only showed a marked reduction in patients with AF recurrences (42.7 % to 37.9 %, p < 0.001). Post-ablation LA fibrosis could be visualized in 77 % of patients who underwent delayed enhancement MRI (mean amount 1.4 cm3). LA fibrosis showed no correlation with the decrease in LAVmax or LA EF. PVAI resulted in a reduction of LAVmax in all patients, indicating an effect of ablation induced fibrosis. LAVmin only decreased in patients with a successful outcome, indicating an effect of reverse atrial remodeling. As a result, LA function post-ablation was preserved in patients with a successful outcome and decreased in patients with AF recurrence.
Nuclear-spin noise and spontaneous emission

Spontaneous emission from nuclear spins is measured for the first time, we believe. This is possible because of the use of a low-noise SQUID amplifier with noise temperature (~0.2 K) less than that of the 1.5 K helium bath. The spontaneous emission power is ~5-10% of the background circuit Nyquist noise, which corresponds to the ratio of the effective spin resistance Rs (proportional to the nuclear susceptibility) and circuit resistance R. Although only one spin flip occurs per 108 yr due to spontaneous omission, the effect is magnified, because all 1022 spins in the sample contribute independent of the temperature. This technique implies that spectra of spins can be measured without the requirement of a net polarization and might be useful for samples where spin lattice relaxation times are impracticaily long. Radiation damping terms which are added to the Bloch equations allow for spin noise analysis of power flow between the spin system and cavity. The equivalence is obtained of predictions of Nyquist's theorem at all spin temperatures Ts and bath temperatures T in conformity with the predictions of the Einstein detailed balance equation for spontaneous emission. The model of a macroscopic spin pendulum applies where fluctuation through a mean square angle 〈θ2〉 from magnetization alignment along the polarizing field accounts for coupling of the fluctuating spins to the single-cavity mode. Several aspects of the model for spin noise analysis are applicable to inverted two-level systems.
Toward a Molecular Classification of Colorectal Cancer: The Role of Telomere Length

Telomere biology is central to the maintenance of genomic stability and telomeric dysfunction is thought to be an early stage in carcinogenesis. Reports of telomere lengths and their ascribed colorectal cancer (CRC) risks have been discordant, with both very short and very long telomeres implicated. Nevertheless, telomeres appear to play a very central role in cancer initiation. Telomere length changes also appear to impact disease burden, progression, and overall survival. This review covers contemporary views on telomere biology and CRC risk, with a brief overview of analytical methods employed in telomere measurement. We conclude with arguments in favor of including telomere assessment in the molecular profiling of CRCs.
Managing tacit and explicit knowledge transfer in IJVs: the role of relational embeddedness and the impact on performance

Drawing on organizational learning and economic sociology, we address how relational embeddedness between the foreign parent and international joint venture (IJV) managers influences the type of knowledge (i.e., tacit and explicit) transferred to the IJV, and how the importance of relational embeddedness varies between young and mature IJVs. We also examine the influence of tacit and explicit knowledge on IJV performance. Our results show the importance that tie strength, trust, and shared values and systems play in the transfer of tacit knowledge, especially for mature IJVs. Our findings are consistent with Uzzi's tenets: tacit learning is accumulative, assists in explaining explicit knowledge, and is enhanced by social embeddedness. We also find that the influence of transferred tacit knowledge on IJV performance stems principally from its indirect effect on the learning of explicit knowledge.
SKIN POTENTIAL RESPONSES AND THE SPAN OF ATTENTION

Experiment I tested whether an alerting signal would increase the span of visual attention. Female Ss (16) were presented an array of letters exposed for 2 sec by a tachistoscope. Half of the Ss had a series of trials with a loud tone contiguous with the tachistoscope, followed by a series of trials with tachistoscope only. The remaining Ss received a reverse procedure—half the trials with no tone initially, followed by tone. The group receiving only tachistoscope followed by a series of tachistoscope plus tone trials showed a significant improvement in the number of letters correctly reported. Experiment II repeated the above with skin potential (SP) recording throughout the session to test that the tone would generate a momentary state of arousal (an orienting response) and an increase in the span of attention. Tone significantly produced larger positive SP amplitudes and more diphasic SP responses, and increased the number of letters correctly reported. All differences disappeared during the second trial series.
Sub-nanometer Au monolayer-protected clusters exhibiting molecule-like electronic behavior: quantitative high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy and electrochemical characterization of clusters with precise atomic stoichiometry.

The synthesis and characterization of the clusters Au13[PPh3]4[S(CH2)11CH3]2Cl2 (1) and Au13[PPh3]4[S(CH2)11CH3]4 (2) are described. These mixed-ligand, sub-nanometer clusters, prepared via exchange of dodecanethiol onto phosphine-halide gold clusters, show enhanced stability relative to the parent. The characterization of these clusters features the precise determination of the number of gold atoms in the cluster cores using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy, allowing the assignment of 13 gold atoms (±3 atoms) to the composition of both cluster molecules. Electrochemical and optical measurements reveal discrete molecular orbital levels and apparent energy gaps of 1.6−1.7 eV for the two cluster molecules. The electrochemical measurements further indicate that the Au13[PPh3]4[S(CH2)11CH3]2Cl2 cluster undergoes an overall two-electron reduction. The electrochemical and spectroscopic properties of the two Au13 cluster molecules are compared with those of a secondary synt...
Beam amplification and cleanup with two- and four-wave mixing in photorefractive nematic liquid crystal films

Recent theoretical and experimental results have shown that the orientational photorefractive effect seen in doped nematic liquid crystal films gives rise to strong beam amplification effects without suffering from phase crosstalk. These effects, examined for both four and two wave mixing, are well suited for adaptive optics applications.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Pornography as a Source of Sex Information for University Students: Some Consistent Findings

This study is an empirical investigation of how 184 college students have obtained their knowledge of sexual matters and whether pornography functioned as an important educational source. Findings are contrasted with those of three other empirical studies. Present findings, much like the others, appear to indicate that pornography does not play an important role in the dissemination of sexual information; peers appear to be the primary source of information. However, there are certain statistically significant differences between the sexes when reporting the extent of sexual information gleaned from pornography.
Gender and Circadian Effects of Myocardial Infarctions

This study determines if there are differences in circadian effects of myocardial infarctions (MIs) and MI type, non-ST elevation MI (NSTEMI) and ST elevation MI (STEMI), between females and males. A two-group, nonexperimental chart review was conducted. A total of 273 randomly selected patients with an acute MI were included. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, t test and chi square to determine differences between the groups. Of the 109 females, 26% had MI symptoms begin at night, 30% in the morning, 29% in the afternoon, and 15% in the evening (p = .067). In comparison, of the 164 males, 27% had MIs at night, 30% morning, 32% afternoon, and 11% evening (p < .001). There was no circadian difference between females and males and the time of day MI-related symptoms began (p = .887) or a MItype circadian effect (p = 0.466). The majority of patients had MIs during the daytime hours.
Awareness and Attitudes Regarding Prenatal Testing among Texas Women of Childbearing Age

Despite increased visibility and availability of prenatal testing procedures, very little is known about the attitudes among the populace toward these procedures. Using a computer assisted telephone interview of pregnant and non-pregnant women of childbearing age we analyze awareness and attitudes regarding prenatal tests among a diverse group of women of childbearing age in Texas. We also examine maternal characteristics associated with awareness and the willingness to undergo these procedures. While 89% were aware that such tests are available, younger, black and less educated women were less likely to know about prenatal tests for birth defects. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they would want their baby tested while Hispanic and black women were significantly more likely to express an interest than non-Hispanic whites. This study demonstrates the variability of knowledge and beliefs and confirms the importance of taking time to understand an individual’s personal beliefs, knowledge and attitudes about prenatal diagnosis.
Complete vacuum-assisted sternal closure following neonatal cardiac surgery

Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) has been used with success in the management of adults and children with sternal infections. However, this technique has not been applied previously to neonates requiring delayed sternal closure as the sole modality of therapy. In this article, we describe the management of two newborns with hypoplastic left heart syndrome in whom complete sternal wound healing was accomplished solely by using the VAC system. The implications of this new modality of treatment are discussed.
Primary angiosarcoma of the testis: report of a rare entity and review of the literature

Primary testicular angiosarcomas are extremely rare, and their clinicopathologic features are not well described. Our objective was to further define the clinical features and pathologic spectra of primary testicular angiosarcomas. Six previously reported case reports were identified in the English language medical literature using MEDLINE and a subsequent bibliographic search of all pertinent reports and reviews was performed. After excluding 2 cases because they did not involve the testis, we identified 4 previously reported cases of true primary testicular angiosarcoma. We also searched the electronic medical archival records of our institution and identified one additional unreported case of true primary testicular angiosarcomas. Data were extracted on the demographics, predisposing factors, clinical presentation, gross pathology, microscopic pathology, immunophenotype, therapy, and outcomes of each of these 5 cases of true primary testicular angiosarcomas. Primary testicular angiosarcomas were found at a mean age of 43.4 years. None of the cases was associated with exposure to radiation, arsenic, thorium dioxide, or vinyl chloride. However, 1 case was associated with hydrocele. It typically presented with painless mass (mean size, 6.3 cm). Histologically, all showed classic anastomosing channels lined by plump hyperchromatic cells, though most showed epithelioid cytology and some showed solid architectural pattern. One patient had multiple metastatic recurrences but eventual outcome was not available, and 1 patient died a month after diagnosis from stroke but no autopsy was performed. The remaining 3 patients were alive at the time of publication of their respective cases (mean, 17 months). Primary testicular angiosarcomas are typically rare tumors of men of all ages that appear to segregate into 2 groups; one associated with teratoma and occurring in young people, and the other occurring in the elderly and not associated with germ cell neoplasm, but may be associated with chronic hydrocele. They present with advanced disease and show a wide histologic spectrum. However, their prognosis may be better than previously thought.
Ultrafast Dynamics of Highly Excited Dirac Fermions in Few-Layer Graphene: Evidence for Three-Particle Auger Scattering

We present femtosecond differential reflectivity studies of few-layer graphene from weak to strong excitation regime. Temporal profiles of the differential reflectivity exhibit strong non-exponential decay. A nonlinear, cubic root dependence of their peak amplitudes on the pump fluence is clearly observed under relatively high intensity excitation, which indicates three-particle decay of transient carrier population via Auger scattering. Our results identify the critical role of such three-particle scattering in the initial electronic relaxation in photo-excited graphene with increasing phase-space filling of the correlated Dirac Fermions.
Forces and moments generated at the dental incisors during forceful biting in humans

A miniature load sensor capable of measuring all forces and all moments simultaneously at a single location in space was used to assess the magnitude and direction of loads that affect the dental incisors during forceful, static biting. While prior approaches have not measured all necessary six degrees of freedom during biting, the complete set of loads is needed to serve as realistic boundary conditions for analytical or computational models of mandibular mechanics. Four subjects were asked to perform controlled and repetitive edge-to-edge incisal biting activities. Customized devices were used to rigidly hold the load sensor in place at pre-specified tooth separations of less than 1 mm. The results yielded force resultants with a magnitude range of 24.5 to 28.4 N. This range was intentionally limited in magnitude to avoid damage to the internal strain gauge assembly of the sensor. In all cases, the highest force component was oriented upwards. An additional simultaneous moment resultant (range: 8.9-17.0 N cm) with a main moment component oriented backwards and downwards towards the oral cavity was also detected. These data suggest that in order for the biting loads to be composed of six DOF, the remaining forces acting on the mandibular force system (i.e. muscular and/or articular) may indeed be non-coplanar and non-concurrent. Although useful for static biting activities, the bulk of the sensor would probably preclude meaningful measurements during dynamic events such as chewing or swallowing.
Correctness Proof of a Geometric Constraint Solver

We present a correctness proof of a graph-directed variational geometric constraint solver. First, we prove that the graph reduction that establishes the sequence in which to apply the construction steps defines a terminating confluent reduction system, in the case of well-constrained graphs. For overconstrained problems there may not be a unique normal form. Underconstrained problems, on the other hand, do have a unique normal form. Second, we prove that all geometric solutions found using simple root-selection rules must place certain triples of elements in the same topological order, no matter which graph reduction sequence they are based on. Moreover, we prove that this implies that the geometric solutions derived by different reduction sequences must be congruent. Again, this result does not apply to overconstrained problems.
The Sintering of Supported Pd Automotive Catalysts

This work is directed at investigating the contribution of metal particle sintering to catalyst deactivation in close-coupled automotive catalysts that are aged at elevated temperatures. We focus on the evolution of metal particle sizes in Pd/Al2O3 under conditions typically used for accelerated aging of automotive exhaust catalysts (10 mol % H2O at 900 °C). By using multiple analytical techniques (transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, chemisorption, and CO oxidation) we can determine the role of support surface area collapse (encapsulation) versus metal particle sintering. The final dispersion (% metal atoms exposed) after sintering for 96 h ranged from 1.94 to 0.86 % for metal loadings ranging from 0.1 to 7.0 wt % (a 70-fold variation). Thus, it appears that metal loading (over the range studied) has only a limited effect on the final dispersion in the sintered catalyst. The sintering kinetics were found to obey a relationship dn−=kt for which the exponent n is approximately 2.0 and d is the number average particle diameter at time t. This relationship and the fact that metal particle size continues to grow with time are both consistent with Ostwald ripening as the dominant mechanism. Furthermore, no limiting (equilibrium) particle size was achieved within the sintering times studied here (up to 200 h). These results have important implications for the design of thermally stable automotive catalysts.
Sparsely hubbed light-trail grooming networks

Recently, a new architecture called light-trails has been proposed that provides a novel control and management solution to address IP-centric issues at the optical layer. By inclusion of simple hardware that performs drop and continue functionality, overlaid with a light-weight control protocol, light-trails enable efficient sharing of network resources, improve bandwidth utilization and minimize network costs. Due to power budget constraints in such networks, it may not always be possible to have end to end communication in pure optical domain and requests may be required to traverse multiple intermediate transit points called hub nodes before reaching the final destination. The hub nodes need to be equipped with special hardware for switching and grooming connections. We investigate the problem of designing networks where such hubs are sparsely located. We show through our simulation results that by carefully designing heuristics for hub node placement and trail routing, it is possible to achieve high throughput with minimal number of hub nodes.
Molecular Weight Cut-off of Ultrafiltration Membranes and the Quality and Stability of Apple Juice

The quality and stability of apple juice clarified using 10,000 (10K), 50K, 100K, and 500K daltons molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) hollow fiber membranes were examined . Ultrafiltered juice was tested for initial stability, starch presence, pH, total acidity, total solids, soluble solids, turbidity, browning, Hunter color, total phenols, and sensory attributes. Turbidity, browning, total phenols, and sensory color were different depending upon the MWCO used. Samples were stored at 18°C and 43°C for 6 months and evaluated monthly. At 18°C, there were no significant changes but initial differences due to membranes remained. At 43°C, the increase in turbidity, browning, and chroma, as well as the decrease in lightness and hue with time, were significant. Reaction rates were all the same independent of the MWCO except for chroma.
Design and experimental implementation of an electromagnetic engine valve drive

In conventional internal combustion engines, engine valve displacements are fixed relative to crankshaft position. If these valves were actuated as a variable function of crankshaft angle, significant improvements in fuel economy could be achieved. To this end, a new type of electromagnetic valve drive system (EMVD) for internal combustion engines was more recently proposed. This EMVD incorporates a disk cam with a very desirable nonlinear profile which that functions as a nonlinear mechanical transformer. Modeling and simulation results showed significant advantages of this EMVD over previously designed electromagnetic engine valve drives. In this articles, we describe an experimental implementation of the proposed EMVD, which was developed to confirm these benefits. The EMVD apparatus was designed, constructed, and integrated into a computer-controlled experimental test stand. The experimental results confirm the benefits of using a nonlinear mechanical transformer in a motordriven engine-valve spring system, as seen in the small average power consumption and low valve seating velocity. In addition, a valve transition time sufficient for 6000-rpm engine operation was achieved. The results also suggest ways to improve the EMVD apparatus in the future.
The feasibility of magnetic recording at 1 Terabit per square inch

This paper explores the feasibility of implementing conventional magnetic recording technology at densities up to one Terabit per square inch. The key limiting physical factor is the superparamagnetic effect (thermal stability) in the recording medium. Ambient thermal energy can cause the magnetic signals to decay. The requirement for thermal stability over periods of years dictates a lower limit to the size of magnetic grains (switching units) in the recording medium. To achieve the highest areal densities, it will be necessary to use a magnetic recording configuration capable of writing and storing data on very small magnetic grains together with a signal processing system capable of recovering data reliably when each bit is recorded on very few such grains. In addition to these physical effects, there are a number of practical engineering factors that must be considered: tolerances on the head geometry, reliability of head-disk interface, track-following accuracy. In an example system, we use a perpendicular recording configuration since it appears to offer some advantage in terms of maximizing the number of stable magnetic grains per unit area. The readback signals are processed by equalization to a simple binary eye followed by soft detection of a low-rate simple parity check code. The example system approaches a density of 1 Terabit per square inch and allows 3 dB of margin against thermal decay, adjacent track interference, etc.
Successful xenotransplantation of human lung cancer correlates with the metastatic phenotype

Background. Occult micrometastases could explain deaths from stage I non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after complete resections. If patients who have occult metastases could be identified, systemic therapy might be beneficial. Methods. Non—small cell lung cancers from 81 patients in stages I, II, and III were transplanted to nude beige mice. Mean follow-up was 22.5 months (2 to 61 months). Results. Twenty-one xenotransplants successfully took, and seven metastasized in the nude mice. Neither the predominant cell type nor the incidence of lymph node metastases correlated with the results of xenotransplantation. Of the 21 patients whose NSCLCs took in xenotransplantation, 13 (61.9%) have had development of metastases, and 9 (42.9%) have died of the cancer. Among the 57 patients whose NSCLCs did not take, 14 (24.6%) have had development of metastases, and 9 (15.8%) have died of their cancer. The higher incidence of metastases in association with xenotransplant take is significant ( p = 0.0032). Conclusions. Patients whose NSCLCs take in xenotransplantation are at high risk for metastases. The xenotransplantation model is a step toward facilitating precise cellular biologic definition of the metastatic propensity of human NSCLC.
Wage differentials and the spatial concentration of high-technology industries*

Moretti (2004) finds that the distribution of human capital across cities in the United States became more unequal during the 1990s. He believes that one reason for the increased concentration of human capital in some metropolitan areas was the high-tech boom of that decade, since it benefited a handful of already highly skilled cities. This trend reflects the decisions of skilled workers and the skill-intensive industries that employed them to colocate in the same cities or regions (high-tech clusters). Zucker et al. (1998), for instance, find that the entry decisions of new biotechnology firms in cities depends on the stock of human capital in outstanding scientists there, as measured by the number of relevant academic publications. Colocation benefits workers (who enjoy the productivity-enhancing effects associated with local learning processes) as well as high-tech firms (which profit from highly productive and creative workers who enhance the firms’ innovation processes). The primary cooperative linkages in high-technology clusters are those related to knowledge exchange. As Fingleton et al. (2004) note, sharing knowledge is the key to the generation and maintenance of innovation flows that are particularly relevant in these clusters. A strong evidence of the learning networks-innovation relationship comes from studies showing that patents (a proxy for innovations) are more likely to emerge from the same states or metropolitan areas as the cited patents than one would expect based in the preexisting concentration of related research activity (Jaffe et al. 1993).
Identification of a cone bipolar cell in cat retina which has input from both rod and cone photoreceptors

It has been generally accepted that rod photoreceptor cells in the mammalian retina make synaptic contact with only a single population of rod bipolar cells, whereas cone photoreceptors contact a variety of cone bipolar cells. This assumption has been challenged in rodents by reports of a type of cone bipolar cell which receives input from both rods and cones. Questions remained as to whether similar pathways are present in other mammals. We have used an antiserum against the glutamate transporter GLT1-B to visualize a population of cone bipolar cells in the cat retina which make flat contacts with axon terminals of both rod and cone photoreceptor cells. These cells are identified as OFF-cone bipolar cells and correspond morphologically to type cb1 (CBa2) cone bipolar cells which are a major source of input to OFF-beta ganglion cells in the cat retina. The GLT1-B transporter was also localized to processes making flat contacts with photoreceptor terminals in rat and rabbit retinas. Examination of tissue processed for the GluR1 glutamate receptor subunit showed that cb1 cone bipolar cells, like their rodent counterparts, express this α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)-selective receptor at their contacts with rod spherules. Thus, a direct excitatory pathway from rod photoreceptors to OFF-cone bipolar cells appears to be a common feature of mammalian retinas. J. Comp. Neurol. 464:104–113, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The NIST data science initiative

We examine foundational issues in data science including current challenges, basic research questions, and expected advances, as the basis for a new Data Science Initiative and evaluation series, introduced by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the fall of 2015. The evaluations will facilitate research efforts, collaboration, leverage shared infrastructure, and effectively address cross-cutting challenges faced by diverse data science communities. The evaluations will have multiple research tracks championed by members of the data science community, and will enable rigorous comparison of approaches through common tasks, datasets, metrics, and shared research challenges. The tracks will measure several different data science technologies in a wide range of fields, starting with a pre-pilot. In addition to developing data science evaluation methods and metrics, it will address computing infrastructure, standards for an interoperability framework, and domain-specific examples.
24 A Developmental Approach to Understanding the Substance Use-Crime Connection

Developmental criminology examines within-individual changes in deviant behavior. In this chapter, I examine within-individual changes in substance use in relation to within-individual changes in criminal offending. I focus primarily on sequences and trajectories. First, I show how substance use and offending generally develop in an orderly progression from less serious to more serious forms and then I show where use of alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs fits within the sequencing of criminal activity. Next, I examine the developmental associations between substance use and offending covering studies of contemporaneous and cross-lagged associations and of developmental trajectories. Overall, this research points to a reciprocal relationship and indicates that the strength of this relationship depends on the specific behaviors and age periods studied. I also briefly discuss the role of alcohol and drugs in the desistance of offending, showing that substance use contributes to the maintenance of offending and hinders normative desistance. More research is needed to understand the mechanisms that account for this hindrance as well as the individual and contextual factors that influence the degree of association between substance and offending.
Intervening Wrongdoing in Tort: The Restatement (Third)’s Unfortunate Embrace of Negligent Enabling

Judges have long struggled to articulate rules and principles governing the responsibility in tort of a remote actor whose wrong consists of setting the stage for a second wrongdoer who inflicts injury on a victim. The problem is found in a wide variety of scenarios ranging from drivers who leave keys in cars that are stolen, to social hosts whose intoxicated guests drive home, to gun manufacturers who market in ways that arguably render their guns more available for criminal misuse. Building on Robert Rabin’s idea of “enabling torts,” the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm adopts an aggressive strategy for dealing with this problem: it denies that there really is a problem. Claims against remote actors, it says, require no different treatment than claims against those who cause injury without intervening wrongdoing. In this contribution to a symposium on the Restatement’s Physical and Emotional Harm provisions, we demonstrate that the Reporters’ proposed approach runs afoul of numerous well-established doctrines that limit remote-actor liability while unjustifiably glossing over the actual grounds on which courts allow for the imposition of liability on remote actors. We then lay out an alternative framework for assessing remote actor liability that is truer to doctrine, more workable for judges, and more in keeping with the nature of tort as a law of wrongs and recourse.
Tunable Exciton Funnel Using Moiré Superlattice in Twisted van der Waals Bilayer

A spatially varying bandgap drives exciton motion and can be used to funnel energy within a solid (Nat. Photonics 2012, 6, 866−872). This bandgap modulation can be created by composition variation (traditional heterojunction), elastic strain, or in the work shown next, by a small twist between two identical semiconducting atomic sheets, creating an internal stacking translation u(r) that varies gently with position r and controls the local bandgap Eg(u(r)). Recently synthesized carbon/boron nitride (Nat. Nanotechnol. 2013, 8, 119) and phosphorene (Nat. Nanotechnol. 2014, 9, 372) may be used to construct this twisted semiconductor bilayer that may be regarded as an in-plane crystal but an out-of-plane molecule, which could be useful in solar energy harvesting and electroluminescence. Here, by first-principles methods, we compute the bandgap map and delineate its material and geometric sensitivities. Eg(u(r)) is predicted to have multiple local minima (“funnel centers”) due to secondary or even tertiary per...
Mammary Tumor Induction by Estrogen or Anterior Pituitary Hormones in Ovariectomized Rats Given 7, 12-Dimethyl-l, 2-Benzanthracene.

SummaryThe effects of estrogen, or pro-lactin and STH, on mammary tumor induction by a single feeding of 20 mg of 7, 12-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene (DMBA) in ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rat was investigated. After DMBA administration, mammary tumor incidence in sham-operated controls was 100%. In ovariectomized rats, DMBA failed to induce any mammary tumors by the end of 40 weeks. However, daily treatment with 1 or 10 μg estradiol, for 7 days before and after (total 14 days) DMBA administration, induced mammary tumors in 33 and 23% of rats, respectively. Similar treatment with 1 mg STH and 1 mg prolactin, twice daily for 14 days, elicited mammary tumors in 44% of the rats, while continuous daily treatment with increasing amounts of prolactin and STH for 75 days, resulted in a 66% incidence of mammary tumors. The average number of tumors per tumor-bearing rat was lower and mean tumor latency was longer in the ovariectomized rats given estrogen or STH and prolactin than in sham-operated controls. All tumo...
Septic arthritis and calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease in the setting of chronic gout

Septic arthritis is a medical and surgical emergency that if left untreated may lead to permanent joint disfigurement and loss of function. In the setting of chronic joint disease, the diagnosis, based on history and physical examination, may be difficult. A case is reported of a patient with a history of aspirate-proven gout presenting with symptoms of typical gouty exacerbation but diagnosed as septic arthritis and pseudogout.
Levels of steroid and protein hormones in antral fluids of women treated with different combinations of gonadotropins, clomiphene citrate, and a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog

Levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol, progesterone (P), and total protein in follicular fluids collected from 18 patients pretreated with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRHa), in association with human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) and FSH, were compared with values for 69 patients treated with FSH, hMG, FSH/hMG, or clomiphene citrate (CC)/hMG in an in vitro fertilization (IVF) program. The authors have established a number of significant differences in chemical and physical properties of follicular fluids of patients treated by different regimen, and concur with earlier evidence that the volume of a follicle, and its P and total protein content, are related to the maturity of the oocyte nested within the follicle. Overall, however, differences in concentrations of gonadotropins in follicular fluids between groups were not consistent with differences in follicular fluid steroid levels, and levels of immunoactive gonadotropins in follicular fluids were not in accord with dosages of exogenous immunoactive gonadotropin administered during hyperstimulation. The most favorable outcomes of IVF (>70% of oocytes fertilized) were established with oocytes collected from patients treated with FSH only or with CC/hMG, and patients treated with FSH only yielded the highest average number of oocytes which fertilized in vitro (6.2 per patient).
High-frequency ventilation: issues of strategy.

Several commercial models of high-frequency ventilators are becoming available for use in the treatment of neonatal pulmonary disorders. The strategy used in applying this technology to specific disease treatment is probably more important than the type of device in achieving optimal results. Current data support the efficacy of early lung volume recruitment in preventing pulmonary injury with high-frequency ventilation and in using minimal supportive airway pressures in treating pulmonary injury. Whether optimal lung inflation can be equally achieved by a high constant mean airway pressure approach or by the use of a series of sustained inflations is not yet clear. Both experimental and clinical data suggest that high-frequency ventilation will contribute to reducing neonatal pulmonary morbidity.
Inclusion in museums: a matter of social justice

ABSTRACTCalls for greater inclusion in US museums have recently become hard to ignore. The intersection of inclusion and museums, however, has longer roots and has primarily been understood as a means for museums to ensure and increase public access to their activities and services. Despite the field’s long-standing attention to inclusion, visitor and employee demographic studies do not indicate that US museums’ publicness significantly extends beyond a privileged subset of the population. In this paper, I argue that inclusion in museums is a matter of social justice. Using Nancy Fraser’s two-dimensional theory of social justice, I argue that inclusion efforts in museums have thus far been unsuccessful because there has been (1) insufficient attention to demands of recognition and (2) insufficient coordination of redistribution and recognition endeavours. Developing a proper appreciation of the justice-structured aspect of inclusion is more likely to produce the results to which many museum professionals ...
Tree species and soil nutrients drive tropical reforestation more than associations with mycorrhizal fungi

The relative benefits that mycorrhizal fungi confer to host plants and reforestation efforts may differ due to the host tree species and soil nutrient status. Our research objective was to examine the effects of mycorrhizal fungi, host tree species, and soil nutrient availability on nutrient acquisition in tropical reforestation. Four tree species (Pinus caribaea, Quercus insignis, Swietenia macrophylla, and Terminalia amazonia) were planted across eight sites and subjected to five nutrient treatments in southern Costa Rica. After two years, there were strong growth differences based upon tree species but not mycorrhizal fungi. Site variation, specifically base cation availability, and nutrient treatments also influenced tree growth and tissue nutrient concentrations. In a complementary greenhouse experiment isolating fungal from tree species effects, the ratio of nutrients in treatments was more important to tree growth responses to fungal symbionts than individual nutrients. These results show that soil nutrient availability may be more important to tree species’ nutrient acquisition than mycorrhizal fungi. This study highlights the importance of tree species selection and replication across sites with different soil nutrient ratios in order to make management recommendations for reforestation success.
SIMULTANEOUS LINEAR EQUATIONS

This chapter focuses on simultaneous linear equations. A system of simultaneous linear equations is consistent if it possesses at least one solution. If no solution exists, then the system is inconsistent. A system is homogeneous if the zero vector equals to zero. However, if at least one component differs from zero, then the system is nonhomogeneous. The chapter also presents the method of substitution for obtaining solutions. The method of substitution is not an efficient way to solve simultaneous equations and it does not lend itself well to electronic computing. Computers have difficulty symbolically manipulating the unknowns in algebraic equations. Another important method for solving simultaneous linear equations is Gaussian elimination. In this method, the augmented matrix for the system is created and then, it is transformed into a row-reduced matrix using elementary row operations. This is often accomplished by using operation with each diagonal element in a matrix to create zeros in all columns directly below it, beginning with the first column and moving successively through the matrix, column by column. The system of equations associated with a row-reduced matrix can be solved by back-substitution. An elementary row operation does not alter the column rank of a matrix.
Neoadjuvant Therapy for Resectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

For the subset of patients with pancreatic cancer who have been deemed to have resectable disease at the time of diagnosis, complete surgical resection offers the only chance of long-term cure. More recently, the addition of adjuvant therapy has been shown to offer a survival advantage over those patients who undergo resection alone, and multimodality therapy represents the widely accepted treatment paradigm. Neoadjuvant therapy in the setting of a multimodality approach to treating resectable pancreatic head adenocarcinoma may allow for: (1) early treatment of occult micometastatic disease and testing of the biology of the tumor to minimize the risk of unnecessary surgical resection in patients who would not benefit from surgery, (2) increasing the rate of margin negative resections, (3) increasing the likelihood of completing adjuvant therapy, and (4) possibly reducing surgical morbidity.
Obligations to Artworks as Duties of Love

It is uncontroversial that our engagement with artworks is constrained by obligations; most commonly, these consist in obligations to other persons, such as artists, audiences, and owners of artworks. A more controversial claim is that we have genuine obligations to artworks themselves. I defend a qualified version of this claim. However, I argue that such obligations do not derive from the supposed moral rights of artworks – for no such rights exist. Rather, I argue that these obligations are instances of duties of love: obligations that one incurs in virtue of loving some object, be it a person or, in this case, an artwork.
An EEG artifact detection and removal technique for embedded processors

Neurophysiological signals such as Electroencephalogram (EEG) can be used in a variety of purposes including detecting fatigue, stress, brain disorders, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), or building better models of human variability and human brain. However, EEG signal is frequently defiled with other electrical sources not related to brain activity. These artifacts may emerge from external sources such as eye blinks, muscle & head movement, and power lines. Existing techniques for removing artifacts such as independent component analysis (ICA) are highly computationally intensive and need to process data offline due in large part to the highly volatile, non-stationary nature of the brain signals, especially in natural, noise-ridden environments.