cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A comparative study of Merkel cell, BK and JC polyomavirus infections in renal transplant recipients and healthy subjects.

Abstract Background Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare skin cancer associated with immunosuppression and the integration of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) DNA into the tumor cell genome. Little is known about the natural history of MCPyV infection. Objectives To investigate the presence of MCPyV, BK and JC polyomaviruses in serum and urine from immunosuppressed kidney transplant patients (KTx) and a control group of normal volunteers. Study design Quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR) was used to assess MCPyV, BKV and JCV viral load in urine and serum samples collected from normal donors (Group A), prospectively enrolled KTx patients (Group B) and from KTx with documented BK reactivation and/or nephropathy (Group C). Results Low levels of MCPyV viruria was seen in 15% of the subjects in Group A, 30% of Group B, and was not detected in Group C. No individuals in the study developed MCPyV viremia. BK viruria was seen in 5% of Group A, 30% of Group B, and 100% of Group C. Consistent with previous reports, the mean BKV urinary load was significantly higher in immunosuppressed patients compared to non-immunosuppressed controls and also higher in urine compared to serum samples. Conclusions Like BKV and JCV, MCPyV is likely a common infection in adult humans. Low level shedding of MCPyV in urine was similar in immunosuppressed organ transplant recipients to non-immunosuppressed subjects. However, MCPyV was not detected and JCV was infrequent in samples from KTx patients with clinical BKV reactivation.
A note on “fulfilled expectations” equilibria

In this note, the “fulfilled expectations” equilibrium notion, found in Green [3], Grossman [5], and Kihlstrom and Mirman [S], is used to analyze a simple model of a repeated futures market. (The model used is similar to one advanced by Stiglitz [ 111.) We are primarily interested in examining this equilibrium notion in the context of this simple model, and we find that it gives rise to a number of very interesting economic phenomena. The model is specified in Section 2. The market considered exists solely for insurance purposes: Speculators have random nonmarket income which may be statistically dependent on a price which will prevail in an upcoming spot market. By speculating in a futures market for the spot market commodity, they can hedge against adverse fluctuations in their nonmarket income. (Presumably, this takes place in a world without a complete set of contingent markets.) In Section 3, the “fulfilled expectations” equilibrium notion is advanced in the context of this model. Economic motivation for this notion is given. An economic difficulty is immediately encountered: Information originally possessed by no speculator may be transmitted by equilibrium prices. This is easily resolved, by restricting attention to prices which contain no more information than is possessed by all the speculators. However, when attention is so restricted, another problem is encountered: An equilibrium need not exist. An example of this is given in Section 4. Another difficulty with this equilibrium concept arises in connection with the standard notion of a demand correspondence. Roughly, a
The politics of protecting the poor during adjustment: Bolivia's emergency social fund

Abstract The Emergency Social Fund (ESF), a compensatory scheme implemented as a complement to Bolivia's dramatic structural reform plan, attracted a great deal of both national and international attention, and there have been several attempts to set up similar programs in Latin America and Africa. Enthusiasts of the ESF cite its demand-based approach, its efficiency and transparency, and its rapid results. Critics question the program's ability to provide permanent poverty alleviation or to target the poorest sectors, and its institutional position outside the public sector. This study analyzes the impact of the ESF on politics and on the sustainability of the adjustment process. It also evaluates the ESF's effects on central and local level institutions, nongovernment actors, and the poor. The study seeks to enhance efforts to protect the poor during adjustment, and to identify the contributions such efforts can make to the political sustainability of the process.
Metabolism of sphingomyelin by intact cultured fibroblasts: Differentiation of Niemann-Pick disease types A and B

When [choline-methyl- 14 C]sphingomyelin was added to tissue culture medium containing human serum, there was efficient uptake of the phospholipid by cultured human fibroblasts. The great majority of the sphingomyelin was hydrolysed by normal cells, but not by cells from patients with Niemann-Pick disease type A suggesting that the phospholipid entered the lysosome and was hydrolysed by lysosomal sphingomyelinase. Studies comparing fibroblasts from Niemann-Pick disease types A and B demonstrated substantially greater hydrolysis by Niemann-Pick type B cells, indicating that the phenotypic differences in the two diseases are explained by residual sphingomyelinase activity in intact type B cells.
Podocyte pathology and nephropathy - sphingolipids in glomerular diseases.

Sphingolipids are components of the lipid rafts in plasma membranes, which are important for proper function of podocytes, a key element of the glomerular filtration barrier. Research revealed an essential role of sphingolipids and sphingolipid metabolites in glomerular disorders of genetic and non-genetic origin. The discovery that glucocerebrosides accumulate in Gaucher disease in glomerular cells and are associated with clinical proteinuria initiated intensive research into the function of other sphingolipids in glomerular disorders. The accumulation of sphingolipids in other genetic diseases including Tay-Sachs, Sandhoff, Fabry, hereditary inclusion body myopathy 2, Niemann-Pick and nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type and its implications with respect to glomerular pathology will be discussed. Similarily, sphingolipid accumulation occurs in glomerular diseases of non-genetic origin including diabetic kidney disease (DKD), HIV-associated nephropathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and lupus nephritis. Sphingomyelin metabolites, such as ceramide, sphingosine and sphingosine-1-phosphate have also gained tremendous interest. We recently described that sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase acid-like 3b (SMPDL3b) is expressed in podocytes where it modulates acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase) activity and acts as a master modulator of danger signaling. Decreased SMPDL3b expression in post-reperfusion kidney biopsies from transplant recipients with idiopathic FSGS correlates with the recurrence of proteinuria in patients and in experimental models of xenotransplantation. Increased SMPDL3b expression is associated with DKD. The consequences of differential SMPDL3b expression in podocytes in these diseases with respect to their pathogenesis will be discussed. Finally, the role of sphingolipids in the formation of lipid rafts in podocytes and their contribution to the maintenance of a functional slit diaphragm in the glomerulus will be discussed.
A web-based simulation system for transport and retention of dissolved contaminants in soil

Abstract The movement of contaminants through the soil matrix is primarily a liquid phase process in which the chemical partitions between sorbed and dissolved phases. These phenomena have been modeled extensively and several computer models were developed. The use of those computer programs requires installation of the software in the users machine. Usually, post-processing of the numerical output provided by the software is required. In this paper, a web-based simulation environment for retention and transport of dissolved organic and inorganic compounds in soils is presented. The system was developed using Java and is based on the Multi-reaction Transport Model of heavy metals in soil. The mathematical and numerical formulation of the model is briefly sketched. The core computing components of the simulation environment were written in C or fortran for their computational efficiency. The emerging Java Native Interface (JNI) technique and the Swing interface were used to design a user-friendly simulator. Java security problems (due to the use of applets calling native libraries) are discussed and a solution to avoid security restrictions is provided. The simulation system provides interactive user control and real time visualization through standard web browsers. The Java-based simulation code was used to analyze a hypothetical soil contamination problem. The almost instantaneous visualization of results provided by the Java-based interface resulted in efficient and easy analyses. Although a performance comparison was not in mind, the evaluation of the same scenario using the original fortran code took three times as much total time (program run, evaluation of results and post-processing) as that using the Java simulation system.
Regulation of nerve growth factor mRNA levels in developing rat heart ventricle is not altered by sympathectomy

The survival of sympathetic and sensory neurons is known to be controlled by nerve growth factor (NGF) supplied by the targets of innervation, yet little is known about how target NGF synthesis is regulated. We have investigated the pattern of NGF mRNA expression in developing rat heart ventricle using a sensitive RNA blotting procedure. We find that the concentration of NGF mRNA increases steadily from Embryonic Day 17 to peak levels at 10-14 days postnatal and then declines about twofold and stabilizes at the level found in adults. The rise in NGF mRNA concentration correlates with the arrival and differentiation of sympathetic nerve terminals in the heart and the cessation of sympathetic cell death. To assess the role of innervating sympathetic neurons in regulating NGF mRNA expression, neonatal rats were sympathectomized by treatment with 6-hydroxydopamine and heart ventricles were assayed for NGF message. Although this treatment reduced ventricle norepinephrine content by 82%, no significant change in NGF mRNA concentration was observed. These results suggest that the developmental program of NGF mRNA production in the heart is not influenced by innervating sympathetic neurons.
A Simultaneous Equation Model for the Division of Household Labor

In this paper a three-equation, nonrecursive model for the household division of labor is proposed based on recent work in the New Home Economics. The model is estimated with data from a sample of ...
Effect of Class Standing on Students' Predictions of Their Final Exam Scores

Ninety undergraduate introductory psychology students predicted their numerical scores on a multiple-choice final exam directly before the exam was passed out (pretest prediction) and just after co...
A YAC, P1, and cosmid contig and 17 new polymorphic markers for the Werner syndrome region at 8p12-p21

A yeast artificial chromosome (YAC), P1, and cosmid clone contig was constructed for the Werner syndrome (WRN) region of chromosome 8p12-p21 and used to clone a candidate gene for WRN. This region also possibly contains a familial breast cancer locus. The contig was initiated by isolating YACs for the glutathione reductase (GSR) gene and extended in either direction by walking techniques. Sequence-tagged site (STS) markers were generated from subclones of 2 GSR YACs and used to identify P1 and cosmid clones. Additional STSs were generated from P1 and cosmid clones and from potential expressed sequences identified by cDNA selection and exon amplification methods. The final contig was assembled by typing 17 YACs, 20 P1 clones, and 109 cosmids for 54 STS markers. The WRN region could be spanned by 2 nonchimeric YACs covering approximately 1.4 Mb. A P1/cosmid contig was established covering the core 700-800 kb of the WRN region. Fifteen new short tandem repeat polymorphisms and 2 biallelic polymorphic markers were identified and included as STSs in the contig. Analysis of these markers in Werner syndrome subjects demonstrates that the candidate WRN gene is in a region of linkage disequilibrium.
Projected index computed tomography

Projected index computed tomography (PICT) is a new imaging technique that provides a computed reconstruction of the index of refraction of a sample. PICT makes use of data from standard optical coherence tomography images taken from several view angles to determine a mapping of the refractive indices of the sample. A rectilinear propagation model is assumed, so the data are understood to be related to the line integral of the refractive index in the beam paths. These data thus provide a set of angular projections of the sample. The spatial distribution of the index of the object may then be reconstructed by use of standard filtered backprojection techniques. The resultant PICT images are free of the spatial distortion that is inherent in standard optical cross-sectional images and correspond well to the manufactured dimensions of specific samples.
Superresolution Using a Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) with a High-Order Laguerre-Gaussian Mode

A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) is current-annealed to operate in the high order (0, 4) Laguerre mode, and this source is used in a superresolution setup to achieve a spot size smaller than the classical diffraction limit. Theory predicts a reduction down to 51% of the classical limit in each dimension (i.e. 4× reduction in area), and a reduction down to 65% (i.e. 2.5× reduction in area) is experimentally demonstrated with a signal-to-noise ratio of >10 dB between the main-lobe and the side-lobe intensities.
Signal Transduction in Atria and Ventricles of Mice With Transient Cardiac Expression of Activated G Protein αq

We recently showed that the transient expression of a hemagglutinin (HA) epitope-tagged, constitutively active mutant of the G protein alpha(q) subunit (HAalpha(q)*) in the hearts of transgenic mice is sufficient to induce cardiac hypertrophy and dilatation that continue to progress after HAalpha(q)* protein becomes undetectable. We demonstrated that the activity of phospholipase Cbeta, the immediate downstream target of activated Galpha(q), is increased at 2 weeks, when HAalpha(q)* is expressed, but also at 10 weeks, when HAalpha(q)* is no longer detectable. This observation suggested that the transient HAalpha(q)* expression causes multiple, persistent changes in cellular signaling pathways. We now demonstrate changes in the level, activity, or both of several signaling components, including changes in the amount and hormone responsiveness of phospholipase Cbeta enzymes, in the basal level of diacylglycerol (which predominantly reflects activation of phospholipase D), in the amount or distribution of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms (PKCalpha, PKCdelta, and PKCepsilon), and in the amount of several endogenous G proteins. These changes vary depending on the isoform of the signaling molecule, the chamber in which it is expressed, and the presence or absence of HAalpha(q)*. Our results suggest that a network of linked signaling functions determines the development of hypertrophy. They also suggest that atria and ventricles represent different signaling domains. It is likely that such changes occur in other model systems in which the activity of a single signaling component is increased, either due to an activating mutation or due to overexpression of the wild type.
Cobalt-mediated synthesis of 2-(4-pyridyl)benzimidazole. x-ray structures of Co[2-(4-pyridyl)benzimidazole]2(H2O)2(NO3)2 and [Co(isonicotinate)(4-pyridiniumcarboxylate)(H2O)(NO3)]∞

Abstract We have observed an unusual example of cobalt-mediated cyclization of 4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde and 2-nitroaniline to afford 2-(4-pyridyl)benzimidazole under hydro(solvo)thermal conditions. Reaction of Co(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O with 4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde and 2-nitroaniline in ethanol at 120°C gave a cobalt(II) coordination compound, Co[2-(4-pyridyl)benzimidazole] 2 (H 2 O) 2 (NO 3 ) 2 , 1 . In contrast, when the hydro(solvo)thermal reaction was carried out between Co(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O and isonicotinic acid in the presence of 2-nitroaniline at 110°C, a one-dimensional Co(II) coordination polymer with the formula of [Co(isonicotinate)(4-pyridiniumcarboxylate)(H 2 O)(NO 3 )] ∞ , 2 , resulted. The X-ray single crystal structures of both 1 and 2 are described. Interestingly, the isonicotinic acid in 2 exists as a 4-pyridiniumcarboxylate tautomer, and the pyridinium hydrogen atom forms a very strong hydrogen bond to the carboxylate oxygen of the 4-pyridiniumcarboxylate on an adjacent metal center. 1 forms a three-dimensional polymeric network through hydrogen bonding interactions, while 2 exists as a 2-D bilayer polymeric network through hydrogen bonding interactions.
Professional Confidence and Job Satisfaction: An Examination of Counselors’ Perceptions in Faith-Based and Non-Faith-Based Drug Treatment Programs

Understanding substance abuse counselors' professional confidence and job satisfaction is important since such confidence and satisfaction can affect the way counselors go about their jobs. Analyzing data derived from a random sample of 110 counselors from faith-based and non-faith-based treatment programs, this study examines counselors' professional confidence and job satisfaction in both faith-based and non-faith-based programs. The multivariate analyses indicate years of experience and being a certified counselor were the only significant predictors of professional confidence. There was no significant difference in perceived job satisfaction and confidence between counselors in faith-based and non-faith-based programs. A majority of counselors in both groups expressed a high level of satisfaction with their job. Job experience in drug counseling and prior experience as an abuser were perceived by counselors as important components to facilitate counseling skills. Policy implications are discussed.
EXPERIMENTAL RICKETS IN RATS VI. THE ANATOMICAL CHANGES WHICH ACCOMPANY HEALING OF EXPERIMENTAL RAT RICKETS, UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF COD LIVER OIL OR ITS ACTIVE DERIVATIVES.

Rats which had developed rickets were treated with cod liver oil or an active fraction of cod liver oil, and the various changes which occur in the healing of the bone lesions were studied. Several phases are described, from the early deposit of calcium salts in the zone of preparatory calcification to the return to normal bone. These stages correspond closely to those found in the healing of human rickets.
Catecholamine content of the carotid body in cats ventilated with 8 - 40% oxygen

Abstract The content of catecholamines in the carotid body varies directly with inspired oxygen concentration in the range between 8 and 40% oxygen. The decrease in content during hypoxia is mediated mainly through an efferent neural pathway in the carotid sinus nerve.
A Catalytically Inactive Form of Protein Kinase C-Associated Kinase/Receptor Interacting Protein 4, a Protein Kinase Cβ-Associated Kinase That Mediates NF-κB Activation, Interferes with Early B Cell Development

Protein kinase C-associated kinase (PKK)/receptor interacting protein 4 (RIP4) is a protein kinase C (PKC) β-associated kinase that links PKC to NF-κB activation. The kinase domain of PKK is similar to that of RIP, RIP2, and RIP3. We show in this study that PKK is expressed early during lymphocyte development and can be detected in common lymphoid progenitor cells. Targeting of a catalytically inactive version of PKK to lymphoid cells resulted in a marked impairment in pro-B cell generation in the bone marrow. Although peripheral B cell numbers were markedly reduced, differentiation into follicular and marginal zone B cells was not defective in these mice. B-1a and B-1b B cells could not be detected in these mice, but this might be a reflection of the overall defect in B cell production observed in these animals. In keeping with a possible link to PKCβ, peripheral B cells in these mice exhibit a defect in anti-IgM-mediated proliferation. These studies suggest that PKK may be required early in B cell development and for BCR-mediated B cell proliferation.
Stator temperature estimation of open-loop controlled induction machines via active DC voltage injection

Thermal conditioning is a key component in the lifespan and efficiency of an induction machine, and appropriate thermal monitoring methods could help lengthen the lifetime of induction machines. The installation and purchase of potentially expensive and perishable temperature sensors are not the best option for manufacturers and businesses in today's competitive market. This paper thus proposes a non-intrusive method for thermal estimation of induction motors operating under open-loop controlled systems widely used in industry. By superimposing dc values onto the three-phase voltage commands, the dc signal is injected into the stator windings of the induction machine. The stator winding temperature could thus be estimated upon the extraction of a dc resistance. This method is efficient and non-intrusive because it does not disturb the normal operations of the induction motor, nor does it involve any hardware changes. Also, this method is time efficient because the resistance and temperature estimations can be calculated within seconds after the injection has been made. The effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by simulations conducted under various motor conditions.
Executable specification-based system engineering

Standard system engineering techniques provide a robust approach to the design, creation and operation of systems but the reliance of these techniques on the generation of text documents reduces understanding of system interactions, makes it difficult to communicate design intent and desired behavior, provides no ability to analyze and assess implementation in the design phase, and can be plagued by errors during the transition from system engineering products to implementation. 1 2 Model-based system engineering (MBSE) alleviates some of these issues by elevating models over standard documentation, but it still does not address many of the issues articulated above: The out-product of MBSE is still just documentation so the transition to implementation remains error prone, behavioral analysis can only be performed in limited instances, and MBSE tends to draw resources away from system engineering functions to maintain models that never keep up with actual design or implementation.
Mixing electrons with intensity modulated photon beams to reduce integral dose

A single, well-chosen electron beam, suitably modulated by additional photon beams, can deliver a homogeneous dose to the target while reducing the integral dose to normal tissue. This work compares plans using 21 MeV electrons mixed with modulated photons, with 6 MV intensity modulated photons alone in several configurations. The mixed beam plan achieved a 2-fold reduction in integral dose with little compromise in target homogeneity.
The Impact of Best Track Discrepancies on Global Tropical Cyclone Climatologies using IBTrACS

AbstractUsing the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), the climatology of tropical cyclones is compared between two global best track datasets: 1) the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) subset of IBTrACS (IBTrACS-WMO) and 2) a combination of data from the National Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (NHC+JTWC). Comparing the climatologies between IBTrACS-WMO and NHC+JTWC highlights some of the heterogeneities inherent in these datasets for the period of global satellite coverage 1981–2010. The results demonstrate the sensitivity of these climatologies to the choice of best track dataset. Previous studies have examined best track heterogeneities in individual regions, usually the North Atlantic and west Pacific. This study puts those regional issues into their global context. The differences between NHC+JTWC and IBTrACS-WMO are greatest in the west Pacific, where the strongest storms are substantially weaker in IBTrACS-WMO. These disparities strongly af...
Non-destructive techniques for biomonitoring of spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns of mercury bioaccumulation and maternal transfer in turtles

Mercury (Hg) is a globally ubiquitous pollutant that has received much attention due to its toxicity to humans and wildlife. The development of non-destructive sampling techniques is a critical step for sustainable monitoring of Hg accumulation. We evaluated the efficacy of non-destructive sampling techniques and assessed spatial, temporal, and demographic factors that influence Hg bioaccumulation in turtles. We collected muscle, blood, nail, and eggs from snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) inhabiting an Hg contaminated river. As predicted, all Hg tissue concentrations strongly and positively correlated with each other. Additionally, we validated our mathematical models against two additional Hg contaminated locations and found that tissue relationships developed from the validation sites did not significantly differ from those generated from the original sampling site. The models provided herein will be useful for a wide array of systems where biomonitoring of Hg in turtles needs to be accomplished in a conservation-minded fashion.
Using topes to validate and reformat data in end-user programming tools

End-user programming tools offer no data types except "string" for many categories of data, such as person names and street addresses. Consequently, these tools cannot automatically validate or reformat these data. To address this problem, we have developed a user-extensible model for string-like data. Each "tope" in this model is a user-defined abstraction that guides the interpretation of strings as a particular kind of data. Specifically, each tope implementation contains software functions for recognizing and reformatting instances of that tope's kind of data. This makes it possible at runtime to distinguish between invalid data, valid data, and questionable data that could be valid or invalid. Once identified, questionable and/or invalid data can be double-checked and possibly corrected, thereby increasing the overall reliability of the data. Valid data can be automatically reformatted to any of the formats appropriate for that kind of data. To show the general applicability of topes, we describe new features that topes have enabled us to provide in four tools.
Immunohistochemical studies of interleukin‐2 and γ‐interferon in rheumatoid arthritis

Synovial tissues were studied, using immunofluorescence techniques, for localization of lymphocytic infiltrates and immune reactants, including C3, C5b-9, C9, and Ia antigen. Tissue distribution of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and gamma-interferon was also determined, using mouse monoclonal antibodies. IL-2 was found in association with OKT8 and OKT4 T cells, and gamma-interferon was noted in association with T cells, B cells, and macrophages. Staining both for IL-2 and for gamma-interferon was surprisingly faint in view of the intensity of lymphocytic infiltration.
The role of environmental and owner-provided consequences in canine stereotypy and compulsive behavior

Abstract The present study evaluated whether environmental variables can reinforce and maintain canine stereotypic behavior and whether the removal of these variables can reduce the rate of the behavior. We first present an online survey in which the owners were asked to report the environmental antecedent and consequent events related to stereotypic behavior in their dogs. The survey results indicated that stereotypic behavior, as reported by the owners, was not restricted to specific antecedents. Principal component analysis identified 4 ways that the owners usually responded to stereotypic behavior. In a case study of 5 dogs, functional analysis methodology was used to evaluate whether environmental or owner-provided consequences maintained stereotypic behavior. We demonstrate that owner-provided consequences maintained circling and licking in 2 of the dogs, light movement alone maintained light chasing in 2 of the dogs, and 1 dog showed little-to-no response during sessions preventing further analysis. We subsequently manipulated the consequences of the stereotypic behavior thought to maintain the behavior for 3 of the case study dogs, which led to a reduction in the behavior for all 3 dogs. This study provides evidence that the consequences of stereotypic behavior, such as attention from the owner, can reinforce and maintain high rates of the behavior. Our results suggest that the specific owner-dog dynamic might be an important influence on canine stereotypic behaviors, and that manipulating the relevant reinforcer found to maintain these behaviors leads to a reduction in the behavior.
Circuit switching with input queuing: an analysis for the d-dimensional wraparound mesh and the hypercube

We analyze circuit switching in a multiprocessor network, where connection requests (or sessions) arrive at each node of the network according to a Poisson process with rate /spl lambda/. Each session joins the appropriate input-queue at its source node, and, upon advancing to the head of the queue, transmits a setup packet to establish a connection. If the setup packet is successful, it reserves the links on the path for the duration of the session, and the session is served without interruptions. Otherwise, the connection request remains queued at the source, and subsequent attempts are made to establish the circuit. We analyze the queue of connection requests at the input-buffer of a network link, and obtain analytic expressions for the stability region, the average queuing delay, the average connection time, the average waiting time, and the average total delay, which show how these parameters depend on system variables, such as network dimension and session arrival rate. The queuing analysis focuses on the input-queue of a particular link, and accounts for the interactions with queues of other links through the retrial attempts and the associated probability of success. The queuing analysis is independent of the particular network topology under consideration, as long as the probability that a session arriving at a random time successfully establishes a connection can be calculated for that network. Simulations demonstrate the close agreement between the observed network behavior and that predicted by the analysis.
Effects of topiramate and gabapentin on cognitive abilities in healthy volunteers

Objective: To evaluate the cognitive effects of topiramate (TPM) and gabapentin (GBP). Methods: Forty healthy volunteers were randomized to a 12-week course of TPM, GBP, or placebo. Doses were gradually escalated over 10 weeks to a maximum of 400 mg/day of TPM or 3,600 mg/day of GBP or to the highest tolerated dose. Subjects were interviewed and examined biweekly. Cognitive testing was performed prior to initiating the drug and again 12 weeks later, at least 2 weeks after achieving plateau dosing. For each subject and cognitive measure, test–retest Z scores were calculated based on regression equations derived from 73 healthy volunteers. Group comparisons utilized the Wilcoxon test. Results: There were significant TPM vs GBP and TPM vs placebo differences in test–retest Z scores for four of six target cognitive measures (Digit Symbol, Story Recall, Selective Reminding, Controlled Oral Word Association), always indicating worse retest performance for subjects receiving TPM. Overall, 12 of 24 cognitive measures were similarly affected. TPM effects were large, and several target measures averaged >2 SD of negative change. One measure was significantly affected by GBP. Conclusions: Topiramate (TPM) impaired cognitive test performance, whereas gabapentin had minimal effects. The effects of TPM were of sufficient magnitude potentially to affect daily and occupational function.
Naltrexone does not disrupt acquisition or performance of inhibitory conditioning

Previous research has demonstrated that naltrexone (NTX) enhances acquisition of aversive excitatory Pavlovian conditioning. Both the conditional opponent theory (Schull, 1979) and the perceived intensity hypothesis (Fanselow, 1981; Young & Fanselow, 1992) accurately predict this result. Nevertheless, these two models make different predictions about the effects of NTX on inhibitory conditioning. In the present experiment, these predictions were tested by investigating the effect of NTX on the acquisition and expression of inhibitory conditioning. NTX was injected during conditioned inhibitory (CI) training or testing. To avoid an effect of NTX on excitatory conditioning, excitatory and inhibitory trials were separated by 24 h. A control group was used to assess acquisition of CI. It was found that NTX did not disrupt acquisition or expression of CI. These results are inconsistent with the conditional opponent theory but are in accordance with the perceived intensity hypothesis.
Four-wave mixing in EDFAs

We study FWM in C- and L-band EDFAs. We observe that FWM efficiency is determined by fiber length and channel spacing. We show that FWM from EDFAs exceeds that from non-zero dispersion-shifted fiber in DWDM system.
Indirect parameter elicitation procedures for some distributions with bounded support – with applications in Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

The introduction of the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) dates back to the 1960s and has found wide application since then in the planning of construction projects. Difficulties with the interpretation of the parameters of the beta distribution let Malcolm et al. (Malcolm, D.G., et al., 1959. Application of a technique for research and development program evaluation. Operations Research, 7, 646–649) to elicit them indirectly via the classical expressions for the PERT mean and variance for an activity's completion time. These expressions are specified, given a lower and upper bound estimates a and b and a most likely estimate θ for the activity's duration. Despite a by now 50 -year controversy exemplified by current articles still questioning the PERT mean and variance elicitation approach, their use is still prevalent in current operations research and industrial engineering college text books. In this article an overview is presented of some alternative approaches that have been suggested, ...
Error concealment for shape coding

In ATM networks cell loss or channel errors can cause data to be dropped in the channel. When digital images/video are transmitted over these networks one must be able to reconstruct the missing data so that the impact of the errors is minimized. We present an error concealment technique for object-coded sequences using the MPEG-4 video coding standard. This method, which is based on using global motion estimation for boundary recovery, consists of boundary extraction, boundary patching using global motion compensation, and object filling to reconstruct the damaged video object.
Fast Outer Hair Cell Motility: How Fast is Fast?

Recent experiments have implicated transmembrane voltage as the driving force of OHC motility (Santos-Sacchi and Dilger, 1988a,b; Iwasa and Kachar, 1989). A voltage dependence of OHC motility clearly implies that a charged voltage sensing particle must reside in the OHC membrane, and as was predicted for voltage dependent ionic channels (Hodgkin and Huxley, 1952), particle movement should occur under an applied transmembrane voltage. Gating currents associated with the movement of the presumed voltage sensor in OHCs have been described by Ashmore (1989).
Prey Size and Dietary Niche of Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii)

Abstract Bats in the genus Corynorhinus possess a suite of morphological characters that permit them to effectively use both gleaning and aerial-hawking foraging strategies to capture Lepidoptera. Consequently, they occupy a specialized feeding niche within North American bat assemblages and are of particular interest for dietary studies. We collected fecal pellets from a colony of C. rafinesquii (Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat) at Mammoth Cave National Park during August–October 2011 and amplified cytochrome-c oxidase subunit 1 fragments of prey from these pellets. We used the Barcode of Life Database to identify prey, and evaluated the size of prey species based on published values. The mean wingspan of prey we recorded from our samples was smaller than average values reported for Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat using traditional methods (P ≤ 0.01), suggesting that surveys of culled insect parts beneath roosting sites may lead to biased estimates of the size and breadth of prey species eaten by gleaning bats. Me...
Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism in High-Risk Patients by Prophylactic Administration of Oral Anticoagulants

In recent years the development of sensitive and specific noninvasive methods for diagnosis of venous thrombosis, with confirmation by phlebography, and improvements in the diagnostic methods available for detection of pulmonary embolism have made it possible to identify a number of major risk factors for venous thromboembolism. These features of a patient’s illness may be employed as criteria for selection of the patient as a candidate for prophylactic administration of antithrombotic agents. The more important risk factors that predispose to venous thromboembolism are shown in Table 1.
Robotic morphogenesis

A new, biologically motivated approach to self-organizing pattern formation and function determination in a distributed array of many identical cells is presented. Methods for asynchronous pattern formation using linear swarm models, pattern formation by boundary pattern generation and propagation, and differentiation by message coding are proposed. A gradient descent based algorithm for linear swarms that guarantees convergence is introduced. 2D pattern formation in an array of identical cells is demonstrated by simulation.
Modeling of Two-Phase Micro-Channel Flow for Thermal Management of Electronic Systems

Traditional thermal solutions are reaching their practical limits on heat removal requirement for processers with high circuit power density over the coming years. The implementation of forced convective boiling in microchannels is a promising alternative, as attainable heat transfer rate is very favorable. In this study, the instabilities of two-phase boiling flow in a single microchannel are computationally explored by utilizing commercial software. Based on previous studies, numerical results get really qualitative agreement. For the steady state, the bubble growth, from isolated bubbles to elongated bubbly flow near the outlet region, can be exactly observed in the current simulation. As for transient analysis, boiling regimes are investigated in terms of two specified mass velocities. The time-dependent fluctuations in wall temperature are given to indicate the transition of different flow patterns and the effect of varied mass flux. In addition, boiling mechanisms are found to be strongly dependant on wall surface conditions. A comparison of the computed flow boiling in a microchannel with reentrant cavities on side walls to experimental results is performed. The cavities are shown to help to facilitate boiling nucleation, enhance the critical heat flux, and reduce the superheat for the boiling onset. Finally, the size effect of nucleation sites is analyzed and addressed, the cavity diameter and depth being carefully considered. Based on the compatible view, the optimal configuration of reentrant cavities is located.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Modeling and Cost-Effectiveness in HIV Prevention

With HIV funding plateauing and the number of people living with HIV increasing due to the rollout of life-saving antiretroviral therapy, policy makers are faced with increasingly tighter budgets to manage the ongoing HIV epidemic. Cost-effectiveness and modeling analyses can help determine which HIV interventions may be of best value. Incidence remains remarkably high in certain populations and countries, making prevention key to controlling the spread of HIV. This paper briefly reviews concepts in modeling and cost-effectiveness methodology and then examines results of recently published cost-effectiveness analyses on the following HIV prevention strategies: condoms and circumcision, behavioral- or community-based interventions, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, HIV testing, pre-exposure prophylaxis, and treatment as prevention. We find that the majority of published studies demonstrate cost-effectiveness; however, not all interventions are affordable. We urge continued research on combination strategies and methodologies that take into account willingness to pay and budgetary impact.
Economic Effects of Price Maintenance in Knoxville, Tennessee:

EDITOR'S NOTE: The papers by Mr. Lewis and Professor Cassady by contrast with those of Professors Hawkins and Phillips offer specific research evidence concerning the effects of the Fair Trade laws. Mr. Lewis is now instructor in Marketing at the University of Pennsylvania; at the time this investigation was made he held a similar position at the University of Tennessee. This is not Professor Cassady's first appearance in THE JOURNAL.
Bulky Acyclic Aminooxycarbene Ligands

A series of sterically demanding acyclic aminooxycarbenes (AAOCs) were prepared in good yields from chloroiminium salts and alkoxysilanes via the TMS-Cl elimination pathway. The steric profiles of ...
The Undead Constitution

Most living constitutionalists prefer to retain the original constitutional text but infuse it with modern-day ideals. So living constitutionalists aim to establish not a "living" but a zombie Constitution; they want to take the corpse of constitutional text and reanimate it with new principles in every generation. But this Constitution is at war with itself. Like Frankenstein’s monster, half dead and half alive, it wanders in the wilderness never finding complete acceptance. Call this "the undead hand problem": The living Constitution is always an unstable mix of living and dead elements, chosen according to the preferences of the assembler. A review of Cass R. Sunstein, A Constitution of Many Minds: Why the Founding Document Doesn't Mean What It Meant Before (Princeton, 2009).
Drug Therapy Reviews: Chronic Hepatitis

The classification, clinical course, etiology and treatment of chronic hepatitis are discussed. The clinical manifestations of chronic hepatitis are of limited diagnostic use. Diagnosis must be made by liver biopsy. The disease is classified as chronic persistent or chronic active hepatitis. The prognosis for chronic persistent hepatitis is excellent, and no treatment is required. Chronic active hepatitis may progress to cirrhosis and is associated with a poor prognosis if untreated. Recognized causes of chronic active hepatitis are hepatitis-B virus infection, post-transfusion hepatitis not associated with hepatitis-B virus, and certain drugs. For drug-induced hepatitis, discontinuation of the medication is indicated. For other types of chronic active hepatitis the recommended treatment is prednisone 10 mg and azathioprine 50 mg daily.
She’s Hot, for a Politician: The Impact of Objectifying Commentary on Perceived Credibility of Female Candidates

The way female politicians are discussed in traditional and new media may contribute to the way individuals evaluate those candidates. Objectification theory suggests that framing individuals in a way that reduces them to their physical characteristics is detrimental to perceived agency. To that end, an experiment was designed to determine the impact of objectifying comments on the evaluation of female candidates. Researchers created two Facebook feeds discussing a hypothetical female candidate. For both feeds, the discussion focused on the candidate’s policy credentials, with one feed containing commentary on the female candidate’s body. Aspects of credibility and suitability for office were impacted by objectifying commentary, implying the need for future research directed at the specific impact objectification has on candidate evaluation.
Jim Crow and estrogen-receptor-negative breast cancer: US-born black and white non-Hispanic women, 1992-2012.

It is unknown whether Jim Crow—i.e., legal racial discrimination practiced by 21 US states and the District of Columbia and outlawed by the US Civil Rights Act in 1964—affects US cancer outcomes. We hypothesized that Jim Crow birthplace would be associated with higher risk of estrogen-receptor-negative (ER−) breast tumors among US black, but not white, women and also a higher black versus white risk for ER− tumors. We analyzed data from the SEER 13 registry group (excluding Alaska) for 47,157 US-born black non-Hispanic and 348,514 US-born white non-Hispanic women, aged 25–84 inclusive, diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 2012. Jim Crow birthplace was associated with increased odds of ER− breast cancer only among the black, not white women, with the effect strongest for women born before 1965. Among black women, the odds ratio (OR) for an ER− tumor, comparing women born in a Jim Crow versus not Jim Crow state, equaled 1.09 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06, 1.13), on par with the OR comparing women in the worst versus best census tract socioeconomic quintiles (1.15; 95% CI 1.07, 1.23). The black versus white OR for ER− was higher among women born in Jim Crow versus non-Jim Crow states (1.41 [95% CI 1.13, 1.46] vs. 1.27 [95% CI 1.24, 1.31]). The unique Jim Crow effect for US black women for breast cancer ER status underscores why analysis of racial/ethnic inequities must be historically contextualized.