cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Survival and quality of life at least 1 year after pneumonectomy

Objective Quality of life after pulmonary resection is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation between patients and surgeons. Pneumonectomy is often called a disease . The objective of this study was to assess the physical and mental aspects of patients' quality of life at least 1 year after pneumonectomy. Methods Quality of life was ascertained using the Short Form-12 (SF-12) survey on a consecutive series of patients who were at least 1 year postoperative from a pneumonectomy. Both the physical and mental component scores of the quality-of-life survey were obtained and compared. Results There were 152 patients who underwent pneumonectomy between January 1997 and December 2010 by the same surgeon (104 for non–small cell lung cancer); 111 patients met the eligibility criteria. Mean survival was 3.4 years and the overall 5-year Kaplan-Meier survival was 38%. Responses to the quality-of-life survey were obtained in 108 of 111 patients (98%) who were at least 1 year postoperative. The overall quality-of-life score was comparable with that of the healthy population and patients with chronic diseases. The mean physical component score was significantly lower than that of the healthy population score ( P = .04); the mental quality-of-life score was higher than those for patients with certain chronic diseases such as liver or kidney disease ( P = .05). After multivariate analysis, only age remained a significant predictor of the physical component score. Conclusions Pneumonectomy is tolerated in carefully selected patients. The physical quality-of-life score 1 year after resection is significantly lower than the average population, yet the mental score in these patients is higher. Future studies on quality of life should be considered for all medical therapies, and stratification of the mental score from the physical score should be reported.
Paediatric rheumatic disease: lessons from SLE: children are not little adults.

Paediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has higher morbidity and mortality than adult-onset SLE. Interestingly, a new paper reinforces these differences between adult and childhood disease, but reasons for the more severe phenotype in children are varied and poorly understood.
Communication-optimal parallel parenthesis matching

We provide the first non-trivial lower bound, p-3p.np, where p is the number of the processors and n is the data size, on the average-case communication volume, @s, required to solve the parenthesis matching problem, assuming problem instances are uniformly distributed, and present a parallel algorithm that takes linear (optimal) computation time and optimal expected message volume, @s+p. The kernel of the algorithm is to solve the all nearest smaller values problem. Provided np=@W(p), we present an algorithm that achieves optimal sequential computation time and uses only a constant number of communication phases, with the message volume in each phase bounded above by (np+p) in the worst case and p in the average case. Experiments have been performed on two clusters: an SGI Intel Linux Cluster and a Sun cluster of workstations, both showing low communication overhead and good speedups.
Abstract 3552: Mirk kinase mediates cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancers

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC Epithelial carcinoma of the ovary is the fifth most frequent cause of cancer death in women, and the second most frequent gynecological malignancy. Cisplatin based regimens are the standard of care, but efficacy is limited by drug resistance. Cisplatin treatment increased intracellular levels of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) in each of four ovarian cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, while concomitantly reducing cell numbers, which suggested that further increasing ROS levels might increase cisplatin toxicity. The serine/threonine kinase Mirk/dyrk1B is known to increase the expression of a cohort of antioxidant genes in various cells. Targeting Mirk expression by RNA interference also increased ROS levels in these ovarian cancer cell lines while decreasing levels of ferroxidase (ceruloplamin) which prevents the generation of hydroxyl radicals. A combination of Mirk depletion and cisplatin treatment enabled low levels of drug to increase ROS to toxic levels in both SKOV3 cells and TOV21G cells. Increased tumor cell death by the combination treatment was confirmed by loss of viable cells capable of dye exclusion, a decrease in cell number, and an increase in pro-apoptotic proteins. Mirk has a second function in ovarian cancer cells, to maintain cells in quiescent state where they are less vulnerable to chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation. The majority of ovarian cancer cells in human tumors are not cycling as shown by lack of Ki67 expression. Some of these cells may be in a reversible quiescent state where they can contribute to cancer spread under favorable growth conditions. Depletion of Mirk in SKOV3 cells enabled them to escape quiescence. Studies using cisplatin revealed a Mirk-dependent G0/G1 checkpoint in SKOV3 and other p53 mutant ovarian cancer cells. The Mirk gene is on the 19q13 amplicon which is found in about one-third of all ovarian cancers. The Mirk gene was amplified in the OVCAR3 cell line where it mediated both quiescence and increased expression of antioxidant genes which decreased cellular ROS levels. Mirk protein was expressed in 21 of 28 resected human ovarian cancers as shown by immunohistochemical analysis, and was detected in each of 7 ovarian cancer cell lines, where it was an active kinase. Mirk is not an essential gene for either murine embryogenesis or the viability of human diploid fibroblasts. Targeting Mirk in ovarian cancers may sensitize these tumors to lower levels of cisplatin, both by increasing ROS levels and by releasing tumor cells from quiescence. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3552.
Web server for priority ordered multimedia services

In this work, our aim is to provide finer priority levels in the design of a general-purpose Web multimedia server with provisions of the CM services. The type of services provided include reading/writing a web page, downloading/uploading an audio/video stream, navigating the Web through browsing, and interactive video teleconferencing. The selected priority encoding levels for such operations follow the order of admin read/write, hot page CM and Web multicasting, CM read, Web read, CM write and Web write. Hot pages are the most requested CM streams (e.g., the newest movies, video clips, and HDTV channels) and Web pages (e.g., portal pages of the commercial Internet search engines). Maintaining a list of these hot Web pages and CM streams in a content addressable buffer enables a server to multicast hot streams with lower latency and higher system throughput. Cold Web pages and CM streams are treated as regular Web and CM requests. Interactive CM operations such as pause (P), resume (R), fast-forward (FF), and rewind (RW) have to be executed without allocation of extra resources. The proposed multimedia server model is a part of the distributed network with load balancing schedulers. The SM is connected to an integrated disk scheduler (IDS), which supervises an allocated disk manager. The IDS follows the same priority handling as the SM, and implements a SCAN disk-scheduling method for an improved disk access and a higher throughput. Different disks are used for the Web and CM services in order to meet the QoS requirements of CM services. The IDS ouput is forwarded to an Integrated Transmission Scheduler (ITS). The ITS creates a priority ordered buffering of the retrieved Web pages and CM data streams that are fed into an auto regressive moving average (ARMA) based traffic shaping circuitry before being transmitted through the network.
Influence of the microstructure of Pt/Si substrates on textured growth of barium titanate thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Pt-coated silicon substrates with strong (111) Pt texture were annealed in an oxidizing atmosphere at temperatures from 500 °C to 750 °C. BaTiO3 thin films were deposited by pulsed laser ablation on the substrates. Observation by transmission electron microscopy showed that the substrate anneal caused the formation of TiO2 in the Pt layer, accompanied by the formation of a high density of faceted protrusions on the Pt surface, particularly at the higher anneal temperatures. The Pt protrusions had (111) facets, parallel to the substrate surface, on which (100)-oriented BaTiO3 grains were observed. BaTiO3 grains with an epitaxial relationship to the Pt lattice were observed on inclined facets of the Pt protrusions [which were not (111) planes], and also on the nonplanar regions of the Pt surface. These epitaxial BaTiO3 grains had (111) preferred orientation relative to the substrate surface. Thus, the BaTiO3 films displayed bimodal growth behavior, with both (100) texture and (111) epitaxy. We propose a model for this behavior based on surface energy considerations.
Increased expression of interferon‐inducible protein‐10 during surgically induced peritoneal injury

Interferon-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) is a key regulator of neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes, cells infiltration whose secretory products play a key role in peritoneal wound healing. The objective of the present study was to determine whether IP-10 is expressed by parietal peritoneum and whether its temporal and spatial expression is altered following surgically induced peritoneal injury during healing. Peritoneal sidewall injuries were induced in mice (N = 60), and the severity of adhesions were graded at 12 hours and 1, 2, 4, and 7 days postsurgery. After collection of peritoneal washes, the injured peritoneum with associated adhesion and intact parietal peritoneum were collected to determine IP-10 mRNA and protein expression using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunohistochemistry. Peritoneal injury resulted in adhesion formation with increased severity by day 7 postsurgery. The intact parietal peritoneum expressed IP-10 mRNA, whose level of expression significantly increased following peritoneal injury and reached a maximum at day 4 (p = 0.001), declining to the uninjured control levels by day 7 post-injury. The level of IP-10 in peritoneal washes also increased as a result of peritoneal injury. Immunohistochemically, IP-10 was localized to various inflammatory and immune cells, adhesion fibroblasts, and mesothelial cells, and its intensity increased during the course of wound healing. In conclusion, we showed that parietal peritoneum expresses IP-10 and peritoneal tissue injury results in an elevated level of its expression throughout the early phase of wound healing. The results suggest that IP-10 and its elevated expression may play a role in peritoneal cellular activities that influence the early phases of tissue repair and, possibly, the development of peritoneal adhesions.
Exact Analysis of Means With Unequal Variances

The analysis of means (ANOM) is a technique for comparing a group of treatment means to see if any one of them differs significantly from the overall mean. It can be viewed as an alternative to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) for analyzing fixed main effects in a designed experiment. The ANOM has the advantages that it identifies any treatment means that differ from the overall mean (something the ANOVA does not do), and enables a graphical display that aids in assessing practical significance. Sample size tables and power curves have previously been developed for detecting differences among I treatments when two of them differ by at least a specified multiple of the common population standard deviation. Here, we consider the heteroscedastic situation where the different processes or populations from which the samples are drawn do not necessarily have equal standard deviations. In addition, we provide power curves that enable an experimenter to design a study for detecting differences among I treatment m...
Structure of the Leptomonas seymouri trans-spliceosomal U2 snRNA-encoding gene; potential U2-U6 snRNA interactions conform to the cis-splicing counterpart.

Abstract We have characterized the U2 small nuclear RNA (snRNA)-encoding gene from the monogenetic trypanosomatid, Leptomonas seymouri (Ls) , to begin to identify the RNA-RNA interactions that direct trans -splicing in kinetoplastid protozoa. The U2 gene, which is single copy in this organism, was isolated and sequenced. Although the Ls U2 snRNA contains many of the sequence and secondary structure elements that are conserved among the U2 snRNAs of cis -splicing organisms, it lacks the stem-loop III region and the intron branch point-recognition region, as do other trypanosomatid U2 snRNAs. A transcriptional promoter element within the Trypanosoma brucei U2 gene [Fantoni et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 14 (1994) 2021–2028] is conserved in the homologous Ls gene. A crucial step in cis -splicing reactions involves specific base-pairing interactions between the U2 and U6 snRNAs. We show here that in trypanosomatids, where no cis -splicing occurs, these same interactions are possible. This highlights key similarities between the two RNA processing events.
Plastic dowel and core systems

Nonprecision and precision (both tapered and parallel) plastic dowels are available to aid the dentist in forming dowel and core patterns for cast dowel and core restorations.
Querying text databases and the web: beyond traditional keyword search

Traditional keyword search---where a query is a list of keywords and query results are a relevance-ordered list of documents---is, of course, a powerful query paradigm for text databases and the Web. However, more expressive query paradigms, where both queries and their results can exhibit a richer structure than in traditional keyword search, are often desirable. Information extraction systems identify and extract intrinsically structured data that is embedded in natural-language text documents, hence enabling these alternative query paradigms. Unfortunately, information extraction is a time-consuming process, often involving complex text analysis, so exhaustively processing all documents in a large text database --or on the Web-- could be prohibitively expensive. Beyond efficiency, query result quality is also important: information extraction is error-prone and not all extracted data is equally likely to be correct, so result quality is an important consideration during query processing. In this talk, I will discuss recent work on cost-based optimization of structured queries in this information extraction scenario, where modeling query result quality--in addition to execution efficiency-- is a distinctive and important challenge.
Theory of a Two-Dimensional Ising Model with Random Impurities. IV. Generalizations

In the first paper of this series, we located ${T}_{c}$ for an arbitrary distribution of impurity bonds $P({E}_{2})$ and, for a particular $P({E}_{2})$ with a narrow width, we found that the specific heat fails to be analytic at ${T}_{c}$, although it is infinitely differentiable there. In this paper, we generalize this conclusion to an arbitrary distribution $P({E}_{2})$.
Continuity and Discontinuity in the Historical Development of Modern Psychopharmacology

In the middle of the twentieth century psychiatry underwent a transition that is often referred to as the “psychopharmacology revolution.” Implicit in the term revolution is the idea that a paradigm shift occurred. Specifically, it has been argued that psychiatry abandoned the psychoanalytic paradigm in favor of a qualitatively distinct conceptual system based on brain chemistry. The validity of this view requires that psychoanalysis had the status of a paradigm. This paper presents evidence that psychoanalysis did not constitute a paradigm and that the advent of psychopharmacology was not, technically, a scientific revolution. Instead, the rise of modern psychopharmacology was the culmination of a linear growth of biological knowledge that began to develop in the nineteenth century.
TouchMover 2.0 - 3D touchscreen with force feedback and haptic texture

This paper presents the design and development of a novel visio-haptic device that co-locates 3D stereo visualization, direct touch, texture and touch force sensing with a robotically actuated display. Our actuated immersive 3D display, called TouchMover 2.0, is capable of providing 1D movement (up to 36cm), haptic screen force feedback (up to 230N) in a single dimension perpendicular to the screen plane, and has an additional capability to render haptic texture cues via vibrotactile actuators attached to the touchscreen. We describe the details of our design and improvements. We showcase how TouchMover 2.0 allows the user to: touch and feel the 3D contour and 2D texture of a topographic map, to interact with 3D objects by pushing them on the screen with realistic force feedback and intuitively explore and feel pseudo tissue texture within volumetric data from medical imagery (e.g., MRI brain scan).
Ageing, monoamines, and monoamine-oxidase levels.

Abstract Monoamine oxidase (M.A.O.), noradrenaline (N.A.), serotonin (5-H.T.), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-H.I.A.A.) were measured in the hindbrains of 55 patients. Blood-platelet and plasma M.A.O. were also measured in 122 normal, control subjects. There was a marked increase in M.A.O. level with age in human brain, platelet, and plasma. Hindbrain-N.A. decreased significantly with age. N.A. correlated negatively and 5-H.I.A.A. positively with hindbrain M.A.O. levels. The relationships of age to M.A.O. activity and substrate levels reported in this study make it imperative that age effects be considered in studies of amine metabolism in mania, depression, and parkinsonism.
Regression Commonality Analysis: A Technique for Quantitative Theory Building

When it comes to multiple linear regression analysis (MLR), it is common for social and behavioral science researchers to rely predominately on beta weights when evaluating how predictors contribute to a regression model. Presenting an underutilized statistical technique, this article describes how organizational researchers can use commonality analysis to more completely interpret their regression effects and thereby inform theory. Using an empirical example from published literature, readers will see how regression commonality analysis can uncover important theoretical relationships that might be left undetected by only examining beta weights.
Hausdorff Dimension of Limit Sets for Spherical CR Manifolds

Abstract Let M 2 n +1 ( n ⩾1) be a compact, spherical CR manifold. Suppose M 2 n +1 is its universal cover and Φ : M 2 n +1 → S 2 n +1 is on injective CR developing map, where S 2 n +1 is the standard unit sphere in the complex ( n +1)-space C n +1 , then M 2 n +1 is of the quotient form Ω / Λ , where Ω is a simply connected open set in S 2 n +1 , and Λ is a complex Klein group acting on Ω properly discontinuously. In this paper, we show that if the CR Yamabe invariant of M 2 n +1 is positive, then the Carnot Hausdorff dimension of the limit set of Λ is bounded above by n · s ( M 2 n +1 ), where s ( M 2 n +1 )⩽1 and is a CR invariant. The method that we adopt is analysis of the CR invariant Laplacian. We also explain the geometric origin of this question.
Future of lab on a chip

Biological and medical applications of lab a on a chip is a timely topic that is active area of research worldwide. Biomedical Engineering Letters is well positioned to contribute to reporting important results in this area. The field is continually evolving as lab on chip technologies and associated fabrication methods mature and the focus of research turns more and more towards the applications. A recent example is the application of lab on a chip to tackle the problem of the capture and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). CTCs are rare cells (approximately 1 in a billion) that have the potential to improve patient diagnosis, monitoring and response to treatment. Another example is the application of lab on a chip the measurement of immune cell response which may lead to improved asthma diagnosis as well as improving our understanding of the mechanisms that regulated directed cell migration. The development of lab on a chip for global health and point of care diagnostics are other emerging application areas. Encouragingly, the focus of much current work has moved beyond technology development and demonstration and into clinical use. These are examples that provide appropriate matches between the problem and the technology. The ability of lab on a chip to control the microenvironment (e.g. create stable biochemical gradients) opens up new avenues of biological inquiry and the potential for more personalized diagnosis and treatment. Lab on a chip can enable “more with less” which will enable the use of small numbers of primary cells from biopsies for companion diagnostics. The forces dominant at the microscale provide unique capabilities that are now being applied in practical ways to address challenges in medicine and biology such as single cell analysis and biomolecular sensing. Such advances allow new lines of inquiry and discovery as well as higher resolution measurements. The future is bright at the interface between lab on a chip and biology/medicine. This issue contains many examples of progress towards increased understanding of biology and improved patient care. I look forward to BMEL’s continued leadership in bringing the latest updates in lab a chip to a broad audience. In closing, I am pleased to serve on the editorial board of Biomedical Engineering Letters and to have the opportunity to contribute this editorial to this issue that is focused on lab on a chip.
Variation in task complexity and adult age differences in frequency-of-occurrence judgments

Young adult and elderly subjects were contrasted in performance on a relative frequency judgment task under intentional and incidental instructions and with and without performance on an ancillary case-monitoring task. In agreement with earlier studies, null effects were found for instructional variation and for the Age by Instructions interaction. Frequency judgment scores were adversely affected by ancillary task performance. However, the adverse effect was no greater for the elderly subjects than for the young subjects, in agreement with the hypothesis that the encoding of frequency information is insensitive to age changes. Unlike earlier studies, the young subjects were superior overall to the elderly subjects in frequency judgment accuracy. The age difference was attributed to an age-sensitive effortful retrieval process that is operative even on relative frequency judgment tasks and is related to level of fluid intelligence.
On the Multiple Generation of Coupler-Curves

The existence of different linkages which generate identical coupler-curves is investigated. For a certain class of mechanisms, the skew pantograph is shown to be the basis for obtaining cognates. An analytical approach, applicable to linkages which generate algebraic curves, is discussed and applied to geared five-bars with gear ratio +1, +1/2, −1.
Queueing analysis of relational operators for continuous data streams

Currently, stream data processing is an active area of research, which includes everything from algorithms and architectures for stream processing to modelling, and analysis of various components of a stream processing system. In this paper, we present an analysis of relational operators used for stream processing using queueing theory and study behaviors of streaming data in a query processing system. Our approach enables us to compute the fundamental performance metrics of relational operators ---select, project, and join over data streams. Furthermore, this approach establishes a way to find the probability distribution functions of both the number of tuples and the waiting time of tuples in the system. Finally, we designed and implemented a number of experiments to validate the accuracy and effectiveness of our analysis.
Hydrogen peroxide generation by the alternate oxidase of higher plants

Abstract Mitochondria isolated from mung bean hypocotyls, possessing a significant level of cyanide and antimycin A — resistant respiration via an alternate pathway, were assayed for hydrogen peroxide production by yeast cytochrome c peroxidase compound II formation. Rates of antimycin A — insensitive hydrogen peroxide production of 0.7–3 nmol/mg/min were observed which were too low to account for the observed oxygen consumption via the alternate pathway. However, further investigations revealed the presence of significant levels of catalase, peroxidase and hydrogen donor to peroxidase, even in gradient purified mitochondria and these could easily utilize any hydrogen peroxide produced by the alternate pathway. Similar experiments performed upon submitochondrial particles demonstrated a rate of H2O2 production which could easily account for the net electron flux through the alternate pathway. From these results, we postulate that the alternate pathway reduces oxygen only partially to hydrogen peroxide, and that the peroxidase and catalase activities of the mitochondria prevent its accumulation.
Shear wave structure in the Grenville Province beneath the lower Great Lakes region from Rayleigh wave tomography

[1] We have constructed a high resolution 3-D shear wave velocity model of the upper mantle beneath the Grenville Province in the lower Great Lakes region. A two-plane wave tomography method was applied to fundamental mode Rayleigh wave data recorded at 35 broadband seismic stations. Rayleigh wave phase velocities were obtained at 15 periods from 20 s to 143 s and then inverted for shear wave velocity variation. A high velocity lid to ~150 km depth is imaged beneath most of the studied Grenville Province. One low velocity anomaly of −4% appears at a failed rift in the northeast above 100 km depth, coinciding with the Great Meteor hot spot track and the high seismicity band, which can be interpreted as high temperature and high iron and/or volatile content related to the hot spot activity. Low velocity anomaly of ~2% at the depths of 100–200 km are found beneath the east of Lake Ontario and Lake Huron where the lithosphere is relatively thin. These anomalies follow the NW-SE trend of the slow indentation imaged on the continental-scale models. We conclude that the location of low velocity anomalies is not only related to the hot spot track but also controlled by the pre-existing lithosphere morphology and strength. A high velocity column appears between southern Lake Ontario and the Appalachian front centered at ~100 km depth. It is likely caused by high Mg content at the formation of the lithosphere or the presence of ecologite or garnet phases generated during the opening and closure of the Iapetus Ocean.
Optimizing patient selection in ventral hernia repair with concurrent panniculectomy: An analysis of 1974 patients from the ACS-NSQIP datasets

Summary Background Panniculectomy (PAN) during ventral hernia repair (VHR) can be a challenging procedure associated with added risk. We utilized the ACS-NSQIP datasets to generate a risk model of morbidity following these combined interventions. Methods The 2005–2012 ACS-NSQIP databases were queried to identify all patients undergoing VHR-PAN. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess perioperative factors associated with surgical and medical morbidity. Internal validation was performed using bootstrap analysis and risk stratification was performed using weighted β-coefficients. Results 1974 patients underwent VHR-PAN with an average age of 53.6 ± 12.4 years and BMI of 36.4 ± 10.1 kg/m2. Surgical complications occurred in 23.8% of patients, whereas medical complications occurred in 11.5%. A multivariate logistic regression identified the presence of a renal comorbidity (OR = 1.62, P = 0.045), class II obesity (BMI = 34.9–40.0 kg/m2) (OR = 1.89, P P P = 0.003), smoking (OR = 1.41, P = 0.026), prolonged operative time (OR = 2.12, P = 0.001), and ASA physical status of ≥3 (OR = 1.69, P P = 0.003), contaminated or dirty/infected wounds (OR = 1.95, P P = 0.001), pulmonary comorbidity (OR = 2.08, P = 0.005), and component separation (OR = 2.65, P Conclusions We report a simple preoperative, internally-validated risk model of surgical and medical morbidity following VHR-PAN to guide patient selection. Level of evidence Prognostic/risk category, level II.
Mixture segregation within sonoluminescence bubbles

This paper concerns a relaxation of the assumption of uniform mixture composition in the interior of sonoluminescence bubbles. Intense temperature and pressure gradients within the bubble drive relative mass diffusion which overwhelms diffusion driven by concentration gradients. This thermal and pressure diffusion results in a robust compositional inhomogeneity in the bubble which lasts several orders of magnitude longer than the temperature peak or light pulse at the main collapse of the bubble. This effect has important consequences for control of sonoluminescence, gas dynamics, sonochemistry, and the physics of light production.
A host-parasite system for testing systemic insecticides.

A host-parasite system, in which large and uniform populations of lice, Polyplax serrata (Burmeister), are developed on laboratory mice, was evaluated as a method for testing systemic insecticides. Tests with ronnel demonstrated that the effectiveness of multiple doses of a systemic insecticide could be evaluated by using this mouse-louse system. Furthermore, other studies on dosages and toxicity in mice would be possible. This host-parasite system has the advantage of testing the chemical on an ectoparasite that is living in its natural microenvironment.
The relationship between problem solving and inhibitory control: Cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) performance on a reversed contingency task

To explore the relationship between problem solving and inhibitory control, the authors present 4 experiments on cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) using a reverse-reward contingency task. In Experiment 1, 1 group of tamarins was given a choice between a small and a large quantity of food. Whichever quantity the tamarins reached for first, they received the alternative. The tamarins consistently picked the larger quantity, thereby receiving the smaller. A 2nd group of tamarins was given the same task, except that if they reached for the larger quantity of food, they received nothing. The tamarins continued to pick the larger quantity, even though this resulted in no food. In addition, most of the tamarins continued to pick the larger quantity even when the food payoff for choosing the smaller quantity was increased (Experiment 2) or when the visual salience of the food was reduced (Experiment 3). Experiment 4 was based on the finding that chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) that have been trained on the concept of number can solve the reversed contingency task if the food is replaced by Arabic numerals. With the help of a color association, and a higher cost incurred by picking the color associated with 3 food items, the tamarins learned to pick the color associated with 1 food item. These results are compared with those obtained from studies of other primate species, highlighting the importance of comparative studies of problem solving that use comparable methods.
Antisense to epidermal growth factor receptor prevents the development of left ventricular hypertrophy.

We previously demonstrated that left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) induced by angiotensin II infusion requires epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation to mediate the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal–regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) pathway. To test whether the EGFR-mediated MAPK/ERK activation plays an important role in development and maintenance of LVH in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), we investigated the effects of antisense oligodeoxynucleotide to EGFR (EGFR-AS) on LVH and blood pressure in young and adult SHR. EGFR-AS, sense oligonucleotide to EGFR (EGFR-S; 1.5 mg/kg), or vehicle control (5% dextrose) with liposome was injected once a week for 2 months in 5- or 13-week-old SHR. The effect of EGFR-AS on the expression of EGFR and phosphorylated ERK in the heart were examined by Western blots. After treatment, EGFR-AS significantly ( P <0.05) decreased left ventricular weight/body weight and blood pressure in young SHR compared with EGFR-S or control-treated rats. In adult SHR, EGFR-AS did not affect left ventricular weight/body weight and blood pressure. EGFR and phosphorylated ERK significantly declined from 5 to 20 weeks ( P <0.05). EGFR-AS, but not EGFR-S, significantly ( P <0.05) decreased the expression of EGFR and phosphorylated ERK in young SHR, but had no significant effect in adult SHR. These results suggests that EGFR-mediated ERK activation is critically important for LVH in young SHR. This may be related to the high levels of EGFR and phosphorylated ERK in young SHR, suggesting a critical role of the EGFR-activated ERK pathway in cardiovascular development but not in the maintenance of established LVH in adult SHR.
Specificity and Regulation of Extracellularly Regulated Kinase1/2 Phosphorylation through Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF) Receptors 1 and 2β by the CRF/Urocortin Family of Peptides

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor (CRFR)-mediated activation of the ERKs 1/2-p42 and -44) has been reported for CRF, urocortin (Ucn)-I, and sauvagine. Recently two new members of the CRF/Ucn family of peptides have been identified, Ucn-II/stresscopin-related peptide and Ucn-III/stresscopin. Using Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing CRFR1 and CRFR2beta, we show that Ucn-I, Ucn-II and Ucn-III activate ERK1/2-p42, 44 via CRFR2beta. CRF and Ucn-I but not Ucn-II or Ucn-III activates ERK1/2-p42, 44 in Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing CRFR1. The selectivity of the ligands for CRFR1 and CRFR2beta is shown in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The regulatory mechanisms for ERK1/2-p42, 44 activation by both receptor types are dependent on phosphatidylinositol-3 OH kinase, MAPK kinase 1, and phospholipase C. Raf-1 kinase, tyrosine kinases, and possibly intracellular Ca(2+) provide regulatory roles for Ucn-I activation of ERK1/2-p42, 44 by CRFR1 and CRFR2beta. Studies of the regulation of ERK1/2-p42, 44 by Ucn-I were extended to cell lines that endogenously express CRFR1 (AtT-20 and CATHa cells) and CRFR2 (A7r5 and CATHa cells). Use of the G(i) and G(o) protein inhibitor pertussis toxin showed that ERK1/2-p42, 44 activation by Ucn-I via CRFR1 and CRFR2beta are both G(i) and/or G(o) protein dependent. Based on the data in this study, we present putative signaling pathways by which the CRF/Ucn family of peptides activate ERK1/2-p42, 44 by CRFRs.
Nine-coded compression technique for testing embedded cores in SoCs

This paper presents a new test-data compression technique that uses exactly nine codewords. Our technique aims at precomputed data of intellectual property cores in system-on-chips and does not require any structural information of cores. The technique is flexible in utilizing both fixed- and variable-length blocks. In spite of its simplicity, it provides significant reduction in test-data volume and test-application time. The decompression logic is very small and can be implemented fully independent of the precomputed test-data set. Our technique is flexible and can be efficiently adopted for single- or multiple-scan chain designs. Experimental results for ISCAS'89 benchmarks illustrate the flexibility and efficiency of the proposed technique.
Partitions in the carnivoran auditory bulla: their formation and significance for systematics

The common notion that the septa in the carnivoran auditory bulla are formed by the growth of bone edges inwards the bullar cavity is a mistaken assumption based on the data of the late 19th century. Intrabullar partitions are in fact a result of the differential resorption of the bulla internal surface during the growth of the external surface. A septum develops at the boundary between local, relatively independent, ‘inflations’ of the bulla wall. This explanation, given by Van Kampen in 1905 for the case of the Canidae and some Mustelidae, can be applied to the whole order, including the aeluroid families with their ‘bilaminar’ septum bullae. Such an approach seems to solve the problem of homology of the intrabullar septa throughout the Carnivora, a question which has long been confused because of insufficient knowledge of septum morphogenesis. The partitions can really be considered as indicators of independent attempts to increase the size of a middle-ear cavity among the infraorders. This conclusion follows immediately from the difference between major carnivoran taxa in the arrangement of separate inflations on the bulla wall, which can be considered as additional sinuses enlarging the hypotympanic space. It is precisely this difference that conditions the relative contribution of several bones (mainly of the ectotympanic and caudal entotympanic) to the intrabullar septa. Thus, the initial topographies of the above sinuses – whichever subsequent bone modelling of septa occurs – represent unique patterns useful in the higher-level systematics of the Carnivora.
Scleritis Complicating Zoledronic Acid Infusion

We present a case of severe unilateral posterior scleritis associated with zoledronic acid administration that was recognized and treated in a timely manner. Subsequent use of pamidronate was associated with milder inflammation in the same eye that eventually resolved with continued monthly infusions, indicating the possibility of immunologic tolerance. Physicians prescribing these drugs should be aware of this side effect, which, if not recognized and treated appropriately, is potentially devastating. We review the published data as well as the current treatment recommendations.
Monolithic Integration of GaAs/AlGaAs Phase Modulator and Photodetector for RF Photonics

We report the design and monolithic fabrication of phase modulator and photodetectors for RF photonics. We demonstrate phase modulation efficiency of 270°V-1mm-1, and a bandwidth of 18 GHz. Photodetectors response time is measured to be 8ps.
A computerized vehicle locating system with applications to the control of farm vehicles

It is the topic of this paper to present the findings of a computer simulation study that examined the properties of a particular type of vehicular locating system, and to discuss its inclusion in a system to direct and control a vehicle (in this case, a farm vehicle) in a particular geographic area. The vehicle locating system requires that the vehicle has an r-f transmitter that is transmitting a sharp rise time r-f pulse omnidirectionaly. There are three receiving stations located at A, B and C (see Figure 1) tuned to the same frequency as the trasmitter. The locations A, B and C are known geographically. Each receiving station has a clock, the clocks are synchronized. The receiving stations record the time of arrival of the pulse. We shall refer to these times as T A , T B and T C for A, B and C respectively. The quantity T A -T B =ΔT AB is the difference in time of arrival of the pulse at stations A and B, and λAT AB , where λ is the propagation speed of the r-f pulse, is the difference in distance of the vehicle from points A and B. Such a locus of points is defined in mathematics as a hyperbola [4] and has the form x2/a2- y2/b2= 1, where a2+b2= c2. The foci of the hyperbola are at (-C,0) and (C,0). In the case of Figure 1 c = 1 and a= 1/2λ |ΔT AB | for the station pair A, B. By the same token, the difference T B -T C has its own corresponding hyperbolas. The point of intersection of these hyperbolas is the location of the vehicle. Since the third time difference T A -T C is the sum of ΔT AB and ΔT BC it does not generate a separate pair of hyperbolas. This paper presents a recursive algorithm that determines the location of the vehicle based on measuring the differences in time of arrival of the r-f pulses at the receiving stations. A simulation program was written in PASCAL for the receiving antenna configuration shown in Figure 1 with the vehicle assumed to be in the interior of the angle formed by the stations A, B and C.
Interactions between adenosine and K+ channel-related pathways in the coupling of somatosensory activation and pial arteriolar dilation.

Multiple, perhaps interactive, mechanisms participate in the linkage between increased neural activity and cerebral vasodilation. In the present study, we assessed whether neural activation-related pial arteriolar dilation (PAD) involved interactions among adenosine (Ado) A2 receptors (A2Rs), large-conductance Ca2+-operated K+ (BKCa) channels, and inward rectifier K+ (Kir) channels. In rats with closed cranial windows, we monitored sciatic nerve stimulation (SNS)-induced PAD in the absence or presence of pharmacological blockade of A2Rs (ZM-241385), ecto-5′-nucleotidase (α,β-methylene-adenosine diphosphate), BKCa channels (paxilline), and Kir channels (BaCl2). Individually, these interventions led to 53–66% reductions in SNS-induced PADs. Combined applications of these blockers led to little or no further repression of SNS-induced PADs, suggesting interactions among A2Rs and K+ channels. In the absence of SNS, BaCl2 blockade of Kir channels produced 52–80% reductions in Ado and NS-1619 (BKCa channel activator)-induced PADs. In contrast, paxilline blockade of BKCa channels was without effect on dilations elicited by KCl (Kir channel activator) and Ado suffusions, indicating that Ado- and NS-1619-associated PADs involved Kir channels. In addition, targeted ablation of the superficial glia limitans was associated with a selective 60–80% loss of NS-1619 responses, suggesting that the BKCa channel participation (and paxilline sensitivity) derived largely from channels within the glia limitans. Additionally, blockade of either PKA or adenylyl cyclase caused markedly attenuated pial arteriolar responses to SNS and, in the absence of SNS, responses to Ado, KCl, and NS-1619. These findings suggested a key, possibly permissive, role for A2R-linked cAMP generation and PKA-induced K+ channel phosphorylation in somatosensory activation-evoked PAD.
Lessons From a Community-Based mHealth Diabetes Self-Management Program: “It's Not Just About the Cell Phone”

Cell phone-assisted self-management of diabetes offers a new approach to improving chronic care; however, introducing this new technology presents many challenges to a health care team. The George Washington University-District of Columbia Cell Phone Diabetes Project enrolled 32 patients with Type 2 diabetes from a community clinic using patients' cell phones connected to the Well Doc Diabetes Manager System with monitoring by case managers and monthly reports to primary care providers. Despite monetary incentives (cell phone rebates), dropout rate was high (50%), because of lack of use or inability to afford low-cost cell phone service. Active patients had sustained system use with improved diabetes standard-of-care goals and reduced hospitalizations and emergency department visits. On the basis of this pilot program, the authors assessed the multiple links in the chain (patients, case managers, primary care providers, support staff, medical record systems, disease management software, cell phones) that affect the success of a mHealth chronic care strategy.
Channel Probing under a Power Budget

Consider a multi-channel system between a transmitter and receiver where each channel undergoes independent block fading. At the beginning of each fading block, a certain number of slots are used for sending probing signals (training period) allowing the receiver to learn some information about the fading gains. The receiver uses this information to figure out the best channel for transmission (which maximizes the expected SNR at the receiver) and conveys this choice to the transmitter through a delay free noiseless feedback link. One can then ask the following question: given a fixed power budget and number of slots for probing, how should these resources be divided among the channels so as to maximize the expected SNR at receiver? In this paper, we formulate this general problem and analyze it for some simple cases. For a single probing slot and channels with Gaussian fading gains and additive Gaussian noise, we show that the probing strategy varies from probing a single channel to probing all the channels depending on the probe power budget. Since the exact analytical characterization of the optimal probe power distribution is difficult to obtain, we only present partial analytical results and numerical simulations to illustrate the behavior of the optimal probe power distribution. For the multiple slots case, we show that if probing is done in parallel, then there is no additional benefit to be gained over the single slot case. The problem of sequential probing is very similar to the multi-armed bandit problem and is very difficult to analyze. Here we consider a heuristic scheme and numerically compare its performance to the single slot probing case.
Driving performance with and preference for high-intensity discharge headlamps

This in-traffic study evaluated driving performance with and preference for high-intensity discharge (HID) low beam headlamps. Subjects drove two identical luxury sedans. One vehicle was equipped with HID low beams and the other with tungsten halogen low beams. The main difference between the two beams was that the HID lamps provided more spread light. Driving performance was evaluated by analysing steering frequencies. The hypothesis was that the wider beam pattern of the HID lamps would be beneficial by reducing the steering effort in the 0.3-0.6 Hz range, which has been used in previous studies as an index of steering-task difficulty. The main finding is that the wider HID beam pattern made lane maintenance less demanding, as measured by a reduction in the steering frequencies between 0.3 and 0.6 Hz. The implication is that HID headlamps may be beneficial to safety, because their wider beam pattern allows more of the limited information processing resources of drivers to be allocated to other tasks. Wh...