cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GLUTAMATE | Persistent Changes in Network Excitability Induced by Group I Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Activation : Impact on Seizure Expression and Implications for Epileptogenesis

The recently-discovered metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are unquestionably participants in the expression of seizure discharges. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies confirm that activation of group I receptors can elicit acute seizures, while activation of group II and/or group III receptors suppresses seizures by blunting neurotransmission presynaptically. However, data obtained in our laboratory strongly suggest that sufficient activation of group I mGluRs will ultimately result in long-lasting enhancement of network excitability, implicating the group I mGluRs in the initiation of an epileptogenic state. We have therefore undertaken studies to explore this possibility, teasing apart the roles of the individual members of the group I mGluR family and examining the induction vs. maintenance mechanisms and the second-messenger pathways involved. It is our hope that these studies may lead to the development of effective agents for the prevention of epileptogenesis in high-risk patients, such as those who have sustained head trauma or cortical strokes.
Dichotomous development of the gut microbiome in preterm infants

Preterm infants are at risk of developing intestinal dysbiosis with an increased proportion of Gammaproteobacteria. In this study, we sought the clinical determinants of the relative abundance of feces-associated Gammaproteobacteria in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Fecal microbiome was characterized at ≤ 2 weeks and during the 3rd and 4th weeks after birth, by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Maternal and infant clinical characteristics were extracted from electronic medical records. Data were analyzed by linear mixed modeling and linear regression. Clinical data and fecal microbiome profiles of 45 VLBW infants (gestational age 27.9 ± 2.2 weeks; birth weight 1126 ± 208 g) were studied. Three stool samples were analyzed for each infant at mean postnatal ages of 9.9 ± 3, 20.7 ± 4.1, and 29.4 ± 4.9 days. The average relative abundance of Gammaproteobacteria was 42.5% (0–90%) at ≤ 2 weeks, 69.7% (29.9–86.9%) in the 3rd, and 75.5% (54.5–86%) in the 4th week (p < 0.001). Hierarchical and K-means clustering identified two distinct subgroups: cluster 1 started with comparatively low abundance that increased with time, whereas cluster 2 began with a greater abundance at ≤ 2 weeks (p < 0.001) that decreased over time. Both groups resembled each other by the 3rd week. Single variants of Klebsiella and Staphylococcus described variance in community structure between clusters and were shared between all infants, suggesting a common, hospital-derived source. Fecal Gammaproteobacteria was positively associated with vaginal delivery and antenatal steroids. We detected a dichotomy in gut microbiome assembly in preterm infants: some preterm infants started with low relative gammaproteobacterial abundance in stool that increased as a function of postnatal age, whereas others began with and maintained high abundance. Vaginal birth and antenatal steroids were identified as predictors of Gammaproteobacteria abundance in the early (≤ 2 weeks) and later (3rd and 4th weeks) stool samples, respectively. These findings are important in understanding the development of the gut microbiome in premature infants.
The Management of Diabetes in Everyday Life (MODEL) program: development of a tailored text message intervention to improve diabetes self-care activities among underserved African-American adults.

Tailoring health-related materials is an effective mechanism to encourage behavior change; however, little research has described processes and critical characteristics for effective tailoring in underserved populations. The purpose of this study is to describe a process using input from content experts and lay patient advisors to tailor text messages focused on improving self-care behaviors of African-American adults with diabetes and identify characteristics of messages perceived to be most effective. An initial library of tailorable messages was created using theory-based approaches, expert opinion, and publicly available materials. A study-specific advisory council representing the program's intended population provided sequential individual and focus group review of a sample of draft messages focused on medication use, healthy eating, and physical activity. Messages were reviewed for content, tone, and applicability to African-American adults with diabetes from underserved communities. Based on this feedback, messages were revised and a final library of tailorable messages was constructed for use in a text messaging intervention. The initial library had over 5,000 tailorable messages. Participants preferred messages that included: (1) encouraging statements without condescension; (2) short sentences in lay language; (3) specific, actionable instructions; and (4) content relatable to daily activities of living. When possible, messages with similar themes should be repeated over short periods of time to improve the odds of material being absorbed and action being taken. Input from patient participants and advisors is essential for designing deeply tailored messages that honor the preferences, values, and norms of the population under study and promote health behavior change. TRIAL REGISTRATION NCT02957513.
Clinical outcomes and survival following lung transplantation in patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis.

BACKGROUND The primary aim of our study was to derive disease-specific outcomes following lung transplantation (LT) in patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). METHODS We queried the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network database to identify LAM patients that have undergone LT in the United States. The overall survival was analyzed with Kaplan–Meier curves. Survival estimates between subgroups of interest were compared using the log-rank method. Cox proportional hazard models were employed to determine the pre-transplant variables that impact post-LT survival. RESULTS One hundred and thirty-eight women with LAM underwent LT at 31 centers between January 2003 and June 2017. The median age at listing and transplant was 44 (IQR: 36-51) and 45 (IQR: 38-52) years, respectively. The median time spent on the LT waitlist was 257 (IQR: 85-616) days. The majority of the patients (109/134, 81%) received bilateral sequential LT. The median ischemic time was 4.9 (IQR: 4.1-6.1) hours. The actuarial Kaplan–Meier survival following LT for LAM patients at 1-, 5-, and 10 years was 94%, 73% and 56%, respectively. The post-LT survival was significantly better in LAM than in other lung diseases (10-year survival 56% vs. 32%, p CONCLUSIONS The median survival after LT in LAM is 12 years and is substantially better than in other lung diseases.
Directed evolution methods for overcoming trade-offs between protein activity and stability

Engineered proteins are being widely developed and employed in applications ranging from enzyme catalysts to therapeutic antibodies. Directed evolution, an iterative experimental process composed of mutagenesis and library screening, is a powerful technique for enhancing existing protein activities and generating entirely new ones not observed in nature. However, the process of accumulating mutations for enhanced protein activity requires chemical and structural changes that are often destabilizing, and low protein stability is a significant barrier to achieving large enhancements in activity during multiple rounds of directed evolution. Here we highlight advances in understanding the origins of protein activity/stability trade-offs for two important classes of proteins (enzymes and antibodies) as well as innovative experimental and computational methods for overcoming such trade-offs. These advances hold great potential for improving the generation of highly active and stable proteins that are needed to address key challenges related to human health, energy and the environment.
Towards Service Discovery and Invocation in Data-Centric Edge Networks

The efforts exploring Named Data Networking (NDN) have mainly focused on addressing the lack of scalable data distribution by today’s Internet. In this paper, we argue that NDN offers a richer environment for edge computing applications. We consider a scenario, where applications need to discover the services running in the edge network. We demonstrate the design and implementation of a distributed service discovery mechanism over NDN through an example use-case of a mobile application for vision impairment patient. The paper discusses three main edge computing challenges, namely service discovery, service invocation, and user mobility management, to highlight NDN’s architectural advantages for edge computing systems. Experimental results show that our framework design can effectively utilize the available resources at the network edge, being able to satisfy 95-98% of mobile users’ service requests.
Rare Post Traumatic Kyphoscoliosis of the Thoracolumbar Spine After Posterior Fusion for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Background Vertebral fracture after posterior arthrodesis and instrumentation for idiopathic scoliosis is a rare occurrence with limited reported cases in the literature. Case presentation A 16-year-old female patient surgically treated for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis with T2-L1 posterior spinal fusion was in a low-energy fall resulting in fracture of L1 and new kyphosis and scoliosis of the thoracolumbar spine at the distal aspect of the fusion. The fracture was initially managed conservatively, however pain persisted and thus she was indicated for extension of the fusion and correction of the post-traumatic kyphosis. Conclusions Fractures after posterior spinal fusion for idiopathic scoliosis are rare and evidence for the appropriate management remains limited in the literature.Level of Evidence: V.
Hoarseness Caused by a Penetrating Proximal Descending Thoracic Aortic Ulcer and Pseudoaneurysm

We present a case of an 87-year-old female with new-onset hoarseness of unclear etiology. Imaging demonstrated a penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU) in the proximal descending thoracic aorta with an associated pseudoaneurysm that enlarged to a depth of 32 mm over 2 years. This patient was diagnosed with hoarseness being secondary to left recurrent laryngeal nerve (LRLN) palsy, a variant of Ortner syndrome. Patient was treated with endovascular stent-grafting successfully covering of the PAU and pseudoaneurysm with zone 3 proximal landing zone. The patient had moderate improvement in hoarseness after 1 year of follow-up. Endovascular repair is indicated for symptomatic patients with PAUs complicated by enlarging pseudoaneurysms or rupture. Endovascular treatment is effective with low procedural morbidity and mortality. In this case, the PAU and associated pseudoaneurysm at the level of the ligamentum arteriosum caused compression on the LRLN, resulting in a nerve palsy and hoarseness. This case highlights the importance of vascular imaging for patients presenting with unclear etiology of hoarseness or other signs of LRLN palsy. Therefore, aortic arch abnormalities, a variant of Ortner syndrome, even though rare, should be on the differential diagnosis of new onset hoarseness.
Le Théâtre Ache Lhamo, Jeux et Enjeux d’Une Tradition Tibétaine , by Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy

Le Theâtre Ache Lhamo, Jeux et Enjeux d’Une Tradition Tibetaine , by Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy, Melanges Chinois et Bouddhiques, vol. 33. Peeters, 2017. 940pp. French. ISBN-13: 978-90-429-3339-2. Pb. €115.
Understanding breast cancer disparities—a multi-scale challenge

Despite convergence of overall breast cancer incidence rates between European American (EA) and African American (AA) women, disparities in mortality persist. The factors contributing to differences in mortality rates across population groups remain controversial and range from population genetics to sociodemographic influences. This review explores the complex multi-factorial nature of tumor-intrinsic and -extrinsic factors that impact the biology and clinical outcomes of breast cancer patients. In addition to summarizing the current state of breast cancer disparities research, we also motivate the development of integrative multi-scale approaches involving interdisciplinary teams to tackle this complex clinical challenge.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-Authorized Grocery, Convenience, Dollar, and Restaurant or Delivery Service Settings Are Associated With Increased Obesity Prevalence in Virginia.

Purpose:United States Department of Agriculture Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants use SNAP-authorized stores for dietary purchases. Relationships between obesity prevale...
A 4.4μW −92/−90.3dBm Sensitivity Dual-Mode BLE/Wi-Fi Wake-up Receiver

This paper presents the first dual-mode wake-up receiver (WuRX) that supports both BLE and Wi-Fi standards. The proposed WuRX achieves state-of-the-art power (as low as 4.4μW), sensitivity (as low as −92dBm), and interference resilience (SIR=−67dB) via a frequency plan that supports BLE advertisement channel hopping or a proposed subcarrier-based within-channel Wi-Fi frequency hopping scheme, a frequency conversion plan that enables a low power RX architecture, and an polyphase image rejection filter for full on-chip integration.
User-centered design principles in the development of clinical research tools.

Background:Increasing and sustaining the engagement of participants in clinical research studies is a goal for clinical investigators, especially for studies that require long-term or frequent invo...
Machine learning for load balancing in the Linux kernel

The OS load balancing algorithm governs the performance gains provided by a multiprocessor computer system. The Linux's Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS) scheduler tracks process loads by average CPU utilization to balance workload between processor cores. That approach maximizes the utilization of processing time but overlooks the contention for lower-level hardware resources. In servers running compute-intensive workloads, an imbalanced need for limited computing resources hinders execution performance. This paper solves the above problem using a machine learning (ML)-based resource-aware load balancer. We describe (1) low-overhead methods for collecting training data; (2) an ML model based on a multi-layer perceptron model that imitates the CFS load balancer based on the collected training data; and (3) an in-kernel implementation of inference on the model. Our experiments demonstrate that the proposed model has an accuracy of 99% in making migration decisions and while only increasing the latency by 1.9 μs.
Amnion-Chorion Allograft Barrier Used on Root Surface for Regenerative Procedures: Case Report.

Introduction Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) has been well documented with combination of bone graft substitutes and biologic modifiers to improve the outcomes of periodontal regenerative procedures. Amnion-chorion allograft membrane (ACM) is a placenta-derived resorbable allograft membrane which contains growth factors found in the placenta. The primary purpose of the barrier membranes for GTR was to exclude the epithelial down-growth along with the root surface, however, the ACM can be used as an additional biologic modifier because of the release of growth factors from the ACM after placement. The aim of this case report is to evaluate the efficacy and the application of ACM on the previously diseased root surface to treat periodontal intrabony defect. Case presentation A 60-year-old Caucasian male with deep and wide intrabony defect on mesial #19 was treated with a regenerative procedure with combination of application of ACM on the root surface and filling the intrabony defect with the corticocancellous freeze-dried bone allograft. The bone substitute was covered with another layer of ACM and primary closure was achieved. Wound healing process was uneventful, and the clinical and radiographic outcomes were favorable up to 18 months after the surgical procedure. Conclusion This case report demonstrated that the application of ACM on the root surface with a combination of bone substitute might enhance to the radiographic bone fill and the clinical attachment level gain and minimize the risk of post-operative gingival recession.
Identity and Self-Other Differentiation in Work and Giving Behaviors: Experimental Evidence

We show that the distinction between Self and Other, ‘us’ and ‘them,’ or in-group and out-group, affects significantly economic and social behavior. In a series of experiments with approximately 200 Midwestern students as our subjects, we found that they favor those who are similar to them on any of a wide range of categories of identity over those who are not like them. Whereas family and kinship are the most powerful source of identity in our sample, all 13 potential sources of identity in our experiments affect behavior. We explored individuals’ willingness to give money to imaginary people, using a dictator game setup with hypothetical money. Our experiments with hypothetical money generate essentially identical data to our experiments with actual money. We also investigated individuals’ willingness to share an office with, commute with, and work on a critical project critical to their advancement with individuals who are similar to themselves (Self) along a particular identity dimension than with individuals who are dissimilar (Other). In addition to family, our data point to other important sources of identity such as political views, religion, sports-team loyalty, and music preferences, followed by television-viewing habits, dress type preferences, birth order, body type, socio-economic status and gender. The importance of the source of identity varies with the type of behavior under consideration.
Lifestyle Interventions Reduce the Need for Guideline-Directed Antihypertensive Medication.

BACKGROUND The 2017 ACC-AHA Hypertension Guideline recommends initiation of antihypertensive drug therapy based on blood pressure (BP) and an assessment of global cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, but intensive lifestyle modification may lower BP to below recommended thresholds for treatment in some patients. METHODS We examined the effects of lifestyle modification on calculated CVD risk and on the indications for BP-lowering medications in individuals with untreated hypertension. Participants included 144 adults with BP 130-160/80-99 mm Hg who were randomized to 16 weeks of DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet plus behavioral weight management (DASH + WM), DASH diet alone (DASH), or Usual Care. RESULTS The mean age of the study cohort was 52.0 years; the average baseline BP was 138 ± 9/86 ± 6 mm Hg. The 10-year CVD risk, as calculated by the Pooled Cohort Equations, was 5.7%. The adjusted 10-year risk fell to 4.4% in the DASH + WM group and to 5.0% in the DASH arm, but was not significantly changed (5.7%) in the Usual Care controls. The percentages of participants with guideline-based indications for antihypertensive drugs fell from 51% to 18% in the DASH + WM group and from 48% to 22% in the DASH group; and did not change significantly (49% to 44%) in the Usual Care group (P = 0.010 for the active intervention groups vs. Usual Care; P = 0.042 for DASH + WM vs. DASH). CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate that in men and women with mildly elevated BP, lifestyle interventions can lower the calculated CVD risk and dramatically decrease the number of individuals for whom guideline-directed antihypertensive medication is indicated.
Solving the problem of overdetermination of quasisymmetric equilibrium solutions by near-axis expansions. II. Circular axis stellarator solutions

We apply the near-axis expansion method for quasisymmetric magnetic fields with anisotropic pressure (developed in Paper I) [E. Rodriguez and A. Bhattacharjee, Phys. Plasmas 28, 012508 (2020)] to construct numerical solutions to circular axis stellarators. The solutions are found to second order in the distance from the axis, not possible in the standard Garren–Boozer construction [D. A. Garren and A. H. Boozer, Phys. Fluids B 3, 2822 (1991)], which assumes magnetostatic equilibria with isotropic pressure. In the limit of zero anisotropy, it is shown that a subset of coefficients can be chosen to avoid the overdetermination problem.
Measure Twice, Cut Once: Quantifying Bias and Fairness in Deep Neural Networks

Algorithmic bias is of increasing concern, both to the research community, and society at large. Bias in AI is more abstract and unintuitive than traditional forms of discrimination and can be more difficult to detect and mitigate. A clear gap exists in the current literature on evaluating the relative bias in the performance of multi-class classifiers. In this work, we propose two simple yet effective metrics, Combined Error Variance (CEV) and Symmetric Distance Error (SDE), to quantitatively evaluate the class-wise bias of two models in comparison to one another. By evaluating the performance of these new metrics and by demonstrating their practical application, we show that they can be used to measure fairness as well as bias. These demonstrations show that our metrics can address specific needs for measuring bias in multi-class classification.
Field Experiments to Evaluate Subsurface Water Management for Landfills in Snowmelt-Dominated Semiarid Regions of the USA

The objective of shallow land burial of hazardous and radioactive wastes is to isolate waste in a manner that protects public and environmental health and safety. Currently, adequate field data does not exist from carefully instrumented large-scale experiments on the movement of water and contaminants under unsaturated conditions to enable a site operator to define and engineer suitable barriers to prevent the migration of waste materials out of a landfill. The purpose of these studies was to monitor and compare water balance on several landfill cover designs in environments with high potential seepage due to snowmelt.
Active Learning with Interactive Whiteboards

A well-designed classroom that includes appropriate technology can inspire and support successful instructional design. Interactive whiteboards (IWBs), an example of this technology, have been adopted in Great Britain, primarily in primary and secondary schools. While the literature anecdotally suggests that there are benefits associated with using IWBs in classroom instruction, little has been written about their application and efficacy in higher education. The author describes an exercise designed for college freshman, and discusses the benefits of the group work and active assignments engendered by the IWB.
A NOTE ON COOK'S INEQUALITY FOR SIMPLE CLOSED CURVES

The question of Howard Cook: "Do there exist, in the plane, two simple closed curves Y and X, such that X is in the bounded complementary domain of Y, and the span of X is greater than the span of Y ?"is answered, in the negative, for several types of simple closed curve pairs.
Histone (H2A-H2B)-DNA Autoantibodies

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on anti-histone (H2A-H2B)-DNA antibodies. Anti-[(H2A-H2B)-DNA] is common in drug-induced and idiopathic systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE), explaining the reasons for this activity being accounted for the first reports of autoantibodies in the rheumatic diseases. The amino acid sequence of the major variant of bovine and human H2A and of bovine and human H2B is identical, so calf thymus is an appropriate source for isolating these histones for screening human autoantibodies. Immunoglobulin G provides a sensitive diagnostic test for lupus induced by a wide variety of drugs and has substantial prognostic value in the forewarning of clinical disease as a side-effect of procainamide therapy. This antibody specificity is also present in the majority of untreated SLE patients and is the earliest autoantibody in murine lupus.
An efficient parallel delta-sigma ADC utilizing a shared multi-bit quantizer

An efficient design for a high-speed, high-resolution parallel /spl Delta//spl Sigma/ architecture that is well suited to implementation in a digital CMOS process is presented here. The architecture uses a reduced sample-rate Leslie-Singh channel to enable sharing of one second stage ADC between the parallel channels. This results in reduced power consumption and smaller chip area. The design in this paper achieves 16 bits of resolution, with an 8 times oversampling ratio using a parallel system with four third-order channels and one 9-bit second stage.
An 85-kilodalton herpes simplex virus type 1 alpha trans-induction factor (VP16)-VP13/14 fusion protein retains the transactivation and structural properties of the wild-type molecule during virus infection.

Abstract The 65-kDa herpes simplex virus type 1 encoded alpha trans-induction factor (alpha TIF or VP16) has two important functions: it is required for the efficient transcriptional induction of the alpha or immediate-early genes, and it acts as an essential structural component of the virion. The transcription properties of alpha TIF have been well studied in vitro. The protein is a powerful inducer of RNA polymerase II-directed transcription and, similar to the cellular transcriptional transactivators GAL4 and CGN4, contains separable DNA binding and transactivation domains. In contrast, little is known about the structural function of alpha TIF because this function can be studied only during virus replication and structural mutants are lethal. The in vivo analysis of alpha TIF is further complicated by the likelihood that the transcription and structural functions are not entirely separable. In this study, we take an alternate approach toward the development of alpha TIF mutants and their subsequent characterization. Rather than analyzing the effects of intragenic mutations, we have examined the properties of a mutant virus which expresses an alpha TIF fusion protein containing 61 amino acids of another herpes simplex virus type 1 virion protein, VP13/14, fused to its C terminus. This is the first report which demonstrates that the C-terminus of alpha TIF can tolerate the addition of an adjacent protein domain without compromising its transactivation function in vivo. Moreover, the VP13/14 sequences do not interfere with the protein-protein interactions required for virion targeting and assembly.
Apparent Mutagenic Effect of Induction of Lambda Prophage Inserted Between lysA and thyA

Induction of a heat-inducible abnormal lambda prophage inserted between lysA and thyA in Escherichia coli resulted in a number of auxotrophic mutants in the surviving cured-cell populations. These mutants could not be accounted for by deletions arising on formation of lambda hybrid particles carrying regions adjacent to the insertion site. The properties of these mutants, which were almost all spontaneously revertable, have been described and mapped by F' episome complementation. Tentatively, it was suggested that induction of the lambda lysogen leads to a mutagenic state.
Differential localization of progesterone uptake in brain, role od sex, estrogen pretreatment and adrenalectomy

Abstract In 3 experiments gonadectomized male and female rats were administered tritiated progesterone. Brain tissues were analyzed for the retention of radioactivity using liquid scintillation techniques. Experiment 1. Estrogen-primed rats were sacrificed 30 min or 60 min after progesterone treatment. There was an increasing gradient of radioactivity from anterior hypothalamus through posterior hypothalamus to the region of the cerebral peduncle in the mesencephalon. Radioactivity levels were higher in females than in males only in anterior hypothalamus and plasma. Experiment 2. Estrogen-primed and non-estrogen-primed rats were sacrified 60 min after progesterone treatment. Estrogen priming had no influence on the retention of radioactivity. The mesencephalic sample retained more radioactivity than the diencephalic tissues. Tissues from females retained more radioactivity than tissues from males. Experiment 3. Adrenalectomized and sham-operated animals were sacrificed 60 min after progesterone treatment. Adrenalectomized animals retained from 27.6 to 51.3% more radioactivity than control animals. Mesencephalic tissues retained more radioactivity than diencephalic tissues. The results suggest the existence of limited capacity binding sites for progesterone in the mesencephalon and diencephalon as well as the pituitary.
HIV communication programs, condom use at sexual debut, and HIV infections averted in South Africa, 2005.

Background: Since the 1990s communication programs in South Africa have promoted HIV prevention especially condom use. Although HIV prevalence stabilized after 2000 surveys have not clarified how prevention behavior contributed to that change. We present a secondary statistical analysis of the 2005 national South African Human Sciences Research Council survey that reveals how condom use at sexual debut -- which normally occurs before infection from unprotected sex -- may have contributed to the reduction in HIV infection. Methods: Threats from measured and unobserved confounding variables are addressed through the use of several complementary statistical methods including structural equation modeling with multivariate probit regression and propensity score matching. The latter is used to create statistically comparable groups of those who used and did not use condoms at sexual debut to estimate the number of HIV infections averted attributed to this behavior. Results: After controlling for 17 socioeconomic variables awareness of HIV communication programs had a positive dose-response relationship with self-reported condom use at sexual debut. Those who used condoms at sexual debut were 1.38 times more likely to have remained uninfected. HIV-negative status was 3.6 percentage points higher among those who used condoms at sexual debut corresponding to an estimated 139835 infections averted among sexually active adults by 2005. Never using injectable drugs and having 1 trusted partner also predicted HIV-negative status. Conclusions: We found a relationship between HIV communication awareness and condom use at sexual debut. Condom use at sexual debut in turn was associated with lower subsequent HIV risk.
The evolution of patterns in a homogeneously oscillating medium

Abstract The evolution of concentration patterns from a local disturbance of an unstirred, homogeneously oscillating, chemical system subject to reaction and diffusion is investigated. A new pulse of concentration forms after each homogeneous oscillation until eventually the entire domain is filled. The theory of travelling fronts is used to develop a treatment which is useful in understanding the evolution of these patterns whenever the nullclines of the chemical dynamics have a certain, quite common form. The concepts developed are used to interpret the results of numerical simulation of the behavior of a modified Oregonator model of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction.
Regionalization of multi-categorical landscapes using machine vision methods

Abstract We introduce a novel method for regionalization of multi-categorical landscape or land cover pattern based on the principle of machine vision rather than clustering of landscape metrics. Maps of land use/land cover (LULC), such as, for example, the NLCD 2006, show spatially varying pattern of LULC categories. Using an LULC map as an input our method discovers and maps different landscape types (LTs), each dominated by a characteristic LULC pattern that reflects varied influence of natural and anthropogenic factors. At the core of the method are the concepts of landscape signature and landscape dissimilarity adapted from the field of machine vision. A two-dimensional histogram of LULC categories and clump sizes is used as a landscape signature and the Jensen-Shannon measure is used as landscape dissimilarity. We have also adapted the machine vision technique of object-bases image analysis, consisting of segmentation and clustering, to find the set of LTs regions. Such technique maximizes spatial contiguity of the regions while also providing necessary level of generalization. The method is applied to the study area located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Georgia using the NLCD 2006 data. Local landscape is defined over a square, 3 km × 3 km areal units; there are 8475 such units in the study area. Several different computational protocols for regionalization of these units are evaluated with the best protocol resulting in a discovery and delineation of fifteen LTs. The LTs are summarized from descriptive and quantitative perspective, their landscapes signatures are shown, and an example of each landscape is given. Delineated LTs agree well with perceptual patterns seen in the NLCD map. Non-urban LTs are arranged roughly in stripes running from SW to NE perpendicular to the regional gradient of elevation. Full resolution maps, the data, and our regionalization computer code are available at http://sil.uc.edu/downloads.html .
DISCRETE- vs. CONTINUOUS-TIME NONLINEAR SIGNAL PROCESSING OF Cu ELECTRODISSOLUTION DATA

Abstract Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are often used for short term discrete time predictions of experimental data. In this paper we focus on the capability of such nets to correctly identify long term behavior and, in particular, observed bifurcations. As we show, the usual discrete time mapping approach is (precisely because of its discrete nature) often incapable of reproducing observed bifurcation sequences. If the interest is only in periodic or temporally more complicated behavior, a Poincare map extracted from the experimental time series can be used to circumvent this problem. A complete dynamic picture including bifurcations of steady states can, however, only be captured by a continuous-time model. We present an ANN configuration which couples a “nonlinear principal component” network for data processing (Kramer, 1991, Usui et al., 1990) with a composite ANN based on a simple integrator scheme. This ANN is able to correctly reconstruct the bifurcation diagram of our experimental data. All t...
Modeling human neurodegenerative diseases in transgenic systems

Transgenic systems are widely used to study the cellular and molecular basis of human neurodegenerative diseases. A wide variety of model organisms have been utilized, including bacteria (Escherichia coli), plants (Arabidopsis thaliana), nematodes (Caenorhabditis elegans), arthropods (Drosophila melanogaster), fish (zebrafish, Danio rerio), rodents (mouse, Mus musculus and rat, Rattus norvegicus) as well as non-human primates (rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta). These transgenic systems have enormous value for understanding the pathophysiological basis of these disorders and have, in some cases, been instrumental in the development of therapeutic approaches to treat these conditions. In this review, we discuss the most commonly used model organisms and the methodologies available for the preparation of transgenic organisms. Moreover, we provide selected examples of the use of these technologies for the preparation of transgenic animal models of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington's disease (HD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) and discuss the application of these technologies to AD as an example of how transgenic modeling has affected the study of human neurodegenerative diseases.
Developing Positive Behavior at Camp: Contain-Discuss-Plan

Effective work with children is the cornerstone of camper retention in any summer program. The quality of this work depends, in part, upon an effective program for maximizing positive behavior and minimizing behavioral difficulties or crises. This article describes the unique context of the camp environment in relation to the establishment of good child-centered practices for behavior and prosocial development. The authors describe an approach developed by staff of and consultants to The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp and discuss the consultant's role in aiding and monitoring behavior programming.
Some properties of adding a smoothing step to the EM algorithm

Abstract A promising method for solving statistical problems in image analysis and integral equations is to add a smoothing step after the usual expectation and maximization steps of the EM algorithm (Silverman, 1990). This article gives some connections between this algorithm, known as EMS, and maximizing a penalized likelihood and derives an upper bound on the convergence rate.
Antimycobacterial drugs that inhibit mycolic acid synthesis

Abstract Antimycobacterial drugs such as isoniazid; ethionamide and thiocarlide are inhibitors of mycolic acid synthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis . Isoniazid in particular appears to block the formation of a Δ 5 −C 24:1 fatty acid which could be a precursor of mycolic acids.
The Impact of Gender, Offense Type, and Familial Role on the Decision to Incarcerate

This study attempts to further the understanding of how familial roles affect male and females’ sentences. In accordance with familial paternalism theory, the effects of familial roles presenting different levels of social costs and control were examined for drug and property offenders. The findings show that living with a child or paying child support reduced defendants’ odds of incarceration. Once familial role variables were included in the model, gender was not a significant predictor of odds of incarceration. When split models for gender and offense type were examined, females and property offenders had a reduced likelihood of being incarcerated if they were caretakers to children. Interaction effects, however, found that the impacts did not differ significantly for males and females or for property and drug offenders.
Cell Surface Antigens: Serial Sectioning of Single Cells as an Approach to Topographical Analysis

The topographical distribution of H-2 antigens on the surfaces of C57BL/6 mouse thymocytes and lymph-node lymphocytes was investigated by a new technique. Single cells were reacted with visually labeled antibody directed against H-2 antigen. Each cell was processed for electron microscopy individually and was serially sectioned. Models constructed from serial electron micrographs provided detailed views of the entire cell surface and showed that H-2 antigen occurs on thymocytes in small isolated regions and on lymphocytes in large interconnected regions.
The H+OCS hot atom reaction: CO state distributions and translational energy from time‐resolved infrared absorption spectroscopy

Time-resolved infrared diode laser spectroscopy has been used to probe CO internal and translational excitation from the reaction of hot H atoms with OCS. Product distributions should be strongly biased toward the maximum 1.4 eV collision energy obtained from 278 nm pulsed photolysis of HI. Rotations and vibrations are both colder than predicted by statistical density of states theory, as evidenced by large positive surprisal parameters. The bias against rotation is stronger than that against vibration, with measurable population as high as v = 4. The average CO internal excitation is 1920/cm, accounting for only 13 percent of the available energy. Of the energy balance, time-resolved sub-Doppler line shape measurements show that more than 38 percent appears as relative translation of the separating CO and SH fragments. Studies of the relaxation kinetics indicate that some rotational energy transfer occurs on the time scale of our measurements, but the distributions do not relax sufficiently to alter our conclusions. Vibrational distributions are nascent, though vibrational relaxation of excited CO is unusually fast in the OCS bath, with rates approaching 3 percent of gas kinetic for v = 1.
Marital Partners' Perceptions of Effective Message Repair

Typologies exist for both hurtful messages and repair strategies. The typologies help relational partners reconcile problems that arise in relationships, but it can be challenging to know when the problem is truly resolved. The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of the effectiveness of attempts at repair. One hundred thirty-one currently married individuals provided qualitative data to explain how they knew the marriage progressed after a hurtful message. Six categories emerged from the data: identification, nonverbal affirmation, behavior alteration, taboo topics, triviality, and ineffective repairs.
Investigation of Anabolic Steroids in Two Taste Aversion Paradigms

The aversive effects of estradiol have been studied in two different taste aversion paradigms. A similar investigation was undertaken for the anabolic-androgenic steroids, nandralone and testosterone cypionate, using Rockland-Swiss mice. Experiments 1 and 2 used the brief exposure of a novel saccharin solution as the conditioned stimulus for taste aversion learning, and showed that anabolic steroids (1 mg) do not induce taste aversions. Instead, these hormones induced a small non-contingent increase in saccharin preference. Experiment 3 showed that daily nandralone administration (1 mg/day) had a greater anabolic effect than the same dose of testosterone cypionate. Experiment 4 paired the continuous exposure to a novel diet with daily nandralone injections, and showed that steroid treatment increased intake of the novel diet. When the novel diet was subsequently presented with the familiar diet in a two-choice preference test, there was no indication that an aversion was conditioned to the novel target diet. On the contrary, nandralone treatment significantly increased the preference for the novel diet. These experiments show that anabolic-androgenic steroids do not have aversive effects in mice, and that they may have positive consequences.
Real-Time Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Diagnostic and Interventional Applications

The advent of ultra-fast imaging techniques has extended the utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from a static and purely diagnostic status to an imaging modality ideally suited for a number of therapeutic applications. These advances--along with the recent development and refinement of miniature intravascular imaging catheters and MRI-compatible guidewires, balloon catheters, and radiofrequency ablation catheters--have created an exciting forum of novel approaches for detecting and treating both acquired and congenital cardiovascular disease. This review covers the current state of the art in fast cardiovascular MRI, catheter-tracking techniques for MR fluoroscopy, and currently available interventional MRI systems. Early diagnostic and therapeutic applications, such as high-resolution intravascular and intracardiac imaging, balloon angioplasty, stent placement, and radiofrequency ablation techniques, are discussed and extended to several potential approaches specific to pediatric cardiac therapeutic catheterization. Lastly, safety aspects of MR-guided interventional procedures are presented.
VSYNC: a novel video file synchronization protocol

VSYNC is a novel incremental video file synchronization system that efficiently synchronizes two video files at remote ends through a bi-directional communications link. Retransmission of a video file that has been modified only slightly, for the purpose of synchronization with a remote-end copy, is extremely expensive but avoidable. VSYNC is a bi-directional algorithm designed to automatically detect and transmit changes in the modified video file without the knowledge of what was changed. Another feature of VSYNC is that it allows synchronization to within some user defined distortion constraint. A hierarchical hashing scheme is designed to compare video chunks, converting the high-level content information to a low-level hash stream that is more amenable to the tools of coding theory. Our approach shows impressive gains in transmission rate-savings. In a typical example of two 12 sec video files with about 10% of the frames being edited, transmission savings of 44% to 87% can be obtained compared to directly sending the updated video files using H.264 and rsync [1].
Abortion after PGF2α in heifers with multiple pregnancies following superovulation with FSH and PGF2α

Abstract Multiple ovulations were induced with follicle stimulating hormone and estrus was synchronized with prostaglandin F 2α (PGF 2α ) in 23 Holstein heifers. In 19 heifers which responded to the treatments, an average of 1.8 corpora lutea were formed after the induced estrus and 6 of 19 heifers conceived (total of ten fetuses at 39 days gestation) to artificial insemination at 60 and 84 hr after the PGF 2α injection. Injection of 33 mg PGF 2α Tham salt into the six pregnant heifers on day 40 of gestation caused abortion between 54 and 66 hr after treatment in all heifers.
Phenotypic characterization of Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus cereus

Abstract One hundred and thirty-seven strains of Bacillus thuringiensis and 35 strains of Bacillus cereus were tested for the presence or absence of 99 traits. An analysis of these data indicated that strains of B. thuringiensis were indistinguishable from B. cereus, except for their ability to produce parasporal crystals. This conclusion was based on a comparison of the phenotypic properties of B. thuringiensis and B. cereus, as well as on the results of numerical analyses of the data which grouped strains into clusters on the basis of phenotypic similarity. In the resulting dendrograms, strains of B. thuringiensis and B. cereus were interspersed, exhibiting no tendency to segregate. In addition, with the exception of serovar israelensis, strains on B. thuringiensis belonging to the same flagellar serovar showed little or no tendency to group in different clusters. A comparison of the phenotypic differences between serovars indicated that the greater the number of strains in the serovars, the fewer, if any, phenotypic traits separating them. This suggests that the properties reported to differentiate serovars can be attributed to the internal phenotypic diversity of the species. Characterization of 10 mosquitocidal strains of Bacillus sphaericus indicated that the traits employed in this study readily distinguished these highly related organisms from strains of B. thuringiensis and B. cereus.
Cyclization of eucaryotic deoxyribonucleic acid fragments.

Abstract Highly purified, shear-broken fragments of DNA extracted from certain eucaryotes (salmon, trout, Necturus , calf thymus and others) can form circles and circular structures by either “folding” or “slipping”. Procaryotic DNA fragments (from T7 bacteriophage, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis ) do not form circles or circular structures by this treatment. “Folding” involves partial degradation with exonucleases (exonuolease III or λ exonuclease) and annealing. Up to 35% of all Necturus DNA fragments seen in the electron microscope are folded into circular structures. The same treatment applied to trout and salmon sperm DNA fragments results in about 20% circular structures. “Slipping” involves chain separation and subsequent annealing. In this case circular structures are easy to find, but their frequency cannot be estimated because much of the DNA remains denatured and invisible. We conclude that a large fraction of the eucaryotic genomes that we have studied is composed of regions containing tandemly-repeating sequences. At this time it is not known whether or not these tandemly-repeating regions function in the genetic sense (to specify amino acid sequences). Either way this question is resolved, the finding that such a large fraction of the euearyotic chromosome is constructed in this manner raises some paradoxical questions.