cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Microphone-independent robust signal processing using probabilistic optimum filtering

A new mapping algorithm for speech recognition relates the features of simultaneous recordings of clean and noisy speech. The model is a piecewise nonlinear transformation applied to the noisy speech feature. The transformation is a set of multidimensional linear least-squares filters whose outputs are combined using a conditional Gaussian model. The algorithm was tested using SRI's DECIPHER™ speech recognition system [1-5]. Experimental results show how the mapping is used to reduce recognition errors when the training and testing acoustic environments do not match.
Monolithic 3-D silicon photonics

A monolithic CMOS compatible process has been developed to realize vertically integrated devices in silicon. The method involves the implantation of an oxygen into a patterned silicon substrate to form buried guiding structures. These buried devices are separated from a surface silicon layer by an intervening layer of silicon dioxide formed through the implantation process. Photolithography and etching is used to define devices on the surface silicon layer. The method has been utilized to realize the vertically coupled microdisk resonators and a variety of microresonator-based integrated optical elements. A new method for extraction of the unloaded Q of a cavity from its measured spectrum is also described.
Feeding rate inhibition in crowded Daphnia pulex

Feeding rates of Daphnia pulex fed a range of levels of the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardi of 15 °C are strongly density-dependent. At lower densities, Daphnia (30 1−1) fed at higher rates than crowded (270 1−1) Daphnia which manifest a relatively depressed saturation feeding response. At 30 individuals/liter, Daphnia consumed 8.5 – 15.7 × 104 cells d−1h−1 (on a volume basis, 12.1 – 22.2 × 106 μm3), at 270 L−1 3.7 – 3.9 × 104 (5.2 – 5.5 = 106 μm3 cells d−1h−1 when feeding on algae at 80 000 cells ml−1 (11.3 × 106 μm3 ml−1). The feeding rate data best fit an Ivlev feeding function. An “autoallelopath” might be causing the repression. Water preconditioned with crowded Daphnia completely repressed feeding in uncrowded Daphnia after six hours.
A Cognitive Training Intervention Increases Resting Cerebral Blood Flow in Healthy Older Adults

Healthy aging is typically accompanied by some decline in cognitive performance, as well as by alterations in brain structure and function. Here we report the results of a randomized, controlled trial designed to determine the effects of a novel cognitive training program on resting cerebral blood flow and gray matter volume in healthy older adults. Sixty-six healthy older adults participated in eight weeks of either a training program targeting attention and distractibility or an educational control program. This training program produced significantly larger increases in resting cerebral blood flow to the prefrontal cortex than the control program. Increases in blood flow were associated with reduced susceptibility to distraction after training, but not with alterations in gray matter volume. These data demonstrate that cognitive training can improve resting cerebral blood flow in healthy older adults and that cerebral perfusion rates may be a more sensitive indicator of the benefits of cognitive training than volumetric analyses.
Endurance bounds of aerial systems

Within the past few years micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) have received much more attention and are starting to proliferate into military as well as civilian roles. However, one of the major drawbacks for this technology currently, has been their poor endurance, usually below 10 minutes. This is a direct result of the inefficiencies inherent in their design. Often times, designers do not consider the various components in the vehicle design and match their performance to the desired mission for the vehicle. These vehicles lack a prescribed set of design guidelines or empirically derived design equations which often limits their design to selection of commercial off-the-shelf components without proper consideration of their affect on vehicle performance. In the current study, the design space for different vehicle configurations has been examined including insect flapping, avian flapping, rotary wing, and fixed wing, and their performance bounds are established. The propulsion system typical of a rotary wing vehicle is analyzed to establish current baselines for efficiency of vehicles at this scale. The power draw from communications is analyzed to determine its impact on vehicle performance. Finally, a representative fixed wing MAV is examined and the effects of adaptive structures as a means for increasing vehicle endurance and range are examined. This paper seeks to establish the performance bounds for micro air vehicles and establish a path forward for future designs so that efficiency may be maximized.
Characteristics of internet users and their privacy concerns: a comparative study between China and the United States

Concern about the privacy of online consumers is a global issue. Given the global nature of the Internet, companies planning and implementing e-commerce must understand the differences in privacy concerns of consumers in different cultures with different social/economic contexts to become effective in business. Motivated by this need, this study analyzes and compares the privacy concerns of online consumers in China and the United States, identifies major factors related to these concerns, and discusses the cultural/social/economic backgrounds of the related phenomena found in the study.
Rats bred for differences in preference to cocaine: other behavioral measurements.

Abstract Cocaine has repeatedly been shown to produce conditioned place preference (CPP) in the rat. The present study employed the heterogenous N/Nih rat stock to produce a selectively bred rat line determined by individual place preference to a conditioning dose of 2.5 mg/kg cocaine. As each of three generations of rats were exposed to the CPP task, cocaine-preferring (CP) males were mated with CP females whereas cocaine-nonpreferring (CNP) male rats were paired with their female counterparts. Rats in litters of the third generation of these selectively bred rats were used in two collateral studies: one involving the discriminative stimulus properties of cocaine and the other to investigate the ability of cocaine to stimulate activity. Results indicate that the continued breeding of CP animals has resulted in rats that prefer cocaine, whereas the breeding of CNP rats is defining a line of rats that actually find cocaine aversive. In testing the discriminative stimulus performance of five male CP and five male CNP rats, the learning rates and dose-response relationship to cocaine were not significantly different between these these two groups. In contrast, administration of 5.0 and 7.5 mg/kg cocaine to male and female CP and CNP rats indicated that, although all groups were stimulated by cocaine when compared to vehicle administration, male CNP rats showed a significantly decreased reaction to these two doses of cocaine. The possibility that conditioned place preference and locomotor stimulation are subserved by the same neural substrates, that is, most probably the dopaminergic systems in the nucleus accumbens of the brain, is discussed.
Note: On the sum of distances along a circle

The arc distance between two points on a circle is their geodesic distance along the circle. We study the sum of the (n2) arc distances determined by n points on a circle, which is a useful measure of the evenness of scales and rhythms in music theory. We characterize the configurations with the maximum sum of arc distances by a balanced condition: for each line that goes through the circle center and touches no point, the numbers of points on each side of the line differ by at most one. When the points are restricted to lattice positions on a circle, we show that Toussaint's snap heuristic finds an optimal configuration. We derive closed-form formulas for the maximum sum of arc distances when the points are either allowed to move continuously on the circle or restricted to lattice positions. We also present a linear-time algorithm for computing the sum of arc distances when the points are presorted by the polar coordinates.
NEW NOMENCLATURAL COMBINATIONS IN THE NORTH AMERICAN PERENNIAL TRITICEAE (GRAMINEAE)

Recent generic realignments of the perennial grasses of the tribe Triticeae necessitate some new name combinations for North American species. Three new species combinations and three new subspecies combinations are made to accommodate six long-anthered and usually cross-pollinating species ofAgropyron sensu A. S. Hitchcock in the genusElytrigia sensu N. N. Tzvelev. Three new species combinations are made to accommodate three long-anthered and usually cross-pollinating species ofElymus sensu A. S. Hitchcock in the genusLeymus sensu N. N. Tzvelev. A complete listing is given of the North American species and subspecies ofElytrigia andLeymus as I perceive them.
Optical Figure Inspection of Diamond-Turned Metal Mirrors

This paper demonstrates that the optical testing of diamond-turned surfaces is best accomplished by interferometry and not by tests which measure wavefront slope. Certain conditions regarding the interferometer configuration must be met in order to generate meaningful and accurate interferograms. A 40 cm diameter aperture modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer mounted directly on the diamond-turning lathe to facilitate rapid testing of figure between fabrication cuts is described. Results for a spherical surface tested in a Twyman-Green interferometer and an off-axis parabola tested in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer are illustrated.
The hatching behavior of Echinostoma trivolvis miracidia and their responses to gravity, light and chemicals

Abstract Echinostoma trivolvis eggs developed to mature miracidia in both dark and light culture conditions as early as 7 days. Hatching initially occurred in eggs exposed to incandescent light on day 11. Those exposed to fluorescent light first hatched on day 13. Maximum hatching (50+ miracidia/day) lasted only over a 3-day span with the entire hatching period being at the most 5 days. Eggs stored in complete darkness for 21 days developed to mature miracidia in 9 days, and, when exposed to light, gave a 50+ hatch the next day. Those eggs stored for 28 and 35 days developed normally but never hatched upon exposure to light. Miracidia hatched at all times of the day without a circadian pattern. Miracidia that hatched from these trials exhibited a definite negative geotaxis in a four-tube vertical system. This response was either negated in open tubes or dominated by a positive phototaxis in the open-bottomed tubes. In horizontal chambers without the depth component, a strong positive phototaxis was also demonstrated. Miracidia showed a positive klinokinetic response, as determined in phi-chambers, to acidic compounds such as aspartic, glutamic, hydrochloric, sulfuric, and acetic acids. Snail-conditioned water prepared from Helisoma trivolvis snails also elicited a positive response. The neutral amino acid, leucine, and possible snail excretion products, Mg 2+ and ammonia, did not stimulate these echinostrome miracidia.
HeFPipe: a complete analytical pipeline for heterozygosity-fitness correlation studies.

As the body of heterozygosity-fitness correlation (HFC) research grows, more and increasingly complicated tests have become an integral part of a typical HFC analysis (Chapman et al. 2009). Currently, no software is available to undertake conversion between the file formats required to conduct all of these tests and to conduct the main regression analyses at the core of all HFCs. Heterozygosity-Fitness Pipeline (HeFPipe) is a script written in Python that accomplishes both of these tasks for studies based on microsatellite data. HeFPipe is designed to be used from the command line terminal and will run on any Mac OSX computer. The script takes input in the form of allele reports from either the genotype-calling software, GeneMapper or GeneMarker, and reconfigures the data into GENEPOP (Raymond & Rousset 1995), Rhh (Alho et al. 2010), RMES (David et al. 2007) and GEPHAST (Amos & Acevedo-Whitehouse 2009) formats. The script is also equipped to reformat the output from GENEPOP on the Web (option 5) and Rhh into csv spreadsheets that can be incorporated into downstream analyses. HeFPipe accommodates user-provided lists of samples and markers to be included in or excluded from analyses. HeFPipe is equipped to create generalized linear models (GLMs) from both the main data set and subsets of the data. Finally, HeFPipe allows users to explore single-marker effects and conduct correlation analyses. The script, a comprehensive manual, a link to a series of video tutorials, and an example data set are available from GitHub (http://github.com/Atticus29/HeFPipe_rpos).
Mechanism and Tissue Specificity of Nicotine-mediated Lung S-Adenosylmethionine Reduction

We previously reported that chronic nicotine infusion blocks development of Pneumocystis pneumonia. This discovery developed from our work demonstrating the inability of this fungal pathogen to synthesize the critical metabolic intermediate S-adenosylmethionine and work by others showing nicotine to cause lung-specific reduction of S-adenosylmethionine in guinea pigs. We had found nicotine infusion to cause increased lung ornithine decarboxylase activity (rate-controlling enzyme of polyamine synthesis) and hypothesized that S-adenosylmethionine reduction is driven by up-regulated polyamine biosynthesis. Here we report a critical test of our hypothesis; inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase blocks the effect of nicotine on lung S-adenosylmethionine. Further support is provided by metabolite analyses showing nicotine to cause a strong diversion of S-adenosylmethionine toward polyamine synthesis and away from methylation reactions; these shifts are reversed by inhibition of ornithine decarboxylase. Because the nicotine effect on Pneumocystis is so striking, we considered the possibility of tissue specificity. Using laser capture microdissection, we collected samples of lung alveolar regions (site of infection) and respiratory epithelium for controls. We found nicotine to cause increased ornithine decarboxylase protein in alveolar regions but not airway epithelium; we conclude that tissue specificity likely contributes to the effect of nicotine on Pneumocystis pneumonia. Earlier we reported that the full effect of nicotine requires 3 weeks of treatment, and here we show recovery is symmetrical, also requiring 3 weeks after treatment cessation. Because this time frame is similar to pneumocyte turnover time, the shift in polyamine metabolism may occur as new pneumocytes are produced.
Improved result for the accuracy of Coulomb's law: A review of the Williams, Faller, and Hill experiment.

About 15 years ago Williams, Faller, and Hill (WFH) carried out a modern version of the classic null experiment which tests Coulomb's law. Their high-precision measurements of the voltage furnish the most stringent upper limit for the parameter \ensuremath{\delta}, which measures a (possible) deviation from the inverse-square form of Coulomb's law. We show that the experiment of WFH is actually about three times more sensitive to the parameter \ensuremath{\delta} than they supposed by carrying out a careful analysis of the geometrical factor involved in the interpretation of their experiment. The new upper limit for \ensuremath{\delta} is (1.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}16}$
Rupture of thin films: Nonlinear stability analysis

Abstract The instability and rupture of thin films due to a negative disjoining pressure is examined. A system of a thin film, bounded by a solid substrate and a second fluid phase semi-infinite in extent, is considered, and a nonlinear hydrodynamic stability analysis that takes into account the effects of the overlying fluid phase in a formal manner is presented. The analysis yields an evolution equation for the film thickness which reflects the effects of disjoining pressure and interfacial tension, as well as the dynamics of the two fluid phases. Limiting forms of the evolution equation are studied numerically to obtain qualitative features of the instability that cannot be captured by linear theory, and quantitative information about film rupture times.
Co-localization of the channel activating protease prostasin/(CAP1/PRSS8) with its candidate activator, matriptase

Prostasin (CAP1/PRSS8) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane serine protease believed to be critical for the regulation of epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) activity. Prostasin is synthesized as an inactive zymogen that requires a site-specific endoproteolytic cleavage to be converted to an active protease. We have recently reported that the tumor-associated type II transmembrane serine protease, matriptase is necessary and sufficient for prostasin activation in the epidermis. In this study, the interrelationship between the two membrane serine proteases was investigated further by using enzymatic gene trapping combined with immunohistochemistry to delineate the spatial expression of matriptase and prostasin in mouse tissues. We utilized a knock-in mouse with a promoterless beta-galactosidase marker gene inserted into the matriptase locus, as a unique tool for precise assessment of endogenous matriptase expression. The spatial expression of matriptase and prostasin in mouse tissues was delineated by combining in situ beta-galactosidase matriptase staining with immunohistochemical detection of prostasin. We report that prostasin displays a near-ubiquitous co-localization with its candidate activator matriptase in a variety of normal epithelial tissues. These include simple, stratified, and pseudo-stratified epithelium of the integumentary system, digestive tract, respiratory tract, and urogenital tract. However, matriptase and prostasin expression segregates during epithelial multi-stage carcinogenesis to eventually become localized in separate compartments of the tumor. These data suggest that a matriptase-prostasin zymogen activation cascade may be functionally operative in multiple epithelial tissues, but matriptase promotes epithelial carcinogenesis independent of prostasin.
Smart grid business case: Justifying the value proposition

Presents a collection of slides covering the following topics:national carbon reduction; bridge generation gap; virtual power plant; supervisory control; asset management; SCADA; GIS; distribution automation; workforce management; load management; voltage reduction; and retail pricing.
A Method of Analyzing the Momentum and Betatron Amplitude Distributions in a Circulating Beam

We have developed a two-probe method of analyzing the momentum and radial-betatron-amplitude distributions in a circulating particle beam. It has been used successfully in an electron-ring research program to help diagnose beam instabilities and injection techniques.
Pupil Dilations Reflect Why Rembrandt Biased Female Portraits Leftward and Males Rightward

Portrait painters are experts at examining faces and since emotional content may be expressed differently on each side of the face, consider that Rembrandt biased his male portraits to show their right cheek more often and female portraits to show their left cheek more often. This raises questions regarding the emotional significance of such biased positions. I presented rightward and leftward facing male and female portraits. I measured observers’ pupil size while asking observers to report how (dis)pleasing they found each image. This was a methodological improvement over the type of research initially done by Eckhard Hess who claimed that pupils dilate to pleasant images and constrict to unpleasant images. His work was confounded since his images’ luminances and contrasts across conditions were inconsistent potentially affecting pupil size. To overcome this limitation I presented rightward or leftward facing male and female portraits by Rembrandt to observers in either their original or mirror-reversed position. I found that in viewing male portraits pupil diameter was a function of arousal. That is, larger pupil diameter occurred for images rated both low and high in pleasantness. This was not the case with female portraits. I discuss these findings in regard to the perceived dominance of males and how emotional expressions may be driven by hemispheric laterality.
Mobile bodies: Animal migration in North American history

Abstract North Americans have had a profound affect on wildlife, especially migratory animals such as elk, bison, salmon, and many species of birds. Migration is a vital adaptation for these and other species. Yet despite this importance and the myriad ways in which people have influenced and understood migration, environmental geographers have devoted scant attention to it. This paper examines the role of animal migration in North American history. North Americans have affected and managed animal migrants in six primary ways: transforming migrant habitats; harvesting migrants; obstructing and facilitating migrants; working across borders; visualizing migrants; and accepting and resisting migrants. I examine these different aspects of animal migration history in North America and end with a discussion of how other geographers such as environmental historical geographers, political ecologists, and animal geographers can employ this framework.
On the Absolute Configuration of Indane‐1‐carboxylic Acid

Doubts that have recently been expressed [1] about the currently accepted (+)-(R), (−)-(S) [2] absolute configuration of indane-1-carboxylic acid appear to be unwarranted. Our ORD. values for 1-methylindane [12] are in error.
Simulating the spiral of impossibility in the electric utility industry

Abstract This article examines the ‘spiral of impossibility’ for different types of investor-owned electric utility companies in the USA. The spiral begins with an increase in electricity price that discourages demand growth. The utility must spread its fixed costs over fewer kilowatt-hours of sales, which, in turn, leads to still higher rates. Computer simulation techniques are used to quantify whether the spiral would pose serious planning problems for utility companies, and the effect of policies that might mitigate the spiral's effects are tested. The conclusion is that the spiral poses substantial planning problems for utility companies building long lead-time power plants, serving customers with high price elasticity of demand and quick response time, but those relying on oil or natural gas are less vulnerable.
Comparative studies of the respiratory functions of mammalian blood. VII Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)

The respiratory characteristics of blood from 4 nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) were studied. One animal was anemic when studied initially (blood oxygen capacity 9.5 vol %); with treatment its blood oxygen capacity rose and the average blood oxygen capacity for all four animals (excluding the observations during anemia) was 14.8 ± 1.6 vol%. Oxygen dissociation curves for whole blood were constructed at 36°C and were corrected to a plasma pH of 7.40. The mean blood P50 for the animals without anemia was 23.3 ± 1.1 mm Hg. The blood P50 of the anemic armadillo (26.5 ± 0.9 mm Hg) was significantly higher (P < 0.01). The concentration of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate was higher in the blood of the anemic animal (4.33 μM/ml red cells) than in the others (2.83 μM/ml red cells). The Bohr factor (Δlog PO2/ΔpH) was −0.55 ± 0.06. In animals without anemia the red cell count averaged 5.26 million/mm3 and the hematocrit averaged 31%. Armadillo hemoglobin migrates as two bands. The major component migrates at the same rate as human A hemoglobin on starch gel electrophoresis at pH 8.6. Like other burrowing animals, the armadillo has blood with a higher affinity for oxygen than would be predicted for its size. This, and its low rate of oxygen consumption per kilogram, may be considered as adaptations to environmental hypoxia.
Molecular typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains with a common two-band IS6110 pattern.

We conducted a population-based molecular typing of all Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates obtained in Alabama since 1994. Of 2,452 isolates, 1,013 (41%) had fewer than 6 bands of IS6110; 348 (14%) had a single two-band pattern (JH2). With conventional epidemiologic methods, we identified three groups of related patients with JH2 isolates. Spoligotyping and pattern of variable number of tandem repeats identified 10 molecular groups; two found by conventional methods were subdivided.
Exact results for a dilute Potts model

Exact results are obtained for the annealed, dilute,q-component Potts model on the decorated square lattice. The phase diagram is found to consist of a high-temperature region, a low-temperature region, and a two-phase region in between which arises only forq>4: exact expressions for the phase boundary and the critical probability are derived. At the critical point the specific heat is generally finite and has a cusp; the slope of the cusp is finite forq=4 and infinite (vertical) forq=2 and 3.
Development of acetaminophen proline prodrug

In this research work, proline ester prodrug of acetaminophen (Pro-APAP) was synthesized and evaluated for its stability in PBS buffer at various pH and Caco-2 cell homogenate. The Pro-APAP is more stable at lower pH than higher pH, with half-life of 120 min in PBS buffer at pH 2.0, half-life of 65 min at pH 5.0, and half life of 3.5 min at pH 7.4, respectively. The half-life of Pro-APAP in Caco-2 cell homogenate is about 1 min, much shorter than the half-life in PBS buffer at pH 7.4, indicating enzymes in the cell homogenate contribute to the hydrolysis of the ester bond. Carboxypeptidase A was incubated with Pro-APAP at pH 7.4 with half-life of 3.8 min which is very close to the half life in buffer itself. This clearly indicates carboxypeptidase A is not one of the enzymes contributing to the hydrolysis of the prodrug. Physicochemical characteristics such as melting point and stability of newly synthesized prodrug were determined by MDSC technique.
Management of unresolved, recurrent, and/or contralateral neurogenic symptoms in patients following first rib resection and scalenectomy

Background Surgical treatment for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome does not always yield successful outcomes. The purpose of this study was to describe patients with unresolved, recurrent, and/or contralateral symptoms following first rib resection and scalenectomy (FRRS) and to determine therapies for improving their outcomes. Methods Data on 161 neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome patients (182 FRRS procedures) were prospectively collected from 2003 to 2011 and retrospectively reviewed for evidence of unresolved, recurrent, and/or contralateral neurogenic symptoms following FRRS. Demographic and clinical characteristics, interventions, and outcomes were compared between these patients and those with a successful result. Results Twenty-three patients (24 FRRS) had unresolved symptoms at a mean of 16.1 ± 14.7 postoperative months. Compared with successes, these patients were older (mean age, 45 vs 38 years; P = .002) and active smokers (33% vs 13%; P = .031), with a longer duration of symptoms (90 vs 48 months; P = .005). They had higher rates of chronic pain syndromes (67% vs 14%; P Conclusions Patients with unresolved symptoms are older, active smokers with more comorbid pain syndromes, neck and/or shoulder disease, and a longer symptom duration. These patients face a more difficult recovery, whereas patients with recurrent symptoms are well managed with physical therapy and Botox injections. Patients with contralateral symptoms at >1 year are effectively treated with secondary FRRS. Patients must be followed closely after FRRS to determine if additional interventions are necessary to ensure successful results.
A comparison of Gaussian minimum shift keying to frequency shift keying for land mobile radio

Data is presented comparing Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK) to Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) for use in the UHF land mobile radio band at 800 MHz. The FSK system uses a Gaussian premodulation filter set at one half the bit Pate. Deviation is set at 0.41 times the bit rate. The FSK receiver has an IF bandwidth of 1.0 times the bit rate and uses discriminator detection. The GMSK system uses coherent detection. Data is presented on the effect of premodulation cutoff frequency and receiver bandwidth on system sensitivity and spectral efficiency. From this data a relationship between channel spacing, frequency stability, IF bandwidth, and transmitter spectrum is derived. Additional data on the performance of the FSK and GMSK systems in Rayleigh fading is presented.
Repifermin (keratinocyte growth factor-2) reduces the severity of graft-versus-host disease while preserving a graft-versus-leukemia effect.

Abstract Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the principal complication after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Reductions in systemic GVHD are frequently associated with a corresponding diminishment of the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) response. In this study, we tested the effects of a novel recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor, repifermin (keratinocyte growth factor-2), on the induction of GVHD in a well-defined murine BMT model (B6 → B6D2F1). Administration of repifermin (5 mg/kg/d) to allogeneic BMT recipients resulted in a significant decrease in both systemic GVHD and target organ histopathology. Repifermin treatment also reduced serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α and lipopolysaccharide compared with control mice. In contrast, repifermin did not affect T-cell proliferation, cytokine production, or cytotoxic responses to host antigens. When 2000 host-derived P815 (H-2d) leukemia cells were added to the bone marrow inoculum, repifermin preserved GVL effects and resulted in significantly delayed mortality compared with control-treated allogeneic BMT recipients. Collectively, these data suggest that repifermin administration may represent a novel strategy to separate the toxicity of GVHD from the beneficial GVL effects after allogeneic BMT.
Managing automatic test systems in the 1990s

Managing automatic test systems in the 1990s is more than writing BASIC test programs to control IEEE 488 instruments. Managing your automatic test system involves test program set (TPS) development, management of re-usable test objects, data management, tester resource management and user interface management. In addition the automatic test system must provide test executive that controls the overall test development and execution environments. The benefits of this type of system are, lower TPS development cost, a common user interface and lower operator training cost. This paper focuses on these aspects of automatic test system management. >
Toxicokinetics of the flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane gamma: effect of dose, timing, route, repeated exposure, and metabolism.

Hexabromocyclododecane-gamma (g-HBCD) is the predominate diastereoisomer in the commercial HBCD mixture used as a flame retardant in a wide variety of consumer products. Three main diastereoisomers, alpha (a), beta (b), and gamma (g), comprise the mixture. Despite the g-diastereoisomer being the major diastereoisomer in the mixture and environmental samples, the a-diastereoisomer predominates human tissue and wildlife. This study was conducted to characterize absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion parameters of g-HBCD with respect to dose and time following a single acute exposure and repeated exposure in adult female C57BL/6 mice. Results suggest that 85% of the administered dose (3 mg/kg) was absorbed after po exposure. Disposition was dose independent and did not significantly change after 10 days of exposure. Liver was the major depot (< 0.3% of dose) 4 days after treatment followed by blood, fat, and then brain. g-HBCD was rapidly metabolized and eliminated in the urine and feces. For the first time, in vivo stereoisomerization was observed of the g-diastereoisomer to the b-diastereoisomer in liver and brain tissues and to the a- and b-diastereoisomer in fat and feces. Polar metabolites in the blood and urine were a major factor in determining the initial wholebody half-life (1 day) after a single po exposure. Elimination, both whole-body and from individual tissues, was biphasic. Initial halflives were approximately 1 day, whereas terminal half-lives were up to 4 days, suggesting limited potential for g-diastereoisomer bioaccumulation. The toxicokinetic behavior reported here has important implications for the extrapolation of toxicological studies of the commercial HBCD mixture to the assessment of risk.
Using first-principle models in control

Technical advances in computers make it feasible to use nonlinear process models for automatic control. One advantage over linear model-based controllers is that nonlinear controllers are functional over a wider operating range without retuning; and, where process nonlinearity is the major control problem, nonlinear controllers have demonstrated industrial success. Where designed with adaptive models, tracking phenomenologically meaningful model coefficients for process diagnosis, and using the model for supervisory optimization are other advantages. Disadvantages are the required case-by-case controller design and inability to mathematically guarantee such features as convergence, stability, etc.
The Down Syndrome Behavioral Phenotype: Implications for Practice and Research in Occupational Therapy

Down syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal cause of intel- lectual disability. The genetic causes of DS are associated with characteristic outcomes, such as relative strengths in visual-spatial skills and relative challenges in motor plan- ning. This profile of outcomes, called the DS behavioral phenotype, may be a critical tool for intervention planning and research in this population. In this article, aspects of the DS behavioral phenotype potentially relevant to occupational therapy practice are reviewed. Implications and challenges for etiology-informed research and practice are discussed.
Runx1 Determines Nociceptive Sensory Neuron Phenotype and Is Required for Thermal and Neuropathic Pain

In mammals, the perception of pain is initiated by the transduction of noxious stimuli through specialized ion channels and receptors expressed by nociceptive sensory neurons. The molecular mechanisms responsible for the specification of distinct sensory modality are, however, largely unknown. We show here that Runx1, a Runt domain transcription factor, is expressed in most nociceptors during embryonic development but in adult mice, becomes restricted to nociceptors marked by expression of the neurotrophin receptor Ret. In these neurons, Runx1 regulates the expression of many ion channels and receptors, including TRP class thermal receptors, Na+-gated, ATP-gated, and H+-gated channels, the opioid receptor MOR, and Mrgpr class G protein coupled receptors. Runx1 also controls the lamina-specific innervation pattern of nociceptive afferents in the spinal cord. Moreover, mice lacking Runx1 exhibit specific defects in thermal and neuropathic pain. Thus, Runx1 coordinates the phenotype of a large cohort of nociceptors, a finding with implications for pain therapy.
The Effect of Psychological Type on the Mood and Meaning of Two Collage Activities

This study used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to identify two types of college students who differed in preferred perceptual processes, with one group strongly preferring the use of sense impressions (sensing types), and the other preferring the use of unconscious associations (intuitive types) in becoming aware of phenomena. All subjects then participated in two collage activities with slightly different instructions, one requiring a creative approach and the other requiring imitation. Change in mood after each college was measured by the Bipolar Form of the Profile of Mood States, and the affective meanings of the two activities were assessed by Osgood's 12-scale short-form semantic differential. Results indicated that the creative activity elicited significantly higher scores on two mood states (agreeable-hostile and composed-anxious) and two factors of affective meaning (power and evaluation). Intuitive types rated both activities higher than sensing types on one mood (agreeable-hostile) and one factor of affective meaning (action). Hypothesized interactions were not found. The findings have possible implications for the effects of occupational therapy activities that require creativity as opposed to imitation as well as for the effects of perceptual preferences on the moods and meanings of activities.
High-Throughput Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR

Extensive detail on the application of the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) for the analysis of gene expression is provided in this unit. The protocols are designed for high-throughput, 384-well-format instruments, such as the Applied Biosystems 7900HT, but may be modified to suit any real-time PCR instrument. QPCR primer and probe design and validation are discussed, and three relative quantitation methods are described: the standard curve method, the efficiency-corrected DeltaCt method, and the comparative cycle time, or DeltaDeltaCt method. In addition, a method is provided for absolute quantification of RNA in unknown samples. RNA standards are subjected to RT-PCR in the same manner as the experimental samples, thus accounting for the reaction efficiencies of both procedures. This protocol describes the production and quantitation of synthetic RNA molecules for real-time and non-real-time RT-PCR applications.
Influenza in patients with hematologic disease: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

The article by Wei et al. in this issue of Leukemia and Lymphoma describes severe outcomes among 11 hospitalized patients with hematologic disease infected with novel influenza A (H1N1) [1]. These ...
Proteomics in Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine

The sequencing of the human genome is undoubtedly one of the major accomplishments of biomedical science.1,2 Knowledge of the precise sequence of all human genes provides unparalleled access to a complete understanding of human biology in all of its complexity. Or does it? The completion of the human genome sequence showed far fewer genes than expected, ≈30 000, which is not that different from that of the lowly earthworm, with at least 17 300.3 This number of genes was viewed with surprise by some investigators as too few to account for human biological diversity in form and function. The genome-centric view of the biological universe, however, is rather myopic and fails to take into consideration what protein chemists have known for almost a century. Proteins, the ultimate products of the human genome, define biology. Proteins are directly responsible for all biological form and function. It is estimated that there are ≈6 to 7 times as many distinct proteins (ie, ≈200 000) as genes in humans, in part owing to splicing and exchange of various structural cassettes among genes during transcription. Proteins are not only more abundant than the genes that encode them, but they are also much more structurally complex with primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structural elements; additionally, they have greatly varied biochemical functions that critically depend on structure. Furthermore, mature proteins are also subject to a host of post-translational modifications, including proteolysis, sulfhydryl oxidation and disulfide bond formation, phosphorylation, glycosylation, S-nitrosation, fatty acylation, and oxidation. These biochemical modifications often yield products with functions different from those of the unmodified parent protein, and many of these modifications, such as oxidation, reflect the consequences of environmental modulation of genetic determinants. Taken together, the many post-translational changes in protein structure and function add incredible complexity to that of the …
Personality Correlates of the Sex Role Types.

Tested three hypotheses with regard to the differences among four sex-role types. Ss were 423 girls and 225 boys in five private high schools in grades 9 to 12. Each volunteer S completed the Berm Sex Role Inventory, the Interpersonal Style Inventory, and Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test. Ss were categorized or typed as Masculine, Feminine, Androgynous and Undifferentiated on the basis of their masculine and feminine BSRI scores. A discriminant function was applied to compare the groups with respect to the ISI scores. The first dimension of difference for both sexes was defined by the Masculine typed group and the second dimension by the Feminine typed group. The Androgynous typed group scored high on both axes, while the Undifferentiated scored low on both axes. The Masculine typed group was most directive, achieving, and independent. The Feminine group was highest on nurturance, tolerance and sensitivity. The Androgynous members were balanced with respect to the above characteristics. Comparison of the groups, separated by sex, as to ego development score, indicated that the male undifferentiated were significantly lower.
Reconfigurable direct space-to-time pulse-shaper based on arrayed waveguide grating multiplexers and digital micromirrors

We describe a dynamic direct space-to-time pulse shaper based on the combination of a reflective arrayed waveguide grating multiplexer and an array of digital micromirrors used as an external reflector. Spatial modulation was obtained by imposing a reconfigurable periodic structure on the digital micromirror array. The period of this structure and the number of reflecting micromirrors within each period was varied to produce pulse sequences with variable repetition rates within the burst and different pulsewidths. Experimental results are in excellent agreement with simulated temporal output response.
TARGETING THE SHARED PATHOLOGICAL CONFORMERS OF BOTH Aβ AND HYPERPHOSPHYLATED TAU WITH A CONFORMATIONALLY SELECTIVE MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY

Background: Pathological tau aggregation leading to filamentous tau inclusions characterizes neurodegenerative tauopathies such as Alzheimer’s Disease and frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). Tau aggregation is linked with clinical symptoms and probably represents the mediator of neurodegeneration. At the moment there is no cure for these diseases and existing treatments are only of palliative nature. Methods: Transgenic mice that overexpress human P301S tau mutation resemble many neuropathological features of human tauopathies in combination with behavioral deficits and increased mortality. We tested the effect of the small molecule anle138b as an anti-aggregative drug on the neuropathology and behavioral deficits in P301S mice. The compound was administered from weaning until death. Results: Here we show that reducing the amount of tau aggregates using the compound anle138b ameliorates disease symptoms in a mousemodel for tauopathies. Treatment with anle138b significantly prolonged the survival of transgenic mice and rescued behavioral deficits as well as synapse and neuron loss in the CA3 region and stratum lucidum of the hippocampus. Our results indicate that reducing tau pathology with the anti-aggregative compound anle138b represents a clinically effective and promising approach for the treatment of human tauopathies. Conclusions: In conclusion, anle138b mitigate tau pathology and may represent a new lead compound for developing a therapy for human tauopathies.
Research on Emotions and Future Developments in Human Ethology

This chapter presents a model of the basic human emotions which, it is argued, can be taken as comprising the main elements of the human ethogram and hence of human behavior. The chapter begins with a critical review of criteria that have commonly been used in constructing such lists, and argues for heavy reliance on the criteria of adaptive value and affect. Since affect is the most characteristic feature of emotions and seems to induce their particular behavioral tendencies, expressions, and visceral adjustments, affect is perhaps the single best defining feature of each emotional modality. Because of its ethological nature, this sort of list of emotions may be more comprehensive than alternative lists lacking a comparative basis, and it avoids superficial dichotomies between types of emotions. Some general properties of affects are then discussed, such as their valence, intensity, and timing. Some possible applications of this model for studying a wide range of human behaviors are then suggested, including sex and developmental differences, and individual, cultural, and pathological variation. It is argued that ethological methods and a phylogenetic perspective are essential for arriving at a complete description of the human emotions and their facets, while at the same time avoiding an overly cybernetic modularization model.
Experimentally reduced root-microbe interactions reveal limited plasticity in functional root traits in Acer and Quercus.

† Background and Aims Interactions between roots and soil microbes are critical components of below-ground ecology. It is essential to quantify the magnitude of root trait variation both among and within species, including variation due to plasticity. In addition to contextualizing the magnitude of plasticity relative to differences between species, studies of plasticity can ascertain if plasticity is predictable and whether an environmental factor elicits changes in traits that are functionally advantageous. † Methods To compare functional traits and trait plasticities in fine root tissues with natural and reduced levels of colonization by microbial symbionts, trimmed and surface-sterilized root segments of 2-year-old Acer rubrum and Quercus rubra seedlings were manipulated. Segments were then replanted into satellite pots filled with control or heat-treated soil, both originally derived from a natural forest. Mycorrhizal colonization was near zero in roots grown in heat-treated soil; roots grown in control soil matched the higher colonization levels observed in unmanipulated root samples collected from field locations. † Key Results Between-treatment comparisons revealed negligible plasticity for root diameter, branching intensity and nitrogen concentration across both species. Roots from treated soils had decreased tissue density (approx. 10‐20 %) and increased specific root length (approx. 10 ‐30 %). In contrast, species differences were significant and greater than treatment effects in traits other than tissue density. Interspecific trait differences were also significant in field samples, which generally resembled greenhouse samples. † Conclusions The combination of experimental and field approaches was useful for contextualizing trait plasticity in comparison with inter- and intra-specific trait variation. Findings that root traits are largely species dependent, with the exception of root tissue density, are discussed in the context of current literature on root trait variation, interactions with symbionts and recent progress in standardization of methods for quantifying root traits.
THE INVALIDITY OF MODIFIABLE AREAL UNIT RANDOMIZATION

The modifiable areal unit rationale for statistical inference in areal unit analyses is demonstrated to be invalid on several grounds. Since the need for inference in such cases may persist, possible solutions are considered including ignoring the problem, using disaggregate data, devising meaningful areal units, devising unconventional forms of areal units, devising special purpose areal unit sets, the jackknife, a statistical sampling approach, statistical description, harmonic filtering, an information theoretic approach, and optimal zoning. No satisfactory solution is applicable to all modifiable areal unit problems.