cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Power/area/delay aware FSM synthesis and optimization

Abstract In this paper, we present novel state minimization and state assignment techniques to synthesize Finite State Machines (FSMs) including novel state minimization and state assignment to optimize power, area, and delay in designing sequential circuits for future low power system application such as cell phones, PDAs, etc. The goal is to reduce the number of gates and literals relevant to power and area, and furthermore to shorten the critical-path delay in FSM simultaneously. In the first step, we try to target the optimal solution for state minimization in efficiency by applying (i) the technique of binary-tree algorithm, heuristic algorithm (or ILP model) to determine the minimized groups covering all state variables where these groups are allocated at different Riversides (here, Shiue's River is introduced for readers to understand easily), (ii) the technique of edge-identification algorithm to determine the edges and impossible edges, which help targeting the solution at lower bound, (iii) Boolean Expression Effects due to alternative ways of minimized states, such that the required number of flip-flops is minimum for completely (or incompletely) specified state tables. Next, our novel state assignment techniques consisting of (i) edge-covering algorithm, (ii) block-reordering algorithm, (iii) cost calculation, (iv) ping-pong gray-codes assignment, and (iv) design space exploration, are developed to target the best state assignment. Espresso is then run to determine the Boolean expressions and choose the best state assignment with the minimal sum-of-product (SOP) terms and literals. Finally, the performance metrics in power, area, and delay are calculated based on the developed cell libraries for those optimal solutions having the same number of terms and literals. Our solutions provide engineers and designers to choose the best state assignment having less power, area, and delay to meet their system specification. Our experiments show that our approach results in quarter reduction (≈25%) in power, area, and delay, respectively, for FSM MCNC benchmarks.
Astrophysical jets: a phenomenological examination of acceleration and collimation

Abstract It is assumed that the acceleration and collimation mechanisms of jets are the same in all the classes of astrophysical objects which are observed to produce jets. These classes now include such objects as: active galactic nuclei, young stellar objects, massive X-ray binaries, low mass X-ray binaries, black hole X-ray transients, symbiotic systems, planetary nebulae, and supersoft X-ray sources. On the basis of this assumption, an attempt is made to identify the necessary ingredients for the acceleration and collimation mechanism. It is argued that: (i) jets are produced at the center of accretion disks, and are accelerated and collimated hydromagnetically, and (ii) the production of powerful jets requires a hot corona or access to an additional energy source associated with the central object. Tentative explanations for the presence of jets in some classes of objects and absence in others are given. Some critical observation that can test the ideas presented in this paper are suggested.
Visibility of Stars at High Altitude in Daylight

The daylight visibility of stars has been investigated for an observer altitude of 100 000 ft, using published visual threshold data and calculated sky luminance. Venus, Jupiter, and Sirius, plus Mars at its brighter phases, can be detected with the naked eye if the observer knows where to look for them in the sky. Saturn and Canopus may be seen only under rare circumstances. A random search of the sky will reveal neither planets nor stars except possibly Venus. If a 10-power telescope of large exit pupil is used, there is a possibility of detecting an occasional star by careful search of the sky. The daytime sky will not exhibit nighttime luminance until an altitude of roughly 100 km has been reached, assuming no contribution from airglow.
Bedside ultrasound for the detection of soft tissue foreign bodies: a cadaveric study.

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of bedside ultrasound, as performed by emergency physicians with typical equipment, in detecting small, soft tissue foreign bodies, using a cadaveric model. This was a prospective study, using 6 unembalmed human cadavers and 6 ultrasound-credentialed, emergency medicine residency-trained physicians as sonographers. Incisions were made in 150 total sites of the extremities and each site was randomly assigned one of five groups: wood, metal, plastic, glass, or no foreign body. All foreign bodies were 2.5 mm 3 in total volume or less, no longer than 5 mm in any dimension, and inserted to a depth of up to 3 cm. Ultrasound was performed with a SonoSite TITAN ® (SonoSite, Inc., Bothell, WA) ultrasound system using a L38/10-5 broadband linear array transducer. Sonographers were blinded to the number, type, and location of foreign bodies. A total of 900 ultrasound examinations were recorded. Overall sensitivity of ultrasound for foreign body detection was 52.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 48.9%–56.2%), and overall specificity was 47.2% (95% CI 39.9%–54.5%). Positive predictive value was 79.9% (95% CI 76.3%–83.5%), and negative predictive value was 20.0% (95% CI 16.2%–23.7%). Sensitivity for individual sonographers ranged from 40.8% to 72.3% (average 52.6% ± 13.3%), and specificity ranged from 30% to 66.7% (average 47.2% ± 15.1%). Inter-observer reliability was poor. In our model, bedside ultrasound performed by emergency physicians was neither sensitive nor specific for the presence of small soft tissue foreign bodies.
Posted speed limit: To include or not to include in operating speed models

Models of motorized vehicle operating speeds are used to assess the design consistency of planned or existing highway alignments or to quantify the potential speed outcomes of a design or traffic control decision. These models generally estimate the mean or 85th-percentile speed of free-flow vehicles as a function of the geometric design elements, traffic control, or other features present along the roadway. Models for measures of speed dispersion (e.g., standard deviation of speed) have been considered in more recent research. There are differing viewpoints concerning the inclusion of the posted speed limit as an independent variable in operating speed models. Some have excluded posted speed limit from operating speed prediction models, indicating that it was highly correlated with the geometric design elements also included as independent variables in the model. The other viewpoint is that the posted speed limit logically influences operating speeds, and should therefore be included in speed prediction models. This paper explores this issue using an econometric modeling approach, considering irrelevant variables, multicollinearity, omitted variable bias, and endogeneity bias. The results suggest that the posted speed limit should be treated as an exogenous variable in models of operating speed, including models of speed magnitude and speed dispersion.
Angiotensin II as a cardiovascular risk factor

A renin-angiotensin level that is inappropriately high for the systemic blood pressure and the state of sodium balance is now recognized to be one of the modifiable cardiovascular risk factors. Angiotensin acts both as a circulating hormone and as a locally acting paracrine/autocrine/intracrine factor. The adverse effects of angiotensin on the heart include the mechanical results of elevated resistance to the pumping function of the myocardium, as well as the effects of neurohumoral abnormalities on various cardiac structures. In addition, cardiac damage follows acute ischaemic injury or chronic energy starvation due to coronary artery disease, attributable to either mechanical obstruction (atherosclerotic and/or thrombotic) or functional stenosis (vasospasm). Activation of the renin-angiotensin system has several haemodynamic and humoral consequences, all of which may damage the myocardium. These include acute myocardial ischaemia, left-ventricular hypertrophy, arrhythmias, alterations in the coagulation-fibrinolysis equilibrium, increased oxidative stress, and pro-inflammatory activity. A brief review of some of the mechanisms by which activation of the renin-angiotensin system can inflict damage on the heart is presented.
Laser-assisted indocyanine green angiography: a critical appraisal.

Background Laser-assisted indocyanine green angiography (ICG-A) has been promoted to assess perfusion of random skin, pedicled, and free flaps. Few studies address its potential limitations. Methods Thirty-seven patients who underwent reconstructive procedures with ICG-A were studied retrospectively to determine the correlation between clinical findings and ICG-A. Indocyanine green angiography underestimated perfusion when areas of less than or equal to 25% uptake were not debrided and remained perfused. Indocyanine green angiography overestimated perfusion when areas with greater than 25% uptake developed necrosis. Results Of 14 random skin flaps, ICG-A underestimated perfusion in 14% and overestimated in 14%. In 16 patients undergoing perforator flap breast reconstruction, ICG-A correlated with computed tomographic angiogram (CTA) in 85%. Indocyanine green angiography underestimated perfusion in 7% and overestimated in 7%. In 8/11 patients undergoing fasciocutaneous flaps, ICG-A aided in donor site selection. In 3/6 ALT flaps, a better unilateral blush was found that correlated with Doppler. In all 3, a dominant perforator was found. In 11 patients, there was a 9% underestimation of flap perfusion. In 3 pedicled flaps, there was a 66% underestimation and 33% overestimation of perfusion. Conclusions Indocyanine green angiography often confirmed our clinical/radiologic findings in abdominal perforator and fasciocutaneous flaps. It tended to underestimate perfusion in pedicle and skin flaps. When clinical examination was obvious, ICG-A rendered clear-cut findings. When clinical examination was equivocal, ICG-A tended to provide ambiguous findings, demonstrating that a distinct cutoff point does not exists for every patient or flap. Indocyanine green angiography is a promising but expensive technology that would benefit from standardization. Further research is needed before ICG-A can become a reliable tool for surgeons.
Gene targeting of presynaptic proteins in synaptic plasticity and memory: across the great divide.

Abstract The past few decades have seen an explosion in our understanding of the molecular basis of learning and memory. The majority of these studies in mammals focused on post-synaptic signal transduction cascades involved in post-synaptic long-lasting plasticity. Until recently, relatively little work examined the role of presynaptic proteins in learning and memory in complex systems. The synaptic cleft figuratively represents a “great divide” between our knowledge of post- versus presynaptic involvement in learning and memory. While great strides have been made in our understanding of presynaptic proteins, we know very little of how presynaptically expressed forms of short- and long-term plasticity participate in information processing and storage. The paucity of cognitive behavioral research in the area of presynaptic proteins, however, is in stark contrast to the plethora of information concerning presynaptic protein involvement in neurotransmitter release, in modulation of release, and in both short- and long-term forms of presynaptic plasticity. It is now of great interest to begin to link the extensive literature on presynaptic proteins and presynaptic plasticity to cognitive behavior. In the future there is great promise with these approaches for identifying new targets in the treatment of cognitive disorders. This review article briefly surveys current knowledge on the role of presynaptic proteins in learning and memory in mammals and suggests future directions in learning and memory research on the presynaptic rim of the “great divide.”
Biophysical profile in the treatment of intrauterine growth-restricted fetuses who weigh <1000 g

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the biophysical profile (BPP) usefulness in the prediction of cord pH, base excess, and guidance regarding the timing of delivery in preterm intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) fetuses. Study Design A BPP was performed daily in 48 IUGR fetuses and was considered abnormal when it was 2/10 on 1 single occasion or 4/10 on 2 consecutive occasions 2 hours apart. Results The median gestational age and fetal weight for the total population was 27.6 weeks and 632 g, respectively. In 13 fetuses with a BPP of 6, there were 3 deaths, and 7 fetuses were acidemic. In 27 fetuses with a BPP of 8, there were 3 deaths, and 12 fetuses were acidemic. Conclusion BPP alone is not a reliable test in the treatment of preterm IUGR fetuses, because of high false-positive and -negative results. The common notion of a good BPP providing reassurance for at least 24 hours is not applicable in severely preterm IUGR fetuses who weigh
Finite amplitude vibrations of an orthotropic circular plate with an isotropic core

Abstract The free and forced non-linear vibrations of a fixed orthotropic circular plate, with a concentric core of isotropic material, are studied. Existence of harmonic vibrations is assumed and thus the time variable is eliminated by a Ritz-Kantorovich method. Hence, the governing non-linear partial equations for the axisymmetric vibration of the composite circular plate are reduced to a set of ordinary differential equations which form a non-linear eigen-value problem. Solutions are obtained by utilizing the related initial-value problems in conjunction with Newton's integration method. The results reveal the effects of finite amplitude and anisotropy of materials upon the dynamic responses. Further, the method developed in this paper, which is used to solve the title problem, is one of some generality. It can be applied to many differential eigenvalue problems with piecewise continuous functions.
On the Progress of Option‐Regulating Legislation

A great deal of debate currently surrounds stock‐option‐based compensation. Its many facets involve preferential tax treatment, the alternative minimum tax, and financial accounting procedures. The issue involves many; options affect an estimated 10 million people and 20–25 percent of all publicly held U.S. firms. Compensatory stock options were originally incorporated into the Internal Revenue Code in 1950 with the addition of Section 130A. At that time, the incentive effects of this form of compensation were deemed worthy of preferential tax status. In the 1950s, gains associated with tax‐preferenced options were taxed at the lower, 25 percent, capital gains rate instead of the 91 percent applied to ordinary income. While stock option provisions have been revised and continue to be the topic of legislative discussion, they remain a part of tax law. This paper traces the legislative history of the special tax status of compensatory stock options and highlights the congressional intent and economic condit...
Therapeutic Strategies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: New Advances and Challenges

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fastest growing malignancy in the USA, and its prognosis remains poor with a 5-year survival around 12 %. Clinical data demonstrate that 85 % of cases occur in individuals with underlying cirrhosis and only 15 % develop in non-cirrhotic livers. Therefore, American and European guidelines recommend routine HCC screening for high-risk individuals (patients with cirrhosis) with abdominal ultrasound every 6 months. Once a lesion is identified or suspected on ultrasound, dynamic imaging is then indicated. The diagnosis of HCC is established in a patient with cirrhosis when a lesion measures at least 1 cm in diameter and demonstrates arterial enhancement and portal venous washout on contrast-enhanced computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Indeterminate lesions should be followed with surveillance imaging or further investigated with biopsy according to the level of suspicion for malignancy. Given the clinical, pathological, and molecular heterogeneity of HCC, there are multiple therapeutic modalities available. These may be curative, such as surgical resection, liver transplantation, and local ablation, or palliative, such as catheter-directed therapies (transarterial chemo, radio, or bland embolization), and systemic therapy (sorafenib). Patients with a single lesion, good performance status, and preserved liver synthetic function should be offered curative surgical resection or ablation therapy. Patients with HCC and decompensated liver disease should be evaluated and listed for liver transplantation. For unresectable disease or tumor burden precluding transplantation or curative ablation, palliative therapeutic modalities should be offered. Sorafenib is indicated for patients with vascular invasion and/or extra-hepatic metastasis if the estimated life expectancy is more than 3 months. Systemic internal radiation therapy using yttrium-90 microspheres in cases of multifocal bi-lobar disease and/or portal vein occlusion is an emerging therapy. Best supportive care is recommended for patients who lack the hepatic reserve to tolerate therapy.
Appearance of regional surface autoantigens during spermatogenesis: Comparison of anti-testis and anti-sperm autoantisera

Abstract Autoantisera against rabbit testes and rabbit ejaculated spermatozoa have been used to study the appearance of surface autoantigens during spermatogenesis. Two distinct subclasses of autoantigens have been identified: an early subclass which first appears on pachytene spermatocytes and a late subclass which first appears on differentiating spermatids. These spermatids are just beginning to demonstrate migration of the nucleus and overlying acrosomal cap to the cell periphery and changes in nuclear shape. Some autoantigens of the early subclass do not appear on spermatozoa, but those that do are predominantly found over the acrosomal region. Autoantigens of the late subclass are predominantly found over the postacrosomal and middle-piece regions of the spermatozoon. It is suggested that morphological constraints during spermiogenesis may be responsible for the regional localization of the two subclasses.
3D object recognition with integral imaging using neural networks

An overview of three-dimensional (3D) object recognition using neural networks is presented. Three dimensional sensing and imaging of 3D objects is performed using an integral imaging optical set up. Neural network technique is applied to recognize 3D objects. Experimental results are presented together with computational results for performance assessment.
Documentation and Democratic Education

This article discusses how documentation practices in education can contribute to the realization of democracy. Grounded in the notion that democracy requires citizens who are able to engage with and benefit from an exchange of multiple perspectives, the authors focus on how documentary practices support teachers to understand and to teach a broad range of students well. Additionally, they describe how documentary practices help students to understand themselves and each other, both as learners and as members of a collective community. They outline and provide examples of four ways that documentation supports the kind of education a healthy democracy requires: how it fosters an inquiry approach to teaching; how it informs teaching and enhances professional learning; how it extends and deepens the learning that learners acquire from their work; and how it offers assessment alternatives to educators, students, families, and the public that provide critical information about learning.
Bone marrow stem cells find a path to the pancreas

Bone marrow stem cells promote the regeneration of pancreatic β-cells in a mouse model of diabetes mellitus.
Guide for mitigation of highway stormwater runoff pollution

Abstract Guidelines to reduce the impacts of highway stormwater runoff have been developed to address both management practices and mitigation measures. The research is a part of the Federal Highway Administration's ongoing program, “Nonpoint Source Pollution from Highway Stormwater.” Practical, effective, and implementable mitigation methods have been identified, based upon a synthesis of current practices and an extensive literature review. An important output of this research was the identification of impractical or ineffective measures. The research also identified general design principles and practices that are an integral part of good engineering. The outputs are relatively low-cost to implement and can be incorporated into current designs and operations. Specific design guidelines are provided for vegetative controls, detention basins, infiltration, and wetlands. Examples of highway applications of management practices and mitigation measures, singly and in combination, are presented.
THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE SWELLING PROCESS IN RAT LIVER MITOCHONDRIA

Through the use of combined spectrophotometric and electron microscope techniques, large amplitude swelling of rat liver mitochondria has been described as an ordered sequence of ultrastructural transitions. Prior to the actual swelling, mitochondria undergo two major conformational changes: condensed to twisted form and twisted to orthodox form. This sequence is independent of (a) the nature of swelling agents and (b) the time of onset of swelling. Agents that delay the onset of swelling act to increase the duration of the twisted conformation. Agents that prevent extensive swelling hold mitochondria in intermediate conformations. Gross swelling, immediately preceded by a decrease in electron opacity of the matrix, involves the rupture of the outer membrane and expansion of the inner compartment of the mitochondrion.
An improved preparation of 3-deoxy-d-erythro-hexos-2-ulose via the bis(benzoylhydrazone) and some related constitutional studies

Abstract Sugar osazones and glycosuloses rapidly and quantitatively react with hydroxylamine to produce oximes that give trimethylsilyl derivatives suitable for g.l.c. and mass spectral analysis. The reaction of d -glucose with benzoylhydrazine to give the bishydrazone of 3-deoxy- d - erythro -hexos-2-ulose ( 1 ) [H. El Khadem et al., Carbohydr. Res. , 22 (1973) 381-89] was re-investigated, together with the conversion of this compound to the hexosulose. Although by-products are produced in the reaction, including the bis(benzoylhydrazone) (osazone) of d -glucose, the major product is the monohydrate of the bis(benzoylhydrazone) of 1 (colorless). The anhydrous (yellow) form can be prepared from the monohydrate by crystallization from absolute ethanol and has quite different physical properties. Improvements of the original preparation are described that allow the preparation of the bishydrazone and its subsequent conversion to 1 via transhydrazonation in 44% overall yield, and with no detectable contamination by d -glucose or d -glucosone. Evidence is presented that the previously reported cyclic form of the bis(benzoylhydrazone) of d -glucose is the bis(benzoylhydrazone) (monohydrate) of 1 .
Perivascular Superoxide Anion Contributes to Impairment of Endothelium-Dependent Relaxation Role of gp91phox

Background— Like endothelial and smooth muscle cells, vascular adventitial fibroblasts contain a substantial NAD(P)H oxidase superoxide anion (O2−)-generating system activated by angiotensin II (Ang II). Based on the ability of nitric oxide (NO·) to diffuse rapidly through tissue and the fast reaction rate of NO· and O2−, we postulated that the interaction between NO· and adventitial NAD(P)H oxidase–derived O2− contributes to impairment of endothelium-dependent relaxation (EDR). Methods and Results— C57Bl/6 mouse abdominal aortas were simultaneously perfused intraluminally and suffused adventitially with physiological buffer at 37°C. After constricting the vessels with phenylephrine, an acetylcholine dose-response curve was obtained while monitoring changes in diameter by videomicroscopy. Endogenous O2− was increased by treating the adventitial side of the aortas with Ang II (10 pmol/L), leading to impairment of EDR. EDR impairment was reversed by adventitial suffusion of superoxide dismutase (SOD) of aortas from wild-type mice. Ang II–treated aortas from gp91 phox −/− mice, which lack significant adventitial O2−, exhibited greater EDR and were not affected by SOD. Adventitially suffused SOD failed to penetrate the media, indicating that the effects of SOD were localized to the adventitia. Adventitial application of the O2−-generating system xanthine/xanthine oxidase or the potent NO scavenger oxyhemoglobin impaired EDR. Conclusions— O2− derived from adventitial gp91 phox -based NAD(P)H oxidase contributes to impairment of the action of endothelium-derived NO·. Received May 15, 2002; revision received August 13, 2002; accepted August 16, 2002.
The psychology of Harry F. Harlow: A bridge from radical to rational behaviorism

Abstract Harry Harlow is credited with the discovery of learning set, a process whereby problem solving becomes essentially complete in a single trial of training. Harlow described that process as one that freed his primates from arduous trial‐and‐error learning. The capacity of the learner to acquire learning sets was in positive association with the complexity and maturation of their brains. It is here argued that Harlow's successful conveyance of learning‐set phenomena is of historic significance to the philosophy of psychology. Learning set is said to reflect the affirmation or rejection of hypotheses. Hypotheses are generated by the learner's brain, not its muscles. Thus, learning‐set research served to advance the perspective that even nonhuman primates think and that their thinking reflects the active processing of information accrued from efforts to solve problems. Their learning processes are not simply the strengthening of some motor responses over others. Hence, learning‐set research served to ...
Mass spectrometry-based quantification of the cellular response to methyl methanesulfonate treatment in human cells

Faithful transmission of genetic material is essential for cell viability and organism health. The occurrence of DNA damage, due to either spontaneous events or environmental agents, threatens the integrity of the genome. The consequences of these insults, if allowed to perpetuate and accumulate over time, are mutations that can lead to the development of diseases such as cancer. Alkylation is a relevant DNA lesion produced endogenously as well as by exogenous agents including certain chemotherapeutics. We sought to better understand the cellular response to this form of DNA damage using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. For this purpose, we performed sub-cellular fractionation to monitor the effect of methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) treatment on protein localization to chromatin. The levels of over 500 proteins were increased in the chromatin-enriched nuclear lysate including histone chaperones. Levels of ubiquitin and subunits of the proteasome were also increased within this fraction, suggesting that ubiquitin-mediated degradation by the proteasome has an important role in the chromatin response to MMS treatment. Finally, the levels of some proteins were decreased within the chromatin-enriched lysate including components of the nuclear pore complex. Our spatial proteomics data demonstrate that many proteins that influence chromatin organization are regulated in response to MMS treatment, presumably to open the DNA to allow access by other DNA damage response proteins. To gain further insight into the cellular response to MMS-induced DNA damage, we also performed phosphorylation enrichment on total cell lysates to identify proteins regulated via post-translational modification. Phosphoproteomic analysis demonstrated that many nuclear phosphorylation events were decreased in response to MMS treatment. This reflected changes in protein kinase and/or phosphatase activity in response to DNA damage rather than changes in total protein abundance. Using these two mass spectrometry-based approaches, we have identified a novel set of MMS-responsive proteins that will expand our understanding of DNA damage signaling.
Copper status of adult male rats is not affected by feeding an AIN-93G-based diet containing high concentrations of zinc

Although previous studies have shown that copper status of rats is compromised when they consume a diet with high zinc, studies using the new AIN-93G rodent diet did not show this effect. Because the new diet formulation contains components such as L-cystine and an ultratrace element (UTE) mix that might affect copper metabolism, a study was done to determine if these components interfered with the effect of zinc. A 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial study was designed with two dietary concentrations of copper, 3 and 6 mg/kg of diet; with L-cystine or DL-methionine; with or without the UTE mix; and with 2 concentrations of zinc, 35 and 350 mg/kg of diet. After 5 weeks, assessments of copper status were made. Results showed that serum ceruloplasmin amine oxidase activity, a very sensitive copper status indicator, was not affected by feeding high zinc in the diet. Other status indicators such as serum copper or liver copper concentrations also were not affected by high-zinc feeding. It was concluded that the lack of an effect of high zinc on copper status when using the AIN-93G diet was not the result of using L-cystine or UTE in the diet. Dietary UTE stimulated growth in rats fed the marginal-copper diet but not in rats fed the normal-copper diet. Rats fed diets containing DL-methionine had significantly higher concentrations of liver and intestinal copper than those fed diets with L-cystine.
Interrelation of the natural color system and the munsell color order system

The CIE tristimulus values of the aim points of the Natural Color System (NCS) were converted to Munsell notations using a computer program. The values so converted were those from the four elementary hues R, Y, G, and B, and the intervening hues for which full pages of colors exist in the NCS Colour Atlas. The resulting notations were plotted on Munsell Value-Chroma and Hue-Chroma charts and analyzed for several features of interest, for example the locations of the points with 100% chromaticness and the relative spacing of the hue circles. Analytical equations are presented relating Munsell Chroma and NCS chromaticness, and Munsell Value and NCS blackness, for both achromatic and chromatic samples. Such analytical relationships could not be derived between the hues of the two systems, since a relatively wide range of hue in either system corresponds to constant hue in the other. This range appears to include both systematic and random components that must be removed before analytical relations between the two hues can be derived.
Foliar damage to parental plants interacts to influence mating success of Ipomoea purpurea.

Studies of how herbivory affects plant fitness often determine whether damage to one parent alters reproductive output (i.e., seed set or paternity) but ignore the possibility that the outcome may be different if both parents were damaged (i.e., the presence of maternal × paternal damage interactions). Using inbred lines of the common morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea, I conducted a series of greenhouse experiments to test whether foliar damage from a generalist insect herbivore, Trichoplusia ni, alters male and female fitness components when neither parent, one parent, or both I. purpurea parents had been damaged. In a single-donor experiment, flowers on both damaged and undamaged maternal plants received pollen from either damaged or undamaged paternal plants. I. purpurea flowers were more likely to be aborted when they received pollen from damaged paternal plants, or when maternal plants were both damaged and grown under low-resource conditions. Foliar damaged plants also produced less seed and pollen th...
Pediatric Pharmacodynamics of Midazolam Oral Syrup

In this study, the authors evaluate the pharmacodynamics, safety, and acceptability of a new cherry-flavored oral syrup formulation of midazolam. This randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, dose-ranging clinical trial of oral midazolam was conducted at seven U.S. health care institutions focused on pediatric clinical pharmacology research (i.e., the PPRU Network). Pediatric patients (n = 85, ages 6 months through 15 years) underwent invasive procedures and were randomized to a single oral dose of midazolam syrup (0.25, 0.5, or 1.0 mg/kg). Patient taste acceptability of midazolam syrup was evaluated at the time of oral administration. Pharmacodynamic measurements included (1) sedation score using a 5-point scale at baseline and 10-, 20-, and 30-minute postdose intervals and (2) anxiety score using a 4-point scale at the time of separation from caretakers and, when applicable, at the time of mask anesthetic induction. Midazolam and alpha-hydroxymidazolam plasma concentrations were measured at all pharmacodynamic measurement time points. Adverse events were monitored continuously during the study. Most patients (99%) accepted the syrup without difficulty. Satisfactory sedation was achieved within 30 minutes by 81% of patients. The anxiety score at the time of caretaker separation and mask anesthetic induction was satisfactory for 87% and 91% of patients, respectively. A significant linear relationship between plasma drug concentration and maximal sedation score, but not anxiety score, was observed. The occurrence of adverse events was consistent with the known safety profile of midazolam. The most commonly reported adverse events were hiccoughing, hypoxemia, nausea, and emesis. It was concluded that a new oral syrup formulation of midazolam, 0.25 to 1.0 mg/kg, effectively induced rapid-onset, dose-related, adequate, and safe sedation and anxiolysis in pediatric patients who underwent operative procedures. Sedative effects were related to plasma concentrations of both midazolam and the primary metabolite, alpha-hydroxymidazolam. Oral midazolam, 1.0 mg/kg, administered within 30 minutes of the expected procedure or anesthetic induction should provide safe and effective sedation to a majority of children ages 6 months to 16 years.
Comparison of the Fracture Behavior of Brittle ILD Films used in the BEOL in Dry and Wet Environment using Nanoindentation

During the manufacturing process of the BEOL the low-k brittle ILD dielectrics are exposed to wet environments. These environments could and do affect the films fracture toughness, the so called critical film thickness, above which spontaneous cracking occurs. Nanoindentation combined with AFM imaging methods allow to study these phenomena.
Substance P excites neurons in the gustatory zone of the rat nucleus tractus solitarius

Whole-cell patch recordings of neurons in the rostral (gustatory) nucleus tractus solitarius (rNTS) were performed in a brain slice preparation from rat medulla. Neural responses to brief applications (10-45 s) of substance P (SP), via a constant superfusion apparatus, were recorded. SP transiently depolarized 80 of 117 (68%) rNTS neurons in a dose-dependent manner. Sub-micromolar concentrations of SP had potent excitatory effects, and the half maximal response occurred at 0.6 microM. The depolarizing effect of SP was accompanied by an increase in input resistance in 81% of the responsive neurons. The excitatory effects of SP persisted in low Ca2+ (0.2 mM) and high Mg2+ (12 mM) saline as well as in the presence of 2 microM TTX (n = 5 for each), suggesting direct postsynaptic action on the recorded neurons. SP also hyperpolarized 4 neurons (4%) and had no effect on 33 neurons (28%). Each of the 4 neurons which were hyperpolarized by SP showed a decrease in input resistance. A more detailed assessment of the types of neurons in the rNTS which respond to SP was also conducted. Neurons were separated into 4 electrophysiological groups on the basis of their repetitive firing pattern induced by a hyperpolarizing and depolarizing current injection paradigm. Neurons belonging to each of the 4 electrophysiological groups responded to SP. Eighteen neurons, which were filled with 1% biocytin during recording, were categorized as ovoid, multipolar or fusiform based on their morphological characteristics. SP excited all 3 morphological types of neurons in similar proportion. These results suggest that SP is an excitatory neurotransmitter in the rNTS. The effects of SP are not restricted to a particular neuron type defined either biophysically or morphologically. The implications of these results on the possible role of SP in processing gustatory and somatosensory information within the rNTS are discussed.
Suicide among physicians.

A review of the international literature of the past 75 years of suicide among physicians indicates that (1) suicide among physicians is high, (2) suicide among female physicians is higher than amo...
The Continuing Relevance of Family Income for Religious Participation: U.S. White Catholic Church Attendance in the Late 20th Century

The relevance of family income for religious participation in the United States has been largely ignored in recent decades. Addressing this neglect, we focus our attention primarily upon white Catholics, the poorer of whom we reason have fewer options to participate in the context of an increasingly middle-class Church. Analyzing the 1972–2006 cumulative General Social Survey data, we show that net of all other factors low-income white Catholics attend church less oft en than other white Catholics, although social integration mechanisms significantly moderate the effects of income. Additional analyses suggest that the effects of income on church attendance are greatest for the younger white Catholic cohort. In contrast, the role of income in Latino Catholics’ attendance is relatively weak. In our conclusion, we attempt to integrate our most puzzling finding – having children in the home does not increase the church attendance of low-income white Catholics – with our main theoretical line of argument concerning the central role of social integration in understanding the impact of income on religious participation.
Evolution of fault-surface roughness with slip

Principal slip surfaces in fault zones accommodate most of the displacement during earthquakes. The topography of these surfaces is integral to earthquake and fault mechanics, but is practically unknown at the scale of earthquake slip. We use new laser-based methods to map exposed fault surfaces over scales of 10 µm to 120 m. These data provide the fi rst quantitative evidence that fault-surface roughness evolves with increasing slip. Thousands of profi les ranging from 10 µm to >100 m in length show that small-slip faults (slip <1 m) are rougher than large-slip faults (slip 10‐100 m or more) parallel to the slip direction. Surfaces of small-slip faults have asperities over the entire range of observed scales, while large-slip fault surfaces are polished, with RMS values of <3 mm on profi les as long as 1‐2 m. The large-slip surfaces show smooth, elongate, quasi-elliptical bumps that are meters long and as high as ~1 m. We infer that these bumps evolve during fault maturation. This difference in geometry implies that the nucleation, growth, and termination of earthquakes on evolved faults are fundamentally different than on new ones.
Evaluating Ethical Responsibility in Inverse Decision Support

Decision makers have considerable autonomy on how they make decisions and what type of support they receive. This situation places the DSS analyst in a different relationship with the client than his colleagues who support regular MIS applications. This paper addresses an ethical dilemma in “Inverse Decision Support,” when the analyst supports a decision maker who requires justification for a preconceived selection that does not correspond to the best option that resulted from the professional resolution of the problem. An extended application of the AHP model is proposed for evaluating the ethical responsibility in selecting a suboptimal alternative. The extended application is consistent with the Inverse Decision Theory that is used extensively in medical decision making. A survey of decision analysts is used to assess their perspective of using the proposed extended application. The results show that 80% of the respondents felt that the proposed extended application is useful in business practices. 14% of them expanded the usability of the extended application to academic teaching of the ethics theory. The extended application is considered more usable in a country with a higher Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (TICPI) than in a country with a lower one.
Empathy and patient-physician conflicts: exploring respect.

To the Editor:— Thanks for your May 2007 issue, a wonderfully interesting and diverse presentation of cutting edge knowledge in medical practice. I wish to specially appreciate 2 articles and expect so would America’s preeminent twentieth century research psychotherapist, Carl Rogers (1902–1987). Jodi Halpern’s article on empathy1 hit a sweet spot in my growing appreciation of the central role of empathy in helping relationships. I can imagine Professor Rogers cheering from his grave; he identified “empathy” as 1 of 3 “necessary and sufficient core conditions” for helping relationships of several types2. What I most appreciate is Dr. Halpern’s practical skills—we physicians are if nothing else, practical. She opens the “black box” a bit more so we may someday teach the young (and old) this extraordinary clinical skill like we now teach the ordinary. Imagine the reputation and effectiveness of our profession then! I offer a possible sixth skill I call “displacement”, that is “the substitution of another form of behavior for what is normal or expected, especially when the normal response is nonadaptive”. It fits between Dr. Halpern’s first 2 skills of “recognition” and “reflection”. I believe it works like this: I recognize my emotion and its potential to interfere with empathy and helping. I name it, and using two metaphorical “hands”, move it from central to peripheral “vision”, thereby “clearing my empathy channel”. I don’t deny it or suppress it. When I wish, I can see it as “information over there”. I appreciate it even if I don’t immediately understand it or have opportunity to reflect on it; in that case, I aim to remember it for future reflection (sometimes in a journal), something Stephen Covey may call “sharpening the saw”. Carl Rogers’ would also join me in cheering Mary Beach’s deeply and usefully thoughtful explication of the ethics of “respect”3, a wonderful calling for renewed attention to this profound, complex, and timely concept. He identified respect for persons as the second of 3 conditions for a helping relationship; he called it, Unconditional Positive Regard2 and acknowledged it as most challenging of the 3. I aim to teach this by precept and modeling as the assumption that “every person is doing the best they can with current resources and with potential to add resources”. And by emphasizing simultaneity in attitudinal AND behavioral respect, Beach identifies the third of Roger’s essentials, that is, “congruence” or being authentically one’s self in real time2. Bravo to the authors and editors for these gems and best wishes for our profession in taking these lessons seriously. They may be the core of medical professionalism.
Observation of Collective-Emission-Induced Cooling of Atoms in an Optical Cavity

In conventional free-space Doppler cooling [1], a twolevel atom irradiated with laser light tuned slightly below the atomic-transition frequency preferentially absorbs photons from the beam opposing the atom’s velocity. The associated momentum transfer from the incident light onto the atom results in a velocity-dependent, absorptive force for the atom’s center-of-mass motion. For atoms inside a resonator, the frequency variation of the electromagnetic mode density, and consequently of the atomic emission rate [2–5], can give rise to emissioninduced forces [6 –13], as observed for a single atom in a high-finesse resonator [10]. In the classical limit of low atomic-transition saturation, cavity Doppler cooling may occur [8,11]: A dissipative force arises from the twophoton momentum transfer in coherent scattering, i.e., from the combined absorption and reemission process. The atom will be cooled if the cavity is blue detuned relative to the incident light by the two-photon Doppler shift, thereby enhancing the emission of high-energy photons [12]. The light-atom detuning and the atomic structure determine only the scattering rate and hence the cooling force magnitude [11]. More generally, cooling will occur whenever the average emitted light frequency exceeds the incident frequency. An interesting situation arises in the presence of intracavity gain provided by a many-atom system, which can lead to collective emission into the resonator. The optical gain amplifies the resonator-induced force f, while the reduced bandwidth [14] increases the velocity dependence @f=@v via stronger discrimination between the red and blue Doppler sidebands. Both of these features
Properties of 3.89/3.96-MeV states in 11 Be

I have reanalyzed previous data from the 9Be(t,p) reaction to extract energies and widths for the two states near 3.9 MeV. Results are energies of 3889.27 ± 1.03 and 3954.53 ± 1.16 and widths of 3.2(8) and 7.9(7), all in keV, for the 5/2− and 3/2− states, respectively. Disciplines Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Physics Comments Fortune, H. T. (2012). Properties of 3.89/3.96-MeV states in 11Be. Physical Review C, 86(3), 037302. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevC.86.037302 © 2012 American Physical Society This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/physics_papers/262 PHYSICAL REVIEW C 86, 037302 (2012) Properties of 3.89/3.96-MeV states in 11Be
Twenty‐Four‐Hour Hospitalization for Patients Initiating Systemic Propranolol Therapy for Infantile Hemangiomas—Is It Indicated?

In recent years, oral propranolol has risen from serendipitous discovery to first-line, albeit off-label, therapy for infantile hemangiomas (IHs). This retrospective study explored the utility of a 24-hour hospitalization for the initiation of propranolol therapy in children with problematic IHs by evaluating the effects of systemic propranolol on hemodynamics and blood sugar levels. Thirty-one children were admitted to the hospital to begin oral propranolol at a dose of 2 mg/kg/per day. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and blood glucose (BG) measurements were obtained at baseline and 1 to 3 hours before and after each dose of propranolol. No caregivers reported any adverse effects during the hospitalization. On average, HR decreased by 5 beats per minute (bpm) (p < 0.01) and systolic BP decreased by 4 mmHg (p < 0.01) after propranolol administration. There was no statistically significant change in diastolic BP or BG with propranolol therapy. Over the first three doses of propranolol we saw statistically significant attenuation of the effects of propranolol on HR, with HR approaching baseline values during the hospitalization (p = 0.04). We did not see statistically significant changes in BP over the course of three doses of propranolol. This study suggests that 24-hour hospitalization with hemodynamic monitoring may not be necessary for safe initiation of propranolol therapy in otherwise healthy infants. Parental education on frequent feedings to decrease the chance of hypoglycemia may be as effective as 24-hour hospitalization.