cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Control of reproduction in female cockroaches with special reference to Nauphoeta cinerea—I. First pre-oviposition period

Abstract Prior to the first oviposition, a receptivity centre, perhaps neurosecretory cells in the brain, controls the female's acceptance of courting males. In L. maderae this centre is affected by starvation. A brief exposure to food can induce mating but is inadequate for oocyte development. Before the first ovulation starvation has no effect on receptivity in N. cinerea. In N. cinerea mechanical stimulation caused by the firm insertion of the spermatophore in the bursa copulatrix releases stimuli via the nerve cord to the brain which render the female unreceptive and, at the same time, increases the activity of the corpora allata resulting in rapid development of the oocytes. The mechanical presence of the ootheca in the uterus also has two principal effects. Like spermatophore insertion, it inhibits mating. But its effect on the corpora allata is inhibitory, rather than stimulatory, and, consequently, the oocytes remain underveloped for almost the entire gestation period. The effectiveness of inhibitory stimulation from the stretched uterus depends upon the period in the reproductive cycle in which it occurs-i.e. on the physiological state of the female. In N. cinerea uterine stretching inhibits mating and oocyte development after oviposition or during gestation but is not effective when exerted during the first pre-oviposition period. In P. surinamensis, uterine stretching does not inhibit the corpora allata prior to the first ovulation but does prevent oocyte development during gestation. In fed L. maderae and N. cinerea there appears to be a synergistic action of nutrition and mating in controlling the rate of oocyte development. Mating (mechanical) and feeding (chemical) stimuli are both usually required for activating the corpora allata to their fullest extent so that the oocytes mature at their maximum rate. There is some indication that mating stimuli in N. cinerea and L. maderae are effective in further stimulating the corpora allata only if the corpora allata have reached a certain level of activity, if activating stimuli have begun to occur in the brain, or if the mating stimulus occurs in combination with nutritional factors. Thus, the corpora allata in starved virgin females of N. cinerea become sufficiently active so that some yolk is deposited in the oocytes but these oocytes do not mature; mating is effective in further stimulating the endocrine glands in these starved females and oviposition occurs in about the normal period. In starved virgins of L. maderae the corpora allata are virtually inactive and yolk is not deposited in the oocytes; mating has no effect on oocyte development in starved females. D. punctata differs from both the above species in that the corpora allata in the virgin female usually remain inactive whether she feeds or starves. Mating stimuli alone can activate the corpora allata, in fed or starved females, and consequently the oocytes mature.
Nonmigrating Diurnal Tides in the Equatorial Middle Atmosphere

Data from the Nimbus-7 Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) are used to extend the analysis of diurnal tides in the middle atmosphere to include the zonally symmetric and eastward propagating components. These modes show vertical and meridional structures that are generally consistent with the predictions of linear tidal theory. The zonal and meridional wind fields are calculated from the tidal temperatures. Diurnal perturbations in LIMS temperature and derived winds agree well with equinoctial model calculations. Comparisons with day-night differences of radiosonde temperature and rocket winds show qualitative agreement in vertical structure and amplitude. The zonally symmetric and eastward migrating tidal components show a higher degree of temporal variability than the sun-synchronous component. These modes at times contribute substantially to the diurnal signal in wind and temperature, with combined amplitudes equal to or in excess of the amplitude of the main migrating diurnal tide. The observed vertical phase variations suggest that their forcing may originate below the stratosphere.
The rule of law and African game – a review of some recent trends and concerns

Increasing denouncement of African game legislation as inappropriate law imposed by the former colonial authorities is viewed with concern and condemned as mistaken. The necessity for the rule of law is argued and the good intent behind the institution of game laws. Abrogation of such laws will not lead to a lessening of the increasing destruction of African wildlife. The author was consultant to the Government of Botswana for the drafting of its new Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act, 1992.
Facts and values in risk assessment

Abstract Risk, as commonly understood, is a complex melange of facts, values, and fears. While this complexity of public risk perception is now broadly recognized, its implications are insufficiently explored. Public risk perceptions offer p poor guide for public policymaking. Popular assessments of risk are tainted by misinformation and unreliable heuristics. While subjective considerations, often called values, play a role in public perception of risk, those ‘values’ are often inappropriate for government decisionmaking. Reliance on public perceptions of risk means more premature deaths. Public risk perception also is systematically skewed contrary to the interests of the disadvantaged. Strict probabilistic risk measures generally provide a superior guide for government regulatory policy.
Helicobacter pylori and toll-like receptor agonists induce syndecan-4 expression in an NF-κB-dependent manner

The syndecans are a family of transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) that have been implicated in a wide variety of biological functions including the regulation of growth factor signaling, adhesion, tumorigenesis, and inflammation. In the current studies, we examined the regulation of syndecan-4 gene expression in gastric epithelial cells and macrophages in response to infection with live Helicobacter pylori and purified toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists. H. pylori, PAM3CSK4 (a TLR2 agonist), and Escherichia coli flagellin (a TLR5 agonist) all induced the rapid expression of syndecan-4 mRNA in MKN45 gastric epithelial cells. Similarly, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (a TLR4 agonist) also induced the expression of syndecan-4 in macrophages. The H. pylori- and TLR-induced increase in syndecan-4 mRNA was blocked by the proteosome inhibitor MG-132 suggesting a role for nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) in the regulation of syndecan-4 gene expression. An 895-bp fragment of the human syndecan-4 promoter was cloned upstream of the luciferase reporter. When transfected into MKN45 cells, the activity of this promoter was inducible by H. pylori and TLR agonists. Inducible activity of the syndecan-4 promoter was blocked by cotransfection with a dominant negative IkappaBalpha expression plasmid. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) demonstrated the presence of a highly conserved NF-kappaB-binding site. Mutation of this site within the context of the full-length syndecan-4 promoter resulted in a complete loss of responsiveness to H. pylori and TLR agonists. These results thus demonstrate that the response of the syndecan-4 gene to infectious agents, or their products, is a direct result of NF-kappaB binding to the promoter and induction of de novo transcription.
Housestaff Evaluation Using Patient Instructors: A Report of Clinical Competence

Chronically-ill nonphysician patient instructors (PIs) with stable cardiovascular or pulmonary findings were trained by physicians to evaluate objectively the physical diagnosis skills offirst-year house- officers (PGY-1s). Each PGY-1 received a performance score, reflecting thoroughness of examination, and a content score, reflecting ability to identify and describe findings. There was no significant correlation between performance and content scores in either specialty or between scores obtained on the two specialty examinations. Scores for the PI evaluations were correlated with traditional assessment methods. Evaluation of PGY-1s by program directors correlated positively with performance scores; peer ratings correlated positively with content scores. Internship acceptance committee rankings correlated positively with cardiovascular content scores and peer evaluations. The use of PIs to evaluate physical diagnosis skills of PGY-1s provides numerical objective data not previously available from any oth...
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Update on Diagnosis, Pathophysiology, and Treatment

S million individuals in the United States with type 2 diabetes mellitus and an additional 30–40 million with impaired glucose tolerance result in health care costs exceeding 100 billion dollars annually (1). Treatment is predominantly directed at microvascular and macrovascular complications (2). In type 1 diabetes mellitus the relationship between glycemic control and microvascular complications has been well established (3). The relationship between tight glycemic control and microvascular disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus appears to be established in the recently completed United Kingdom prospective diabetes study (4, 5). Despite the morbidity and mortality associated with retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in type 2 diabetes mellitus (6, 7). Consequently, the treatment of confounding risk factors of obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia assumes major importance and must be coordinated with good glycemic control for reduction in total mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus (6–11). Based on the emerging relationship between the degree of glycemic control and microvascular complications as well as the contribution of hyperglycemia in the development of macrovascular disease, it is the purpose of this review to summarize the current state of knowledge to provide a rational basis for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
The therapeutic effects upon dog owners who interact with their dogs in a mindful way

This case study describes the experiences of three individuals who participated in a training program that taught them to work with their dogs in a mindful manner. That is to say, in a way that wou...
Mass Residuals as a Criterion for Mesh Refinement in Continuous Galerkin Shallow Water Models

Mass balance error has been computed traditionally by using conventional fluxes derived from the conservation of mass equation, but recent literature supports a method based on fluxes that are consistent with the discretization of the governing equations. By comparing the mass residuals from these two methods to the truncation errors produced by the discretization of the governing equations, we show that the conventional fluxes produce mass residuals that are more descriptive of the overall behavior of the model, i.e., they are better correlated with truncation error. Then we demonstrate that these mass residuals can be used as a criterion for mesh refinement. In an example using a one-dimensional shallow water model, we demonstrate that, by moving nodes from regions with large mass residuals to regions with small mass residuals, a mesh can be developed that shows less truncation error than a mesh developed by using localized truncation error analysis. And, in an example using a two-dimensional shallow water model, we demonstrate that the computed solution can be improved in regions with large mass residuals through mesh refinement.
Receive and transmit mode aperture field of the parallel plate-fed slot antenna

Two numerical solutions are given for an integrodifferential equation governing the electric field in the aperture of a parallel-plate waveguide-loaded slot antenna excited by an obliquely incident plane wave. Resultant aperture field distributions obtained via Galerkin's method with a basis of edge-condition weighted Chebyshev-polynomials are compared with the results from pulse expansion with point matching. It is shown that the relative numerical convergence of the Chebyshev-Galerkin method and of the pulse expansion-point matching applied to the receive mode of the parallel plate-fed slot antenna are qualitatively similar to a previously reported transmit case, that is, the full domain expansion with the built-in edge condition behavior converges faster than the sub-domain method, and agreement between the two independent results serves as a necessary, albeit not strictly sufficient, check on the accuracy of the implementation. >
A methodology for constructing a stabilizing crash-tolerant application

This paper is an exercise to construct a stabilizing mutual-exclusion protocol that withstands a single crash-failure. We begin with a collection of distributed processes arranged in a ring. The resulting protocol is stabilized by construction. Stabilizing protocols converge to a correct behavior regardless of their initial state. A faulty process is automatically removed from the system and, after repair, automatically integrated into the system. Our technique can be generalized to different systems by substituting appropriate protocols for various components. >
Transduction of biochemical signals across cell membranes

Biological cells need to be responsive to various stimuli, primarily chemical ligands from their environments. Specific receptor molecules embedded in the plasma membrane detect the different biochemical signals that impact the cell, and these receptors are the conduits for transmission of this information to the cell interior for action. There are several classes of signal transduction receptors and many specific receptors within each of the major classes. This review emphasizes the structural biology of three major classes of transmembrane receptors - tyrosine kinase receptors, histidine kinase sensors, and G-protein coupled receptors. Biophysical principles that govern the processes of signal transduction across cell membranes are also discussed.
Monogamy Lite Cheating, College, and Women

Studies of collegiate sexuality have not examined infidelity. Using in-depth peer interviews with college students, our article investigates the meanings and practices of “monogamy” and “cheating” for college women. College women use ideas about age, class, and gender to construct collegiate sexuality as a kind of “monogamy lite” exempt from the “rules” of adult sexuality. Many have cheated themselves. Simultaneously, they define “real” relationships as exclusive and condemn “cheaters” as bad people. We employ an intersectional analysis to analyze these discrepancies, arguing that the multiple meanings women use reconcile contradictions between expectations for women’s sexuality and expectations about collegiate behavior, allowing women to sustain a commitment to relationships while also participating in collegiate sexual culture. Moreover, by providing a socially legible, gender-appropriate way to end unwanted relationships, these meanings allow women to use cheating to solve dilemmas in their intimate l...
Fiber-to-bundle registration of white matter tracts

Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is being widely used to reconstruct brain white matter (WM) fiber tracts. For further characterization of the tracts, the fibers with similar courses often need to be grouped into a fiber bundle that corresponds to certain underlying WM anatomic structure. In addition, the alignments of fibers from different studies are often desirable for bundle comparisons and group analysis. In this work, a novel registration algorithm based on fiber-to-bundle matching was proposed to address the above two needs. Using an Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm, the proposed method is capable of estimating a Thin-Plate- Spline transformation that optimally aligns whole-brain target fiber sets with a reference bundle model. Based on the resulting transformations, the fibers from different target datasets can all be warped into the reference coordinate system for comparisons and group analysis. The fibers can be further automatically labeled according to their similarity to the reference model. The algorithm was evaluated with eight human brain DTI data volumes acquired in vivo at 3T. After registration, the warped target bundles exhibit good similarity to the reference bundles. Quantitative experiments further demonstrated that the detected target bundles agree with ground truth obtained by manual segmentation at a sub-voxel accuracy.
High-temperature 4.5-/spl mu/m type-II quantum-well laser with Auger suppression

Laser emission at 4.2-4.5 /spl mu/m has been observed at temperatures up to 310 K in pulsed optical pumping experiments on type-II quantum-well (QW) lasers with four constituents in each period (InAs-Ga/sub 1-x/In/sub x/Sb-InAs-AlSb). The characteristic temperature, T/sub 0/, is 41 K, and a peak output power exceeding 2 W/facet is observed at 200 K. The power conversion efficiency per facet of /spl ap/0.2% up to 200 K is within a factor of 2 of the theoretical value. The 300 K Auger coefficient of 4/spl times/10/sup -27/ cm/sup 6//s extracted from the threshold pump intensity demonstrates that Auger losses have been suppressed by a factor of four.
Conducting Polymers with Molecular Recognition Elements:Design of Highly Sensitive Sensory Aterials

A number of approaches to the design and synthesis of conducting polymer-based sensory materials are presented. To elicit a selective sensory response synthetic receptors have been integrated into the polymers such that binding of an analyte produces electronic, electrostatic, and/or structural perturbations. A key element is the use of assemblies of many receptors which are “wired in series” by a conjugated polymeric structure. It is demonstrated that this configuration produces an inherent sensitivity gain over single isolated receptor-based sensory molecules.
Percutaneous Leaflet Repair and Annuloplasty for Mitral Regurgitation

Percutaneous therapy for the treatment of mitral regurgitation has emerged rapidly over the past few years. Most of the percutaneous approaches are modifications of existing surgical approaches to mitral annuloplasty or leaflet repair. Catheter-based devices mimic these surgical approaches with less procedural morbidity and mortality as a consequence of their less invasive nature. Percutaneous annuloplasty can be achieved indirectly via the coronary sinus or directly from retrograde left ventricular access. Catheter-based leaflet repair is accomplished using an implantable clip to mimic the surgical edge-to-edge technique. Several of these percutaneous approaches have been successfully used in patients to demonstrate proof of concept, while others have already stopped further development. There is increasing experience in both trials and practice to begin to define the clinical utility of percutanenous leaflet repair, and annuloplasty approaches are undergoing significant development.
Importance of Hydrodynamic Considerations for Underwater Vehicle Design

Proper hydrodynamic design is necessary in order to achieve the effective performance of an underwater vehicle. An incorrect shape can cause excessive drag, noise, and instability even at low speeds. This paper explains how a reasonable hydrodynamic design can result in low drag and noise with minimum compromise in volume, and reduced development and production costs. Rules-of-thumb and simplified automated programs are discussed to predict the drag, stability and noise, as well as the speed corresponding to the inception of cavitation. Detailed computer programs are identified for those who require the best shape and hydrodynamic characteristics possible. After a brief overview of how hydrodynamics affects underwater vehicle performance, this paper suggests methods for estimating the drag as a function of speed, shape and size. The inception of cavitation is explained along with a simple method for predicting it as a function of speed, shape, and depth. The instability of bluff body shapes is discussed with simplified formulae for predicting the magnitude and frequency of oscillation. Computer programs are identified that define the external shape as well as the shape of fairings that minimize drag, noise, and cavitation. The paper concludes with a discussion of hydrodynamic stability and references literature that defines simple formulae which estimate the size, shape and placement of control surfaces.
Motion-based piloted flight simulation test results for a realistic weather environment

A flight simulation environment was enhanced to facilitate experiments that evaluate research prototypes of advanced onboard weather radar, hazard / integrity monitoring (HIM), and integrated alerting and notification (IAN) concepts in adverse weather conditions. The simulation environment uses weather data representing actual conditions in an airport terminal area. A simulated atmospheric environment was realized using numerical weather data sets produced from the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model hosted and run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). To align with the planned flight simulation experiment requirements, several HRRR data sets were acquired courtesy of NOAA. These data sets coincided with severe weather events at the Memphis International Airport (MEM) in Memphis, TN. In addition, representative flight tracks for approaches and departures at MEM were generated and used to develop and test simulations of (1) what onboard sensors such as the weather radar would observe; (2) what data links of weather information would provide; and (3) what atmospheric conditions the aircraft would experience (e.g. turbulence, winds, and icing). Results from the use of the enhanced flight simulation environment during the piloted experiments will be presented. A weather radar display was utilized by the test subject pilots in both weather and turbulence modes. The radar capabilities and the pilot controls simulated current-generation commercial weather radar systems. Data linked weather advisories were also provided to the pilots consistent with Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concepts of use for Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) and Meteorological (MET) data link products. Additional results of the simulation experiments included verification that the weather environment supports investigations of new flight deck information systems, flight deck integration of weather information, and pilot interfaces.
Monolayer vs. multilayer self-assembled alkylphosphonate films: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies

Combining functional organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with conventional semiconductor materials is a key step in the development of integrated electronics-based devices. T-BAG (Tethering by Aggregation and Growth) has been shown to be a simple and reliable method to grow SAMs of alkylphosphonates on oxide surfaces. However, distinguishing SAMs from ultra-thin multilayers is a challenge for most conventional surface characterization techniques. Self-assembled films of octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) were deposited on oxide-covered silicon coupons, converted to the corresponding phosphonates, and characterized by high resolution angularly resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was our goal to distinguish among different bonding configurations for phosphorous in the phosphonate head groups, namely, mono-dentate, bi-dentate or tri-dentate interactions with the oxide surface, as well as to assess quantitatively the near-surface layer composition. We also present an innovative method that allows us to distinguish between monolayer and multilayer films of ODPA on silicon oxide surfaces. This method is based on differential surface charging effects in XPS. It was found that variation in the ODPA film thickness causes differential responses of various spectral characteristics to an electrical bias applied to the sample during XPS measurements. Both positive and negative applied biases were found to affect the carbon core-level (C1s) line-shape and intensity in the case of the multilayer ODPA film, whereas line-shapes and intensities of all XPS lines measured for the monolayer film were unaffected by the application of a dc bias in the ±30 V range. � 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Bone marrow transplantation helps restore the intestinal mucosal barrier after total body irradiation in mice.

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) substantially improves 10-day survival after total body irradiation (TBI), consistent with an effect on intestinal radiation death. Total body irradiation, in addition to injuring the intestinal epithelium, also perturbs the mucosal immune system, the largest immune system in the body. This study focused on how transplanted bone marrow cells (BMCs) help restore mucosal immune cell populations after sublethal TBI (8.0 Gy). We further evaluated whether transplanted BMCs: (a) home to sites of radiation injury using green fluorescent protein labeled bone marrow; and (b) contribute to restoring the mucosal barrier in vivo. As expected, BMT accelerated recovery of peripheral blood (PB) cells. In the intestine, BMT was associated with significant early recovery of mucosal granulocytes (P = 0.005). Bone marrow transplantation did not affect mucosal macrophages or lymphocyte populations at early time points, but enhanced the recovery of these cells from day 14 onward (P = 0.03). B...
EFFECT OF WHEEL/RAIL LOADS ON CONCRETE TIE STRESSES AND RAIL ROLLOVER

As a result of vertical and lateral wheel/rail forces, high contact stresses can develop at the interface between the rail base and tie. Under certain conditions, these stresses can exceed the strength of the concrete tie and result in deterioration of the tie and ultimately derailment due to rail rollover. This failure mode has been determined to be the probable cause of at least two derailments where the ties were found to have a triangular wear pattern. Following these derailments, a field investigation revealed this pattern of failure present in an appreciable portion of concrete ties [1]. Closedform analyses have been conducted to examine combinations of wheel/rail loads and contact conditions that produce concrete tie rail seat deterioration or rail rollover. These results indicate that under certain circumstances truck-side L/V permitted by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Safety Criterion on Wheel/Rail Loads can result in stresses above the AREMA specified minimum design compressive strength of concrete used in concrete ties. Furthermore the analysis indicated that under certain circumstances truck-side L/V permitted by the FRA Safety Criterion can result in rail rollover. The analyses show that rail rollover can be a problem for new concrete ties, but is more of a problem in the presence of rail seat deterioration described above. This work is sponsored by FRA Office of Research and Development under the track research program.
Combining Crowd and Expert Labels Using Decision Theoretic Active Learning

We consider a finite-pool data categorization scenario which requires exhaustively classifying a given set of examples with a limited budget. We adopt a hybrid human-machine approach which blends automatic machine learning with human labeling across a tiered workforce composed of domain experts and crowd workers. To effectively achieve high-accuracy labels over the instances in the pool at minimal cost, we develop a novel approach based on decision-theoretic active learning. On the important task of biomedical citation screening for systematic reviews, results on real data show that our method achieves consistent improvements over baseline strategies. To foster further research by others, we have made our data available online.
Estimation of segregation and linkage parameters in simulated data. I. Segregation analyses with different ascertainment schemes.

Abstract We report the results of a simulation study designed to assess the capability of segregation analysis to detect Mendelian transmission and to estimate genetic model parameters for complex qualitative traits, characterized by heritability in the range 0.20-0.45 and low heterozygote penetrance. The pedigree analysis package, PAP, was used to perform the analyses. For all data sets, models of no transmission could be rejected. In most cases, models of Mendelian transmission could not be rejected; however, several samples approached significance levels. When Mendelian transmission was assumed, reasonably good parameter estimates were obtained, although heterozygote penetrances were often overestimated. Different sampling schemes were imposed on the simulated data in order to examine the extent of information loss with the reduction in sample size. One of these strategies (a sequential sampling scheme) appears to have resulted in critical loss of information in some cases.
Voice Quality Modification Using a Harmonics Plus Noise Model

The harmonics plus noise model (HNM) has been used for prosodic speech signal modifications in high-quality environments in recent decades. Such speech modification techniques allow Text-To-Speech systems to generate more expressive synthesis without requiring extensive corpora resources. A more expressive synthesis can improve the user experience with Human–Machine-Interfaces. In this paper, an adaptation of the adaptive pre-emphasis linear prediction technique to the HNM for modifying vocal effort is presented. The proposed transformation methodology is validated using a copy re-synthesis strategy on a speech corpora specifically designed for vocal effort research. The perceptual tests demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique in performing various types of vocal effort conversions for the given corpus.
A global approach to automatic solution of jigsaw puzzles

We present a new algorithm for automatically solving jigsaw puzzles by shape alone. The algorithm can solve more difficult puzzles than could be solved before, without the use of backtracking or branch-and-bound. The algorithm can handle puzzles in which pieces border more than four neighbors, and puzzles with as many as 200 pieces. Our overall strategy follows that of previous algorithms but applies a number of new ideas, such as robust fiducial points, "highest- confidence-first" search, and frequent global reoptimization of partial solutions.
Scattering of He 3 by Alpha Particles

The elastic scattering of ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ by alpha particles in the energy range 0-20 MeV is considered using the method of resonating-group structure in the one-channel approximation. A two-body, central potential of Gaussian form which fits the low-energy nucleon-nucleon scattering data as well as possible is used. Saturation is taken approximately into account by choosing the radii of the clusters according to the experimental data. Phase shifts are computed up to $l=6$. The presence of a $l=3$ resonance is predicted with an excitation energy of about 6 MeV. Angular distributions at 1.7 and 16.6 MeV in the c.m. system are also calculated. At 1.7 MeV, the theoretical result agrees very well with the experimental data. At 16.6 MeV, the calculation predicts correctly the position of the diffraction minima and maxima, but the differential cross sections are somewhat larger than the experimental values in the forward angular region. An optical-model analysis is also performed at these two energies. It is found that at the higher energy, an imaginary optical potential of about 2 MeV is necessary to obtain the best fit with experiment. This indicates that in the resonating-group calculation, channels other than the ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ channel are also important in determining the elastic scattering cross section at relatively high energies. Specifically, one can see from the existing reaction data that the other important channels are the $p$-${\mathrm{Li}}^{6}$ channels with ${\mathrm{Li}}^{6}$ in the ground and the first excited state. Calculations are also done with a second two-body potential which was extensively used in resonating-group calculations by the London-group of Massey and Collaborators.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON MUSCULAR RESPONSES OF INNER EAR ORIGIN IN RABBITS ELECTROMYOGRAPHICAL STUDIES ON THE LABYRIN- THINE MUSCULE TONUS By S. ISHIKAWA From the Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology of Nara Medical College

Of various muscles of the rabbit in the natural position (e. g. nape, back, and forelimbs), the electromyographical studies were done and the changes in the posture were observed. The results obtained are as follows : 1. On the electromyogram, the spontaneous tonic discharges are obtained in the deep nape muscles (M. rectus capitis posterior major et minor, M. obliquus capitis superior), in the deep back (M. sacrospinalis) and the flixor and extensor of the forelimbs (M. articuloulnaris et Mm. anconaei), However they are not observed in the superficial muscles of the nape and the back (M. trapezius et M. splenius). 2. The postures are changed in labyrinthectomized rabbits following certain principles. 3. In following unilateral labyrinthectomy in the normal, but with removal of cerebrum and cervical nerves (C1∼C4) the tonic discharges are decreased mainly in thn deep nape and back, and the flexor of the forelimb contralaterally, and also in the extensor of the forelimb ipsilaterally. After the bilateral labyrinthectomy, the discharges disappear mostly. 4. Consequently the tonic discharges have relation to the labyrinthine muscle tonus and ch- anges of the posture.
Application of Early-Warning Indicators for Pollution Control of Centralized Air Conditioning Ventilation System in Luwan District,Shanghai

[Objective] To analyze the potential risk factors of hygienic situation of centralized air ventilation system in public venues in Luwan District of Shanghai,to explore the key elements for effective management,and to provide scientific basis for airborne disease prevention.[Methods] A total of 30 public venues were chosen by stratified sampling for a questionnaire survey.Assessments were carried out under Hygienic standard for centralized air conditioning ventilation system in public places and Hygienic assessment criterion of cleaning and disinfection of centralized air conditioning ventilation systems in public places.[Results] The selected public venues did not make health emergency plans nor provid regular hygienic evaluation reports.The survey found that 70.0% fresh air inlets were close to pollution sources,only 6.7% places installed air purification and disinfection devices,and none of them were equipped with cooling tower demisting to control aerosols.The cooling water test showed that the positive rate of Legionella pneumophila was 70.0% and the common type was Lp1.The average conductivity of the positive water samples was(5 897.55±601.16) μs/cm and that of the negative was(9 031.12±1 172.35) μs/cm(t=-2.571,P 0.05).[Conclusion] Indicators such as conductivity could be considered to identify Legionella pneumophila in cooling water for pre-warning of pollution.The management essentials of centralized air conditioning ventilation systems in public venues are the control of fresh air pollution and aerosol spread,as well as regular cleaning work and evaluation.
Thermal, mechanical and conductive properties of imidazolium-containing thiol-ene poly(ionic liquid) networks

Abstract A series of imidazolium-based bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [NTf2] poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) were prepared by conducting the solventless thiol-ene ‘click’ photopolymerization of bisallylimidazolium [NTf2] and pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate) (PTMP). The thiol:ene molar ratio was varied in order to examine changes in the thermal, mechanical and conductive properties of the resulting polymer networks. The 1.0:2.0 thiol-ene PIL network exhibited the highest glass transition temperature (Tg of −5.0 °C) and storage modulus (E′ of 9.24 MPa at 100 °C) values. Temperature-dependent ionic conductivities were found to rely on both the Tg/crosslink density as well as the IL content, with the highest ionic conductivity observed for the 1.0:3.0 thiol-ene PIL network (1.42 × 10−5 S/cm at 25 °C). Application of Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann and Williams-Landel-Ferry theories revealed the impact of both Tg/crosslink density and free ion concentration on temperature-dependent conductivity data, and indicated lower free volumes and fragilities for the thiol-ene networks relative to other non-network PILs.
Mental Exit Block: Escaping the Pulmonary Veins in Search of New Approaches to Atrial Fibrillation Management.

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." — Albert Einstein The pulmonary vein (PV) has been a source of fascination for electrophysiologists ever since the landmark work of Haissaguerre et al. first showed that the PVs were a common source of atrial fibrillation (AF) triggers.1 The distinct embryologic origins of PV tissue were thought to predispose these sites to be repositories of ectopy and thereby AF. Initial therapeutic approaches reliant upon targeting individual pulmonary vein triggers evolved to segmental pulmonary vein isolation, and at present, wide area antral isolation.2-4
Reactive Species in Biological Systems

This chapter discusses the role of free radicals with respect to their initiation of oxidative damage to biomolecular systems. It examines the role of a wide variety of enzymes in the generation of free radicals in biological systems, including various membrane-bound enzymes, cytosolic enzymes, and organelle enzymes, as well as the role of redox and photochemical and ionizing radiation in free radical formation in an extracellular milieu. The pathways, products, and impacts of a number of enzyme-induced reactions are described for biological systems.
Editor's Highlight: Genetic Targets of Acute Toluene Inhalation in Drosophila melanogaster.

Interpretation and use of data from high-throughput assays for chemical toxicity require links between effects at molecular targets and adverse outcomes in whole animals. The well-characterized genome of Drosophila melanogaster provides a potential model system by which phenotypic responses to chemicals can be mapped to genes associated with those responses, which may in turn suggest adverse outcome pathways associated with those genes. To determine the utility of this approach, we used the Drosophila Genetics Reference Panel (DGRP), a collection of ∼200 homozygous lines of fruit flies whose genomes have been sequenced. We quantified toluene-induced suppression of motor activity in 123 lines of these flies during exposure to toluene, a volatile organic compound known to induce narcosis in mammals via its effects on neuronal ion channels. We then applied genome-wide association analyses on this effect of toluene using the DGRP web portal (http://dgrp2.gnets.ncsu.edu), which identified polymorphisms in candidate genes associated with the variation in response to toluene exposure. We tested ∼2 million variants and found 82 polymorphisms located in or near 66 candidate genes that were associated with phenotypic variation for sensitivity to toluene at P < 5 × 10-5, and human orthologs for 52 of these candidate Drosophila genes. None of these orthologs are known to be involved in canonical pathways for mammalian neuronal ion channels, including GABA, glutamate, dopamine, glycine, serotonin, and voltage sensitive calcium channels. Thus this analysis did not reveal a genetic signature consistent with processes previously shown to be involved in toluene-induced narcosis in mammals. The list of the human orthologs included Gene Ontology terms associated with signaling, nervous system development and embryonic morphogenesis; these orthologs may provide insight into potential new pathways that could mediate the narcotic effects of toluene.
A day late and a dollar short: The effect of policy uncertainty on fed forecast errors

Abstract Policy makers at the Federal Reserve must make decisions on less than perfect information. To the extent their forecasts are incorrect, policy decisions will also be incorrect. Unfortunately, economic forecasters have a relatively poor record and have not improved as much as one would hope. The research presented in this paper examines one potential source of forecast improvement, economic policy uncertainty. Modeling emotional responses of economic agents to uncertainty is difficult but the inclusion of a policy uncertainty variable could reduce forecast errors of the FOMC’s consensus forecast by as much as 20%.
Multi-functional, thiophenol-based surface chemistry for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been recognized as one of the most sensitive sensing technologies and has been used for a variety of chemical, biological and medical applications. Compared to traditional direct SERS detection using a bare metal SERS-active substrate, surface chemistries and surface modifications on SERS-active substrates are becoming more and more important to achieve the detection of target analytes with a small surface affinity or weak Raman activity. As one special class of surface chemistries and modifications for SERS-active substrates, the thiophenol-based molecules offer new functions, increased sensitivity, and improved specificity to SERS-based sensing. The thiol group helps to form a stable modification on the gold or silver surface of SERS-active substrates, the benzene ring is used to report and amplify the detection signal, and the specific functional group on each thiophenol-based molecule contributes to the detection specificity. This article highlights the recent advances in thiophenol-based surface chemistry for SERS applications. The use of thiophenol-based molecule modified SERS-active substrates for fundamental studies, surface catalysis investigations and chemical and biological sensing is comprehensively discussed.
Epitaxial growth of Ba 2 YNbO 6 films on biaxially-textured NiW substrates as a multifunctional single buffer layer for high J c epitaxial YBCO film

Epitaxial Ba2YNbO6 (BYNO) films were deposited on textured NiW substrates via pulsed laser deposition. The films have dense and smooth surface structure, and more importantly, significantly improved out-of-plane texture, compared with the NiW substrate texture. Transmission electron microscopy study confirms the c-axis tilting of BYNO film and formation of misfit dislocations at NiW/BYNO interface, suggesting that the improved texture should be attributed to the tilted epitaxy via biased dislocation mechanism. YBa2Cu3O7_δ films deposited on BYNO single-buffered NiW substrates show further texture improvement, high superconducting transition temperature of ~91 K, and critical current density of 1.8 MA/cm2 at 77 K, self-field.
Matrix Metalloproteinases and Synovial Joint Pathology

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-dependent enzymes. These enzymes play a critical role in the destruction of articular cartilage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and the spondyloarthropathies. MMP gene expression is upregulated in these synovial joint pathologies in response to elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and soluble mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, IL-17, and interferon-γ. These molecules are capable of activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase and Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathways by binding the cytokine to their respective receptors on immune cells, macrophages, chondrocytes, synoviocytes, and osteocytes leading to increased synthesis of MMPs. Biologic drugs and/or small-molecule inhibitors designed to block cytokine to cytokine receptor interactions or to selectively inhibit JAKs have clinical efficacy in RA, PsA, and ankylosing spondylitis which correlated with a reduction in MMPs. Although there are currently no OA-selective drugs, it is likely that such a drug would have to reduce MMP gene expression to have clinical efficacy.
Automatic 1D convolutional neural network-based detection of artifacts in MEG acquired without electrooculography or electrocardiography

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a functional neuroimaging tool that records the magnetic fields induced by electrical neuronal activity; however, signal from non-neuronal sources can corrupt the data. Eye-Blinks (EB) and Cardiac Activity (CA) are two of the most common types of non-neuronal artifacts. They can be measured by affixing eye proximal electrodes, as in electrooculography (EOG) and chest electrodes, as in electrocardiography (EKG), however this complicates imaging setup, decreases patient comfort, and often induces further artifacts from facial twitching and postural muscle movement. We propose an EOG- and EKG-free approach to identify eye-blink, cardiac, or neuronal signals for automated artifact suppression. Our contributions are two-fold. First, we combine a data driven, multivariate decomposition approach based on Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and a highly accurate classifier constructed as a deep 1-D Convolutional Neural Network. Second, we visualize the features learned to reveal what features the model uses and to bolster user confidence in our model’s training and potential for generalization. We train and test three variants of our method on resting state MEG data from 49 subjects. Our cardiac model achieves a 96% sensitivity and 99% specificity on the set-aside test-set. Our eye-blink model achieves a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 97%. This work facilitates automated MEG processing for both, clinical and research use, and can obviate the need for EOG or EKG electrodes.
CLINICAL OUTCOMES OF PERICARDIAL EFFUSIONS IN END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE: PERICARDITIS-ASSOCIATED VERSUS ASYMPTOMATIC

Clinical outcomes associated with pericardial effusions related to uremic pericarditis (UP) have not been clearly differentiated from asymptomatic effusions in patients with ESRD. Our objectives are: 1) to assess whether pericardial effusions associated with UP are more likely to result in
Association of Expectations of Training With Attrition in General Surgery Residents.

Importance Attrition from general surgery training is highest during internship. Whether the expectations and attitudes of new trainees affect their subsequent risk of attrition is unknown. Objective To identify the expectations of general surgery residency associated with attrition from training. Design, Setting, and Participants This prospective observational cohort study included categorical general surgery interns entering training in the 2007-2008 academic year. Residents were surveyed regarding their expectations of training and of life as an attending at the start of their intern year (June 1 to August 31, 2007). Expectations were grouped into factors by principal component analysis, and a multivariable model was created using these factors in addition to known demographic and program characteristics associated with attrition. Follow-up was completed on December 31, 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures Attrition from training was determined by linkage to American Board of Surgery resident files through 2016, allowing 8 additional years of follow-up. Results Of 1048 categorical surgery interns in the study period, 870 took the survey (83.0% response rate), and 828 had complete information available for analysis (524 men [63.3%], 303 women [36.6%], and 1 missing information [0.1%]). Most were white (569 [69.1%]) and at academic programs (500 [60.4%]). Six hundred sixty-six residents (80.4%) completed training. Principal component analysis generated 6 factors. On adjusted analysis, 2 factors were associated with attrition. Interns who choose their residency based on program reputation (factor 2) were more likely to drop out (odds ratio, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01-1.15). Interns who expected as an attending to work more than 80 hours per week, to have a stressful life, and to be the subject of malpractice litigation (career life expectation [factor 6]) were less likely to drop out (odds ratio, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.98). Conclusions and Relevance Interns with realistic expectations of the demands of residency and life as an attending may be more likely to complete training. Medical students and residents entering training should be given clear guidance in what to expect as a surgery resident.