cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conditioning open-label placebo: a pilot pharmacobehavioral approach for opioid dose reduction and pain control

Opioid consumption for those in comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation units is high because of the complexity of their injuries. Notably, pain in rehabilitation leads to worsened clinical outcomes because of maladaptive behaviors and poor engagement during therapies. It is critical to developing evidence-based pharmacobehavioral interventions. Based on principles of classical conditioning, conditioning open-label placebo (COLP) is a promising approach for reducing opioid use in comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation, and this technique takes advantage of the possibility of association learning and opioid pharmacology to promote evoked placebo-driven analgesia. Objectives In this brief report, we evaluate the feasibility of COLP as a pharmacobehavioral intervention to decrease total opioid consumption in patients with pain hospitalized at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Methods Inpatients with spinal cord injury and polytrauma (n = 20) with moderate to severe pain were randomized to receive COLP (n = 10) or treatment-as-usual for 6 consecutive days. Opioid utilization was measured by morphine equivalents using the morphine equivalent dose conversion; pain severity was assessed using the numerical visual analog scale. Results Conditioning open-label placebo significantly reduced total opioid consumption by the end of the intervention period (P ≤ 0.001). Pain reduction was also significant for the COLP group (P = 0.005), whereas the treatment-as-usual group demonstrated a trend towards pain reduction (P = 0.05). Conclusions This study presents the first data in the use of a pharmacobehavioral intervention that capitalize on the benefits of open-label placebo and classical drug conditioning for opioid dose reduction in a population with moderate to severe pain exposed to intensive inpatient rehabilitation.
Flexion Supracondylar Humerus Fractures: Ulnar Nerve Deficit Is a Risk for Open Reduction

Purpose: The vast majority of pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures (SCFxs) can be treated with closed reduction and percutaneous pinning. Usually, the need for open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) is not known until the child is anesthetized and positioned and either closed reduction fails, or distal ischemia persists; then urgently, a new set-up or additional equipment is needed for open reduction. For this reason, any injury characteristics that predict …
Trends in user-initiated health information exchange in the inpatient, outpatient, and emergency settings

Prior research on health information exchange (HIE) typically measured provider usage through surveys or they summarized the availability of HIE services in a healthcare organization. Few studies utilized user log files. Using HIE access log files, we measured HIE use in real-world clinical settings over a 7-year period (2011-2017). Use of HIE increased in inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department (ED) settings. Further, while extant literature has generally viewed the ED as the most relevant setting for HIE, the greatest change in HIE use was observed in the inpatient setting, followed by the ED setting and then the outpatient setting. Our findings suggest that in addition to federal incentives, the implementation of features that address barriers to access (eg, Single Sign On), as well as value-added services (eg, interoperability with external data sources), may be related to the growth in user-initiated HIE.
Milestones in Oculofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: The Discovery of the Levator Palpebrae Superioris and Its Subsequent History.

PURPOSE This review aims to substantiate attributions of priority for the discovery and first description of the levator palpebrae superioris (LPS) muscle to Matteo Realdo Colombo [Columbus] (1516-1559), and to describe the history of this muscle from ancient to modern times. METHODS Relevant chapters on eyelid and eye muscles in Colombo's De re anatomica (1559) were translated, and the work was further analyzed from a historical perspective. Literature on the anatomy of human eyelid and orbital striated muscles was reviewed from the publication of the Fabrica (1543) by Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) through modern times. The discovery of the LPS was viewed in relation to other milestones along the road that led to the establishment of the subspecialty of oculofacial and orbital plastic surgery. RESULTS The first description of the LPS appeared in De re anatomica (1559) by Colombo who correctly identified the LPS as a retractor of the (upper) eyelid and the orbicularis oculi as its protractor. The current lack of recognition of the priority of Colombo's description of the LPS stemmed from his lifelong rivalries with other anatomists, improved descriptions of the orbital muscles by Gabriele Falloppio (1523-1562) that soon followed, and historical controversies over other anatomical discoveries. CONCLUSIONS Colombo discovered the LPS and described the antagonistic functions of retractors and protractors of the eyelid, just a portion of his broader contributions to anatomy. Colombo's discoveries of such ophthalmologic and oculofacial plastic surgical importance should be added to the ongoing reappraisals of Colombo by medical historians.
Capturing Dynamic Linkages Between Agriculture and Energy in Biofuel Assessment: The Case of Iowa

The expansion of biofuel production brought about a significant change in the dynamics between agriculture and energy. In the past, energy prices influenced the agricultural sector primarily through agricultural commodity production and transportation costs. Now, because of biofuels, the energy sector impacts the agricultural sector through feedstock demand and prices; and conversely, the agricultural sector now impacts energy prices through its competition in the transportation energy sector. In the past, studies analyzed the impact of biofuel production on agricultural and energy markets separately without accounting for sector feedback. However, in analyzing the impact of biofuels, the interconnectedness between the agricultural and energy sectors should not be ignored.
Self-tolerance in the polyclonal CD4+ T cell repertoire (BA8P.132)

Autoimmunity affects millions of people throughout the world. CD4+ T cells express T cell receptors (TCRs) that recognize peptides loaded on major histocompatibility complex II molecules (p:MHCII). Recognition of self-p:MHCII ligands may promote autoimmunity, necessitating the existence of tolerance mechanisms that regulate self-reactive CD4+ T cells. Study of TCR transgenic cells that recognize model self-antigens has identified several potential mechanisms of tolerance including clonal deletion, regulatory T cell induction, and anergy. However, TCR transgenic systems are unable to determine how each mechanism contributes to tolerance within a polyclonal repertoire comprised of a diverse set of TCRs. Thus, we have produced p:MHCII tetramers to track and study how tolerance is maintained in a polyclonal pool of self-reactive CD4+ T cells. We find that 50% of self-reactive CD4+ T cells in this polyclonal population are deleted, and following priming the remaining non-deleted self-reactive CD4+ T cells exhibit diminished proliferation and altered differentiation patterns. Ongoing work is focused on understanding if and how these tolerance pathways differentially regulate individual CD4+ T cell clones in the polyclonal repertoire and whether TCR affinity is the guiding factor for this decision.
Herpes zoster oticus and facial paralysis (Ramsay Hunt syndrome). Clinico-pathologic study and review of literature.

Abstract Two patients with herpes zoster oticus and facial paralysis are presented, in 1 of whom the geniculate ganglion showed at autopsy unequivocal pathological changes consistent with previous herpetic inflammation. The other patient showed a large area of sensory loss to pain and touch in the concha and external acoustic meatus during recovery from the acute episode. The clinical and pathological features are discussed in the light of a review of the literature. We conclude that the term “Ramsay Hunt syndrome” should be used only for cases of herpes oticus with facial paralysis and that herpetic geniculate ganglionitis and facial neuritis represent its anatomic substrate.
Neural networks for planar shape classification

A neural network approach is presented for the classification of closed planar shapes. The neural net classifier developed is robust and invariant to translation, rotation, and scaling. The primary foci are the development of an effective representation for planar shapes and the selection of a suitable neural network structure. In particular, planar shapes are represented by an ordered sequence that represents the Euclidean distance between the centroid and all contour pixels of the shape. It is also shown that for this classification problem and the representation derived, the three-layer perceptron with backpropagation training is an appropriate neural network configuration. >
Using Blogs in the Library to Reach Diverse and Non-Traditional Student Groups

While there is no dearth of information about the uses of a blog as a Web 2.0 tool in the library, there is very little information about the ways in which a blog can be used to reach diverse and non-traditional groups. This paper explores blog topics and strategies that will help to engage users from diverse populations. It also explains ways in which librarians might frame their library blogs to be more inclusive of their entire community.Â Blogs can serve as excellent marketing tools for communicating resources, services, and events, but in featuring posts that include various populations, more users might become readers of the blog and may even develop an appreciation for the diversity surrounding them. The blog can then serve as a solid model for communicating and appreciating diversity. If their true power is harnessed, library blogs can reach larger groups and promote a more inclusive environment for all. Â
Efficient 24/7 object detection in surveillance videos

We address the problem of 24/7 object detection in urban surveillance videos, which presents unique challenges due to significant object appearance variations caused by lighting effects such as shadows and specular reflections, object pose variation, multiple weather conditions, and different times of the day. Rather than training a generic detector and adapting its parameters over time to handle all these variations, we rely on a large set of complementary and extremely efficient detector models, covering multiple overlapping appearance subspaces. At run time, our method continuously selects the most suitable detectors for a given scene and condition, using a novel approach inspired by parametric background modeling algorithms. We provide a comprehensive experimental analysis to show the effectiveness of our approach, considering traffic monitoring as our application domain. Our system runs at 100 frames per second on a standard laptop computer.
Ontogeny of object versus location recognition in the rat: Acquisition and retention effects

Novel object and location recognition tasks harness the rat's natural tendency to explore novelty (Berlyne, 1950) to study incidental learning. The present study examined the ontogenetic profile of these two tasks and retention of spatial learning between postnatal day (PD) 17 and 31. Experiment 1 showed that rats ages PD17, 21, and 26 recognize novel objects, but only PD21 and PD26 rats recognize a novel location of a familiar object. These results suggest that novel object recognition develops before PD17, while object location recognition emerges between PD17 and PD21. Experiment 2 studied the ontogenetic profile of object location memory retention in PD21, 26, and 31 rats. PD26 and PD31 rats retained the object location memory for both 10-min and 24-hr delays. PD21 rats failed to retain the object location memory for the 24-hr delay, suggesting differential development of short- versus long-term memory in the ontogeny of object location memory.
Variations in Proximate Composition of North Carolina Scallop Meats

SUMMARY: Bay scallops (Aequipecten irradians), calico scallops (Aequipecten gibbus) and sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) were sampled from known locations and months of harvest for determination of proximate composition. A scallop sample (Chlamys hericius) was obtained from near Whidbey Island, Puget Sound, for comparative purposes. The adductor muscles were analyzed for total moisture, protein, fat, glycogen and ash content. The proximate composition varied widely among locations and months of harvesting. In general, coefficients of variation were relatively low for moisture and protein but high for fat, glycogen and ash. The range for each component was fairly similar among species studied. The percent ranges for bay and calico scallop meats, respectively, were: moisture 74.15–83.66, 76.12–81.86; protein 13.44–21.57, 13.28–17.53; fat 0.23–0.91, 0.23–1.13; glycogen 0.13–3.86, 0.35–3.71 and ash 1.09–2.24, 1.17–1.91. Sea scallop percent ranges were: moisture 74.63–80.97; protein 13.87–18.11; fat 0.31–0.96; glycogen 0.27–8.74 and ash 1.28–1.81.
The Anthropocene: of time, mice, and men

Establishing an Anthropocene Epoch at the top of the geological column would provide a “certification” of Man having acquired a prominent role in the physical and biological evolution of the Earth. This role is in line with a tradition dominant in the West for over 2,000 years, whereby the World has been made for the sole benefit of Man. Another tradition, important in classical Hindu and Chinese cultures but present also in the West starting with the Greeks, calls for a less dominant position of Man in nature. The two traditions hold different conceptions of Time. The “Man is the Master” ideology privileged linear Time of limited duration, from a Genesis to an Apocalypse/Apotheosis, while in the “Man is not the Master” tradition, limitless/cyclical Time has been adopted preferentially. The “Man is the Master” ideology has stimulated the industrial revolution and the development of technology that have allowed Man’s increasing dominance over our Planet and are triggering today the establishment of an Anthropocene Epoch. These developments have been achieved by small subgroups of species Homo sapiens. The future of the Anthropocene is obviously related to the fate of Man; the uppermost limit is the demise of the biosphere due ultimately to a steady increase of solar luminosity. A future super-Anthropocene “Man’s Utopia”, with unlimited, zero-cost energy available to humans, is tempered by experiments on a “Mice Utopia” carried out by J. Calhoun in the 1970s.
Challenging the embryogenesis of cloacal exstrophy

As presently understood, cloacal exstrophy results from a migration failure of the lateral mesodermal folds of the infraumbilical anterior abdominal wall, and rupture of the resulting enlarged, persistent cloacal membrane before the eighth week of gestation. The authors present ultrasonographic evidence that disputes this embryological theory. Routine ultrasonography of a twin gestation at 18 weeks showed that one twin had a dilated cloacal abnormality, bilateral hydronephrosis, and oligohydramnios. Repeat ultrasonography at 24 weeks demonstrated rupture of the cloacal anomaly, with resolution of both the hydronephrosis and oligohydramnios. This twin was born with classic cloacal exstrophy. This striking ultrasound evidence of an intact cloacal membrane at 18 weeks, which ruptured before 24 weeks, relieving the urinary tract outlet obstruction, forces us to rethink how this surgically correctable anomaly develops.
High Speed Arithmetic: The Digital Computer as a Research Tool

The evolution of large electronic computers has been so rapid that the importance of these machines for the optical sciences is not widely recognized. Calculations have already been made with such equipment in the fields of lens design, color, and spectroscopy.Enormous speeds, up to a hundred thousand times that of a desk calculator, and flexible logic of recent general-purpose computers now make possible numerical solution of partial differential equations, synthesis of simple lens systems, correlation of complex infrared spectra with known data, mechanized literature searching, and real-time control instrumentation.The limitations imposed by economic considerations, by shortage of trained programming personnel, and by machine breakdown are discussed.
Martingale convergence, series expansion of Gaussian elements, and strong law of large numbers in Fréchet spaces

Abstract The main result of this paper is the derivation of a convergence theorem for certain martingales with values in a separable Frechet space F . It is shown that this result includes a well known theorem due to Chatterji. Moreover, the series expansion of zero-mean Gaussian elements with values in F and the strong law of large numbers for i.i.d. F -valued random elements also follow as applications of the main theorem.
Characterization of brain region- and disease-specific IDE expression in Alzheimer patients and controls

2.6 (95% CI: 1.2-5.2), and one copy with a risk ratio of 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1-3.4). Moreover, two adjacent SNPs, rs6163 and rs743572, had similar genotype risk ratios as rs10786712, suggesting that the region flanking rs10786712 may harbor risk variants. Conclusions: We report that the variants at CYP17 decrease age at onset and increase the likelihood of AD in high risk women with DS, independent of BMI, ethnicity, level of intellectual disability, and APOE. We are currently examining the relation between risk SNPs and multiple sex hormone levels to further understand this association.
EVOLUTION OF A CORONAL MASS EJECTION AND ITS MAGNETIC FIELD IN INTERPLANETARY SPACE

This Letter presents the first theoretical study of the dynamics of a coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by STEREO-A/B. The CME was continuously tracked by SECCHI-A, providing position-time data from eruption to 1 AU. The ejecta was intersected by STEREO-B at 1 AU, where the magnetic field and plasma parameters were measured. The observed CME trajectory and the evolution of the CME magnetic field are modeled using the semianalytic erupting flux-rope model. It is shown that the best-fit theoretical solution is in good agreement—within 1% of the measured CME trajectory in the 1 AU field of view—and is consistent with the in situ magnetic field and plasma data at 1 AU.
Drop breakup in the flow through fixed fiber beds: An experimental and computational investigation

Dilute fixed fiber beds provide a model system for studying drop dynamics in disordered flows. Fluctuations about the mean uniform velocity are generated by fiber elements within the media, and the disturbance velocities far from any single fiber (at distances on the order of the pore size) have been predicted to be strong in terms of drop deformation and breakup by Mosler and Shaqfeh [Phys. Fluids 9, 5 (1997)]. In this work, we focus on the importance of near-field interactions, or the flow close to individual fibers. We present experimental observations of drop deformation and breakup during flow through a dilute bed of randomly placed fibers. We found breakup to result from only close interactions with fibers and describe two near-field breakup mechanisms which we term “graze” and “hairpin” processes. In addition, we present the breakup probability through the experimental fiber bed as a function of the appropriate Capillary number Ca. To better understand the near-field interactions, we used the bound...
On the equivalence, containment, and covering problems for the regular and context-free languages

We consider the complexity of the equivalence and containment problems for regular expressions and context-free grammars, concentrating on the relationship between complexity and various language properties. Finiteness and boundedness of languages are shown to play important roles in the complexity of these problems. An encoding into grammars of Turing machine computations exponential in the size of the grammar is used to prove several exponential lower bounds. These lower bounds include exponential time for testing equivalence of grammars generating finite sets, and exponential space for testing equivalence of non-self-embedding grammars. Several problems which might be complex because of this encoding are shown to simplify for linear grammars. Other problems considered include grammatical covering and structural equivalence for right-linear, linear, and arbitrary grammars.
Nitrogen recovery from broiler litter in a wheat-millet production system

Abstract Nitrogen (N) released through mineralization from broiler litter can supply the N requirements for crops, but litter may cause yield reductions and loss of fertilizer value if applied in excess of crop needs. A field study was conducted over two years at Crossville, AL, to determine the fate of N in a winter-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) — pearl-millet (Pennisetum americanum L.) crop rotation. Soil and plant N contents were determined after fall application of 0, 9, or 18 Mg ha−1 litter supplemented with 0 or 34 kg ha−1 fall-applied N and 0, 22, 44, or 66 kg ha−1 of spring-applied N fertilizer. Millet followed wheat harvest with no additional N added to the soil. Broiler litter applied at 9 Mg ha−1 eliminated the need for fall-applied N fertilizer and reduced the need for spring-applied N to 22 kg ha−1. The 18-Mg ha−1 litter rate reduced grain yield, and the reduction increased as spring-applied N rates increased. In the first year, N removed in wheat grain plus millet tissue averaged 44 and 16% of N from 9 and 18 mg ha−1 litter, respectively. In the second year, N removal from the litter treatments was 17 and 14% of N contained in 9 and 18 Mg ha−1 litter, respectively. The results of this study suggest that 9 Mg ha−1 of broiler litter with approximately 22 kg ha−1 of supplemental spring-applied N may be optimum for winter-wheat production. A summer annual such as pearl millet following winter wheat can utilize residual N and decrease the potential for N loss via leaching.
Directly dated MIS 3 lake-level record from Lake Manix, Mojave Desert, California, USA

Abstract An outcrop-based lake-level curve, constrained by ~ 70 calibrated 14 C ages on Anodonta shells, indicates at least 8 highstands between 45 and 25 cal ka BP within 10 m of the 543-m upper threshold of Lake Manix in the Mojave Desert of southern California. Correlations of Manix highstands with ice, marine, and speleothem records suggest that at least the youngest three highstands coincide with Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) stadials and Heinrich events 3 and 4. The lake-level record is consistent with results from speleothem studies in the Southwest that indicate cool wet conditions during D–O stadials. Notably, highstands between 43 and 25 ka apparently occurred at times of generally low levels of pluvial lakes farther north as interpreted from core-based proxies. Mojave lakes may have been supported by tropical moisture sources during oxygen-isotope stage 3, perhaps controlled by southerly deflection of Pacific storm tracks due to weakening of the sea-surface temperature gradient in response to North Atlantic climate perturbations.
Why hearts flutter: Distorted dim motions.

When a display of red spots or hearts on a blue surround is moved around under dim light, the spots appear to wobble or flutter relative to the surround (the “fluttering hearts” effect). We explain this as follows: Rods and cones both respond to the hearts. Rods are more sluggish than cones, with a latency of ∼50 ms, and they are also much more sensitive to blue than to red (the Purkinje shift; Purkinje, 1825). Thus a red spot oscillating on a blue ground produces a double image: a light spot seen by the cones, followed by a trailing dark spot seen by the rods. These interacting spots of opposite luminance polarity move like “reverse phi” (Anstis, 1970) and this generates the fluttering hearts effect. We find that hearts flutter most markedly at or near mesopic equiluminance, when the red is lighter than the blue as seen by the cones, but darker than the blue as seen by the rods. These same red/blue luminance ratios give rise to two new illusions: the ghostly twin illusion, and the reversal of red/blue grating movement.
A community-based exercise intervention transitions metabolically abnormal obese adults to a metabolically healthy obese phenotype.

BACKGROUND Lower habitual physical activity and poor cardiorespiratory fitness are common features of the metabolically abnormal obese (MAO) phenotype that contribute to increased cardiovascular disease risk. The aims of the present study were to determine 1) whether community-based exercise training transitions MAO adults to metabolically healthy, and 2) whether the odds of transition to metabolically healthy were larger for obese individuals who performed higher volumes of exercise and/or experienced greater increases in fitness. METHODS AND RESULTS Metabolic syndrome components were measured in 332 adults (190 women, 142 men) before and after a supervised 14-week community-based exercise program designed to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors. Obese (body mass index ≥30 kg · m(2)) adults with two to four metabolic syndrome components were classified as MAO, whereas those with no or one component were classified as metabolically healthy but obese (MHO). After community exercise, 27/68 (40%) MAO individuals (P<0.05) transitioned to metabolically healthy, increasing the total number of MHO persons by 73% (from 37 to 64). Compared with the lowest quartiles of relative energy expenditure and change in fitness, participants in the highest quartiles were 11.6 (95% confidence interval: 2.1-65.4; P<0.05) and 7.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.5-37.5; P<0.05) times more likely to transition from MAO to MHO, respectively. CONCLUSION Community-based exercise transitions MAO adults to metabolically healthy. MAO adults who engaged in higher volumes of exercise and experienced the greatest increase in fitness were significantly more likely to become metabolically healthy. Community exercise may be an effective model for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Eyebrow shape analysis by using a modified functional curve procrustes distance

To tackle the problem of automatic recognition of human eyebrow, a novel approach for shape analysis based on frontal face images is proposed in this paper. First, eyebrow curves are acquired by fitting cubic splines based on landmark points. Next, we propose to use a modified functional curve procrustes distance to measure the similarities among the cubic splines, and finally a multidimensional scaling method is adopted to evaluate the effectiveness of the distance. This work extends previous work in analyzing the eyebrow for both human and machine recognition by providing a framework based on shape contours. Further this work demonstrates the effectiveness of eyebrow shape for discrimination when teamed with the appropriate metric distance.
Preliminary results from a Phase II trail of conforml radiation therapy for pediatric patients with localised low-grade astrocytoma and ependymoma

Abstract Purpose : To estimate the local control and patterns of failure for pediatric patients with low-grade astroglial tumors (LGA) and ependymoma (EP) treated with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (CRT) using an anatomically defined clinical target volume (CTV). Methods and Materials : From an ongoing, prospective Phase II trial initiated in July 1997, 102 pediatric patients with LGA (n = 38) and EP (n = 64) have been treated with CRT using an anatomically defined CTV extending 1.0 cm beyond the gross tumor volume and a 0.5-cm margin (planning target volume) extending outside of the CTV. The prescribed dose was 54 Gy (LGA) and 59.4 Gy (EP). Results : Patients with EP have been followed for a median of 17 months (range 3–43 months), and six failures have occurred. Patients with LGA have been followed for a median of 17 months (3–44 months), and four failures have occurred. Three-dimensional magnetic resonance (MR) studies performed to document treatment failure were registered with the MR and computed tomography (CT) data used in the treatment planning process. Failure occurred within the CTV for 5 patients with EP, including 3 with concurrent subarachnoid dissemination. One patient with EP developed metastatic disease with no evidence of local failure. Three patients with LGA failed within the CTV and one failed immediately outside of the CTV. Conclusions : Treatment of an anatomically defined CTV, encompassing 1.0 cm of noninvolved brain beyond the margin of resection or neuroimaging-defined tumor, appears to be safe for pediatric patients with LGA and EP based on these preliminary data. Normal tissue sparing through the use of advanced radiation therapy treatment planning and delivery techniques should be beneficial to pediatric patients if the rate and patterns of failure are similar to conventional techniques and toxicity reduction can be objectively documented.
Prototype Phase and Amplitude Feedback-Control Systems for the FMIT Accelerator

The phase and amplitude feedback-control systems for the Fusion Materials Irradiation Test (FMIT) accelerator have been successfully prototyped and tested. The testing was performed at low power with two 100-W rf sytems driving a high-Q resonant cavity at 80 MHz. The control systems can maintain the cavity field amplitude to within ±1% and the phase to within ±1° of the set-point values. When there are multiple rf systems independently driving a resonant cavity through individual drive loops, amplitude matching and proper phasing between the outputs of each rf system are essential for proper system operation. Experimental results are presented.
Cataclysmic hydrothermal venting on the Juan de Fuca Ridge

Serial observations of individual submarine hydrothermal vents1 and the mapping of dilute hydrothermal plumes extending far downcurrent from vent fields2–4 indicate a stability of vent field fluid composition and mass flux on at least decadal time scales. The inherent episodicity of ridge-crest tectonic activity, however, suggests that discontinuous emissions of hydrothermal fluids also occurs. In support of this hypothesis we report here the discovery of a 700-m-thick, 20-km-diameter eddy-like 'megaplume' created by a brief but massive release of high-temperature hydrothermal fluids near 44°49' N, 130°14' W on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The megaplume had a mean temperature anomaly of 0.12°C and overlay compositionally distinct plumes emanating from an apparently steady-state vent field at the same location. The megaplume was formed in a few days yet equalled the annual output of between 200 and 2,000 high-temperature chimneys.
Building a collection development CMS on a shoe‐string

Purpose – To discuss why a content management system (CMS) for collection development is necessary in a distance education environment, restructuring technical services in preparation for a CMS implementation, and the actual building of a prototype.Design/methodology/approach – The article outlines the planning and processes necessary in designing and building a CMS from scratch using existing resources and putting them to effective use.Findings – While development and completion of the CMS database was accomplished in a timely fashion, implementation in the library has been slow because of negotiating security issues.Practical implications – A resource for any academic library considering developing their own CMS in house.Originality/value – Content management systems are becoming common at large universities with resources to obtain the software “out of the box” and with full time computer support staffs implement them. However, content management systems are much less common in the small university env...
Differential Regulation of G Protein α Subunit Trafficking by Mono- and Polyubiquitination

Previously we used mass spectrometry to show that the yeast G protein α subunit Gpa1 is ubiquitinated at Lys-165, located within a subdomain not present in other Gα proteins (Marotti, L. A., Jr., Newitt, R., Wang, Y., Aebersold, R., and Dohlman, H. G. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 5067–5074). Here we describe the functional role of Gpa1 ubiquitination. We find that Gpa1 expression is elevated in mutants deficient in either proteasomal or vacuolar protease function. Vacuolar protease pep4 mutants accumulate monoubiquitinated Gpa1, and much of the protein is localized within the vacuolar compartment. In contrast, proteasome-defective rpt6/cim3 mutants accumulate polyubiquitinated Gpa1, and in this case the protein exhibits cytoplasmic localization. Cells that lack Ubp12 ubiquitin-processing protease activity accumulate both mono- and polyubiquitinated forms of Gpa1. In this case, Gpa1 accumulates in both the cytoplasm and vacuole. Finally, a Gpa1 mutant that lacks the ubiquitinated subdomain remains unmodified and is predominantly localized at the plasma membrane. These data reveal a strong relationship between the extent of ubiquitination and trafficking of the G protein α subunit to its site of degradation.
GPU facilitated unsupervised visual feature acquisition in spiking neural networks

This paper demonstrates that feature acquisition systems composed of spiking neurons trained by spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) can effectively be scaled using General-Purpose computing on Graphics Processing Units (GPGPU). Previous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of such systems for classes with low intra-class variability. Parallelization substantially increases the range of classes to which such a system can be applied. This system uses a hierarchical design based on the ventral visual pathway, alternating between selective layers that combine inputs and invariance layers that sample from inputs. Most systems do not, however, use spiking neurons as the brain does. Masquelier and Thorpe presented a system that produces highly informative features using a spiking convolutional network trained by STDP. However, this approach is costly in time and consequently is difficult to scale to a large library of internally complex features. Specifically, they reported that their system was incapable of learning the class “animal”, which was a major goal of that study. The present paper demonstrates that GPGPU parallelism can be leveraged to overcome the scaling limitations of the serial version. Highly informative features can then be generated in large quantities. The maximum complexity of classes learnable by this system is increased to encompass the natural class “animal” by GPGPU paralleization.
Outline of the tectonic evolution of southwestern China

Abstract Five tectonic units are represented in southwestern China. They are: 1. (I) the eastern Kunlun fold belt. 2. (II) the Yangtze paraplatform. 3. (III) the South China paraplatform. 4. (IV) the western Yunnan fold zone. 5. (V) the Himalayan fold zone. The westernmost region of the Yangtze paraplatform of the Chinese plate and the western Yunnan fold zone of the Southeast Asia plate occupy much of southwestern China. They are separated by a NW-SE trending suture line marked by deep faults, ultramafic complexes, and melanges. The Yangtze paraplatform is characterized by Precambrian rocks, Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, Permian basalts, Triassic continental deposits, and abundant hot springs. West of the suture line, the Southeast Asia plate is characterized by the Transverse Ranges, inverted Jurassic geosynclinal folded belts of deep-water flysch deposits. During the Late Triassic, the Chinese plate and the Southeast Asia plate drifted toward each other and eventually coalesced. Later, during the Late Jurassic, the Tarim and Tibet blocks also drifted toward the Chinese plate, finally coalescing with the western part of the Chinese plate. Finally, the collision of the Indian plate with the Tibetan block in Late Cretaceous time, squeezed the northern tip of the Southeast Asia plate laterally against the Yangtze paraplatform.
Transient photoluminescence of defects in undoped GaN prepared by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy

Abstract Transient behavior of the 2.3, 2.9 and 3.27 eV photoluminescence (PL) bands in undoped GaN is studied. A non-exponential decay of PL intensity is observed for all three bands after pulsed excitation at low temperature. Transition rates were measured for the three bands. Quantitative analysis of the PL decay indicates that all three bands are associated with donor acceptor pair (DAP) transitions involving a shallow donor and three acceptor states of different origins. The transition rate decreases with decreasing band energy or increasing thermal ionization energy of the acceptor.
Efficiency in nuclear power pricing

This study investigates whether the rate structure for electric utilities with nuclear and fossil fuel generation is efficient and perhaps equitable. Data were collected on fossil and nuclear steam generation and transmission to estimate costs. Tests were performed to determine if efficient pricing practices were being followed. The results indicate that the marginal cost of nuclear generated power is less than that of power generated from fossil fuel sources. Also, the rate structure for the nuclear utilities is inefficient, with industrial rates significantly higher than first-best or second-best pricing criteria would indicate.
The Diamagnetic Susceptibility of Hydrogen Molecule and of Helium in the New Quantum Mechanics.

where a = radius of 11 orbit, r, and pi are the distances of one of the electrons to the two nuclei, r2 and p2 those of the other electron and A is the constant of normalization. It was also found that when the potential energy of the molecule is a minimum the separation between the nuclei is D = 1.406a. In fact this equilibrium configuration is identified as the normal hydrogen molecule. With these data given, we proceed to evaluate XM for the molecule. The quantity r2 in Van Vleck's formula is here evidently the square of the median from one of the electrons to the mid-point between the nuclei. Calling these two squares M2 and M2 for the two electrons, we have
The lift on a small sphere touching a plane in the presence of a simple shear flow

The contribution from purely viscous forces to the liftL on a sphere of radiusa touching a plane in the presence of a shear flow field of strength $$\dot \gamma $$ is zero. An exact integral expression for the lift to leading order in the Reynolds number $$R \equiv \dot \gamma a^2 /v$$ is derived using known creeping flow solutions to related problems. The integral is evaluated numerically to obtain the value of the lift $${L \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {L {\dot \gamma \mu a^2 }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\dot \gamma \mu a^2 }}\dot = 9.22R$$ orL/F x ≐0.287R whereF x is the lateral viscous force on the sphere.
Measurement of β-cyanoalanine synthase activity using a sulfide ion selective electrode

Abstract The sulfide ion selective electrode has been used to assay the enzyme β-cyanoalanine synthase, which catalyzes the reaction between CN − and l -cysteine to form β-cyanoalanine and HS − . As the electrode responds to CN − as well as S = , it is necessary to use standard “mixed-response” curves for the analysis. Parameters evaluated during this study include electrode response time, pH dependence, and substrate concentration dependence.
Rationale for New American Diabetes Association Guidelines: Are National Cholesterol Education Program Goals Adequate for the Patient with Diabetes Mellitus?

Both the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) consider type 2 diabetes mellitus to be a coronary artery disease (CAD) risk equivalent and thus suggest that patients with either diabetes or CAD should have their plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol lowered to <2.59 mmol/L (<100 mg/dL). Recently the NCEP issued a white paper suggesting an even lower plasma LDL cholesterol goal of <1.81 mmol/L (<70 mg/dL) for patients at high cardiovascular risk, including patients with diabetes. This rationale was based partly on the higher risk of future cardiovascular disease seen in patients who have diabetes with or without preexisting cardiovascular disease than in nondiabetic subjects with preexisting cardiovascular disease. Additionally, as reported in the Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Therapy (PROVE-IT) study, high-dose lipid-lowering therapy has been shown to further reduce CAD event rates compared with conventional therapy.
Evolutionary diversification of continuous traits: phylogenetic tests and application to seed size in the California flora

Evolutionary diversification of a phenotypic trait reflects the tempo and mode of trait evolution, as well as the phylogenetic topology and branch lengths. Comparisons of trait variance between sister groups provide a powerful approach to test for differences in rates of diversification, controlling for differences in clade age. We used simulation analyses under constant rate Brownian motion to develop phylogenetically based F-tests of the ratio of trait variances between sister groups. Random phylogenies were used for a generalized evolutionary null model, so that detailed internal phylogenies are not required, and both gradual and speciational models of evolution were considered. In general, phylogenetically structured tests were more conservative than corresponding parametric statistics (i.e., larger variance ratios are required to achieve significance). The only exception was for comparisons under a speciational evolutionary model when the group with higher variance has very low sample size (number of species). The methods were applied to a large data set on seed size for 1976 species of California flowering plants. Seven of 37 sister-group comparisons were significant for the phylogenetically structured tests (compared to 12 of 37 for the parametric F-test). Groups with higher diversification of seed size generally had a greater diversity of fruit types, life form, or life history as well. The F-test for trait variances provides a simple, phylogenetically structured approach to test for differences in rates of phenotypic diversification and could also provide a valuable tool in the study of adaptive radiations.
Artificial diets for rearing larvae of the plum curculio.

When 6 artificial diets were tested for use in rearing larvae of Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), 55% of the larvae matured in a standard corn, soymeal, and milk products (CSM) diet and 90% matured in a pinto bean diet compared with 73 and 85% maturation in 2 checks (diets of thinning apples). Larvae from the CSM and pinto bean diets fed 2–3 days less than larvae in apples, but the yields of adults were quite comparable. The alfalfa leaf meal diet and the diets used for the peachtree borer, Sanninoidea exitiosa (Say), and the carpenterworm, Prionoxystus robiniae (Peck), were unsatisfactory.
Sho1 and Pbs2 Act as Coscaffolds Linking Components in the Yeast High Osmolarity MAP Kinase Pathway

Scaffold proteins mediate efficient and specific signaling in several mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascades. In the yeast high osmolarity response pathway, the MAP kinase kinase Pbs2 is thought to function as a scaffold, since it binds the osmosensor Sho1, the upstream MAP kinase kinase kinase Ste11, and the downstream MAP kinase Hog1. Nonetheless, previous work has shown that Ste11 can be activated even when Pbs2 is deleted, resulting in inappropriate crosstalk to the mating pathway. We have found a region in the C terminus of Sho1 that binds Ste11 independently of Pbs2 and is required for crosstalk. These data support a model in which Sho1 has at least two separable interaction regions: one that binds Ste11 and mediates its activation, and one that binds Pbs2, directing Ste11 to act on Pbs2. Thus, a network of interactions provided by both Sho1 and Pbs2 appears to direct pathway information flow.
Toxicity and pharmacokinetics of the nonprotein amino acid L-canavanine in the rat

The toxicity of L-canavanine was investigated because of its demonstrated potential as an antitumor drug. This natural product was only slightly toxic to Sprague-Dawley rats following a single sc injection: the LD50 was 5.9 +/- 1 8 g/kg in adult rats and 5.0 +/- 1.0 g/kg in 10-day-old rats. Following a single dose of 2.0 g/kg, the systemic clearance value for canavanine in adult rats was 0.114 liter/hr, the volume of distribution at steady state was 0.154 liter, and the half-life was 1.56 hr. Forty-eight percent of the dose was excreted unaltered in the urine following an iv injection, and 16% of a sc dose was recovered in the urine. Bioavailability of a 2.0 g/kg sc dose was 72%. Single oral doses of canavanine were less toxic to adult rats than sc injections. Bioavailability of a 2.0 g/kg po dose was 43%, and only 1% of the administered canavanine was recovered in the urine. Twenty-one percent of the administered canavanine remained in the gastrointestinal tract 24 hr after an oral dose. Less than 1% of a 2.0 g/kg dose of L-[guanidinooxy-14C]canavanine was incorporated into the proteins of adult and neonatal rats 4 or 24 hr following administration. Repeated sc administration of canavanine resulted in more severe toxicity. Weight loss and alopecia were observed in rats given daily sc canavanine injections for 7 days. Food intake was decreased by 80% in adult rats subjected to this dosing regimen, but returned to normal after canavanine injections were terminated. Histological studies of tissues from adult rats treated with 3.0 g/kg canavanine daily for 6 days revealed pancreatic acinar cell atrophy and fibrosis. Serum amylase and lipase levels were elevated following one sc injection of 2.0 g/kg canavanine; after three daily injections both serum enzymes were depleted. Elevations in serum glucose and urea nitrogen, and depletion of cholesterol, were observed. The most significant changes were severe attenuations of serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase activity.
VIP antagonist demonstrates differences in VIP- and PHI-mediated stimulation and inhibition of ACTH and corticosterone secretion in rats

Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that PVN administration of equimolar doses of VIP and PHI induce similar increases in plasma ACTH and CORT concentrations via the release of CRF and vasopressin in fasted, freely moving rats studied during the early light cycle. The purpose of these investigations was to determine whether VIP and PHI act via the same receptor and/or mechanism. Individual studies involving the PVN administration of either VIP or PHI in doses ranging from 0.3 to 30.0 nmol/rat demonstrated that VIP increases both ACTH and CORT secretion throughout the administered range. In contrast, PHI was an effective stimulant in doses up to 15 nmol/rat but had no effect on either ACTH or CORT at a dose of 30 nmol/rat thus yielding a bell-shaped dose-response curve. When increasing doses of PHI (0.15-3.0 nmol/rat) were administered against a background of VIP (3.0 nmol/rat) predictably additive responses were observed; however, when increasing doses of VIP (0.15-3.0 nmol/rat) were administered with PHI (3.0 nmol/rat) only the higher doses of VIP facilitated the PHI-induced secretion while the lower doses of VIP actually reduced the PHI-induced ACTH secretion. Finally, pretreatment with [Lys1, Pro2,5, Arg3,4, Tyr6]-VIP, anVIP (1.5 nmol/rat) totally suppressed VIP-induced ACTH secretion but had no effect on PHI-induced secretion. These studies collectively suggest that VIP and PHI utilize different receptors/mechanisms to regulate HPA secretion. Furthermore, when a range of doses of anVIP (1.5-30.0 nmol/rat) was tested against VIP (3.0 nmol/rat), ACTH secretion was totally suppressed at all doses of the antagonist. However, the maximal reduction of CORT secretion occurred at the lowest dose of anVIP and increasing doses were less and less effective, suggesting that not only PHI but VIP may also stimulate and inhibit HPA secretion. While both the stimulatory and the inhibitory actions of PHI appear to involve ACTH, only the stimulatory action of VIP is ACTH-dependent.