cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Direct calculation of 2D components of myocardial strain using sinusoidal MR tagging

A new technique to measure local planar strain in left ventricular myocardium using two-dimensional tagged MR images is presented. This new technique is computationally fast, is fully automated, and generates dense motion estimates. It is based on using a 1-1 SPAMM tag pattern which comprise several one-dimensional sinusoidal tag patterns at different frequencies. A local deformation of the myocardium produces a variation in the local frequencies of these patterns, which can be used to compute strain components in the image plane. Local frequency is measured by scanning certain spectral peaks to create complex images, for which the local frequency is the gradient of the angle associated with their complex data points. The method is demonstrated using both simulations and real tagged MR images, and a discussion of these results and of directions for future research is provided.
Effects of bilateral and unilateral neocortical lesions on schedule-induced polydipsia in rats

Fifteen adult female rats were subjected to one of the following surgical procedures: (1) bilateral neocortical ablation; (2) unilateral neocortical ablation; or (3) sham surgery. Following recovery, all rats were tested on a fixed-time 1-min food schedule for acquisition of schedule-induced polydipsia. Contrary to a previous report by Bigler, Fleming and Shearer [1], no attenuation of polydipsia was seen in either group of rats with neocortical damage.
Personality Moderating Variables: A Warning about Statistical Artifact and a Comparison of Analytic Techniques

Personality moderating variables act to qualify the relationship between a personality trait measure and a relevant behavioral criterion. Two data analytic techniques that can be used to test for significant moderating effects are the “median split” (MS) approach and the “moderated multiple regression” (MMR) approach. The goals of the present research were (a) to apply the MS approach to computer-simulated data in which the moderator and trait extremity are confounded, to determine the extent of artifact, and (b) to compare the performance (Type I and Type II error rates) of the two approaches when applied to confounded and nonconfounded data. It was found that when the MS approach was applied to confounded data in which no real moderating effect existed, this approach produced an alarming rate of apparent, but spurious, moderating effects. When the MMR approach was applied to the same data, the rate of spurious effects was reduced to that expected by chance. When both approaches were applied to simulated data which contained genuine moderating effects, the MMR approach consistently resulted in more correct detections of these effects than the MS approach. We conclude that researchers should always employ the MMR rather than the MS approach when testing for personality moderator variable effects.
Hydrogen recombination by nonactivated chemisorption on metallic grains

This article considers the possibility of hydrogen recombination and molecule formation by nonactivated chemisorption on surfaces of iron grains. The process seems to be highly efficient over a wide range of grain temperatures, thus complementing the previously proposed recombination by physical adsorption, at low grain temperatures.
Crowded and Dangerous Space: Space Navigation System Proliferation's Impact on Future Security Operations

U.S. success in conducting expeditionary operations globally has made GPS-equivalent capabilities essential for a modern military and also for a robust economy. As a result, other states are building independent satnav systems or in the Russia case replenishing and modernizing their GLONASS [Global Navigation Satellite System] system. One outcome is that future military operations involving multiple states may find other satnav systems being used in the regions. What consequences occur is the focus of this analysis.
Ionization probability for multiple ionization: An assessment of the geometrical model

Abstract As X-ray spectra of multiply ionized atoms are resolved with higher resolution, the number of vacancies in outer shells—used to deduce the probability of ionization at the zero impact parameter P[0]—can be determined with increasing accuracy. The P[0] so extracted, or served as input in X-ray data analyses, has been for over two decades and almost universally compared with, or entered from, the predictions of the geometrical model of Sulik et al. [1984. Charge scaling of ionization probabilities in ion-atom collisions for zero impact parameter. J. Phys. B 17, 3239–3244] which is grounded on the binary encounter approximation (BEA). The validity of P[0] employed in the geometrical model is tested with the straight-line semiclassical approximation (SCA) at p = 0 . It is shown that the P[0] of Sulik et al. is reasonably close to the semiclassical P[0] when the projectile velocity v1 is in the neighborhood of the velocity of an S-shell electron v2S, but the geometrical model increasingly and significantly under- and overestimates the SCA values when, respectively, v1/v2S 1. This is consistent with breakdown of the geometrical model as indicated by the recent experiment of Horvat et al. [2005. L X-rays emitted from multiply ionized holmium atoms. Phys. Rev. A 71, 062709].
Hepatic pathology after Fontan palliation: spectrum of imaging findings.

Background Patients with congenital heart disease corrected by Fontan palliation have chronic liver congestion that commonly progresses to fibrosis and cirrhosis with resultant complications.
Two Modes of Democratic Breakdown: A Competing Risks Analysis of Democratic Durability

There are two distinctive modes by which democracies become nondemocracies, which have not yet been differentiated in the literature. One is when a democratic government is toppled by a force outside of the government, such as a military coup, and the other is when a democratically elected leader suspends the democratic process. Employing a competing risks model, this article examines the effects of economic and institutional factors on a state’s risk of experiencing either of these paths to democratic breakdown. An analysis of the duration of 135 democratic periods, between 1950 and 2004, provides evidence that lower levels of economic development and economic growth rates increase the risk of military coups and that incumbent democratic leaders are more likely to end the democratic process themselves in a presidential system than in a parliamentary system.
The augmented predictive analyzer for context-free languages—its relative efficiency

It has been proven by Greibach that for a given context-free grammar G, a standard-form grammar Gs, can be constructed, which generates the same language as is generated by G and whose rules are all of the form Z→ cY1 ··· Ym (m ≥ 0) where Z and Yi are intermediate symbols and c a terminal symbol. Since the predictive analyzer at Harvard uses a standard-form grammar, it can accept the language of any context-free Grammar G, given an equivalent standard-form grammar Gs. The structural descriptions SD(Gs, k) assigned to a given sentence k by the predictive analyzer, however, are usually different from the structural descriptions SD(G, k) assigned to the same sentence by the original context-free grammar G from which Gs is derived.In Section 1, an algorithm, originally due to Abbott is described, which converts a given context-free grammar into an augmented standard-form grammar each of whose rules is in standard form, supplemented by additional information describing its derivation from the original context-free grammar. A technique for performing the SD(Gs, k) to SD(G, k) transformation effectively is also described.In Section 2, the augmented predictive analyzer as a parsing algorithm for arbitrary context-free languages is compared with two other parsing algorithms: a selective top-to-bottom algorithm similar to Irons' “error correcting parse algorithm” and
Alignment tolerances for off-plane reflection grating spectroscopy: theoretical calculations and laboratory techniques

Off-plane reflection gratings can be used to provide high throughput and spectral resolution in the 0.3-2.0 keV band, allowing for unprecedented diagnostics of energetic astrophysical processes. A grating spectrometer consists of multiple aligned gratings intersecting the converging beam of a Wolter-I telescope. Each grating will be aligned such that the diffracted spectra overlap at the focal plane. Misalignments will degrade both spectral resolution and effective area. In this paper we present a summary of analytical alignment tolerance calculations, including an investigation of diffraction efficiency alignment dependence. Our plan for extending this work to future modeling and simulation is laid out. Finally, we report on the status of laboratory techniques to achieve these tolerances for flight-like optics.
Comparison of serum levels of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in TCP production workers and in an unexposed comparison group

Abstract Serum 2,3,7,8-TCDD levels were measured as an estimate of exposure to this isomer in 143 workers who were employed at either of two plants in New Jersey and Missouri which manufactured chemicals contaminated with 2,3,7,8-TCDD and in 54 unexposed referents. The mean serum 2,3,7,8-TCDD levels for all workers was 251.7 parts per trillion (ppt) and, for all referents combined, the mean serum level was 7.8 ppt. The mean level of 2,3,7,8-TCDD present in the serum of workers at the date of termination of exposure (half-life extrapolated) was 2600 ppt and 870 ppt for the New Jersey and Missouri workers, respectively. Overall, the levels in the workers significantly correlated with duration of exposure in 2,3,7,8-TCDD-contaminated processes (r = 0.83, p
Localization of Occult Bronchogenic Carcinoma by Bronchography

Bronchography is seldom recommended today to localize radiographically and bronchoscopically occult bronchogenic carcinoma. We report a case in which bronchography promptly localized such a tumor that had been occult to multiple bronchoscopies and chest computed tomograms (CTs). The patient is free of recurrence 32 months after lobectomy. Bronchography should be considered when bronchoscopies and CT fail to reveal a radiographically occult carcinoma.
Update on selective lobar blockade during pulmonary resections.

Purpose of reviewThis review is an update on the advantages that selective lobar blockade provides in thoracic surgical patients who had previous contralateral lobectomy or pneumonectomy.Recent findingsSelective lobar blockade while allowing surgical exposure also improves oxygenation in patients wh
A proposed testbed for evaluating adaptive routing algorithms

Abstract This paper discusses a newly-designed tool for evaluating routing algorithms in computer-communication networks. It is called the Adaptive Routing Testbed (ART). When implemented, ART will provide an efficient, effective means for evaluating the performance of routing algorithms in point-to-point networks. The method of simulation was chosen for this tool due to its advantages over analytical methods for this application. A major contribution of ART is its flexibility. It will simulate and evaluate the performance of a wide variety of routing algorithms under any valid network topology, switching mechanism, and traffic load. It will also simulate variations in the topology and traffic load while the algorithm is operating. Another significant contribution of ART is that the flexibility is provided without requiring the user to have programming skills. This is accomplished through a fully parameter-driven design. The specifications of the networks, traffic, component life, and routing algorithms are based on assigning values to parameters. The testbed will apply rules of logic when querying the user for parameter values: the next set of vlaues requested will be based on previous responses.
LOCAL INVASION OF PROSTATE CARCINOMA CAUSING VESICORECTAL FISTULA

Rectal involvement by locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the prostate is theoretically prevented by the barrier effect of Denonvilliers’ fascia. Vesicorectal and urethrorectal fistulas have not been reported in the absence of prior radiation or surgery. We report a case of vesicorectal fistula resulting from local invasion of hormone refractory prostate cancer. CASE REPORT A 79-year-old man presented with a urinary tract infection, microscopic hematuria and prostate specific antigen (PSA) 13.7 ng./ml. He had a history of alcohol abuse, malnutrition and transurethral resection of the prostate performed 8 years earlier for histologically confirmed benign prostatic hyperplasia. He denied any history of pneumaturia, fecaluria, diarrhea or urinary tract infection. Rectal examination revealed an irregular, diffusely firm prostate. Cystourethroscopy demonstrated a 3 3 2 cm. sessile, necrotic tumor at the bladder neck overlying the base of the prostate and no other lesions in the bladder. Transrectal ultrasound showed a large hypoechoic lesion extending into the bladder neck and biopsies were positive for Gleason score 8 adenocarcinoma (fig. 1, A). Radionuclide bone scan revealed metastatic spread to the right hemipelvis. Although androgen ablation was recommended, the patient was lost to followup for 6 months, at which time he presented with grossly infected urine and PSA 19.8 ng./ml. After the initial 3-month injection of goserelin acetate, PSA decreased to 3.4 ng./ml. but increased to 6.9 ng./ml. at 6 months. Two months later the patient complained of a 6-week history of watery diarrhea, 9 kg. weight loss, dysuria, frequency and pneumaturia. PSA was 14.0 ng./ml. Rectal examination revealed an irregular mass compromising but not occluding the rectal lumen. Sigmoidoscopy confirmed erosion into the rectum anteriorly 2 to 4 cm. above the anal verge with no other abnormalities in the sigmoid colon. Sigmoidoscopic biopsy demonstrated PSA positive, cytokeratin 7 and cytokeratin 20 negative adenocarcinoma consistent with prostatic origin (fig. 1, B). Computerized tomography showed intravesical air and contrast material tracking between the bladder and rectum through the prostate/bladder neck mass with no evidence of colonic diverticulas or solid masses (fig. 2). Due to the poor medical condition the patient was treated conservatively with enteric nutrition. He died of cachexia 18 months after diagnosis.
Crystal structure of bis-(4-aminoimidazole-5-carboxamide oxime)copper(II) perchlorate. A degradation product of adenine N1-oxide

The X-ray structure analysis of what was believed to be a copper(II) complex of adenine N1-oxide showed that it was a complex of its degradation product, 4-aminoimidazole-5-carboxamide oxime.
Ground Truth Verification Tool (GTVT) for Video Surveillance Systems

As cameras and storage devices have become cheaper, the number of video surveillance systems has also increased. Video surveillance was (and mostly is) done by human operators on a need-to-know basis. The advent of new algorithms from the computer vision community, and increased computational power offered by new CPUs have shown a strong possibility of automating this task. Different approaches have been proposed by computer scientists to solve the difficult problem of content recognition from video data. They use many different videos to prove their usefulness and accuracy. A careful comparison and evaluation needs to be done to find the most suitable method under given conditions. To compare the results given by video surveillance applications, the ground truth needs to be established. In the case of computer vision, the ground truth needs to be provided by humans, making it one of the most time-consuming tasks in the evaluation process. This paper presents a tool (GTVT) that allows the user to establish the ground truth for a given video. GTVT presents a user-friendly interface to perform the cumbersome task of ground truth establishment and verification.
AN ADVANCED SINGLE-CHANNEL NAVSTAR GPS MULTIPLEX RECEIVER WITH UP TO EIGHT PSEUDOCHANNELS

The operation of a NAVSTAR GPS multiplex receiver is defined in this paper as processor-controlled time-sharing of a single channel of receiver hardware in a manner that permits continuous (in a sampled data sense) digital phase-locked loop tracking of four GPS transmitters while simultaneously reading the 50-Hz navigation message data from the same four transmitters. The operational and performance characteristics are described for a proven advanced NAVSTAR GPS digital multiplex receiver front-end design that time-shares one code generator and one carrier synthesizer in accordance with this definition. Multiplexing has been demonstrated with this advanced single-channel receiver front-end in a manner that creates up to eight pseudochannels. The receiver can also be operated at a reduced number of pseudochannels in binary multiples of 4, 2, or 1. The eight pseudochannels provide simultaneous tracking of four GPS transmitters in P-code of both the L1 and L2 signals. In addition, the space vehicle (SV) 50-Hz navigation message data are read continuously from all four GPS transmitters. The eight pseudochannels emulate a multichannel set that is virtually free of interchannel bias and interchannel phase drift error since all GPS signals of the same frequency travel the same hardware path. Sixteen observables are continuously available: four L1 code phases, four L2 code phases, four L1 carrier doppler phases, and four L2 carrier doppler phases. These measurements are captured directly as a by-product of the nearly instantaneous phase presetting and the digital synthesis of the numerically controlled code and carrier tracking loops. From these raw measurements, the usual GPS receiver pseudoranges, delta pseudoranges, and their L1/L2 differences can be derived. Quantization noise is negligible since the raw measurements are of such ultrahigh resolution (2−16 P-chip code phase and 2−16 cycle carrier doppler phase). The receiver error characteristics are described and actual tracking error plots for 16 simultaneous observables from four real GPS satellites are shown.
Behavior-related changes in the activity of substantia nigra pars reticulata neurons in freely moving rats

Abstract As one of the primary targets of the striatum, the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) has been hypothesized to play a role in normal motor behavior. Specifically, inhibition of usually high, tonic SNr output is predicted to correlate with motor activation. While support for this has come primarily from electrophysiological studies in primates performing goal-directed movements, we tested this hypothesis in rats behaving in an open-field arena. SNr single-unit activity was recorded during spontaneous bouts of open-field behavior (e.g., head and body movements, locomotion) and after rats were given d -amphetamine (1.0 mg/kg, s.c.), which reliably increases motor activity and elevates the firing of motor-related striatal neurons. Prior to drug administration, SNr neurons had either regular, slightly irregular or irregular firing patterns when animals rested quietly. During movement, some inhibitions were observed, but the majority (∼79%) of analyzed units increased firing by as much as 38%. Regardless of the predrug behavioral response of the cell, amphetamine strongly inhibited firing rate (∼90% below nonmovement baseline) and changed firing pattern such that all cells fired irregularly. Subsequent injection with the dopamine antagonist haloperidol (1.0 mg/kg, s.c.) reversed amphetamine-induced inhibitions in all tested cells, which supports a role for dopamine in this effect. These results suggest that the pattern of striatal activity established by amphetamine, which may be critical for determining the drug-induced behavioral pattern, is represented in the SNr regardless of the predrug behavioral response of the cell.
Reduction of surface resistance in superconducting thin films by microwave irradiation

We have experimentally observed dramatic reductions in the microwave surface resistance R s of superconducting aluminum thin films due to microwave pumping. For temperatures T > 0.97 T c , nearly complete suppression of the temperature-dependent component of R s occurred when the films were subjected to a microwave magnetic field s were observed before the transition to the normal state. The reduction of R s may provide stability against thermal breakdown in rf cavities currently limited by defect-nucleated quench.
Integrating groupware and process technologies in the Oz environment

Human-to-human collaboration is critical in any multi-user, multi-organization development process. The CSCW community has already produced extensive work on modeling and supporting collaboration between members of a (possibly geographically dispersed) team. Now that high-speed networks and a sophisticated communication infrastructure (the Internet) have made CSCW technologies more feasible, we are studying how process technologies can embrace them. This position paper focuses on process support for interactions of multiple human users. This is in contrast to work on development of multi-user/CSCW tools and supporting generic human-computer interaction. Finding the appropriate balance between intergroup collaboration and autonomy is beyond the scope of this paper. The in-progress work described here is being implemented in the Oz decentralized Process Centered Environment (PCE).
Composite annotations: Requirements for mapping multiscale data and models to biomedical ontologies

Current methods for annotating biomedical data resources rely on simple mappings between data elements and the contents of a variety of biomedical ontologies and controlled vocabularies. Here we point out that such simple mappings are inadequate for large-scale multiscale, multidomain integrative “virtual human” projects. For such integrative challenges, we describe a “composite annotation” schema that is simple yet sufficiently extensible for mapping the biomedical content of a variety of data sources and biosimulation models to available biomedical ontologies.
Novel resistance functions uncovered using functional metagenomic investigations of resistance reservoirs

Rates of infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria have increased precipitously over the past several decades, with far-reaching healthcare and societal costs. Recent evidence has established a link between antibiotic resistance genes in human pathogens and those found in non-pathogenic, commensal, and environmental organisms, prompting deeper investigation of natural and human-associated reservoirs of antibiotic resistance. Functional metagenomic selections, in which shotgun-cloned DNA fragments are selected for their ability to confer survival to an indicator host, have been increasingly applied to the characterization of many antibiotic resistance reservoirs. These experiments have demonstrated that antibiotic resistance genes are highly diverse and widely distributed, many times bearing little to no similarity to known sequences. Through unbiased selections for survival to antibiotic exposure, functional metagenomics can improve annotations by reducing the discovery of false-positive resistance and by allowing for the identification of previously unrecognizable resistance genes. In this review, we summarize the novel resistance functions uncovered using functional metagenomic investigations of natural and human-impacted resistance reservoirs. Examples of novel antibiotic resistance genes include those highly divergent from known sequences, those for which sequence is entirely unable to predict resistance function, bifunctional resistance genes, and those with unconventional, atypical resistance mechanisms. Overcoming antibiotic resistance in the clinic will require a better understanding of existing resistance reservoirs and the dissemination networks that govern horizontal gene exchange, informing best practices to limit the spread of resistance-conferring genes to human pathogens.
Acidosis-Induced Coronary Arteriolar Dilation Is Mediated by ATP-Sensitive Potassium Channels in Vascular Smooth Muscle

Although a decrease in extravascular pH has been suggested to be involved in coronary flow regulations during hypoxia, ischemia, and increased metabolic demand of the heart, its vasomotor control mechanism has not been elucidated. To examine the effect of acidosis of vasomotor tone, porcine coronary arterioles (40 to 110 microns) were isolated, cannulated, and pressurized to 60 cm H2O intraluminal pressure without flow for in vitro study. Acidosis (pH 7.4 to 7.0) was produced by adding HCl to the extravascular solution. The involvement of potassium channels in the vasomotor response to acidosis was evaluated by using BaCl2 (100 mumol/L, nonspecific potassium channel inhibitor), glibenclamide (5 mumol/L, ATP-sensitive potassium channel inhibitor), and iberiotoxin (100 nmol/L, calcium-activated potassium channel inhibitor). To determine whether endothelial hyperpolarization contributes to the acidosis-induced dilation, the pH-diameter relation of the vessel was examined under a high intraluminal concentration of KCl (40 mmol/L). The involvement of nitric oxide and prostaglandins was assessed by using NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA, 10 mumol/L) and indomethacin (10 mumol/L), respectively. To evaluate the role of endothelium in the acidosis-induced dilation, the pH-diameter relation was studied after endothelial removal. All vessels developed a similar level of spontaneous tone (internal diameter, 75 +/- 4 microns [approximately 69 +/- 1% of maximum diameter) and dilated to HCl in dose-dependent manner. Glibenclamide completely abolished vasodilation to a mild level of acidosis (pH 7.2 to 7.3) and attenuated the vasodilation by 70% at pH 7.0. Acidosis-induced dilation was also inhibited by BaCl2 but not by iberiotoxin. L-NMMA, indomethacin, and intraluminal KCl did not alter the pH-diameter relation. Vasodilation to acidosis of the endothelium-denuded vessels was identical to that of the endothelium-intact vessels. In addition, glibenclamide attenuated the acidosis-induced arteriolar dilation of endothelium-denuded vessels. These results suggest that the opening of ATP-sensitive potassium channels in vascular smooth muscle mediates the coronary arteriolar dilation during acidosis.
Pseudo-asthma: When Cough, Wheezing, and Dyspnea Are Not Asthma

Although asthma is the most common cause of cough, wheeze, and dyspnea in children and adults, asthma is often attributed inappropriately to symptoms from other causes. Cough that is misdiagnosed as asthma can occur with pertussis, cystic fibrosis, primary ciliary dyskinesia, airway abnormalities such as tracheomalacia and bronchomalacia, chronic purulent or suppurative bronchitis in young children, and habit-cough syndrome. The respiratory sounds that occur with the upper airway obstruction caused by the various manifestations of the vocal cord dysfunction syndrome or the less common exercise-induced laryngomalacia are often mischaracterized as wheezing and attributed to asthma. The perception of dyspnea is a prominent symptom of hyperventilation attacks. This can occur in those with or without asthma, and patients with asthma may not readily distinguish the perceived dyspnea of a hyperventilation attack from the acute airway obstruction of asthma. Dyspnea on exertion, in the absence of other symptoms of asthma or an unequivocal response to albuterol, is most likely a result of other causes. Most common is the dyspnea associated with normal exercise limitation, but causes of dyspnea on exertion can include other physiologic abnormalities including exercise-induced vocal cord dysfunction, exercise-induced laryngomalacia, exercise-induced hyperventilation, and exercise-induced supraventricular tachycardia. A careful history, attention to the nature of the respiratory sounds that are present, spirometry, exercise testing, and blood-gas measurement provide useful data to sort out the various causes and avoid inappropriate treatment of these pseudo-asthma clinical manifestations.
Self-Synchronization of Transient Rotations in Multiple Shaft Systems:

Self-synchronization of shafts is a well-known nonlinear phenomenon, whereby two (or more) un balanced shafts on a common movable structure may rotate synchronously due to interaction via structural vibrations only, even in the absence of any direct kinematic coupling. The phenomenon had been studied extensively by asymptotic methods to predict possible (multiple) steady-state rotational motions and to eval uate their stability—mostly with application to the design of vibrators with a reduced number of driving motors. Certain cases of undesirable shaft self-synchronization in engineering had also been studied, but only steady-state motions were analyzed. This paper presents results of numerical simulation for transient self- synchronization of rotating shafts, one potential application being gas turbine engines with multiple shafts. While the shafts' design rotation speeds are usually different, they may "cross over" in transient motions— such as during coastdown of one of the shafts in an emergency situa...
A Framework for Data and Web Services Semantic Mediation in Peer-to-Peer Based Medical Information Systems

Interoperability is a crucial issue in the health care domain. It must be conducted along two tightly-coupled levels: "data" and "application" levels. The former is about bridging together heterogeneous medical data sources. The later is concerned with enabling medical applications to understand each other when they interact through Web services composition. In this paper we present a peer-to-peer framework for ensuring the interoperability along its two levels. Then we present a semantic mediation model dealing with datas "context heterogeneity" between web services within a composition process.
A Game-Theoretic Framework for Medium Access Control

In this paper, we generalize the random access game model, and show that it provides a general game- theoretic framework for designing contention based medium access control. We extend the random access game model to the network with multiple contention measure signals, study the design of random access games, and analyze different distributed algorithms achieving their equilibria. As examples, a series of utility functions is proposed for games achieving the maximum throughput in a network of homogeneous nodes. In a network with n traffic classes, an N-signal game model is proposed which achieves the maximum throughput under the fairness constraint among different traffic classes. In addition, the convergence of different dynamic algorithms such as best response, gradient play and Jacobi play under propagation delay and estimation error is established. Simulation results show that game model based protocols can achieve superior performance over the standard IEEE 802.11 DCF, and comparable performance as existing protocols with the best performance in literature.
School Counselors' Experiences with a Summer Group Curriculum for High-Potential Children from Low-Income Families: A Qualitative Study.

School counselors facilitated group guidance for children from low-income families and assisted in classrooms with a full economic range during a summer academic program for young gifted children in order to increase knowledge about giftedness. This qualitative study explored how the counselors experienced being immersed with gifted children. The main theme in their language was that they had not expected such differentness. They viewed the children in new ways and considered how school counselors could support them.
Consequences of Treating Wyoming Big Sagebrush to Enhance Wildlife Habitats

Abstract Sagebrush ( Artemisia L.) taxa historically functioned as the keystone species on 1 090 000 km 2 of rangeland across the western United States, and Wyoming big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle and Young) is or was dominant on a substantial amount of this landscape. Wyoming big sagebrush provides habitat for numerous wildlife species. Nevertheless, Wyoming big sagebrush communities are commonly manipulated to decrease shrub cover and density and increase the productivity and diversity of herbaceous plants. We examined relationships between management-directed changes in Wyoming big sagebrush and greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ), elk ( Cervus elaphus ), pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana ), and mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ), species commonly associated with these ecosystems. We focused on herbicide applications, mechanical treatments, and prescribed burning, because they are commonly applied to large areas in big sagebrush communities, often with the goal to improve wildlife habitats. Specifically, our objective was to identify treatments that either enhance or imperil sagebrush habitats for these wildlife species. The preponderance of literature indicates that habitat management programs that emphasize treating Wyoming big sagebrush are not supported with respect to positive responses by sage-grouse habitats or populations. There is less empirical information on ungulate habitat response to Wyoming big sagebrush treatments, but the value of sagebrush as cover and food to these species is clearly documented. A few studies suggest small-scale treatments (≤ 60-m width) in mountain big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana lRydb.] Beetle) may create attractive foraging conditions for brooding sage-grouse, but these may have little relevance to Wyoming big sagebrush. Recommendations or management programs that emphasize treatments to reduce Wyoming big sagebrush could lead to declines of wildlife species. More research is needed to evaluate the response of sagebrush wildlife habitats and populations to treatments, and until that time, managers should refrain from applying them in Wyoming big sagebrush communities.
The anterior limb of the anterior commissure is an access route to contralateral stored olfactory preference memories

Young rats learn to prefer novel odors that have been paired with reinforcers. Memories for such preference learning can be confined to one side of the olfactory system by blocking the contralateral naris during odor-reinforcer training. These memories can be accessed only from the trained naris in 6-day-old pups. But in pups 12 days of age and older, these memories, which are still stored only on one side, can be accessed from either the trained or the untrained naris. The ability of 12-day-olds to access unilaterally stored memories from the untrained side of the olfactory system permitted us to further explore the locations of olfactory memories and the routes of access to these memories. We report here that when preference memories were tested from the untrained side after selective fiber-tract transections on the trained side: (1) transection of the anterior limb of the anterior commissure at various rostral-caudal levels prevented retrieval of odor memories; (2) transection of the posterior limb did not disrupt memory access; and (3) transection of the olfactory peduncle on the trained side, thereby removing the contribution of the trained olfactory bulb, did not eliminate access to odor-preference memories. These findings suggest that access to contralateral olfactory memories is subserved by the anterior limb of the anterior commissure, probably through access to its most distal projections to the anterior olfactory nucleus and the anterior piriform cortex, and that retrieval of preference memories does not require access to the trained olfactory bulb.
Constitutionalism and Political Science: Imaginative Scholarship, Unimaginative Teaching

In 1983 Martin Shapiro worried that the “new jurisprudence of values” being promoted by the new generation of public law scholars in political science would “serve as a cover for slipping back into playing ‘little law professor’ for undergraduates.” 1 Proponents of the “jurisprudence of values” in political science, who engaged in constitutional theorizing about individual rights and the structure of governing institutions, would “writ[e] conventional case law doctrine” that “contain[ed] no distinctive political analysis.” Worse, the fruits of the behavioral revolution might rot should normative concerns take center stage in public law inquiry. Rather than further integrate the study of courts into mainstream political science, public law scholars would spend their time telling Supreme Court justices how to do their jobs. Shapiro predicted, “[P]olitical scientists trained in the empirically oriented ‘American politics’ field will be shoved to the edges of ‘public law,’ and political jurisprudence will be converted to ‘legal and political theory.’” 2 Abandoning American constitutionalism was the best antidote for the threat a jurisprudence of values presented to the social science study of law and courts. Students of the judicial process, Shapiro declared in 1989, should explore “any public law other than constitutional law, any court other than the Supreme Court, any public lawmaker other than the judge, and any country other than the United States.” 3 Recent developments in the public law subfield have confirmed some of these fears, while alleviating others. Prominent scholars continue paying disproportionate attention to American constitutional law as handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States. Twenty-nine of the forty-two awards for scholarship given out since 1990 by the Law and Courts section of the American Political Science Association have gone to works on the Supreme Court or American constitutional law. This public law scholarship, however, speaks with political science voices. Both behavioral and humanistic scholars are developing distinctive empirical and normative insights into American constitutional law, theory, and politics. Their work makes connections between ongoing constitutionalist themes and such traditional concerns of political science as political development, rational agency, comparative analysis, political institutions, and political philosophy. Law and Courts studies on the implementation of judicial decisions, sophisticated voting on constitutional courts, the interaction between elected and judicial officials, constitutional analysis outside the courts, and the broader ideological foundations of constitutional doctrine are beginning to lead, rather than always follow, academic law. A small but increasing number of distinguished law professors now borrow from public law analysis in political science to
Functional shift as category underspecification

Focusing on words such as bag, hammer, kiss, and dance, which are subject to functional shift, i.e. alternate between noun and verb, this article argues against the traditional view that a category-changing rule derives verbs from nouns and vice versa. The alternative proposal is that root lexemes in general, and words like these in particular, are semantically underspecified with respect to the noun/verb distinction. The lexical semantic representations of such words include event schemas that are compatible with either noun or verb meanings. The verb vs. noun aspect of the meanings is supplied by the morphosyntactic contexts in which they appear. This analysis is shown to account straightforwardly for the general properties of functional shift, such as its ubiquity, productivity, and semantic regularity, and to be supported by both standard kinds of distributional evidence and neurolinguistic evidence.
Short and long term outcomes of 200 patients supported by continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices

AIM: To study the institutional experience over 8 years with 200 continuous-flow (CF) - left ventricular assist devices (LVAD). METHODS: We evaluated our institution’s LVAD database and analyzed all patients who received a CF LVAD as a bridge to transplant (BTT) or destination therapy from March 2006 until June 2014. We identified 200 patients, of which 179 were implanted with a HeartMate II device (Thoratec Corp., Pleasanton, CA) and 21 received a Heartware HVAD (HeartWare Inc., Framingham, MA). RESULTS: The mean age of our LVAD recipients was 59.3 years (range 17-81), 76% (152/200) were males, and 49% were implanted for the indication of BTT. The survival rate for our LVAD patients at 30 d, 6 mo, 12 mo, 2 years, 3 years, and 4 years was 94%, 86%, 78%, 71%, 62% and 45% respectively. The mean duration of LVAD support was 581 d (range 2-2595 d). Gastrointestinal bleeding (was the most common adverse event (43/200, 21%), followed by right ventricular failure (38/200, 19%), stroke (31/200, 15%), re exploration for bleeding (31/200, 15%), ventilator dependent respiratory failure (19/200, 9%) and pneumonia (15/200, 7%). Our driveline infection rate was 7%. Pump thrombosis occurred in 6% of patients. Device exchanged was needed in 6% of patients. On multivariate analysis, preoperative liver dysfunction, ventilator dependent respiratory failure, tracheostomy and right ventricular failure requiring right ventricular assist device support were significant predictors of post LVAD survival. CONCLUSION: Short and long term survival for patients on LVAD support are excellent, although outcomes still remain inferior compared to heart transplantation. The incidence of driveline infections, pump thrombosis and pump exchange have declined significantly in recent years.
Speeding up dynamic spiral chemical shift imaging with incoherent sampling and low-rank matrix completion

PURPOSE To improve the temporal and spatial resolution of dynamic 13 C spiral chemical shift imaging via incoherent sampling and low-rank matrix completion (LRMC). METHODS Spiral CSI data were both simulated and acquired in rats, and undersampling was implemented retrospectively and prospectively by pseudorandomly omitting a fraction of the spiral interleaves. Undersampled data were reconstructed with both LRMC and a conventional inverse nonuniform fast Fourier transform (iNUFFT) and compared with fully sampled data. RESULTS Two-fold undersampling with LRMC reconstruction enabled a two-fold improvement in temporal or spatial resolution without significant artifacts or spatiotemporal distortion. Conversely, undersampling with iNUFFT reconstruction created strong artifacts that obscured the image. LRMC performed better at time points with strong metabolite signal. CONCLUSION Incoherent undersampling and LRMC provides a way to increase the spatiotemporal resolution of spiral CSI without degrading data integrity. Magn Reson Med 77:951-960, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.
Reproduction of Subjects in Historical Structures: Attribution, Identity, and Emotion in the Early Cold War

How does international interaction shape states' patterns of thought, emotion, and action? This paper examines the processes by which motives and practices feed each other in reproducing historical structures. An artificial intelligence model defines state-subjects as cultures combining special meanings that produce causal attribution, state self-identification, emotions, and action motives. These special meanings are built from subjective cultural categories describing social acts and group character of the self and others. Anger, pride, fear, and relief motivate action. A collection of such subject-cultures may produce a pattern of actions that reiterates the cultures. The model discriminates between those combinations of elements in special meanings which reproduce subjects and historical structures, and those which do not. The meanings discovered in such reproduction analysis can be validated by discourse analysis.
Evidence limiting the time of inception of intrauterine digital amputations.

Evidence is derived from epidermal ridge configurations, in four subjects admitting diagnosis of congenital amputations (as opposed to agenesia), which points to the existence of the affection probably prior to the eleventh week of gestation. Three of the cases are considered in another publication,1 where they are recorded as numbers 20, 508, and 509; a fourth, a still-born infant presenting multiple digital amputations in varied degrees, is comparable to 509.It has been shown1 that the alignment of epidermal ridges, hence their fashioning of patterns and of patternless series of ridges, is accomplished through the medium of growth forces obtaining in early fetal development. Such forces in growth vary locally, in accordance with the irregular molding of palmar and plantar reliefs. The influence on alignment hardly can be effective after ridges are initially elaborated (eleventh week), although it is possible that the regulation through growth may manifest its effect before the ridge anlagen actually app...
S10.2 Developing and implementing a public health approach to improve sexual health in the USA

Background The first formal U.S. government recognition of the importance of a sexual health framework for enhancing STD/HIV prevention—The Surgeon General9s Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behaviour –was published in 2001. Since then, many measures of adverse health outcomes of sexual behaviour have improved only minimally or worsened, including HIV, STD, and teen pregnancy. CDC is committed to enhancing program impact for STD/HIV prevention and other programs by complementing traditional prevention efforts with a health promotion framework that comprehensively addresses the broader issue of sexual health. Methods We have developed a cross-CDC Sexual Health Steering Committee including Divisions of STD Prevention, HIV/AIDS Prevention, Viral Hepatitis, Adolescent/School Health, Reproductive Health, and Violence Prevention which works collaboratively with a Sexual Health Workgroup of the CDC/HRSA Advisory Committee on HIV and STD. Results Key objectives of the CDC sexual health effort include increased knowledge and awareness of and healthy/respectful attitudes regarding sexual health; increased use of high-quality, coordinated and integrated educational, programmatic, and clinical services; increased healthy, responsible, and respectful sexual behaviours; improved healthy and respectful sexual relationships, free of coercion; and decreased adverse health outcomes, including HIV/STD, viral hepatitis, unplanned pregnancy, and sexual and intimate partner violence. Initial efforts focused on a policy discussion paper and expert consultation on “A Public Health Approach for Advancing Sexual Health in the USA” Subsequent steps have included expanding engagement of stakeholders from a broad range of perspectives; steps to evaluate a sexual health communication framework; an expanded CDC sexual health website; efforts to incorporate sexual health into key U.S. policy documents (eg, National HIV AIDS Strategy, Healthy People 2020 key indicators; National Prevention Strategy); planning a national coalition to address sexual health in the general population, adolescents/young adults, and among MSM; and development of a conceptual framework, logic model, and CDC definition of sexual health to inform a final white paper on sexual health. Conclusions Developing and implementing a sexual health framework in a society with diverse values is challenging, but core public health prevention efforts must be enhanced by a renewed effort to address issues of sexual health and responsible sexual behaviour as an intrinsic part of human health. The use of a sexual health framework has great potential for improving public health outcomes by providing messages that are more effective at reaching the public and providers, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of services, and facilitating societal dialogue around sexuality and sexual behaviour.