cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Infrared photons and gravitons

It is shown that the infrared divergences arising in the quantum theory of gravitation can be removed by the familiar methods used in quantum electrodynamics. An additional divergence appears when infrared photons or gravitons are emitted from noninfrared external lines of zero mass, but it is proved that for infrared gravitons this divergence cancels in the sum of all such diagrams. (The cancellation does not occur in massless electrodynamics.) The formula derived for graviton bremsstrahlung is then used to estimate the gravitational radiation emitted during thermal collisions in the sun, and we find this to be a stronger source of gravitational radiation (though still very weak) than classical sources such as planetary motion. We also verify the conjecture of Dalitz that divergences in the Coulomb-scattering Born series may be summed to an innocuous phase factor, and we show how this result may be extended to processes involving arbitrary numbers of relativistic or nonrelativistic particles with arbitrary spin.
A polyamine pathway-mediated mitogenic mechanism in enterochromaffin-like cells of Mastomys

We have previously demonstrated that in Mastomys species proliferation of gastric enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells is predominantly regulated by gastrin and by transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α) in the naive and neoplastic state, respectively. In this study we examined whether these intracellular mitogenic responses are mediated by polyamines and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the rate-limiting enzyme for polyamine biosynthesis. An ECL cell preparation of high purity was used to measure the effect of the polyamine derivatives putrescine, spermidine, and spermine on DNA synthesis by bromodeoxyuridine uptake. Both putrescine and spermidine augmented gastrin-stimulated, but not basal, DNA synthesis in naive cells. This proliferative response correlated with an increase in ODC activity that was partially inhibited (20%) by difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an inhibitor of ODC (IC50, 30 pM). In contrast, all polyamines increased both basal and TGF-α-stimulated DNA synthesis as well as ODC activity in tumor ECL cells. DFMO completely inhibited the proliferative response of TGF-α (IC50, 3 pM). Thus polyamine biosynthesis is involved in proliferation of ECL cells and in particular the mitogenesis of tumor cells, suggesting a role for this pathway in the regulation of ECL cell transformation.
A benefit-cost analysis of the Middle Fork Greenway Trail.

The Town of Boone, NC Greenway Trail is a 3.84 mile long paved trail with additional unpaved sections that attract many types of users including walkers, joggers, and cyclists. The proposed Middle Fork New River extension would add 6.5 miles to the total paved mileage. In order to estimate recreation benefits of the extension we use revealed and stated preference data to estimate the change in value of current visits and change in visits with the additional mileage. The total opportunity cost of the project includes land acquisition, construction, operation and maintenance costs. Considering only recreation benefits the Middle Fork Greenway Trail passes a benefit-cost test. The net present value is estimated to be $2.78 million. This conclusion does not change after considering a number of partial sensitivity analyses. Key Words:
Abstract 5121: A targeted approach to identify activators of class IA phosphoinositide-3-kinase in cancers using tandem mass spectrometry

A majority of human cancers exhibit aberrant activation of the phosphoinositide 3-Kinase (PI3K) pathway. In many cases this activation is due to mutations or amplifications in upstream activators of PI3K resulting in activation by direct binding of phosphotyrosine proteins (e.g., receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) or adaptors such as IRS-1/2 or Gab1/2) to the p85 regulatory subunit of PI3K. To date, experiments to identify the mechanisms of PI3K activation in cancer have remained difficult and cumbersome. Since inhibitors of many of these RTKs are either already approved or in clinical trials, identification of the major upstream activators of PI3K in a given tumor could suggest the appropriate therapeutic intervention. Here we present a quantitative mass spectrometry approach (targeted ion MS/MS – TIMM) for identifying the upstream activators of PI3K in cancer cell lines grown on plastic as well as in tumor Xenografts. Importantly, we show that in a series of non small cell lung carcinoma cell lines, it is possible to predict the appropriate drug for treating the cells based on the upstream activator of PI3K as revealed by TIMM. Specifically, we identified how PI3K is activated in MET amplified, EGFR and EML4-ALK driven non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) both in vitro and in vivo, and were successful in identifying the optimal RTK inhibitor treatment for the H1703 NSCLC cell line. Additionally, this technology revealed that TORC1 inhibition leads to activation of PI3K via IRS-2, not IRS-1 in KRAS mutant cell lines. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5121. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-5121
Voxel based morphometry in optical coherence tomography: validation and core findings

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the human retina is now becoming established as an important modality for the detection and tracking of various ocular diseases. Voxel based morphometry (VBM) is a long standing neuroimaging analysis technique that allows for the exploration of the regional differences in the brain. There has been limited work done in developing registration based methods for OCT, which has hampered the advancement of VBM analyses in OCT based population studies. Following on from our recent development of an OCT registration method, we explore the potential benefits of VBM analysis in cohorts of healthy controls (HCs) and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Specifically, we validate the stability of VBM analysis in two pools of HCs showing no significant difference between the two populations. Additionally, we also present a retrospective study of age and sex matched HCs and relapsing remitting MS patients, demonstrating results consistent with the reported literature while providing insight into the retinal changes associated with this MS subtype.
Investigation of Ancestral Temples of Lianxi

Zhou Dunyi,the founder of Neo-Confucianism,is addressed as Lianxi by his later generations.Along with the improvement of Zhou's status in ideological history,prosperity of Neo-Confucianism and the changes of ancestral temple system by the rulers,ancestral temples of Lianxi began to appear in the Southern Song Dynasty and repairing of ancestral temples of Lianxi continued in the Ming and Qing Dynasties all over the country.Ancestral temples of Lianxi are located mostly in six provinces:Hunan,Jiangxi,Guangdong,Sichuan,Hubei and Fujian and most of them were built by local officials.The rising of ancestral temples of Lianxi not only resulted from the development of Neo-Confucianism,but also promoted the flourishing of Neo-Confucianism.
Investigation on indoor air pollution caused by indoor decoration in Erdos city

Objective To investigate the pollutional status of acteone and acetaldehyd in indoor air after the house is decorated, provide evidences for eliminating and controlling of indoor air pollution. Methods ornament group was divided into 3 groups(0~≤6 month group, 6~≤12month group, 12~≤18month group). The concentration of acteone and acetaldeyde determined with HPLC method,(the concentration of some samples' s formaldehyde and NO2was determined by spectrophotometry). Results 8 kinds of pollutants of acteone and acetaldehyde were detected in varing degrees,Formaldehyde had the highest detection rate and over standard rate, the highest concentration of Formaldehyde was 0.69 mg/m3,exceed the standard nearly seven times, the point exceeding standard rate of Formaldehyde was 59.38%. However,the NO2content of indoor air without exceeding the limits. Concentrations of formaldehyde in 18 months had no significant difference between different time periods(P0.05), but had a positive correlation trend with the room temperature(r= 0.77, P0.05). Conclution The indoor air pollution of newly decorated room existed widely, especially the early decoration room, formaldehyde is main indoor air pollutants of acteone and acetaldehyde.
Tumor necrosis factor induces tissue factor-like activity in human leukemia cell line U937 and peripheral blood monocytes

The induction of procoagulant activity (PCA) by human recombinant tumor necrosis factor (rTNF) was studied in human monoblastic leukemia cell line U937 and human peripheral blood monocytes. Using a one-step recalcificating clotting assay, PCA in cell lysates or whole cell preparations was measured by comparison to a rabbit brain thromboplastin standard. There was a dose- and time-dependent increase in PCA when U937 cells were cultured with rTNF. The effect of rTNF was not enhanced by recombinant human interferon-gamma (rIFN gamma). Cycloheximide inhibited the expression of PCA by U937 cells, showing that protein synthesis was necessary to mediate the effects of rTNF. Whole cell preparations demonstrated that greater than 80% of the PCA was expressed on the surface of the cells. The PCA functioned as a tissue factor-like substance, since it required coagulation factor VII and factor X. rTNF also increased PCA in human monocytes in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This effect was abrogated by boiling the rTNF for ten minutes, and was not inhibited by adding polymyxin-B to the cultures, making it unlikely that endotoxin accounted for the observed effects. These results suggest that TNF-induced expression of tissue factor by mononuclear phagocytes may modulate immunologic, inflammatory, and hemostatic processes.
Career and Vocational Outlook

Pediatric cancer impacts all developmental aspects of a person’s life, including career and vocational development. Historically, work related issues such as difficulties obtaining employment, workplace problems, discrimination, and unfair termination have been reported by pediatric cancer survivors [1]. In this chapter, we review the pediatric cancer survivorship literature in terms of employment related issues, and present a model for conceptualizing and providing career development and career counseling interventions that focus on prevention of unnecessary challenges. Finally, suggested interventions will be illustrated by case study examples.
Unraveled: Obamacare, Religious Liberty, and Executive Power

Six years after its enactment, Obamacare remains one of the most controversial, divisive, and enduring political issues in America. In this much-anticipated follow-up to his critically acclaimed Unprecedented: The Constitutional Challenge to Obamacare (2013), Josh Blackman argues that, to implement the law, President Obama has broken promises about cancelled insurance policies, exceeded the traditional bounds of executive power, and infringed on religious liberty. At the same time, conservative opponents have stopped at nothing to unravel Obamacare, including a three-week government shutdown, four Supreme Court cases, and fifty repeal votes. This legal thriller provides the definitive account of the battle to stop Obamacare from being 'woven into the fabric of America'. Unraveled is essential reading to understand the future of the Affordable Care Act in America's gridlocked government in 2016, and beyond.
Deficits in autonomic indices of emotion regulation and reward processing associated with prescription opioid use and misuse

Prescription opioid misuse and high-dose opioid use may result in allostatic dysregulation of hedonic brain circuitry, leading to reduced emotion regulation capacity. In particular, opioid misuse may blunt the ability to experience and upregulate positive affect from natural rewards. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between opioid use/misuse and autonomic indices of emotion regulation capability in a sample of chronic pain patients receiving prescription opioid pharmacotherapy. Chronic pain patients taking long-term opioid analgesics (N = 40) completed an emotion regulation task while heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded, and also completed self-report measures of opioid misuse, craving, pain severity, and emotional distress. Based on a validated cut-point on the Current Opioid Misuse Measure, participants were grouped as opioid misusers or non-misusers. Opioid misuse status and morphine equivalent daily dose (MEDD) were examined as predictors of HRV and self-reports of emotion regulation. Opioid misusers exhibited significantly less HRV during positive and negative emotion regulation, and significantly less positive effect, than non-misusers, after controlling for confounders including pain severity and emotional distress. MEDD was inversely associated with positive emotion regulation efficacy. Findings implicate the presence of reward processing deficits among chronic pain patients with opioid-misusing behaviors, and opioid dosage was associated with deficient emotion regulation, suggesting the presence of compromised top-down cognitive control over bottom-up hedonic processes. Emotion regulation among opioid misusers may represent an important treatment target.
Bounded weight modules of the Lie algebra of vector fields on ℂ2

We study weight modules of the Lie algebra W2 of vector fields on ℂ2. A classification of all simple weight modules of W2 with a uniformly bounded set of weight multiplicities is provided. To achieve this classification, we introduce a new family of generalized tensor Wn-modules. Our classification result is an important step in the classification of all simple weight Wn-modules with finite weight multiplicities.
Surface-enhanced near-infrared absorption (SENIRA) spectroscopy

We present first experimental demonstration of surface-enhanced near-infrared absorption (SENIRA) spectroscopy of molecular overtone and combination bands in the 1–2.5 μm wavelength range. The plasmonic enhancement platform of choice is nanoporous gold (NPG) disks which feature high-density plasmonic hot-spots of localized electric field amplification. With a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of octadecanethiol (ODT), an enhancement factor (EF) of up to ∼104 has been demonstrated for the 1st C-H overtone at 1725 nm using NPG disk with 600 nm diameter. Together with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) extinction spectroscopy, simultaneous sensing of sample refractive index has been achieved for the first time.
Rapid morphological change of a top predator with the invasion of a novel prey

Invasive exotic species are spreading rapidly throughout the planet. These species can have widespread impacts on biodiversity, yet the ability for native species, particularly long-lived vertebrates, to respond rapidly to invasions remains mostly unknown. Here we provide evidence of rapid morphological change in the endangered snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) across its North American range with the invasion of a novel prey, the island apple snail (Pomacea maculata), a much larger congener of the kite’s native prey. In less than one decade since invasion, snail kite bill size and body mass increased substantially. Larger bills should be better suited to extracting meat from the larger snail shells, and we detected strong selection on increased size through juvenile survival. Using pedigree data, we found evidence of both genetic and environmental influences on trait expression and discovered that additive genetic variation in bill size increased with invasion. However, trends in predicted breeding values emphasize that recent morphological changes have been driven primarily by phenotypic plasticity rather than micro-evolutionary change. Our findings suggest that evolutionary change may be imminent and underscore that even long-lived vertebrates can respond quickly to invasive species. Furthermore, these results highlight that phenotypic plasticity may provide a crucial role for predators experiencing rapid environmental change. The bill and body size of the snail kite have significantly increased in the decade since invasion of its range by apple snails that are larger than the native prey. Greater survival of larger juveniles suggests that evolutionary change may be imminent.
'No Wedding's a Wedding Without a Cake': The History and Significance of the Wedding Cake

As applied culinary art, the wedding cake is an essential element of a ritual system that expresses the public establishment of a marriage. Drawing on the work of cultural anthropologists, I show that since its Victorian origins the white three-tiered wedding cake has signified female procreative fertility, with the associated rituals of the wedding reception conveying mutual consent and public approval for the couple’s physical union and resulting offspring, including ritual re-enactments of coitus and the regeneration of society. The incongruence of this symbolism with the non-procreative premise of homosexual marriage is implicated in the objection of conscientiously opposed bakers to creating a cake, but not to providing other confections or services, for same-sex weddings. Both the bakers, who risk penalties and sanction, and the same-sex couples, who are offended, signify that the cake is an artifact of fundamental importance for expressing consent to the wedding.
1.23 Optical Spectroscopy

Various techniques of optical and vibrational spectroscopy still serve as valuable tools for the exploration of the structure and function of biomolecules. This stems in substantial part from their capability to probe specific regions or parts of the macromolecules such as polypeptide or polynucleotide backbones as well as the environment of active sites, aromatic groups, and ligands at specific binding sites. This chapter is aimed at facilitating the teaching of the most prominent spectroscopic techniques in a biophysical chemistry class, namely, absorption, electronic circular dichroism, IR, and Raman spectroscopy (including resonance Raman), and additionally the more recently developed techniques of vibrational circular dichroism and Raman optical activity measurements. The theoretical background of all these techniques is introduced in somewhat more detail than it is normally done in biologically oriented textbooks. Their applicability is demonstrated by representative examples.
Analog Modeling Using MHDL

A thorough description of the evolving MIMIC Hardware Description Language (MHDL) is presented from the perspective of an analog modeler or designer. Analog simulation issues pertinent to MHDL description are discussed. This includes both transient and steady-state simulation perspectives. Several modeling examples demonstrate the concepts. Simulation issues related to these examples, as well as MHDL- simulator interactions in general, are also discussed.
Error Exponents for Dimension-Matched Vector Multiple Access Channels With Additive Noise

We analyze a class of vector multiple access channels with additive noise, where the sum of the dimensions of the transmitted signals matches that of the received signal. We first focus on the case without power constraints, in the Poltyrev sense, using point process techniques. We find the Poltyrev capacity region for noise processes that are independent and identically distributed over channel uses. For each rate vector strictly in the Poltyrev capacity region, we study, for each subset of the transmitters, the exponent of the decay in block length of the smallest possible probability that decoding results in error for each transmitter in that subset. In the case of independent and identically distributed Gaussian noise, with arbitrary positive definite covariance matrix, we derive random coding exponents for each type of error event—these are lower bounds to the true error exponents. This also leads to random coding error exponents in the traditional power-constrained case, where the power constraint at each transmitter is defined by an arbitrary positive definite matrix.
Automatic Retail Product Image Enhancement and Background Removal

Retailers need good-quality product images with clear background on their Web sites. Most of these product images captured have diverse backgrounds, posing a challenge to separate the foreground from the background along with the enhancement of the product image. Currently, most of these activities are done manually. Our study proposes a computer vision (CV)- and machine learning (ML)-based approach to separate foreground (FG) and background (BG) from retail product images and enhance them. This automated process of BG/FG extraction involves two steps. A neural network (NN) classifier to identify if the BG has a monocolor gradient or not, followed by the separation of FG from BG and enhancement applied on the FG from the input image. Our results show 91% accuracy for BG/FG extraction and identifying the product region of interest (ROI).
Pair Correlation in Organic Molecules

This paper is concerned with pair correlation in π-electron systems of large aromatic molecules; this phenomenon is different from macroscopic organic superconductivity. The problem has been discussed by the author and co-workers in [1, 2]. The present paper contains a description of the approach and contains several new results.
Topological and electrical properties of capped and annealed (0001) hydride vapor phase epitaxy GaN films on sapphire

In light of the necessity to anneal GaN to activate implanted dopants, the effects of the annealing temperature and time, the quality of the hydride vapor phase epitaxy grown GaN film, the quality of the annealing cap, and the effects of the stresses generated by the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion of the film and the substrate are examined topographically using atomic force microscopy, and electrical measurements are made on Schottky diodes fabricated on the annealed samples. The results show that thermal decomposition begins at threading edge dislocations that form polygonized small angle grain boundaries during the annealing process; donor defects, probably nitrogen vacancies, are formed near the surface; and the donors are created more quickly when the annealing temperature is higher, the annealing time is longer, and the thermal stresses on the annealing cap are greater. The results suggest that the maximum annealing temperature is ∼1300 °C, and at that annealing temperature, the annealing time should not exceed 4 min.In light of the necessity to anneal GaN to activate implanted dopants, the effects of the annealing temperature and time, the quality of the hydride vapor phase epitaxy grown GaN film, the quality of the annealing cap, and the effects of the stresses generated by the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion of the film and the substrate are examined topographically using atomic force microscopy, and electrical measurements are made on Schottky diodes fabricated on the annealed samples. The results show that thermal decomposition begins at threading edge dislocations that form polygonized small angle grain boundaries during the annealing process; donor defects, probably nitrogen vacancies, are formed near the surface; and the donors are created more quickly when the annealing temperature is higher, the annealing time is longer, and the thermal stresses on the annealing cap are greater. The results suggest that the maximum annealing temperature is ∼1300 °C, and at that annealing temperature, the ...
Design optimization of a lightweight rocker–bogie rover for ocean worlds applications:

Relatively recent discoveries have shown that large quantities of water can be found on moons of some of the planets among the gas giants in our solar system. Robotic mobility systems can study the...
Granulomatous Cheilitis: A Case Report

Introduction: Granulomatous cheilitis is a rare condition, with an unknown etiological pathway, resulting in inflammation of the lips. This case report demonstrates the efficacy of intralesional triamcinolone with this persistent disorder. Case report: A 19-year old man presented with orofacial swelling on the right side for approximately 18 months. Previous treatments of minocycline and metronidazole were unsuccessful. The patient has no other symptoms and an unremarkable family history. A regiment of topical anesthetic and intralesional triamcinolone showed significant improvement. Discussion: This rare condition has many possible contributory factors with very few established treatments. Our patient appeared to present either granulomatous cheilitis or monosymptomatic Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome. Our primary goal was to abate the patient’s symptoms for their comfort, hence the implication of the benzocaine gel. Conclusion: There are various therapeutic methods described, however, we believe intralesional triamcinolone injections with prior application of topical anesthetic to ease discomfort, could be an alternative treatment.
Improving the Frequency and Documentation of Gun Safety Counseling in a Resident Primary Care Clinic.

Abstract Objective Increase the frequency and documentation of gun safety discussions during well-child checks in the pediatric primary care resident clinic to 50% within 6 months. Methods This is a quality improvement study in a pediatric resident continuity clinic. Before implementing any interventions, a survey was conducted to understand residents’ attitudes and practices regarding gun safety screening and counseling. Interventions included a parent safety survey, Be SMART materials in clinic, and a prompt embedded into Electronic Health Record templates. Chart reviews were conducted to determine frequency of gun safety discussion. Resident self-reported comfort with gun safety counseling was also evaluated. Results A statistical process control chart was generated to track documentation and found the baseline mean rate of gun safety discussions during well-child checks was 3%. Rates increased following the addition of the Electronic Health Record prompt, with the mean further increased to 84% in July 2019. A sustained rate of over 75% was achieved through February 2020. Over 4 study months, the proportion of trainees reporting feeling very uncomfortable/uncomfortable with gun safety counseling decreased from 22% to 15%. The Be SMART program was identified as a key intervention increasing gun safety counseling. Conclusions Our study identified an effective approach to improving the frequency and documentation of gun safety discussions in an academic primary care setting, providing a unique blueprint for firearm screening and safe storage counseling success. Ultimately, we believe this will increase safe storage behaviors in the home and reduce risks of child death from firearms.
Patient Reported vs Claims Based Measures of Health for Modeling Life Expectancy in Men with Prostate Cancer.

Purpose:Life expectancy has become a core consideration in prostate cancer care. While multiple prediction tools exist to support decision making, their discriminative ability remains modest, which...
Common Factors in Biofeedback Administered by Psychotherapists

Common factors are nonspecific therapeutic elements common across different varieties of psychotherapy. In a recent study, 68 expert psychotherapy researchers with a variety of allegiances collectively rated biofeedback as being negatively associated with many common factors (Tschacher et al. in Clin Psychol Psychother 21(1):82–96, 2014), including the therapeutic alliance. However, it seems implausible that biofeedback could benefit so many people while being incompatible with the therapeutic alliance and other common factors. The present study investigated the experiences of biofeedback clients who participated in a brief heart rate variability biofeedback protocol in order to explore the potential roles of common factors in biofeedback. The results of this study offer preliminary evidence that many common factors—including therapeutic alliance, self-efficacy expectation, mastery experiences, provision of explanatory scheme, mindfulness, and even cognitive restructuring—may play a role in biofeedback outcomes. Future research on this topic should include mediation and moderation models investigating the role of specific common factors on outcome and process studies to help determine what clinician behaviors are most helpful. Deeper investigation of common factors in biofeedback may benefit future biofeedback research and practice and address the concerns of colleagues outside of the biofeedback community who believe that biofeedback is at odds with common factors.
HexDom: Polycube-Based Hexahedral-Dominant Mesh Generation.

In this paper, we extend our earlier polycube-based all-hexahedral mesh generation method to hexahedral-dominant mesh generation, and present the HexDom software package. Given the boundary representation of a solid model, HexDom creates a hex-dominant mesh by using a semi-automated polycube-based mesh generation method. The resulting hexahedral dominant mesh includes hexahedra, tetrahedra, and triangular prisms. By adding non-hexahedral elements, we are able to generate better quality hexahedral elements than in all-hexahedral meshes. We explain the underlying algorithms in four modules including segmentation, polycube construction, hex-dominant mesh generation and quality improvement, and use a rockerarm model to explain how to run the software. We also apply our software to a number of other complex models to test their robustness. The software package and all tested models are availabe in github (this https URL).
Nanoliter-Scale Autonomous Electronics: Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities

While CMOS scaling has long been driven by economic and performance concerns in macroscale systems such as computers and smartphones, it has also been recognized that such physically small electronic components could pave the way to vanishingly small autonomous systems. Originally dubbed “smart dust”, these emerging systems include ultra-small wireless sensors, ID tags, and even robots. Such “Smart Dust” was envisioned to be smaller than a grain of sand, yet measuring and reporting signals around it while being powered and communicating entirely wirelessly [1], [2].
The Anthropology of Fear: Learning About Japan Through Horror Games

Japan is the source of almost every major horror game franchise in existence. Whether they are attempting to mimic Western horror or create experiences rooted in the country’s long tradition of scary stories, Japanese game developers seem to be uniquely adept at building scary games. It would surely be worthwhile to study the Japanese culture to learn why they happen to be such prolific creators of horror games, but this paper attempts to address the question from the other direction: what can we learn about Japanese culture directly from the games that they produce? Using horror games as a lens, this research finds that many common themes in Japanese horror games can be traced back to non-game cultural origins. In some cases these motifs come from traditional folklore or ideas; in others they are a reflection of anxiety related to recent events. A number of Japanese horror games--including games attempting to mimic a foreign format--draw directly from Japanese culture. By studying these games we can therefore learn about the culture of Japan. *** Le Japon est a la source de presque toutes les grandes franchises de jeux d’horreur. Qu’ils tentent d’imiter l’horreur occidentale ou qu’ils creent des experiences enracinees dans la longue tradition d’histoires effrayantes du pays, les developpeurs Japonais semblent avoir une capacite unique a realiser des jeux effrayants. Bien qu’il soit sans doute utile d’etudier la culture japonaise pour apprendre pourquoi ils sont de si prolifiques createurs de jeux d’horreur, cet article approche la question de l’autre direction : que peut-on apprendre de la culture japonaise a partir des jeux qu’ils produisent? Cette recherche trouve a la source de plusieurs des themes communs aux jeux d’horreur japonais des origines culturelles exterieures au jeu. Certains motifs proviennent du folklore ou d’idees traditionnel/les; d’autres sont le reflet d’une anxiete provoquee par des evenements recents. Nombre de jeux d’horreur japonais – incluant ceux qui tentent d’imiter un format etranger – puisent directement dans la culture japonaise. L’etude de ces jeux nous permet donc d’en apprendre sur la culture du Japon. This issue was generously supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and published in partnership with Ludicine.
Integrating Learning with Motor Schema-Based Control for a Robot Soccer Team

This paper describes a reinforcement learning-based strategy developed for Robocup simulator league competition. In overview: each agent is provided a common set of skills (motor schema-based behavioral assemblages) from which it builds a task-achieving strategy using reinforcement learning. The agents learn individually to activate particular behavioral assemblages given their current situation and a reward signal. The entire team is jointly rewarded or penalized when they score or are scored against (global reinforcement). This approach provides for diversity in individual behavior.
Self-regulatory Institutions for Solving Environmental Problems: Perspectives and Contributions from the Management Literature

Scholars of management have long considered how institutions can help resolve market imperfections and thereby improve human welfare. Most previous research has emphasized the use of for-profit firms. Such institutions cannot effectively address many environmental problems, however, because environmental problems often transcend firm boundaries. As a result, management scholars have begun to explore the use of more distributed institutional forms. In this article, we review the emerging scholarship on the formation and function of self-regulatory institutions.
Transit Information Access for Persons with Visual or Cognitive Impairments

We are developing a location-based information delivery system to facilitate efficient and safe use of public transportation by people who have visual or cognitive impairments. This system comprises Wi-Fi beacons (access points) that are placed at bus stations and inside bus vehicles. Users of this system receive information on their cell phone, without the need for GPS or for Internet connectivity. The system allows one to receive information about an upcoming bus at a bus stop and to select a specific bus line. Once the desired bus arrives, the system automatically connects to the access point on the bus vehicle and remains connected while the user is riding the bus. The user can specify a desired bus stop, and the system informs the user (by a speech message) with enough advance notice when the bus is approaching the stop.
Colonic lipomas: An endoscopic analysis

Endoscopic observations in 22 cases of colon lipomas, combined with thorough radiographic examination, suggest that surgical intervention is no longer necessary to settle the issue of differential diagnosis of subtractive defects, particularly those at or near the ileo-cecal junction. Special attention is directed to the "cushion" and "tenting" signs at endoscopy.
A hand-carried personal ultrasound device for rapid evaluation of left ventricular function: use after limited echo training.

A hand-carried personal ultrasound device (HCPUD) may be used for rapid cardiac screening by physicians with limited echo training. Our objective was to determine the accuracy of rapid HCPUD evaluation of left ventricular (LV) size and function when used by a Cardiology Fellow. Forty-five patients underwent an HCPUD exam using a 2.4-kg device with a 2- to 4-MHz curved transducer and color power Doppler (SonoSite). The results were compared with sonographer-performed and echocardiographer-interpreted exams using conventional equipment. The HCPUD exam lasted 6 ± 2 minutes. There was 100% agreement between HCPUD and conventional echo on qualitative assessment of LV systolic function. Comparing the HCPUD and conventional linear measurements of left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD) and of interventricular septal (IVS) thickness: LVEDD is HCPUD = 0.94 conventional −0.2,r = 0.82, P < 0.0001; IVS is HCPUD= 0.59conventional+0.6, r = 0.69, P < 0.0001. Thus, an HCPUD can effectively be used after limited training to rapidly screen for qualitative abnormalities of LV systolic function. Quantitative measurements of smaller structures with the HCPUD are more challenging. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 20, May 2003)
Advanced interference suppression receiver for LTE-advanced systems

Co-channel interference is considered as one of the most important issues of modern wireless communication systems. In order to address the interference issue in LTE-A systems, the linear interference rejection combining (IRC) receiver was introduced. Inter-cell interference suppression in the IRC receiver is provided via simple beam forming on the antenna elements of the receiver, which are calculated using the estimated interference covariance matrix. During the related LTE Rel-11 study item in the 3GPP RAN1 Working Group, the IRC receiver was identified as a promising mechanism for improving the cell-edge user throughput. However, for interfering links employing MIMO schemes with multiple spatial layers or in the case of more than one dominant interfering node, the interference suppression capability of the linear IRC receivers is substantially reduced. In this paper we investigate the performance of advanced non-linear IRC receiver structures for interference suppression. More specifically, we propose a maximum-likelihood detection (MLD) scheme to suppress more than one dominant interfering links. The simulation results show that the proposed MLD receiver structure, employing additional knowledge about the modulation scheme of the interfering layers, improves the cell-edge user throughput (defined as the 5th percentile value of the cumulative distribution function) by approximately 23% compared to the baseline linear IRC receiver.
THE CORE DOMAIN OF HIV-1 INTEGRASE RECOGNIZES KEY FEATURES OF ITS DNA SUBSTRATES

We investigated which features of the substrate specificity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integrase could be assigned to the central domain of the 288-residue HIV-1 integrase protein, composed of amino acids 50–212. This domain contains the active site and shares structural homology with a large family of polynucleotidyl transferases. Using model substrates with defined alterations in critical features we found that this domain alone is sufficient for recognition of: 1) the phylogenetically conserved CA/TG base pairs near the viral DNA end; 2) the 5′-terminal dinucleotide that is left unpaired after end processing; and 3) target DNA flanking the site of joining. Future efforts aimed at identifying specific amino acids involved in recognition of these key substrate features can now be targeted at this domain.
The Study of International Politics in the Neurobiological Revolution: A Review of Leadership and Political Violence:

Neurobiological advances appear critical for explicating individual differences in attitudes, values, behaviors, cognition and evaluation, but only recently has the neurobiological tool kit been applied to questions of interest in international relations. In this review, we first provide an overview of historical approaches from two domains of enduring interest to the field: leadership and political violence. We then explicate the ways that the neurobiological revolution has so far furthered our understanding of these domains.
Crosscorrelation Techniques Applied to the Electrocardiogram Interpretation Problem

A study was made to see if a single, easily-recorded electrocardiogram lead can be used?employing a crosscorrelation scheme?to screen abnormal adult ECG waveforms from normal waveforms. The study also sought to classify the abnormal waveforms into their respective disease categories. Standard lead I (the potential from left to right arm) was chosen for the study. Only the QT interval, the part of the heart cycle resulting from the electrical activity of the ventricles, was studied. In addition to ``normal'' ECG waveforms, four cardiac diseases were studied: right and left bundle branch block; and right and left ventricular hypertrophy.
Phenytoin-induced DNA synthesis and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate formation in L-929 fibroblasts.

Culture of L-929 fibroblasts in the presence of phenytoin (2.5–5.0 μg/ml) increased DNA synthesis, as indicated by increased [3H]thymidine uptake, while a higher dose (20 μg/ml) inhibited DNA synthesis. In like manner, a low dose of phenytoin (5.0 μg/ml) was effective in increasing inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate formation while a higher dose (10 μg/ml) tended to inhibit this activity. These data suggest that the formation of inositol phosphate second messengers may play a role in phenytoin-induced fibroblast proliferation and connective tissue growth.
Botulinum toxins for the treatment of cervical dystonia

Cervical dystonia is one of the most frequent focal dystonias evaluated in a clinical setting. Although numerous oral medications and surgical interventions are available, most have not been adequately tested or require invasive procedures. Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) treatment is a safe and effective treatment for cervical dystonia that has been evaluated in numerous randomized, placebo-controlled studies. There are two serotypes of BoNT (A and B) that are available in most countries of the world. In addition, there are several different brands of BoNT-A that are used for CD treatment, some of which are only available in selected geographic regions. In most controlled studies, BoNT provides significant improvement following treatment for head posture, pain and disability. The common side effects of treatment include dysphagia, dry mouth, and neck weakness. Each brand and serotype is pharmacologically distinct. The dosing of each type differs, and no simple dose equivalency has been established. With repeated treatment, the development of immunoresistance is observed in a percentage of patients. However, it is likely that each brand and serotype differs in immunogenic potential and occurrence of secondary unresponsiveness, an issue that is currently under active investigation.
Task-defined associations are mode specific for selection of relevant dimension but mode independent for selection of location mapping:

When compatible and incompatible mappings of a location-relevant task are mixed, or a location-relevant task is mixed with a task for which stimulus location is irrelevant, the benefit of the compa...
Increase in admission threshold explains stable asthma hospitalization rates.

Background. Asthma morbidity and mortality has increased substantially in recent years, but asthma hospitalization rates among many geographic and sociodemographic groups have remained stable. Observations on asthma hospitalization rates and severity of acute episodes might provide valuable insight into the functioning of the health care system during this period of health care reform. Objective. To analyze changes between 1991 and 1995 in childhood asthma hospitalization rates and severity of acute episodes. Design and Methods. All 29 329 hospitalizations, including 2028 for asthma, for the 198 893 children ( Results. Hospitalization rates are expressed as hospitalizations per 1000 child-years. The overall asthma hospitalization rate was 2.04 (95% confidence interval, 1.95–2.13). The overall annual asthma hospitalization rate remained relatively stable from 1991 (1.90) to 1995 (2.31), whereas the hospitalization rates for severe asthma rose 270%—from 0.57 to 1.55—during this period. Simultaneously, the hospitalization rates for mild asthma decreased from 0.26 to 0.12. As a proportion of all asthma hospitalizations between 1991 and 1995, severe episodes increased from 31.5% to 60.4%; conversely, mild episodes decreased from 14.1% to 4.7%. Conclusions. Severity increased significantly among children hospitalized for asthma while the overall asthma hospitalization rate remained stable. It seems that the health care system in this community has responded to an increase in severity of asthma by raising the severity threshold for admission.
Contrasting sex ratios in juvenile and adult chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum) from south-west Alaska: sex reversal or differential survival?

A sex-specific genetic marker (growth hormone pseudogene) and age-at-maturation data were used to infer the cause of male-biased phenotypic sex ratios in adult chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha from the Kwethluk and Tuluksak Rivers, south-west Alaska. The results showed that: (1) adult genetic and phenotypic sex ratios were similar and were male biased, (2) genetic sex ratios of pre-smolts were not male biased and (3) the average age-at-maturation for males was significantly less than for females. These results suggest that the sex ratio distortion is due to gender bias in marine survival probably related to gender differences in marine life-history strategies.
MULTIPLE PATHOLOGY IN A SEPTUAGENARIAN

An autopsy on a woman aged 71 revealed 25 separate pathological lesions. The cause of death was coronary thrombosis. The case is reviewed in relation to multiple pathology found in other elderly subjects. The number of lesions increased with advancing age in these series.
Cross-resistance to imidacloprid in strains of German cockroach (Blattella germanica) and house fly (Musca domestica)

The toxicity of a promising new insecticide, imidacloprid, was evaluated against several susceptible and resistant strains of German cockroach and house fly. Imidacloprid rapidly immobilized German cockroaches followed by a period of about 72 h during which some cockroaches recovered. After 72 h there was no further recovery. Imidacloprid-treated houseflies were immobilized more slowly than treated cockroaches, with the maximum effect observed after 72 h, and there was no recovery. Based upon 72-h LD 50 values imidacloprid was moderately toxic to German cockroaches (LD 50 values were 6-8 ng mg -1 ) and had only low toxicity to house flies (LD 50 140 ng mg -1 ). Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) blocked the observed recovery in German cockroaches. PBO also greatly enhanced the 72-h LD 50 of imidacloprid from 43- to 59-fold in cockroaches and 86-fold in house flies. Two strains of German cockroach (Baygon-R and Pyr-R) showed >4-fold cross-resistance to imidacloprid. This cross-resistance could not be suppressed by PBO, suggesting that P450 monooxygenase-mediated detoxication is not responsible for this cross-resistance. Variation in the level of synergism observed with PBO (between strains) suggests the 'basal' level of monooxygenase-mediated detoxication of imidacloprid is quite variable between strains of German cockroach. The AVER and LPR strains of house fly showed significant cross-resistance to imidacloprid. PBO reduced the level of cross-resistance in AVER from > 4.2-fold to 0.5-fold (i.e. the AVER strain LD 50 was half that of the susceptible strain when both were treated with PBO), but PBO did not suppress the cross-resistance in LPR. These data suggest monooxygenases are the mechanism responsible for cross-resistance to imidacloprid in AVER, but not in the LPR strain.