cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Business Model-Related Conflict of Interests in Medicine: Problems and Potential Solutions.

Much current research and debate involving conflicts of interest in medicine focus on the appropriate level of physician interaction with firms in industries related to health care, such as pharmaceutical and medical device companies. The influential article by Brennan et al1 that led academic medical centers to take the lead in tackling problems caused by conflicts of interest focused almost exclusively on interactions between physicians and pharmaceutical companies. The 2009 Institute of Medicine report Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice also limited its coverage of conflicts to interactions between physicians and pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology companies. The American Medical Student Association “scorecard” grades conflict of interest policies at medical schools purely on the basis of how they regulate physician-industry relations.
New Cochairs, Expanding to New Activities [Student's Corner]

Before I sat down to write this issue's "Student's Corner" column, I took some time to reflect back on the many great Student Activities Committee (SAC) events I have had the joy of planning and/or in which I have participated: the traditional Lunch with Leaders at the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) flagship conferences; the pub crawl through historic parts of Stockholm, Sweden; a dragon boat race in Daejeon, South Korea (Figure 1); working with RAS leadership to better connect students and industry through the Society (Figure 2); and many more fantastic endeavors! I have enjoyed partaking in each event, but none of them would be possible without the hard work of many individuals-especially my fellow SAC members.
Biologically relevant simulations for validating risk models under small-sample conditions

In designing scientific experiments, power analysis is too often given a superficial treatment— choice of sample size is often made based on idealized distributions and simplistic tests that do not reflect the real-world constraints under which the actual data will be collected. We have developed a general Monte Carlo framework for two-group comparisons which samples points from a two-dimensional parameter space and at each point generates simulated datasets which are compared to simulated datasets for a “control group” at a fixed point in the parameter space. Rather than uniformly sampling this parameter space, our algorithm rapidly converges on a contour corresponding to the smallest detectable difference for the sample size of interest.
ARMOR: A Recompilation and Instrumentation-Free Monitoring Architecture for Detecting Memory Exploits

Software written in programming languages that permit manual memory management, such as C and C++, are often littered with exploitable memory errors. These memory bugs enable attackers to leak sensitive information, hijack program control flow, or otherwise compromise the system and are a critical concern for computer security. Many runtime monitoring and protection approaches have been proposed to detect memory errors in C and C++ applications, however, they require source code recompilation or binary instrumentation, creating compatibility challenges for applications using proprietary or closed source code, libraries, or plug-ins. This paper introduces a new approach for detecting heap memory errors that does not require applications to be recompiled or instrumented. We show how to leverage the calling convention of a processor to track all dynamic memory allocations made by an application during runtime. We also present a transparent tracking and caching architecture to efficiently verify program heap memory accesses. Performance simulations of our architecture using SPEC benchmarks and real-world application workloads show our architecture achieves hit rates over 95 percent for a 256-entry cache, resulting in only 2.9 percent runtime overhead. Security analysis using a software prototype shows our architecture detects 98 percent of heap memory errors from selected test cases in the Juliet Test Suite and real-world exploits.
Surface plasmon polariton mode validation using commercially available finite element method ANSYS HFSS

Numerical computation using HFSS finite element analysis was conducted in order to determine the dispersion relation (complex index) of the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode. SPP result from the interaction or coupling between electromagnetic fields in the form of light and delocalised electrons on a metal interface. SPPs has the effect of confining electromagnetic radiation on the order that is smaller than the wavelength. In this work, the correspondence by H.P Hsu (IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Techn., 11(4), (1963).) was used in the study of SPP modes comparing both analytical calculations and numerical calculation from ANSYS HFSS to ascertain the veracity of the correspondence for SPP surface waves, and calculating the attenuation coefficient using quality factor, Q, obtained from HFSS eigenmode calculations. Silicon dioxide and silver with the use of measured complex permittivity for silver is used to conduct this study. Numerically-obtained results for propagation length and SPP effective index are compared to analytical calculations from the well-known SPP dispersion relationship.
How Users Distinguish Trees Within a Virtual Environment

The gaming industry always faces the continual challenges of striking balance between real-time computing performance and graphics presentation quality. This is particularly apparent for a game with vast wildlands scenes which demands for a large number of tree models. From the visual perception perspective, this paper investigated whether people can distinguish trees with uniqueness of various features (relative orientation, density of branches, leaf color) using the same tree model in a virtual environment. During the controlled experiment, quantitative research methods were used, which measured the statistics of tree variations. The results suggested that our methods successfully contributed a strategy in saving graphic resources without user consciousness and maintaining high graphics performance.
Detailed Characterization of Conditions for Alignment of Single-Stranded and Double-Stranded DNA Fragments on Surfaces

DNA is expected to play a critical role in biomolecular nanotechnology because nucleic acids offer a range of desirable properties for nanometer scale manipulations. We report here a thorough characterization and optimization of conditions for alignment of well extended single- and double-stranded DNA molecules on mica surfaces. The optimum poly-L-lysine concentration range for surface treatment in DNA alignment experiments is 0.5–2 ppm. DNA is best aligned, and the greatest surface density of DNA molecules is observed in the center of the path traversed by the DNA solution droplet during deposition. The alignment procedure induces only a small amount of fragmentation of deposited DNA molecules. Knowledge of the optimum conditions for nucleic acid alignment on surfaces should facilitate the use of DNA based nanotechnology.
An Integrative Multi-Robot Testbed for Embedded Programming and Image Processing education and Research

We developed a multi-robot testbed that can be used by educators and researchers to advance related aspects of for embedded programming and image processing. The testbed is built using commercially-available off the shelf components and using open source software packages. The tutorial will provide participants an overview of multi-robot systems and technical details underpinning the development of the testbed, including: technical specifications of the m3pi mobile robot and its capabilities, programming the LPC1768 microcontroller in C/C++, the robot navigation as well the XBee-based communication libraries we developed. We show how the testbed can be used to develop and test multi-robot path planning in a grid world. We also present our initial development of robot tracking algorithms in C++ via an overhead camera using OpenCV. To illustrate the capabilities of the testbed, we demonstrate path planning in a multi-robot setting using both centralize and decentralized algorithms.
R-Grove: growing a family of R-trees in the big-data forest

The rapid growth of big spatial data urged the research community to develop several big spatial data systems. Regardless of their architecture, one of the fundamental requirements of all these systems is to partition the data efficiently across machines. A widely-used technique for big spatial indexing is to reuse existing search trees asis, e.g., the R-tree family, by building a temporary tree for a sample of the input and use its leaf nodes as partition boundaries. However, we show in this paper that this approach has major limitations that make it unsuitable for the big data environment. This paper studies the use of three popular trees from the R-tree family to index big spatial data, namely, the original R-tree by Guttman, R*-tree, and RR*-tree. We show that the entire family of R-trees is not ready to grow in the big data forest due to fundamental limitations in their design. To overcome these limitations, we propose three new indexes, namely, R-Grove, R*-Grove, and RR*-Grove, which are fundamentally modified to work with big data while inheriting the main characteristics of their traditional index counterparts. With all the proposed indexes publicly available as open source, we hope that these new indexes will be adopted by the community to better serve big spatial data research.
Empirical Evidence of a Negative Marginal Product of Capital

If increased capital purchases lowers a firm's after-tax price of capital, the firm's marginal product of capital can be negative. The purpose of this paper is to explore empirical evidence of a negative marginal product of capital. Both macroeconomic evidence (Okun's Law) and microeconomic evidence (the wage elasticity of labor supply for individual firms) appear to imply a negative marginal product of capital for many if not most firms.
False fame effects emerge following an internal context shift and are abolished with contextual reinstatement.

ABSTRACTPrior research has demonstrated that if you give people a list of nonfamous names and ask them to indicate if the names are famous, 24 hours later, more of these names will be incorrectly r...
Adjuvant Systemic Therapy in Breast Cancer

Patients with early-stage breast cancer are treated with curative intent. The goal of adjuvant therapy is to improve overall survival [1, 2]. After surgery, although there is no evidence of gross remaining disease, patients still have a risk of relapse from occult micrometastatic disease. The goal of adjuvant systemic therapy is to decrease risk of recurrence while minimizing toxicities and overtreatment. Therefore, it is important to identify patient populations that will benefit most from treatment in order to avoid unnecessary toxicities [3–5]. Patients require different adjuvant therapies based on their risk of recurrence, stage of disease, and tumor biology. In this chapter, we will discuss systemic adjuvant therapy including endocrine therapy, chemotherapy, and HER2-targeted therapy [6, 7].
Synthesis, antibacterial activity, and biocompatibility of new antibacterial dental monomers.

PURPOSE To synthesize a small library of antibacterial dental monomers based on quaternary ammonium salts and to test their antibacterial activity against cariogenic bacteria. METHODS Five new antibacterial monomers were synthesized and characterized by NMR, IR and HRMS. RESULTS Cytotoxicity assays using human gingival fibroblast cells showed that these new antibacterial monomers were biocompatible at concentrations of 10⁻⁵ M and displayed less cytotoxicity than BisGMA, a common dental monomer. When analyzed in vitro, all new monomers demonstrated strong inhibitory activity against biofilm formation by cariogenic Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei. Results indicated that antibacterial monomers containing a long alkyl (i.e. hexadecyl) chain are superior to their shorter-chain counterparts. The cross-linking monomers based on glycerol dimethacrylate also consistently outperformed their monomethacrylate analogs. Finally, the ammonium salts containing the dimethylbenzyl moiety were superior to the similar structures containing 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) in some cases. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE All five new monomers were deemed biocompatible at concentrations of 10⁻⁵ M or less, and most had better biocompatibility than BisGMA. Dimethacrylate monomers 5 and 6 generally demonstrated high antibacterial activities, with the highest activity shown for the most lipophilic monomer 6, and these new antibacterial monomers have potential future application in dental composites and bonding agents.
Metabolomic analysis of acetaminophen induced subclinical liver injury.

Introduction: This study examines the metabolomic profile in humans following acetaminophen (APAP) induced subclinical hepatoxicity in the presence and absence of propylene glycol (PG), a cytochrom...
The Role of Active Identification in Driving Retail Customer Feedback

Extensions of service-dominant logic conceive of value co-creation as socially constructed. The marketing literature has recognized the need to further articulate mechanisms through which socially ...
An exploratory study of students’ perceptions of learning management system utilisation and learning community

Blackboard Learn is one of the learning management systems (LMSs), which is used in teaching to manage user learning interventions and assist in the planning, distribution and evaluation of a specific learning process. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the functionalities of Blackboard Learn were used in online courses and how students perceived the benefits of using them. Also, the study was to investigate how students’ perceptions of teaching, cognitive and social presences within the Community of Inquiry and perceived benefits of using Blackboard Learn were related to their learning efforts. The results revealed that students who consider Blackboard tools more beneficial on their learning are most likely to have higher perceptions of teaching presence. Moreover, students’ learning efforts were increased primarily by students’ perceptions on perceived benefits of using Blackboard and secondarily by students’ perceptions of social presences. In conclusion, utilising LMS tools effectively in online courses can benefit students’ course work and would motivate them to put more efforts on their learning.
The American Chemical Society General Chemistry Performance Expectations Project: From Task Force to Distributed Process for Implementing Multidimensional Learning

This contribution reports the process and outcomes of a multiyear effort that supported institutions in reforming general chemistry using multidimensional learning approaches in the form of performance expectations. Performance expectations are based on evidence-centered assessment design principles and describe what learners should be able to do with their knowledge, a subtle (but profound) shift from traditional course learning goals. The effort grew from the recommendations of a task force appointed in 2015 by the American Chemical Society’s Division of Chemical Education and Society Committee on Education. This task force recommended a participatory process for creating general chemistry performance expectations that was distributed over, and also coordinated across, multiple institutions. With support from the ACS Education Division, this recommendation was enacted through workshops which supported faculty in developing activities and assessments that integrated content, science and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts—a three-dimensional structure based on the National Research Council report A Framework for K-12 Education. From these workshops, a group of faculty committed to implementing three-dimensional performance expectations in their courses evolved. In practice, these faculty found that their institutional work resulted in designing learning performances that, while also three-dimensional, were of narrower content focus than is typical of performance expectations. This development process also led faculty to use the structures of evidence-centered design and multidimensional learning to document learning activity designs in new ways, generating a consensus activity structure. As examples of how faculty used this consensus activity structure as a new way to examine student learning and performances, development artifacts from four of the participating institutions is presented.
Radiation balanced spherical microlaser

Microlasers based on lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been demonstrated but radia- tion balanced lasing (RBL) remains a challenge. We present a novel design of radiation-balanced microlaser using microspheres coated with UCNPs. The model is tested using nitrogen vacancy doped nanodiamonds (NV:NDs) coated on silica microspheres. High quality factor enhancement of selective bands in the NV spectral features due to coupled whispering gallery modes (WGMs) was measured. The temperature of NDs on silica spheres was measured experimentally using Debye-Waller factor thermometry and analyzed using a novel analytical heat transfer model for spherical coordinates with localized sources.
Foraging dynamics of Southern Brook Charr (Salvelinus fontinalis)

Habitat selection in drift feeding fishes, the majority of stream fishes in North America, is strongly affected by velocity, as well as other environmental and intrinsic characteristics of an individual drift feeder (e.g., size and dominance status). Our study subject, the Brook Charr (Salvelinus fontinalis Mitchill), is a widely distributed and economically important salmonid fish which exists in a variety of forms. We tested the effects of water velocity, fish size, days in captivity, dominance status, and size rank on prey capture success, holding velocity, and reactive distance of wild Southern Brook Charr (SBC), a rare subspecies. Mechanistic studies of foraging dynamics of drift feeders are not common. Prey capture success was negatively related to water velocity, holding velocity was positively related to water velocity, and larger, dominant fish had greater prey capture success than smaller subordinates. Prey capture success declined from 10 to 60 cm·s–1. Reactive distances were not strongly or consistently affected by any treatment variables. Our data indicate that all else being equal, Southern Brook Charr will forage well in streams with abundant velocities up to 30 cm·s–1.
NASH and cryptogenic cirrhosis: a histological analysis.

Abstract Introduction. Epidemiological studies indicate that nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a common cause of cirrhosis described as ‘cryptogenic’. To address this from a histological perspective and to examine the significance of residual histological findings as an indication of prior NASH, we looked back at biopsies in patients who presented with cirrhosis without sufficient histological features to diagnose NASH but who had prior histologically confirmed non-cirrhotic NASH. Methods. Seven patients were identified with biopsy pairs showing non-specific (cryptogenic) cirrhosis in the latest specimen and a prior biopsy showing non-cirrhotic NASH. Using an expanded NASH-CRN system scored blindly by light microscopy, we compared the early and late biopsies to each other and to a cohort of 13 patients with cirrhosis due to hepatitis C without co-existing metabolic syndrome. Results. Macrosteatosis, although uniformly present in the non-cirrhotic NASH specimens, declined in the late stage cirrhotic NASH specimens and was not useful in the distinction of late cirrhotic NASH from cirrhotic viral hepatitis. However, the presence of ballooned cells, Mallory-Denk bodies, and megamitochondria and the absence of apoptotic bodies were significantly different in late stage cirrhotic NASH compared to cirrhosis due to hepatitis C. Conclusions. Histologically advanced NASH presenting as non-specific or cryptogenic cirrhosis has residual changes which are consistent with prior steatohepatitis but which differ from cirrhosis due to hepatitis C. These results provide histological support for the more established epidemiological associations of NASH with cryptogenic cirrhosis and for criteria used in several proposed classifications of cryptogenic cirrhosis.
Use of poisons in determination of microbial manganese binding rates in seawater.

A method was developed to determine whether microorganisms mediate the precipitation of manganese(II) in the marine environment. Radioactive 54Mn(II) was used as a tracer to measure the precipitation (binding and oxidation) of Mn(II) [i.e., the 54Mn(II) trapped on 0.2-μm membrane filters] in the presence and absence of biological poisons. A variety of antibiotics, fixatives, and metabolic inhibitors were tested in laboratory control experiments to select poisons that did not interfere in the chemistry of manganese. The poisons were deemed suitable if (i) they did not complex Mn(II) more strongly than the ion-exchange resin Chelex 100, (ii) they did not interfere in the adsorption of 54Mn(II) onto synthetic δMnO2 (manganate), (iii) they did not cause desorption of 54Mn(II) which had been preadsorbed onto synthetic manganate, and (iv) they did not solubilize synthetic 54manganate. In addition, several known chelators, reducing agents, and buffers normally added to microbiological growth media or used in biochemical assays were tested. Most additions interfered to some extent with manganese chemistry. However, at least one inhibitor, sodium azide, or a mixture of sodium azide, penicillin, and tetracycline was shown to be appropriate for use in field studies of 54Mn(II) binding. Formaldehyde could also be used in short incubations (1 to 3 h) but was not suitable for longer time course studies. The method was applied to studies of Mn(II) precipitation in Saanich Inlet, British Columbia, Canada. Bacteria were shown to significantly enhance the rate of Mn(II) removal from solution in the manganese-rich particulate layer which occurs just above the oxygen-hydrogen sulfide interface in the water column.
Extracción electroquímica de cloruros del hormigón armado: estudio de diferentes variables que influyen en la eficiencia del tratamiento.

This paper reports the results of applying electrochemical chloride extraction (ECE) to a series of chloride-contaminated concrete specimens. Experimental conditions were varied to study the efficiency of this technique under different circumstances. The survey covered the possible relationship between efficiency and the location of the sampling point, current density, type of concrete and treatment intermittence. Experiments were also conducted with different reinforcement configurations used in standard structural members such as columns and beams to ascertain the impact of rebar geometry.
Tissue-specific accumulation of metallothionein in chickens as influenced by the route of zinc administration.

The effect of the route of zinc (Zn) administration on the induction of metallothionein (MT) in various tissues of chicks was examined. Four-week-old, male chicks were assigned to one of four treatments: 5 mg Zn/kg intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection, 5 mg Zn/kg intravenous (i.v.) injection, 16 mg Zn oral (O) dose or a saline control (C). Chicks were fasted overnight, treated and killed 24 h later. 109Cd radioassay analysis of liver (L), kidney (K) and pancreas (P) showed a significant elevation of MT in all tissues except K of i.v. chicks. Comparing tissue MT accumulation within treatments showed that L was induced to a greater extent than P for the i.p. treatment (P/L ratio = 0.69 +/- 0.04), while the reverse effect was seen for both O (1.51 +/- 0.10) and i.v. (1.67 +/- 0.14) chicks, reflecting greater P than L accumulation. Zn injected i.p. did not result in significantly greater total peritoneal exudate cell (PEC) or macrophage (M) numbers than saline-injected controls. Sephadex, while causing massive increases in PEC and M, did not induce tissue MT, demonstrating the lack of correlation between PECs or Ms and MT accumulation. Feed intake by chicks during the 24-h period following i.p. Zn treatment was only 30% of that by controls. A subsequent experiment demonstrated that a similar restriction in feed intake increased L but not P MT. This increase accounted for 17.8% of the L induction due to i.p. Zn injection. This does not fully account for the reduction in P/L that is characteristic of i.p. treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Is the Federal Government Controlling Education?: The Federal Tailors

Use of the leverage of the federal government dollar to accomplish objectives which have nothing to do with the purposes for which the dollar is given has become dangerously fashionable… . It might be called the “now that I have bought the button, I have a right to design the coat” approach.Kingman Brewster, President, Yale University
Laparoscopic excision of a ciliated hepatic foregut cyst in a child: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract Introduction Ciliated hepatic foregut cysts (CHFC) are rare congenital hepatic lesions derived from the embryonic foregut. Because of potential transformation to squamous cell carcinoma in adulthood, the mainstay of therapy is surgical resection. To our knowledge, we report the first case of CHFC in a child that was successfully excised laparoscopically. Presentation of case We report a case of a 4-year-old boy that was diagnosed with an asymptomatic 5-cm liver cyst. After surveillance for 3 years, the cyst grew to 7 cm at which time it was successfully resected laparoscopically. The pathology was consistent with CHFC. Discussion There have been few previous reports of CHFCs in children, all of which described excision via a laparotomy. This is the first case report of laparoscopic resection of CHFC in a child. Conclusion This case report suggests that laparoscopy may be safe and effective for resection of CHFCs with favorable anatomy such as peripheral location and noninvolvement of key vascular and biliary structures.
Examination of long-term bond iShare option selling strategies

This article examines volatility trades in Lehman Brothers 20+ Year US Treasury Index iShare (TLT) options from July 2003 through May 2007. Unconditionally selling front contract strangles and straddles and holding for one month is highly profitable after transactions costs. Short-term option selling strategies are enhanced when implied volatility is high relative to time series volatility forecasts. Risk management strategies such as stop loss orders detract from profitability, while take profit orders have only modest favorable effects on profitability. Overall, the results demonstrate that TLT option selling strategies offered attractive risk-return tradeoffs over the sample period. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 30:465–489, 2010
Coordinator log transaction execution protocol

The coordinator log transaction execution protocol proposed in this paper centralizes logging on a per transaction basis and exploits piggybacking to provide the semantics of a distributed atomic commit at a minimal cost. The protocol eliminates two rounds of messages (one phase) from the presumed commit protocol and dramatically reduces the number of log forces needed for distributed atomic commit. We compare the coordinator log transaction execution protocol to existing protocols, explain when it is desirable, and discuss how it affects the write ahead log protocol and the database crash recovery algorithm.
Transient and steady state space-charge-limited current in CdTe

Abstract The current response to pulsed and constant external bias is studied on wafers of semi-insulating CdTe crystals which are provided with contacts of aquadag. Space-charge-limited current (sclc) is observed. The magnitude of the large-signal turn-on transient current suggests that electrons are the injected carriers. The time constant of the current decay yields a value of the electron trapping time τ + of ∼ 10 −7 sec. Double pulse experiments provide the value of the detrapping time τ D and its activation energy E t = 0.65 eV. From these quantities, a trap concentration N t = 0.85 × 10 12 cm −3 and a trapping cross-section σ = 3.8 × 10 −13 are deduced. The results are compared with the d.c. characteristic of the devices and with data reported in the literature. Good agreement is obtained, indicating the usefulness of transient and d.c. sclc for characterizing semi-insulating materials and the injecting nature of the contacts.
A MEMS-Based Rate Gyro Based on Parametric Resonance

This paper describes the dynamics of a microelectromechanical rate gyro whose operation depends on nonlinear parametric resonant response. The basic idea behind this and other similar gyros is that a proof mass is free to move in a plane such that the perpendicular directions of motion are ideally mechanically uncoupled. In one direction, the drive mode, the mass is parametrically driven such that it undergoes a nonlinear resonant response. When rotated about an axis perpendicular to the plane of motion, Coriolis effects couple this drive mode to the other direction, the sense mode, whose response is then measured and calibrated with the rotation rate. Traditional rate gyros of this type require precise matching of the drive and sense linear natural frequencies in order to optimally amplify the sense response. By making use of the wide frequency range of the nonlinear resonant response, many of the difficulties associated with this tuning problem can be avoided. In this paper we emphasize results from a simple two degree-of-freedom micro-electro-mechanical system model that allows one to predict and design the rate response of the gyro by selection of system parameters.© 2008 ASME
Issues & opinions: Are fibrillation potentials and positive sharp waves the same? No

Electrodiagnostic medicine consultants report electrical activity in muscle recorded at rest and during voluntary movement by means of waveform and firing rate characteristics. This principle allows us to distinguish fibrillation potentials from positive sharp waves. Although in most cases these two potentials have the same clinical significance, there are at least five different situations in which they do not have an identical meaning: (1) positive sharp waves can be recorded earlier after a peripheral nerve injury than can fibrillation potentials; (2) occasionally, nonclinically significant diffuse positive sharp wave activity may be seen in the absence of fibrillation activity (i.e., "EMG disease"); (3) positive sharp waves may be seen in distal muscles of "normal" subjects without the presence of fibrillation activity or clinical significance; (4) positive sharp waves without fibrillation potentials may be seen following local muscle trauma; and (5) positive sharp waves may be seen alone in some demyelinating polyneuropathies. By accurately describing the observed potentials, the electrodiagnostic medicine consultant may be able to obtain more clinically useful information from an electrodiagnostic study.
Gating and conductance changes in BK(Ca) channels in bilayers are reciprocal.

The energy associated with a mismatch between the hydrocarbon portions of a lipid bilayer and the hydrophobic regions of a transmembrane protein requires that one or both components deform in an attempt to minimize the energy difference. Transmembrane potassium channel subunits are composed of different structural motifs, each responsible for ion-selectivity, conductance and gating capabilities. Each has an inherent degree of flexibility commensurate with its amino acid composition. It is not clear, however, how each structural motif will respond to a fixed amount of distortion applied to the whole structure. We examined the single-channel conductance (Gc) and gating (open probability, P o) of single BKCa channels (hslo α-subunits) inserted into planar lipid bilayers containing 1,2-dioleoyl-3-phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) or DOPE with either 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) or sphingomyelin (SPM) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-3-phosphatidylethanolamine (POPE) with SPM. These latter three binary mixtures formed stable membranes with different distributions of thickness domains as determined by atomic force microscopy. Channels placed in each composition should be exposed to different amounts of distortion. BKCa channels forced into the DOPE/SPM bilayer containing lipid domains with two different thicknesses showed two distinct levels of Gc and Po. The alterations in Gc and Po were reciprocal. A larger conductance was accompanied by a smaller value for gating and vice versa. Channels forced into the POPE/SPM bilayer containing lipid domains with different thicknesses showed more than two distinct levels of Gc and Po. Channels placed in a uniform bilayer (DOPE/DOPC) showed a uniform distribution of conductance and activation. We conclude that both the inner and outer domains of the channel where these two channel functions are localized respond to deformation and that a fixed amount of distortion results in reciprocal changes in protein function.
Freud's “project” and its relationship to psychoanalytic theory

Sigmund Freud wrote the „Project for a Scientific Psychology” in 1895. Although the „Project” is essentially a neurological model of mind, it will be shown that major concepts in psychoanalytic theory can be traced to this work. These include libido, primary process and the pleasure principle, secondary process and the reality principle, wish fulfillment, the ego, consciousness, and repression. The „Project” signifies a transition in Freud's thinking from a neurological to a psychological realm of discourse.
Determination of nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen by spark-source mass spectrography.

A procedure for the determination of nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen by spark-source mass spectrography is described. The reduction of instrument blank levels is an important consideration in this analysis. Factors which influence the blank level include vacuum, choice of sample etch, and baking of the source. A prespark of 100–300 nC is considered an integral part of the procedure, since it apparently removes the last traces of surface impurities. Blanks below 1 at. ppm have been observed. The procedure can also be applied for the determination of carbon.
The impact of training sequence and between-category similarity on unsupervised induction.

Studies of supervised categorization often show better learning when examples are presented in random alternation rather than massed by category, but such interleaving impairs learning in unsupervised tasks. The exemplar comparison hypothesis explains this result by assuming that people in unsupervised tasks discover generalizations about categories by comparing individual examples, and that interleaving increases the difficulty of such within-category comparisons. The category invention hypothesis explains the interleaving effect by assuming that people are more likely to merge or aggregate potentially separable categories when they are interleaved, and this initial failure to recognize separate categories then acts as an effective barrier to further learning. The present experiments show that the interleaving effect depends on the similarity or alignability of the presented categories. This result provides evidence in favour of the category invention hypothesis, which expects that highly dissimilar (non...
Tuning ion coordination architectures to enable selective partitioning.

K+ ions seemingly permeate K-channels rapidly because channel binding sites mimic coordination of K+ ions in water. Highly selective ion discrimination should occur when binding sites form rigid cavities that match K+, but not the smaller Na+, ion size or when binding sites are composed of specific chemical groups. Although conceptually attractive, these views cannot account for critical observations: 1), K+ hydration structures differ markedly from channel binding sites; 2), channel thermal fluctuations can obscure sub-Angstrom differences in ion sizes; and 3), chemically identical binding sites can exhibit diverse ion selectivities. Our quantum mechanical studies lead to a novel paradigm that reconciles these observations. We find that K-channels utilize a “phase-activated” mechanism where the local environment around the binding sites is tuned to sustain high coordination numbers (>6) around K+ ions, which otherwise are rarely observed in liquid water. When combined with the field strength of carbonyl ligands, such high coordinations create the electrical scenario necessary for rapid and selective K+ partitioning. Specific perturbations to the local binding site environment with respect to strongly selective K-channels result in altered K+/Na+ selectivities.
The construction and usefulness of physical models of the placenta.

Abstract Physical models have been constructed of placentas which have exchanging flows in several orientations. The effectiveness of heat transfer was measured in these models and was found to generally conform to that which was predicted from theoretical considerations. The results support the conclusion that the effectiveness of exchange in the primate placenta should be greater than that of a placenta which resembles a concurrent exchanger and less effective than a countercurrent configuration. Using the concurrent model we have demonstrated that the effectiveness of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange were similar when the permeability of the placenta was high. When the permeability of the placenta was decreased we were able to demonstrate that the transfer of carbon dioxide was decreased, whereas that for oxygen was not changed. This is the same type of result which has been obtained by other investigators in living animals, where the analogous comparison was between inert gas and oxygen transfer and the different behavior of the gases was induced by the use of drugs which bind to cytochrome P450. The earlier results were held as evidence for the existence of a carrier mediated oxygen transport mechanism. The experiments reported here demonstrate that this result can be explained by non-specific decreases in placental permeability. Physical models of the placenta appear to be a useful bridge between theoretical and experimental physiology.
GENERALIZATIONS OF THE STONE-WALES REARRANGEMENT FOR CAGE COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING FULLERENES

Abstract Generalizations of the Stone-Wales (pyracylene) rearrangement are proposed for fullerenes and other cage compounds. These involve various numbers of pairs of hexagons fused via a zig-zag sequence of edges, ending in two faces which are polygons of any ring size. This generalized rearrangement may lead either to automerization, or more often to rearrangements changing one isomer of a cage into another. Applications to fullerenes with 5- and 6-membered rings are discussed, as well as other types of cages with larger and smaller rings.
Within-Sire Relationships of Breeding Fees and Months in Service to Mates’ Milk Yield

Abstract Three analyses determined whether changes in breeding fee and time were associated with differences in milk yield among cows selected as mates of artificial insemination sires on a within-sire basis. Analysis I, involving 21 bulls mated predominantly at $5 and $6, showed no effect of price when averaged over all bulls, but the price × sire interaction was significant (P
Thermographic nondestructive testing (TNDT) of honeycomb composite structural parts of Atlas space launch vehicles

Thermography is a means of recording the patterns of heat emission from a surface. Thermographic nondestructive testing (TNDT) uses this technology to detect sub-surface defects. Generally, a heat pulse is applied to a surface that is thermographically monitored. If a sub-surface defect exists that locally reduces or improves the thermal properties of the material, the surface thermal pattern will be perturbed over the defect. TNDT has been used successfully on a wide variety of composite laminates, filament-wound structures, sandwich structures, and foam-insulated cryogenic tanks. Both real structures with real delamination and impact damage, as well as test panels with simulated delaminations, face sheet disbonds, and interply implants have been tested. For some of these applications, TNDT is the best technique. The thrust structure at the aft end of the Atlas space launch vehicle is a composite sandwich comprised of aluminum honeycomb core with fiberglass/phenolic face sheets. The surface area of this structure is approximately 600 ft{sup 2}. In 1992, General Dynamics Space Systems Division (GDSS) began using TNDT for quality verification of these complex composite parts. TNDT has been used on these parts during manufacture and assembly, and on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. The NDT technique previously usedmore » on these parts, since their design in 1957, was ``coin tap.`` Compared to this method, TNDT provides a greatly improved inspection in less time and at a lower cost. A heat gun with a diffuser attachment is used to heat the inspection area while the area is monitored thermographically. TNDT is a rapid, remote, non-contact, highly portable, real-time scanning technique that can provide a well-documented video record of subsurface structural details including facesheet disbonds and skin delaminations. A specification and test procedure has been written, equipment has been procured, and personnel have been trained and certified.« less
Exploratory factor analysis of the WAIS-III in a mixed patient sample

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III) was administered to 152 patients at a VA Medical Center. Means for age, education, and Full Scale IQ were 51.49 years (SD = 13.00), 12.43 years (SD = 2.00), and 92.61 (SD = 14.06), respectively. Of the 152 patients, 69 had substance abuse disorders, 39 had medical/neurological conditions, 27 had both substance abuse and psychiatric disorders, and 17 had psychiatric conditions. The 13 WAIS-III subtests were subjected to a principal-axis factor analysis with oblimin rotation. Four factors were specified to be retained. The Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, and Processing Speed factors were identical to those in the standardization sample. However, Arithmetic could not be allocated to any factor within the patient sample. The Working Memory factor consisted only of the Digit Span and Letter-Number Sequencing subtests. &copy 2000 National Academy of Neuropsychology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd
A note on the variance of spot interest rates

Abstract This paper demonstrates that the lower variance of spot interest rates for longer maturity Treasury bills is a function of two factors: (1) lower variance of longer maturity forward rates and (2) an averaging effect resulting from less than perfect correlation between forward interest rates. Empirically for U.S. Treasury bills, the averaging effect reinforces the lower variance of forward rates, making the spot variance relatively small for longer maturities.
Development of an in vitro technique for measuring elastic properties of vocal fold tissue.

The purpose of this investigation was to develop an in vitro technique for measurement of elastic properties of isolated vocal fold tissue. Larynges were excised from anesthetized dogs, immediately...
Right Atrial and Right Ventricular Obstruction by Recurrent Stromomyoma

A 30-year-old woman had a history of a uterine fibroid 6 years before admission. She had resection of a right atrial mass diagnosed as a leiomyoma 2 years ago and a second cardiac procedure for recurrent tumor 1 year ago. Pathologic examination at that time indicated that the tumor was a low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (stromatosis) with features of benign leiomyoma (intravenous leiomyomatosis). This time she was admitted with facial and lower extremity swelling as well as ascites. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography revealed a large tumor entering the heart from the inferior vena cava and filling the right atrium and ventricle. Lower extremity ischemia from bilateral compartment syndrome due to severe edema developed, and she underwent successful surgical resection of the tumor that filled the right side of the heart, inferior vena cava, and mesenteric and renal veins.
The Priority Effect in the A-B, A-C Paradigm and Subjects' Expectations.

Abstract The priority effect in the A-B, A-C paradigm is operationally defined to be higher first-list than second-list recall in the MMFR test induced by the absence of an immediate test on the first list. The hypothesis that the priority effect is caused by the subject's expectation of a later test was tested by manipulating expectation in two ways. Subjects either did or did not receive a practice session, and either did or did not receive instructions to ignore the frist list. The hypothesis was supported by the fact that eliminating practice or adding deception eliminated the priority effect.
Clinical and Stent-Related Outcomes After Transcatheter or Operative Placement of Bare-Metal Stents in the Ventricular Septum or Subvalvar Systemic Outflow Tract

Background—Stenting of the systemic ventricular outflow tract and creation or enlargement of a ventricular septal defect using stents are potential therapeutic options in rare patients with congenital heart disease who develop significant ventricular hypertension due to outflow obstruction. These stents may be at increased risk of fracture because of exposure to cyclic compressive stresses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this intervention and to determine the incidence of stent fracture and other adverse outcomes after placement of intraventricular or interventricular stents for this indication. Methods and Results—Between 1992 and 2010, 27 patients underwent bare-metal stent placement in the ventricular septum or subvalvar systemic outflow tract, using 1 of the following 3 delivery approaches: (1) percutaneous (n=18), (2) intraoperative (n=8), and (3) hybrid (n=1). The median ventricular-to-aortic systolic pressure ratio decreased from 1.7 (1.3–2.6) to 1.1 (0.9–1.8...
Non-small-cell lung cancer: practice patterns of extrathoracic imaging.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to identify practice patterns of extrathoracic imaging in patients newly diagnosed with non-small-cell lung, cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS The authors retrospectively reviewed the charts of 125 patients (71 men, 54 women; mean age, 67 years) from five hospitals (25 patients each) with newly diagnosed non-small-cell lung cancer. Charts were reviewed for cancer cell type, evidence of metastatic disease, and performance and results of extrathoracic imaging, including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the brain, bone scanning, and abdominal CT. RESULTS Of 125 patients, 77 (62%) underwent extrathoracic imaging. These patients included 64 (64%) of 100 patients with clinical symptoms or laboratory signs of metastatic disease and 13 (52%) of 25 patients with no such indications. Extrathoracic imaging did not differ according to cancer cell type: It was performed for 30 (60%) of 50 patients with squamous cell carcinoma, 26 (60%) of 43 patients with adenocarcinoma, and 16 (73%) of 22 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer that was not further characterized. Brain CT or MR imaging bone scanning, or abdominal CT were performed in only 48%, 39%, and 30% of patients, respectively. Brain CT or MR images or bone scans revealed metastatic disease in seven of 20 and nine of 22 patients with clinical symptoms or laboratory signs of disease, respectively. These examinations revealed disease in four of 40 and two of 27 patients without such symptoms or signs, respectively (P < .05). No significant differences emerged among the practice patterns at the five participating hospitals. CONCLUSION No consensus was found on performance of extrathoracic imaging in patients with newly diagnosed non-small-cell lung cancer.