cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Are Children's DSM Diagnoses Accurate?

The purpose of this paper is to gauge DSM’s scientific accuracy, using the prevalent children’s diagnoses of attention deficit and disruptive behavior disorders as examples. I use the term accuracy to refer to a bundle of questions about the clarity of definitions that distinguish one category from another, the conceptual coherence of these definitions, and the ability of users of the classification system to implement these distinctions consistently in practice. With regard to DSM, I begin with a review of DSM’s definitions of children’s disorders and their ability to identify and distinguish those children who are disordered from those who are not. I then review the extent to which clinicians can use these distinctions reliably. Finally, I look at some additional problems with the validity of children’s diagnoses as defined by DSM. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 4:255–270 (2004)]
Characterization of subcellular poly(A) RNA populations by poly(U) Sepharose chromatography and discontinuous elution

Abstract Poly(U) Sepharose column chromatography was used to characterize the poly(A) RNA in RNA fractions differentially extracted from mammalian cells and subcellular components.. RNA fraction A was phenol extracted at pH 5.2 and 4°C and fraction B was phenol extracted from the residual material by elevating the extraction temperature and pH. With labeled RNA from HeLa cells, six peaks were isolated using a decreasing discontinuous KCl gradient (peaks I through IV), 1% sodium dodecylsulfate (peak V), and 90% formamide (peak VI). Peaks I through IV in fraction A were 0.8 to 2.3% polyadenylic acid; peak V was 2.9%; and peak VI, 16.7%. In fraction B RNA, peaks I through IV were 6 to 7.6% polyadenylic acid; peak V, 7.7%; and peak VI, 19.5%. After 24 h labeling of human myeloma cells to achieve a steady state, and subsequent subcellular fractionation, peak III was localized in RNA fraction B from the chromatin; this peak was not found in the polysomes. These and other observations suggest that poly(U) Sepharose chromatography combined with a discontinuous elution scheme is a very sensitive procedure for monitoring metabolic changes in poly(A) RNA subpopulations with time, subcellular location, and RNA extraction procedure.
Do Federal Law Enforcement Grants Reduce Serious Crime

A number of researchers have concluded that federal assistance to local law enforcement agencies reduces serious crime. This article critiques such studies, makes recommendations for improvement, and then implements the recommendations using data from a 12-year panel of approximately 5,000 cities, focusing in particular on the relationship between Local Law Enforcement Block Grants and serious crime. Results suggest researchers should be cautious in attributing crime reductions to grant funding programs.
Gelatinization Properties of Chinese Water Chestnut Starch and Lotus Root Starch

A microscope heating-stage and differential scanning calorimetry were used to characterize the gelatinization of lotus root starch and water chestnut starch. The effect of varying concentrations of different sugars on gelatinization temperature was also studied.
Oral submucous fibrosis in a 4-year-old girl

A rare case of oral submucous fibrosis in a 4-year-old Indian girl is presented. The condition is defined, and the clinical and laboratory features are discussed. Different treatment modalities and current theories of etiology are presented. Finally, the importance of regarding this condition as a precancerous lesion is supported.
OXYGEN ATOM REACTIONS WITH CONDENSED OLEFINS.

Gaseous oxygen atoms, thermally generated from Os on a 2300°K zirconia surface, react with simple condensed olefins below 100°K. Initial results indicate that the distribution of products differs from that obtained in the gas phase at higher temperatures.
Combined-Stage Sintering Model

By focusing on the similarities between the three stages of sintering, a single equation is derived that quantifies sintering as a continuous process from beginning to end. The microstructure is characterized by two separate parameters representing geometry and scale. The dimensionless geometry parameter, denoted T, comprises five scaling factors that relate specific microstructural featuers (e.g., surface curvature) to the scale (grain diameter). Calculations of T from experimental data show (a) agreement with computer simulations of initial-stage sintering, (b) the effect of surface diffusion on T, and (c) changes in T with microstructural evolution during sintering. Application of the model to the design of firing schedules and the study of microstructural geometry effects on sintering is discussed.
A neuropsychiatry service in a state hospital. Adolf Meyer's approach revisited

In the spirit of Adolf Mayer’s medico-biological approach to the understanding of mental illnesses the article describes the advantages that neuropsychiatric approach brings to the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of psychiatric patients in a state hospital. Our review discusses the neuropsychiatric approach to the evaluation of state hospital patients with mild, moderate, and severe cognitive disturbances showing the role of neuropsychological testing, electroencephalography (EEG), and brain imaging in the neuropsychiatric assessment of primary and secondary mental illnesses. Neuropsychiatric evaluation helps to assess the peculiarities of movement disorder as a of side effects of regular psychiatric medications, e.g. the differences in diagnostic signs and treatment implication between Parkinson’s disease and exrapyramidal syndrome (EPS) as a side effect of neuroleptics as well as the development of abnormal reflexes as a sign of tardive dyskinesia (TD) not directly related to the lesion of upper motor neuron. The article also discusses the development of hypokinetic delirium in the course of treatment of psychiatric patients not only as a side effect of neuroleptics but also of anticonvulsants, increasingly used as the mood stabilizers in modern psychiatry. Since aggressive behavior of psychiatric patients represents one of the major criteria for admission and often long term treatment in a state hospital, special consideration is given to the role of brain paroxysmal activity in the development of aggressive behavior, especially rage attacks, one of the main manifestations of aggressive behavior in a state hospital patients. Correspondingly, the use of anticonvulsants in the treatment of rage attacks is discussed. This article may serve as a model for the use of neuropsychiatric service in improvement of diagnostic evaluation and treatment of psychiatric patients in a state hospital.
Evolution of traditional digital forensics in virtualization

Computer virtualization is not new; however, it has become increasingly important because of the many advantages it offers businesses and individuals to reduce costs. A company can reduce maintenance, hardware, and energy costs by running virtualized servers on a single physical machine. Although virtualization offers these advantages, it introduces new challenges to current computer forensic techniques as well as computer system defense tools. As this technology continues to be adopted by more and more companies every year, malware and hacker attacks are potentially going to affect virtualized systems as they have been affecting physical systems in the past. Therefore, the increasing growth of virtualization has created the need for a new generation of computer system defenses as well as computer forensic techniques to effectively defend these systems before or after they have been attacked. Because of the nature of how virtualization operates, new techniques to interact with these systems have become available. These techniques allow us to increase the effectiveness of current forensic and system defense tools to create new tools to defend or analyze virtualized systems. Virtual Machine Introspection (VMI) is one of these techniques that have formed the basis of a number of novel approaches in the field of Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity. In this paper, we present what VMI has offered to Digital Forensics and the new challenges it brings. Likewise, we discuss why traditional Digital Forensic techniques are not reliable to analyze virtual machines once they have been attacked.
Glutathione peroxidase activity as a function of dietary selenomethionine

SINCE 1957, selenium has been recognized as an essential micronutrient for animals, but its exact biological function has remained uncertain. The metabolic role of selenium in animals seems to be linked with vitamin E and sulphur amino acids1–4. Selenium has a sparing effect on vitamin E, and delays the onset of deficiency syndromes. Likewise, vitamin E and sulphur amino acids partially protect against or delay the onset of several forms of selenium deficiency syndromes. Rotruck et al.5 proposed that selenium functions as an integral part of glutathione (GSH) peroxidase, an enzyme that reduces toxic lipid peroxides to hydroxy acids6–8. They found that a large proportion of the 75Se from rat erythrocytes labelled in vivo remained with the enzyme during extensive purification, and more recently, their studies with highly purified GSH peroxidase have indicated that it contains approximately 4 mol of Se per mol of enzyme9. Similar findings were reported by Flohe et al. for bovine erythrocyte GSH peroxidase10. To learn more about the nutritional relationship between selenium and GSH peroxidase, we performed studies that showed GSH peroxidase activity is proportional to dietary selenium, which provided additional evidence for the role of selenium in the function of GSH peroxidase.
Uncertainty impairs grating detection performance in the cat

Using behavioral techniques, contrast thresholds for detection of grating patterns by the cat were measured under conditions of certainty and uncertainty. For certainty trials, the same combination of spatial and temporal frequencies was presented throughout a test session, whereas with uncertainty, the cat was unable to anticipate which of two spatial (or temporal) frequencies would be presented on a given trial. For most spatiotemporal combinations, uncertainty served to elevate contrast thresholds by almost .3 log units, a finding that parallels the outcome found in human vision. The uncertainty paradigm may provide a useful inferential tool for determining channel bandwidth in cat vision.
A generalized approach to document markup

Text processing and word processing systems typically require users to intersperse additional information in the natural text of the document being processed. This added information, called “markup,” serves two purposes:1. it separates the logical elements of the document; and2. it specifies the processing functions to be performed on those elements.
Let's Do Not Resuscitate Placebo Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

In a 1998 New England Journal of Medicine Sounding Board, Gail Gazelle posed the question, “The ‘Slow’ Code: Should Anyone Rush to Its Defense?”(Gazelle 1998). No great rush to defend it materializ...
General treatment of a bimolecular mechanism requiring an internally excited reactant

Abstract A novel bimolecular mechanism is treated in general terms. If a certain requirement is met, the reaction orders and the aparent rate constant for product formation depend on cencentration ratios.
Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins as regulators of gene expression through interactions with the human thymidine kinase promoter.

In search for nuclear proteins that interact with the human thymidine kinase (htk) promoter, we discovered that p37AUF, a hnRNP C-like protein, and hnRNP A1, both members of the heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein family, can bind with high affinity to an ATTT sequence motif contained within the cell cycle regulatory unit (CCRU). We report here that over-expression of p37AUF stimulates gene expression mediated by the htk promoter in a promoter-sequence specific manner, whereas hnRNP A1 suppresses it. Both recombinant p37AUF and hnRNP A1 can bind the htk CCRU, suggesting that their binding to the DNA target does not require additional cellular components. We further discovered that hnRNP K is a potent suppressor of htk mediated gene activity. However, its mechanism of action is mediated through protein-protein interaction, since hnRNP K itself cannot bind the htk CCRU but can competitively inhibit the binding of other hnRNPs. The binding site for the hnRNPs on the htk CCRU is not required for S-phase induction of the htk promoter. However, in stable but not transient transfectants, the mutation of the hnRNP binding site results in 5- to 10-fold reduction of htk mediated gene activity in synchronized and exponentially growing cells. Collectively, these findings support emerging evidence that hnRNPs, in addition to their traditional role in RNA biogenesis, could be regulators of gene expression through direct DNA binding or interaction with other proteins.
Autologous Antileukemic Immune Response Induced by Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia B Cells Expressing the CD40 Ligand and Interleukin 2 Transgenes

Although the B cells of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL cells) express both tumor-specific peptides and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigens, they lack the capacity for costimulatory signaling, contributing to their protection against host antitumor immunity. To stimulate CLL-specific immune responses, we sought to transfer the human CD40 ligand (hCD40L) gene to B-CLL cells, using an adenoviral vector, in order to upregulate costimulating factors on these cells. Because efficient gene transduction with adenoviral vectors requires the expression of virus receptors on target cells, including the coxsackievirus B-adenovirus receptors (CAR) and αv integrins, we cocultured B-CLL cells with human embryonic lung fibroblasts (MRC-5 line). This exposure led to increased expression of integrin αvβ3 on B-CLL cells, which correlated with higher transduction rates. Using this novel prestimulation system, we transduced B-CLL cells with the hCD40L gene. The Ad-hCD40L-infected cells had higher expr...
Fuzzy connectedness and image segmentation

Image segmentation-the process of defining objects in images-remains the most challenging problem in image processing despite decades of research. Many general methodologies have been proposed to date to tackle this problem. An emerging framework that has shown considerable promise recently is that of fuzzy connectedness. Images are by nature fuzzy. Object regions manifest themselves in images with a heterogeneity of image intensities owing to the inherent object material heterogeneity, and artifacts such as blurring, noise and background variation introduced by the imaging device. In spite of this gradation of intensities, knowledgeable observers can perceive object regions as a gestalt. The fuzzy connectedness framework aims at capturing this notion via a fuzzy topological notion called fuzzy connectedness which defines how the image elements hang together spatially in spite of their gradation of intensities. In defining objects in a given image, the strength of connectedness between every pair of image elements is considered, which in turn is determined by considering all possible connecting paths between the pair. In spite of a high combinatorial complexity, theoretical advances in fuzzy connectedness have made it possible to delineate objects via dynamic programming at close to interactive speeds on modern PCs. This paper gives a tutorial review of the fuzzy connectedness framework delineating the various advances that have been made. These are illustrated with several medical applications in the areas of Multiple Sclerosis of the brain, magnetic resonance (MR) and computer tomographic (CT) angiography, brain tumor, mammography, upper airway disorders in children, and colonography.
Effects of ferroelectric nanoparticles on ion transport in a liquid crystal

A small quantity of BaTiO3 ferroelectric nanoparticles (FNPs) of 50 nm diameter was doped in a nematic liquid crystal (LC), and the free ion concentration was found to be significantly reduced in the LC + FNP hybrid compared to that of the pure LC. The strong electric fields, due to the permanent dipole moment of the FNPs, trapped some mobile ions, reducing the free ion concentration in the LC media. The reduction of free ions was found to have coherent impacts on the LC's conductivity, rotational viscosity, and electric field-induced nematic switching.
Treatment of Stuttering in a School-Age Child: A Description of a Single Case-Study

In this article, I will provide support for a broad-based treatment approach with school-age children who stutter. Treatments for stuttering have traditionally prioritized speech modification techniques. However, school-age children who stutter experience a range of self-defeating thoughts and emotions about speaking. In this article, I present data from a case study of one school-age child who stutters. The participant experienced three semesters of treatment from a university clinic. Experts applied a broad-based treatment approach that included both speech and stuttering modification techniques and strategies for managing psychosocial aspects of stuttering. Results suggest that successful therapeutic outcomes depended on a broad-based approach of addressing the participant’s speech, attitudes, and emotions. Clinical implications are discussed.
The meaning of pain during the process of embodiment: a case study of trainee modern dancers' experiences of pain

A large number of sociologists have adopted the notion of the embodied subject to escape the trappings of the rational choice theory in sociological analysis. From a phenomenological perspective, the notion of an embodied subject refers to a subject who is in unity with the world. In this paper, I will present my ethnographic study of a group of trainee dancers preparing to embody the world of modern dance. I will present my study of their training experiences as a case of subjects striving to embody a world other than the one they already embody. I observed that pain formed the core part of trainee dancers’ daily experiences. Following Leder's theory of the ‘absent body’ and Bourdieu's conception of the ‘modern social world’, I interpreted trainee dancers’ experiences of pain with respect to the historically shaped collective expectations of the world of modern dance. I argue that their experiences of pain indicate how far along they are in the process of their embodiment of the world of modern dance. As...
COMPARISON OF SELF-REPORTED RECYCLING ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS WITH ACTUAL BEHAVIOR

This study was designed to investigate the congruence of 102 college students' self-reported paper-recycling behaviors and attitudes with actual behavior. The hypothesis that college students would report positive attitudes toward paper recycling and associated behaviors in a survey was supported. Unobtrusive observation, however, indicated that self-reports did not predict actual paper recycling for most respondents. Only 14 students who had previously reported prorecycling attitudes and behaviors were observed to recycle. The implications of the results for research on college students' recycling and conservation behavior are discussed.
From Black Nationalism to the Ethnic Revival: Meridian's Lynne Rabinowitz

Late in Alice Walker’s novel Meridian (1976), Lynne Rabinowitz recalls her confrontations with a family of Jewish deli owners in the South. During this confrontation, Lynne refl ects on their mutual resentment: the couple judges her as a white woman who associates with black men, and she judges them for forsaking their once-oppressed Jewish community to join the community of oppressors—the dominant Anglo-American culture. This passage takes place after Lynne has sustained a series of tragic losses. She has left behind her family and the creature comforts of suburbia, abandoned her dance career, moved to the South to join the Civil Rights Movement, and married Truman Held, a black revolutionary artist. She has befriended Meridian Hill, a black civil rights activist and the novel’s protagonist, and borne a daughter, Camara, with Truman. She has been rejected by her black friends in the Movement after its ideology became more nationalist. She has been raped by Truman’s friend and then sexually exploited by his other friends. She has lost her daughter to a violent crime and her husband to another woman. She is left wandering, alone, without a community or a cause. Because Meridian remains one of few Civil Rights Movement novels, scholars have focused largely on either the relationship of this text to the African American literary canon or the main protagonist’s (Meridian’s) struggle to balance her loyalties to race with her identity as a woman. 1 In their illumination of these racial questions, few scholars have examined the Jewish character Lynne Rabinowitz. 2 I assert that Walker employs Lynne as a cautionary tale for ethno-racial groups in the US, many of whom, by the time of the novel’s publication, had initiated nationalist movements to advocate for civil rights, foster cultural awareness and pride, and resist dominant culture conformity. 3 Lynne’s tragic narrative of exile serves as an allegory for the fl awed community- and coalition-building of the
Theoretical Substruction: A Guide for Theory Testing Research

This article demonstrates how theoretical substruction with its various levels of abstraction can be used as a guide for theory testing research. The article describes a method for substructing research hypotheses as well as an entire study. Substruction and its benefits, including assuring the internal consistency of model testing, are discussed as applied to a study testing hypotheses derived from proposition two of Orem's self-care deficit theory of nursing. This approach to theory testing is congruent with the coherence theory of truth and promises to contribute to the advancement of nursing epistemology.
A NEW COMBINATION IN BOECHERA (BRASSICACEAE) FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION

ABSTRACT The new combination Boechera holboellii (Hornem.) Love & Love var. pendulocarpa (A. Nelson) N. Snow is made to accommodate this taxon at the rank of variety in that genus for the Southern Rocky Mountain Flora project.
Stability of Immunoglobulin G During Storage of Human Serum. Effects of Prior Heating

Summary Heating unfractionated, sterile human serum for 36 or 72 h at 45 or 50 C, unlike heating immune serum globulin (human), failed to diminish the fragmentation of immunoglobulin G during subsequent storage. Over the range –22 to 37 °C, degradation as assessed by immunoelectrophoresis was a strong function of storage temperature; it was somewhat enhanced by prior heating
Theoretical Foundations of Digital Imaging Using MATLAB

With the ubiquitous use of digital imaging, a new profession has emerged: imaging engineering. Designed for newcomers to imaging science and engineering, Theoretical Foundations of Digital Imaging Using MATLAB treats the theory of digital imaging as a specific branch of science. It covers the subject in its entirety, from image formation to image perfecting. Based on the authors 50 years of working and teaching in the field, the text first addresses the problem of converting images into digital signals that can be stored, transmitted, and processed on digital computers. It then explains how to adequately represent image transformations on computers. After presenting several examples of computational imaging, including numerical reconstruction of holograms and virtual image formation through computer-generated display holograms, the author introduces methods for image perfect resampling and building continuous image models. He also examines the fundamental problem of the optimal estimation of image parameters, such as how to localize targets in images. The book concludes with a comprehensive discussion of linear and nonlinear filtering methods for image perfecting and enhancement. Helping you master digital imaging, this book presents a unified theoretical basis for understanding and designing methods of imaging and image processing. To facilitate a deeper understanding of the major results, it offers a number of exercises supported by MATLAB programs, with the code available at www.crcpress.com.
Cost Comparisons of Olanzapine and Risperidone in Treating Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE:To review the literature on the healthcare costs associated with olanzapine and risperidone in treating schizophrenia.DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION:Published English-language pharmacoeconomic studies on olanzapine and risperidone obtained through a MEDLINE search (1990–May 2003) were selected. Additional studies were identified from a manual search of the references of retrieved articles.DATA EXTRACTION:Based on the identified studies, data were extracted on various treatment costs associated with the use of antipsychotic drugs, concomitant drugs from other classes, inpatient care, outpatient care, and emergency care. Emphasis was placed on studies directly comparing olanzapine and risperidone.DATA SYNTHESIS:Both olanzapine and risperidone were generally associated with a trend of decrease in total medical costs compared with typical antipsychotics. When directly comparing the drugs, some studies found significant cost savings in favor of olanzapine and some suggested risperidone to save tota...
An analytic approach to modeling and estimation of OFDM channels

Modeling and estimation are investigated for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) channels in the frequency domain. The use of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) enables the periodic extension of the channel impulse response (CIR) and channel frequency response (CFR), and allows the development of periodic random processes, and the related parametric dynamic systems, leading to interesting analytical results on modeling and estimation for OFDM systems. It is shown that low order parametric models are adequate for modeling OFDM channels in the frequency domain, and there exists an analytic relation between the power spectral density (PSD) of the CFR, and the power profile of the CIR. Based on the results of parametric modeling, an efficient design and implementation algorithm is developed for MMSE channel estimation. Simulation results show that the proposed simple channel estimation method is robust to channel statistics mismatch and is able to track time-varying dispersive fading channels.
STRING EQUATIONS FROM UNITARY MATRIX MODELS

We investigate unitary matrix models in the scaling limit using the method of orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle. We show that, f or a certain choice of coupling constants, string equations belong to the same univesality class as equations obtained from Hermitian matrix models. In addition, we show how a new class of string equations emerges as a consequence of the compactness of the unitary groups.
Minor and trace element partitioning between pyroxene and melt in rapidly cooled chondrules

We present minor and trace element (REE, Sr, Y, and Zr) data for pyroxenes and mesostases in four porphyritic chondrules from the Semarkona ordinary chondrite. Apparent partition coefficients for clinoenstatite, orthoenstatite, pigeonite, and augite are compared with experimental and petrologic data from the literature, and the effects on apparent partition coefficients of the rapid cooling rates at which chondrules crystallized are evaluated. For most elements, the effects of cooling at rates of hundreds of degrees per hour cannot be distinguished from variations in equilibrium data resulting from differences in temperature or composition. However, for LREE apparent partition coefficients are significantly higher than comparable equilibrium data, and the ratio of HREE/LREE partition coefficients is lower, particularly for Ca-poor pyroxene. We attribute this flattening of REE patterns to the effect of rapid cooling. Apparent partition coefficients of all REE and Y in augite are higher than equilibrium data, particularly in one chondrule with a high Al 2O3 content. We suggest that this may be attributed to an increase in the uptake of trivalent trace element cations in the pyroxene crystal structure as a result of charge-balanced substitutions with Al 31 cations.
Self and Consciousness: Multiple Perspectives

Self and Consciousness: Multiple Perspectives. Edited by Frank S. Kessel. Pamela M. Cole. and Dale L. Johnson. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992. 136 Pp. $16.50 (cloth).
Uniform Decomposition of Incompletely Specified Sequential Machines

In this correspondence uniform decomposition procedures are extended to incompletely specified sequential machines. Any given Moore sequential machine is realized by interconnecting copies of a universal two-state component machine. The information processed by each component machine is represented by its corresponding partial mapping. When the sequential machine is incompletely specified, a reduction in the number of component machine copies is possible. The reduction is found by a uniform-cost search algorithm which finds a minimal cover on the set of partial mappings.
Examining Pre-School Classroom Quality in a Statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System.

Research has documented the importance of high-quality early childhood experiences in preparing children for school. Quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) have recently emerged in many states as a way to build quality of child care and to promote better child outcomes. The goal of this study was to determine if preschool classrooms representing various levels of QRIS structure and status differ on classroom process quality as assessed by several observational tools (i.e., the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale-Revised, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, and the Early Language and Literacy Observation Tool). We randomly selected 103 teachers in 96 classrooms from 48 full-time child-care programs, and compared classroom quality in QRIS participating programs with classrooms in non-participating programs, and classroom quality across QRIS rating levels. From multilevel analyses, we found that teachers in QRIS participating programs scored higher on global quality of classrooms, emotional support, instructional support, and literacy environment than those who were in non-participating programs after controlling for center-level and classroom-level variables. Teachers in the highest rated QRIS programs exhibited better process quality, including emotional support, classroom organization, instructional support, literacy environment, general classroom environments, and language curriculum than those in lower level programs. This study suggests that QRIS may be a promising investment for quality in early childhood education and care, which is a reasonable proxy for improving children’s school readiness.
A Spindle Checkpoint Functions during Mitosis in the Early Caenorhabditis elegans Embryo

During mitosis, chromosome segregation is regulated by a spindle checkpoint mechanism. This checkpoint delays anaphase until all kinetochores are captured by microtubules from both spindle poles, chromosomes congress to the metaphase plate, and the tension between kinetochores and their attached microtubules is properly sensed. Although the spindle checkpoint can be activated in many different cell types, the role of this regulatory mechanism in rapidly dividing embryonic animal cells has remained controversial. Here, using time-lapse imaging of live embryonic cells, we show that chemical or mutational disruption of the mitotic spindle in early Caenorhabditis elegans embryos delays progression through mitosis. By reducing the function of conserved checkpoint genes in mutant embryos with defective mitotic spindles, we show that these delays require the spindle checkpoint. In the absence of a functional checkpoint, more severe defects in chromosome segregation are observed in mutants with abnormal mitotic spindles. We also show that the conserved kinesin CeMCAK, the CENP-F-related proteins HCP-1 and HCP-2, and the core kinetochore protein CeCENP-C all are required for this checkpoint. Our analysis indicates that spindle checkpoint mechanisms are functional in the rapidly dividing cells of an early animal embryo and that this checkpoint can prevent chromosome segregation defects during mitosis.
Deformed ellipsoidal gratings for far-ultraviolet spectrographs: analytic optimization

Analytic formulas are developed for the semiaxes and for the deformation coefficients of a deformed ellipsoidal grating that minimize aberrations over a given spectral range. These include the Rowland circle mount and quasi-Rowland circle mounts, as required for systems that combine spectra from multiple gratings on a common detector. It is also shown that the necessary condition for a holographic grating to give a better performance over a conventional grating is the use of a convergent beam and a divergent beam for the recording. Examples applicable to the Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer are given. The light-path function for a deformed ellipsoidal holographic grating is also presented.
Child Support: Responsible Fatherhood and the Quid Pro Quo

Over time, public policy changes have strengthened the private child support system while reducing access to public support—welfare. Given the especially limited availability of public support, nonresident fathers’ economic contributions through child support can play an important role in helping children to avoid poverty. In this article, the authors review evidence on nonresident fathers’ ability to pay support, provide an overview of the way child support policies affect disadvantaged fathers, and propose new directions for child support policy. The authors argue that the current work-focused safety net, which aims to require and help to enable disadvantaged mothers to work, creates a context in which government should similarly require and help to enable all fathers, even those who are disadvantaged, to work and pay child support. However, reforms are needed to make this a realistic expectation, given many fathers’ limited employment options and complex families.
Evidence-based examination of the African enigma in relation to Helicobacter pylori infection.

Objective. The African enigma describes the dissociation between the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and H. pylori-related diseases. The aim of this study was to use an evidence-based review of endoscopic data from African countries to test whether there are data to support the concept of an African enigma. Material and methods. A Medline search was carried out to identify prospective endoscopic studies in African populations. Data collected included: the number of endoscopies, age range (or mean age if available), indications for endoscopy, country, years during which data were collected, male to female ratio, and specific outcome of duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcer, or gastric cancer. Results. Forty prospective endoscopic studies from 17 African countries were identified (20,531 patients) and evaluated between 1972 and 2001. Mean ages ranged from 31 to 53.1 years and male to female ratios from 0.67:1 to 4.64:1. H. pylori-related clinical outcomes were common; duodenal ulcers in 4326 patients (21.1%), gastric ulcers in 691 patients (3.4%), and gastric cancers in 503 patients (2.4%). Conclusions. Prospective upper endoscopic trials suggest that the clinical outcomes associated with H. pylori infection in Africa are similar to those seen in industrialized countries. No dissociation between the prevalence of H. pylori infection and H. pylori-related diseases existed; the African enigma as such does not exist and the continued study of the mechanism of a non-existent phenomenon is a misuse of resources. The myth resulted from reliance on anecdotal data and selection bias in populations with extremely limited access to health care and a relatively short life expectancy.
Gonadotropin-Target Cell Interactions: A Model Based on Morphological Localization

Immunocytochemical (ICC) techniques, especially when performed at optimum efficiency (Moriarty and Halmi, 1972; Petrusz et al., 1975), have proved to be capable of revealing the localization of gonadotropic and other protein or polypeptide hormones after in vivo or in vitro binding of the hormones to their target sites. Studies in this laboratory (Petrusz and Uhlarik, 1973; Petrusz, 1974; Petrusz and Sar, 1978; Ordronneau, in preparation) have consistently shown that binding sites for gonadotropins are present not only at the surface of target cells, but also inside the cytoplasm and, occasionally, in the nucleus. For years, these results were viewed (even by ourselves) with skepticism and bewilderment, since they contradicted the general belief that such hormones do not, and in fact cannot, enter their target cells. However, reports of intracellular localization of protein or peptide hormones became more frequent (Mancini et al., 1967; Castro et al., 1970, 1972; Midgley and Beals, 1971; Gourdji et al., 1973; Nordquist and Palmieri, 1974; Sternberger and Petrali, 1975; Nolin and Witorsch, 1976; Carpenter and Cohen, 1976; Chen et al., 1977; Han et al., 1977) and received support from a considerable number of biochemical studies (Brush and Kitabchi, 1970; Coulson et al., 1972; Rao et al., 1972; Sulimovici and Lunenfeld, 1973; McKerns, 1973, 1974; McKerns and Ryschkewitsch, 1974; Sulimovici et al., 1975; Horvat et al., 1975; Goldfine and Smith, 1976; Goldfine et al., 1977; Ascoli and Puett, 1977). As a result, the cumulative weight of the evidence is by now too great to ignore. It has become increasingly clear that a new working hypothesis is needed to incorporate some of the new and seemingly heretical* data into existing concepts regarding the interactions between protein hormones and their target cells. This chapter is an attempt to present such a hypothesis, together with some of our hormone localization studies that provided the impetus for its development.
Secure information transmission in filter bank multi-carrier spread spectrum systems

This paper presents a novel method for generating a secret key to augment the security of spread spectrum systems. The proposed key generation takes advantage of the channel reciprocity exhibited between two communicating parties. We validate the key generation aspect of our system by using real-world measurements. We note that the strongest path in the channel impulse response can be the main source that will allow an adversary to generate a similar key to those of the legitimate nodes. We resolve this problem by introducing an augmentation that removes the strongest path from the channel impulse response before key generation. This augmentation, that we call strongest path cancellation (SPC), is found very effective. We also note that the generated keys need not be perfectly the same at the legitimate nodes, hence, the proposed method belongs to the class of fault tolerant secure communications. In this paper, without any loss of generality, we use the proposed key generation method as part of a filter bank multicarrier spread spectrum (FB-MC-SS) system, where robust performance against narrow and/or partial band interference is also guaranteed.
An investigation of railroad-highway grade crossing consolidation rating in Iowa

Railroad-highway grade crossings present unique safety and operational challenges on both the rail and highway side. Consolidation of these crossings can be a valuable tool to improve safety, but is often a source of disagreement among interested parties. In order to better evaluate crossings to determine their suitability to be consolidated, a spreadsheet-based tool was developed to rank all public, at-grade crossings in Iowa using a number of factors related to potential consolidation impacts. The spreadsheet will act as a tool to provide an objective rating of each crossing for use in analysis and negotiation for crossing consolidation. This thesis will outline the development of the spreadsheet-based tool and conduct a sensitivity analysis on the final crossing rankings to determine the robustness of the formula and which factors have a higher sensitivity to weight changes.
Symmetric and non-symmetric Lambertson magnets

A set of symmetric and non-symmetric Lambertson magnets has been designed for the injection, extraction, and abort line of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory superconducting synchrotron. Techniques, measurements, and detailed analysis of both body and end field are presented.
Breaking down the wall: a narrative approach to addiction

Addiction is a pervasive medical and sociological concern, and yet its presence is still met with stigma, even within the healthcare community. There is an extensive literature documenting the negative attitudes of medical trainees and professionals towards substance users, but there does appear to be hope: expert-led clinical experience and addiction-focused teaching seem to increase empathy and inspire confidence in treating substance users.1 However, there is still much work to be done. Although a number of educational interventions have demonstrated efficacy, none has been implemented on a widespread basis, likely due to time pressures in already-packed curricula.2 The two of us, a medical humanist and an addiction psychiatrist, decided to take an alternate approach and use literature as a means of teaching about addiction, while simultaneously attempting to humanise it. We created ‘Literature and Addiction’, an interdisciplinary seminar within the Master Scholars Program in Humanistic Medicine at New York University School of Medicine (NYUSoM). Enrolment is open to anyone affiliated with NYUSoM, but the majority of participants have been first-year and second-year medical students. The seminar is paracurricular, and has run for three semesters now. Recent research suggests that educational interventions using literature and writing can help fortify empathy against erosion during medical …
Packaging in IBIS-AMI Technology

As serial links become faster and more complex, it is ever more challenging to model the silicon in an accurate and efficient manner. Traditional IBIS package models are simply not accurate enough and lack the bandwidth required for high-speed serial channels. The IBIS Algorithmic Modeling Interface (AMI) is a promising standard that is able to accurately model drivers and receivers that include equalizers and clock data recovery circuits. The introduction of the AMI modeling standard presents the opportunity to combine accurate driver and receiver models with high quality scattering parameter and W-element models of the passive IC, package, and PCB structures. In this paper we explore simulation with AMI models driving accurate high-bandwidth channel models of packages and printed circuit boards for robust simulation of high-speed serial systems. We also use these simulations to investigate the effects of variability in the manufactured channel.
Buyout Activity and Asset Prices

We develop a model in which leveraged buyout (LBO) transactions are sensitive to variation in pricing conditions. The privatization of the firm generates value by eliminating agency costs that impede the firm’s growth; however, LBO investors require compensation to commit their capital to a single, undiversified project. These quantities are derived in an economy with long-run risk and recursive preferences. We conclude that more buyouts should occur when risk-free rates are high and the risk premium is low. In a panel dataset of public companies from 1980 to 2009, we document that LBO activity is positively related to the risk-free rate and negatively related to expected excess returns. We find the aggregate discount rate, rather than credit specific factors, is an important determinant of LBO activity. We also predict firms with higher exposure to systematic shocks and higher idiosyncratic risk are less likely to LBO. In the data, we find firms are less likely to privatize if they have a high market beta, residual variance, or cash flow volatility.
What Affects the Level of Honesty in an Economy

This paper focuses on questions such as what determines the societal level of honesty (that is, the proportion of honest individuals in the economy), and why some economies may be more honest, or less honest, than others. A central feature of our model is that an individual’s (Bayesian) behavior (to be honest or dishonest) is influenced by his own past experiences which, in turn, are determined by the behavior of others. Therefore, honesty encourages honesty, whereas dishonesty encourages dishonesty. Our formal analysis is conducted within an overlapping generation’s framework, in which individuals live for a finite amount of time, but the society is a going concern. We show that there can be dishonesty in an economy even if the youngest generation is entirely honest, and that there can be honesty in an economy even if the youngest generation is entirely dishonest. We predict the effects (on the level of honesty) of parameters representing the characteristics of individuals and the economy. For instance, if the youngest generation believes that the level of honesty in the economy is higher then, indeed, the actual level of honesty is higher. In addition, we have been able to delineate intuitive conditions under which an economy is less honest (or more honest) if people live longer, and under which older persons are less honest (or more honest) than the younger ones.
Towards a Data Calibrated, Simulation-Based Campus Energy Analysis Environment for Situational Awareness and Future Energy System Planning

Researchers at Georgia Tech (GT) have recently begun the GT Smart Energy Campus initiative, which combines campus energy metering data with physics-based modeling and simulation to create an integrated analysis environment for campus energy. The environment consists of a digital representation of campus, which supports situational awareness, as well as a virtual test bed for analyzing emerging energy technologies and future scenarios. The first year of the initiative has focused on evaluating campus energy metering data using visual analytics and statistical analysis techniques. Data analysis is presented as having value for two main uses: (1) as attention-directing information to help system operators diagnose anomalies and (2) as a precursor to modeling and simulation (M&S) in future phases of the Smart Energy Campus initiative. The environment is explained using the initial study scoping of the campus thermal energy generation and distribution systems. Furthermore, a modeling and simulation approach leveraging the Modelica M&S language is described, and preliminary results in using it to represent the campus chilled water system are presented.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Combustion Promoters for Hydrocarbon Fuels

We present a review of combustion promoters, including the major classes of organic compounds that can be used in internal combustion engines. We also consider compounds developed that have high promoter action. We give a comparative evaluation of the considered promoters based on analysis of the mechanism of action for the promoters.
Facile Determination of Bulk Charge Carrier Concentration in Organic Semiconductors: Out-of-Plane Orientation Hopping Conduction Characteristics in Semicrystalline Polythiophene

In this report, we demonstrate a straightforward two-terminal-device-based electrical measurement and analysis scheme that can simultaneously determine the bulk free charge carrier concentration and out-of-plane charge mobility in organic semiconductors by understanding the transition behavior of device current–voltage characteristics from ohmic to space charge limited conduction. As a model system, we characterize the properties of a semicrystalline poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) conjugated polymer film in which free carrier concentration is systematically controlled by adjusting oxygen doping level. The observed dependence of out-of-plane charge mobility on the carrier concentration is analyzed in the context of percolative variable range hopping conduction, and we identify the rate-limiting charge hopping process in P3HT and correlate it with the role of disordered polymer regions in mediating the charge transport between neighboring crystalline polymer lamellar domains.