cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A case study approach for teaching design patterns through computer game programming: tutorial presentation

This workshop presents an approach for teaching design patterns through computer game programming. In the workshop, we will begin by discussing the fundamental aspects of game engine software, including rendering models, animation techniques, and collision processing. Then we will explore how design patterns can be applied to manage the complexity of game software development. This case study approach has been successfully used with undergraduate students ranging from sophomore to senior standing. Among these students, none had any formal introduction to game programming, and only one had prior exposure to design patterns. A study conducted eight months after the students completed the course found that, although none of the students were developing games, all of them were using design patterns. These results suggest that our approach positively impacts students' learning; unfortunately, our sample size was too small for statistic significance. The specific case study we will use is EEClone, a simple arcade-style computer game that was designed to demonstrate design patterns for object-oriented programming. The specific patterns reified in EEClone include the State, Facade, Observer, Strategy, Singleton, and Visitor patterns. It is important to note that the design patterns are not "forced" into this context: they emerge from a disciplined software design process. They complement the domain-specific concepts such as the main game loop, active rendering, sprite animation, collision processing, controller management, and audio playback. The pedagogic motivation and results of this approach have recently been published in the Journal on Educational Resources in Computing [1]. This workshop provides an interactive forum for educators to learn about our approach and its application in the classroom.
The Chinese Currency and Global Rebalancing: A Discussion

Perceived to be substantially undervalued, the Chinese currency, the yuan, has attracted much attention in recent years, especially since the recession of 2008–2009. To remedy the situation, a proposal put forward recently by C. Fred Bergsten is noteworthy, for its impressive boldness in calling for drastic US policy actions, and for the potentially far-reaching impacts on the global rebalancing and recovery it may bring about. The purpose of this article is twofold: to assess the underlying analytical validity of this proposal and to explore its implications for the US, China and the rebalancing and recovery of the world economy.
Histone methyltransferase, Setdb2, regulates wound healing in a diet-induced obesity model of diabetes (IRM9P.601)

Impaired wound healing in Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with a chronic inflammatory response mediated by accumulation of macrophages producing pro-inflammatory cytokines. While recent work has shown that epigenetic regulation plays a key role in influencing macrophage function, the specific alterations that occur in T2D macrophages and their effects on gene transcription have not been elucidated. Work in our laboratory has shown that Histone H3 Lys9 methylation that results in transcriptional silencing is mediated by Setdb2 (SET domain, bifurcated2) and plays a critical role in lung inflammation. Thus, we examined the role of Setdb2 in wound healing and macrophage activation in a murine model of T2D. Superficial wounding resulted in increased transcript levels of Setdb2 in wound macrophages of control mice compared with diabetic mice. Specific deletion of Setdb2 in macrophages (Setdb2lyz2) using cre recombinase resulted in delayed wound healing. Furthermore, bone marrow derived macrophages from Setdb2lyz2 cre+ mice show reduced expression of key regulatory mediators such as IFN-β. In summary, our data indicate that Setdb2 may play a protective role in wound healing by regulating inflammation.
Opportunistic Power Savings with Coordinated Control in Data Center Networks

In this paper, we propose a holistic power management of the data center network (DCN) via coordination among distinct controllers with different functionality and scope. This includes - a local controller (LC) that has visibility only at individual switch/router level, a global controller (GC) that has a global view of the network, and a hint based topology aware user request assignment controller (RAC) that controls placement of the external requests on the endpoint hosts. The key function of these controllers from energy management perspective is to properly direct and consolidate network traffic to maximize low power (or "sleep") opportunities for the network interfaces. We show that the coordinated "hints" provided by the GC are vital to correct the myopic view of LCs and RAC for both avoiding congestion and maximizing network sleep opportunities. We show that these mechanisms can reduce power consumption by upto ~45% in the common fat-tree based DCNs using the low power idle (LPI) feature of the Ethernet.
Strategic CSR Communication: A Moderating Role of Transparency in Trust Building

ABSTRACTBased on the literature in various strategic communication disciplines, including marketing, advertising, and public relations, this 2 (company-cause fit: congruent vs. incongruent) × 2 (level of transparency: high vs. low) experiment examines message effect on trust, organizational advocacy, and skepticism in order to explore ways to effectively communicate CSR initiatives in consideration of company-cause fit and transparency. Company-cause fit has been incorporated as a strategic tool in marketing and advertising, yet transparency has been primarily discussed in terms of its ethical implications in PR literature. Most significantly, this study suggests a moderating role of transparency on the effect of CSR cause fit, in that partnering with an incongruent cause fit can help build trust with consumers when the CSR message is communicated in a highly transparent manner. Furthermore, this study suggests that transparency is a necessary condition to be strategically implemented in CSR communication...
Charter Schools: Voluntary Associations or Political Communities?

This essay approaches charter school reform as an opportunity to reflect upon the tenacious dilemma of liberal versus communitarian visions of democratic public life. As autonomous associations created around specific educational missions and shared values, charter schools disrupt the notion of a strict dichotomy between liberal and communitarian approaches to public life. At the same time, charter schools are in need of normative standards that can be employed to balance their particularistic aims against public interests in things like fair representation, democratic governance, and civic education. Deliberative democratic theory provides charters with two normative models — one of participatory political community and one of associative democracy — that can be employed to assess the extent to which charter schools fulfill public educational interests.
Frost Hardiness and Cold Acclimation in Solanum Species

Potato is the world’s fourth most important crop, however, it ranks first in the yield per unit of land among the world’s major food crops (F.A.O. Production Year Book, 1991). It is mainly grown in the temperate zone and in the highlands of the Andean Tropics of South America, where frosts are often the major factor in reducing the yield and quality of potato crops. For example, in the Andean countries alone, it is estimated that over 400,000 ha of potato field are threatened by frost injury every year (Vega and Bamberg, 1995; Van Eck, 1995; Estrada et al., 1993; Barrientos et al., 1994). The commonly cultivated potato, Solanum tuberosum, possesses little frost hardiness, whereas many of the tuber-bearing Solanum species are much hardier than S. tuberosum. It would be desirable to combine the higher yield potential of S. tuberosum with the frost hardiness traits from the hardy relatives. However, efforts to transfer frost hardiness genes from wild species to cultivated S. tuberosum by conventional breeding have been proven possible but likely a lengthy process (Estrada, 1987; Estrada et al., 1993).
Write error rates of in-plane spin-transfer-torque random access memory calculated from rare-event enhanced micromagnetic simulations

Abstract Stochastic magnetization dynamics at non-zero temperatures gives rise to write errors in spin-transfer-torque random access memory (STTRAM). In this paper, the write error rate (WER) of an in-plane STTRAM bit is estimated by extending a previously developed rare-event-enhancement (REE) technique for spin-transfer-torque switching to an in-plane magnet. Reliable calculation of write error rates up to 10 - 9 is demonstrated with only ∼ 10 3 micromagnetic simulations, thereby making an otherwise prohibitively large computational burden tractable. For the in-plane bit studied here, WERs obtained from the REE-enabled micromagnetic simulations are found to be higher than those obtained within a spatially-coherent (macrospin) switching assumption. Spatially-incoherent switching modes of different types are observed to reduce the switching speed. A detailed study of these spatially-incoherent modes reveals that, at lower applied currents, the end mode controls the WER slope, whereas, at higher applied currents, switching via vortices or anti-vortices governs the WER slope. A sharp change in the WER slope is observed when the latter type of excitation begins to dominate the unswitched population. By further improvements to the REE technique to selectively take into account the vortices and the anti-vortices, reliable prediction of WERs for all ranges of current is demonstrated. The results could help explain prior experimental observations. REE techniques also could be useful for magnetic devices other than STTRAM where rare events remain important and impact device performance.
Synthesis of Biorenewable Starch–Farnesene Amphiphilic Conjugates via Transesterification of Terpene-Derived Diels–Alder Adducts

Herein we describe a new class of terpene-starch esters synthesized from biorenewable building blocks. Although our work is specific to starch, we believe the synthetic methodology can be extended to a wide range of polysaccharide substrates. In our approach, an ester functionality is first introduced to the farnesene backbone via high yielding, solvent-free Diels–Alder chemistry. The farnesene esters are subsequently transesterified with starch to produce a range of starch–farnesene amphiphilic biopolymers. The key transesterification reaction between farnesene and starch employs 1,5,6-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD) as a guanidine base organocatalyst and is capable of producing materials with a high degree of substitution (DS). The DS can be modulated by altering the starch/farnesene feed ratio. Low DS starch–farnesene esters show surfactant-like properties while the higher DS materials were successfully solvent-cast into standalone films. Thermal and mechanical tests reveal starch–farnesene esters ...
Bug Localization by Learning to Rank and Represent Bug Inducing Changes

In software development, bug localization is the process finding portions of source code associated to a submitted bug report. This task has been modeled as an information retrieval task at source code file, where the report is the query. In this work, we propose a model that, instead of working at file level, learns feature representations from source changes extracted from the project history at both syntactic and code change dependency perspectives to support bug localization. To that end, we structured an end-to-end architecture able to integrate feature learning and ranking between sets of bug reports and source code changes. We evaluated our model against the state of the art of bug localization on several real world software projects obtaining competitive results in both intra-project and cross-project settings. Besides the positive results in terms of model accuracy, as we are giving the developer not only the location of the bug associated to the report, but also the change that introduced, we believe this could give a broader context for supporting fixing tasks.
Computed tomography imaging characteristics of primary atrial intimal sarcoma.

Abstract We present a 36-year-old man who presented to our emergency department with acute onset shortness of breath and syncope. He was found to have a large left atrial mass on initial computed tomography (CT) which was confirmed by echocardiography. Tumor biopsy and attempted excision were performed, showing a primary cardiac spindle cell sarcoma that was unable to be resected, to which the patient eventually succumbed to. Spindle cell sarcomas of the heart are very rare primary cardiac tumors, with a variable, non-specific presentation. The most effective treatment is surgical resection, with chemotherapy and radiotherapy showing some benefit. Despite these treatments, the prognosis is poor. Given the uncommon nature of this tumor, the objective of this report is to demonstrate the clinical presentation and CT imaging characteristics of a case of primary cardiac spindle cell sarcoma, to raise awareness of this entity, and to increase the index of suspicion as a potential differential diagnosis to cardiac tumors seen on imaging.
Frailty as a prognostic factor for the critically ill older adult trauma patients

Abstract Background Frailty is highly prevalent in the elderly and confers high risk for adverse outcomes. We aimed to assess the impact of frailty on critically ill older adult trauma patients. Methods We analyzed the ACS-TQIP(2010–2014) including all critically-ill trauma patients ≥65y. The modified frailty index (mFI) was calculated. Following stratified into frail and non-frail, propensity score matching was performed. Our primary outcome measure was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcome measures included mortality and discharge disposition. Results We identified 88,629 patients, of which 34,854 patients (frail: 17,427, non-frail: 17,427) were matched. Overall 14% died. Frail patients had higher rates of complications (34% vs. 18%, p Conclusion critically-ill frail patients are more likely to have higher morbidity and mortality. Frailty can be used as an objective measure to identify high-risk patients.
Halcampulactidae (Actiniaria, Actinostoloidea), a new family of burrowing sea anemones with external brooding from Antarctica

Brooding is known for at least 57 species within Actiniaria, making it a rare phenomenon among the approximately 1100 described species in the order. Within the order, brooders are known from taxonomically disparate groups in both suborders (Anenthemonae and Enthemonae) and all superfamilies except for Actinernoidea. Two-thirds of brooders do so internally and have a pan-latitudinal distribution whereas external brooders show a disproportionate diversity in the poles, particularly in the Southern Ocean. Here, we describe Halcampulactidae fam. nov., a new family of burrowing sea anemones from Antarctica characterized by a novel combination of morphological features: twelve mesenteries (eight macrocnemes and four microcnemes) and invaginations of the oral disc similar to glandular sacs of Oractiidae Riemann-Zurneck (Polar Biol 23:604–608, 2000) hypothesized to brood offspring. Halcampulactidae fam. nov. is the first endemic family from Antarctica and Halcampulactis solimar sp. nov. is the 11th species of sea anemone with parental care recorded from Antarctica; it is also the first burrowing anemone with external brooding from the Southern Ocean, representing the second instance of external brooding on the oral disc within the order Actiniaria. In addition, we use molecular evidence to establish the phylogenetic position of the new family within the order; Halcampulactidae fam. nov. is the first burrowing family within the superfamily Actinostoloidea. We discuss the evolution of external brooding within the superfamily in light of these new findings.
Amino Bisphosphonates Are Associated with Decreased Mortality Compared to Non-Amino Bisphosphonates in the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

Abstract Introduction Osteolytic bone lesion is a hallmark of multiple myeloma (MM). Bisphosphonates have been shown to be effective inhibitors of osteoclastic activity, leading to improvement of skeletal related morbidity in MM. Based on their chemical structure, bisphosphonates can be classified into two categories: amino bisphosphonates (ibandronate, pamidronate and zoledronate) and non-amino bisphosphonates (clodronate, etidronate). Although both categories are efficient for the management of myeloma related bone disease, their effect on mortality has been controversial. Some studies demonstrated beneficial effect associated with the administration of amino bisphosphonates, while others showed no such effect. We evaluated if amino bisphosphonates improve survival compared with non-amino bisphosphonates, when added to standard therapy for myeloma. Methods To address our objectives, we conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials (RCT) estimating the effect of bisphosphonates in MM. We identified trials by searching electronic databases such as MEDLINE, CENTRAL and EMBASE. We compared the effect of amino bisphosphonates group to non-amino bisphosphonates group, versus the reference placebo group or no treatment. The primary outcome was overall mortality. We conducted a network meta-analysis under a random effects model. Pooled hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals were estimated. To further evaluate the effect between the groups, a test for subgroup differences was applied. All analysis were conducted using Revman and R. Results Overall 14 studies were identified from 1982 to 2015, enrolling a total of 2706 patients: 5 studies tested bisphosphonates with non-amino group and 9 with amino group. The results from the network meta-analysis (Figure 1) showed a decrease in overall mortality for the amino bisphosphonates (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.94) compared to the non-amino bisphosphonates (HR 1.06, 95% 0.87 to 1.3) and placebo. The statistical test for subgroup differences was significant (Q=4.69, p=0.03). Conclusion Based on the totality of randomized evidence, we showed for the first time that amino bisphosphonates compared to non-amino bisphosphonates versus placebo or no treatment reduce mortality in MM. The use of amino bisphosphonate should be further encouraged as anti-myeloma treatment and not solely as supportive treatment. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Birth Mode after Primary Cesarean among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Women at One U.S. Institution.

Abstract Background Despite a lower percentage of primary cesareans than non-Hispanic White and Black women, Hispanic women in the United States had the highest rate of repeat cesarean deliveries (RCD) in 2016; it is unclear if reasons for differences are due to known risk factors. Our study examined the association between ethnicity/race and RCD among women with one previous cesarean and whether demographic (age, marital status, education, language, and delivery year), anthropomorphic (height, prepregnancy body mass index), obstetrical/medical (parity, gestational age, infant birth weight, gestational diabetes, labor induction or augmentation, vaginal birth after cesarean delivery history), or health system (delivery day/time, payer source, provider gender) factors accounted for any observed differences by ethnicity/race. Methods Our retrospective cohort study used logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between ethnicity/race and RCD based on data from electronic delivery and prenatal records from 2010 to 2016, including 1800 births to Hispanic and non-Hispanic women with one previous cesarean at a District of Columbia hospital. Results Statistically significant differences by ethnicity/race were noted after adjustment for obstetric/medical factors, particularly parity and use of induction or augmentation methods. Hispanic (adjusted odds ratio, 2.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.03–6.01) and Black women (adjusted odds ratio, 2.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.67–4.81) had higher odds of RCD than White women. Conclusions Adjustment for parity and use of induction or augmentation methods revealed higher odds of RCD for Hispanic and Black women than White women. Demographic and anthropometric factors did not alter these results. Our work is a first step in creating effective public health policy and programs that target potentially preventable RCD by highlighting the need to evaluate risk factors beyond those included in the literature to date.
A Collective Impact Organization for Early Childhood: Increasing Access to Quality Care by Uniting Community Sectors.

Early childhood collective impact organizations are increasingly being used in communities to support the availability and use of birth to five services for children and families. Collaboration across sectors and services allows for greater ease of access to quality health and education services for families seeking or eligible for such services. Knowledge about the logistics of establishing a CI and the activities that lead to sustainment is critical for lasting impact; however, research documenting these aspects of early childhood collective impact models is scarce. This single-case design details how an early childhood collective impact model united stakeholders across a community to create a collaborative system of early care services. Findings offer insight into guiding principles that can serve to initiate and ultimately support collective impact endeavors for the purpose of improving early care and school readiness for children.
A recent review concluding that brief music therapy is the most effective treatment for preschoolers with ASD is not credible

Q (1) What is the most effective cognitive, developmental, or behavioral intervention approach for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?(2) What factors impact the effectiveness of inte...
Implications of a $\chi(3.86)$ State for Theoretical Models

Recent preliminary evidence for a $D \bar{D}$ state $\chi(3.86)$ raises extremely interesting implications for theoretical models, particularly those currently in vogue, e.g. the flux tube model and a molecular charmonium picture. We examine the experimental consequences as well as the possible unveiling of a strata of C-exotic states in heavy quarkonia systems by future facilities like BES Upgrade/Tau-Charm Factory and CLEO III/B-Factories.
C. elegans germ granules require both assembly and localized regulators for mRNA repression

Cytoplasmic RNA–protein (RNP) granules have diverse biophysical properties, from liquid to solid, and play enigmatic roles in RNA metabolism. Nematode P granules are paradigmatic liquid droplet granules and central to germ cell development. Here we analyze a key P granule scaffolding protein, PGL-1, to investigate the functional relationship between P granule assembly and function. Using a protein–RNA tethering assay, we find that reporter mRNA expression is repressed when recruited to PGL-1. We determine the crystal structure of the PGL-1 N-terminal region to 1.5 A, discover its dimerization, and identify key residues at the dimer interface. Mutations of those interface residues prevent P granule assembly in vivo, de-repress PGL-1 tethered mRNA, and reduce fertility. Therefore, PGL-1 dimerization lies at the heart of both P granule assembly and function. Finally, we identify the P granule-associated Argonaute WAGO-1 as crucial for repression of PGL-1 tethered mRNA. We conclude that P granule function requires both assembly and localized regulators. Nematode P granules are cytoplasmic RNA–protein biomolecule condensates central to germ cell development. Here the authors show that dimerization of the PGL-1 scaffolding protein is crucial to granule formation and mRNA repression, and that the WAGO-1 Argonaute protein is a cofactor in repressing PGL-1 bound mRNAs.
Grassroots resistance and activism to one-size-fits-all and separate-but-equal policies by 90:10 dual language schools en comunidades latinas

Bilingual education—chiefly the subcategory of dual language bilingual education—has been undergoing a pattern where the interests of language-minoritized communities have in several contexts been ...
I-type lectins.

The immunoglobulin superfamily is a large category of proteins defined by their structural similarity to immunoglobulins. The majority of these proteins are involved in protein-protein binding as receptors, antibodies or cell adhesion molecules. The I-type lectins are a subset of the immunoglobulin superfamily that are capable of carbohydrate-protein interactions. There are I-type lectins recognizing sialic acids, other sugars and glycosaminoglycans. The occurrence, structure, binding properties and (potential) biological functions of the I-type lectins are reviewed here.
Distinct brain-derived TDP-43 strains from FTLD-TDP subtypes induce diverse morphological TDP-43 aggregates and spreading patterns in vitro and in vivo.

Aim The heterogeneity in the distribution and morphological features of TAR DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43) pathology in the brains of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD-TDP) patients and their different clinical manifestations suggest that distinct pathological TDP-43 strains could play a role in this heterogeneity between different FTLD-TDP subtypes (A-E). Our aim was to evaluate the existence of distinct TDP-43 strains in the brains of different FTLD-TDP subtypes and characterise their specific seeding properties in vitro and in vivo. Methods and results We used an inducible stable cell line expressing a mutant cytoplasmic TDP-43 (iGFP-NLSm) to evaluate the seeding properties of distinct pathological TDP-43 strains. Brain-derived TDP-43 protein extracts from FTLD-TDP types A (n = 6) and B (n = 3) cases induced the formation of round/spherical phosphorylated TDP-43 aggregates that morphologically differed from the linear and wavy wisps and bigger heterogeneous filamentous (skein-like) aggregates induced by type E (n = 3) cases. These morphological differences correlated with distinct biochemical banding patterns of sarkosyl-insoluble TDP-43 protein recovered from the transduced cells. Moreover, brain-derived TDP-43 extracts from type E cases showed higher susceptibility to PK digestion of full-length TDP-43 and the most abundant C-terminal fragments that characterise type E extracts. Finally, we showed that intracerebral injections of different TDP-43 strains induced a distinctive morphological and subcellular distribution of TDP-43 pathology and different spreading patterns in the brains of CamKIIa-hTDP-43NLSm Tg mice. Conclusions We show the existence of distinct TDP-43 strains in the brain of different FTLD-TDP subtypes with distinctive seeding and spreading properties in the brains of experimental animal models.
A 1.6 GS/s Spectrum Channelizer with PWM-LO Based Sub-band Equalization

A frequency-folded ADC (FF-ADC) [1] partitions the spectrum of an incident signal into N contiguous sub-bands using the harmonics of a switching clock waveform. In this architecture, a broadband input spectrum is downconverted and aliased to baseband by employing N polyphase, non-overlapping rectangular clocks. The aliased sub-bands are bandlimited at baseband, digitized and subsequently channelized employing digital-domain harmonic and image rejection. For a clock period of T s , with N paths, and a baseband ADC of Nyquist rate of $1/T_{s}$ in each path, the effective sampling rate is $N/T_{s}$, analogous to a time-interleaved ADC (TI-ADC) [2]. In applications with a significant variation in the sub-band signal power, sub-bands with large power can reduce the available ADC dynamic range for other sub-bands with lower power. A similar issue is observed at the input of a broadband TI-ADC as well. Architectures for gain-scaling of sub-bands in an FF-ADC to relax this issue are described in [3], [4]. In [5], a receiver with non-overlapping LOs that can select an arbitrary number of harmonics but reject other harmonics by applying sinusoidal gain coefficients at baseband, is described.
Preparation of Microfungi for Scanning Electron Microscopy

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) has broad applications to fungal research but has been particularly valuable for taxonomic and developmental studies of microfungi (Moore and Grand, 1970; Cole and Behnke, 1975; Cole, 1976, 1979, 1981a; O’Donnell, 1979). As in other biological disciplines, SEM images at the outset generated widespread aesthetic appeal, as well as skepticism among investigators “who saw little application in a device the main function of which was to produce snapshots of surfaces” (Heslop-Harrison, 1979). During the early 1970s, however, such skepticism was largely put to rest with the development of high-resolution SEMs and scanning-transmission electron microscopes (STEMs) (Crewe, 1971, 1979) capable of providing structural data that previously were obtained only from thin sections and surface replicas of samples examined in the transmission electron microscope. Recognition that interaction between the incident electron beam and biological substrate yields many different signals (e. g., X-rays, backscattered electrons, cathodoluminescence) led to the development of the analytical STEM (Venables, 1976; Reimer, 1976) and a plethora of new information was made available to the researcher. The technological boom in ultrastructural instrumentation witnessed in the 1970s, however, confronted many workers with an “embarrassment of hardware” in that the “general corpus of knowledge of the time was inadequate for their full exploitation in application…” to investigations of the biological material of interest (Heslop-Harrison, 1979).
235 cases of excessive daytime sleepiness. Diagnosis and tentative classification.

Abstract A series of 235 consecutive patients referred to the Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic with the complaint of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) were investigated extensively. A satisfactory final diagnosis involving a consistent syndrome or pathogenic process was made in all but 7 patients. In the course of this work a variety of tests, including prolonged polygraphic monitoring of multiple variables and CSF measurements before and after probenecid ingestion, were utilized. Different syndromes were confirmed (harmonious hypersomnia, subwakefulness syndrome); the definitions of others were clarified and extended (narcolepsy, drug dependency, periodic hypersomnia associated with menstruation, upper airway sleep apnea in children). Two new entities were tentatively identified (narcolepsy with sleep apnea, the neutral state syndrome). Narcolepsy and upper airway sleep apnea accounted for the majority of the cases (199). A strategic schema utilizing specific categories and frequency of occurrence in the case series is presented to improve the diagnosis of the complaint of excessive daytime sleepiness by the practicing physician. This case series was analysed in order to develop tentatively a meaninfgful nosology.
The Rabin Index and Chain Automata, with Applications to Automatas and Games

In this paper we relate the Rabin Index of an ω-language to the complexity of translation amongst automata, strategies for two-person regular games, and the complexity of controller-synthesis and verification of finite state systems, via a new construction to transform Rabin automata to Chain automata. The Rabin Index is the minimum number of pairs required to realize the language as a deterministic Rabin automaton (DRA), and is a measure of the inherent complexity of the ω-language. Chain automata are a special kind of Rabin automata where the sets comprising the acceptance condition form a chain. Our main construction translates a DRA with n states and h pairs to a deterministic chain automaton (DCA) with n.h k states, where k is the Rabin Index of the language. Using this construction, we can transform a DRA into a minimum-pair DRA or a minimum-pair deterministic Streett automaton (DSA), each with n.h k states. Using a simple correspondence between tree automata (TA) and games, we extend the constructions to translate between nondeterministic Rabin and Streett TA while simultaneously reducing the number of pairs; for the class of “trim” deterministic Rabin TA our construction gives a minimum-index deterministic Chain TA, or a minimum-pair DRTA or DSTA, each with n.h k states, where k is RI of the tree-language.
Robust adaptive regulation of manipulators: theory and experiments(003) 5323126

This paper considers the position regulation problem for uncertain robot manipulators and proposes two adaptive controllers as solutions to this problem. The first controller is derived under the assumption that the manipulator state is measurable, while the second strategy is developed for those applications in which only position measurements are available. Each of the adaptive schemes is computationally simple, requires very little information regarding the manipulator model or the payload, and ensures that the position error possesses desirable convergence properties: semiglobal asymptotic convergence if no external disturbances are present and semiglobal convergence to an arbitrarily small neighbourhood of zero in the presence of bounded disturbances. Experimental results are presented for a Zebra Zero manipulator and demonstrate that accurate and robust position control can be achieved by using the proposed controllers.
Harmonic oscillator with translational degrees of freedom in a magnetic field

This paper describes a procedure to find exact solutions for a generalm-dimensional anisotropic harmonic oscillator in a uniform, but otherwise arbitrary magnetic field in ann-dimensional space (of dimension larger than s). In an earlier paper by the same authors exact solutions of Schrodinger’s equation were presented for the above problem when the dimension of the oscillator potential coincided with the dimension of the space (i.e. no translational degrees of freedom). Consequently this paper details only the procedure for finding a Landaulike gauge so that the Hamiltonian may be separated into two parts. One part contains all explicit reference to those linear momenta which are constants of the motion. The other part is shown to be of the form requisite to be exactly solved by the methods of the earlier paper.
Norepinephrine Secretion in the Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus of Rats during Unlimited Access to Self-Administered Nicotine: An In Vivo Microdialysis Study

Norepinephrine (NE) secretion within the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) is pivotal to endocrine and behavioral responses. Activation of NE afferents to PVN also is necessary for the hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal axis response to passively administered nicotine. The mode of drug delivery is a critical determinant of the dynamics of neurotransmitter secretion, yet the PVN NE response to nicotine self-administration (SA) is unknown. Herein, rats housed in operant chambers had unlimited 23 hr access to self-administered nicotine. In vivo microdialysis of PVN NE was performed, collecting consecutive 7 min samples over 9 hr sessions during three phases of nicotine SA: acquisition (day 1); early maintenance, once stable rates of SA were achieved (day 9.2 ± 0.6); later maintenance (day 18.6 ± 0.8). On d1, nicotine animals had an increased percentage of SA episodes (SAEs) in which NE levels were elevated (80 vs 30% with saline; p
Tolerance to the Beneficial Effects of Prophylactic Migraine Drugs: A Systematic Review of Causes and Mechanisms

Loss of benefit of a previously effective treatment regimen, also known as tolerance, can be an important barrier to the successful preventive treatment of migraine. We undertook a systematic review of the literature to identify the prevalence and possible mechanisms of drug tolerance in migraine prophylaxis. Results demonstrate that the frequency of tolerance to prophylactic migraine treatment is unknown, but available data support an estimate that it occurs in 1-8% of patients receiving prophylaxis. Four broad types of tolerance were identified that are likely to be relevant to migraine prophylaxis. These are pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, behavioral, and cross tolerance. The mechanisms that underlie these types of tolerance determine whether their effects can be overcome or minimized. For example, certain forms of tolerance may be affected by manipulation of environmental cues associated with drug administration, by the order in which drugs are used, and by the concomitant use of other medications. Many medications used for migraine prophylaxis exert their effects through the endogenous opioid system. The implications of this finding are explored, particularly the parallels between medication overuse headache and tolerance to migraine prophylaxis. Given the many ways in which tolerance to migraine medications may develop, in some ways it is not surprising that migraine-preventive drugs stop working; it is more surprising that in many cases they do not.
Sawmill Chemicals and Carcinogenesis

Workers in wood industries are exposed to variable medleys of chemicals, both natural and synthetic. Additional exposures include fungi, bacteria, bark and wood dusts, solvents, paints, and various other wood coatings. These individual and conglomerate exposures have been associated with diverse occupational illnesses and hazards, including cancers. In this commentary, I summarize both experimental and epidemiologic carcinogenesis results for several chemicals used in the wood industry, as well as for wood dust. Working in the wood industries entails excess risks of cancers, among other diseases and workplace injuries. A key to preventing occupationally and environmentally associated cancers, as in the wood industries, is avoiding exposures to chemicals and wood dusts and, in particular, chemicals known to cause cancer in animals or/and humans.
Thin-film video scanner and driver circuit for solid-state flat-panel displays

A thin-film scanner circuit which greatly reduces the number of external lead connections to a large-area flat-panel display, while at the same time providing both the scanning (addressing) function and the video driver function, has been successfully fabricated. The circuit, which can handle both TV (analog) and alphanumeric (digital) type video, also performs line storage so that the incoming serial video can be presented to the display panel in line-at-a-time fashion Vacuum-deposited CdSe thin-film transistors (TFT's), operating in a digital switching mode, are used in conjunction with thin-film storage capacitors to convert the input video into 112 parallel output video columns. Measurements of actual circuit parameters indicate that the scanner can easily operate at real-time TV rates.
Transcription factor TFII-I causes transcriptional upregulation of GRP78 synthesis in prostate cancer cells.

Receptor-recognized forms of α2-macroglobulin (α2M*) bind to cell surface-associated GRP78 and induce proliferative and survival signaling in prostate cancer cells. As part of the cellular response to α2M*, GRP78 expression is itself upregulated. In response to other stimuli, the transcription factor TFII-I upregulates GRP78 by binding to its gene promoter. We have, therefore, studied the role of TFII-I in transcriptional upregulation of GRP78 in 1-LN human prostate cancer cells stimulated with α2M*. This treatment caused a two- to threefold increase in TFII-I and GRP78 synthesis from [35S]-labeled precursor amino acids. Synthesis of both TFII-I and GRP78 were significantly reduced by silencing TFII-I gene expression or pretreatment of cells with genistein or actinomycin D. Confocal microscopy was employed to demonstrate relocation of TFII-I to the nucleus. In α2M*-stimulated cells, moreover, TFII-I bound to the GRP78 promoter as determined by CHIP assay. We also demonstrate binding of TFII-I to the c-fos promoter, consistent with its role in upregulating c-fos gene expression. In non-lymphoid cells, phosphorylated c-Src is an activator of TFII-I. Ligation of GRP78 on 1-LN cells with α2M* was followed by tyrosine phosphorylation of c-Src as well as TFII-I. We conclude that α2M*-induced increase in GRP78 synthesis is caused by transcriptional upregulation of TFII-I which binds to the GRP78 promoter and thus potentiates its cell survival and antipoptotic functions in 1-LN prostate cancer cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 106: 381–389, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Global illumination Raman chemical imaging of a combination of two drug molecules in a dry powder inhaler formulation

Isolated particles of a combination dry powder inhalation blend consisting of a lactose carrier and two Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) are imaged by a global illumination Raman instrument. The imaged APIs individually adhere on the surface of large particles of lactose or appear as aggregates of smaller particles. This is probably the first Raman report describing the visualization of API particles on the surface of lactose carriers and also on the use of the global illumination Raman imaging platform on a dry powder inhalation blend. Two methods of dispersing particles for imaging are described: using a particle sizing instrument (mechanical dispersion), which achieves high dispersion, or manually (lightly) dispersing the powder with a spatula so as to minimize the perturbation of the API deposits. Both APIs are clearly identified in the chemical images although the key band of one of them interferes with the bands of lactose which negatively affects the background of the corresponding images. The method of dispersion is found to have a profound effect on the API deposits because the mechanical dispersion leads to complete separation of lactose and API particles previously adhered to its surface. The results presented here reveal the significant potential of this imaging hardware for fast and reliable visualization of the inhalation blends.
Relationship between anti-diarrheal activity and binding to calmodulin

Several neuroleptics known to bind to calmodulin were tested for anti-diarrheal activity and were compared with the opiate anti-diarrheals loperamide and diphenoxylate. All inhibited the intestinal fluid secretion induced by 16,16-dimethyl prostaglandin E2 and castor oil-induced diarrhea in rats as a function of dose, the order of potency being loperamide approximately equal to diphenoxylate greater than chlorpromazine greater than promethazine greater than amitriptyline. The opiates loperamide and diphenoxylate were found to compete with [3H]trifluoperazine binding to calmodulin in the presence of calcium. These opiates were approximately 3 times more potent inhibitors of [3H]trifluoperazine binding than chlorpromazine. A positive correlation between calmodulin binding and anti-diarrheal activity was demonstrated.
Studies on antigen-antibody complexes. I. Elimination of soluble complexes from rabbit circulation.

Solid phase immunoadsorbents were prepared by coupling antigens to agarose. With this technique specific antibodies were easily isolated in large amounts. The gammaG-globulin class of antibodies isolated in this manner were not denatured as judged by their normal biological half-life in rabbits. Soluble immune complexes at fivefold antigen excess were prepared from isolated specific antibodies and HSA, human lambda-chains, human lambdaG-globulins, and a Waldenstrom's macroglobulin as antigens. In all these preparations a characteristic immune complex was encountered that represented the smallest stable antigen-antibody union. In the HSA-anti-HSA system they were found to be AgAb(2) complexes, and Ag(2)Ab complexes in the gammaG-anti-gammaG system. These stable complexes fixed complement ineffectively. Also, a spectrum of larger complexes was present in each system, and these complexes fixed complement effectively. With intact antibodies the disappearance curves of immune complexes from the circulation were composed of three exponential components. The immune complexes larger than AgAb(2) were quickly removed from the circulation with half-lives of 0.09-0.37 hr. Their clearance was not dependent on complement components, in that depletion of complement by cobra venom factor and aggregated gammaG-globulin did not alter the pattern of their removal from the circulation. However, when the interchain disulfide bonds of antibodies were reduced and alkylated, the removal of the lambda-anti-lambda, HSA-anti-HSA, and gammaG-anti-gammaG complexes was altered. In these experiments the disappearance curves were composed of two exponential components and the rapid removal of the greater than AgAb(2) complexes did not occur. The immune complexes prepared from reduced and alkylated antibodies fixed complement ineffectively. The presented data indicate that the rapid removal of circulating immune complexes, containing gammaG-globulin molecules as antibodies, depends primarily on the number of antibodies involved. Furthermore, complement fixation is not involved in the rapid removal of such complexes. Nevertheless, the rapid removal of immune complexes and their ability to fix complement have similarities for optimal function in that both processes require intact interchain disulfide bonds of antibodies and complexes that exceed the AgAb(2) combination.
Humic Substances as Precursors for Potentially Harmful Disinfection By-Products

During the chlorination of drinking water, chlorine reacts with natural organic material to produce disinfection by-products, such as trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids, which are believed to be harmful to human health. The formation of these by-products is related to the aromatic carbon content of the water, for which specific ultraviolet absorbance serves as a useful surrogate. Because humic substances in water tend to have a higher aromatic carbon content and a higher specific ultraviolet absorbance than non-humic substances, they produce greater levels of disinfection by-products.
The Interface of Ecology and Evolution During the Formation of the Science of Ecology

The Ecological Society of America formed at a time when ecology and evolutionary biology were developing as almost completely separate disciplines. The schism had occurred near the turn of the century. Prior to 1900, ecological research, under the guise of natural history, provided some of the most important evidence for evolution in general and natural selection in particular. But as evolutionary biologists became focused on the genetic mechanisms of heredity in the early decades of the 20th century, ecologists become focused on non-evolutionary aspects of physiology, population biology, and community structure. The intellectual divide between ecology and evolutionary biology became so great that Charles Elton, in his 1925 book on Animal Ecology, felt that he needed to explain why he had devoted a chapter to evolution in a book on ecology. The eventual intertwining of ecology and evolutionary biology is historically complex, and it took almost half a century to cement the connections between these disciplines.
Adjusting the Census of 1990: The Smoothing Model

Considering the difficulties, the Census Bureau does a remarkably good job at counting people. This article discusses techniques for adjusting the census. If there is a large undercount, these techniques may be accurate enough for adjustment. With a small undercount, they are unlikely to improve on the census; instead, adjustment could easily degrade the accuracy of the data. The focus will be sampling error, that is, uncertainty in estimates due to the luck of the draw in choosing the sample. Sampling error is a major obstacle to adjusting the 1990 census, even at the state level. To control sampling error, the Census Bureau used a smoothing model. However, the model does not solve the problem, because its effects are strongly dependent on unverified and implausible assumptions. This story has a broader moral. Statistical models are often defended on grounds of robustness, that is, estimates do not depend strongly on assumptions. But the standard errors, which are internally generated measures of precisi...