cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of 2-Dimensional and 3-Dimensional Metacarpal Fracture Plating Constructs Under Cyclic Loading.

Purpose Metacarpal fractures are commonly treated by a variety of means including casting or open reduction internal fixation when unacceptable alignment is present following attempted closed reduction. Dorsal plating with either single-row 2-dimensional or double-row 3-dimensional plates has been proposed. This study's purpose was to determine if there are any differences in fixation construct stability under cyclic loading and subsequent load to failure between the lower profile 3-dimensional and the larger 2-dimensional plates in a metacarpal fracture gap sawbone model. Methods Thirty metacarpal cortico-cancellous synthetic bones were cut with a 1.75-mm gap between the 2 fragments simulating mid-diaphyseal fracture comminution. Half of the metacarpals were plated with 2.0-mm locking 2-dimensional plates and half with 1.5-mm locking 3-dimensional plates. The plated metacarpals were mounted into a materials testing apparatus and cyclically loaded under cantilever bending for 2,000 cycles at 70 N, then 2,000 cycles at 120 N, and finally monotonically loaded to failure. Throughout testing, fracture gap sizes were measured, failure modes were recorded, and construct strength and stiffness values were calculated. Results All 3-dimensional constructs survived both cyclic loading conditions. Ten (67%) 2-dimensional constructs survived both loading conditions, whereas 5 (33%) failed the 120-N loading at 1377 ± 363 cycles. When loaded to failure, the 3-dimensional constructs failed at 265 N ± 21 N, whereas the 2-dimensional constructs surviving cyclic loading failed at 190 N ± 17 N. Conclusions The shorter, thinner 3-dimensional metacarpal plates demonstrated increased resistance to failure in a cyclic loading model and increased load to failure compared with the relatively longer, thicker 2-dimensional metacarpal plates. Clinical relevance The lower-profile 3-dimensional metacarpal plate fixation demonstrated greater stability for early postoperative resistance than the thicker 2-dimensional fixation, whereas the smaller size and lower profile of the 3-dimensional plates potentially reduces soft tissue stripping, implant prominence, and risk of extensor tendon irritation.
Increased cardiovascular risks associated with primary androgen deprivation therapy versus radical prostatectomy among patients with localized prostate cancer.

e15130 Background: We examined whether primary androgen deprivation therapy (PADT), as compared to radical prostatectomy (RP), was associated with cardiovascular disease and death. Methods: Male pa...
Creativity and Free Will: Creative Thought Enhances Personal Freedom?

Abstract In this chapter, I attempt to establish the formal connection between free will and creativity. The argument begins by describing independent models that express each phenomenon as a two-stage process. In the case of creativity, these stages entail blind variation and selective retention. After providing a formal definition of creativity in terms of an idea’s initial probability, final utility, and the person’s prior knowledge of that utility, I advance to a definition of sightedness (the inverse of blindness) based on the same psychological parameters. Turning to free will, I present the two-stage chance-then-choice theory. This theory is then recast using the same parameters to define creativity, where “chance” options are replaced with “blind” options. This conceptual integration has important implications regarding the nature of the relation between creativity and free will. In particular, creative thought necessarily enhances personal freedom.
Correlates of recognition memory performance in amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Determining whether the etiology of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) is Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is challenging. Recognition memory (RM) performance could be helpful in identifying individuals with cognitive patterns indicative of underlying AD. In order to better identify such patterns, we examined RM discriminability in aMCI and its associations with nonmemory cognitive domains impaired in AD.Methods: Participants were 97 individuals diagnosed with aMCI (Mage = 74.48 years) who underwent comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. Zero-order correlations and hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between discriminability on the HVLT-R and specific tasks within the domains of executive function (EF) and language, controlling for age and education. Logistic regression was conducted to determine whether performance on individual tasks was predictive of group membership defined as impaired or unimpaired on RM performance.Results: Whil...
Simulation and exploration of high-density unmanned aerial vehicle systems

Systems of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as the Amazon Air delivery system, will play a large part in future aerospace development. The design and implementation of these systems will be economically, transportationally, and environmentally important. In this paper, we use agent-based models to analyze the emergent behavior of several types of UAV systems with varying parameters and environments. We find that while increasing the number of UAVs initially has a more-than-linear effect on the reported separation incidents, this effect quickly levels off due to carrying capacity limitations. We also find that while different behaviors (objectives and movement patterns) of UAVs affects the locations of the separation incidents, the number of separation incidents is not strongly influenced by these changes. We then explore the implementation of separation-assurance mechanisms using varying levels of information, and examine effects on the emergent behavior.
Proactive and adaptive energy-aware programming with mixed typechecking

Application-level energy management is an important dimension of energy optimization. In this paper, we introduce ENT, a novel programming language for enabling *proactive* and *adaptive* mode-based energy management at the application level. The proactive design allows programmers to apply their application knowledge to energy management, by characterizing the energy behavior of different program fragments with modes. The adaptive design allows such characterization to be delayed until run time, useful for capturing dynamic program behavior dependent on program states, configuration settings, external battery levels, or CPU temperatures. The key insight is both proactiveness and adaptiveness can be unified under a type system combined with static typing and dynamic typing. ENT has been implemented as an extension to Java, and successfully ported to three energy-conscious platforms: an Intel-based laptop, a Raspberry Pi, and an Android phone. Evaluation shows ENT improves the programmability, debuggability, and energy efficiency of battery-aware and temperature-aware programs.
Penile Erection in the Primate: Induction with Nitric-Oxide Donors

AbstractThe primate model has been used for investigations on the physiology and pharmacology of erection. Recent in vitro investigations indicate that nitric oxide acts as the mediator of penile erection, but in vivo primate studies are needed to corroborate these findings.Penile erections were induced in a primate model using intracavernosal injections of nitric oxide donors s-nitrocysteine (NO-CYS) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP), and acetylcholine (ACh) which stimulates the formation of nitric oxide. Penile length and intracavernosal pressures following agonist injection were compared with baseline (flaccid) and control erections (elicited by injection of a papaverine/phentolamine/PGEi standard mixture). Dose-response curves for each drug were determined with respect to maximal intracavernosal pressure, duration of effect and penile length, and systemic arterial pressure was monitored.All three agents induced erections, with dose-dependent increases in cavernosal pressure and penile length. The maximal...
Gastrointestinal imaging update: swallowing disorders and sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.

Abstract This update focuses on swallowing disorders and sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. Anatomy and physiology of swallowing are described, as are the signs, symptoms, and etiology of swallowing disorders. The imaging of these patients, particularly with videofluoroscopic swallowing study and fiberoptic endoscopic examination of swallowing, is then discussed. Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction as a cause of postcholecystectomy syndrome as well as its classification is described. This is followed by an explanation of the roles of fatty meal sonography and hepatobiliary scintigraphy in patients with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, particularly type II and type III.
Option to Abandon and Investment Return

We analyze returns to lumpy projects with multiple investors. Since each investor's commitment increases the likelihood of project completion it exerts a positive externality on other investors. We show that due to this externality either a rise in the cost of abandoning the project or decreased volatility of returns to abandonment can increase ex-ante returns. These findings provide exceptions to the standard results that investment irreversibility (high abandonment costs) decreases returns and option volatility increases returns. Finally, we show that the optimal number of investors is either large or very small.
Performance assessment of a graphene-based ballistic switch design

This paper presents models, designs, and simulation results for logic circuits based upon graphene ballistic deflection transistors (GBDTs). The use of graphene in conventional semiconductor circuits has proved difficult due to its negligible bandgap. GBDTs might avoid this deficiency by electrostatically steering currents through graphene's highly conductive two-dimensional charge transport medium. Simulation results are presented for a GBDT-based inverter and full adder that are predicted to operate twice as fast as conventional CMOS circuits, at the cost of much lower transistor density. The GBDT-based circuits presented in this paper would be well suited for high-speed, high-duty-cycle applications, including high-throughput networking and high-performance computing.
Generalization Error Bounds with Probabilistic Guarantee for SGD in Nonconvex Optimization

The success of deep learning has led to a rising interest in the generalization property of the stochastic gradient descent (SGD) method, and stability is one popular approach to study it. Existing works based on stability have studied nonconvex loss functions, but only considered the generalization error of the SGD in expectation. In this paper, we establish various generalization error bounds with probabilistic guarantee for the SGD. Specifically, for both general nonconvex loss functions and gradient dominant loss functions, we characterize the on-average stability of the iterates generated by SGD in terms of the on-average variance of the stochastic gradients. Such characterization leads to improved bounds for the generalization error for SGD. We then study the regularized risk minimization problem with strongly convex regularizers, and obtain improved generalization error bounds for proximal SGD. With strongly convex regularizers, we further establish the generalization error bounds for nonconvex loss functions under proximal SGD with high-probability guarantee, i.e., exponential concentration in probability.
Are vitamin D receptor activators useful for the treatment of thrombosis

Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin and modified in the liver and kidneys to form the active metabolite 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol). Calcitriol binds to the vitamin D receptor (VDR), a nuclear receptor. The binding of calcitriol to the VDR activates the recruitment of cofactors that form a transcriptional complex that binds vitamin D response elements in the promoter region of target genes. During the past three decades, VDR research has focused mainly on the role of the receptor in the regulation of parathyroid hormone, intestinal calcium and phosphate absorption, and bone metabolism, and several VDR activators have been developed for the treatment of osteoporosis, psoriasis and hyperparathyroidism secondary to chronic kidney diseases. Emerging evidence suggests that VDR activators may be useful for treating cardiovascular, immunological, inflammatory and renal diseases. In addition, the VDR may have a role in modulating thrombogenicity. For example, VDR-/- mice display a phenotype of increased thrombogenic activity. VDR activators modulate the expression of various factors involved in thrombogenicity. Calcitriol was demonstrated to reduce the rate of oncology-related thrombosis in a clinical trial. This review discusses evidence from preclinical and clinical studies to investigate the potential role of VDR in thrombogenicity, and assesses whether VDR activators can be useful in the treatment of thrombosis.
Introduction to Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar

Radar is an acronym for radio detection and ranging, which hints at some of the technique’s uses and capabilities. Radars operate in the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which encompasses wavelengths (λ) from 1 meter (m) to 1 mm (mm), or equivalently, frequencies (f ) from 300 megaHertz (MHz) to 300 gigaHertz (GHz). By international convention, the entire radar spectrum is divided into several bands with different designations and uses. Of particular interest here are X-band (f = 8–12 GHz, λ = 2.5–3.75 cm), C-band (f = 4–8 GHz, λ = 3.75–7.5 cm), and L-band (f = 1–2 GHz, λ = 15–30 cm)—the bands used by radar systems in Earth orbit that provide data for our study of how volcanoes deform.
Eye of the beholder: Risk calculators and barriers to adoption in surgical trainees

Background Accurate risk assessment before surgery is complex and hampered by behavioral factors. Underutilized risk-based decision-support tools may counteract these barriers. The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of and barriers to the use of surgical risk-assessment tools and assess the importance of data framing as a barrier to adoption in surgical trainees. Methods We distributed a survey and risk assessment activity to surgical trainees at four training institutions. The primary outcomes of this study were descriptive risk assessment practices currently performed by residents, identifiable influences and obstacles to adoption, and the variability of preference sets when comparing modified System Usability Scores of a current risk calculator to a purpose-built calculator revision. Risk calculator comparison responses were compared with simple and multivariable regression to identify predictors for preferentiality. Results We collected responses from 124 surgical residents (39% response rate). Participants endorsed familiarity with direct verbal communication (100%), sketch diagrams (87%), and brochures (59%). The most contemporary risk communication frameworks, such as best-worst case scenario framing (38%), case-specific risk calculators (43%), and all-procedure calculators (52%) were the least familiar. Usage favored traditional models of communication with only 26% of residents regularly using a strategy other than direct verbal discussion or anatomic sketch diagrams. Barriers limiting routine use included lack of electronic and clinical workflow integration. The mean modified System Usability Scores domain scores were widely dispersed for all domains, and no domain demonstrated one calculator's superiority over another. Conclusion Risk assessment tools are underutilized by trainees. Of importance, preference sets of clinicians appear to be unpredictable and may benefit more from a customizable, bespoke approach.
The Permian extinction and rise of the dinosaurs

The colonization of the land surface was followed by a dramatic increase in faunal and plant diversity. The development of progressively more sophisticated and larger plants eventually led to organic deposition that turned into enormous coal deposits. Land vertebrates evolved into a complex array of amphibians, reptiles and even primitive proto-mammals. This process occurred on the several isolated land masses scattered around the world’s ocean. For reasons still being debated this “era of plenty” came to a catastrophic end at the close of the Permian Period about 225 million years ago, with the largest extinction event known to geology. The animal survivors of this event proliferated to give us the age of the dinosaurs, with diminutive early mammals largely hiding out in the underbrush.
Longitudinal fan-beam computed tomography dataset for head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma patients.

PURPOSE To describe in detail a dataset consisting of longitudinal fan-beam computed tomography (CT) imaging to visualize anatomical changes in head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients throughout radiotherapy (RT) treatment course. ACQUISITION AND VALIDATION METHODS This dataset consists of CT images from 31 HNSCC patients who underwent volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). Patients had three CT scans acquired throughout the duration of the radiation treatment course. Pretreatment planning CT scans with a median of 13 days before treatment (range: 2-27), mid-treatment CT at 22 days after start of treatment (range: 13-38), and post-treatment CT 65 days after start of treatment (range: 35-192). Patients received RT treatment to a total dose of 58-70 Gy, using daily 2.0-2.20 Gy, fractions for 30-35 fractions. The fan-beam CT images were acquired using a Siemens 16-slice CT scanner head protocol with 120 kV and current of 400 mAs. A helical scan with 1 rotation per second was used with a slice thickness of 2 mm and table increment of 1.2 mm. In addition to the imaging data, contours of anatomical structures for RT, demographic, and outcome measurements are provided. DATA FORMAT AND USAGE NOTES The dataset with DICOM files including images, RTSTRUCT files, and RTDOSE files can be found and publicly accessed in the Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA, http://www.cancerimagingarchive.net/) as collection Head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma patients with CT taken during pretreatment, mid-treatment, and post-treatment (HNSCC-3DCT-RT). DISCUSSION This is the first dataset to date in TCIA which provides a collection of multiple CT imaging studies (pretreatment, mid-treatment, and post-treatment) throughout the treatment course. The dataset can serve a wide array of research projects including (but not limited to): quantitative imaging assessment, investigation on anatomical changes with treatment progress, dosimetry of target volumes and/or normal structures due to anatomical changes occurring during treatment, investigation of RT toxicity, and concurrent chemotherapy and RT effects on head-and-neck patients.
Tumefactive demyelination in a patient with relapsing-remitting MS on ocrelizumab

Ocrelizumab is an intravenously infused humanized monoclonal antibody that induces antibody-dependent cellular cytolysis and complement-mediated lysis of CD20-expressing B cells. Ocrelizumab reduced gadolinium-enhancing activity 94% and 95% compared with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).1 We report a case of tumefactive demyelination (TD) in an ocrelizumab-treated patient with RRMS.
The importance sampling technique for understanding rare events in Erdős–Rényi random graphs

In dense Erdős–Renyi random graphs, we are interested in the events where large numbers of a given subgraphs occur. The mean behaviour of subgraph counts is known, and only recently were the related large deviations results discovered. Consequently, it is natural to ask, what is the probability of an Erdős–Renyi graph containing an excessively large number of a given subgraph? Using the large deviation principle, we study an importance sampling scheme as a method to numerically compute the small probabilities of large triangle counts occurring within Erdős–Renyi graphs. The exponential tilt used in the importance sampling scheme comes from a generalized class of exponential random graphs. Asymptotic optimality, a measure of the efficiency of the importance sampling scheme, is achieved by the special choice of exponential random graph that is indistinguishable from the Erdős–Renyi graph conditioned to have many triangles. We show how this choice can be made for the conditioned Erdős–Renyi graphs both in the replica symmetric phase and also in parts of the replica breaking phase. Equally interestingly, we also show that the exponential tilt suggested directly by the large deviation principle does not always yield an optimal scheme.
Spatial differentials in childhood mortality in South Africa: evidence from the 2001 census

This study examines spatial differentials in childhood mortality in South Africa using data from the 2001 population census. Of the complex routes of geographical area hierarchy maintained by South Africa, one route links provinces to Magisterial Districts (MDs). There are in all 354 MDs and nine provinces. Our analyses are conducted mainly at the level of MDs. The results show that provincial level indicators mask huge disparities in child health experienced by certain segments of the population. Children born in MDs such as Tabankulu, Lusikisiki, Bizana, Flagstaff, Libode and in the Eastern Cape Province in general are the most threatened early in life. Under prevailing mortality conditions, more than 10% of the children born in these districts are unlikely to celebrate their fifth anniversary. Most of the high mortality MDs form clusters that sometimes cut across provincial boundary. As it is to be expected, most of these high risk districts are among the poorest in the country as measured by average monthly expenditure. However, the worse-off districts, health-wise, are not necessarily the poorest and similarly, the best child health achievers are not necessarily the most economically well-off. On the basis of these findings, implementing policies targeting such high risk districts would seem a more rational way to help close the within country disparities in child mortality and thereby speed up progress toward the MDGs target
We Know Where We Don't Know: 3D Bayesian CNNs for Credible Geometric Uncertainty

Deep learning has been successfully applied to the segmentation of 3D Computed Tomography (CT) scans. Establishing the credibility of these segmentations requires uncertainty quantification (UQ) to identify untrustworthy predictions. Recent UQ architectures include Monte Carlo dropout networks (MCDNs), which approximate deep Gaussian processes, and Bayesian neural networks (BNNs), which learn the distribution of the weight space. BNNs are advantageous over MCDNs for UQ but are thought to be computationally infeasible in high dimension, and neither architecture has produced interpretable geometric uncertainty maps. We propose a novel 3D Bayesian convolutional neural network (BCNN), the first deep learning method which generates statistically credible geometric uncertainty maps and scales for application to 3D data. We present experimental results on CT scans of graphite electrodes and laser-welded metals and show that our BCNN outperforms an MCDN in recent uncertainty metrics. The geometric uncertainty maps generated by our BCNN capture distributions of sigmoid values that are interpretable as confidence intervals, critical for applications that rely on deep learning for high-consequence decisions. Code available at this https URL.
Cell-Type-Specific Gene Regulatory Networks Underlying Murine Neonatal Heart Regeneration at Single-Cell Resolution

The adult mammalian heart has limited capacity for regeneration following injury, whereas the neonatal heart can readily regenerate within a short period after birth. Neonatal heart regeneration is orchestrated by multiple cell types intrinsic to the heart, as well as immune cells that infiltrate the heart after injury. To elucidate the transcriptional responses of the different cellular components of the mouse heart following injury, we perform single-cell RNA sequencing on neonatal hearts at various time points following myocardial infarction and couple the results with bulk tissue RNA-sequencing data collected at the same time points. Concomitant single-cell ATAC sequencing exposes underlying dynamics of open chromatin landscapes and regenerative gene regulatory networks of diverse cardiac cell types and reveals extracellular mediators of cardiomyocyte proliferation, angiogenesis, and fibroblast activation. Together, our data provide a transcriptional basis for neonatal heart regeneration at single-cell resolution and suggest strategies for enhancing cardiac function after injury.
Secure Data Communication through Power Electronic Converters in a DC Microgrid

This research focuses on establishing a secure data communication system among power electronic converters connected to a common voltage bus in a dc microgrid. As a proof-of-concept, a buck and two boost dc-dc converters, sharing a 24 V dc bus, have been used for simulation in Matlab® Simulink®. Digital bits are generated at 10 kbps rate at the three converters which are modulated by frequency shift-keying (FSK) algorithm using three different frequency bands with two distinct frequencies to represent bits ‘0’ and ‘1’. Active band-pass filters are used to accurately extract useful data signal from the dc voltage waveform for the three communication channels having different frequency bands. A chaotic dynamic system is adopted for each power converter to encrypt and decrypt the data stream. The encrypted data in the communication channel is secure unless the attacker can perfectly synchronize with the chaotic dynamic system, which is very unlikely. Data in various frequency bands can be simultaneously demodulated and decrypted at the receiver with very good accuracy. The simulation result suggests that the bit-error-ratio (BER) is less than 0.01% even during system transients such as load change and/or due to transition between on-off states of other power converter(s).
On Pore Size Variations in Membrane Networks

We investigate the influence of pore size variations on the performance of porous membrane filters whose pores form a network structure and undergo adsorptive fouling. We find that unless pore size variability is very large, when considered in the context of a statistically significant sample of randomly generated networks, it is less influential on key performance metrics of the membrane filters than the inherent variability of the random network generation procedure. Since random perturbations to pore sizes tend to increase overall porosity of the pore network, we also investigate the importance of initial membrane porosity by studying porosity-corrected performance scores (among equal porosity networks).
Deposit formation in liquid fuels

The influence of aliphatic sulphides, disulphides, thiols, and thiophenes on deposit formation at 394–408 K in Jet A turbine fuel has been evaluated. Addition of aliphatic sulphides and disulphides at 10–1000 μ g S ml −1 fuel slightly inhibited deposition while similar addition of thiols and thiophenes decreased stability of the fuel. The effect on deposition rate in sulphide- and thiol-spiked fuel was proportional to an experimental estimate of the Lewis basicity of the sulphide or thiol. The inhibition by sulphides is consistent with complexation or diversion of soluble deposit precursors.
α2-Macroglobulin bait region integrity: Role in determining fast-form structure

To determine whether integrity of the bait region affects the structure of the remainder of human α2-macroglobulin (α2M), we have determined the separation between cysteine residues in a methylamine-reacted fast-form of α2 M. From reduction in fluorescence intensity of covalently-bound donor fluorophore caused by proximity to an acceptor, a separation of 35 ± 8 A was calculated, which is identical to a previously determined value for proteinase-treated fast-form α2M. This indicates that although bait region cleavage is the physiological route to conformational change in α2M, bait region integrity per se does not significantly affect the structure of fast-form α2M.
A spectrally resolved lateral-shearing interferometer for measurement of relative group delay using a periodic entrance slit in a spectrometer

A concept for a spectrally resolved lateral-shearing interferometer is proposed to measure pulse front and radial group delay. A periodic slit in a spectrometer enables a simpler spatial interference scheme than a Mach-Zehnder interferometer.
The effects of pentoxifylline on equine platelet aggregation

Background: Pentoxifylline (PTX) possesses a number of vasomotor, immunomodulatory, and hemorheologic properties. Based upon the hypothesis that equine laminitis and navicular disease result from microthrombosis, the inhibitory effects of PTX on inflammatory cytokines, and its inhibitory effects on human platelet aggregation, PTX has been widely used to treat equine endotoxemia, navicular disease, and laminitis. Despite this, the effects of PTX on equine platelet aggregation have not been investigated previously. Hypothesis: PTX decreases platelet aggregation in equine whole blood at concentrations approximating those achieved in horses given clinically relevant doses of PTX. Animals: Seven healthy adult horses from a research herd. Methods: Whole blood impedance aggregometry using whole equine blood incubated with varying concentrations of PTX. Adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and collagen were used to initiate aggregation. Results: The onset time of collagen-induced equine platelet aggregation was significantly shortened by PTX. The maximum slope of resistance change (dR/dt) and total resistance change of collagen-induced platelet aggregation were unaffected by PTX. No effects of PTX on ADP-induced onset time of aggregation, dR/dt, or total resistance change were observed. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Our hypothesis is not supported by the results. PTX hastens the onset of collagen-induced platelet aggregation in equine whole blood, but has no effect on the rate of collagen-induced aggregation. PTX does not affect ADP-dependent equine platelet aggregation. Given these findings, PTX may not be a reasonable therapeutic option to decrease platelet aggregation in horses.
Habitat quality and habitat selection of golden-winged warblers in Costa Rica: an application of hierarchical models for open populations

Summary 1. Identifying high-quality habitat is integral to effective species conservation efforts and requires information about habitat-specific abundance and demographics. This information is lacking for many species of conservation concern because of the inherent difficulties associated with implementing mark–recapture studies at large spatial scales. 2. The golden-winged warbler Vermivora chrysoptera is a Neotropical–Nearctic migratory bird experiencing a long-term population decline; yet no information about non-breeding season habitat quality or habitat selection exists to inform conservation efforts. We used a novel hierarchical model that requires only spatially and temporally replicated count data to estimate habitat-specific abundance, apparent survival, recruitment and detection probability of golden-winged warblers wintering in Costa Rica. We quantified habitat selection at the home-range level using radiotelemetry. 3. Golden-winged warblers were absent from tropical dry forest and were most abundant in premontane evergreen forest. Within their home ranges, golden-winged warblers selected microhabitat features associated with intermediate disturbance that reflected their preference for foraging in hanging dead leaves. 4. Consistent with other evidence of a declining population, local population size decreased over the duration of the study. The rate of decrease was higher during the non-breeding season than among seasons. We found no differences in apparent survival or recruitment among habitat types; however, our estimates of these parameters were imprecise. 5. Synthesis and applications. Golden-winged warblers are forest-dependent species during the non-breeding season and have specialized microhabitat requirements that make them vulnerable to ongoing tropical deforestation. However, advanced secondary forests can provide the requisite microhabitat features, and because we found no evidence of reduced survival in this habitat type, regenerating forest on degraded lands may be an effective component of a conservation strategy for this species. Our study also demonstrates that information on population dynamics and habitat quality can be obtained using repeated counts instead of mark–recapture methods.
Nicotine gates long-term potentiation in the hippocampal CA1 region via the activation of α2* nicotinic ACh receptors

Hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells receive two major excitatory synaptic inputs via the Schaffer collateral (SC) and temporoammonic (TA) pathways. Nicotine promotes induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the SC path; however, it is not known whether the modulatory effect of nicotine on LTP induction is pathway-specific. Here we show that nicotine suppresses LTP induction in the TA path. Interestingly, these opposing effects of nicotine were absent or greatly reduced in α2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR)-knockout (KO) mice, suggesting that an α2-containing nAChR subtype mediates these effects. Optical imaging with a voltage-sensitive dye revealed significantly stronger membrane depolarization in the presence of nicotine in the SC path, facilitating spread of excitatory neural activity along both the somatodendritic and the CA1 proximodistal axes. These effects of nicotine were also absent in α2 nAChR-KO mice, suggesting that the enhanced optical signal is related to the nicotine-induced facilitation of LTP induction. In contrast, in the TA path nicotine terminated depolarization more quickly and increased the delayed hyperpolarization in the termination zone of the TA path input. These inhibitory effects of nicotine were absent in α2 nAChR-KO mice and, thus, most probably underlie the nicotine-induced suppression of LTP induction. Our results suggest that nicotine influences the local balance between excitation and inhibition, gates LTP, and directs information flow through the hippocampal circuits via the activation of α2* nAChRs. These effects of nicotine may represent the cellular basis of nicotine-mediated cognitive enhancement.
Solutions for some bargaining games under the Harsanyi-Selten solution theory, part II: Analysis of specific bargaining games

Abstract Part II of the paper (for Part I see Harsanyi (1982)) describes the actual solutions the Harsanyi-Selten solution theory provides for some important classes of bargaining games, such as unanimity games; trade between one seller and several potential buyers; and two-person bargaining games with incomplete information on one side or on both sides. It also discusses some concepts and theorems useful in computing the solution; and explains how our concept of risk dominance enables us to analyze game situations in terms of some intuitively very compelling probabilistic (subjective-probability) considerations disallowed by classical game theory.
Non-Citizen Voting and the Extra-Constitutional Construction of the Polity

The core substantive principle of democracy is that those subject to the law should have a voice in its formulation – a principle of consent realized primarily through the mechanism of the vote. Yet the populations of few (if any) nation-states consist solely of formal citizens; migration and transnational practices give rise to populations within states and bound by laws over which they have no direct control. In this essay, I consider a practice that can help address this potential democracy deficit – alien suffrage. I focus on three jurisdictions that have adopted some form of noncitizen voting in their histories – the United States, New Zealand, and Ireland – and consider what their practices suggest about the processes by which constitutional democracies construct their polities. Alien suffrage is not inconsistent with a strong sense of national identity nor does it necessarily diminish the cultural value of the vote. At the same time, the adoption of the practice does not necessarily indicate the existence of a robust regime of immigrants’ rights, nor is the franchise necessary to promote participation by noncitizens. Whether a society adopts alien suffrage, however, does reflect that regime's particular constitutional values and structures, as well as assumptions about the manner and pace at which the body politic ought to incorporate noncitizens.
Cellular and viral mechanisms of HIV-1 transmission mediated by dendritic cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a key role in the initial infection and cell-to-cell transmission events that occur upon HIV-1 infection. DCs interact closely with CD4+ T cells, the main target of HIV-1 replication. HIV-1 challenged DCs and target CD4+ T cells form a virological synapse that allows highly efficient transmission of HIV-1 to the target CD4+ T cells, in the absence of productive HIV-1 replication in the DCs. Immature and subsets of mature DCs show distinct patterns of HIV-1 replication and cell-to-cell transmission, depending upon the maturation stimulus that is used. The cellular and viral mechanisms that promote formation of the virological synapse have been the subject of intense study and the most recent progress is discussed here. Characterizing the cellular and viral factors that affect DC-mediated cell-to-cell transmission of HIV-1 to CD4+ T cells is vitally important to understanding, and potentially blocking, the initial dissemination of HIV-1 in vivo.
Telling the Truth to the Dying Patient

I would like to examine the question of truth-telling in the care of the dying patient. As we know, this is a matter of some controversy (Erickson, 1974). Until just a few years ago, it was thought that telling the truth to a patient with terminal disease would do that patient harm. In the absence of a cure, it was felt that nothing could be done for such patients. Since telling the patient his diagnosis was to pronounce upon him a hopeless sentence of doom, it was therefore thought preferable to conceal his fate from him.
The impact of tool delivery times on the optimal capacity and value of semiconductor wafer fabs

The objective of this work is to provide insight into the sources and magnitude of the costs that result from lost market responsiveness due to long capacity lead times. A model has been developed to determine the impact of tool lead times on the expected present value of monolithic fabs and modular a fab over the fab lifetime. The model makes the following assumptions and approximations: Demand follows a random walk characterized by a known drift rate and volatility; Capacity lead times are known in advance longer capacity lead times result in tools being ordered earlier than tools with late lead times; Management has the option of sparsely populating a fab initially and then adding additional tools as needed. This is referred to as a modular fab. Cost parameters representing modern 200 mm wafer fabs are used. Based on the above assumptions optimal capacity expansion schedules are numerically generated. Initial results show that as capacity lead times get shorter, initial fab size is likely to be smaller and future capacity additions are likely to become more frequent. If capacity lead times are short, fab capacities can be more accurately matched to demand, achieving higher expected revenues. The increase in revenues can be used to evaluate the financial value of shorter capacity lead times.
Vitamin K, bone turnover, and bone mass in girls

BACKGROUND Vitamin K has been suggested to have a role in bone metabolism, and low vitamin K intake has been related to low bone density and increased risk of osteoporotic fracture. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine whether phylloquinone (vitamin K(1)) intake and biochemical indicators of vitamin K status are related to bone mineral content (BMC) and markers of bone formation and bone resorption in girls. DESIGN Vitamin K status [plasma phylloquinone concentration and percentage of undercarboxylated osteocalcin (%ucOC)] was measured at baseline in a study of 245 healthy girls aged 3-16 y. Cross-linked N-telopeptide of type 1 collagen (NTx) breakdown, osteocalcin, and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase were measured to reflect bone resorption and formation. BMC of the total body, lumbar spine, and hip and dietary phylloquinone intake were measured annually for 4 y. RESULTS Phylloquinone intake (median: 45 microg/d) was not consistently associated with bone turnover markers or BMC. Better vitamin K status (high plasma phylloquinone and low %ucOC) was associated with lower bone resorption and formation. Plasma phylloquinone was inversely associated with NTx and osteocalcin concentrations (P < 0.05), and %ucOC was positively associated with NTx and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase concentrations (P < 0.05). Indicators of vitamin K status were not consistently associated with current BMC or gain in BMC over the 4-y study period. CONCLUSIONS Better vitamin K status was associated with decreased bone turnover in healthy girls consuming a typical US diet. Randomized phylloquinone supplementation trials are needed to further understand the potential benefits of phylloquinone on bone acquisition in growing children.
Trust No One Else: Detecting MITM Attacks against SSL/TLS without Third-Parties

The security guarantees provided by SSL/TLS depend on the correct authentication of servers through certificates signed by a trusted authority. However, as recent incidents have demonstrated, trust in these authorities is not well placed. Increasingly, certificate authorities (by coercion or compromise) have been creating forged certificates for a range of adversaries, allowing seemingly secure communications to be intercepted via man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. A variety of solutions have been proposed, but their complexity and deployment costs have hindered their adoption. In this paper, we propose Direct Validation of Certificates (DVCert), a novel protocol that, instead of relying on third-parties for certificate validation, allows domains to directly and securely vouch for their certificates using previously established user authentication credentials. By relying on a robust cryptographic construction, this relatively simple means of enhancing server identity validation is not only efficient and comparatively easy to deploy, but it also solves other limitations of third-party solutions. Our extensive experimental analysis in both desktop and mobile platforms shows that DVCert transactions require little computation time on the server (e.g., less than 1 ms) and are unlikely to degrade server performance or user experience. In short, we provide a robust and practical mechanism to enhance server authentication and protect web applications from MITM attacks against SSL/TLS.
Methodological Challenges in Performing Targeting: Assessing Dietary Risk for WIC Participation and Education

This paper summarizes recent evaluations of indicators of dietary risk used to determine eligibility and nutrition education and counseling within the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The concept of dietary risk relates to an inadequate dietary pattern or a failure to adhere to the food guide pyramid and, within WIC, is typically assessed based on an individual's intake from a 24-h recall or FFQ. Available evidence suggests, however, that even with a high-quality technique, substantial error exists in these data at the level of the individual, making the likelihood of misclassification high. Such data, with appropriate statistical procedures, can provide valid information at the group or the population level, and this is a future area for indicator development and incorporation into the management of WIC and other nutrition education programs addressing dietary risk.
H-alpha photon yield in fuelling of tokamaks

Abstract The number of H α photons emitted per entering particle is examined for three types of fuelling in tokamaks: wall and limiter efflux, gas puff, and solid pellet injection. These sources correspond to greater involvement of heavy particles in the breakup of entering molecules and to an increasing degree of thermodynamic equilibrium in the radiating zone. The effect of wall absorption and charge exchange on the photon yield in normal tokamak discharges is examined with a molecular influx model. The emission from a perturbing gas puff is discussed qualitatively as an extension to this model. The photon yield from injected pellets corresponds to a limit of extremely high neutral influx and is estimated with a simple hydrodynamical model and measured pellet cloud parameters.
Genome sequence of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans serotype c strain D11S-1

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is a major etiological agent of periodontitis. Here we report the complete genome sequence of serotype c strain D11S-1, which was recovered from the subgingival plaque of a patient diagnosed with generalized aggressive periodontitis.
Uric Acid Directly Promotes Human T-Cell Activation

Abstract Background Abnormally high serum uric acid levels have been associated with several disease conditions including gout and kidney stone disease. More recently, it was shown that uric acid crystals stimulate dendritic cell maturation, activate the NALP3 inflammasome, and enhance antigen-specific immune responses. We hypothesize that uric acid can also stimulate T cells directly and in the absence of antigen presentation. Methods Purified primary human T cells were incubated with and without uric acid at concentrations of 50, 100, 150, and 200 μ g/mL. The expression of T-cell activation markers CD25 and CD70 was assessed by flow cytometry. In other experiments, Jurkat T cells were used and the expression of the costimulatory molecule CD70 was determined at the mRNA level. Results Uric acid directly activates primary human T cells in the absence of antigen presentation. Furthermore, primary human T cells and Jurkat T cells treated with uric acid overexpress the costimulatory molecule CD70, which plays an important role in T cell-B cell interaction and antibody production. Conclusions The finding that uric acid directly promotes T-cell activation in an antigen-independent system is novel and might play a mechanistic role in the inflammatory response observed in gouty arthritis and other immune-mediated diseases.
Collective resonances and response properties of electrons in metal clusters

Abstract The delocalized valence electron cloud in metal clusters displays strong collective behavior. This fact is reflected in a variety of cluster properties, including photoabsorption resonances and electric polarizability. Experiments have demonstrated that the response properties of cluster electrons possess a number of features unique to the microscopic size regime. In this paper the experimental picture is considered, and a theoretical discussion of the size-dependent behavior of electrons in finite systems is presented. Topics discussed include collective resonance frequencies and oscillator strengths in spherical and deformed clusters, electron distribution, and static polarizability. The theoretical analysis presents a consistent picture of cluster spectra which reflects the unique properties of these systems and is successful in explaining the experimental data for a wide variety of metal clusters. Suggestions for further measurements are made, including the prediction of a new photoabsorption mode unique to small metallic clusters.