cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effects of clonidine, prazosin, and propranolol on short-term and long-term habituation of the acoustic startle response in rats☆

Abstract The unique effect of clonidine in facilitating habituation of the acoustic startle response [10] was replicated. However, clonidine had no effect on between-session habituation, showing a pharmacological dissociation between short- and long-term habituation. Systematic manipulation of ISI showed clonidine's habituation-facilitating effect to be most striking with longer within-session ISIs where habituation was relatively weak in controls. Comparing clonidine's effect to that of two other hypotensive agents, prazosin and propranolol, showed that the habituation-facilitating effect was not due to blood pressure effects. Prazosin, an alpha 1 -adrenergic blocker, facilitated short-term habituation, but significantly less so than did clonidine, an alpha 2 -agonist. Propranolol, a beta-adrenergic blocker, had no effect of short-term habituation. Both prazosin and propranolol impaired long-term habituation, but propranolol did so without suppressing initial response levels. The data suggest that a synapse with both alpha- 1 - and alpha 2 -adrenoceptors may be critically involved in habituation of the acoustic startle response. A beta-adrenergic involvement in long-term habituation is tentatively suggested.
Aspartate transcarbamylase activity in etiolated cowpea and soybean hypocotyls infected with cowpea mosaic virus or tobacco ringspot virus

Abstract Aspartate transcarbamylase activity was measured in buffer extracts of healthy and virus-infected etiolated hypocotyls of cowpea and soybean. Enzyme activity was measured by incorporation of [14C]aspartic acid into ureidosuccinate. Products and reactants were separated by Dowex-50 chromatography and identified by thin-layer chromatography. In cowpea hypocotyls is infected with cowpea mosaic virus, up to 5·7, 2·8- and 2·4-fold increases were observed in aspartate transcarbamylase activity, RNA and soluble protein, respectively, and cowpea mosaic virus concentration reached as high as 260 μg/g. In soybean hypocotyls infected with cowpea mosaic virus, aspartate transcarbamylase activity increased only 1·2-fold and cowpea mosaic virus, concentrations was less than 20 μg/g. In soybean hypocotyls infected with tobacco ringspot virus, aspartate transcarbamylase activity increased to 1·6-fold, with significant virus synthesis (130 to 220 μg/g). Aspartate transcarbamylase from healthy cowpea hypocotyls and those infected with cowpea mosaic virus was similarly inhibited by uridine monophosphate. Treating enzymes with uridine monophosphate or mild heat gave no indication that increased aspartate transcarbamylase activity in infected tissues was due to release of pre-existing enzyme from a feedback-inhibited state.
Eliminating the diabetic disadvantage: the Portland Diabetic Project.

The Portland Diabetic Project is an ongoing prospective study of 5534 diabetic cardiac surgery patients that elucidates the effects of hyperglycemia, and its subsequent reduction with continuous insulin infusions (CII), on in-hospital outcomes. Increasing glucose levels were found to be directly associated with increasing rates of death, deep sternal wound infections (DSWI), length of stay (LOS), and hospital costs. In separate multivariable analyses, hyperglycemia was found to be independently predictive of mortality ( P P = 0.0001), and LOS ( P P
Enhancement of Single-Phase Heat Transfer and Critical Heat Flux From an Ultra-High-Flux Simulated Microelectronic Heat Source to a Rectangular Impinging Jet of Dielectric Liquid

Jet impingement is encountered in numerous applications demanding high heating or cooling fluxes. Examples include annealing of metal sheets and cooling of turbine blades, x-ray medical devices, laser weapons, and fusion blankets. The attractive heat transfer attributes of jet impingement have also stimulated research efforts on cooling of high-heat-flux microelectronic devices. These devices are fast approaching heat fluxes in excess of 100 W/cm[sup 2], which have to be dissipated using coolants that are both electrically and chemically compatible with electronic components. Unfortunately, fluids satisfying these requirements tend to possess poor transport properties, creating a need for significant enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient by such means as increased coolant flow rate and phase change. The cooling problem is compounded by a need to cool large arrays of heat sources in minimal volume, and to reduce the spacing between adjacent circuit boards. These requirements place severe constraints on the packaging of jet impingement cooling hardware.
Impact of a Computerized Template on Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Infections in Children and Adolescents

Background. Computerized decision support (CDS) can potentially improve patient safety and guideline adherence. The authors developed an acute respiratory illness interactive template (ARI-IT) within an electronic health record (EHR) to manage pediatric ARIs and assessed the impact on antibiotic prescribing. Methods. They randomized 12 practices either to receive the ARI-IT or to the control group. Antibiotic rates among all eligible ARI diagnoses were compared among control and intervention ARI visits, controlling for clustering by clinician. Results. There was no difference in total antibiotic prescriptions between control and intervention clinics. Use of the ARI-IT significantly reduced antibiotic prescriptions (31.7% vs 39.9%; P = .02) and use of macrolides (6.2% vs 9.5%; P = .02) among visits compared with those eligible visits where it was not used. Conclusion. Use of the CDS reduced antibiotic prescribing and macrolide prescriptions among children with an ARI. Nonetheless, the low overall use resul...
Temporal changes in hydraulic conductivity of sand porous media biofilters during wastewater infiltration due to biomat formation

Abstract Porous media biofilters (PMBs) are commonly used to treat domestic wastewater. Biomats develop at the infiltrative surface of PMBs due to continued wastewater application and create an impedance to flow. The goal of this research is to quantify the temporal evolution of normalized biomat hydraulic conductivity ( K bm / b bm ) and effective hydraulic conductivity ( K e ). K e is the overall hydraulic conductivity of the infiltrative zone, including biomat and unsaturated media below the biomat. Research was conducted using eight one-dimensional (1D) sand columns with gravel-free and gravel-laden infiltrative surfaces. The columns were loaded at design rates of 100–200 cm/d for 20 weeks of column operation. The K e values for these continuously loaded columns were determined from analyses of bromide-tracer tests, falling-head permeability tests, and volumetric water content measurements during biomat development. The reduction in the K e due to biomat formation is due to two factors: reduced hydraulic conductivity of the thin biomat, and a reduced hydraulic conductivity of the subsoil due to development of a biomat-induced unsaturated flow regime. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivities of the subsoil below the biomat ( K ss ) were estimated from capillary curves and water content measurements. For observed final biomat thicknesses (less than 1 cm), the biomat hydraulic conductivity, K bm , is three orders of magnitude smaller than the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity ( K ss ). However, the relatively large thickness of the vadose zone causes the K ss to be an important contributor to the overall K e value. For these columns, the final K e values were approximately two orders of magnitude smaller than the original value. Because the exact thickness of the biomat ( b bm ) is unknown during the flow experiments, the hydraulic conductance of the biomat zone is presented using a normalized hydraulic conductivity function ( K bm / b bm ). A similar K bm / b bm is reached regardless of wastewater loading rate. An exponential relationship exists between the volume of wastewater applied to the column and both K e and K bm / b bm .
Inhibition of 5‐lipoxygenase by vitamin E

Purified 5-lipoxygenase from potato tubers was inhibited strongly by vitamin E and its analogs. The inhibition by d-alpha-tocopherol was found to be irreversible and non-competitive with respect to arachidonic acid. An IC50 of 5 microM was calculated for d-alpha-tocopherol. The inhibition appears to be unrelated to its antioxidant function. Binding studies with 14C-labelled d-alpha-tocopherol revealed that there is a strong interaction between vitamin E and 5-lipoxygenase. Tryptic digestion and peptide mapping of 5-lipoxygenase-vitamin E complex indicate that vitamin E binds strongly to a single peptide. These studies suggest that cellular vitamin E levels may have profound influence on the formation of leukotrienes.
Combinatorial control of meristem identity in maize inflorescences

The architecture of maize inflorescences, the male tassel and the female ear, is defined by a series of reiterative branching events. The inflorescence meristem initiates spikelet pair meristems. These in turn initiate spikelet meristems which finally produce the floret meristems. After initiating one meristem, the spikelet pair and spikelet meristem convert into spikelet and floret meristems, respectively. The phenotype of reversed germ orientation1 (rgo1) mutants is the production of an increased number of floret meristems by each spikelet meristem. The visible phenotypes include increased numbers of flowers in tassel and ear spikelets, disrupted rowing in the ear, fused kernels, and kernels with embryos facing the base of the ear, the opposite orientation observed in wild-type ears. rgo1 behaves as single recessive mutant. indeterminate spikelet1 (ids1) is an unlinked recessive mutant that has a similar phenotype to rgo1. Plants heterozygous for both rgo1 and ids1 exhibit nonallelic noncomplementation; these mutants fail to complement each other. Plants homozygous for both mutations have more severe phenotypes than either of the single mutants; the progression of meristem identities is retarded and sometimes even reversed. In addition, in rgo1; ids1 double mutants extra branching is observed in spikelet pair meristems, a meristem that is not affected by mutants of either gene individually. These data suggest a model for control of meristem identity and determinacy in which the progress through meristem identities is mediated by a dosage-sensitive pathway. This pathway is combinatorially controlled by at least two genes that have overlapping functions.
On the lack of seismic discontinuities within the inner core

SUMMARY Recent work has suggested that seismic discontinuities might exist within the inner core (IC). Such boundaries could be caused by changes in the strength and orientation of anisotropy, by variations in the fraction of partial melt or by a solid‐solid phase transition involving iron. In this work, we search for evidence of IC discontinuities with reflection seismology techniques that use precritical PKiKP waveforms as empirical source pulses. Because any phase reflected from an IC discontinuity will have a small amplitude, we develop a technique combining source and receiver stacks in the search. We perform resolution tests where we compare the data with synthetic waveform stacks created using generalized ray theory and appropriate attenuation operators. Our results show that the IC lacks a significant (impedance jump > 3 per cent), sharp (thickness <3‐4 km), global discontinuity to depths of 800 km below the boundary with the outer core.
IR Sources and Modulators Based on InAs/GaSb/AlSb-Family Quantum Wells

We review recent applications of wavefunction engineering to the design of antimonide quantum heterostructures with favorable properties for infrared devices. Examples include electro-optical and all-optical modulators based on Г-L intervalley transfer, type-II quantum well lasers with enhanced gain per injected carrier, and type-II interband cascade lasers predicted to combine low thresholds and high output powers.
Systemic and regional hemodynamic changes during food intake and digestion in nonanesthetized dogs.

In nine dogs under pentobarbital anesthesia, electromagnetic flow transducers were implanted around the ascending aorta, brachiocephalic artery, superior mesenteric artery, and iliac artery. A catheter to measure arterial pressure was implanted into the thoracic aorta. After full recovery, hemodynamic variables were measured daily in conscious dogs in five sets of recordings: control, during anticipation of food, during actual food intake, and 1 hour and 3 hours after completion of ingestion. During food intake there was a generalized sympathomimetic stimulation characterized by a significant increase in cardiac output with a peak of 142%, heart rate (176%), arterial blood pressure (147%), while the ratio of flow in the superior mesenteric artery to cardiac output decreased from 8.9% to 7.6% (P <0.05). Flow in the brachiocephalic artery increased during food intake to 196% and that in the iliac artery dropped to 75.4%. The possibility was discussed that a certain level of sympathomimetic stimulation may s...
Hybrid FIR-IIR Adaptive Echo Canceller for Wireline Applications

In wireline communications, echo is a problem affecting analog front-end dynamic range and received signal to noise ratio. Echo cancellation schemes were devised using adaptive filtering but they are computationally expensive. Traditionally, echo cancellers are implemented using adaptive FIR filters that tend to be long to allow for enough echo rejection. In this paper a new equation-error based IIR-tail connected in tandem with FIR echo canceller is introduced. The new architecture can save up to 50% of the number of FIR taps needed for the echo cancellation. Simplified weight update for the new architecture is examined using block-update LMS for the FIR portion and full update for the IIR portion. The combined savings can be up to 70% compared to regular FIR only adaptive echo canceller. Echo rejection performance is verified via simulations and adaptive IIR stability is confirmed for the equation-error based adaptation
NIH experiment in centralized mouse phenotyping: the Vanderbilt experience and recommendations for evaluating glucose homeostasis in the mouse

This article addresses two topics. We provide an overview of the National Institutes of Health Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center (MMPC) Program. We then discuss some observations we have made during the first eight years of the Vanderbilt MMPC regarding common phenotyping practices. We include specific recommendations to improve phenotyping practices for tests of glucose tolerance and insulin action. We recommend that methods for experiments in vivo be described in manuscripts. We make specific recommendations for data presentation, interpretation, and experimental design for each test. To facilitate and maximize the exchange of scientific information, we suggest that guidelines be developed for methods used to assess glucose tolerance and insulin action in vivo.
The Symbolic Aspects of Educational Innovation

This paper examines educational innovations in their symbolic aspect—the degree to which innovations convey meanings that differ from their ostensible purpose and the degree to which such other meanings are understood by participants. Using the concepts of slogans and slogan systems to better understand these symbolic aspects, a particular educational innovation is examined over its life history. The organization and use of slogans is discussed, followed by an examination of the evolution of slogan systems. The utility of this perspective is discussed vis a vis parallel concepts in other areas of social policy.
Solid state solutions for electricity metrology

Significant changes are taking place in the electric energy industry worldwide. Deregulation of utilities will produce a tougher competitive environment for the suppliers of electricity. Increased demand for electrical energy will require better management of distribution. Suppliers will need to identify ways of supplying a better level of service at a reduced cost. One way to do this is to install a solid-state electricity meter. Apart from tangible benefits like higher accuracy especially in the presence of nonsinusoidal waveforms, the solid-state meter offers more than just the measurement of kWhs. Given the accuracy, flexibility and powerful network management possibilities offered by solid-state metrology, the days of the electromechanical meter are numbered. This paper gives an overview of electricity meter design using solid-state electronics. It discusses various architectures and some of the key technologies that allow reliable and cost effective solid-state meters to be implemented. It also discusses semiconductor reliability issues.
Interaction of Nonionic Hydrophilic Polymers with Phenols I: Interaction of Phenol and Hydroxyphenols with Certain Macromolecules

There have been numerous studies of the interactions of certain phenols with nonionic macromolecules—particularly those dealing with a loss of antimicrobial properties of the phenols when combined with nonionic polymers. Relatively little attention, however, has been given to the possible disruption of the solubilizing and stabilizing properties of the polymers themselves when in combination with certain phenols. Miscibility titration studies were made by interacting the following polymers: PEG, PPG, PVP, and methylcellulose with the following phenols: catechol, pyrogallol, resorcinol, hydroquinone, tannic acid, and phenol. Photometric turbidimetric titration studies of interacting polyoxyethylene ethers, polyoxyethylene monostearates, and polysorbates with tannic acid were also carried out. Dextrose altered the complexing tendency of tannic acid by decreasing the solubility of tannic acid in PEG 6000 and increasing its solubility in PVP. Since tannic acid was found to interact strongly with nonionic hydrophilic polymers, its possible influence upon the stability of various pharmaceutical formulations containing nonionic hydrophilic polymers should not be overlooked.
Axial-ratio bandwidth enhancement of asymmetric-CPW-fed circularly-polarised square slot antenna

A novel broadband circularly-polarised (CP) square slot antenna fed by an asymmetric coplanar waveguide (CPW) from a corner of the slot is proposed. A CP bandwidth larger than 10% can be attained simply by using an inverted-L tuning stub protruded from the signal line of the CPW. With an additional pair of grounded strips implanted in the slot, the 3 dB axial-ratio bandwidth and the VSWR les 2 impedance bandwidth can be greatly raised to be as high as 30 and 35%, respectively.
Artificial neural networks based system identification and control of nuclear power plant components

Research on a novel neural network (NN)-based architecture for enhancing diagnostics and control of nuclear power plant components is described. The suggested diagnostician self-adapts, self-explores, incorporates and extends a standard rule-based expert system. The proposed architecture represents an improvement over conventional systems, since it incorporates knowledge acquired through the pattern recognition capabilities of NNs or through experts. The project is focusing on a U-tube steam generator as the representative component which is quite complex and amenable to analysis. The research approach and significant results are summarized. >
Automated Data Collection Workstation for Inventory Management

Some of the current technologies used for automated data collection for inventory management are: Bar coding, optical recognition, vision/image processing, radio frequency identification, magnetic and voice.
Is B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia with a mature phenotype and l1 morphology a precursor B-lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma or Burkitt leukemia/lymphoma?

Abstract Context.—B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with a mature phenotype and L1 morphology is a rare condition that may pose a diagnostic and management challenge. Objective.—To repor...
Surgical induction, histological evaluation, and MRI identification of cartilage necrosis in the distal femur in goats to model early lesions of osteochondrosis

Summary Objective Identify and interrupt the vascular supply to portions of the distal femoral articular-epiphyseal cartilage complex (AECC) in goat kids to induce cartilage necrosis, characteristic of early lesions of osteochondrosis (OC); then utilize magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify necrotic areas of cartilage. Design Distal femora were perfused and cleared in goat kids of various ages to visualize the vascular supply to the distal femoral AECC. Vessels located on the axial aspect of the medial femoral condyle (MFC) and on the abaxial side of the lateral trochlear ridge were transected in eight 4- to 5-day-old goats to induce cartilage necrosis. Goats were euthanized 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10 weeks post operatively and operated stifles were harvested. Adiabatic T1ρ relaxation time maps of the harvested distal femora were generated using a 9.4 T MR scanner, after which samples were evaluated histologically. Results Interruption of the vascular supply to the MFC caused lesions of cartilage necrosis in 6/8 goat kids that were demonstrated histologically. Adiabatic T1ρ relaxation time mapping identified these areas of cartilage necrosis in 5/6 cases. No significant findings were detected after transection of perichondrial vessels supplying the lateral trochlear ridge. Conclusions Cartilage necrosis, characteristic of early OC, can be induced by interrupting the vascular supply to the distal femoral AECC in goat kids. The ability of high field MRI to identify these areas of cartilage necrosis in the AECC using the adiabatic T1ρ sequence suggests that this technique may be useful in the future for the early diagnosis of OC.
Maintaining physical activity during head and neck cancer treatment: Results of a pilot controlled trial

Background Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (concurrent CRT) to treat head and neck cancer is associated with significant reductions of weight, mobility, and quality of life (QOL). An intervention focusing on functional exercise may attenuate these losses. Methods We allocated patients to a 14-week functional resistance and walking program designed to maintain physical activity during cancer treatment (MPACT group; n = 11), or to usual care (control group; n = 9). Outcomes were assessed at baseline, and 7 and 14 weeks. Results Compared to controls, the MPACT participants had attenuated decline or improvement in several strength, mobility, physical activity, diet, and QOL endpoints. These trends were statistically significant (p < .05) in knee strength, mental health, head and neck QOL, and barriers to exercise. Conclusion In this pilot study of patients with head and neck cancer undergoing concurrent CRT, MPACT training was feasible and maintained or improved function and QOL, thereby providing the basis for larger future interventions with longer follow-up. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2015
PACs Post-Citizens United: Improving Accountability and Equality in Campaign Finance

The modern campaign finance system is praised by few and maligned by many. Following Citizens United, the decision's critics blamed the Court for further enabling unaccountable groups to run undesirable negative advertising campaigns and for reinforcing the perception that the political process is governed by corporate special interests. Taking the doctrinal changes in Citizens United as given, I argue that the Federal Election Campaign Act’s $5000 limitation on individual contributions to political committees should be removed. First, in light of recent campaign finance decisions, the limitation appears to be unconstitutional as it imposes a limit on First Amendment rights without being tailored to the government interest in preventing quid pro quo corruption. Second, eliminating the contribution limitations will have previously unrecognized benefits. Specifically, removing the restriction will enable smaller, ideological, PACs to better compete with more established corporate PACs and it may lead to an increase in accountable political speech by putting more money into candidates' hands.
The interaction of force and repetition on systemic inflammatory cytokine response in a rat model

In this paper, we describe the effects of force and repetition on systemic inflammatory responses in a voluntary rat model of repetitive reaching and handle pulling. Specifically, we examine the interaction of force and repetition on serum cytokine expression, which we believe may be a response to fatigue failure damage in musculoskeletal tissues. Young adult, Sprague-Dawley rats performed a handle-pulling task for 12 weeks at 4 different repetition and force levels: 1) low repetition with low force (LRLF), 2) low repetition with high force (LRHF), 3) high repetition with low force (HRLF), and 4) high repetition with high force (HRHF). Force x repetition interactions were observed at week 12 for serum cytokines including TNFalpha (p = 0.003), IL-1alpha (p < 0.0001), and IL-1beta (p < 0.0001). The pattern of interaction observed with serum cytokines in this study mirrors the force-repetition interaction observed in epidemiological studies of musculoskeletal disorder risk (Gallagher and Heberger, 2013).
Effect of photoperiod on the rate of attachment of Amblyomma americanum (Acarina : Ixodidae).

During colony maintenance and laboratory studies of the biology of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.), at the Livestock Insects Investigations Laboratory at Kerrville, Tex., (Drummond et al. 1966, Drummond and Gladney 1969, Gladney and Drummond 1970), we have observed that some nymphs and adults do not attach to hosts even though they are several weeks old. Similarly, Lancaster (1955) had difficulty inducing lone star tick nymphs and adults to attach to hosts in late August and September, a time when the outdoor temperatures are about the same as those that prevail in spring when tick feeding activity is at its peak. Because his ticks were reared and maintained in an outdoor insectary, Lancaster suggested that decreasing day length was responsible for the cessation of feeding activity.
Netrin-1 Peptide Is a Chemorepellent in Tetrahymena thermophila

Netrin-1 is a highly conserved, pleiotropic signaling molecule that can serve as a neuronal chemorepellent during vertebrate development. In vertebrates, chemorepellent signaling is mediated through the tyrosine kinase, src-1, and the tyrosine phosphatase, shp-2. Tetrahymena thermophila has been used as a model system for chemorepellent signaling because its avoidance response is easily characterized under a light microscope. Our experiments showed that netrin-1 peptide is a chemorepellent in T. thermophila at micromolar concentrations. T. thermophila adapts to netrin-1 over a time course of about 10 minutes. Netrin-adapted cells still avoid GTP, PACAP-38, and nociceptin, suggesting that netrin does not use the same signaling machinery as any of these other repellents. Avoidance of netrin-1 peptide was effectively eliminated by the addition of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein, to the assay buffer; however, immunostaining using an anti-phosphotyrosine antibody showed similar fluorescence levels in control and netrin-1 exposed cells, suggesting that tyrosine phosphorylation is not required for signaling to occur. In addition, ELISA indicates that a netrin-like peptide is present in both whole cell extract and secreted protein obtained from Tetrahymena thermophila. Further study will be required in order to fully elucidate the signaling mechanism of netrin-1 peptide in this organism.
Performance Feedback and Financing Decisions: Exploring Complementarities Between TCE and BTF

In this paper we utilize insights from the behavioral theory of the firm (BTF) and transaction cost economics (TCE) to help illuminate the financing choices of poorly performing firms. As per BTF, search intensity increases as performance falls below aspirations. We argue that problem-driven search requires greater managerial discretion. TCE provides a comparative institutional perspective where modes of financing are compared based on their governance properties and informs us as to which governance regimes would be better suited to cases which require greater managerial discretion. Hence, in understanding the financing decisions that firms make, BTF and TCE provide complementary perspectives. BTF’s problem-driven search requires governance that is suited to facilitate managerial discretion and TCE tells us which modes of financing provide discretionary governance. Additionally, we also examine the impact of search intensity on modes of financing. Finally, financing modes that provide hybrid governance properties are examined by exploring heterogeneity in debt (market governance) and equity (hierarchical governance) financing modes.
On the use of independent base-stock policies in assemble-to-order inventory systems with nonidentical lead times

We consider the use of Independent Base Stock (IBS) replenishment policies in Assemble-to-Order (ATO) inventory systems. These policies are appealingly simple and widely used, but generally suboptimal for systems with non-identical lead times. We present an IBS policy and prove that its loss of optimality is limited by the ratio of the longest lead time to the shortest one. Our results suggest that IBS policies can work well for systems where differences between lead times are dominated by their lengths.
Episodic luteinizing hormone release in hyperprolactinemic women

Episodic luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion was studied in 16 hyperprolactinemic women (microprolactinoma, 12; idiopathic, 4) with amenorrhea of 1.4 to 7years' duration. Blood samples obtained through an indwelling venous catheter at 20-minute intervals over 5hours were assayed for LH, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), and estrogen (E) (selected samples). LH pulse patterns were divided arbitrarily into high-amplitude release (LH pulse>10 mIU/ml) ( n =7), low-amplitude release (LH pulse n =6), and no release ( n =3). Mean pulse frequencies in women with high-amplitude and low-amplitude release were 2.4±0.3 (mean±standard error) and 1.3±0.2 pulses/5hours and differed significantly ( P >0.02), whereas mean percentages of secretory increment were 155% and 62%, respectively. Mean LH concentrations in the high-amplitude (18.0±0.8 mIU/ml), low-amplitude (13.2±0.6 mIU/ml), and no-pulse groups (7.5±0.2 mIU/ml) differed significantly ( P >0.02). Despite the different pulse patterns, mean serum FSH, PRL, and total E concentrations were similar. The lack of episodic LH release and/or low infrequent LH release could account for the absence of cyclic hypothalamic pituitary ovarian function, although other mechanism(s) may be operative in women with augmented LH secretory pulses.
A look back on 1942 combatant production: an example of successful employee empowerment at Higgins Industries

World-class ship production in the United States will be achieved by shipyards using production planning based on the strengths of their workforce and technology base. While a large portion of technical literature deals with ship production technology, there is a growing awareness that the employee empowerment can realize substantial savings in labor hours and material usage. In 1942 the demands for military landing craft resulted in Higgins Industries opening two new boat building plants in New Orleans. By the cessation of hostilities in 1945, over two thousand 50-56 ft LCM landing craft and one hundred 180 ft FS cargo ships were delivered. The LCM and FS ship production were maintained in the face of wartime shortages in propulsion engines, steel, and a skilled workforce. This paper describes Higgins Industries' production planning and how what is now termed employee empowerment was utilized to achieve reduction in man-hours and material usage. This ship production achievement 50 years ago provides many lessons in utilizing the workforce intelligence with a positive corporate culture to achieve world-class shipbuilding in the United States.
Affirming personal values: The significance of the language teacher in Under Western Eyes

It may be that the fundamental importance of Under Western Eyes (1911), the last of Conrad’s major political novels, is in its rejection of political commitment in favour of personal relationships and private commitments. Under Western Eyes needs to be considered as a dialectical novel whose central agon is a conflict between political and personal values. As with Lord Jim, Under Western Eyes has generally been examined as if it were a completed and static object, rather than as a dynamic process continually changing shape as it moves to its conclusion. Yet a dialectical novel, like a sophisticated argument, cannot be summarised by merely looking at its conclusion or by equating the set speech of a character with the meaning of the novel. Under Western Eyes deliberately begins with a self-deprecating, almost bathetic narrator, who seems to be imperceptive and obtuse. But the action of the novel gradually establishes his perceptivity, morality, and humanity, until he becomes a centre of value within the novel.
Interventions to increase adherence to acne treatment.

Background Adherence to acne medication is poor and is a major reason why treatment plans are ineffective. Recognizing solutions to nonadherence is critical.
Multi-coil MI based MAC protocol for wireless sensor networks

Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol is an important metric of wireless sensor networks because of its high impact on network performance. This paper proposes an energy efficient MAC protocol that can be used for both terrestrial and underwater wireless sensor networks. The state transition diagram has been presented in the paper and current consumption for each state has been recorded to evaluate the energy efficiency of the proposed MAC protocol.
Association of Lunate Morphology With Carpal Instability in Scapholunate Ligament Injury.

Background: We examined the relationship between lunate morphology (type 1 without a medial facet; type II with a medial facet) and dorsal intercalated segmental instability (DISI) in patients with...
Images of Africa: A Case Study of Pre-Service Candidates' Perceptions of Teaching Africa.

0 0 1 133 760 University of Delaware 6 1 892 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Cambria;} As much as the history and study of Africa have been incorporated into social studies curricula, Africa is still a region that is prone to misperceptions and misconceptions. Social studies teachers could provide students with an alternative image, but what if they only perpetuate misperceptions of Africa? This case study examines pre-service candidates’ perceptions of Africa and categorizes their responses to determine what one group of future social studies teachers imagines when asked to think about Africa. The results show that stereotypes and misperceptions overwhelmingly pervade candidates’ thoughts despite years of study. This work has critical implications on the ways in which we prepare pre-service candidates to teach world history and global studies and how we can help pre-service candidates reflect on their own cultural assumptions and the construction of knowledge.
Decreased ceramide underlies mitochondrial dysfunction in Charcot-Marie-Tooth 2F

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is the most commonly inherited neurologic disorder, but its molecular mechanisms remain unclear. One variant of CMT, 2F, is characterized by mutations in heat shoc...
Alternative Facts and the ICER Proposed Policy on Access to Imaginary Pharmacoeconomic Worlds

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) announced at the end of March 2018 that it proposed to share executable draft economic models with relevant drug manufacturers during ICER evidence reviews. Taken at face value, ICER is offering manufacturers and other interested parties the possibility of a greater involvement in the assessment of modeled claims for product pricing. The purpose of this commentary is to point to the obvious limitations to this policy and to raise questions as to the extent to which ICER is willing to commit to transparency in the creation of modeled claims. While a commitment to greater transparency is to be welcomed, the fact remains that the ICER methodology does not meet the standards of normal science. ICER modeled claims not only lack credibility but are impossible to evaluate or replicate in treating environments. In proposing greater transparency ICER runs the risk of undermining its own credibility. If manufacturers have the opportunity to generate alternative models which create alternative claims, then ICER runs the risk of its pole position in health technology assessment being questioned. Rather than focused on non-evaluable lifetime modeled claims, there is the opportunity for ICER to reject its current business model, accepting instead a modelling paradigm that is consistent with the standards of normal science. Type: Commentary
Metabolic Acidosis of Chronic Kidney Disease

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the mechanisms underlying development of metabolic acidosis with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In the majority of patients with CKD, the onset of metabolic acidosis is correlated with the level of glomerular filtration rate (GFR), developing only when it falls below 20–25% of normal. An inverse correlation between the severity of the metabolic acidosis and the level of renal function usually exists, so the lower the GFR, the more severe the metabolic acidosis. Several factors other than the level of GFR can affect the onset and the severity of the metabolic acidosis in patients with CKD. Disorders that preferentially impair renal tubular function, including interstitial renal disease, sickle cell disease, two disorders that produce structural damage to the collecting duct, and hyporeninemic hypoaldosteronism, a disorder which is characterized by both reduced aldosterone levels and tubular resistance to the actions of aldosterone, have the potential to hasten the onset of metabolic acidosis or worsen a preexisting acidosis.
Magnetoencephalography: Clinical and Research Practices

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a neurophysiological technique that detects the magnetic fields associated with brain activity. Synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM), a MEG magnetic source imaging technique, can be used to construct both detailed maps of global brain activity as well as virtual electrode signals, which provide information that is similar to invasive electrode recordings. This innovative approach has demonstrated utility in both clinical and research settings. For individuals with epilepsy, MEG provides valuable, nonredundant information. MEG accurately localizes the irritative zone associated with interictal spikes, often detecting epileptiform activity other methods cannot, and may give localizing information when other methods fail. These capabilities potentially greatly increase the population eligible for epilepsy surgery and improve planning for those undergoing surgery. MEG methods can be readily adapted to research settings, allowing noninvasive assessment of whole brain neurophysiological activity, with a theoretical spatial range down to submillimeter voxels, and in both humans and nonhuman primates. The combination of clinical and research activities with MEG offers a unique opportunity to advance translational research from bench to bedside and back.
Audit Market Response to PCAOB Censures of US Big 4 Firms

Subsequent to the first-ever Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) censure of a US Big 4 firm (Deloitte) in December 2007, there were two other PCAOB US Big 4 firm censures as of 2016 year-end. We examine whether these two post-2007 PCAOB censures of US Big 4 firms conveyed new information to the audit market. For both censures, we find little or no evidence of any change in the factual audit quality of the censured firm over a three-year window surrounding the censure. Our findings suggest that the quality control deficiencies (identified during inspection of specific audit engagements) that triggered the PCAOB censure were isolated occurrences rather than systemic to the firm at large, i.e., the censures do not imply an impairment in the US Big 4 firm's overall factual audit quality. We also find that the negative response of investors and audit committees documented in prior research for the 2007 Deloitte censure disappeared for the later US Big 4 firm censures. Given that the PCAOB inspects (and can censure) non-US auditors who audit US-listed foreign companies, our findings are of potential interest to regulators, investors and audit committees outside the US.
The Name of the Dog

The Name of the Dog The resident presented a patient admitted for chest pain after walking his dog. The attending asked, “What was the name of his dog?” The resident was stumped. Four years later, he’s not sure anything he’s carried from residency has been more useful than that question.
CHES, MCHES, and/or CPH? Selecting the Best Credential for You:

The health education profession within the broader context of public health has chosen certification to grant recognition to individuals meeting certain standards, as well as optional accreditation of academic programs. Regarding certification options for health education professionals, those who qualify may sit for the exams to achieve one of the following certifications: Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES), or Certified in Public Health (CPH). Some health education and other professionals may be familiar with the concept of certification but may not be aware of the value of certification for the profession, their options for certification, or the processes of certification. This article provides information on CHES, MCHES, and CPH certifications and compares and contrasts their requirements. While many professionals may choose one credential over another, others may decide to pursue CHES/MCHES and the CPH. Credentialing continues to be an important part of advancing the health education profession and ensuring that those practicing in the field are highly qualified.
Multi-constrained Optimal Path Search Algorithms

The problem of trip planning has received wide concerns in recent years. More and more people require the service of automatically confirming the optimal tour path. When users assign the source, the destination and the permitted time of the tour, how do we help them find the optimal path with the maximum popularity score? The multi-constrained optimal path search solutions have been used to solve the trip planning problem widely. However, when the permitted time is not enough to visit all attractions in any path, existing methods can not find the path satisfying the constraints. The time and the popularity score are different when we select the different attractions to visit in the same path. So we propose a new search rule to answer above issue, making a choice on any node (visit or pass by) according to the tradeoff between permitted time and popularity score of attractions. As our search rule need to make a choice on any attraction (visit or pass by), the search cost will be larger. This problem is NP hard. In this paper, we propose an exact algorithm to find the optimal path in relatively small data sets, and we also present a heuristic algorithm which is efficient and scalable to large data sets. The experimental results on real data sets reveal that our algorithms are able to find the optimal path efficiently.
Future Directions in Self-healing

The evolution of CMOS technology and the increased market pressures have set stricter reliability requirements when designing integrated circuits. As one of the dominant unreliability sources, wearout needs to be addressed in a more efficient and effective way. This book has introduced one promising approach which can reverse the effect of wearout through active accelerated recovery techniques. Even if our focus has been mainly on digital CMOS circuits, we believe that similar methods can also be applied to new emerging technologies and can be integrated with the proposed wearout mitigation infrastructure. In this chapter, we preview several such directions that are inspired by self-healing. We believe that instrumenting recovery can be an effective design dimension for securing resilience of future electronic systems.
Multiphoton Imaging of Surgical Pathology

Fluorescent imaging combined with H&E-rendering algorithms can provide histological imaging of surgical specimens more rapidly than conventional histology by avoiding the need to formalin fix, freeze or physically section specimens. However, validation of histology performed on live tissue is challenging because fixation and sectioning frequently result in changes to tissue appearance, while histological cutting planes are often substantially different than the true tissue surface. We present validation studies aiming to understand the relationship between features visualized using multiphoton fluorescence and conventional histology.
Reproductive health needs of recently incarcerated youth during community reentry: a systematic review

Background Youth involved in the juvenile justice system have high reproductive health needs and, on exiting detention, face the challenging transition of reentry. We conducted a systematic literature review to describe what is known about youths’ reproductive health needs during community reentry after incarceration. Methods We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar for articles containing key words with the concepts ‘child or adolescent’, ‘incarcerated’ and 9reentry9. In the search, we defined the concept of ‘reentry’ as within 1 month prior to release (to include interventions involving pre-release planning) and up to 18 months after release from incarceration. Results Our search yielded 2187 articles. After applying all exclusion criteria, 14 articles on reproductive health remained for extraction. The articles provided data on the following aspects of youths’ reproductive health: frequency of condom use (eight articles), sexual risk behaviours other than lack of condom use (seven articles), and prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (three articles). Conclusions The literature on the reproductive health needs of youth undergoing reentry is extremely limited. Current intervention studies yield mixed but promising results and more intervention studies that address both pre-release reentry planning and the post-incarceration period are needed. Given incarcerated youths’ well-documented reproductive health disparities compared with non-incarcerated adolescents, the identified gaps represent important opportunities for future research and programmatic emphasis.
Harvesting 48V at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory.

Abstract As part of an effort to develop aqueous isotope harvesting techniques at radioactive beam facilities, 48V and a cocktail of primary- and secondary-beam ions created by the fragmentation reaction of a 160 MeV/nucleon 58Ni beam were stopped in an aqueous target cell. After collection, 48V was separated from the mixture of beam ions using cation-exchange chromatography. The extraction efficiency from the aqueous solution was (47.0 ± 2.5)%, and the isolated 48V had a radiochemical purity of 95.8%. This proof-of-concept work shows that aqueous isotope harvesting could provide significant quantities of rare isotopes which are currently unavailable at conventional facilities.
Bodies that count: Administering multispecies in Palestine/Israel’s borderlands:

Nonhuman bodies in many sizes and diverse social roles are central to Israel’s control mechanism in the Occupied West Bank. Delving into the agricultural record of the Israeli Civil Administration,...