cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Self-employment and allostatic load

Abstract Self-employment can be stressful and its long-term effects on individual health could be significant; yet, the physiological outcomes of self-employment related stress remain under-explored. Drawing on allostatic load as a long-term biological consequence of physiological wear-and-tear and an indicator of stress response, we use three different studies to provide a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between self-employment and physiological outcomes. In Study 1, based on a sample of 194 self-employed and 1511 employed individuals, we find that self-employment is marginally related to allostatic load and allostatic load marginally mediates the relationship between self-employment and physical, but not mental, health. Study 2, based on a sample of 776 self-employed and 8003 employed individuals, extends these findings, and provides evidence that those who are self-employed for longer periods have a higher allostatic load. Finally, in Study 3 we draw on a sample of 174 twins and, consistent with Study 2, show that those reporting self-employment in two waves (about eight years apart) had a higher allostatic load, however, when leveraging problem-focused coping such individuals experienced lower allostatic load. Taken together, these three studies extend our understanding of the relationship between self-employment and wellbeing.
The Sociology of Science and the Garfield Effect: Happy Accidents, Unanticipated Developments and Unexploited Potentials

The Sociology of Science and the Garfield Effect: Happy Accidents, Unpredictable Developments and Unexploited Potentials
World Travelling and Mood Swings

Abstract. Following a suggestion by Allen Hazen, we provide an elementary proof of a theorem of Hodes’ to the effect that no sentence of ordinary modal predicate logic has a certain truth condition. We point out that this constitutes a predicament for the logical analysis of modal discourse insofar as there exist perfectly natural statements of English having just this standardly non-representable truth condition. There are at least two ways of amending modal predicate logic in such a way that these recalcitrant statements become representable. The resulting logical analyses differ in essential respects (e.g., rigidity of definite descriptions), so that the philosophical question arises which analysis provides the true picture of natural language.
Drainage Basins and Large Scale Landscape Development

The phenomena discussed thus far refer only to single features present on the Earth’s surface. It is now time to consider the combined effect of the development of slopes and rivers, i.e. the development of whole landscapes. This leads us to the theory of the development of drainage basins and to the theory of large scale landscape development.
MRI and cognitive behavioral function in schizophrenia

There is active research applying MRI to the study of brain anatomy in schizophrenia. As the technology improves and measurements are refined, this method, in combination with behavioral measures, is likely to contribute to the understanding of brain function in schizophrenia. The heterogeneity of schizophrenia challenges investigators to integrate anatomic and behavioral parameters with physiology. MRI techniques have already been applied to obtain quantitative imaging of cerebral blood flow and holds promise for combined MRI and neurobehavioral studies.
Intensive Therapies for Dysphagia: Implementation of the Intensive Dysphagia Rehabilitation and the MD Anderson Swallowing Boot Camp Approaches

Purpose In the past 15–20 years, many promising rehabilitative regimens (strength or skill based) were introduced for the management of oropharyngeal dysphagia. Despite their positive outcomes, sin...
Community cloud architecture to improve use accessibility with security compliance in health big data applications

The adoption of big data analytics in healthcare applications is overwhelming not only because of the huge volume of data being analyzed, but also because of the heterogeneity and sensitivity of the data. Effective and efficient analysis and visualization of secure patient health records are needed to e.g., find new trends in disease management, determining risk factors for diseases, and personalized medicine. In this paper, we propose a novel community cloud architecture to help clinicians and researchers to have easy/increased accessibility to data sets from multiple sources, while also ensuring security compliance of data providers is not compromised. Our cloud-based system design configuration with cloudlet principles ensures application performance has high-speed processing, and data analytics is sufficiently scalable while adhering to security standards (e.g., HIPAA, NIST). Through a case study, we show how our community cloud architecture can be implemented along with best practices in an ophthalmology case study which includes health big data (i.e., Health Facts database, I2B2, Millennium) hosted in a campus cloud infrastructure featuring virtual desktop thin-clients and relevant Data Classification Levels in storage.
Actinomyces and Nocardia

Publisher Summary Actinomyces are Gram-positive, pleiomorphic, often filamentous, rod-shaped bacteria belonging to the family Actinomycetales. Morphologically, many species resemble nocardioform actinomycetes whereas others are more coryneform. Most Actinomyces species are parasitic and represent part of the normal flora on the mucous membranes, especially of the oral and gastro intestinal tract of mammals and humans. Two broad categories of disease caused by various species of Actinomyces arc recognized in humans. These include: (1) actinomvcosis found anywhere in the body and (2) plaque formation on the teeth with subsequent periodontal disease. The genus Nocardia consists of partially acid-fast, Gram-positive, strictly aerobic, and non-motile bacteria that produce branching filamentous cells during the growth phase. A wide variety, of animals, and some plants, may become infected by Nocardia species. The most prevalent form is nocardiosis, although the most apparent disease visually is nocardially-induced actinomycetoma. In humans, nocardiosis often starts as a lower respiratory tract infection that may begin with flu-like symptoms. The infection may be self-limited or it may progress with a varied pulmonary presentation.
History and Status of an Earthwork Known As "Neodesha Fort," Kansas

Le site 14WN1 comporte un terrassement connu sous le nom de Fort Neodesha. La relation entre ce terrassement et d'autres de l'epoque protohistorique ou du debut du Wichita des Plaines du Sud est mal comprise. Une nouvelle recherche sur ce site montre la condition admise du Fort, et evalue sa forme et son âge en relation avec d'autres terrassements. Les lignes convergentes suggerent la forte similitude entre le Fort Neodesha et les terrassements du 18 eme siecle en Oklahoma. Des questions demeurent qui ne seront jamais resolues a cause de la destruction et de la condition pauvre du site
A Case of Amiodarone Pulmonary Toxicity with Short-term Amiodarone Use.

This is the case of a 92-year-old female who was hospitalized one month prior to admission for symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, requiring intravenous amiodarone. Following her previous admission, she was placed on one month of amiodarone 200 mg twice daily, with a one week transition to 200 mg daily. The patient subsequently developed progressive shortness of breath and dry cough over a period of several weeks. Initial imaging showed diffuse bilateral coarse patchy interstitial infiltration on chest X-ray and bibasilar pleural effusions and scattered bilateral opacities on CTA chest. In an elderly patient presenting with dyspnea and dry cough, as well as interstitial opacities on imaging, amiodarone pulmonary toxicity should be considered despite short-term low-dose use.
Detection of G Protein-Coupled Receptors by Immunofluorescence Microscopy

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are activated by a wide array of signals, which include light, neurotransmitters, hormones, cytokines, and drugs. Knowledge of the subcellular distribution of GPCRs is required in many experimental situations. Most GPCR signaling occurs in response to activators that interact with receptors localized on the cell surface. GPCRs must move from their site of synthesis to the plasma membrane, often undergoing redistribution in response to ligand binding. Endocytosis and recycling of receptors are important for desensitization and resensitization. Furthermore, mutations in GPCRs can alter receptor trafficking and prevent normal receptor function. This chapter describes a widely applicable method for visualizing a GPCR by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy.
Data and methods for analyzing special interest influence in rulemaking

The US government creates astonishingly complete records of policy creation in executive agencies. In this article, we describe the major kinds of data that have proven useful to scholars studying interest group behavior and influence in bureaucratic politics, how to obtain them, and challenges that we as users have encountered in working with these data. We discuss established databases such as regulations.gov, which contains comments on draft agency rules, and newer sources of data, such as ex-parte meeting logs, which describe the interest groups and individual lobbyists that bureaucrats are meeting face-to-face about proposed policies. One challenge is that much of these data are not machine-readable. We argue that scholars should invest in several projects to make these datasets machine-readable and to link them to each other as well as to other databases.
Breathless in Beijing: Aerial Attunements and China’s New Respiratory Publics

For all of its protean and ephemeral qualities, air exerts a remarkably muscular influence on urban form and contemporary life in China. In recent years, as the breakneck speed of China’s development has altered the very chemistry of the atmosphere, the boundaries between breathing subjects and their toxic environments have become increasingly blurred. In this climate, Beijing inhabitants have sought out various modes of respiratory refuge, reorganizing the city into new spaces of atmospheric fortification. As deadly air divides Beijing into a series of protected insides and precarious outsides, life is increasingly being reoriented toward the dangers and imperatives of breathing in the Chinese city. Yet alongside the growing stratification of breathing experiences in the capital, shared exposure is also reconfiguring public life and landscapes through new solidarities and entwined fates. Engaging Beijing’s emergent respiratory publics online, behind face masks, and inside conditioned air spaces, I explore how collective exposure is galvanizing new modes of atmospheric recognition in China. Specifically, I suggest that respiratory publics make invisible threats visible by mobilizing everyday objects, practices, and social life to render air both an object of concern and a site of intervention. Ultimately, by attending to how attunements to air pollution emerge through everyday practices and quotidian habits, this article expands upon a growing body of STS scholarship investigating how social life is increasingly constituted in and through atmospheric entanglements.
Reginald Hill (Also wrote as Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland and Charles Underhill, 1936–2012), 1970: A Clubbable Woman

From his first novel, A Clubbable Woman (1970), which introduced his longest-running series characters Dalziel (Dee-ell) and Pascoe, Reginald Hill developed the place of Northern England in the contemporary crime novel. Born in Hartlepool in 1936 to Reginald and Isabel Hill, his family later moved to County Cumberland, now Cumbria, in the Lake District, which is the setting of his second novel, Fell of Dark (1971). He completed his national service in the British Army Border Regiment between 1955 and 1957, after which he attended St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, where he earned a B. A.
Symbiotic bacterial community of Drosophila melanogaster changes with nutritional modifications of the diet but can alleviate negative effects on larval phenotypes

ABSTRACT Obesity is an increasing pandemic and is caused by multiple factors including genotype, psychological stress, and gut microbiota. Our project investigated the effects produced by high fat and high sugar dietary modifications on microbiota and metabolic phenotype of Drosophila melanogaster. Larvae raised on the high fat and high sugar diets exhibited bacterial communities that were compositionally and phylogenetically different from bacterial communities of the larvae raised on normal diets, especially if parental microbiota were removed. Several of the dominant bacteria taxa that are commonly associated with high fat and high sugar diets across model organisms and even human populations showed similar pattern in our results. Corynebacteriaceae and Erysipelotrichaceae were connected with high fat food, while Enterobacteriaceae and Lactobacillaceae were associated with high sugar diets. In addition, we observed that presence of symbiotic microbiota often mitigated the effect that harmful dietary modifications produced on larvae, including elevated triglyceride concentrations and was crucial for Drosophila survival, especially on high sugar peach diets.
MODEL STUDIES OF SKEW MULTICELL GIRDER BRIDGES

A model study of a series of simply supported skew box girder bridges is presented. The prototype bridge was a four-cell reinforced concrete design, 33 ft, 10 in. (10.31 m) wide, and 4 ft, 10 in. (1.47 m) deep. A 1/29-scale model was made in aluminum to study the response of such a design when made from linearly elastic material. The span of the model was successively reduced from 69.5 in (1.76 m) to 22.5 (0.57 m) to study the effect of variation in span. The effect of skew angle was studied at angles of 0°, 30°, and 45°. The following were measured: boundary reactions, strains on a right transverse section close to midspan, and deflections at selected points. The data were reduced by computer, and distribution graphs of longitudinal stress and transverse bending moment were plotted by Calcomp Plotter. Based on these data, certain general observations are made regarding the behavior of skew box girder bridges.
Stoic Listeners? Speech Harms and the First Amendment

Following a period of unprecedented violence against abortion clinic workers in the mid-1990's, an organization called the American Coalition of Life Activists (ACLA) created a web site that revealed certain information about abortion providers who, the site said, were responsible for the "wanton slaughter of God's children." Among other things, the web site, known as the Nuremberg Files site, disclosed the home addresses of the physicians along with descriptions of their cars and the license plate numbers. As abortion providers around the country were attacked some by activists with ties to the ACLA the appearance of the victims' names on the web site would change to indicate whether the victim had been wounded (name shaded in gray) or killed (strikes through the victim's name). In this paper, I question some of the assumptions underlying conventional First Amendment theory and doctrine, which I believe prevent a successful lawsuit against the ACLA by the abortion providers. I look at Professor C. Edwin Baker's First Amendment theory and at Judge Kozinski's opinion in the Ninth Circuit's panel decision reversing the jury's damages verdict against the ACLA. I argue that notwithstanding their differences, Baker's theory and Kozinski's interpretation of precedent are both sustained by a deep presumption about our ability to engage in disinterested, rational reflection on the diverse expressive activities that confront us. Both Baker and Kozinski discount the direct and harmful impact that speech can have on a listener and insist that constitutional analysis must treat such harms as imagined or self-imposed. Each of their theories, I conclude, rests on what I call the paradigm of the stoic listener. The paradigm of the stoic listener has its place: for instance, when applied to the facts of the classic incitement and subversion cases culminating in Brandenburg v. Ohio.] In Brandenburg, the Supreme Court reversed the conviction of a KKK leader for telling a
Purification of Products

Kugelrohr distillation, silica gel, flash chromatography, triethylamine-treated silica gel, oxalic acid-coated silica gel, silver nitrate-impregnated silica gel, florisil, alumina, reverse-phase chromatography, preparative GC, precipitation, trituration, crystallization, low-melting solid, oiling out, crystal nucleation, Craig tube, yields, based on recovered starting material.
Janet, Pierre (1859–1947)

As a highly trained French scientist with educational roots in philosophy and medicine, Pierre Janet (1859–1947) was uniquely positioned to influence the early formation of psychology during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He developed a form of psychotherapy called psychological analysis, which predated the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), yet was more akin to a form of cognitive behavioral therapy rather than to the predominant psychodynamic and behaviorist viewpoints of the time. Janet was instrumental in the development of theories regarding dissociative, somatoform, and conversion disorders, and he was among the first to devise a systematic therapeutic approach to posttraumatic psychopathology. Keywords: Freud, Sigmund; Piaget, Jean; post-traumatic disorder; psychoanalytic criticism; psychopathology; unconscious; abnormal; hysteria; psychoanalysis
The changing pathogenicity of Mycoplasma pneumoniae with passage in vitro. Correlates of virulence

Abstract An avirulent strain of Mycoplasmapneumoniae isolated by broth passage failed to produce pneumonia in hamsters. The major biological property lost in this avirulent strain is its ability to attach to the respiratory epithelium. Although the surface protein responsible for the specific attachment of virulent M.pneumoniae has been identified, protein analysis by gel electrophoresis has failed to produce evidence that could account for the loss of virulence in the avirulent strain. It is possible that the binding sites of the avirulent strain have been altered by mutational event(s) without affecting the molecular weight or electrophoretic mobility of this protein. Antigenic determinant analysis of the membrane proteins by the use of monoclonal antibodies is suggested as a relevant approach, which may lead to a better understanding of the molecular basis of attachment.
DNA polymerase from rat liver chromosomal proteins: II. Formation of an enzyme-template complex and association of product with template☆

Abstract A replicative DNA-nucleotidyl transferase free from detectable endonuclease activity has been partially purified from the nonhistone chromosomal proteins of rat liver. The polymerase preparation can form complexes with both DNA and RNA, but only DNA is functional in the enzymic reaction. The reaction product is in association with the DNA template and is heterogeneous, consisting of small fragments of molecular weights of less than 2.5 × 10 5 .
National Prescribing Trends for Heart Failure Medications in Children

Background The treatment of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in adults has changed considerably over the past decade, and these changes have coincided with a reduction in inpatient mortality. At this time, national trends in medication prescribing among children hospitalized with ADHF are unknown. Methods The Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database was queried to identify all patients ≤21 years of age who were admitted from 2001 to 2010 with ADHF and a diagnosis of cardiomyopathy. Patients were excluded for potential infectious or inflammatory etiologies of heart failure, congenital heart disease, cardiovascular surgery, acute heart transplant rejection, or isolated diastolic dysfunction. Only the index admission was used, and descriptive statistical methods were employed. Results A total of 1773 patients (55.8% male) met study criteria (mortality 6.9%). Median length of stay was 9 days (IQR 4–16 days). Vasopressor or inotropic agents were used in 63.6% of patients (milrinone in 82.9% of these) and diuretics in 90.1% (furosemide in 98.4% of these). At discharge, a beta-blocker was prescribed in 36.8% of patients (carvedilol in 77.1% of these), and an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor was prescribed in 69.6% (enalapril in 59.9% of these). A wide variability in prescribing practices over time and by pediatric hospital was noted, along with a trend for decreased inotrope use and an increase in beta-blocker discharge prescribing. Conclusions This is the first national evaluation of prescribing trends in pediatric ADHF medication. A large degree of variability in medication use for ADHF and low rates of beta-blocker and ACE inhibitor use at discharge were identified.
A generic virus scanner for C

A virus detection tool is described. It is a generic virus scanner in C++ with no inherent limitations on the file systems, file types or host architectures that can be scanned. The tool is completely general and is structured in such a way that it can be easily augmented to recognize viruses across different system platforms with varied file types. The implementation defines an abstract C++ class, VirInfo, which encapsulates virus features common to all scannable viruses. Subclasses of this abstract class may be used to define viruses that infect different machines and operating systems. The generality of the mechanism allows it to be used for other forms of scanning as well. >
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: An Overview

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a complex cardiovascular disorder particularly sensitive to environmental changes and physiologic stress. Warm weather and strenuous activity can be a dangerous combination for people that have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Often sudden cardiac death is the first symptom of the disorder. Thorough sports histories and physicals are important preventive measures and referrals to cardiovascular specialists should occur for any suspicion of cardiac abnormalities. Treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is focused on abating the natural clinical progression that includes sudden cardiac death, severe heart failure symptoms, and arrhythmias. Safe, effective delivery of care to the patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy requires a deep understanding of the complexities surrounding this precarious cardiac condition.
Self-calibration for three-point intrinsic alignment autocorrelations in weak lensing surveys

"MI acknowledges that this material is based upon work supported in part by National Science Foundation under grant AST-1109667 and NASA under grant NNX09AJ55G, and that part of the calculations for this work have been performed on the Cosmology Computer Cluster funded by the Hoblitzelle Foundation"
Overview of Biotechnology

Modern biotechnology has advanced rapidly in the past few decades, driven largely by scientific advances which have led to the development of techniques such as recombinant DNA and hybridoma technology. The United States is a leader in the growing biotechnology field. Biotechnology has wide potential application in diverse areas including health care, chemicals, food, and waste treatment. Health care represents the largest sector in the biotechnology industry with hundreds of products in development including therapeutics, vaccines, diagnostics, devices and drug delivery systems. Unique legal, regulatory, and societal issues associated with biotechnology-derived products are being addressed as the field continues to evolve.
Mechanisms of Reproductive Toxicity

Reproductive toxicology involves detecting and understanding potentially detrimental environmental influences on reproductive success in females and males. Environmental exposure to xenobiotics that have the potential to impact human reproduction has increased. This article outlines how xenobiotics can impact reproductive function in females and males. Keywords: reproductive toxicology; xenobiotics; human reproductive functions; environmental exposure; reproductive success
Blockade of methamphetamine-induced depression of tyrosine hydroxylase by GABA transaminase inhibitors.

Abstract Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) levels in the rat neostriatum are decreased by chronic treatment with methamphetamine. GABAergic neurons could potentially interact with the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in either the neostriatum or the substantia nigra; therefore, the GABA transaminase inhibitors, amino-oxyacetic acid, γ-acetylenic GABA and ethanolamine-O-sulfate, were evaluated for possible influences on the methamphetamine-induced decrease in TH. TH was measured by the procedure of Nagatsu et al. (1964). Methamphetamine (10 mg/ kg, s.c) was given every 6 h for 24 h. Thirty-six h after initiation of the methamphetamine treatment, neostriatal TH activity was approximately 70% of control. Concurrent administration of amino-oxyacetic acid (20 mg/kg, i.p.) or γ-acetylenic GABA (15 mg/kg, i.p.) with methamphetamine completely blocked the TH depression. Dose-response curves were constructed for amino-oxyacetic acid and γ-acetylenic GABA. A single intraventricular injection of ethanolamine-O-sulfate (400 μg/rat), 2–6 h before initiating the methamphetamine regimen, also completely blocked the TH depression. These data suggest that the striatonigral or other GABAergic systems are involved in the regulation of the functional state of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons, and that enhanced GABAergic function will antagonize the effects of high doses of methamphetamine.
Modeling the precedence effect for speech using the gamma filter

The ability of the human auditory system to localize the direction of a sound source in a reverberant environment extends from simple clicks to complex speech signals. The perceived location of the auditory event is dominated by the direct sound, for small enough time intervals between the direct sound and reflection-a phenomenon known as the precedence effect. In this paper we present a computer simulation of the precedence effect for speech, implemented using Matlab and tested with speech signals from the TIMIT database. The model is based on the biological assumption that the rate of change of a signal (onset) is critical in triggering the precedence effect. The model demonstrates the precedence effect on speech signals, as opposed to prior models that have only been tested on clicks. In addition, a novel onset enhancement method is described and implemented using the gamma filter, a new class of linear systems for adaptive signal processing. This method can either use fixed coefficients and obtain similar results to prior methods of onset enhancement, or use an adaptive framework. The adaptive framework is promising in its ability to enhance onsets and to reduce the steady state portions of the signal.
Flow cytometric analysis of localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate: The use of archival DNA analysis in conjunction with pathological grading to predict clinical outcome following radical retropubic prostatectomy

Fifty-four specimens from patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for clinically confined prostate cancer between 1983 and 1987 were reviewed to determine the potential for flow cytometric (FCM) analysis of DNA ploidy and replication rate to predict disease recurrence. Each specimen was deparaffinized for FCM analysis and the pathology slides were reviewed by a single pathologist. FCM characteristics were correlated with pathological grade and stage, and both were correlated with disease status. In this series of patients, routine FCM analysis of DNA ploidy and replication rate failed to significantly enhance the ability of standard histopathological grading to predict disease recurrence in patients having clinically localized prostate cancer. Aneuploid tumors pathologically confined to the prostate did not appear to negatively affect prognosis.
PEARL MILLET (PENNISETUM AMERICANUM (L.) LEEKE) AND GRAIN SORGHUM (SORGHUM BICOLOR (L.) MOENCH) ULTRASTRUCTURE

Ultrastructural features of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke) and grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) caryospses were investigated with thin sections of the dry, mature grain in the transmission electron microscope, and fractured kernels in the scanning electron microscope. The pericarp of those grains is comprised of three distinct layers: epicarp, mesocarp of parenchyma cells, and endocarp of compressed cross and tube cells. Mesocarp cells of grain sorghum contain starch granules embedded in a cytoplasmic matrix. The major constituent of sorghum and millet aleurone cells are aleurone grains (protein bodies) and lipid bodies. Subaleurone cells contain a much higher proportion of protein bodies than starch granules, and the protein bodies are structurally distinct from those in the aleurone. The germ scutellar ultrastructures of the two grains were similar; protein bodies, lipid bodies, epidermal cells and parenchyma cells of the germ are described.
A comparison of recovering alcoholic and non-alcoholic smokers

Whether smokers with a positive past history (PH) of alcohol dependence need more intensive or different treatment than smokers with no such history (NH) is unclear. We surveyed 31 PH smokers and 31 age and sex-matched NH smokers to examine differences in motivations for and barriers to stopping smoking. The final regression model found that PH and NH smokers did not differ in social support, social pressure, readiness to quit or physical consequences of smoking; however, PH smokers were more dependent on nicotine and had more internal (affective) barriers to cessation than NH smokers. Although our results require replication due to our small sample size, they do suggest that PH smokers would especially benefit from medications for nicotine dependence and medications or psychosocial treatments for depression.
Multi-camera tele-immersion system with real-time model driven data compression: A new model-based compression method for massive dynamic point data

Vision-based full-body 3D reconstruction for tele-immersive applications generates large amount of data points, which have to be sent through the network in real time. In this paper, we introduce a skeleton-based compression method using motion estimation where kinematic parameters of the human body are extracted from the point cloud data in each frame. First we address the issues regarding the data capturing and transfer to a remote site for the tele-immersive collaboration. We compare the results of the existing compression methods and the proposed skeleton-based compression technique. We examine the robustness and efficiency of the algorithm through experimental results with our multi-camera tele-immersion system. The proposed skeleton-based method provides high and flexible compression ratios from 50:1 to 5000:1 with reasonable reconstruction quality (peak signal-to-noise ratio from 28 to 31 dB) while preserving real-time (10+ fps) processing.
New thermotropic liquid crystals derived from thiophenes

Abstract Properties of new homologous series of low molecular mass thermotropic liquid crystals containing non-linear mesogenic cores, 2,5-thiophene (T) and 2,2′-bithio-phene (BT), are presented for the purpose of refining molecular structural prerequisities for liquid crystallinity. Herein we focus on the effect of core linearity on mesophase stability. The bis(p-alkoxyphenyl) dicarboxylate derivatives containing the bent T and kinked BT central units are found to form enantiotropic liquid crystal phases with nematic and smectic polymorphism, depending on the length of their terminal chains. All members of the non-linear T and BT homologous series have narrower mesomorphic temperature ranges than the corresponding compounds with linear central units (p-phenylene and 4, 4′-biphenyl); liquid crystallinity is not found in the analogous m-phenylene derivatives. This finding is consonant with the established principles of prolate mesogen structural requirements, i.e. core linearity is closely related to liqui...
Comparison of direct and indirect calorimetry as a method for determining total energy produced by the isolated retina of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

Abstract A method for determining heat generation in isolated retinas by direct calorimetry is described and comparisons are made between the values thus determined and values obtained by indirect calorimetry. The heat production figures obtained by these two methods were significantly different and they correspond closely to values calculated from previously published biochemical data. Even though indirect calorimetry does provide a good estimated of heat produced from aerobic reactions it cannot be used to estimate the total heat production in isolated tissues such as the teleost retina which relies on anaerobic biochemical reactions to provide some 50–60% of its total energy needs. It is concluded that in future determinations of metabolic rates on isolated tissues, consideration of non-oxidative pathways be made before indirect calorimetry is pursued.
Link between Be´zier and lagrange curve and surface schemes

Abstract A class of curves that vary continuously between polynomial Lagrange interpolants and polynomial Bezier curves is discussed. An element in this class is specified by a real number which could be used as a shape parameter for Bezier curves. A geometric derivation of this scheme is given, and the connection to Polya curves is pointed out. A generalization to the case of tensor product and triangular surface patches is also described.
The role of screech tones in mixing of an underexpanded rectangular jet

An experimental investigation has been carried out on an underexpanded jet of air issuing from a converging rectangular nozzle of moderate aspect ratio. Schlieren pictures of the flow field along with hot-wire measurements in the jet were obtained at different pressure ratios. At the pressure ratio corresponding to the maximum screeching sound, schlieren photographs show a very strong organized cylindrical wave pattern on either side of the jet, with their respective sources being located at the end of the third shock cell. Associated with this wave pattern is a large increase in the angle of spread of the jet. It is shown that the self-excitation helps to induce large scale vortical motions in the jet both in the plane containing the small dimension of the nozzle and in the plane containing the long dimension of the nozzle. However, the locations of these structures are different in the two planes. Nevertheless, the characteristic Strouhal number corresponding to these large scale structures in both planes is the same and equal to 0·12. The influence of the self-excitation on the mean velocities and rms intensities has also been investigated. For the full range of pressure ratios studied, similarity was found both in the mean velocity and rms intensity profiles in the two central planes beyond 80 widths downstream of the nozzle exit. However, the shapes of the similarity profiles are different in the two planes. For the downstream distances studied, complete axisymmetry (identical mean velocity profiles in both planes) was not found, which suggests it may persis for a large distance downstream of the nozzle exit.
Characteristics and flow behavior of molten tin-polypropylene blend systems

An experimental study of tin-polypropylene compounds involving melt mixing and melt extrusion and molding over a range of temperatures is described. Problems of coalescence which make continuous mixing impossible above the melting temperature are described. Significant coalescence of the tin also results in extrusion and injection-molding problems. The influence of tin content and melt temperature on shear viscosity and extrusion character is discussed and interpreted. The electrical properties of the compounds are investigated.
RhoA-kinase and myosin II are required for the maintenance of growth cone polarity and guidance by nerve growth factor

Growth cones are highly polarized and dynamic structures confined to the tips of axons. The polarity of growth cones is in part maintained by suppression of protrusive activity from the distal axon shaft, a process termed axon consolidation. The mechanistic basis of axon consolidation that contributes to the maintenance of growth cone polarity is not clear. We report that inhibition of RhoA-kinase (ROCK) or myosin II resulted in unstable consolidation of the distal axon as evidenced by increased filopodial and lamellipodial extension. Furthermore, when ROCK or myosin II was inhibited lamellipodia formed at the growth cone migrated onto the axon shaft. Analysis of EYFP-actin dynamics in the distal axon revealed that ROCK negatively regulates actin polymerization and initiation of protrusive structures from spontaneously formed axonal F-actin patches, the latter being an effect attributable to ROCK-mediated regulation of myosin II. Inhibition of ROCK or myosin II blocked growth cone turning toward NGF by preventing suppression of protrusive activity away from the source of NGF, resulting in aborted turning responses. These data elucidate the mechanism of growth cone polarity, provide evidence that consolidation of the distal axon is a component of guidance, and identify ROCK as a negative regulator of F-actin polymerization underlying protrusive activity in the distal axon.
Equivalence of logarithmic perturbation theory and expansion of the superpotential in supersymmetric quantum mechanics

Abstract Expansion of the superpotential to get approximate solutions in supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SSQM) is shown to be equivalent to logarithmic perturbation theory (LPT). LPT formulas for energy corrections obviate cumbersome procedures in the SSQM method. Likewise, the use of SSQM partner potentials with virtually identical bound state spectra solves difficulties with excited states encountered in LPT.
Maintenance of tropical tropopause layer cirrus

[1] A two-dimensional cloud resolving model with explicit bin microphysics is used to study the maintenance of tropical tropopause layer (TTL) cirrus. Numerical simulations using this model show that a TTL cirrus with a maximum radiative heating rate of 3 K/day is able to self-maintain for as long as 2 days if it contains ice crystals whose initial mean radius is smaller than about 5 μm. The key to the maintenance of the cloud is the circulation thermally forced by the cloud radiative heating. When the cloud layer is at ice saturation and temperature decreases with height, advection of water vapor by the thermally forced circulation results in water vapor flux convergence in the cloud. This leads to growth of ice crystals despite the diabatic warming produced by the radiative heating. The source of water vapor for the growth of ice crystals is outside the cloud lateral edge, which is outside the vertical column that contains the initial cloud. The conversion of water vapor into ice in the simulated TTL cirrus indicates its potential to dehydrate the surrounding environment. This dehydration mechanism does not involve adiabatic cooling associated with external large-scale uplift.
5-Hydroxytryptamine-induced plasma extravasation in the rat knee joint is mediated by multiple prostaglandins.

Objective and design: This study investigated whether prostaglandins (PGs) are involved in 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)-induced synovial plasma extravasation.¶Materials and methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rat knee joints were perfused with 5-HT and synovial capillary Evans Blue dye leakage was measured using spectrophotometry. Cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors and PG receptor subtype-selective antagonists were tested for the ability to reduce 5-HT-induced synovial plasma extravasation.¶Results: 5-HT-induced plasma extravasation was inhibited by indomethacin. The COX-1 selective inhibitor SC-560 and the COX-2 selective inhibitor NS-398 were equally effective, indicating that both isoforms are involved. Antagonists selective for EP1, EP2 and DP receptor subtypes significantly attenuated the 5-HT-induced plasma extravasation. However, antagonists selective for FP, IP and TP subtypes failed to reduce 5-HT-induced plasma extravasation.¶Conclusions: These results demonstrate that multiple, but selective, subtypes of PGs mediate synovial plasma extravasation produced by 5-HT, and suggest that PGs act downstream of 5-HT in the inflammatory cascade.
Screening-off and The Levels of Selection

In ‘The Levels of Selection’ (Brandon, 1984), Robert Brandon provides a suggestive but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to use the probabilistic notion ofscreening off in providing a schema for dealing with an aspect of the “units of selection” question in the philosophy of biology. I characterize that failure, and suggest a revision and expansion of Brandon's account which addresses its key shortcoming.
What should DXA reports contain? Preferences of ordering health care providers.

Abstract It has previously been reported that clinicians prefer detailed dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) reports. However, there are limited recent data to support this contention. Given the emphasis on bone mass measurement and osteoporosis treatment that occurred over the past decade, we hypothesized that clinicians would no longer desire detailed DXA reports. As such, we surveyed 234 university health care providers who had ordered one or more DXA scans from October 2005 through February 2006. All providers were requested to complete an anonymous survey expressing their preferences regarding potential elements of a central DXA report using a 1–5 scale. Of the 234 surveys sent, 116 (50%) were returned. Over 90% felt that DXA reports should include a statement regarding the study's technical quality and limitations, the T-score and definition of significant change. Similarly, over 80% felt that a statement about fracture risk and the BMD least significant change to be essential or helpful. Although a majority of clinicians requested recommendations for non-BMD testing, pharmacologic/nonpharmacologic interventions and specific recommendations for evaluation of secondary osteoporosis, a substantial minority (approximately 20%) found such recommendations either not required or definitely unnecessary. That this survey was conducted among university clinicians is a limitation, which may impact generalizability. In conclusion, clinicians responding to this survey continue to prefer detailed DXA reports with over 60% desiring inclusion of all the components recommended for DXA reports by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry. Despite the finding that a majority of providers continue to request such "consultative" reports, DXA interpreters should be cautioned that this approach requires fairly extensive and accurate clinical information and that not all clinicians desire recommendations for additional evaluation and treatment.
High-sensitivity C reactive protein: associations with cardiovascular risk factors and tracking in female adolescents and young adults.

Objective. We assessed adolescent anthropometry, lipids, insulin, glucose, and blood pressures to identify factors associated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and its tracking in young adults. Methods. Ten-year prospective study of 589 schoolgirls, 321 black, 268 white. Results. HsCRP did not differ (𝑃>.08) by race or oral contraceptive use. HsCRP tracked from age 16 to 25 (𝑟=0.77), 16 to 26 (𝑟=0.50), 24 to 26 (𝑟=0.66), and 25 to 26 (𝑟=0.71), all 𝑃≤.02. By stepwise regression, at age 16, waist circumference accounted for 44.8% of hsCRP variance; BMI accounted for 33.1%, 34.4%, and 31.1% at ages 24, 25, and 26, 𝑃<.0001 for all. Changes in cholesterol and BMI were associated with change in hsCRP from age 24–26 (partial 𝑅2=12.3% 𝑃<.0001, 6.6% 𝑃=.0012). Changes in BMI and triglyceride (partial 𝑅2=8.5% 𝑃=.0001, 3.3%, 𝑃=.0045) were associated with change in hsCRP from age 25 to 26. Conclusions. HsCRP tracks from age 16 to 26, with BMI, waist circumference, and cholesterol as major determinants.
Buttons and Blood, or, How to Write an Anti-Slavery Treatise in 1770s Paris

AbstractThis article contributes to our understanding of the rise and nature of French anti-slavery thought through a close analysis of ‘Observations sur les Negres esclaves’, an essay written by Jean-Baptiste-Christophe Fusee-Aublet (1720–1778) and published in his Histoire des plantes de la Guiane francoise (1775). A botanist, Fusee-Aublet worked in the Isle de France (now Mauritius) and French Guiana during the 1750s and 1760s in service to the Compagnie des Indes. A close comparison of a surviving draft and the published essay shows how he drew on his observations of colonial slavery, east and west; how he responded to contemporary intellectual currents and publications critical of slavery; and how he modified his draft for publication to satisfy the expectations of a metropolitan audience. Reflecting the influence of Rousseau, both versions combined a withering critique of French empire with a spirited, quasi-ethnographic defence of the moral character and culture of Africans. After detailing his tra...
Side effects and photosensitization of human tissues after aminolevulinic acid

Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is being used as a "prodrug" for photodynamic therapy. The side effects of ALA have been only anecdotally reported and these effects as well as pharmacokinetics of the photosensitizing end product of ALA, protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), in patients undergoing operation are unknown. This study systematically determines the side effects of ALA and pharmacokinetics of PpIX in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Patients were given 30 or 60 mg/kg ALA preoperatively, kept in subdued light for 48 hr, and monitored clinically and with laboratory tests for 5 to 7 days and for at least 2 months thereafter. Periodic plasma samples and tissue biopsies were analyzed for PpIX concentrations using a photodiode array system. No patient developed symptoms of porphyria other than nausea and vomiting, which occurred in 20%. Nearly one-quarter of patients developed transient abnormal liver functions. No patient developed cutaneous phototoxicity, abnormal neurologic function, or unexpected postoperative laboratory tests. The times of peak plasma, skin, skeletal muscle, omental, mucosal, muscularis mucosal, and tumor concentrations of PpIX varied among patients. In general, PpIX concentrations were significantly greater with the higher dose of ALA. Tumor PpIX concentrations were significantly greater than in other tissues except liver. In conclusion, ALA, up to 60 mg/kg, is associated with minimal side effects in patients undergoing operation. Actual tissue concentrations of PpIX suggest that endogenous photosensitization using systemically administered ALA is a mode of PDT feasible for treatment of adenocarcinomas of the gastrointestinal tract in humans.
Immobilization effects in young and older adults.

This experiment compared the effects of disuse on the adductor pollicis (AP) muscle in young (YM) and old (OM) men. The AP of the YM and OM was assessed for strength (MVC), compound muscle action potential (CMAP), and volume, and then immobilized for 2 weeks. MVC decreased ~22% in the YM, and OM (P<0.001). AP volume was 4.1% (not significant) and 9.5% (P<0.05) less in the YM and OM, respectively. CMAP increased in the OM 0, 24, and 48 h post-immobilization, and did not change in the YM. However, the YM showed a greater decrease in specific force as compared to the OM. YM and OM experienced similar losses in strength, yet muscle volume loss was only significant in OM. Although OM are more susceptible to immediate losses in muscle volume, muscle activation strategies appear to preserve strength during atrophy.
Low J-number behavior of the 13CH3F Raman FIR laser

Abstract Tunable Raman laser emission in the 320–520 μm region has been produced by pumping low J -number transitions in the 13 CH 3 F ν 3 R branch with the 9P branch of a ten-atmosphere TE-CO 2 laser. Additional bands of FIR laser emission in the 270–1190 μm region are also reported, which results from Q-branch pumping in the 13 CH 3 F ν 3 band. In the case of 13 CH 3 F ν 3 R-branch operation, it is demonstrated by comparing the new measurements with previously published results that the structure of the FIR laser emission spectrum is strongly J -number dependent.