cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of expressed sequence tags preferentially expressed in human placentas by in silico subtraction.

Objectives To identify expressed sequence tag (EST) clusters preferentially expressed in placentas. Methods The National Center for Biotechnology's online UniGene database contains 14 placenta libraries. In silico (computer-based) subtraction compared placenta libraries against the remaining libraries to identify transcripts preferentially expressed in placentas. For known genes, placental expression or their use in prenatal diagnosis was then explored online using LocusLink and PubMed. Results Placentas preferentially expressed 475 EST clusters. Of these, 18 EST clusters with no known function were expressed exclusively in placentas. Of the remaining 457 EST clusters, 90 showed preferential placental expression by ≥25 times. Of these 90, literature searches on the 45 EST clusters with known functions showed 44 linked to placental physiology or proposed as markers for prenatal diagnosis [i.e. β-hCG, pregnancy-specific glycoproteins, human placental lactogens, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A)]. Selected genes with known function in pregnancy but whose preferential placental expression fell below the factor of 25 threshold were also identified. Conclusion In silico subtraction identified 44 previously studied genes involved in placental physiology as well as 63 EST clusters preferentially expressed in placental tissue, which may serve as targets for future studies seeking novel markers for prenatal diagnosis or to better understand placental genetics. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Conform: a conformal mapping system

Conform consists of a collection of LISP routines that permit the real time manipulation and display of conformal mappings of one complex plane onto another.
Energy storage in polymer films with high dielectric constant fillers [Feature Article]

A polymer filled with high dielectric constant particles to achieve greater dielectric constant and energy density has obvious appeal. It also is fraught with problems. At low-volume fractions of high dielectric contrast filler, little electric field resides in the filler, and most of the increase in effective dielectric constant results from an increase of electric field in the polymer matrix. For spherical filler and a dielectric contrast (ratio of dielectric constants) greater than 100 between the filler and polymer matrix, the energy density of the composite increases rapidly for volume fractions >35%. For the case of randomly oriented prolate spheroidal filler with an asperity of 3 (i.e., the major axis is three times larger than the minor axis), the energy density increases rapidly for volume fractions >18%. With the assumption that breakdown is determined by the average field in the matrix, the energy density increases with dielectric contrast.
Guest editor's introduction: information customization

Increasing demands for time in our busy lives and the critical connection between timely information and an organization's bottom line require that we reverse (at least partially) the conventional ways we find information. Instead of users investing significant effort to find the right information, the right information should find the users.Information customization systems attempt to accomplish this by automating many functions of today's information retrieval systems and provide features to optimally use information.
Inhibition of antigen-induced bronchoconstriction by methylprednisolone succinate

Abstract We investigated whether the glucocorticoid methylprednisolone succinate (15 mg/kg) could prevent antigen-induced bronchoconstriction in conscious sheep. Ten allergic ewes were subjected to inhalation challenge with Ascaris suum antigen, with and without methylprednisolone pretreatment, administered intravenously either 20 min or 3 hr before antigen challenge. Antigen challenge alone resulted in increased airflow resistance, pulmonary hyperinflation, and decreases in dynamic lung compliance and arterial oxygen tension. Methylprednisolone administered 20 min before antigen challenge had no effect on these antigen-induced changes. In contrast, administration of methylprednisolone 3 hr before antigen challenge effectively prevented all the responses to antigen challenge. We suggest that pretreatment with glucocorticoids can attenuate airway anaphylaxis if sufficient time is allowed between the pretreatment and the antigen challenge.
The effect of light on critical illness.

The research of this decade has yielded substantial improvements in the delivery of and technology with which to provide care for critically ill intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Garnering less attention from the medical and scientific community is the environment in which that care is provided, which remains impersonal, noisy, and over illuminated. Noticeably, the nursing and business literature is replete with studies on the matter [1], [2].
Naloxone, but not Tyr-MIF-1, reduces volitional ethanol drinking in rats: Correlation with degree of spontaneous preference

The possible relationship between the actions of ethanol and opiates led us to examine the effect of opiate antagonists on ethanol intake in rats with a free choice of water. Naloxone (NAL) significantly reduced intake of ethanol. This effect was much greater in “high-preferring” (ethanol/total fluid intake> 60%) than in “low-preffering” (ethanol/total fluid intake <30%) rats. Furthermore, a correlation was found between the degree of spontaneous preference (ethanol/total fluid intake ratio) and the reduction of ethanol drinking by NAL. Sensitivity to NAL increased with increased preference for ethanol. Neither Try-MIF-1 (Tyr-Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2) nor MIF-1 (Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2) caused a significant modification of ethanol intake. This study shows that NAL can reduce volitional ethanol intake in rats and provides further evidence that Tyr-MIF-1 does not always act like NAL.
Cytosolic calcium determination: a fluorometric technique

After human platelet and leucocyte isolation, and Indo-1 acetoxymethyl ester loading, the fluorometric technique of flow cytometric measurments has been used to analyse changes in cytosolic calcium. Measurments in cells suspensions and in individual cells.
Characterization of the Biophysical Properties of Novel Saturated Bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate Analogues

Bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate (BMP18:1) is an uniquely structured anionic phospholipid found in enriched concentrations in the internal membranes of the lysosome and late endosome.1 BMP18:1, differs from typical phospholipids, possessing two glycerol moieties each with a single oleoyl acyl-chain as well as an atypical sn-1:sn-1′ stereoconfiguration. It has been suggested that the unusual structure of BMP18:1 plays a role in lipid and protein trafficking, as well as glycosphingolipid degradation.2,3 Dimyristoyl-BMP (BMP14:0) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) undergo a phase transition from the gel to liquid crystalline phase at 42 °C, whereas the phosphatidylcholine with myristoyl acyl-chains, dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC), undergoes a gel to liquid crystalline phase transition at 23 °C. It is therefore of interest to investigate the thermotropic phase behavior of saturated BMP analogues. Temperature dependent 2H-NMR was used to characterize analogues of BMP with lauroyl, myristoyl, palmitoyl, or stearoyl acyl-chains. First moment (M1) analyses of 2H-NMR spectra can be used to monitor the gel to liquid crystalline phase transition. The phase transition temperature for each BMP analogue was found to be higher than the phosphatidylcholine consisting of the corresponding acyl-chain. BMP18:0 was studied under three different buffer conditions to determine the effects of pH and ionic strength on the phase transition.1. Kobayshi et al., J. Biol. Chem., 2002, 277, 32157.2. Gruenberg, Curr. Opin. Cell Biol., 2003, 15, 382.3. Schulze, Kolter, and Sandhoff, BBA, 2009, 1793, 674.
Book Review of Handbook of Group Counseling and Psychotherapy

Book reviewed in this article: Handbook of Group Counseling and Psychotherapy by Janice L. DeLucia-Waack, Deborah A. Gerrity, Cynthia R. Kalodner, & Maria T. Riva (Eds.), 2004
On the complexity of self.

SELF peptides bound to self major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules have been implicated both in positive1,2 and in negative3,4 selection of T cells during intrathymic development. We report here that the novel MHC-restricted monoclonal antibody Y-Ae (ref. 5) detects the MHC class II bound form of a major self peptide6. Y-Ae binds ∼12% of the relevant MHC class II molecules on self antigen presenting cells. The peptide detected by Y-Ae is one of several major peptides eluted from the MHC molecule6. These data suggest that self peptides presented by self MHC class II molecules at densities sufficient to signal a CD4 T cell are of very limited complexity. Furthermore, as Y-Ae stains antigen presenting cells that mediate negative selection but not thymic cortical epithelial cells5 that drive positive selection3, differential expression of self peptide:self MHC class II complexes may be a key feature of intrathymic selection.
OCLC in Europe

OCLC recently celebrated its first decade in Europe. On January 1, 1981, OCLC opened its Europe branch in Birmingham, England, with three staff members; an office in the home of its managing director; no network to connect it to its corporate headquarters, systems center, and bibliographic database; and no library users.
Nested control of plug-in electric vehicles for renewable power tracking

A robust strategy is proposed in this paper to simultaneously control the source and aggregate charging power of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). The charging flexibility of PEVs provides the power grid with control authority to cope with load fluctuations caused by the variation of grid-connected PEVs population and their instantaneous power demand. In this paper, a nested-loop control system consisting of an inner- and outer-loop is developed for aggregate charging power of PEVs. The inner-loop is used to control the charge rate of a fleet of grid-connected PEVs using sliding mode control theory. The outer-loop controller is then developed to adjust the renewable power source to avoid the inner-loop control saturation and the resulted drastic reference tracking error therein. The adjusted power is injected into a battery storage device and dispatched to the grid whenever the power demand is high. The closed-loop performance of the presented approach is demonstrated using real data from renewable sources.
A Tale of Two Countries: Markets and Transboundary Water Governance Between the United States and Mexico

While there is a robust literature about using tradeable permits as a solution to pollution externalities, less work has applied these principles to the area of transboundary water management. This article proposes the use of transboundary water banking as a means for addressing issues of water externalities, conflict over water resources, and incentive compatibility. First, the article provides clarity to this discussion by synthesizing relevant literature over transboundary water governance, focusing on the experience between the United States and Mexico over the Colorado River. Second, the article formalizes the idea of a transboundary water bank and the efficiency of an auctioned versus grandfathered permit program. Third, the article provides a brief formulation of the market design elements of such a scheme, namely four conditions that enable a sort of Nash Equilibrium among agents. The article concludes by alluding to the parallels between energy and water markets. While only a start, this article ...
Husband‐wife similarities in hemoglobin levels

As shown in 2,826 pairs of spouses participating in the Ten‐State Nutrition Survey of 1968–1970, husband‐wife correlations in hemoglobin levels approximate 0.20 from the 3rd through the 8th decade. At the extremes of hemoglobin levels, husband‐wife similarities are even more pronounced, such that the spouses of individuals who are “high” in hemoglobin may be as much as 0.7–0.8 gm/100 ml higher than the spouses of those who are low. This study of genetically‐unrelated adult individuals living together provides background necessary for the understanding of parent‐child and sibling similarities in hemoglobin levels and hematocrit concentrations.
Alkylation damage, DNA repair and mutagenesis in human cells

17 human cell lines that differ significantly in level of O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) activity were identified by comparing their sensitivity to the cytotoxic effect of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and determining the level of AGT activity in cell extracts from the various lines by measuring the decrease in radiolabeled O6-methylguanine from DNA, using high-performance liquid chromatography. 9 lines exhibited high levels of AGT activity, 2 showed an intermediate level (25-50% of the mean of those with the higher levels), and 6 exhibited very low or virtually undetectable levels of AGT. Included were several lines that are very deficient in capacity for nucleotide excision repair. When representatives from the 3 categories of cell lines defined by the level of AGT activity were compared for sensitivity to the cytotoxic and mutagenic effect of MNNG, they showed an inverse correlation between the degree of cell killing and frequency of mutants induced and the level of AGT activity. The cells' capacity for nucleotide excision repair did not affect these results. Exposure of cells with a high level of AGT activity to O6-methylguanine in the medium reduced the AGT activity 60-80%. These pre-treated cells exhibited a significantly higher frequency of MNNG-induced mutants than did cells that were not pre-treated, suggesting that the O6-methylguanine lesion in DNA is responsible for a significant proportion of the mutations induced. Cell strains containing substrates for assaying intrachromosomal homologous recombination were constructed using parental cell lines from each of the 3 categories of AGT activity. These strains showed an inverse correlation between the level of AGT activity and the frequency of MNNG-induced recombination. When various cell lines representing the 3 categories of AGT activity were compared for sensitivity to ethylnitrosourea, the results were consistent with AGT and nucleotide excision repair playing a role in preventing cell killing and mutation induction by this agent.
Correlational Structure of Spontaneous Neuronal Activity in the Developing Lateral Geniculate Nucleus in Vivo

The properties of spontaneous activity in the developing visual pathway beyond the retina are unknown. Multielectrode recordings in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of awake behaving ferrets, before eye opening, revealed patterns of spontaneous activity that reflect a reshaping of retinal drive within higher visual stages. Significant binocular correlations were present only when cortico-thalamic feedback was intact. In the absence of retinal drive, cortico-thalamic feedback was required to sustain correlated LGN bursting. Activity originating from the contralateral eye drove thalamic activity far more strongly than that originating from the ipsilateral eye. Thus, in vivo patterns of LGN spontaneous activity emerge from interactions between retina, thalamus, and cortex.
A Multiple Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis Evaluation of Teachers' Work Related Perceptions and Reactions

The examination of teachers' job-related reactions has recently become a popular topic of research investigations. However, strictly focusing on teachers' affective reactions (e.g., satisfaction) may provide a somewhat limited view with regard to improving teacher attitudes. Research has demonstrated that job perceptions act as a precursor to job satisfaction. Therefore, in order to obtain a broader view of teacher attitudes, one should assess both perceptions of, and affective reactions to, the work environment. A survey designed to assess both teacher perceptions and affective reactions is described and subjected to confirmatory factor analyses. An 11-factor solution provided the best fitting model to the data and was then tested using a multiple group comparison. The same 11-factor solution was identified in the second group, but the individual factor loadings were not found to be invariant across groups. Implications of the findings are discussed as well as potential future uses for the survey.
Responses of Prepubertal Female Rats to Environmental PCBs with High and Low Dioxin Equivalencies

Abstract An extract of landfill soil containing high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was refined by alumina–charcoal column chromatography to remove coplanar PCBs and high relative levels of PCDFs. Both extracts were administered ip in corn oil to immature female rats on Days 21 and 22 of age. Rats were terminated on Day 23 and organ weights, enzyme activities, and serum thyroxine (T4) were measured. The change in characteristics caused by charcoal-stripping was confirmed by comparing hepatic microsomal 7-ethoxyresorufin O -deethylase (EROD), 7-pentoxyresorufin O -depentylase (PROD), 7-benzyloxyresorufin O -dearylase (BROD), and UDP glucuronyl transferase (UDPGT) activities. EROD and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) UDPGT activities, estimates of aryl hydrocarbon ( Ah ) receptor agonists present, peaked at 140 mg/kg soil extract, declining at 210 mg/kg; these activities in rats treated with the charcoal-refined soil extract were not induced at low doses, but increased linearly from 70 to 210 mg/kg. Conversely, PROD and BROD activities were modestly induced at 7 to 70 mg/kg of either soil extract; however, at higher doses induction was threefold higher in rats receiving the charcoal-filtered extract. Liver weights increased in a pattern similar to EROD induction. At all doses, the weak uterotropic response was greater in rats receiving the charcoal-filtered extract, probably due to removal of antiestrogenic Ah receptor agonists by the charcoal. Serum total T4 declined similarly in rats receiving either extract to about 40% of control values at the highest doses. Short-term integrated bioassays such as this are useful in detecting multiple complex interactions and can be used to define the net effects of mixtures with changing compositions for improved risk assessment..
Polyhedra without virions in a vertically transmitted nuclear polyhedrosis virus

Abstract Polyhedra were observed in larvae, pupae, and adults (f1 generation) of Spodoptera frugiperda whose parents had survived exposure to the S. frugiperda nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV). These polyhedra were isolated from the f1 insects and fed to first instars. The polyhedra from f1 larvae and pupae infected the first instars (86–98 and 69–88% infection, respectively), but most of those recovered from adults of the f1 generation did not (0–11% infection). Electron microscopy indicated that the infectious polyhedra from adults contained virions, but the noninfectious polyhedra from adults did not. A monoclonal anti-polyhedrin antibody used in conjunction with fluorescence microscopy reacted positively with the empty, noninfectious polyhedra, indicating that the polyhedrin protein was present. Thus, when the S. frugiperda NPV is vertically transmitted, the infections in the f1 adults are nonlethal and are manifested mainly as noninfectious, empty polyhedra which are composed of the polyhedrin protein.
Inference for a Proton Accelerator Using Convolution Models

Proton beams present difficulties in analysis because of the limited data that can be collected. The study of such beams must depend on complex computer simulators that incorporate detailed physical equations. The statistical problem of interest is to infer the initial state of the beam from the limited data collected as the beam passes through a series of focusing magnets. We are thus faced with a classic inverse problem where the computer simulator links the initial state to the observables. We propose a new model for the initial distribution that is derived from the discretized process convolution approach. This model provides a computationally tractable method for this highly challenging problem. Taking a Bayesian perspective allows better estimation of the uncertainty and propagation of this uncertainty.
Towards global analysis of mosquito chorion proteins through sequential extraction, two‐dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry

This study describes the separation and identification of chorion proteins through two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) techniques. Due to their high hydrophobicity, chorion proteins are difficult to be solubilized and absorbed into the immobilized pH gradient strip for isoelectric focusing. By optimizing the applied conditions for chorion protein extraction and sample application, we were able to solubilize the majority of the chorion proteins and resolve them by 2-DE. Under optimized conditions, there are more than 700 protein spots resolved by 2-D analysis. Trypsin digestions of individual protein spots, MALDI-TOF MS analysis of their digested peptides, and subsequent BLAST search of peptide masses resulted in the tentative identification of 38 protein spots. Our data show that sequential extraction of the isolated chorion, 2-DE of the solubilized chorion proteins, in-gel digestion of the resolved protein and MALDI-TOF MS analysis of the protein digests is an effective overall strategy towards determination of chorion proteins in mosquitoes. The merits of the method described for the determination of mosquito chorion proteins and its feasibility for the separation and identification of membrane proteins and chorion or eggshell proteins from other insect species are discussed.
Lower Bounds for Passive and Active Learning

We develop unified information-theoretic machinery for deriving lower bounds for passive and active learning schemes. Our bounds involve the so-called Alexander's capacity function. The supremum of this function has been recently rediscovered by Hanneke in the context of active learning under the name of "disagreement coefficient." For passive learning, our lower bounds match the upper bounds of Gine and Koltchinskii up to constants and generalize analogous results of Massart and Nedelec. For active learning, we provide first known lower bounds based on the capacity function rather than the disagreement coefficient.
HYPERTENSIVE, HYPERVOLEMIC, HEMODILUTIONAL THERAPY FOR ANEURYSMAL SUBARACHNOID HEMORRHAGE: Is It Efficacious? Yes

Vasospasm is an important contributor to death and disability after aneurysmal SAH. CBF is decreased after SAH and correlates inversely with the severity of the clinical grade. It is necessary to avoid hypotension and hypovolemia, which can exacerbate an already reduced CBF, resulting in critically low perfusion. There have been no human, prospective, randomized trials of HHH therapy. This is attributable, perhaps, to the fact that such trials are difficult to blind. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence that HHH therapy can reverse the delayed onset of profound neurologic deficits by restoring blood flow to ischemic regions, and its prophylactic use can reduce the incidence and severity of DID.
Patch use under predation hazard : Effect of the red imported fire ant on deer mouse foraging behavior

We examined patch use of deer mice foraging in the presence vs. the absence of red imported fire ants in a laboratory experiment. We tested the H = P + C + MOC patch use model (H, harvest rate; P, predation risk; C, metabolic costs; MOC, missed opportunity costs), an extension of the marginal-value theorem, by comparing in-patch harvest rates and giving-up densities (GUDs) in the presence and the absence of fire ants: The model predicts that foragers should seek patches that yield higher feeding rates in the presence of increased costs. GUDs also should increase, since they should correlate directly with quitting-harvest rates, as long as the forager experiences diminishing returns on its rate of resource harvest. We identified behavioral trade-offs made by deer mice when foraging in the presence of fire ants. In the presence of fire ants, mice harvested a greater proportion of seeds from, spent more time in, and made more visits to rich patches than to poor, whereas in the absence of fire ants, these variables did not differ between rich and poor patches. Mice also increased their in-patch harvest rate in the presence of fire ants, as predicted by the H = P + C + MOC model, but harvested patches to a lower GUD. Mice left patches at lower final seed densities, but were able to maintain a higher mean in-patch harvest rate, suggesting that mice foraged more efficiently in the presence of fire ants. When fire ants were present, deer mice spent more time on out-of-patch handling (fire ants were confined to patches). Despite increased costs or lost time due to taking seeds away from the ants for consumption, mice were able to harvest the same number of seeds in the same total time, at the same mean harvest rate. By biasing effort toward more energetically profitable rich patches and by increasing their in-patch harvest rate, deer mice were able to obtain the same net yield in the same time, despite increased costs.
Strong edge colorings of uniform graphs

Abstract For a graph G = ( V ( G ) , E ( G ) ) , a strong edge coloring of G is an edge coloring in which every color class is an induced matching. The strong chromatic index of G , χ s ( G ) , is the smallest number of colors in a strong edge coloring of G . The strong chromatic index of the random graph G ( n , p ) was considered in Discrete Math. 281 (2004) 129, Austral. J. Combin. 10 (1994) 97, Austral. J. Combin. 18 (1998) 219 and Combin. Probab. Comput. 11 (1) (2002) 103. In this paper, we consider χ s ( G ) for a related class of graphs G known as uniform or e -regular graphs. In particular, we prove that for 0 e ⪡ d 1 , all ( d , e ) -regular bipartite graphs G = ( U ∪ V , E ) with | U | = | V | ⩾ n 0 ( d , e ) satisfy χ s ( G ) ⩽ ζ ( e ) Δ ( G ) 2 , where ζ ( e ) → 0 as e → 0 (this order of magnitude is easily seen to be best possible). Our main tool in proving this statement is a powerful packing result of Pippenger and Spencer (Combin. Theory Ser. A 51(1) (1989) 24).
Synthesis and Function of Membrane Phosphoinositides in Budding Yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae

It is now well appreciated that derivatives of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) are key regulators of many cellular processes in eukaryotes. Of particular interest are phosphoinositides (mono- and polyphosphorylated adducts to the inositol ring in PtdIns), which are located at the cytoplasmic face of cellular membranes. Phosphoinositides serve both a structural and a signaling role via their recruitment of proteins that contain phosphoinositide-binding domains. Phosphoinositides also have a role as precursors of several types of second messengers for certain intracellular signaling pathways. Realization of the importance of phosphoinositides has brought increased attention to characterization of the enzymes that regulate their synthesis, interconversion, and turnover. Here we review the current state of our knowledge about the properties and regulation of the ATP-dependent lipid kinases responsible for synthesis of phosphoinositides and also the additional temporal and spatial controls exerted by the phosphatases and a phospholipase that act on phosphoinositides in yeast.
The Intergenerational Relationships of Gay Men and Lesbian Women

Objectives. Despite the demonstrated importance of intergenerational ties across the life course, few studies examine relationships between gay men and lesbians and their later life parents and parents-in-law. The present study examines how midlife to later life gay men and lesbians in intimate partnerships conceptualize these intergenerational ties. Method. Qualitative analysis of 50 in-depth interviews collected with midlife to later life gay men and lesbians (ages 40–72) in long-term intimate partnerships. Results. Findings reveal 4 central ways respondents describe supportive parent–child and parent–child in-law rela tionships: integration, inclusion through language, social support, and affirmations. Findings reveal 3 central ways indi viduals distinguish strained parent–child and parent–child in-law relationships: rejection in everyday life, traumatic events, and the threat of being usurped. Findings further articulate how intergenerational ambivalence is distinguished through descriptions of a parent as simultaneously supportive (via subthemes of solidarity) and rejecting (via subthemes of strain). Discussion. Findings from this study provide empirical evidence of how support, strain, and ambivalence in inter generational ties are identified and experienced by gay men and lesbian women. This study reveals a new lens to view relationships between midlife to later life adults and their aging parents and parents-in-law and further identifies linkages between solidarity–conflict and ambivalence paradigms.
Optimal Dynamic Routing in Single Commodity Networks by Iterative Methods

In this paper, we present iterative methods for finding optimal state-dependent routing strategies in single commodity networks. The key to our method is to show that there exists a family of optimization problems with convex cost and linear constraints that have solutions that can be converted into an optimal routing strategy by way of a flow relaxation transformation. These problems, when solved by certain iterative algorithms, lead to different convergence rates. In particular, one of the problems has quadratic cost. To solve one of these optimization problems, we use an iterative projected descent direction algorithm due to Bertsekas. We present an alternative to the Armijo-like step size rule of the algorithm, which we believe is more robust. Also included are Newton-like descent directions that take a reasonable amount of time to compute. Finally, some results of our computer experiments are summarized.
Applying log linear model based context dependent machine translation techniques to grapheme-to-phoneme conversion

Grapheme-to-Phoneme conversion is a challenging task for speech recognition and text-to-speech systems for which the functionality of automatically predicting pronunciations for OOV words is highly desirable. In this paper, Grapheme-to-Phoneme conversion is viewed as a special case of sequence translation problem and we propose to tackle it with phrase based log-linear translation model. We improve standard machine translation method by utilizing context dependent units which lead to a better many-to-many alignment between chunks of graphemes and phonemes. Furthermore, hypotheses combination technique is applied to combine outputs generated by multiple translation models trained with different alignment units. Our proposed approach was evaluated on NetTalk and CMUDict datasets. Significant improvements on conversion accuracy are observed on both sets compared to conventional translation method: phoneme level error rates are reduced relatively by 18.4% and 22.5%, respectively. Our approach also performs better than or as good as previously published data driven methods examined on the same tasks.
Functional vagal input to gastric myenteric plexus as assessed by vagal stimulation-induced Fos expression

Immunohistochemical detection of c-Fos expression was used to identify gastric myenteric plexus neurons that receive excitatory input from vagal efferent neurons activated by electrical stimulation...
Utilization of Pulmonary Function Tests by Primary Care Internists in a Community Hospital

Objective: A quality assurance effort to evaluate the use of pulmonary function tests by primary care physicians. Specifically, to examine the patient's un derstanding of the test, the types of tests physicians order, and the appropriateness of the ordered tests for answering questions posed by physicians. Design: Concurrent chart review, clinical interviews, and pa tient interviews. Setting: Community teaching hos pital. Patients: 101 consecutive inpatients and out patients, referred to the Pulmonary Function Labo ratory over a consecutive 5-month period. Measurements: Interview of the patient by a pulmo nary technician. Interview of the primary care phy sician by a pulmonary physician. Interview, where applicable, with the house staff. Final assessment by a pulmonary physician. Main Results: 64% of the patients understood the purpose of the test and 49% of the patients felt there was some potential benefit to be derived from participating in the testing. Sixty five percent of the physicians ordered spec...
Depression and Risk for Alzheimer Disease: Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Metaregression Analysis

Context A history of depression may increase risk for developing Alzheimer disease (AD) later in life. Clarifying this relation might improve understanding of risk factors for and disease mechanisms in AD. Objective To systematically review and complete a meta-analysis on the relation of depression and AD. Data sources We conducted electronic bibliographic searches of MEDLINE, PsychLit, EMBASE, and BIOSIS using search terms sensitive to studies of etiology combined with searches on terms related to depression and AD and reviewed reference lists of articles. Study selection Studies with data contrasting depressed vs nondepressed patients who did and did not later develop AD were included. Studies that related continuous measures of depression and cognitive status were excluded. Data extraction Numerical data were independently extracted by 3 reviewers. They also rated studies on a scale that assessed quality indicators for observational studies. Data on the interval between observation of depression and the diagnosis of AD were collected when available. Data synthesis Meta-analytic evaluation with random-effects models resulted in pooled odds ratios of 2.03 (95% confidence interval, 1.73-2.38) for case-control and of 1.90 (95% confidence interval, 1.55-2.33) for cohort studies. Findings of increased risk were robust to sensitivity analyses. Interval between diagnoses of depression and AD was positively related to increased risk of developing AD, suggesting that rather than a prodrome, depression may be a risk factor for AD. Conclusions A history of depression may confer an increased risk for later developing AD. This relation may reflect an independent risk factor for the disease.
Measures of Network Vulnerability

We propose measures of network vulnerability and study some of their properties. We define a network as a triplet (G,R,F), where G is the graph of the network, R is the routing protocol specifying how traffic flows on G, and F is the traffic load (typically random). Based on this structure, we calculate the expected loss of traffic from an "attack" which eliminates ttimes100% of the network's links. The result is a network vulnerability curve (NVC) measuring expected loss as a function of t,0lestles1. Clearly, different attack strategies (e.g., random versus malicious) could cause different levels of damages so, accordingly, we define four key NVCs: malicious, greedy, random, and Bernoulli, and study their mathematical properties. Some extensions are discussed
Parent-Offspring Conflict

When parent-offspring relations in sexually reproducing species are viewed from the standpoint of the offspring as well as the parent, conflict is seen to be an expected feature of such relations. In particular, parent and offspring are expected to disagree over how long the period of parental investment should last, over the amount of parental investment that should be given, and over the altruistic and egoistic tendencies of the offspring as these tendencies affect other relatives. In addition, under certain conditions parents and offspring are expected to disagree over the preferred sex of the potential offspring. In general, parent-offspring conflict is expected to increase during the period of parental care, and offspring are expected to employ psychological weapons in order to compete with their parents. Detailed data on mother-offspring relations in mammals are consistent with the arguments presented. Conflict in some species, including the human species, is expected to extend to the adult reproductive role of the offspring: under certain conditions parents are expected to attempt to mold an offspring, against its better interests, into a permanent nonreproductive.
Effect of Pre‐decortication Drying Treatment on the Textural Quality of Cowpea Products: Seeds and Akara

This study describes the influence of a pre-decortication drying treatment on the textural quality of cowpea seeds and akara (fried cowpea paste). Heat-treated seeds were more brittle than the unheated control, but there were no significant differences in seed brittleness among drying temperatures. Akara from the 110°C treatment was less cohesive and required more energy per unit mass to shear and compress than the other samples. Overall, the 50°. 70° and 90°C treatments produced akara that compared favorably in textural quality to the control. Objective textural parameters obtained from either TPA or the Kramer cell method correlated well with sensory measures of texture.
Experience buffers: a socially appropriate, selective archiving tool for evidence-based care

Diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of interventions for children with autism can profit most when caregivers have substantial amounts of data they can easily record and review as evidence of specific observed behaviors over time. Through our work with one prototype system and interviews with caregivers, we have recognized the importance of socially appropriate ways to add rich data to the information recorded by caregivers. Analysts must be able to view incidents as they occurred without unnecessarily burdening caregivers and other children with always-on recording of data about them. In this paper, we introduce experience buffers, a collection of capture services embedded in an environment that, though always on and available, require explicit user action to store an experience.. This creates a way to balance the social, technical, and practical concerns of capture applications.
Home Range and Movements of the Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit in a Highly Fragmented Habitat

The endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbit ( Sylvilagus palustris hefneri ) occurs in a highly fragmented habitat in the Lower Keys of Florida. A primary goal in recovering this subspecies is understanding how individuals interact in this patchy landscape. Home range and movements of marsh rabbits were studied to determine if rabbits are confined within a habitat patch (relictual population), spend most of their lives in a patch but are capable of moving between patches (metapopulation), or regularly move between habitat patches (patchy population). Radiotelemetry data were obtained from 43 rabbits representing all age and sex classes. Seven collared juvenile rabbits remained in their natal patches of habitat until the onset of sexual maturity. All of the collared subadults (five of the surviving juveniles and 12 rabbits collared as subadults) made a relatively long, one-way movement. Ten of the males moved to new patches; all but one of the females remained in their natal patches. After establishing a home range, each of the adult rabbits (12 collared as juveniles or subadults and 11 collared as adults) remained in one patch of habitat until their deaths. These results indicate that S. p. hefneri exists as a metapopulation. Conservation efforts should be aimed at protecting both the rabbit's marsh habitat and the lower-mangrove and upland-forest-corridor habitats used during dispersal.
NCBI GEO: mining millions of expression profiles—database and tools

The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is the largest fully public repository for high-throughput molecular abundance data, primarily gene expression data. The database has a flexible and open design that allows the submission, storage and retrieval of many data types. These data include microarray-based experiments measuring the abundance of mRNA, genomic DNA and protein molecules, as well as non-array-based technologies such as serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) and mass spectrometry proteomic technology. GEO currently holds over 30,000 submissions representing approximately half a billion individual molecular abundance measurements, for over 100 organisms. Here, we describe recent database developments that facilitate effective mining and visualization of these data. Features are provided to examine data from both experiment- and gene-centric perspectives using user-friendly Web-based interfaces accessible to those without computational or microarray-related analytical expertise. The GEO database is publicly accessible through the World Wide Web at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo.
Widespread occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides in streams in a high corn and soybean producing region, USA.

Neonicotinoid insecticides are of environmental concern, but little is known about their occurrence in surface water. An area of intense corn and soybean production in the Midwestern United States was chosen to study this issue because of the high agricultural use of neonicotinoids via both seed treatments and other forms of application. Water samples were collected from nine stream sites during the 2013 growing season. The results for the 79 water samples documented similar patterns among sites for both frequency of detection and concentration (maximum:median) with clothianidin (75%, 257 ng/L:8.2 ng/L) > thiamethoxam (47%, 185 ng/L: imidacloprid (23%, 42.7 ng/L: <2 ng/L). Neonicotinoids were detected at all nine sites sampled even though the basin areas spanned four orders of magnitude. Temporal patterns in concentrations reveal pulses of neonicotinoids associated with rainfall events during crop planting, suggesting seed treatments as their likely source.
Toward a Common Law of Ecosystem Services

This article suggests ways in which the common law can integrate concepts of ecosystem services to fulfill pragmatic objectives of common law doctrine. Rather than requiring a radical departure from traditional common law doctrine as is often proposed in environmental literature on the common law, ecosystem services can fold seamlessly into existing common law principles as a source of new knowledge and changed circumstances.
Adapting Difficulty Levels in Personalized Robot-Child Tutoring Interactions

Social robots can be used to tutor children in one-on-one interactions. Because students have different learning needs, they consequently require complex, non-scripted teaching behaviors that adapt to the learning needs of each child. As a result of this, robot tutors are more effective given a means of adaptively customizing the pace and content of a student's curriculum. In this paper we propose a reinforcement learning-based approach that affords such capabilities to a tutoring robot, with the goals of fostering measurable learning gains and sustained engagement. We outline an architecture in which the robot uses reinforcement learning to adapt the difficulty of its exercises. Further, we describe a proposed study capable of evaluating the effectiveness of our Intelligent Tutoring System.
Who’s Exercising What Power: Toward a Judicially-Manageable Nondelegation Doctrine

The non-delegation doctrine is one of American Constitutional law’s peculiarities: judges of all ideological stripes describe it as fundamental to our Constitutional system of government, but very few judges can — or will — readily apply it to invalidate an act of Congress. This paper, currently a completed draft, explores the development of the non-delegation doctrine, describes its long winter of non-use, rehearses scholarly attempts to both inter and reanimate it, and proposes a fresh approach to utilizing the doctrine in the future. This fresh approach, which I term “the institutional nature paradigm,” contemplates examining not only the delegation from Congress, but also the delegate, in terms of its place within the traditional hierarchy of federal power. While the paper focuses on delegation, it also raises future questions regarding the contours of legislative, executive, and even judicial power under the United States Constitution.
Molecular-scale surface chemistry of a common metal nanoparticle capping agent: triphenylphosphine on Au(111).

Phosphine-stabilized Au clusters have been extensively studied and are used in various applications due to their unique structural, catalytic, and electronic properties. Triphenylphosphine (PPh3) is a key stabilizing ligand in the synthesis of Au nanoclusters. Despite its intense use in nanoparticle synthesis protocols, little is known regarding its surface chemistry, monolayer structure, density, and packing arrangement, all of which are important descriptors of functionality. Here, in contrast to sparse earlier investigations, we report that PPh3 forms very ordered structures on Au(111). Atomic-scale imaging reveals that monolayer formation is accompanied by a partial lifting of the Au(111) surface reconstruction and ejection of extra Au atoms in the surface layer. Interestingly, these atoms are trapped and stabilized as two-dimensional Au nanoislands within the molecular layer. This behavior is in contrast to thiols, also common capping agents, which tend to remove Au atoms beyond those extra atoms pre...
Periplanetin and Its Production in the American Cockroach

In 1954, Pavan began a series of reports dealing with a new organ in the cockroach and its secretion, 1-benzoyl-β-D-glucose. In the 1st paper (Pavan 1954a) the secretion, found on the prosternum, was attributed to paired organs situated in the lateral cervical area and subsequently termed the laterocervical organs (LCO) (Pavan 1954b). While present in both sexes of Blatta orientalis (L.) and Periplaneta americana (L.), they are lacking in Blattella germanica (L.), Loboptera decipiens (Germar), “ Blabera fusca Br.,” and Leucophaea maderae (F.) (Pavan 1954c). Subsequently, LCO were observed in Eurycotis floridana (Walker) and P. australasiae (F.) but not in Supella longipalpa (F.) (Pavan and Willis 1955). Pavan and Miradoli (1955) briefly reported that other areas of the cervical membrane have glandular tissue which contributed to the secretion of the material; however, the location of these additional areas was not specified.