cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A model of cerebellum stabilized and scheduled hybrid long-loop control of upright balance

A recurrent integrator proportional integral derivative (PID) model that has been used to account for cerebrocerebellar stabilization and scaling of transcortical proprioceptive feedback in the control of horizontal planar arm movements has been augmented with long-loop force~feedback and gainscheduling to describe the control of human upright balance. The cerebellar component of the controller is represented by two sets of gains that each provide linear scaling of same-joint and interjoint long-loop stretch responses between ankle, knee, and hip. The cerebral component of the model includes a single set of same-joint linear force feedback gains. Responses to platform translations of a three-segment body model operating under this hybrid proprioception and force-based long-loop control were simulated. With low-velocity platform disturbances, ‘‘ankle-strategy’’-type postural recovery kinematics and electromyogram (EMG) patterns were generated using the first set of cerebeller control gains. With faster disturbances, balance was maintained by including the second set of gains cerebellar control gains that yielded ‘‘mixed ankle-hip strategy’’-type kinematics and EMG patterns. The addition of small amounts of simulated muscular coactivation improved the fit to certain human datasets. It is proposed that the cerebellum switches control gainsets as a function of sensed body kinematic state. Reduction of cerebellar gains with a compensatory increase in muscular stiffness yielded posture recovery with abnormal motions consistent with those found in cerebellar disease. The model demonstrates that stabilized hybrid long-loop feedback with scheduling of linear gains may afford realistic balance control in the absence of explicit internal dynamics models and suggests that the cerebellum and cerebral cortex may contribute to balance control by such a mechanism.
GABAergic basal forebrain neurons project to the neocortex: The localization of glutamic acid decarboxylase and choline acetyltransferase in feline corticopetal neurons

Our objective was to determine whether GABAergic and cholinergic basal forebrain neurons project to the neocortex. The retrograde connectivity marker wheat germ agglutinin lectin-bound horseradish peroxidase was injected into the neocortex of adult cats. Histo- and immunohistochemical methods were combined to label sequentially connectivity and transmitter markers (glutamic acid decarboxylase; choline acetyltransferase) in forebrain neurons. The labels of each marker were identified by correlative light and electron microscopy. Two principal types of doubly labeled neurons were demonstrated. The connectivity marker was colocalized with glutamic acid decarboxylase or choline acetyltransferase. The neurons were located in the basal forebrain. Their ultrastructural, cellular, and regional organization supported 2 conclusions. (1) GABAergic basal forebrain neurons project to the neocortex. This is important new morphological evidence for the origin of inhibitory neocortical afferents from a subcortical brain site. (2) The GABAergic and cholinergic basal forebrain neurons projecting to the neocortex exhibit remarkable structural similarities. The transmitter diversity of these intertwined neocortical afferents may be significant for the pathology and treatment of human neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.
Epidemiology of pain among outpatients in methadone maintenance treatment programs

Abstract Background This analysis explored the prevalence and correlates of pain in patients enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Methods Patients in two MMT programs starting a hepatitis care coordination randomized controlled trial completed the Brief Pain Inventory Short-Form and other questionnaires. Associations between clinically significant pain (average daily pain ≥ 5 or mean pain interference ≥ 5 during the past week) and sociodemographic data, medical status, depressive symptoms, and health-related quality of life, and current substance use were evaluated in multivariate analyses. Results The 489 patients included 31.8% women; 30.3% Hispanics, 29.4% non-Hispanic Blacks, and 36.0% non-Hispanic Whites; 60.1% had hepatitis C, 10.6% had HIV, and 46.8% had moderate or severe depressive symptomatology. Mean methadone dose was 95.7 mg (SD 48.9) and urine drug screening (UDS) was positive for opiates, cocaine, and amphetamines in 32.9%, 40.1%, and 2.9%, respectively. Overall, 237 (48.5%) reported clinically significant pain. Pain treatments included prescribed opioids (38.8%) and non-opioids (48.9%), and self-management approaches (60.8%), including prayer (33.8%), vitamins (29.5%), and distraction (12.7%). Pain was associated with higher methadone dose, more medical comorbidities, prescribed opioid therapy, and more severe depressive symptomatology; it was not associated with UDS or self-reported substance use. Conclusions Clinically significant pain was reported by almost half of the patients in MMT programs and was associated with medical and psychological comorbidity. Pain was often treated with opioids and was not associated with measures of drug use. Studies are needed to further clarify these associations and determine their importance for pain treatment strategies.
Pharmacologic and psychologic interventions for procedural pain.

Objective This study evaluated a combined pharmacologic and psychologic intervention (combined intervention, CI) relative to a pharmacologic-only (PO) intervention in reducing child distress during invasive procedures in childhood leukemia. Predictors of child distress included age, group (CI, PO), and procedural variables (medications and doses, technical difficulty, number of needles required). Methodology This was a randomized, controlled prospective study that compared the PO (n = 45) and CI arms (n = 47), at 1, 6, and >12 months after diagnosis. A cross-sectional control group consisted of parents of 70 patients in first remission before the prospective study. Parent questionnaires, staff and parent ratings, and data on medications administered, technical difficulty of the procedure, and needle insertions were obtained for each procedure. This article reports on the final data point for the project (>12 months). Results Mothers and nurses reported lower levels of child distress in the CI than the PO group. The CI and PO groups showed lower levels of child and parent distress than the cross-sectional control group. Distress decreased throughout the time, and child age was inversely related to distress (younger children had more distress) regardless of group. Child distress was associated with staff perceptions of the technical difficulty of the procedure and with child age, but not with medications administered. Conclusions The data showed that pharmacologic and psychologic interventions for procedural distress were effective in reducing child and parent distress and support integration of the two approaches. Younger children experienced more distress and warranted additional consideration. Staff perceptions of the technical difficulty of procedures were complex and potentially helpful in designing intervention protocols.
Controlling electrophoretic trapping of circular DNA by addition of starch preparations to agarose gels

Starch preparations were added to agarose gels to enhance the electrophoretic trapping of circular plasmid DNA. The critical voltages required to trap the open circular (OC) and the supercoiled (SC) forms of a 13.1-kbp plasmid were measured in gels composed of agarose and added starch preparations. Modified starch preparations reduced the critical voltage required to trap the OC form of the plasmid to approximately one-third of the control value (in 1% agarose gels). Amylose (a fraction of starch with a low amount of branching) also reduced the critical voltage to trap the OC form in a similar manner. The critical voltage to trap the SC form of the plasmid was not significantly reduced by the starch preparations. The capacity to trap OC DNA was increased by the addition of higher amounts of the starch preparations added to the gels. Field inversion gel etectrophoresis was used to characterize the length of the traps in the gels. The starch preparations and amylose increased the trap lengths approximately twofold. The increased trap length correlated with the decreased critical voltage required to trap the OC form of the 13.1-kbp plasmid.
Changes in myosin and creatine kinase mRNA levels with cardiac hypertrophy and hypothyroidism

Rats were treated with three methods which produce alterations in the expression of myosin isozymes: coarctation of the abdominal aorta, treatment with low doses of isoproterenol, and administration of propylthiouracil. The steady-state levels of the left ventricle mRNAs for α myosin heavy chain (α-MHC), β myosin heavy chain (β-MHC), M creatine kinase (MCK), and B creatine kinase (BCK) were then determined using Northern and slot blot hybridizations. Cardiac hypertrophy was induced by an acute systolic pressure overload, or β adrenergic stimulation. At 7 days following systolic pressure overload, the induced cardiac hypertrophy was accompanied by alterations in the levels of MHC mRNAs, as has been previously reported. In RNA from left ventricles of treated animals α-MHC mRNA levels decreased by 15% by day 3 and 20% by day 7. In contrast, β-MHC mRNA levels increased to 250% of control levels by day 3 and then declined to a value 150% of controls by day 7. Levels of MCK and BCK mRNAs showed little or no changes by day 3; at day 7 both MCK and BCK mRNAs showed decreases of 20% relative to controls. Cardiac hypertrophy induced by low doses of isoproterenol produced decreases of α-MHC mRNA levels to 70% of control values at day 3 and 50% at day 7. Over the same time periods there was an increase in the levels of the fetal mRNA isoform (β-MHC) to 190%, then 130% of control values, respectively. At 3 days, both BCK and MCK mRNA levels had declined by approximately 20–25%. By 7 days, MCK mRNA levels had decreased by approximately 50% and BCK mRNA levels by 30%. Hypothyroidism induced by PTU treatment led to a 50% decrease in α-MHC mRNA levels by day 3, which then further decreased to 10% of control levels at day 7. β-MHC mRNA levels increased to 350% of control levels at day 3 and then decreased to 275% of control levels at day 7. For creatine kinase mRNAs the level of the M isoform was increased by 30% at day 3, whereas there appeared to be no significant change in levels of B isoform mRNA at this time. At day 7 neither BCK nor MCK mRNA levels were significantly different from controls. These results show three treatments which produce an alteration in myosin mRNA isoforms produce little or no change in creatine kinase isoform mRNAs. Thus, the MHC and CK genes respond differently to either cardiac hypertrophy or a reduction in thyroid hormone levels.
Decentralized data-efficient quickest change detection

The problem of decentralized quickest change detection is studied with an additional constraint on the cost of observations used at each sensor. Minimax problem formulations are proposed for the problem. A distributed algorithm called the DE-All algorithm is proposed in which on-off observation control is employed locally at each sensor. It is shown that the proposed algorithm is asymptotically optimal up to first order for the proposed formulations.
Electron tunneling, charge transfer, and the intermolecular forces between two H2 molecules

The spherically averaged van der Waals potential for the system H2–H2 has been calculated using a nonorthogonal CI method based on SCF orbitals for the individual molecules. With suitable restrictions on the CI calculation we have isolated various contributions to the van der Waals potential, and have found that charge transfer and dispersion effects are comparable to distances corresponding to the potential minimum. The charge transfer contribution is further discussed in terms of a mechanism involving electron tunneling through the intervening space between the molecules. Our calculation gives a spherically averaged van der Waals well depth of 2.96 meV at 3.49 A. Experimental values are 3.00 meV at 3.49 A.
Accelerated program in elementary‐school mathematics—the fourth year

Accelerated programs in mathematics for gifted children can play an important role in the curriculum. Yet, an extensive review of the literature in the field revealed that few studies of such programs have been undertaken.2 In response to this lack of information, the Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences has initiated a longitudinal study of 40 gifted elementary-school children, who will be accelerated through the mathematics curriculum. Several factors make schools reluctant to initiate such programs. First, if an accelerated course for gifted primary-grade children is begun, the school will want to avoid returning students to the conventional curriculum for their grade level. Thus, the school is committed to a longitudinal program. A second problem is the shortage of funds for special teaching staff, space, and the development of special curriculum materials. Also, identifying and selecting gifted students at this early level is difficult, especially since students may display differential aptitudes across curriculum areas. Finally, there may be school-parent problems resulting from such a special program. In attempting to deal with some of these difficulties, the project is providing an opportunity for long-range study of an accelerated program. In this article, we describe the first year of the project, which concerned the mastery of mathematical concepts by bright six-year-olds during their first year of instruction. The results of the 1963-1964 project include parametric data on daily, weekly, and yearly rates of concept acquisition; information about interrelationships between successive mathematical concepts in the curriculum;
Metastable (GaSb)(1-x)(Sn2)x alloys: Crystal growth and phase stability of single crystal and polycrystalline layers

Abstract Single-phase metastable (GaSb) (1−x) (Sn 2 ) x alloys with x ⩽ 0.23 far exceeding the equilibrium solid solubility limit of x ⪅ 0.02 for Sn in GaSb, have been grown by rf sputter deposition. The key feature allowing the growth of single phase alloys was the use of low energy ion-bombardment-induced collisional mixing during deposition. Films grown at elevated temperatures T s on GaAs(100) substrates were found to be single crystals while polycrystalline films with very strong (220) perferred orientation and grain sizes of 20–40 nm were obtained on amorphous glass substrates. The maximum film growth temperatures T m at which single phase films could be obtained was a function of the negative substrate potential V s during deposition and the composition x. For V s = 75 V, T m ranged from 375 °C at x = 0.06 to 125 °C at x = 0.23. Crystal growth and post-annealing studies both indicated that the transformation from the single-phase metastable state to the equilibrium (GaSb + βSn) state occurs through a continuous set of metastable GaSb-rich phases and that Sn precipitates out first in the α-diamond structure and then transforms to the β-tetragonal structure. In single crystal films, the GaSb-rich phase precipitates out coherently with the alloy matrix. The activation energy for phase separation ranged from ∼ 1.4 eV for alloys with x = 0.06 to 0.9 eV at x = 0.23. A phase map for crystal growth, plotted as a function of T s and x, and an annealing transformation diagram for (GaSb) 0.86 (Sn 2 ) 0.14 was determined.
The Potential Use of Whole-tree Biomass for Bio-oil Fuels

Abstract Eight feed stocks were fast pyrolyzed at 450°C in an auger reactor. The yields of bio-oil, char, and non-condensable gases ranged from 40.3 to 60.1 wt%, 16.0 to 34.6 wt%, and 17.1 to 34.1 wt%, respectively. The composition of the non-condensable gases exit stream was determined by gas chromatography analysis and was mainly composed of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane. Bio-oils' physical properties of pH, water content, acid value, and viscosity were investigated. Mean molecular weights and polydispersity were determined by gel permeation chromatography. The chemical compositions for the bio-oils were also investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Physical and chemical characterization showed that bio-oil produced from whole-tree pine is comparable to that from clear wood feed stocks. Bio-oil produced from whole-tree cottonwood had high viscosity rendering it unsuitable for fuels production.
Gelation and precipitation of copolymers from solution

There are several reports in the literature to the effect that when isotactic polystyrene crystallizes from moderately dilute solution, lamellas (precipitate) form at high crystallization temperatures and gels at low temperatures. We report here the occurrence of a very similar phenomenon during the crystallization of ethylene-butene-1 copolymers. The observations for the latter system can be given a straightforward explanation based on the demonstrated compositional fractionation that occurs on crystallization. Low co-unit content copolymers are associated with lamellas. Gels invariably contain much higher co-unit content. A generalization of these findings is invoked to explain the previous polystyrene results. A new resonance detected by 13C NMR experiments in this polymer can be ascribed to head–head sequences.
Search strategies of tyrant flycatchers

Abstract Aspects of searching behaviour among free-living South American flycatchers (Aves: Tyrannidae) are compared quantitatively. Flycatchers forage with stationary searching periods, followed either by an attempted prey capture (sally) or a ‘give-up’ flight to a new perch. Search times are proportional to body size within each of three categories of foraging behaviour: aerial hawking, sally-gleaning, and perch-gleaning. Over the family as a whole, search times are directly proportional to the size of the visual field scanned during the search. Intraspecific variations in search times are caused by local variations in prey density or visual complexity of the habitat. Between foraging modes, differences in searching and movement patterns are related to prey dispersion characteristics. Aerial hawkers regularly return to favoured perches, but foliage gleaners, which reduce the resources surrounding a perch by sallying only once, rarely return to a perch. In contrast to aerial hawkers, foliage gleaners appear to follow an organized scanning procedure on each perch, by searching nearby surfaces before they examine more distant prey substrates. Throughout the family, the median flight distance after a perch is abandoned is approximately twice the median search radius. Comparisons of search time distributions preceding sallies with those preceding give-up flights suggest that there is no single, optimal give-up time in a given habitat. Foliage-gleaning species appear to assess the amount of search time each perch warrants, presumably based on the degree of complexity of the search area. They either sally at prey before that time, or give-up when the allotted time has elapsed.
Intuitions for inferences

In this paper, I explore a question about deductive reasoning: why am I in a position to immediately infer some deductive consequences of what I know, but not others? I show why the question cannot be answered in the most natural ways of answering it, in particular in Descartes’s way of answering it. I then go on to introduce a new approach to answering the question, an approach inspired by Hume’s view of inductive reasoning.
Accounting for the tongue-and-groove effect using a robust direct aperture optimization approach

Purpose: Traditionally, the tongue-and-groove effect due to the multileaf collimator architecture in intensity-modulated radiation therapy(IMRT) has typically been deferred to the leaf sequencing stage. The authors propose a new direct aperture optimization method for IMRTtreatment planning that explicitly incorporates dose calculation inaccuracies due to the tongue-and-groove effect into the treatment plan optimization stage. Methods: The authors avoid having to accurately estimate the dosimetric effects of the tongue-and-groove architecture by using lower and upper bounds on the dose distribution delivered to the patient. They then develop a model that yields a treatment plan that is robust with respect to the corresponding dose calculation inaccuracies. Results: Tests on a set of ten clinical head-and-neck cancer cases demonstrate the effectiveness of the new method in developing robust treatment plans with tight dose distributions in targets and critical structures. This is contrasted with the very loose bounds on the dose distribution that are obtained by solving a traditional treatment plan optimizationmodel that ignores tongue-and-groove effects in the treatment planning stage. Conclusions: A robust direct aperture optimization approach is proposed to account for the dosimetric inaccuracies caused by the tongue-and-groove effect. The experiments validate the ability of the proposed approach in designing robust treatment plans regardless of the exact consequences of the tongue-and-groove architecture.
Tessellations with arbitrary growth rates

A tessellation is taken to be an infinite, 1-ended, 3-connected, locally finite, and locally cofinite plane map. When such a tessellation is the induced graph of a tiling of the hyperbolic plane, it is known that the asymptotic growth of the tessellation is exponential. We address an unpublished conjecture of Watkins, that growth rates of such tessellations can be made arbitrarily close to 1. Given any real number @x>1, we use analytic methods to construct a tessellation with growth rate @x.
Point of Entry and Functional Outcomes After Comprehensive Day Treatment Participation

Abstract Micklewright JL, Yutsis M, Smigielski JS, Brown AW, Bergquist TF. Point of entry and functional outcomes after comprehensive day treatment participation. Objectives To explore the relationship between point of entry into a comprehensive day treatment (CDT) program and outcomes after acquired brain injury (ABI). We hypothesized that participants entering our program 0 to 6 months postinjury would demonstrate greater declines in neurobehavioral sequelae and improvements in residential/vocational independence than those entering >6 to 12 and >12 to 24 months postinjury. Design Retrospective examination of admission, discharge, and 1-year follow-up data from a CDT program. Setting A large Midwestern academic medical center. Participants Adult CDT participants with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) (n=54) or cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) (n=29). Interventions A CDT rehabilitation program. Main Outcome Measures Portland Adaptability Inventory/Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory (percent change scores between admission and discharge) and the Independent Living and Vocational Independence Scales. Results Time since injury was categorically coded into the 3 aforementioned point of entry groups. A 2 (injury type) × 3 (point of entry) between subjects analysis of covariance revealed a significant main effect for the point of entry ( P Conclusions Entry into a CDT program (0–6mo postinjury) is associated with significantly greater declines in neurobehavioral sequelae and improvements in residential and vocational independence in participants with TBI or CVA. Sustainable modest treatment gains were also observed in the late entry groups, suggesting that these individuals also benefit significantly from CDT program participation.
Studies on portunid crabs from the Eastern Pacific. II. Significance of the unusual distribution of Euphylax dovii

Euphylax dovii Stimpson (Brachyura: Portunidae: Podophthalminae), a tropical Eastern Pacific swimming crab, has distinctive morphological adaptations for pelagic existence. Crabs in collections from the open ocean had a sex ratio approximating 1:1, with no crabs bearing eggs. Samples from the continental shelf of Colombia contained thousands of females, mostly ovigerous, but no males. Egg attachment has posed a major problem in the evolution of decapod crustaceans, and the two genera of portunid crabs thus far observed cannot attach eggs unless females can bury partly in soft sediments. This suggests that mated E. dovii females must migrate into shallow shelf waters to encounter sediments necessary for spawning. The high energetic cost of swimming while carrying eggs and the presence of abundant food for larvae are factors favoring residence of females in shelf waters until hatching is complete.
A Hybrid Solution Methodology for Efficient Solving of Radiative Heat Transfer in Non Gray Medium Using WSSG Model

The weighted sum of gray gases (WSGG) method has been used extensively for radiation modeling of non gray medium gases. The radiative transfer equation (RTE) for each gray gas can be solved using the Discrete Ordinate (DO) model, which is sufficiently accurate over wide range of optical thickness, but it is computationally expensive. The P1 approximation is an efficient alternative to solve the RTE, but applicable to optically thick medium only. In the present work, a hybrid solution methodology to solve RTE in a non gray medium using WSGG model is proposed. Results for the case of four gray gases are presented. The philosophy is to achieve the optimum performance using combination of the P1 and DO model with respect to the optical thickness of the gray gases being solved with minimal loss in accuracy. In this approach, the transparent and/or optically thin gases are solved using the DO model while the P1 approximation is used for the optically thick gases. This combination reduces the total number of radiation intensity equation to be solved very significantly. A study of accuracy and computational cost for the hybrid solution methodology has been done for a variety of test cases in order of increasing complexity. It has been found that the hybrid solution methodology, in which RTE for two gray gases are solved by DO model and the remaining two gray gases by P1 approximation, provided similar accuracy with significant speedup compared to the conventional approach in which RTE for all gray gases are solved with DO model. Another variant of the hybrid approach, in which DO model is used only for the transparent gas, is also considered and found to be sufficiently accurate for most of the cases.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
The safe and effective use of propofol sedation in children undergoing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures: experience in a pediatric ICU and a review of the literature.

ObjectivesTo describe our experience using propofol sedation to facilitate elective diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and to document the safety profile of propofol in this setting.DesignRetrospective consecutive case series and review of the literature.SettingPediatric intensive care unit of a
An advance in the chemical synthesis of homogeneous N-linked glycopolypeptides by convergent aspartylation.

We describe a useful advance in glycopeptide synthesis. We have developed a one-flask aspartylation/deprotection method, wherein long peptide fragments, bearing proximal pseudoproline functionality are merged with complex glycan domains. Following aspartylation, acidmediated global deprotection reveals the elaborated glycopeptide. The temporary pseudoproline functionality serves to suppress formation of aspartimide side products during solid phase peptide synthesis and aspartylation.
Replacement of the colon mucosa in the dog

Summary o 1. A technique for replacing the colon mucosa with that of the small intestine has been presented. Rather than utilizing free grafts, the blood supply to the colon muscularis and ileum mucosa has been preserved. 2. Although the feasibility of applying this procedure to the human has not yet been determined, it is presented as a useful technique in the study of problems related to the gastro-intestinal tract.
A question of Kaplansky

Abstract We show, using affinization, that over any field F there exists a primitive, algebraic affine F-algebra that is not locally finite, answering a question of Kaplansky in the affirmative.
Profiling two indole-2-carboxamides for allosteric modulation of the CB1 receptor.

Allosteric modulation of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) represents a novel approach for fine-tuning GPCR functions. The cannabinoid CB1 receptor, a GPCR associated with the CNS, has been implicated in the treatment of drug addiction, pain, and appetite disorders. We report here the synthesis and pharmacological characterization of two indole-2-carboxamides:5-chloro-3-ethyl-1-methyl-N-(4-(piperidin-1-yl)phenethyl)-1H-indole-2-carboxamide (ICAM-a) and 5-chloro-3-pentyl-N-(4-(piperidin-1-yl)phenethyl)-1H-indole-2-carboxamide (ICAM-b). Although both ICAM-a and ICAM-b enhanced CP55, 940 binding, ICAM-b exhibited the strongest positive cooperativity thus far demonstrated for enhancing agonist binding to the CB1 receptor. Although it displayed negative modulatory effects on G-protein coupling to CB1, ICAM-b induced β-arrestin-mediated downstream activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling. These results indicate that this compound represents a novel class of CB1 ligands that produce biased signaling via CB1.
Model T muscle CARs can treat brain tumors

Despite standard treatment with resection, radiation and chemotherapy, glioblastoma (GBM) remains a deadly disease with a dismal prognosis. Redirecting patient T cells to target the GBM-associated antigen, IL13Rα2, offers a promising translational immunotherapy with the potential to make a meaningful impact for patients with this disease.
Characterization of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Isolated from Swine in Three Michigan Counties

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci are a major cause of nosocomial infections but are rarely found in humans in the community and have not been identified in food animals in the United States. We evaluated a total of 360 fecal specimens from humans and their animals being raised for exhibit at three county fairs in Michigan. Fecal samples from 158 humans, 55 swine, 50 cattle, 25 horses, 57 sheep, 14 goats, and 1 llama were obtained and plated onto Enterococcosel agar containing 16 μg/ml of vancomycin. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) was isolated from six pigs but not from humans or any animal other than pigs. All six VREF isolates had a MIC to vancomycin of ≥256 μg/ml and contained the vanA gene. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of the six VREF isolates were ≥80% similar. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) revealed sequence type 5 (ST5) (n = 2), ST6 (n = 3), and ST185 (n = 1), which are E. faecium sequence types belonging to clonal complex 5 (CC5). These findings show the dissemination of VREF strains among pigs in three Michigan counties. This is the first report of VRE found in food animals in the United States.
Segregation of 5-Fluorocytosine-Resistant Variants by Candida albicans

Abstract Spontaneous production of 5-fluorocytosine-resistant variants by three Candida albicans isolates is due to segregation from a preexisting heterozygous state.
Cycles of Conflict: An Economic Model

Abstract We propose a model of cycles of conflict and distrust. Overlapping generations of agents from two groups sequentially play coordination games under incomplete information about whether the other side consists of bad types who always take bad actions. Good actions may be misperceived as bad and information about past actions is limited. Conflict spirals start as a result of misperceptions but also contain the seeds of their own dissolution: Bayesian agents eventually conclude that the spiral likely started by mistake, and is thus uninformative of the opposing group's type. The agents then experiment with a good action, restarting the cycle. (JEL D72, D74, D83, Z13)
Concurrent Epidemics of Skin and Soft Tissue Infection and Bloodstream Infection Due to Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Since 2000, a dramatic increase in the number of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections has been observed in North America, mostly related to the emergence of the USA300 clone as a primary cause of community-associated disease [1–3]. More recent studies revealed that USA300 has spread from the community to hospitals where it has become the predominant clone isolated in various settings [4, 5]. Most USA300 infections manifest as skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) [6], although life-threatening infections have also been documented among persons with comorbid conditions as well as healthy community-dwelling individuals [7, 8]. Inasmuch as SSTIs can result in dissemination of staphylococci into the bloodstream, the impact of this focus of infection—especially in the context of the USA300 epidemic—on the burden and outcome of BSI has not been well studied. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common etiologies of bloodstream infection (BSI) [9, 10]. MRSA BSI is a serious complication of MRSA colonization and/or infection, associated with substantial morbidity and mortality [11–14] and unresolved treatment issues [15, 16]. Bacteremia was present in 75% of invasive MRSA diseases in a population-based multicentric study performed in 2004–2005 in the United States [17], with an estimated standardized incidence rate of MRSA BSI at 23.8 per 100 000 inhabitants per year. In this study, results of molecular typing of a subset of isolates (11.3% of reported cases) suggested that USA300 accounted for 67% (100/150) of community-associated invasive MRSA disease, but only 16% (34/216) of healthcare-associated and 22% (108/485) of nosocomial invasive MRSA diseases [17], which led to the authors’ statement that “most invasive MRSA disease in the United States is still caused by MRSA strain of healthcare origin” [17]. However, this may not be the case in the most affected areas, such as San Francisco, where USA300 emerged in 2000 and dramatically changed MRSA epidemiology [18–20]. Indeed, it has been shown that the prevalence of USA300 strains among cases of healthcare-associated MRSA BSI may vary dramatically among geographically clustered hospitals [21]. The purpose of our study was to (1) assess temporal trends of MRSA BSI and (2) determine risk factors associated with BSI due to the USA300 clonal type from 2000 to 2008 in the Community Health Network of San Francisco, which includes San Francisco General Hospital, a public tertiary care center, and 13 citywide outpatient clinics.
Comparisons of radioiodoestradiol blood-tissue exchange after intravenous or intraarterial injection

Abstract Purpose : Our study determines and compares how the major organs of large animals handle exogenous halogenated bioactive sex steroids within the first minutes after their i.v. or i.a. injection. The rationale is that an understanding is needed of the acute physiological events because they affect decisions for how to optimize delivery of radiohalogenated sex steroid receptor ligands for purposes of medical imaging and modes of radiotherapy. Methods and Materials : We used an indicator dilution technique that allows monitoring of blood-tissue exchange of radioactivity in a continuous manner in anesthetized surgically prepared swin. Results : In swine, with by-passed liver circulation, the lungs allow the vast majority of [I-125]-16alpha-iodo-17beta-estradiol([I-125]E) to be extracted from the blood perfusing the lung in the initial tarnsmit after i.v. injection in vivo. Similar outcome was observed for most major organs, including the CNS, intestines, spleen, peripheral appendages, and kidneys after i.a. injection of [I-125]E in vivo. However, within minutes the organs releaed the [I-125]E in its original chemical form back into the vascular system, with the exception of estrogen receptor (ER) rich tissues and the kidneys that retained the [I-125]E in its original form, although in the kidneys a nonpolar metabolite also accumulated. Conclusion : Our experiments confirm in a large animal model that radioiodoestradiol can be sequestered or concentrated in ER-rich sites. The liver and sex steroid receptor-rich organs modify considerably, by metabolism and sequestration, respectively, the acute distribution of bioactive steroids. our data indicate potential for detection of ER in vivo in hormone-sensitive tumors, that is, in breast and endoemtrial cancers, and offer improved understanding of the recent studies in subjects with breast cancer that demonstrated that receptor imaging in vivo of steroid receptors with high-affinity radiolabeled ligands is possible in a clinical setting.
Social Class and Social Time Perspective

The present research introduces and provisionally tests an improved methodological procedure (the Social Time Perspective Scale) for determining class-linked differences in the way persons anticipate the future and orient their behavior to it. Data for this analysis are drawn from a sample of freshmen in college who come largely, but not entirely, from middle-class backgrounds and from a sample of Job Corpsmen who come primarily from lower-class backgrounds. The findings reveal that: (1) lowerclass youth in the Job Corps have a more circumscribed notion of future time than youth from the middle class and their outlook on the future is less systematically ordered; (2) upwardly mobile lower-class youth in college have succeeded in incorporating some features of the middle-class pattern of future orientation in their temporal outlook, but residues of their lower-class backgrounds are still present; and (3) in both the lowerand middle-class samples, the length of temporal perspectives is a factor mediating effective role performance. The effects of social class upon the development of future time perspectives have been the object of much speculation and inquiry. Various theories have been advanced to explain social class differences in temporal perspectives (see O'Rand, 1969:1-38). Yet our state of knowledge is still in its formative stage. Those studies providing the most consistent evidence of class-linked differences in temporal perspectives tend to be rich in substantive detail but lacking in methodological rigor (Davis and Dollard, 1940; Horton, 1967; Liebow, 1967). Those studies attempting to offer more precise evidence often turn up inconsistent results, partially because the methodology employed is inadequate for the task at hand (cf. Doob, 1971; Lessing, 1968; O'Rand,
Powerful Qualities, Not Pure Powers

I explore two accounts of properties within a dispositional essentialist (or causal powers) framework, the pure powers view and the powerful qualities view. I rst attempt to clarify precisely what the pure powers view is, and then raise objections to it. I then present the powerful qualities view and, in order to avoid a common misconception, oer a restatement of it that I shall call the truthmaker view. I end by briey defending the truthmaker view against objections.
Simulation of an iris-guided inverse free-electron laser micro-bunching experiment

This paper presents a detailed computational examination of various physical effects that enter into an innovative approach to inverse free-electron laser (IFEL) acceleration and microbunching experiments, involving use of irises to guide the high power laser beam. In IFELs, there is a great advantage to using long wavelength, and thus diffractive lasers, which are also quite high power. As this scenario presents challenges to the final focusing optics, one must consider guiding, which for present schemes is either too lossy (in metallic guides), or incapable of supporting high fields (as in dielectric guides). Hence we are driven to examine an alternative scheme, that of using the effects of diffraction off of periodically placed metallic irises which have an inner diameter in a relatively low field region. We present below a computational analysis of the wave dynamics associated with the laser beam in this scheme. We then proceed to integrate this type of circularly polarized electromagnetic radiation field into a self- consistent simulation of beam dynamics inside of a helical undulator under construction at the UCLA Neptune Laboratory inverse free-electron laser. With this integrated tool, we then study the degree of microbunching bunching at the laser optical wavelength induced in a relativistic electron beam. Finally, we study the propagation of the beam after the IFEL interaction, including beam self-force (single component plasma) effects, to predict the level of microbunching at the fundamental (laser) frequency and its harmonics that are observed at a detector using coherent transition radiation.
Genome-wide detection of a TFIID localization element from an initial human disease mutation

Eukaryotic core promoters are often characterized by the presence of consensus motifs such as the TATA box or initiator elements, which attract and direct the transcriptional machinery to the transcription start site. However, many human promoters have none of the known core promoter motifs, suggesting that undiscovered promoter motifs exist in the genome. We previously identified a mutation in the human Ankyrin-1 (ANK-1) promoter that causes the disease ankyrin-deficient Hereditary Spherocytosis (HS). Although the ANK-1 promoter is CpG rich, no discernable basal promoter elements had been identified. We showed that the HS mutation disrupted the binding of the transcription factor TFIID, the major component of the pre-initiation complex. We hypothesized that the mutation identified a candidate promoter element with a more widespread role in gene regulation. We examined 17,181 human promoters for the experimentally validated binding site, called the TFIID localization sequence (DLS) and found three times as many promoters containing DLS than TATA motifs. Mutational analyses of DLS sequences confirmed their functional significance, as did the addition of a DLS site to a minimal Sp1 promoter. Our results demonstrate that novel promoter elements can be identified on a genome-wide scale through observations of regulatory disruptions that cause human disease.
Interactions of Nonaqueous Solvents with Textile Fibers Part VI: Effects of Solvent Treatments on Textured Polyester Yams

The interactions of three chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents with textured polyester yams have been investigated. The solvents perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, and methylene chloride differ widely in their ability to interact with polyester fibers. Textralized and Superloft standard and cationic dyeable Dacron yarns have been included in this investigation.The dynamic and isothermal shrinkage behavior of the textured yarns reflects the diffusion of the solvents into the complex structures produced by the texturing process and the rate and extent of their interactions with the polymer. Characteristic shrinkage maxima are observed which are associated with the opening and closing of kinks, especially in the Textralized yam. More or less extensive overall shrinkage as a result of the solvent treatments produces an increase in the bulkiness of the textured yarns.The stability of the additional solvent-induced crimp and of the original thermally-induced crimp were studied. It could be shown that while the o...
Structural Liberalism and Anti-Bullying Legislation

This article investigates the legal, semantic, and material implications of Massachusetts’ anti-bullying law through an analytic framework of structural liberalism. Specifically, this article asks how the law produces categories of fit and unfit subjects of the state through raced and gendered practices of individualism, paternalism, meliorism, and neutrality. Ultimately, this article suggests that the liberal law draws on and entrenches existing racial categories of victim and perpetrator, making non-dominant dimensions of LGBTQ identity and collectivity in schools legally and ideologically unrecognizable.
Biologically-Inspired Design: Getting It Wrong and Getting It Right

Large, complex computing systems have many similarities to biological systems, at least at a high level. They consist of a very large number of components, the interactions between which are complex and dynamic, and the overall behavior of the system is not always predictable even if the components are well understood. These similarities have led the computing community to look to biology for design inspiration. But computing systems are not biological systems. Care must be taken when applying biological designs to computing systems, and we need to avoid applying them when they are not appropriate. We review three areas in which we have used biology as an inspiration to understand and construct computing systems. The first is the epidemiology of computer viruses, in which biological models are used to predict the speed and scope of global virus spread. The second is global defenses against computer viruses, in which the mammalian immune system is the starting point for design. The third is self-assembling autonomic systems, in which the components of a system connect locally, without global control, to provide a desired global function. In each area, we look at an approach that seems very biologically motivated, but that turns out to yield poor results. Then, we look at an approach that works well, and contrast it with the prior misstep. Perhaps unsurprisingly, attempting to reason by analogy is fraught with dangers. Rather, it is critical to have a detailed, rigorous understanding of the system being constructed and the technologies being used, and to understand the differences between the biological system and the computing system, as well as their similarities.
Physiological Adaptations in Decapodan Crustaceans for Life in Fresh Water

In recent years, there have been several excellent review articles on aspects of decapod crustacean physiology including ventilation and circulation (Taylor 1982; Cameron and Mangum 1983; McMahon and Wilkens 1983; McMahon and Burggren 1988), acid-base balance (Truchot 1983; Cameron 1986), gas transport (McMahon 1981; Mangum 1983), and osmoregulation (Mantel and Farmer 1983). These have focused predominantly on the marine decapods that constitute the majority (90%) of crustacean species. While research has steadily continued on freshwater (FW) decapods such as the crayfish, this information is typically “lost” among the wealth of information on marine species. This is regrettable because FW species exhibit some of the most sophisticated physiological mechanisms among crustaceans. To name but a few, they have well-developed branchial ion uptake mechanisms, a kidney with the unique ability to produce dilute urine, and adaptations for molting and postmolt calcification in an inhospitable environment. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of FW dictate that environmental challenges such as hypoxia, hyperoxia, hypercapnia, and aerial exposure, as well as man-made problems such as acidification, are experienced more routinely by FW as opposed to marine species. In summary, therefore, it would appear that FW decapods deserve separate recognition.
Very high-speed computing systems

Very high-speed computers may be classified as follows: 1) Single Instruction Stream-Single Data Stream (SISD) 2) Single Instruction Stream-Multiple Data Stream (SIMD) 3) Multiple Instruction Stream-Single Data Stream (MISD) 4) Multiple Instruction Stream-Multiple Data Stream (MIMD). "Stream," as used here, refers to the sequence of data or instructions as seen by the machine during the execution of a program. The constituents of a system: storage, execution, and instruction handling (branching) are discussed with regard to recent developments and/or systems limitations. The constituents are discussed in terms of concurrent SISD systems (CDC 6600 series and, in particular, IBM Model 90 series), since multiple stream organizations usually do not require any more elaborate components. Representative organizations are selected from each class and the arrangement of the constituents is shown.