cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Colonization of the chick gut by progenitors of enteric serotonergic neurons: distribution, differentiation, and maturation within the gut.

Abstract The development, distribution, and maturation of enteric serotonergic neurons in the chick gut were examined. The specific uptake of 3 H-5-hydroxytryptamine ( 3 H-5-HT) and radioautography were used to detect serotonergic cells. Cells that take up 3 H-5-HT were found at 7 days of incubation (Day E7) at the proximal and distal ends of the gut. The cells appeared in the outer gut mesenchyme surrounding the developing myenteric plexus. Labeled cells and neurites were also found in Remak's ganglion and in neural connections between Remak's ganglion and the rectum. As development proceeded the density of labeled cells decreased at the extremes of the gut and increased in the middle. The decline in the number of labeled cells accompanied an increase in labeling over the neuropil of the enteric plexuses. After Day E18 labeling of cell bodies was lost throughout the gut, and in the mature gut only neuropil labeling by 3 H-5-HT was found. Gut was removed at Day E5, prior to the appearance of cells that take up 3 H-5-HT, and grown for 8–9 days as explants on the chorioallantoic membranes of embryonic hosts. Uptake of 3 H-5-HT appeared within both duodenal and rectal explants, in cells and neurites around and within the myenteric plexus. Endogenous 5-HT was found in mucosa-free preparations of the wall of the duodenum and rectum after Day E15. The concentration of 5-HT continued to increase through hatching. These results suggest the following hypothesis. Enteric serotonergic precursors are derived from both sacral and vagal neural crest progenitors. Uptake of 5-HT is the earliest detectable characteristic of the serotonergic phenotype and appears first in the cell bodies but later becomes restricted to axons as the serotonergic cells are incorporated into the enteric nerve plexuses. The progenitors migrate to the gut before they express the ability to take up 5-HT. Maturation is not completed as soon as these cells appear and a significant store of endogenous 5-HT develops 7–8 days later, about the time mature varicosites have been detected in the enteric nervous systems.
Listening to Community Health Workers: How Ethnographic Research Can Inform Positive Relationships Among Community Health Workers, Health Institutions, and Communities.

Many actors in global health are concerned with improving community health worker (CHW) policy and practice to achieve universal health care. Ethnographic research can play an important role in providing information critical to the formation of effective CHW programs, by elucidating the life histories that shape CHWs' desires for alleviation of their own and others' economic and health challenges, and by addressing the working relationships that exist among CHWs, intended beneficiaries, and health officials. We briefly discuss ethnographic research with 3 groups of CHWs: volunteers involved in HIV/AIDS care and treatment support in Ethiopia and Mozambique and Lady Health Workers in Pakistan. We call for a broader application of ethnographic research to inform working relationships among CHWs, communities, and health institutions.
Ant Routing Algorithm Parameters Optimization Based on Velocity over Mobile P2P Networks

Regarding ant routing algorithm parameters selection over mobile p2p networks, a basic ant routing algorithm is proposed and related parameters are analyzed. They are the power function of pheromone and evaporation time interval. They obey some parabolic functions of the velocity of nodes. A new method of ant routing parameters optimization based on an independent variable is proposed. Simulation results show that this algorithm selects the parameters effectively.
Application of glass filled thermoplastics for design of low/high temperature signal conditioning devices

Abstract A 3D finite element based computational model is presented to study thermal deformations occurring in both isotropic and orthotropic radio frequency (RF) signal conditioning devices exposed to varying temperature conditions. The model captures the effect of elastic behavior with inherent orthotropy. In modeling orthotropy, the flow and cross-flow directions are chosen based on results from a mold flow analysis that indicate the fiber orientations. The orientations of fibers are identified and new orientations are additionally assigned to various regions in the model. The material properties are specified for flow and the cross-flow directions of ULTEM®, a GE Plastics material. Thermal deformations are obtained both numerically as well as experimentally when the device is exposed to temperatures between −40 °C and 125 °C. The effect of fiber orientation is found to influence the deformation state in the flow and cross-flow directions for the RF signal conditioning device made of ULTEM®. The model was shown to be effective in indicating changes in deformation and is expected to have significant potential for metal replacement in signal conditioning devices and similar structural systems in the field.
Bombesin enhances TGF-β growth inhibitory effect through apoptosis induction in intestinal epithelial cells

Mammalian intestinal epithelium undergoes continuous cell turn over, with cell proliferation in the crypts and apoptosis in the villus. Both transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta and gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) are involved in the regulation of intestinal epithelial cells for division, differentiation, adhesion, migration and death. Previously, we have shown that TGF-beta and bombesin (BBS) synergistically induce cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and subsequent prostaglandin E(2) (PGE2) production through p38(MAPK) in rat intestinal epithelial cell line stably transfected with GRP receptor (RIE/GRPR), suggesting the interaction between TGF-beta signaling pathway and GRPR. The current study examined the biological responses of RIE/GRPR cells to TGF-beta and BBS. Treatment with TGF-beta1 (40 pM) and BBS (100 nM) together synergistically inhibited RIE/GRPR growth and induced apoptosis. Pretreatment with SB203580 (10 microM), a specific inhibitor of p38(MAPK), partially blocked the synergistic effect of TGF-beta and BBS on apoptosis. In conclusion, BBS enhanced TGF-beta growth inhibitory effect through apoptosis induction, which is at least partially mediated by p38(MAPK).
Behind closed membranes: the secret lives of picornaviruses?

If there is one truism that often opens a review or talk about picornaviruses, it is that the entire replication cycle of these simple positive-strand RNA viruses takes place in the cytosol. This statement is usually made to directly contrast picornaviruses with retroviruses or DNA viruses that require transport to the nucleus. However, the statement is meant quite literally. Some enveloped RNA viruses enter organelles to bud from the cellular secretion pathway, while other RNA viruses replicate their genomes in tightly controlled organelle invaginations. In contrast, every step in the replication of picornaviruses, once the genome has entered the cytosol, has long been thought to take place directly in the cytoplasm or on the cytoplasmic face of membranous structures [1].
Surface-Micromachined Neural Sensors with Integrated Double Side Recordings on Dry-Etch Benzocyclobutene(BCB) Substrate

A neural sensor with novel structure and capable of double side recordings has been designed and fabricated using surface micromachining technique. Dry-etch benzocyclobutene (BCB) was selected as the substrate and packaging material for its excellent electrical, mechanical and thermal properties. Positive photoresist (AZ4620) was used as the sacrificial layer during the formation of backside recording sites, and the lift-off process combined with BCB dry etch technique was developed to open the recording sites on the backside. The finished device has intracortical recording sites on both sides, and also epidural recording sites on the front side. The total channel number doubled compared to that of single side electrode structure. Three dry-etch BCB layers were applied to insulate the front side conduction traces from the backside trace layer, and package the entire devices. The developed process shows reliable and high fabrication yield, and results suggest that this newly developed neural sensor could improve the performance and efficiency of neural recording
Seismic Interpretation Theory for an Elastic Earth

The seismic interpretation problem for an isotropic spherical earth is analyzed on the basis of elastic theory, under the assumption that the three independent elastic parameters are unknown continuous functions of the depth. It is shown that solutions for these functions may be obtained in the form of Taylor's series. The problem is treated for three types of symmetrical excitation conditions on the free surface: (1) a shear source of type p$\_{r\phi}$ only; (2) a pressure distribution with vanishing surface shear stress; (3) an excitation consisting of pressure in combination with surface shear stress of type p$\_{r\theta}$. In each case the excitation functions are arbitrary functions of time. It is assumed that the associated components of surface displacement over the sphere are known from available observations, as functions of time. Thus, the complete information contained in seismic records is used in the proposed interpretation process, without need of selecting, identifying and assigning arrival times to specific events on the records. The two static elastic parameters may theoretically be determined from observations at a single frequency, including the frequency zero, or static case. The determination of the dynamic elastic parameter requires the use of at least two frequencies. Algebraic checks are obtained by comparing the general solutions with the corresponding results for two special cases in which the elastic parameters vary in a prescribed manner in the interior of the sphere. In both these cases treatment by the classical ray-path method of interpretation is excluded, because the wave velocity decreases with depth. Furthermore, the ray-path method (which is essentially a method of geometrical optics) would fail to distinguish between the two examples in any case, since the velocity function is the same in both, although the elastic parameters differ. In contrast to the valuable ray-path method, the analytical procedures in the present solution of the elastic problem are prohibitively cumber-some. Practical application of elastic theory to the direct interpretation of seismograms requires further development of the theory with probable utilization of modern high-speed computing methods.
Ethnic Distribution of ECG Predictors of Atrial Fibrillation and Its Impact on Understanding the Ethnic Distribution of Ischemic Stroke in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Background and Purpose— The paradox of the reported low prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in blacks compared with whites despite higher stroke rates in the former could be related to limitations in the current methods used to diagnose AF in population-based studies. Hence, this study aimed to use the ethnic distribution of ECG predictors of AF as measures of AF propensity in different ethnic groups. Methods— The distribution of baseline measures of P-wave terminal force, P-wave duration, P-wave area, and PR duration (referred to as AF predictors) were compared by ethnicity in 15 429 participants (27% black) from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study by unpaired t test, χ2, and logistic-regression analysis, as appropriate. Cox proportional-hazards analysis was used to separately examine the association of AF predictors with incident AF and ischemic stroke. Results— Whereas AF was significantly less common in blacks compared with whites (0.24% vs 0.95%, P<0.0001), similar to what has bee...
FUTURE SOCIAL SECURITY ENTITLEMENTS AND THE RETIREMENT DECISION

Abstract A critical question for Social Security policy is how program incentives affect retirement behavior. We use the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) to examine the impact of Social Security incentives on male retirement. We implement forward-looking models whereby individuals consider the incentives to work in all future years. We find that forward-looking incentive measures for Social Security are significant determinants of retirement. We also find that private pension incentives have roughly similar effects. Our findings suggest that Social Security policies that increase the incentives to work at older ages can significantly reduce the labor force exit rate of older workers.
Problems of post-post-communism: Ukraine after the Orange Revolution

Although Ukrainian democracy has made some progress since the 2004 Orange Revolution, significant problems remain. This article compares the difficulties facing post-Orange Revolution Ukraine to those encountered in East Central Europe in the early 1990s and maintains that Ukraine will have a harder time overcoming its challenges because its starting point and inheritances are different. That is, Ukrainian democracy must overcome many of the infirmities created during its initial decade of post-communism, and that these make establishing effective democratic governance in today's post-post-communist period arduous. Among the difficulties are designing effective institutions, managing the post-Orange Revolution coalition, removing entrenched corruption and weak respect for the rule of law, and coping with a less hospitable external environment. Events since the Orange Revolution bear out the argument that the events of 2004, while getting rid of a leadership with dubious democratic credentials, are merely ...
‘Ecstasy’ as a social drug: MDMA preferentially affects responses to emotional stimuli with social content

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, �ecstasy�) is used recreationally to improve mood and sociability, and has generated clinical interes ta s a possible adjunct to psychotherapy. One way that MDMA may produce positiveprosocialeffects is by changing responses to emotional stimuli, especially stimuli with social content. Here, we examined for the first time how MDMA affects subjective responses to positive, negative and neutral emotional pictures with and without social content. We hypothesized that MDMA would dose-dependently increase reactivity to positive emotional stimuli and dampen reactivity to negative stimuli, and that these effects would be most pronounced for pictures with people in them. The data were obtained from two studies using similar designs with healthy occasional MDMA users (total N ¼ 101). During each session, participants received MDMA (0, 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg oral), and then rated their positive and negative responses to standardized positive, negative and neutral pictures with and without social content. MDMA increased positive ratings of positive social pictures, but reduced positive ratings of non-social positive pictures .W e speculate thissocially selectiveeffect contributes to the prosocial effects of MDMA by increasing the comparative value of social contact and closeness with others. This effect may also contribute to its attractiveness to recreational users.
Multi-time-scale Markov decision processes for organizational decision-making

Decision-makers in organizations and other hierarchical systems interact within and across multiple organizational levels and take interdependent actions over time. The challenge is to identify incentive mechanisms that align agents’ interests and to provide these agents with guidance for their decision processes. To this end, we developed a multiscale decision-making model that combines game theory with multi-time-scale Markov decision processes to model agents’ multi-level, multi-period interactions. For a two-level, multi-period, multi-agent problem, we derived closed-form solutions that determine optimal incentive levels, provide agents with decision rules, and identify information needs. We show the difference between a single-time-scale model, where agents make decisions with the same frequency, and a multi-time-scale model, where superior agents make decisions less frequently than their subordinates. Our results show that in the single-time-scale case, agents can make optimal decisions with information merely from the current and subsequent period. In the multi-time-scale case, data from the entire decision horizon are necessary. This paper contributes to multiscale decision theory by generalizing solutions for multi-period interactions that were previously limited to a few time periods. We apply our model to a management problem with an account manager and multiple customer representatives.
Toward a layered model of context for health information searching: An analysis of consumer‐generated questions

Designing effective consumer health information systems requires deep understanding of the context in which the systems are being used. However, due to the elusive nature of the concept of context, few studies have made it a focus of examination. To fill this gap, we studied the context of consumer health information searching by analyzing questions posted on a social question and answer site: Yahoo! Answers. Based on the analysis, a model of context was developed. The model consists of 5 layers: demographic, cognitive, affective, situational, and social and environmental. The demographic layer contains demographic factors of the person of concern; the cognitive layer contains factors related to the current search task (specifically, topics of interest and information goals) and users' cognitive ability to articulate their needs. The affective layer contains different affective motivations and intentions behind the search. The situational layer contains users' perceptions of the current health condition and where the person is in the illness trajectory. The social and environmental layer contains users' social roles, social norms, and various information channels. Several novel system functions, including faceted search and layered presentation of results, are proposed based on the model to help contextualize and improve users' interactions with health information systems.
Improved Filter Strategies for Precise Geolocation of Unexploded Ordnance using IMU/GPS Integration

Efficient and precise geolocation can be achieved by integrating a ranging system, such as GPS, with inertial sensors in order to bridge short outages, enhance accuracy degradation, and increase the temporal resolution in the ranging system. Optimal integration depends on appropriate filter methods that can accommodate the particular short-term dynamics experienced by platforms, such as UXO ground-based detection systems. The traditional extended Kalman filter was designed to integrate data from a linearized system excited by Gaussian noise. We compared this filter to modern filters that obviate these prerequisites, including the unscented Kalman filter, the particle filter, and adaptive variations thereof, using simulated IMU/ranging systems that follow a typical trajectory with both straight and curved segments. The unscented filter performed significantly better than the extended Kalman filter, particularly over the curved segments, yielding up to 50% improvement in the position accuracy using medium-grade inertial measurement units. Similar improvement was obtained for the unscented particle filter, and its adaptive variant, over the unscented Kalman filter (which performed comparably to the extended Kalman filter) when the statistical distribution of the IMU noise was non-symmetric (i.e., essentially non-Gaussian). While the few-centimetre geolocation accuracy goal for highly dynamic UXO characterization applications remains a challenge if tactical grade IMUs are integrated with a significantly degraded ranging system, using filters appropriate to the inherent nonlinear dynamics and potential non-Gaussian nature of the sensor noise tend to reduce overall errors compared to the traditional filter.
Subcellular optogenetic inhibition of G proteins generates signaling gradients and cell migration

Cells sense gradients of extracellular cues and generate polarized responses such as cell migration and neurite initiation. There is static information on the intracellular signaling molecules involved in these responses, but how they dynamically orchestrate polar- ized cell behaviors is not well understood. A limitation has been the lack of methods to exert spatial and temporal control over specific signaling molecules inside a living cell. Here we introduce optogenetic tools that act downstream of native G protein-coupled receptor (GPCRs) and provide direct control over the activity of endogenous heterotrimeric G protein subunits. Light-triggered recruitment of a truncated regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) protein or a Gβγ-sequestering domain to a selected region on the plasma membrane results in localized inhibition of G protein signaling. In immune cells exposed to spatially uniform chemoattractants, these optogenetic tools allow us to create reversible gradients of signaling activity. Migratory responses generated by this approach show that a gradient of active G protein αi and βγ subunits is sufficient to generate directed cell migration. They also provide the most direct evidence so for a global inhibition pathway triggered by Gi signaling in direc- tional sensing and adaptation. These optogenetic tools can be applied to interrogate the mechanistic basis of other GPCR-modulated cellular functions.
An End-to-end Detection of Wormhole Attack in Wireless Ad-hoc Networks

Wormhole attack is a severe attack in wireless ad hoc networks. Most of the previous work eliminate the effect of wormhole attack by examining the distance or communication time over each link during the route establishment, which requires special hardware or causes overhead on all links even though only one link on each route could be affected by a wormhole attack. In this article, we propose an end-to-end detection of wormhole attack (EDWA) in wireless ad-hoc networks. We first present the wormhole detection which is based on the smallest hop count estimation between source and destination. If the hop count of a received shortest route is much smaller than the estimated value an alert of wormhole attack is raised at the source node. Then the source node will start a wormhole TRACING procedure to identify the two end points of the wormhole. Finally, a legitimate route is selected for data communication. Both our analysis and simulation results show that the end-to-end wormhole detection method is effective when the source and destination are not too far away.
Selective enrichment and isolation of Rhodopseudomonas palustris using trans-cinnamic acid as sole carbon source

Enrichment cultures for anoxygenic phototrophs capable of using cinnamic acid as sole organic carbon source consistently yielded the nonsulfur purple bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris. Pure cultures of R. palustris obtained from the enrichments grew photoheterotrophically on cinnamate and benzoate as well as on derivatives of these compounds. Photosynthetic growth on cinnamate was greatly stimulated by addition of exogenous CO2, and resulted in breakage of the aromatic nucleus. Growth yield studies suggested that cinnamate was converted by R. palustris to intermediates that can be quantitatively assimilated into cell material.
A neural interface provides long-term stable natural touch perception.

Touch perception on the fingers and hand is essential for fine motor control, contributes to our sense of self, allows for effective communication, and aids in our fundamental perception of the world. Despite increasingly sophisticated mechatronics, prosthetic devices still do not directly convey sensation back to their wearers. We show that implanted peripheral nerve interfaces in two human subjects with upper limb amputation provided stable, natural touch sensation in their hands for more than 1 year. Electrical stimulation using implanted peripheral nerve cuff electrodes that did not penetrate the nerve produced touch perceptions at many locations on the phantom hand with repeatable, stable responses in the two subjects for 16 and 24 months. Patterned stimulation intensity produced a sensation that the subjects described as natural and without “tingling,” or paresthesia. Different patterns produced different types of sensory perception at the same location on the phantom hand. The two subjects reported tactile perceptions they described as natural tapping, constant pressure, light moving touch, and vibration. Changing average stimulation intensity controlled the size of the percept area; changing stimulation frequency controlled sensation strength. Artificial touch sensation improved the subjects’ ability to control grasping strength of the prosthesis and enabled them to better manipulate delicate objects. Thus, electrical stimulation through peripheral nerve electrodes produced long-term sensory restoration after limb loss.
Two-Point Calibration of Circular Dichrometer with d-10-Camphorsulfonic Acid

Abstract The circular dichroism (CD) of d-10-camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) in terms of ∊L - ∊R is 2.36 and -4.72 cm2 mmol−1 at 290.5 and 192.5 nm, respectively. The corresponding molar ellipticities, [⊝], are 7,800 and -15,600 deg cm2 dmol−1. A ratio of -2.00 for the negative and positive bands provides a simple two-point calibration. If a standardized spectropolarimeter is available, the ratio of [⊝]290.5/[M]306 = 1.75 to 1.76 or [⊝]290.5/([M]306−[M]270) = 0.77 at the extrema is recommended for CD calibration at the 290 nm region, which is unaffected by the presence of optically inactive impurities such as water. Alternately, CSA has a molar absorption coefficient of 34.5 cm2 mmol−1 at 285 nm, which can be used for concentration determination. This leads to (∊L−∊R)290.5/∊285 = 0.068 or [⊝]290.5/∊285 = 226. However, CSA must be purified to remove any impurities that are optically active or absorb light or both in the UV region.
The toxicity of brodifacoum wheat bait to the field rodents Microtus guentheri and Meriones tristrami

The toxicity of the anticoagulant brodifacoum to the field rodent species Microtus guentheri (Danford & Alston) and Meriones tristrami Thomas was tested in the laboratory. Brodifacoum 0.05 g kg -1 whole-wheat bait was offered to the animals without additional food. The LD 50 calculated for M. guendheri was 2-28 mg kg -1 body weight. Brodifacoum was found to be more toxic to M. tristrami; the LD 50 was c. 0.8-0.9 mg kg -1 body weight. The toxicity data served to plan the doses of bait to be broadcast in the field
Aggressive Loop Unrolling in a Retargetable Optimizing Compiler

A well-known code transformation for improving the run-time performance of a program is loop unrolling. The most obvious benefit of unrolling a loop is that the transformed loop usually requires fewer instruction executions than the original loop. The reduction in instruction executions comes from two sources: the number of branch instructions executed is reduced, and the control variable is modified fewer times. In addition, for architectures with features designed to exploit instruction-level parallelism, loop unrolling can expose greater levels of instruction-level parallelism. Loop unrolling is an effective code transformation often improving the execution performance of programs that spend much of their execution time in loops by 10 to 30 percent. Possibly because of the effectiveness of a simple application of loop unrolling, it has not been studied as extensively as other code improvements such as register allocation or common subexpression elimination. The result is that many compilers employ simplistic loop unrolling algorithms that miss many opportunities for improving run-time performance. This paper describes how aggressive loop unrolling is done in a retargetable optimizing compiler. Using a set of 32 benchmark programs, the effectiveness of this more aggressive approach to loop unrolling is evaluated. The results show that aggressive loop unrolling can yield additional performance increase of 10 to 20 percent over the simple, naive approaches employed by many production compilers.
A low-noise gain-enhanced readout amplifier for induced molecular electronic signals

This paper reports a low-noise readout circuit for label-free, mobile detection of protein-ligand interactions. It is based on a new sensing technique where the surface charge of an electrode is altered due to the dipole moment of nearby biomolecules. We propose a low-noise readout circuit to measure the sub-nA signals. Using a chopped low-noise integrating preamplifier and a resistive transimpedance amplifier, the gain of the proposed circuit is 1.7 GΩ with an input-referred noise of 82 fARMS over a 10 Hz bandwidth. We demonstrate that the designed amplifier can capture the induced molecular electronic signature of Trypsin with a 50×50 μm2 sensing electrode.
Abstract 20006: RNA Sequencing of Human Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Tissue Reveals Diverse Pathways Modulating the Myocardial Tissue Microenvironment

Introduction: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common inherited cardiac disease and cause of sudden death in adolescents and young adults. Despite significant advances in understanding the genetic underpinnings of HCM, there remains an incomplete understanding of how myofilament mutation carriers and non-carriers ultimately develop myocardial hypertrophy. Hypothesis: Human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy tissue differentially regulates gene expression involved in cellular growth. Methods: RNA was extracted from 5 control human septal tissue samples and 8 HCM septal tissue samples. The HCM tissue samples were from both myofilament mutation positive and negative patients. RNA sequencing was performed using Illumina HiSeq 2500 at a depth of 30 million paired-end reads per sample. Sequencing data was aligned to the hg19 genome using TopHat (splice-aware aligner). Cufflinks was used to estimate transcript abundance and differential expression. Pathway enrichment analysis was carried out on significant genes (q Results: Cluster and principal component analysis showed highly distinct RNA expression signatures between control and HCM tissues. There were 1500 differentially expressed sequences (q 10). Highly enriched gene clusters that were suppressed in human HCM tissue were associated with secreted peptides involved in regulating inflammation and immune defense response (enrichment scores > 5). Conclusion: Our data reveals human HCM tissue differentially regulates a diverse array of genes involved in regulation of the myocardial tissue microenvironment. The strong similarity in gene expression across HCM samples suggests shared pathophysiological mechanisms independent of the underlying genetic etiology.
Herbal Remedies: Adverse Effects and Drug Interactions

A growing number of Americans are using herbal products for preventive and therapeutic purposes. The manufacturers of these products are not required to submit proof of safety and efficacy to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before marketing. For this reason, the adverse effects and drug interactions associated with herbal remedies are largely unknown. Ginkgo biloba extract, advertised as improving cognitive functioning, has been reported to cause spontaneous bleeding, and it may interact with anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents. St. John's wort, promoted as a treatment for depression, may have monoamine oxidase-inhibiting effects or may cause increased levels of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Although St. John's wort probably does not interact with foods that contain tyramine, it should not be used with prescription antidepressants. Ephedrine-containing herbal products have been associated with adverse cardiovascular events, seizures and even death. Ginseng, widely used for its purported physical and mental effects, is generally well tolerated, but it has been implicated as a cause of decreased response to warfarin. Physicians must be alert for adverse effects and drug interactions associated with herbal remedies, and they should ask all patients about the use of these products.
Relief of Labor Pain by Systemic Medications and Inhalational Agents

Systemic medications have been used exclusively or in association with psychoanalgesia for relief of labor pain during both the first and second stages of labor. These drugs can be classified into several categories.
Tradeoffs between Quality of Offspring and Litter Size: Differences Do Not Persist into Adulthood

Persistent effects of the tradeoff between number and size of offspring per litter were examined by comparing mean mass of northern grasshopper mice ( Onychomys leucogaster ) within litters at the end of complete maternal dependence (age 16 days), at separation from mothers (28 days), and as adults (60 days). Although there was a significant effect of litter size on mean mass of offspring early in lactation, young showed compensatory growth as soon as they began eating solid food. No difference in body size was evident at weaning or among adults. Compensatory growth was fueled by increased consumption of food relative to body mass; smaller offspring in large litters consumed as much food per capita as large offspring from small litters. To the extent that body size can influence reproductive potential, the offspring's capacity for compensatory growth suggests that much of the penalty for large litters is through decreased recruitment or through reduced future reproduction by mothers rather than differences in reproductive potential of offspring as adults.
Astronomical science with adaptive optics

In the past five years, astronomical adaptive optics systems have begun operation on the world's largest ground-based telescopes. This talk discusses the considerable scientific benefits of astronomical adaptive optics, and highlights some of the exciting new scientific results from adaptive optics systems on 8 - 10 meter telescopes.
Malignant thymoma: current status and future directions.

Malignant thymomas are rare indolent tumours of the anterior superior mediastinum. Despite a benign histologic appearance, some thymomas invade nearby structures or metastasize. Patients are commonly asymptomatic, but some may present with unusual paraneoplastic syndromes such as myasthenia gravis, pure red cell aplasia, or hypogammaglobulinemia. Since tumour biopsy may potentially disrupt the thymic capsule, it is often not performed. Patients are therefore diagnosed and staged at the time of definitive surgery. Thymomas can generally be categorized into two stages: non-invasive and invasive. Prognosis closely parallels the disease stage. Surgery is the principal treatment and is curative in early stage disease. Radiation therapy, either alone or in combination with chemotherapy, is an option for both incompletely or completely resected disease. Chemotherapy is offered to patients with locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic thymoma, with excellent responses and prolonged survival. Multicentre co-operative group clinical trials are required to assess novel thymoma therapies to maximize patient resources in this uncommon tumour.
Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation scores for predicting outcomes in urgent liver transplants.

Background/Aims: Although many prognostic indices have been used to predict outcomes after liver transplantation, the actual correlations between these indices and outcomes are inconsistent. The APACHE scoring system, which reflects a patient's clinical course, may be a better prognostic indicator of outcomes after liver transplantation. Methodology: Of 621 liver transplant recipients from January 2000 through December 2004, 41 adult patients with hepatic failure received ICU care prior to liver transplantation. Their records were analyzed retrospectively and the correlation between APACHE score and mortality after liver transplantation was determined. Results: Of the 41 patients with fulminant hepatic failure, 31 survived after liver transplantation. The mean APACHE II scores of the survivors and nonsurvivors differed significantly (22.50±5.89 vs 18.19±5.89, p<0.05), as did the mean APACHE III scores (100±22.6 vs. 78.3±23.9, p<0.05). The r 2 value between APACHE III scores and postoperative ICU stay was 0.14. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for APACHE II and APACHE III were 0.713 and 0.737 respectively (P<0.05). Conclusions: The APACHE scoring systems have significant clinical value in predicting the outcomes after urgent liver transplantation in patients with fulminant hepatic failure.
Effect of bias traces and wires on a MEMS reconfigurable pixelated patch antenna

The simulated studies showing the effect of DC bias lines on an aperture coupled reconfigurable pixelated patch antenna for CLAS applications is presented. The simulations show significant deterioration in S11 and gain for all operating modes when copper bias wires are introduced. A solution utilizing very high sheet resistance bias lines in place of copper traces is proposed.
Dynamic fuzzy force field based force-feedback for collision avoidance in robot manipulators

Advanced remote teleoperation of robot manipulators enable complex tasks to be performed in hostile or inaccessible environments, without the physical presence of a human. For increased effectiveness of teleoperation, maintaining accuracy and speed of task while minimizing collisions is important. Visual and auditory inputs to the user aid in accurate control. However, to further increase the speed and accuracy, tactile and kinesthetic force-feedback information can be used. One of the most common methods of force-feedback generation is the virtual force field based method. However, in complex environments where increased accuracy is required, static force field based methods are insufficient. This paper presents a dynamically varying, virtual force field based force-feedback generation method for obstacle avoidance in remotely operated robot manipulators. The presented method utilizes a fuzzy logic model to dynamically vary a virtual force field surrounding the manipulator in real-time. The fuzzy controller utilizes the distance vectors to obstacles and the velocity vectors of the manipulator components to generate the force field in each axis. The generated force field is then used to calculate the final force-feedback that is sent to the user. The presented method was implemented on a simple 3-DOF robot manipulator, and compared to a typical static force field based force-feedback generation method. Test results show that the task completion time is significantly improved without significant loss of accuracy in certain tasks when the presented force-feedback method is used.
Evaluating intent-expressive robot arm motion

Planning effective arm motions is integral to manipulation tasks. In general, motion synthesis methods have focused on functional objectives, such as minimizing time and maximizing efficiency. However, recent work in human-robot collaboration suggests that choices in motion design can influence collaboration performance and quality. Some motion designs are easier than others for human observers to interpret. In this paper, we explore the tradeoffs in robot arm movements designed to be observed by people. Through a series of human-subjects experiments, we compare collaboration performance between several motion-synthesis methods explored by prior work. We find that a number of factors, including the design of the robot arm and metric for success, affect the relative merits of different approaches.
Robotic assistant for Mobility-Impaired Patients (RAMP)

There are currently 10 million American who need mobility assistance leading to an increase of 40 percent in demand for registered nurses by 2020 while the supply of registered nurses will only increase by 6 percent. This supply-demand gap can be partially addressed by a robot assistant to help an individual with limited mobility performs daily tasks.
Photonic realization of a transition to a strongly driven Floquet topological phase

Floquet systems provide a platform with significant potential for generating and controlling topological phases of matter. By introducing an external driving field, a topologically trivial system can be driven to topological phases possessing nonzero bulk invariants and associated gapless surface modes. One rich feature of Floquet systems is that, as one moves away from the weak-field regime by increasing the amplitude of the driving field, one can encounter a series of topological transitions which place the system in distinct topological phases. Here we experimentally demonstrate this phenomenon in a photonic system consisting of an array of evanescently coupled helical waveguides. We show that, by moving between the weakly and strongly driven regimes, we can induce a transition in which the bulk topological invariant changes sign and the associated topological edge mode reverses its propagation direction. These two topological phases are part of a larger phase diagram and serve to demonstrate both the rich topological physics present in Floquet systems as well as the accessibility of the strongly driven regime---a regime typically associated with the difficulties of large radiative losses for photonic systems and significant heating for their condensed matter counterparts.
Mechanisms of increased tissue oxygen delivery following release of arterial occlusion in canine skeletal muscle and skin.

Tissue oxygen delivery is dependent on the local blood flow and the extent of oxygen extraction. Concerning the intrinsic microvascular control of tissue O2 delivery, a recent system analysis (1) and experimental data (2) suggest that adequate tissue oxygenation is maintained over a wide range of metabolic stresses, the relative contribution of blood flow and O2 extraction to the regulation of tissue O2 delivery being determined by the prevailing venous oxygen level. The previous study (2) has shown that in skeletal muscle perfused with constant pressure, both reactive hyperemia and elevated arteriovenous (A-V) O2 difference contribute to the O2 debt repayment following arterial occlusion when the initial A-V O2 difference is in the normal range. However, at low prevailing A-V O2 difference, increased O2 extraction is the major mechanism by which the tissue repays its O2 debt and the contribution of blood flow is minimal. As the prevailing venous O2 reserve is lowered, the contribution of O2 extraction diminishes and reactive hyperemia becomes more important for the compensation. Thus, the immediate post-occlusion O2 extraction is only slightly elevated or even transiently depressed.
Structure and function of Factor VIII.

When the first International Symposium on Inhibitors was held 10 years ago, the existing knowledge of Factor VIII (F.VIII) structure and function was summarized by Fulcher and Zimmerman.1 F.VIII had been recently purified from bovine, porcine, and human plasma, and investigators interested in the biochemistry of F.VIII were at the threshold of making significant progress. This followed a decade of frustrating work in which advances in protein purification and immunological methods had made the purification of F.VIII a feasible but elusive goal.
When do circumstances excuse? Moral prejudices and beliefs about the true self drive preferences for agency-minimizing explanations

Abstract When explaining human actions, people usually focus on a small subset of potential causes. What leads us to prefer certain explanations for valenced actions over others? The present studies indicate that our moral attitudes often predict our explanatory preferences far better than our beliefs about how causally sensitive actions are to features of the actor’s environment. Study 1 found that high-prejudice participants were much more likely to endorse non-agential explanations of an erotic same-sex encounter, such as that one of the men endured a stressful event earlier that day. Study 2 manipulated participants’ beliefs about how the agent’s behavior depended on features of his environment, finding that such beliefs played no clear role in modeling participants’ explanatory preferences. This result emerged both with low- and high-prejudice, US and Indian participants, suggesting that these findings probably reflect a species-typical feature of human psychology. Study 3 found that moral attitudes also predicted explanations for a woman’s decision to abort her pregnancy (3a) and a person’s decision to convert to Islam (3b). Study 4 found that luck in an action’s etiology tends to undermine perceptions of blame more readily than perceptions of praise. Finally, Study 5 found that when explaining support for a rival ideology, both Liberals and Conservatives downplay agential causes while emphasizing environmental ones. Taken together, these studies indicate that our explanatory preferences often reflect a powerful tendency to represent agents as possessing virtuous true selves. Consequently, situation-focused explanations often appear salient because people resist attributing negatively valenced actions to the true self. There is a person/situation distinction, but it is normative.
Literacy Research, Racial Consciousness, and Equitable Flows of Knowledge:

My presidential address focuses on three themes. First, I introduce and trouble the idea of literacy research as white property, drawing on my own research and the history of the Literacy Research ...
THE SPIRIT OF DEFIANCE IN MENTORSHIP AMONGST BLACK MEN AND BOYS

Black male students are disproportionately disciplined in schools, primarily for subjective acts of defiance. This scholarship explores how defiance is an integral force in the lives of Black males from boyhood to manhood and how schools can contribute to the development of this unique expression of resilience. Defiance is a personal and collective set of resistance strategies to counter the economic, racial and social constraints unique to Black life in American society and schools. When defiance is channelled constructively, Black males use it to foster productive academic, social and professional lives, and to counter negative stereotypes. Understanding the spirit of defiance will aid teachers, schools and communities in minimizing cultural misunderstandings that lead to punitive and exclusionary disciplinary referrals.
Modified Dunn Procedure for Unstable Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis

The goals of unstable slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) treatment include preventing further slippage of the epiphysis, avoiding the occurrence of osteonecrosis, and restoring hip function. Although the etiology of osteonecrosis after unstable SCFE remains unsolved, injury to the retinacular nutrient vessels, increased intracapsular pressure secondary to hematoma, and kinking of the vessels have been described. The method of surgical treatment including the time to reduction has also been reported to influence the outcomes of unstable SCFE treatment. The modified Dunn subcapital realignment using the surgical dislocation approach and dissection of the retinacular flap supplying the femoral head is one alternative to the treatment of unstable SCFE. The dissection of the extended retinacular flap allows assessment and protection of the vessels that supply the femoral head.
Performance Assessment of Emerging Memories Through FPGA Emulation

Emerging memory technologies offer the prospect of large capacity, high bandwidth, and a range of access latencies ranging from DRAM-like to SSD-like. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of parallel applications on CPUs whose main memories sweep a wide range of latencies within a bandwidth cap. We use an FPGA emulator, the logic in memory emulator (LiME) to accelerate evaluation. The LiME framework uses a multiprocessor system on chip (MPSoC) combining multicore CPU, integrated memory controller, and FPGA fabric, and enables emulation orders of magnitude faster than software simulation. Our paper highlights the performance impact of higher latency on concurrent applications and identifies conditions under which future high latency memories can effectively be used as main memory.