cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A novel single step percutaneous access sheath: the initial human experience.

Purpose: A novel 1-step percutaneous access sheath NS has been developed that allows the insertion of a dilating balloon and renal access sheath in a single step. We present the initial human experience with this sheath.Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective chart and database review of the initial 30 consecutive patients undergoing percutaneous nephrostolithotomy using the NS. Data collected included patient demographics, operative and recovery parameters, and complications.Results: Mean patient age was 50.4 years (range 11 to 81), mean body mass index was 31.63 kg/m2 (range 17.1 to 65) and mean preoperative stone area was 6.23 cm2 (range 1 to 14.6). Six and 3 patients had full and partial staghorn calculi, respectively. Access was achieved via the upper pole in 16 patients, middle pole in 7 and lower pole in 7. Mean operative time was 114.8 minutes (range 61 to 237). Mean estimated blood loss was 145.5 cc (range 10 to 500) and mean postoperative hospital stay was 4.89 days (range 2 to 14). ...
Effects of cyclobenzaprine on brainstem motor systems.

Abstract Cyclobenzaprine, a new centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxant, was compared with diazepam as to their effects on several brainstem motor systems. Precollicular decerebrate cats were used to investigate intervestibular, vestibulo-spinal and reticulo-spinal effects. Both cyclobenzaprine and diazepam were without significant effect at less than high doses on the vestibular system as assessed by the monosynaptic response recorded in the median longitudinal fasciculus to vestibular nerve stimulation. The effects on brainstem reticular formation was assessed by the vestibulo-reticulo-spinal, spinal-bulbo-spinal and reticulo-spinal responses. In every case cyclobenzaprine had a strong blocking effect on reticular-produced inhibition of the spinal cord monosynaptic reflex. Diazepam was without effect or enhanced the inhibition. The evidence supports the notion that cyclobenzaprine depresses spinal cord interneurone activity by disfacilitation from a reticulo-spinal pathway.
The Role of Logic in Teaching Proof

(2003). The Role of Logic in Teaching Proof. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 110, No. 10, pp. 886-899.
Mobile and Wi-Fi Geo location using Google Latitude

The development of Geographical location standards has opened the doors for new strategies and ideas for location based services, specifically for wireless mobile devices. With the help of Geo location, it has become easy to get information of specific location or find the current locations on our mobile devices. Using networks like Wi-Fi, Cellular networks or GPS positions, it has become a function of second nature for letting our wireless mobile devices know our locations. However, if a wireless mobile device does not support GPS service, we cannot access Wi-Fi data. Therefore, in this paper we present an application as a proof of concept (POC), with the help of Google Latitude to define the location of a specific Wi-Fi tower that in turn enables us to locate the approximate location of the wireless mobile devices without GPS support.
Thermophysical properties of roll-compacted nickel sheet for high-density infrared sheet fabrication

This work is focused on the analysis of the high-density infrared (HDI) sheet fabrication process of powder compacts. Measurements of material properties and distribution of incident heat flux on processed powder sheet surfaces have been conducted with the aim of obtaining a complete set of data that can be used as input in computer simulation software. It was found that these materials exhibit significant anisotropy in thermal conductivity. Indirect measurements indicate that there are small variations in density across the thickness of the powder compacts. Temperature data were obtained from thermocouples placed on the backside of the sheet. The evolution of thermal profile during a static pulse was investigated by using a three-dimensional finite volume model. Numerical simulation results are very sensitive to the surface emissivity. Numerical simulation results agree very well with experimental results for the case in which no liquid pool was formed during HDI processing.
Functional MRI reveals frequency-dependent responses during deep brain stimulation at the subthalamic nucleus or internal globus pallidus.

Abstract Deep brain stimulation (DBS) represents a widely used therapeutic tool for the symptomatic treatment of movement disorders, most commonly Parkinson's disease (PD). High frequency stimulation at both the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and internal globus pallidus (GPi) has been used with great success for the symptomatic treatment of PD, although the therapeutic mechanisms of action remain elusive. To better understand how DBS at these target sites modulates neural circuitry, the present study used functional blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map global brain responses to DBS at the STN and GPi of the rat. Robust activation centered in the ipsilateral motor cortex was observed during high frequency stimulation at either target site, with peak responses observed at a stimulation frequency of 100 Hz. Of note, frequency tuning curves were generated, demonstrating that cortical activation was maximal at clinically-relevant stimulation frequencies. Divergent responses to stimulation were noted in the contralateral hemisphere, with strong cortical and striatal negative BOLD signal during stimulation of the GPi, but not STN. The frequency-dependence of the observed motor cortex activation at both targets suggests a relationship with the therapeutic effects of STN and GPi DBS, with both DBS targets being functionally connected with motor cortex at therapeutic stimulation frequencies.
The informative value of emotional expressions: ‘social referencing’ in mother–child pretense

Mothers begin to pretend with their children during the second year, when children still have much to learn about the real world. Although it would be easy to confuse what is pretend with what is real, children at this young age often demonstrate comprehension during pretense situations. It is plausible that social referencing, in which the child uses the mother’s emotional expression as a guide to behavior, might facilitate this emerging knowledge by signaling to the child not to take the pretend situation seriously. Data from 32 pairs of mothers and their 18-month-olds who had engaged in pretend and real snack behaviors were subjected to a sequential analysis to investigate a social referencing interpretation. Consistent with our hypothesis, behaviors suggestive of a baby’s understanding pretense were more likely to follow a specific combination of behaviors consistent with social referencing than other combinations of behaviors. These results provide support for the possibility that children use information obtained through social referencing to assist understanding during pretense interactions.
Magnetic effects in particle adhesion. Part II. The influence of particle composition and size on deposition in a magnetic field

The effects of a magnetic field on the deposition of particles of various compositions, sizes, shapes (spherical and rod-like) on steel beads of different kinds and sizes in an aqueous environment are described. In the systems studied, the particles and the collector bear a negative charge. If both interacting bodies have a sufficiently high magnetic moment, the magnetic force causes an enhancement in the particle attachment. The process is very sensitive to the size of the depositing solids; larger particles adhere much faster. Interpretation of the results is based on the shape of the total interaction energy function consisting of electrostatic, dispersion, and magnetic contributions. The major influence of the magnetic field is in the formation of a deep secondary minimum in which the particles, moving toward the surface, are accumulated. The magnetic force enhances the flux of these particles and deepens the minimum, causing an increase in the retention efficiency.
Decline in atmospheric carbon monoxide raises questions about its cause

Carbon monoxide plays an important role in the global environment. In urban areas, high concentrations of CO pollute the air and threaten our health, while in unpopulated areas, CO is present at such low concentrations that it has no known health or direct environmental effect. Following a sharp increase in the early 1980s, probably due to a rise in man-made sources (Table I), atmospheric concentrations of CO are now declining. This trend is an indicator of important global changes probably caused by human activities and may reflect a slowdown in tropical biomass burning.
The Influence of Managed Care

ABSTRACT During the past 15 years managed care has greatly influenced all forms of health services, including at colleges and universities which have long functioned like health maintenance organizations but without commercialism. This article discusses managed care's rise to power, the new forces countering it, and its influence on psychotherapy practice. The article suggests that preventive and developmental ideals are better served generally within institutions of higher education than by external, commercial managed care companies.
Adriatic Forum: A Comment

At first glance, the three essays that make up this forum dedicated to the Adriatic appear to chart a fairly standard course for scholarship on the region, depicting the area as one transected by conflict and contest or, alternatively, as a site of cultural mixing and coexistence. The reader quickly realizes, however, that all three authors offer innovative analyses that challenge, even as they build on, the body of work exploring the political and cultural contours of the Adriatic in the modern era. Much of this scholarship reiterates a reductive view of the Adriatic that sees it principally through the narrow prism of competing Italian and Slavic nationalist claims. Although Dominique Reill, Igor Tchoukarine, and Borut Klabjan address Italo-(South)Slav tensions and dialogues, they locate them in much broader frameworks that oblige the reader to rethink understandings of both the contents of these nationalisms and the contexts within which they developed. In different ways, for example, these papers highlight a seemingly obvious but little explored fact: The object of so much contestation and desire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was not just land, but also the sea that lapped the shores of the Adriatic territories.
Chromosomes of the black abalone (Haliotis cracherodii)

The chromosomes of the black abalone Haliotis cracherodii are described for the first time. The diploid number is 36, with no apparent sexual dimorphism.
The Form and Growth of Fingered Sheet Intrusions

The form of several sheet intrusions in a sandstone-shale host rock is regular, but much more complex than the term “sheet intrusion” implies. The periphery of a sill emanating from the Shonkin Sag laccolith in Montana is composed of fingers of igneous rock with lengths of about 100 m, widths of 3 to 5 m, and thicknesses which vary from about 1.2 m near their points of coalescence to about 0.6 m near their terminations. At finger terminations, the host rock is wedged aside and compacted, and along the sides of fingers, buckling and shearing of strata are common. Energy expended by magma to dilate and flow through a sheet is small compared to that for fingers. Initiation of fingers is attributed to instability of the advancing interface between a viscous magma and a more viscous host rock. Fingers coalesce into a sheet such that cusp-shaped grooves filled with deformed host rock remain in the contact. Systematic offsets of sheet-intrusion contacts form where offset fingers coalesce. Several large dikes (5 to 20 m thick) near La Veta, Colorado, exhibit contact offsets of as much as 3 m in magnitude, which give the dike the appearance of a clapboard wall. Small dikelets, horns , often project from the outer edge of offsets. If fingers grow in a surface perpendicular to the least principal compressive stress, offsets may develop as the intrusion propagates through a region where this stress changes orientation. Grooves and offsets form parallel to finger lengths and thus indicate the propagation direction of the intrusion. Flow of magma subsequent to finger coalescence may not be parallel to the propagation direction.
Periods of Saito-Kurokawa Representations

This article concerns decomposing a global automorphic period as the product of local periods. It is in the range of “refined global Gross–Prasad conjecture” [12]; previous examples on this topic are [4, 10, 23]. The novelty of the current article is that it treats a case involving nontempered representations, for which the usual local period integral of matrix coefficients could diverge. We use a height function from the doubling method to extend the divergent local integral as a family of local integrals and then regularize the family by a local L-function; we show that the regularized local period integrals fit nicely into a global period formula. To be precise, let F be a number field and (V,q) be a 5D quadratic space over F of Witt index 2 and determinant 1; in other words, the quadratic form q can be written in the form q(x)= x2 1 + x2 2 + x2 3 − x2 4 − x2 5 . Let (V ′,q′) be a quadratic subspace of dimension 4 and E = F (√det V ′) be the associated quadratic algebra; there is identification
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy The Search for Obstruction

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a fascinating disease entity in which hypertrophy of the myocardium occurs, primarily as a result of mutations of genes encoding the cardiac sarcomere.1–3 Our knowledge of patients with this unique disease of the heart muscle has advanced significantly. Once thought to be a rare malignant disease with a high risk of sudden death, population studies have revealed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to be a more common disease with a benign outlook in the majority of affected patients.4 Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is now recognized to comprise a wide spectrum of disease processes, with varying genetics, anatomy, clinical presentation, and prognosis. The dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction that was initially the hallmark of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy continues to be a source of controversy. Article p 2232 The pathophysiology of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is complex and still not completely understood. The first description of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy came in 1957 when Sir Russell Brock5 found a functional subvalvular obstruction in patients undergoing aortic valvotomy for clinically suspected valvular aortic stenosis. In 1958, Teare6 described the cardiac anatomy of 8 young patients who died suddenly with severe asymmetric left ventricular hypertrophy with bizarre muscle bundle orientation. In the 1960s, Braunwald et al7 defined a specific disease process in which asymmetric septal hypertrophy, myofibril disarray, and dynamic outflow tract obstruction were found. Thus, the early focus of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was on this dynamic obstruction; the response of the obstruction to changes in preload, afterload, and contractility formed the basis for diagnosis. With the advent of echocardiography, which allowed direct visualization of the hypertrophied myocardium, it became apparent that obstruction was not necessary for the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The entire relationship of obstruction to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was subsequently questioned. Some thought that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was primarily a disease of diastole, with obstruction …
Oligonucleotide-Directed Mutagenesis of Antibody Combining Sites

We review here our attempts to achieve a better understanding of the structure—function relationship of antibody combining sites, and to gain insights into the engineering of antibodies with desired specificity and affinity. We have focused on a model system—antibodies to the hapten p-azophenylarsonate (Ars) derived from A/J mice. Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis was used to alter the sequence of the variable region genes of such anti-Ars antibodies. Mutant antibodies were generated in hybridoma cells following transfection of the altered genes, and the effects of the primary structure changes on antibody specificity, affinity, and idiotypic expression were assessed. These studies suggest that an antibody combining site with basic specificity for an antigen could be created by introducing a set of a few amino acid residues in the complementarity determining regions, and that the affinity of such a site could be improved one substitution at a time in a sequential manner.
Computational Protein Function Prediction: Framework and Challenges

Large scale genome sequencing technologies are increasing the abundance of experimental data which requires functional characterization. There is a continually widening gap between the mounting numbers of available genomes and completeness of their annotations, which makes it impractical to manually curate the genomes for function information. To handle this growing challenge we need computational techniques that can accurately predict functions for these newly sequenced genomes. In this chapter we focus on the framework required for computational function annotation and the challenges involved. Controlled vocabularies of functional terms, e.g. Gene Ontology, MIPS functional catalogues, Enzyme commission numbers, form the basis of prediction methods by capturing the available biological knowledge in the form, suitable for computational processing. We review functional vocabularies in detail along with the methods developed for quantitatively gauging the functional similarity between the vocabulary terms. We also discuss challenges in this area, first pertaining to the erroneous annotations floating in the sequence database and second regarding the limitations of the functional term vocabulary used for protein annotations. Lastly, we introduce community efforts to objectively assess the accuracy of function prediction.
Comparison of the performance of SSPH and MLS basis functions for two-dimensional linear elastostatics problems including quasistatic crack propagation

We use symmetric smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SSPH) and moving least squares (MLS) basis functions to analyze six linear elastostatics problems by first deriving their Petrov-Galerkin approximations. With SSPH basis functions one can approximate the trial solution and its derivatives by using different basis functions whereas with MLS basis functions the derivatives of the trial solution involve derivatives of the basis functions used to approximate the trial solution. The class of allowable kernel functions for SSPH basis functions includes constant functions which are excluded in MLS basis functions if derivatives of the trial solution are also to be approximated. We compare results for different choices of weight functions, size of the compact support of the weight function, order of complete polynomials, and number of particles in the problem domain. The two basis functions are also used to analyze crack initiation and propagation in plane stress mode-I deformations of a plate made of a linear elastic isotropic and homogeneous material with particular emphasis on the computation of the T-stress. The crack trajectories predicted by using the two basis functions agree well with those found experimentally.
Biogenesis of iron-sulfur clusters in mammalian cells: new insights and relevance to human disease

Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are ubiquitous cofactors composed of iron and inorganic sulfur. They are required for the function of proteins involved in a wide range of activities, including electron transport in respiratory chain complexes, regulatory sensing, photosynthesis and DNA repair. The proteins involved in the biogenesis of Fe-S clusters are evolutionarily conserved from bacteria to humans, and many insights into the process of Fe-S cluster biogenesis have come from studies of model organisms, including bacteria, fungi and plants. It is now clear that several rare and seemingly dissimilar human diseases are attributable to defects in the basic process of Fe-S cluster biogenesis. Although these diseases –which include Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA), ISCU myopathy, a rare form of sideroblastic anemia, an encephalomyopathy caused by dysfunction of respiratory chain complex I and multiple mitochondrial dysfunctions syndrome – affect different tissues, a feature common to many of them is that mitochondrial iron overload develops as a secondary consequence of a defect in Fe-S cluster biogenesis. This Commentary outlines the basic steps of Fe-S cluster biogenesis as they have been defined in model organisms. In addition, it draws attention to refinements of the process that might be specific to the subcellular compartmentalization of Fe-S cluster biogenesis proteins in some eukaryotes, including mammals. Finally, it outlines several important unresolved questions in the field that, once addressed, should offer important clues into how mitochondrial iron homeostasis is regulated, and how dysfunction in Fe-S cluster biogenesis can contribute to disease.
Review: Male systemic lupus erythematosus: a review of sex disparities in this disease

Although males with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) represent 4-22% of all SLE patients, it may not be appropriate that these cases should be subordinated to females with SLE in terms of most health-related issues. Over the past few decades, some distinctive features of male lupus have been observed with regard to genetic and environmental aspects of sex differences, clinical features, and outcome. In addition, recent insights into sex disparities in this disease have brought forth a few plausible and novel pathogenetic hypotheses. This review discusses these findings and sex disparities in SLE that appear to be especially noteworthy and pertinent to our understanding of male SLE.
Polyoma virus infection of renal allografts: relationships of the distribution of viral infection, tubulointerstitial inflammation, and fibrosis suggesting viral interstitial nephritis in untreated disease

Summary Whether polyoma virus (PV) infection of renal allografts induces an antiviral or antigraft immune reaction is unclear. By examination of the relationships of tubular PV to graft inflammation and scarring, this study sought histological evidence of viral interstitial nephritis in allograft biopsies with untreated PV infection and compared the inflammatory indices to controls with acute rejection (AR). Morphological features including viral cytopathic changes (VCCs) and modified Banff 97 histological indices were evaluated in sections of 28 diagnostic biopsies from a group of patients receiving prednisone, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil at constant dosage before biopsy. Two-micrometer paraffin sections were stained for PV large T antigen (TAg) and for C4d, by immunohistochemistry. Tubular profiles with 1 or more nuclei expressing TAg per ×200 field were scored using an interval scale (0-10; none to 91-100%) by 2 observers. Controls with AR (n = 38, TAg negative) were matched for time after transplantation and severity of Banff 97 interstitial inflammation (i) and tubulitis (t) scores. Median t scores for tubules with VCC or TAg or both exceeded scores for tubules without VCC or TAg (3 versus 0, P = .001). Tubular TAg score correlated with i score ( r = 0.58, P r = 0.61, P 1 in 54% versus 21%) in polyoma virus nephropathy (PVN) than in the group with AR ( P P
A modular junction topological approach to system interaction problems: simulation and validation

This paper introduces a new topological scheme for electromagnetic compatibility simulation for aperture-system interactions. By introducing modular scattering junctions as wave propagation paths, this simulation method substitutes the multi-step computational process presented earlier by a single simulation step without ignoring backscattering interactions. The method also allows for modifications in the sub-structural level without simulating the entire system. The simulations involve transmission line matrix compaction, finite-difference timedomain method, and reciprocity theorem to create different junctions. The numerical results generated by this concept have been validated through experimental results and there is a good agreement between the simulated and experimental data.
Pattern segmentation in associative memory

The goal of this paper is to show how to modify associative memory such that it can discriminate several stored patterns in a composite input and represent them simultaneously. Segmention of patterns takes place in the temporal domain, components of one pattern becoming temporally correlated with each other and anticorrelated with the components of all other patterns. Correlations are created naturally by the usual associative connections. In our simulations, temporal patterns take the form of oscillatory bursts of activity. Model oscillators consist of pairs of local cell populations connected appropriately. Transition of activity from one pattern to another is induced by delayed self-inhibition or simply by noise.
Structure of Solvent-Free Nanoparticle−Organic Hybrid Materials

This work was supported by Award No. KUS-C1-018-02, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
Design and control of a dual stage fast tool servo for precision machining

This work presents the design and control of a dual stage fast tool servo for precision machining of complex non-circular shapes and surface texture. A piezoelectric actuator of 20 microns motion is designed as an attachment to an existing electromagnetic linear actuator. Feedforward and integrated feedback and repetitive digital control based on mu synthesis are designed and implemented at 10.8 kHz on the electromagnetic actuator for tracking a complex engine piston profile. An iterative learning control was designed and implemented at 30 kHz on the piezoelectric attachment to generate short mechanical pulses for machining the surface texture. Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the system performance.
The Constitution of International Society

It is hardly novel to speak of the constitution of international society. The League (or Sociiti) of Nations had the Covenant as its constitutive instrument. Nevertheless, the term 'international society' has a decidedly rhetorically flavour, often used interchangeably with terms like 'international community' and 'family of nations'. For some time, scholars have favoured 'order', as in 'international legal order'.1 In the field of international relations, most scholars in the United States posit a Hobbesian state of anarchy among states, while some writers in Britain have sought to redeem the idea of an international society by references to Grotius and VatteL2 Recent developments in theory present an opportunity to reconsider what might be meant by speaking of international society, and suggesting that it has a constitution. Philip Allott has recently done just this in the context of proposing 'a universal theory of human society'.3 Allott's work and the pages to follow share some of the same sources of inspiration. They differ, however, in one decisive respect Allott claimed that a society - any society, including international society 'is not a thing but a process'.4 I claim that any society, including international society, is a thing and a process. Scholarship is also a thing and a process, a series of texts and, in a familiar simile, a conversation enacted through texts. The conversation is public. Participants imagine an audience and load their texts with interlocutors formed by reference, conscious or not, to other texts. Conversations within texts spur the production of further texts, the texts themselves becoming turns in a conversation. All such
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the determination of dioxins in contaminated sediment and soil samples

A 96-microwell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was evaluated to determine PCDDs/PCDFs in sediment and soil samples from an EPA Superfund site. Samples were prepared and analyzed by both the ELISA and a gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS) method. Comparable method precision, accuracy, and detection level (8 ng kg(-1)) were achieved by the ELISA method with respect to GC/HRMS. However, the extraction and cleanup method developed for the ELISA requires refinement for the soil type that yielded a waxy residue after sample processing. Four types of statistical analyses (Pearson correlation coefficient, paired t-test, nonparametric tests, and McNemar's test of association) were performed to determine whether the two methods produced statistically different results. The log-transformed ELISA-derived 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin values and log-transformed GC/HRMS-derived TEQ values were significantly correlated (r=0.79) at the 0.05 level. The median difference in values between ELISA and GC/HRMS was not significant at the 0.05 level. Low false negative and false positive rates (<10%) were observed for the ELISA when compared to the GC/HRMS at 1,000 ng TEQ kg(-1). The findings suggest that immunochemical technology could be a complementary monitoring tool for determining concentrations at the 1,000 ng TEQ kg(-1) action level for contaminated sediment and soil. The ELISA could also be used in an analytical triage approach to screen and rank samples prior to instrumental analysis.
Physicians' treatment decisions, patient persistence, and interruptions in the continuous use of prostaglandin therapy in glaucoma.

AbstractBackground:Uninterrupted use of ocular hypotensive medication by glaucoma patients is important to prevent vision loss, but medication persistence is poor. Efficacy and tolerability influence physicians’ decisions and patient persistence, and differences between medications may impact persistence.Objective:To examine differences in physician’s decisions to continue, switch, or discontinue therapy across three prostaglandin analogs (PGAs) latanoprost, bimatoprost, and travoprost using claims data supplemented by evaluation of physicians’ charted therapeutic decisions.Methods:A year of pharmacy claims data for 6271 patients with a first (index) fill between 5/1/2001 and 11/30/2004 for PGA monotherapy were classified as ‘persistent’, ‘switched’, ‘restarted’, or ‘discontinued’ with initial PGA use. An analysis of index therapy continuation during the first 2 years reflected chart reviews for 223 patients with PGA monotherapy as the index prescription.Results:Ten percent of patients had uninterrupted u...
A mechanism for selective induction of 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase, anti-viral state, but not MHC class I genes by interferon-beta in neurons.

Interferon-inducible expression of major histocompatibility class I genes has previously been found to be quantitatively and functionally deficient in neurons compared to other somatic cells or other neural cell types including astrocytes. This deficiency is a key component of neuronal immunoprivilege during viral infections of the CNS. To the contrary, in the present study, induction of functional antiviral state by IFN-b in neurons compared to astrocytes was found to be highly efficient with respect to both viral replication and protection from cytopathic effects. A candidate antiviral state gene found to be efficiently induced in neurons by IFN-b was the 2’-5’-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS) gene. Unlike MHC class I genes, induction of OAS was comparable in neurons and astrocytes indicating differential expression in these neural cell types. Analysis of OAS gene promoter activity indicated that induction of the OAS gene by IFN-b was dependent on a region containing the interferon stimulated responsive element (ISRE). In contrast, a construct containing the MHC class IISRE responsible for induction by IFN-b in astrocytes was not responsive to IFN-b in neurons. Therefore, transcription factor binding to the OAS- and MHCISREs was analyzed. While the OAS and MHC Class I site bound equal amounts of the transcriptional repressor IRF-2, the OAS-ISRE preferentially interacted with the transcriptional activator ISGF3 in response to IFN-b. Further, unlike neurons, upregulation of MHC class I genes in astrocytes was related to binding of IRF-1 instead of IRF-2 to the MHC-ISRE. It is proposed that selective activation of anti-viral state genes compared to MHC class I genes by IFN-b in neurons is mediated by preferential induction and binding of ISGF3 to antiviral state gene ISREs but not the MHC-ISRE.
Novel possibilities for coherent radiation sources

Higher frequency radiation sources and their detectors have many potential uses - especially if they are compact, variable, efficient and have high brightness. We discuss some possibilities together with various impediments to their realization. The differences between bound and free electrons are studied from the standpoint of the frequencies that are practicably achievable. With the ansatz that the transport physics with Maxwell's equation are valid but modified by the material properties, a number of analogs exist between these two basic sources of radiation. In many cases, the differences are between macro and micro implementations e.g. between klystron and klystrinos (micro or nano) or solid state and semiconductor lasers or rare-earth doped transistors. Cases with no apparent analogs are ones due to unique quantum effects e.g. radiation at 3kT/sub c/ in superconductors. This is well above magnetic resonance imaging MRI around 0.4 /spl mu/eV but well known below room temperature at 25 meV. Bound and free possibilities for planar, micro undulators over this range are studied using FDTD techniques. To our knowledge, there have been no implementations of either possibility.
Renal branching morphogenesis: concepts, questions, and recent advances

The ureteric bud (UB) is an outgrowth of the Wolffian duct, which undergoes a complex process of growth, branching, and remodeling, to eventually give rise to the entire urinary collecting system during kidney development. Understanding the mechanisms that control this process is a fascinating problem in basic developmental biology, and also has considerable medical significance. Over the past decade, there has been significant progress in our understanding of renal branching morphogenesis and its regulation, and this review focuses on several areas in which there have been recent advances. The first section deals with the normal process of UB branching morphogenesis, and methods that have been developed to better observe and describe it. The next section discusses a number of experimental methodologies, both established and novel, that make kidney development in the mouse a powerful and attractive experimental system. The third section discusses some of the cellular processes that are likely to underlie UB branching morphogenesis, as well as recent data on cell lineages within the growing UB. The fourth section summarizes our understanding of the roles of two groups of growth factors that appear to be particularly important for the regulation of UB outgrowth and branching: GDNF and FGFs, which stimulate this process via tyrosine kinase receptors, and members of the TGFβ family, including BMP4 and Activin A, which generally inhibit UB formation and branching.
Greedy Routing Protocols for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) allow vehicles to form a self-organized network without the need for permanent infrastructure. As a prerequisite to communication, an efficient route between network nodes must be established, and it must adapt to the rapidly changing topology of vehicles in motion. This is the aim of VANET routing protocols. In this paper, we discuss design factors of VANET routing protocols and present a timeline of the development of the existing greedy routing protocols. Moreover, we classify and characterize the existing greedy routing protocols for VANETs and also provide a qualitative comparison of them.
Technology Integration: Mobile Devices (iPods), Constructivist Pedagogy, and Student Learning

although mobile technology is still evolving with most mobile devices supporting numerous communications and technology standards, there are currently very few applications of these devices to support and enhance teaching and learning activities. Integrated appropriately, mobile devices can help students acquire the skills needed to survive in a complex, highly technological knowledge-based economy. this article reports on a small yet innovative qualitative study where preservice teachers were provided with iPods as part of academic courses in a midwestern College of education. evidence from this study indicates that preservice teachers recognized using iPods and podcasts as an effective tool for differentiated instruction. Further, a majority of the preservice teachers saw podcasting as a vehicle for presenting content to their future students. Finally, the authors recommend that teachers take a constructivist approach in the use of mobile devices to integrate audio seamlessly into the curriculum.
Structures and anisotropic thermal expansion of the α, β, γ, and δ polymorphs of Y2Si2O7

The α, β, γ, and δ polymorphs of Y2Si2O7 were synthesized using sol-gel and solid-state methods. The structures of the α and γ polymorphs were determined by identification of isostructural rare-earth disilicates, and the structures were refined using Rietveld analysis of X-ray powder diffraction data. The α polymorph crystallizes in space group P1, with a=6.5872(6) A, b=6.6387(7) A, c=12.032(1) A, α=94.501(7)°, β=90.984(8)°, γ=91.771(7)°, and volume=524.16(9) A3. The γ form is described by space group P21/c, a=4.68824(5) A, b=10.84072(9) A, c=5.58219(6) A, and γ=96.0325(3)°. The anisotropic thermal expansion of each phase was measured using high temperature diffraction up to 1200 or 1400 °C, depending on the stability of the polymorph. The thermal expansion is highly anisotropic for all polymorphs, with the low-expansion direction normal to the long axis of the corner-shared SiO4 tetrahedra.
Probabilistic fatigue crack growth analysis of spot-welded joints

This paper presents a probabilistic fatigue crack growth life prediction methodology for spot-welded joints under variable amplitude loading history. The loading is multi-axial and is obtained from transient response analysis of a vehicle model using finite-element analysis. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element model of a simplified joint with four spot welds is developed, and the static stress analysis of this joint is performed. Then the fatigue crack inside the base material sheet is modelled as a surface crack. Probabilistic crack growth model is combined with the stress analysis result to develop a probabilistic fatigue crack growth life prediction methodology for spot welds. This new method is implemented with MSC/NASTRAN and MSC/FATIGUE and is useful for the reliability assessment of spot-welded joints against fatigue crack growth.
Rapidly Estimated Seismic Source Parameters for the 16 September 2015 Illapel, Chile M w 8.3 Earthquake

On 16 September 2015, a great (M w 8.3) interplate thrust earthquake ruptured offshore Illapel, Chile, producing a 4.7-m local tsunami. The last major rupture in the region was a 1943M S 7.9 event. Seismic methods for rapidly characterizing the source process, of value for tsunami warning, were applied. The source moment tensor could be obtained robustly by W-phase inversion both within minutes (Chilean researchers had a good solution using regional data within 5 min) and within an hour using broadband seismic data. Short-period teleseismic P wave back-projections indicate northward rupture expansion from the hypocenter at a modest rupture expansion velocity of 1.5–2.0 km/s. Finite-fault inversions of teleseismic P and SH waves using that range of rupture velocities and a range of dips from 16°, consistent with the local slab geometry and some moment tensor solutions, to 22°, consistent with long-period moment tensor inversions, indicate a 180- to 240-km bilateral along-strike rupture zone with larger slip northwest to north of the epicenter (with peak slip of 7–10 m). Using a shallower fault model dip shifts slip seaward toward the trench, while a steeper dip moves it closer to the coastline. Slip separates into two patches as assumed rupture velocity increases. In all cases, localized ~5 m slip extends down-dip below the coast north of the epicenter. The seismic moment estimates for the range of faulting parameters considered vary from 3.7 × 1021Nm(dip 16°) to 2.7 × 1021 Nm (dip 22°), the static stress drop estimates range from 2.6 to 3.5 MPa, and the radiated seismic energy, up to 1 Hz, is about 2.2–3.15 × 1016 J.
Attitudinal Variables in Civil Engineering Design

Civil Engineering planning and design has long been a bastion for objective analysis, usually, at the exclusion of important subjective variables. Only recently has a segment of civil engineering (transportation engineering) made significant attempts to incorporate attitudes and values of the user as quantitative variables integral to planning and design. The purpose of this paper is to examine the formulation of attitudinal variables, their quantification, and their application to civil engineering design studies. An overview of various experimental procedures for collection of data necessary for determining quantitative measures for attitudinal variables is presented together with basic theoretical components of psychometric scaling. Possible applications of these techniques to the various fields within civil engineering are examined. The results give evidence of a new approach toward the development of design criteria.
Crystal and molecular structure of N-methyl-8-fluoroquinolinium chloride, C10H9NFCl·H2O

The crystal structure ofN-methyl-8-fluoroquinolinium chloride was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction with refinement by full-matrix least-squares techniques. The crystals belong to theP21/n space group with unit cell parametersa=6.938(3),b=7.855(4),c=18.592(14) A, and β=94.72(4)°. The calculated and observed densities are 1.415(6) and 1.421 g cm−3, respectively. Isotropie refinement of hydrogens and anisotropic refinement of all other atoms with 1040 unique reflections havingI>3σ(I) converged withR1=0.055 andR2=0.060. Steric interactions between the fluorine and the methyl group are evident from the structural data, but the planarity of the quinolinium ring is not significantly distorted.
Initial Study of Tube Networks for Flexible Airspace Utilization

Air traffic in the United States is reaching new highs as it continues to increase at a steady pace. There is a general consensus that the National Airspace System needs to be transformed from today’s rigid airways and airspace structure to a more flexible arrangement in order to accommodate and manage this growth. It has been suggested that one way to support this divergent growth in the mix of air traffic is to divide the airspace into different categories with different levels of service and entry requirements based on policy or price; e.g., connect high-traffic regions with a network of dedicated “tubes” analogous to the interstate highway system. This paper starts with today’s air traffic as a baseline, groups airports into regions, and models a series of tubes connecting major regions. We achieve this grouping in two different ways, and present results based on the two methods. Next, we present simulation results by connecting these regions with a network of tubes. The modeling approach provides a basis for systematically studying the design and impact of dynamic airspace concepts in the National Airspace System.
The Children’s Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Telemental Health Treatment Study: Caregiver Outcomes

The Children’s Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Telemental Health Treatment Study (CATTS) tested the hypotheses that children and caregivers who received guideline-based treatment delivered through a hybrid telehealth service delivery model would experience greater improvements in outcomes than children and caregivers receiving treatment via a comparison delivery model. Here, we present caregiver outcomes. 88 primary care providers (PCPs) in seven geographically underserved communities referred 223 children (ages 5.5 − 12.9 years) to the randomized controlled trial. Over 22 weeks, children randomized to the CATTS service delivery model received six sessions of telepsychiatry and six sessions of caregiver behavior management training provided in person by community therapists who were trained and supervised remotely. Children randomized to the comparison Augmented Primary Care (APC) service model received management in primary care augmented by a single telepsychiatry consultation. Caregiver outcomes included changes in distress, as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Parenting Stress Index (PSI), Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CSQ) and Family Empowerment Scale (FES). Caregivers completed five assessments. Multilevel mixed effects regression modeling tested for differences between the two service delivery models in caregiver outcomes from baseline to 25 weeks. Compared to caregivers of children in the APC model, caregivers of children in the CATTS service model showed statistically significantly greater improvements on the PHQ-9 (β = -1.41, 95 % CI = [−2.74, −0.08], p < .05), PSI (β = −4.59, 95 % CI = [−7.87, − 1.31], p < .001), CSQ (β = −5.41, 95 % CI = [− 8.58, −2.24], p < .001) and FES (β = 6.69, 95 % CI = [2.32, 11.06], p < .01). Improvement in child ADHD symptoms mediated improved caregiver scores on the PSI and CSQ. Improvement in child ODD behaviors mediated caregiver CSQ scores. The CATTS trial supports the effectiveness of a hybrid telehealth service delivery model for reducing distress in caregivers of children with ADHD and suggests a mechanism through which the service model affected caregiver distress.
Clinical scenarios for the use of S100β as a marker of hepatic encephalopathy

AIM: To evaluate the association between serum concentrations of S100β in patients with cirrhosis and the presence of low grade hepatic encephalopathy (HE). METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. The population was categorized into four groups healthy subjects, cirrhosis without HE, cirrhosis with covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) and cirrhosis with overt HE. Kruskal-Wallis, Mann Whitney’s U with Bonferroni adjustment Spearman correlations and area under the ROC were used as appropriate. RESULTS: A total of 61 subjects were included, 46 cirrhotic patients and 15 healthy volunteers. S100β values were different among all groups, and differences remained significant between groups 1 and 2 (P 0.13 ng/mL as the best cutoff value of S100β for the diagnosis of HE (sensitivity 83.3%, specificity 63.6%). CONCLUSION: Serum concentrations of S100β are higher in patients with cirrhosis than in healthy volunteers, and are further increased in the presence of hepatic encephalopathy. The results suggest that serum biomarkers such as S100β could help in the correct characterization of incipient stages of HE.
Some Nostalgic Reflections on Computer-Assisted Instruction

There is no question that what Norbert Wiener called the “cybernetic revolution” has begun to hit full stride. The computer is now used routinely in many organizations to perform tasks that are difficult and time consuming for its human inventors, and automated data-processing is having an impact on our thought processes analogous to the impact of industrial power tools on our work habits. Although computers have not created unemployment, as many people once feared, there are lingering concerns that humanity will be depersonalized by dependence upon machines.
Medfield smartphone SOC Intel® Atom Z2460 processor

This article consists of a collection of slides from the author's conference presentation on the Medfield Smartphone SoC based on Intel's Atom Z2460 processor. Some of the specific topics discussed include: low power platform progression; the Medfield platform for the smartphone form-factor - its constraints, ingredients, and packaging; the special features of the Penwell SoC; power management capabilities; the Medfield reference platform; and future areas of Smartphone development as well as applications for use.