cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Environmental enrichment delays the development of stereotypic behavior and reduces variability in behavioral experiments using California mice (Peromyscus californicus).

Domesticated mice and rats have shown to be powerful model systems for biomedical research, but there are cases in which the biology of species is a poor match for the hypotheses under study. The California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) has unique physiological and behavioral traits and has emerged as a powerful model for studying sex differences in the biology of psychiatric disease, which is particularly relevant considering the new NIH guidelines that require the inclusion of sex as a biological variable. Despite its growing role in preclinical research, there is a lack of studies assessing species-specific housing needs, which presents a challenge for research facilities seeking to ensure good welfare and obtaining high-quality experimental data. Indeed, captive California mice present a high prevalence of stereotypic backflipping behavior, a common consequence of suboptimal housing and a potential source of experimental outcome variability. Using three different cage systems, the present studies show that increasing housing space as well as social and environmental complexity can delay the development of stereotypic behavior in male and female California mice. Critically, this reduction in stereotypy is accompanied by increased effect sizes of stress in an established model for social anxiety. These results suggest that increased cage size and enrichment could enhance welfare in California mice while simultaneously increasing the quality of behavioral experiments.
Spontaneous Umbilical Cord Hematoma.

Spontaneous umbilical cord hematoma is a rare complication with a usually benign course but is potentially fatal without vigilant and timely medical intervention. We present the case of a 23-year-old primigravida mother who presented in labor. She was placed on continuous fetal heart rate monitoring, which showed two episodes of fetal heart rate tracing of the category II variety. The labor was induced with oxytocin, and the ammonitic membrane was incised artificially. The baby was male, term at 38 weeks, with an appropriate weight, length, and head circumference. There was no gross anomaly or dysmorphic features; the APGAR (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration) score of the baby was 9 and 9 at the first and fifth minutes, respectively. A 4.5 cm hematoma was discovered on the umbilical cord immediately following delivery. He was admitted to the regular nursery for routine newborn care and was discharged home in stable condition. Spontaneous umbilical cord hematoma is usually due to the rupture of the umbilical vein. Mostly, the umbilical cord hematoma occurs spontaneously and often follows a benign course, however, in some cases, the perinatal loss secondary to umbilical cord hematoma could very high, especially if associated with abnormal fetal heart rate tracing. Because of the potential for fatality inherent in this condition and to understand the clinical manifestations, risk factors, and eventual course of spontaneous cord hematoma, we present this case to help fellow pediatricians reduce morbidity and mortality associated with it.
Comparison of Patient-Reported Functional Recovery From Different Types of Ophthalmic Surgery

Purpose To characterize and compare patient-reported recovery of function after cataract or glaucoma surgery using a novel visual analog scale. Design Prospective observational cohort study. Methods Daily for 2 weeks and weekly thereafter, patients recovering from trabeculectomy, tube shunt implantation, or cataract extraction (CE) completed a diary-style questionnaire including visual analog scales (VASs; scored 0-100) grading pain and global function. Clinical examination data and medical histories were collected. Generalized estimating equation models evaluated associations between VAS function scores and pain or visual acuity (VA) and compared scores between surgery types. Results Among 51 participants followed for 12 weeks, tube shunt placement reduced postoperative day 1 (POD1) function by 47 of 100 points vs CE (P = .006), while trabeculectomy did not reduce POD1 function vs CE (P = .33). After CE, trabeculectomy, and tube shunt placement, average VAS function scores increased 13.94 per week for 2 weeks (P Conclusions Patients recovering from cataract and glaucoma surgery report reduced function in the postoperative period. Tube shunt implantation causes greater morbidity than trabeculectomy, and both are associated with slower improvement than CE. Early postoperative function is associated with VA and pain, but neither fully explains reported impairment. A VAS for function may efficiently capture postoperative recovery.
An Unbalanced Sinuous Antenna for Ultra-Wideband Polarimetric Ground-Penetrating Radar

Sinuous antennas are capable of producing ultra-wideband radiation with polarization diversity in a low-profile form factor, making them a good fit for close-in sensing applications such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR). This work proposes an unconventional method of operating a four-port sinuous antenna—driving each arm independently and unbalanced—to achieve a quasi-monostatic antenna system capable of polarimetry while separating transmit and receive channels, as is common in GPR systems. The quasi-monostatic configuration of the antenna reduces system size as well as increasing sensitivity to near-surface targets by preventing extreme bistatic angles. A prototype four-port sinuous antenna is fabricated and integrated into a GPR testbed. The polarimetric data obtained with the antenna is then used to distinguish between buried target symmetries.
A Data-Driven Mathematical Model of the Heroin and Fentanyl Epidemic in Tennessee

Opioid addiction represents a major national health issue spanning decades. In recent years, prescription opioid use disorder has increasingly led to heroin and fentanyl use, with subsequent increases in mortality rates due to overdose. In this paper, we present a mechanistic, epidemic model for prescription opioid addiction and illicit heroin or fentanyl addiction which aims to better understand and predict the dynamics between these two stages of opioid use disorder. Our model aims to be both parsimonious and robust: as a system of five differential equations it is appropriate for use in theory advancement and yet it remains powerful enough to capture state-level data from Tennessee for the period 2013–2018. A key finding from our data-driven analysis is that, in the face of changing policy around prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl are now the driving force behind the Tennessee opioid epidemic. Model projections suggest that both addictions and overdoses related to heroin and fentanyl will continue to increase in the next few years (2020–2022), even as addiction to prescription drugs continues to fall. Finally, management strategy analysis suggests that in the changing face of the epidemic, the most successful approach will target availability of treatment with subsequent monitoring of stably recovered individuals to see that they do not relapse, coincident with direct efforts to decrease opioid overdose fatalities (e.g., further availability of Naloxone).
Didanosine-Associated Retinal Toxicity in a Patient With a Mutation in the CRB1 Gene:

Purpose:This article describes a case of didanosine (DDI)-associated retinal toxicity in a patient with a heterozygous pathogenic variant in the CRB1 gene.Methods:Case report.Results:A middle-aged ...
Nutrition Management of Urea Cycle Disorders

Urea cycle disorders (UCD) differ widely in their presentation and severity. Correcting hyperammonemia is the priority in treating UCD. Dietary protein is restricted in UCD. The amount of protein provided as whole protein versus medical food protein (essential amino acid) varies. Preventing catabolism by providing sufficient energy is a critical part of nutrition management. Medications that remove nitrogen by alternative pathways help to prevent hyperammonemia and increase protein tolerance. Outcomes are guarded and depend on severity of the disease. Liver transplantation is recommended for infants with severe forms of the disorder.
Insider Trading Regulation and Market Quality: Evidence from American Depositary Receipts

We investigate the relation between insider trading law enforcement and stock market quality using a sample of American Depositary Receipts (ADR) over the period from 1998 to 2006. We show that ADR from countries that have enforced insider trading laws have better market liquidity and lower information asymmetry than ADR from countries that have not enforced insider trading laws. In addition, ADR from countries with insider trading law enforcement have greater price efficiency. Our results are robust to different estimation methods and alternative model specifications. We interpret these results as evidence that the enforcement of insider trading laws can effectively deter insider trading and enhance both market liquidity and price efficiency.
The digestive function of the epithelium of the small intestine. II. Localization of disaccharide hydrolysis in the isolated brush border portion of intestinal epithelial cells.

Abstract The epithelial brush border membrane has been isolated as a morphologically distinct entity from homogenates of intestinal mucosa and found to contain virtually all of the invertase and maltase activities of the unfractionated homogenate.
Protection of Agricultural Land: An Institutionalist Perspective

For a long time, the consensus of old farmers sitting around crossroads stores has been that, sooner or later, America is going to run out of agricultural land because of all the houses, shopping centers, and highways that are spreading out onto the nation's cropland. And for years, such observations have been summarily dismissed as the ravings of ignorant men with too much time on their hands. Yet in the last half of the 1970s, a significant part of the educated elite in the United States began to suspect that those old farmers just might be correct. The farm press began to run articles concerning the loss of prime agricultural land to urban sprawl (Johnson); some of the more prestigious national journals appealing to educated laymen began to publish articles on the subject (Blundell); and even general circulation newspapers that seldom deign to print anything other than stories on political corruption or murder and mayhem devoted space to feature-length articles warning of the loss of cropland to non-agricultural uses (Burnside).
Conceptualizing relations between instructional guidance infrastructure (IGI) and teachers’ beliefs about mathematics instruction: Regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive considerations

Scholars have become increasingly interested in what is often referred to as the instructional guidance infrastructure (IGI). Research has identified the characteristics of infrastructures that make them more or less influential in guiding teachers’ instruction, such as alignment, authority, and prescriptiveness. Although these are important, a key question is whether and how IGIs work to influence teachers’ beliefs and practices. We use new institutional theory to theorize relations between IGIs and teachers’ beliefs about how students learn mathematics in two local school systems undergoing instructional reform. Based on new institutional theory, we explore how the three pillars of institutions—regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive—worked in interaction to shape teachers’ beliefs. In doing so, we develop a more comprehensive framework for examining IGIs and how they operate.
Urinary C19 steroids in two girls with precocious sexual hair.

The cases of 2 girls with precocious sexual hair are described. The urinary C19 steroids were fractionated on an alumina column and by paper chromatography. The results were compared with values from normal children of the same age group determined by the same technique and in the same laboratory. Both patients showed marked quantitative differences for 2 major urinary 11-deoxy-17-ketosteroids. Androsterone (ANDRO) in the 2 affected girls was 6 and 4 times, respectively, the average 24-hr excretion in the urine of the control girls. The urinary etiocholanolone (ETIO) was 3 and 2.5 times, respectively, the value of the controls. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DEA) and epiandrosterone (EPI) were demonstrated in the urine of one of the 2 cases but not in the controls. The values found for urinary 11-ketoandrosterone (11–O-ANDRO), 11-hydroxyandrosterone (11–OH-ANDRO), 11-keto-etiocholanolone (11–O-ETIO) and 11-hydroxyetiocholanolone (11–OH-ETIO) were not appreciably different from the control values.
Two-Sided Platforms: Product Variety and Pricing Structures

This paper provides a new modeling framework to analyze two-sided platforms connecting producers and consumers. In contrast to the existing literature, indirect network effects are determined endogenously, through consumers' taste for variety and producer competition. Three new aspects of platform pricing structures are derived. First, the optimal platform pricing structure shifts towards extracting more rents from producers relative to consumers when consumers have stronger demand for variety, since producers become less substitutable. With platform competition, consumer preferences for variety, producer market power, and producer economies of scale in multihoming also make platforms' price-cutting strategies on the consumer side less effective. This second effect on equilibrium pricing structures goes in the opposite direction relative to the first one. Third, variable fees charged to producers can serve to trade off producer innovation incentives against the need to reduce a platform holdup problem.
Proto-CIRCUS tilted-coil tokamak-stellarator hybrid

We present the design, construction and field line modeling of a prototype circular coil tokamak-stellarator hybrid (Proto-CIRCUS) of major radius R = 11 cm and minor radius a <; 5 cm. The six “toroidal field” coils are planar as in a tokamak, but they are tilted. This, combined with induced or driven plasma current, is expected to generate rotational transform, as seen in field-line tracing and equilibrium calculations [1]. The device can be operated at lower plasma current than a tokamak of comparable size and magnetic field, which might have interesting implications for disruptions and steady-state operation. Additionally, the toroidal magnetic ripple is expected to be less pronounced than in an equivalent tokamak in which the coils are not tilted. The tilted coils are interlocked, resulting in a relatively low aspect ratio, and can be moved, both radially and in tilt angle, between discharges. This capability will be exploited for detailed comparisons between calculations and field-line mapping measurements. Such comparisons will reveal whether this relatively simple concept can generate the expected rotational transform.
Fenamate-induced enhancement of heterologously expressed HERG currents in Xenopus oocytes.

Abstract The human ether-a-go-go related gene (HERG) product encodes for the pore-forming subunit of the rapid component of the delayed rectifier K + channel that mediates repolarization of cardiac action potential. HERG channels are also potential targets of a large variety of pharmacological agents most of which tend to block HERG currents. In this study, we examined the effects of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, flufenamic acid and niflumic acid, on heterologously expressed HERG channels in oocytes. The cRNA of HERG (30 ng) was injected into Xenopus oocytes and currents were recorded using two-electrode voltage clamp technique in a low Cl − solution. Flufenamic and niflumic acids (10 −4 –5×10 −4 M) enhanced the amplitude of outward currents evoked by depolarizing pulses. At potentials positive to 0 mV, an initial transient component was also evident in the presence of fenamates. Fenamates accelerated the activation rate of HERG channels and decelerated their deactivation. Flufenamic acid (5×10 −4 M) shifted the I tail – V relationship from −26.7±0.1 to −31.4±0.2 mV. Neither flufenamic acid or niflumic acid affected the kinetics of HERG channel inactivation. Using a voltage protocol that mimicked the cardiac action potential, both fenamates increased the outward current during the plateau and during the phase 3 repolarization of action potential. The effects of the fenamates were blocked by the HERG channel blocker, E-4031 and were also not observed in water-injected oocytes. Our data suggest that fenamates enhance HERG currents and affect the action potential duration in the heart.
Evaluating Liver Enzyme Abnormalities in Clinical Trials Involving Diabetic Patients

The frequent occurrence of elevated liver enzymes in otherwise healthy diabetics confounds evaluation of drug-induced hepatotoxicity in clinical trials involving diabetic patients. In a recent single-dose tolerance study of an aldose-reductase inhibitor, we found abnormal liver enzyme tests occurring in 19 of 34 (56%) “healthy” diabetic patients. Alkaline phosphatase (AP) deviations occurred in 35%, and serum gluatamic-oxaloacetic transminase (SGOT) elevations occurred in 32%. Of these elevations, 91% were less than 30% above the upper limit of normal in the nondiabetic population. The enzyme elevation patterns varied both between and within patients and were not typical of a specific liver abnormality. We recommend guidelines to perform valid clinical trials in diabetics without either inappropriately excluding potential participants who are healthy or unnecessarily dropping them from the study. The guidelines also allow for maintenance of good safety monitoring practices. We recommend (1) increasing the...
Effect of Amniotic Fluid on Inhibition of Growth by Cortisone in Chicken Embryos

THE fact that cortisone has an inhibitory effect on growth of chicken embryos was first noted in 19471. A detailed study of this phenomenon was afterwards undertaken by Karnofsky, Ridgway and Patterson2 and their observations were confirmed by Yamada3 and by Siegel, Smith and Gerstl4. Cavallero, di Marco, Fuoco and Sala5 secured evidence indicating that the growth-inhibiting effect of cortisone is brought about by an interference with protein synthesis, and an excess of hydroxyproline found by Roberts, Karnofsky and Frankel6 after cortisone treatment presumably points to the same conclusion. In experiments with weanling rats, Tuchmann-Duplessis and Mercier-Parot7 failed to counteract the growth-inhibitory action of cortisone by concurrent treatment with somatotropic pituitary hormone, glucosamine or the polysaccharide fraction of human placenta. In chicken embryos, on the other hand, Sobel8 observed that the deleterious effects of cortisone on growth and survival were partially counteracted by simultaneous administration of somatotropic pituitary hormone.
A multiscale Monte Carlo finite element method for determining mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites

Abstract This paper introduces a multiscale Monte Carlo finite element method (MCFEM) for determining mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites (PNC) that consist of polymers reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT). Note that several approaches discussed in the open literature suggest values for the mechanical properties of PNC that differ significantly from the corresponding ones derived by experimental procedures. This discrepancy is addressed by the proposed MCFEM which accounts for the effect of the non-uniform dispersion and distribution of SWCNT in polymers in the macroscopic mechanical behavior of PNC. Specifically, the method uses a multiscale homogenization approach to link the structural variability at the nano-/micro scales with the local constitutive behavior. Subsequently, the method incorporates a FE scheme to determine the Young’s modulus and Poisson Ratio of PNC. The use of the computed properties in macroscale modeling is validated by comparison with experimental tensile test data.
Stress and immunity in wild vertebrates: Timing is everything

Stress has profound effects on vertebrate immunity, but most studies have considered stress-immune interactions in terms of wild animals enduring demanding, but predictable activities (e.g., immune alterations during breeding). A growing biomedical literature, however, indicates that stress may not be obligatorily immunosuppressive; in response to transient, unpredictable stressors, immune activity can be enhanced, especially in body areas requiring immune protection. Also, immune sensitivity to stressors is not fixed throughout life; oftentimes, glucocorticoid (GC) insensitivity can be induced. Further GC sensitivity can be programmed early in life; greater exposure to stressors prior to maturity heightens GC effects on immunity in adulthood. In the present paper, I review the cellular and molecular mechanisms that link stress responses to immune adjustments over short time scales in domesticated species then I attempt to place stress-immune interactions in a naturalistic, organismal context. When, how and why stressors affect immunity in wild animals remains practically unstudied.
Thermal structure of the deep pacific ocean in the early pliocene.

The thermal structure of the Pacific Ocean between water depths of about 1 and 4.5 kilometers is estimated from the oxygen isotopic ratio of benthonic foraminifera from deep-drilled and piston cores of early Pliocene age (about 3 to 5 million years ago). The ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 in the early Pliocene at each site varies by an average of only ± 0.12 per mil (1 standard deviation). A plot of the oxygen isotopic ratio against modern bottom-water temperature is adequately fit by a line having a slope of – 0.26 per mil per degree Celsius (the equilibrium temperature dependence of calcite-water fractionation), suggesting that the temperature gradient of the Pacific Ocean during the early Pliocene was similar to that of today.
An Arabidopsis haplotype map takes root.

The report of a haplotype map for the selfing plant Arabidopsis thaliana has uncovered numerous major-effect polymorphisms and rapid linkage disequilibrium decay. This work lays the foundation for genome-wide association studies at near-gene-level resolution in a model organism possessing substantial functional diversity and extensive community resources.
Extraordinarily slow nuclear spin relaxation in frozen laser-polarized 129Xe.

We studied the very slow nuclear spin-lattice relaxation of solid $^{129}\mathrm{Xe}$ as a function of temperature and magnetic field using laser-polarized nuclei. Relaxation times in excess of 500 h were measured. We present evidence for a new relaxation mechanism which results from a Raman spin-phonon scattering process involving the spin-rotation interaction. We also establish the existence of cross relaxation between $^{129}\mathrm{Xe}$ and the other magnetic isotope $^{131}\mathrm{Xe}$ and demonstrate that laser-polarized $^{129}\mathrm{Xe}$ can be used to cross polarize other nuclei that are present in the lattice.
Successful Laparoscopically Assisted Transcervical Suction Evacuation of Interstitial Pregnancy following Failed Methotrexate Injection in a Community Hospital Setting

We report on a case of a patient with an early diagnosed cornual ectopic pregnancy following failed methotrexate treatment. The patient was subsequently taken to the operating room for a laparoscopic guided transcervical suction curettage of the cornual ectopic. The surgery was successful and the patient was followed up until her urine pregnancy test was negative. We conclude that in properly selected patients, cornual ectopic pregnancy may be treated with transcervical suction curettage.
Predictors of Pretreatment Commitment to Abstinence: Results from the COMBINE Study

Objective:Patients entering treatment for alcohol problems do not have uniform treatment goals, and a pretreatment drinking goal has a significant impact on treatment outcome. The objective of this study was to understand better how an array of individual characteristics, including factors that affect treatment, are related to treatment goals before beginning alcohol treatment in the COMBINE (Combining Medications and Behavioral Interventions) Study.Method:Participants were alcohol-dependent individuals (N = 1,156; 357 women) recruited at 11 outpatient academic alcoholism-treatment clinics across the United States to participate in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that combined behavioral intervention with acamprosate and/or naltrexone. Treatment goal was coded as controlled drinking, conditional abstinence, or total abstinence. Multinomial logistic regressions assessed whether there were significant relationships between predictor variables and pretreatment goal selection.Results:Lowe...
Cognitive neuroscience and the status of aphasiology

(1988). Cognitive neuroscience and the status of aphasiology. Aphasiology: Vol. 2, No. 3-4, pp. 271-277.
Artificial neural networks for land-cover classification and mapping

Abstract. Artificial intelligence approaches toward image processing and pattern recognition are perceived as an alternative to, and an improvement over, traditional statistically-based procedures. Of particular interest to the satellite remote sensing community are artificial neural networks. This article describes the application of such an approach to the problem of deriving land-cover information from Landsat satellite Thematic Mapper (TM) digital imagery. The techniques being developed are ones that will provide more accurate and useful data for use with geographical information systems.
Mechanism of the nanoparticle-catalyzed polymerization of furfuryl alcohol and the thermal and mechanical properties of the resulting nanocomposites

Abstract Bio-based polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) matrix nanocomposites were fabricated by in situ polymerization of furfuryl alcohol (FA) using (natural or organomodified) montmorillonite nanoclays (MMT) or cellulose whiskers (CW) as catalysts and as matrix modifiers, providing enhanced thermal performance. FTIR analysis shows the catalyst-dependent formation of gamma-diketones that are generated from hydrolytic ring cleavage of the furan rings along the PFA chain. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) shows that the PFA-based nanocomposites exhibit a notable increase in the onset of degradation temperature compared to pure PFA. The oxidative degradation behavior, including degradation onset temperature and residual weight, was analyzed and compared for the various nanocomposites. The higher thermal stability of 30BMMT–PFA as compared with NaMMT–PFA is tentatively attributed to blocking of Bronstedt acidic sites on the clay surface by residues of the organic modifier. However, the highest thermal stability among the various PFA-based nanocomposites that were studied in this work was observed in those containing nanocellulose whiskers (CW), even at much lower volume loadings. Finally, in addition to their surprisingly remarkable thermal stability, CW–PFA nanocomposites also exhibited improved mechanical toughness over previously reported PFA systems.
On Variance Estimation in Semiparametric Regression Models

This article considers estimation of the error variance in a semiparametric regression model. The estimator, based on the semiparametric residuals, is shown to be consistent (with certain rate) for the error variance.
Prevalence and clinical characteristics associated with left atrial appendage thrombus in fully anticoagulated patients undergoing catheter-directed atrial fibrillation ablation.

LAA Thrombus Among Anticoagulated AF Patients. Introduction: Catheter-directed atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation is contraindicated among patients with left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombus. The prevalence of LAA thrombus among fully anticoagulated patients undergoing AF ablation is unknown. Methods and Results: We retrospectively evaluated the prevalence of LAA thrombus among 192 consecutive patients undergoing AF ablation between July 2006 and January 2009. Seven of 192 patients (3.6%) had evidence of thrombus on transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) despite being fully anticoagulated on warfarin (international normalized ratio [INR] 2–3) for 4 consecutive weeks prior to echocardiogram. Univariate analysis demonstrated that structural heart disease, large left atrial dimension, and number of AF ablations were associated with thrombus. Three patients with thrombus had paroxysmal AF with normal LV function. Conclusion: Despite full anticoagulation, 3.6% of patients undergoing AF ablation had LAA thrombus. We recommend that all patients, regardless of LV function or left atrial size, should undergo preprocedural TEE to exclude the presence of LAA thrombus. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 849-852, August 2010)
Generic embeddings associated to an indestructibly weakly compact cardinal

Abstract I use generic embeddings induced by generic normal measures on P κ ( λ ) that can be forced to exist if κ is an indestructibly weakly compact cardinal. These embeddings can be applied in order to obtain the forcing axioms MA + + ( μ -closed ) in forcing extensions. This has consequences in V : The Singular Cardinal Hypothesis holds above κ , and κ has a useful Jonsson-like property. This in turn implies that the countable tower Q κ works much like it does when κ is a Woodin limit of Woodin cardinals. One consequence is that every set of reals in the Chang model is Lebesgue measurable and has the Baire Property, the Perfect Set Property and the Ramsey Property. So indestructible weak compactness has effects on cardinal arithmetic high up and also on the structure of sets of real numbers, down low, similar to supercompactness.
Finding Their Place in the Community: Urban Education outside the Classroom

(2006). Finding Their Place in the Community: Urban Education outside the Classroom. Childhood Education: Vol. 82, Educating The Urban Child: Special Challenges—Promising Programs, pp. 271-274.
Assessment of a non-invasive high-throughput classifier for behaviours associated with sleep and wake in mice

This work presents a non-invasive high-throughput system for automatically detecting characteristic behaviours in mice over extended periods of time, useful for phenotyping experiments. The system classifies time intervals on the order of 2 to 4 seconds as corresponding to motions consistent with either active wake or inactivity associated with sleep. A single Polyvinylidine Difluoride (PVDF) sensor on the cage floor generates signals from motion resulting in pressure. This paper develops a linear classifier based on robust features extracted from normalized power spectra and autocorrelation functions, as well as novel features from the collapsed average (autocorrelation of complex spectrum), which characterize transient and periodic properties of the signal envelope. Performance is analyzed through an experiment comparing results from direct human observation and classification of the different behaviours with an automatic classifier used in conjunction with this system. Experimental results from over 28.5 hours of data from 4 mice indicate a 94% classification rate relative to the human observations. Examples of sequential classifications (2 second increments) over transition regions between sleep and wake behaviour are also presented to demonstrate robust performance to signal variation and explain performance limitations.
The Challenge of Large-Scale Structure

The tasks that I have assumed for myself in this presentation include three separate parts. The first, appropriate to the particular setting of this meeting, is to review the basic work of the founding of this field; the appropriateness comes from the fact that W. G. Tifft made immense contributions that are not often realized by the astronomical community. The second task is to outline the general tone of the observational evidence for large scale structures. (Here, in particular, I cannot claim to be complete. I beg forgiveness from any workers who are left out by my oversight for lack of space and time.) The third task is to point out some of the major aspects of the field that may represent the clues by which some brilliant sleuth will ultimately figure out how galaxies formed.
Psychosocial characteristics of subtle and blatant racists as compared to tolerant individuals

Studies in psychology have demonstrated that tolerant individuals demonstrate good psychological health and prejudiced individuals demonstrate poor psychosocial functioning. Past investigations have shown disturbances in interpersonal relationships for prejudiced individuals in childhood. Blatant racists aggressively assert that members of minority groups are inferior. Subtle racists blame social inequities on minority group cultures and customs. A questionnaire to distinguish tolerant individuals from blatant and subtle racists was employed. Tolerant individuals were shown to be psychologically healthier than both blatant and subtle racists. Both blatant and subtle racists show maladaptive patterns in psychosocial functioning. Both blatant and subtle racists report predicted disturbances in parental relationships, as well as insecure and hostile ties with peers.
Tuning the structural coupling between the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of phospholamban to control sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) function.

Phospholamban (PLN) is the endogenous inhibitor of the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA), the integral membrane enzyme responsible for 70 % of the removal of Ca2+ from the cytosol, inducing cardiac muscle relaxation in humans. Dysfunctions in SERCA:PLN interactions have been implicated as having a critical role in cardiac disease, and targeting Ca2+ transport has been demonstrated to be a promising avenue in treating conditions of heart failure. Here, we designed a series of new mutants able to tune SERCA function, targeting the loop sequence that connects the transmembrane and cytoplasmic helices of PLN. We found that a variable degree of loss of inhibition mutants is attainable by engineering glycine mutations along PLN’s loop domain. Remarkably, a double glycine mutation results in a complete loss-of-function mutant, fully mimicking the phosphorylated state of PLN. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we rationalized the effects of these mutations in terms of entropic control on PLN function, whose inhibitory function can be modulated by increasing its conformational dynamics. However, if PLN mutations go past a threshold set by the phosphorylated state, they break the structural coupling between the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, resulting in a species that behaves as the inhibitory transmembrane domain alone. These studies provide new potential candidates for gene therapy to reverse the effects of heart failure.
HYPERTENSIVE DISEASE IN BLACK PATIENTS

Sir, I enjoyed reading the excellent review article on the management of Black hypertensive patients by Gibbs et al. 1 Having practiced for nearly three decades in Washington, DC where nearly 3/4 of the population is Afro-American, I wish to confirm that beta-blockers and angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are less effective at lowering high …
Ethics and the Unintended Consequences of Social Research: A Perspective from the Sociology of Science.

It is argued that “successful” social science requires the development of a social ethic or sense of research responsibility. An examination of impediments to ethical reflection in sociology suggests that an individualistic orientation is ineffective in coping with the unintended consequences of social research. Such consequences can be particularly harmful in the sociology of science where policy research and governmental support for its production often entails an “indiscriminate advocacy of knowledge.” Such advocacy raises anew questions of the power of scientific knowledge, the definition of client-professional relationships, and the collection of data which may not only violate the intent of individuals and groups supplying information, but may undermine the credibility of sociology itself.
Development of the Chinese Construction Industry after the Cultural Revolution: Administration Framework, Economic Growth, and Market Structure

AbstractThis paper presents the results of an investigation on the development of the Chinese construction industry after the Cultural Revolution in terms of administration framework, economic growth, and market structure, with the consideration of Chinese currency inflation. The development was divided into three stages based on Chinese government policy changes on the construction industry. In each stage, the reform of administration framework was reviewed, and the market size and market structure in both the domestic and the international markets were analyzed. Value added and gross output value of domestic market, the number of contracts, contracting value, total turnover, and turnover in the market share of Chinese construction firms were used to describe the development in various regions and to illustrate the growth of Chinese construction firms in the international market. The results of this study provide valuable knowledge to practitioners, scholars, and educators who are interested in exploring...
Comparison of rhizobitoxine-induced inhibition of β-cystathionase from different bradyrhizobia and soybean genotypes

The enzyme β-cystathionase catalyzes the conversion of cystathionine to homocysteine in both plants and bacteria. Preparations of this enzyme taken from both Salmonella and spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) have been shown to be irreversibly inhibited by low concentrations of rhizobitoxine (RT), a chlorosis-inducing phytotoxin produced by some strains of soybean bradyrhizobia. The sensitivities of β-cystathionase from bradyrhizobia and soybean are not well characterized. Therefore, we purified β-cystathionase from selected bradyrhizobia and soybean genotypes that have been shown to exhibit differences in RT production and apparent RT sensitivities, respectively. Enzyme purified from E. coli strain DH52 was used for comparison. The enzymes differed in their physiological properties and RT sensitivities. Overall, the β-cystathionase enzymes purified from bradyrhizobia were more sensitive to RT than were those from the soybean cultivars. Kinetic studies showed that the nature of the RT-induced inhibition also differed between the two sources. The enzymes from bradyrhizobia exhibited inhibition that was [RT]-dependent, whereas the enzymes from soybean showed a time-dependent inhibition. These contrasting characteristics may in part reflect differences in active site accessibility, amino acid components, and associated RT diffusion rates. However, in all cases the inhibition caused by RT showed a typical substrate-competitive inhibition pattern.
Aerobic ethanol production by leaves: Evidence for air pollution stress in trees of the Ohio River Valley, USA

We measured the frequency with which leaves of trees in the Ohio River Valley produced ethanol aerobically, to determine if aerobic ethanol production might provide a viable field assay for air pollution stress. Leaves were collected from trees during the summers of 1985 and 1986 and ethanol production was determined using headspace GC. Frequency of ethanol production was compared with environmental factors, including air pollution concentrations. We found frequent foliar ethanol production and elevated alcohol dehydrogenase activity in the leaves of several species of trees in the Ohio River Valley, USA. The ethanol concentrations measured were often equivalent to those produced by anaerobic leaves. Ethanol production was associated with hot, hazy weather and elevated NO(2) concentrations. Ethanol production was more frequent in urban and industrialized areas. Ethanol production was not associated with natural stresses such as flooding and herbivory. We propose that aerobic ethanol production is the result of cell acidification due to the accumulation of acidic gases in the cytoplasm. The use of ethanol production as a diagnostic tool for detecting stress imposed by acidic gases is discussed.
Microstructure of a high Jc, laser-ablated YBa2Cu3O7−δ/sol–gel deposited NdGaO3 buffer layer/(001) SrTiO3 multi-layer structure

Abstract A YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− δ (YBCO) film with a transport critical current density ( J c ) value of 1 mA/cm 2 (77 K, 0 T) was grown on a solution deposited NdGaO 3 (NGO) buffer layer on (100) SrTiO 3 (STO). The 25-nm thick NGO buffer layer was dip-coated onto the STO single crystal from a solution of metal methoxyethoxides in 2-methoxyethanol. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) was used to grow a 250-nm-thick YBCO film on the NGO. The epitaxial relationships are cube-on-cube throughout the structure when the pseudo cubic and pseudo tetragonal unit cells are used to describe the NGO and YBCO crystal structures, respectively: (001) YBCO∥(001) NGO∥(001) STO and [100] YBCO∥[100] NGO∥[100] STO. High resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the bare NGO surface revealed ∼40 nm diameter pinholes with number density of ∼2×10 13 m −2 , corresponding to an area fraction coverage of 2.5%, in an otherwise featureless surface. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that these pinholes penetrate to the STO; otherwise the NGO layer was uniformly thick to within approximately ±5 nm and defect free. The X-ray diffraction φ- and ω-scans indicated that the YBCO film was highly oriented with a full-width-half maximum peak breadth of 1.14° for in-plane and 0.46° for out-of-plane alignment, respectively. The film contained sparse a -axis oriented grains, an appreciable density of (001) stacking faults and apparently insulating second phase precipitates of the type that typically litter the surface of PLD films. All of these defects are typical of YBCO thin films. High-resolution cross-sectional TEM images indicate that no chemical reaction occurs at the YBCO/NGO interface.
Favorable effects of orally administered digoxin on left heart size and ventricular wall motion in patients with previous myocardial infarction

Abstract The effects of maintenance oral digoxin therapy on segmental left ventricular wall motion (wall motion videotracking) and left heart size (radiographic left heart dimension) were evaluated in 14 patients with a prior myocardial infarction but without clinical signs or symptoms of congestive heart failure. The left heart dimension decreased in all six patients with cardiomegaly from an average of 55.0 ± 1.6 (standard deviation) to 52.2 ± 2.7 mm/m2 body surface area (P
Simplified and standarized bisecting-angle technic for dental radiography.

High-quality and anatomically accurate radiographs can be produced with the simplified and standardized bisecting-angle technic for dental radiography. Basic technics are described.
Application of core-ring-intensity-ratio to fiber speckle-hologram sensing

Abstract A fiber speckle-hologram is formed by two coherent light fields, in which a speckle field emerging from a multimode fiber combines with a convergent reference beam. When the speckle-hologram is illuminated by the same speckle field from the fiber, a high intensity correlation peak will be reconstructed. If the fiber is subjected to some status changes, the correlation peak gradually decreases and disappears. The main objective of this paper is to use a “core-ring-intensity-ratio” (CRIR) technique to analyse the intensity ratio between the outer core and the inner core, in which a relationship between the correlation peak and the fiber status changes can be determined. An experimental demonstration to confirm this relationship is also given.
Molecular modeling of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in simple oligoamides 2. GB/SA CH2Cl2.

Abstract The generalized born solvent accessible surface area (GB/SA) method developed by Still was used to calculate the minimum energy conformations of amides 1 - 4 in CH 2 Cl 2 for comparison to in vacuo studies. The results indicate that, for the systems under investigation, there is little difference in geometry. Relative energies change slightly but in some cases enough to change the relative ordering of conformers. The minimum energy conformation of I is the same as in vacuo and shows maximal intramolecular hydrogen bonding.
Do tomatoes on the plant behave as climacteric fruits

I considered the possibility that changes in fruit photosynthesis obscure the occurrence of the climacteric rise in respiration in tomato fruits attached to the plant. Internal CO 2 and ethylene concentrations in tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. OH 7814) were analyzed after direct sampling through polyethylene tubes implanted in the external pericarp. Fruits which were shaded with aluminium foil contained up to 60 ml l -1 CO 2 , until the internal ethylene concentration exceeded 1 μl l -1 , when CO 2 concentration declined to below 40 ml l -1 ; the CO 2 concentration in fruits exposed to light only occasionally exceeded 40 ml l -1 . The internal CO 2 concentration of detached fruits first declined and then increased along with ethylene concentration, as expected for the climacteric. Detached green fruits under continuous low photosynthetic photon flux density (100 μmol m -2 s -1 ) contained almost no internal CO 2 and produced no CO 2 . Changes in photosynthesis and an associated CO 2 -generating system in green fruits are thought to obscure the climacteric rise in tomato fruits developing on the plant.
The TECTRA Newsletter: Implications for its usefulness as an information diffusion tool

Statement of Problem To develop and test the usefulness of the TECTRA Newsletter, a mechanism for disseminating information about technology transfer and the TECTRA data base. Current literature was used to show the emerging importance of technology transfer and the Newsletter's role in this area.
On the presolar origin of the "normal planetary" noble gas component in meteorites.

Several components of planetary noble gases, including CCFXe (Xe-X), s-process Kr and Xe, and Ne-E, are now thought to have had a presolar origin. It is proposed that the 'normal planetary' noble gas component, which contains most of the planetary Ar, Kr, and Xe, is also presolar. This component was trapped in carbonaceous mantles as the mantles formed on grain surfaces in the molecular cloud. The presolar dust grains and their carbonaceous mantles were then incorporated into primitive meteorites. This model naturally explains: (1) the affinity of 'normal planetary' noble gases for carbonaceous material in primitive chondrites; (2) the near absence of He and Ne in the 'normal planetary' component; (3) the elemental fractionation patterns of the 'exotic' and 'normal planetary' components; (4) the similarity of the isotopic compositions of 'normal planetary' and trapped solar Ar, Kr, and Xe; (5) the high noble gas content of the 'normal planetary' gas carrier; (6) several aspects of the chemistry of the 'normal planetary' gas carrier; (7) the correlation of planetary noble gases with the fine-grained material in primitive chondrites; and (8) the widespread occurrence of the planetary fractionation pattern throughout the solar system.
Goal achievement through goal programming: Short versus long term

Abstract Many people consider goal programming as a technique which decision-makers can use to solve problems having objectives prioritized according to their importance. In other words, they think of goal programming as a panacea which can channel available resources in such a way as to achieve the goal of greatest importance, then the second most important goal, and so on. Further, in constructing a goal-programming model, many people always assign to each equation goal two deviational variables d+ and d− without determining whether both of them are needed or only one. Such a distinction is vitally important if the decision maker is seeking a short-term solution, or a long-term solution. This paper elaborates on these issues utilizing a simplified example to illustrate these two points.