cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Overview of BSE in the United Kingdom: U.S. Response:

Below, by the following five topics, are some questions and answers related to this situation:Topics:1. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)2. Other human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs)3. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and variant-CJD (V-CJD)4. USDA actionsa. Surveillanceb. Educationc. Preventiond. Risk Assessment5. Feeding of ruminant protein to ruminants
Q: Can family physicians accurately screen for AAA with point-of-care ultrasound?

Likely yes. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) by nonradiologist physicians is 98% sensitive and 99% specific, compared with imaging performed by radiologists (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies mostly involving emergency medicine physicians). European family physicians demonstrated 100% concordance with radiologist readings (SOR: C, very small subsequent diagnostic accuracy studies).
Directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into epidermal stem and progenitor cells

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) produced by somatic cell reprogramming self-renew in culture and can differentiate into any cell type, representing a powerful tool for disease modeling, drug screening, regenerative medicine, and the discovery of personalized therapies to treat tissue-specific pathologies. We previously reported the directed differentiation of human PSCs into epidermal stem and progenitor cells (ESPCs) and 3D epidermis to model the inherited syndrome Fanconi anemia (FA), wherein epidermal cell-junctional defects discovered using this system were validated in patient populations. Here, we describe in detail the corresponding protocol for generating PSC-derived keratinocytes using a distinct, normal PSC line (209.2 PSC). Our approach modifies previous protocols to minimize spontaneous cell death and terminal differentiation, eliminate cell stress-inducing keratinocyte selection steps, and reduce total protocol duration and cost. Independent donor-derived PSC lines were converted into ESPCs through the addition of relevant morphogens and a ROCK inhibitor. Results for the 209.2 PSC line highlight consistencies in 2D and also variable features in 3D epidermis compared to the previously published FA-PSC lines. 209.2 PSC-derived ESPCs exhibited a basal cell phenotype while maintaining the capacity to form epidermal organotypic rafts with morphology consistent with fetal epidermis. Transcriptional analyses demonstrated 209.2 ESPCs express epidermis-selective markers and not early endoderm markers, thus supporting an immature stage of p63+ epidermal development. This protocol provides an accelerated path for the generation of human ESPCs and 3D epidermal models to study normal epidermal development and homeostasis, elucidate mechanisms of epidermal disease pathogenesis, and provides a platform for developing personalized therapies.
Ultra-Compelled: Abortion Providers' Free Speech Rights After NIFLA

Blocked by the Supreme Court’s holdings in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey from enforcing blanket prohibitions on abortion, anti-abortion advocates have turned to a variety of measures to restrict access to abortions, including enacting onerous “informed consent” laws. These requirements compel speech from abortion providers by forcing them to distribute state-created, ideologically-tinged materials that contain false and misleading statements, convey oftentimes false, irrelevant, and ideological information specified by the legislature during pre-abortion counseling sessions, and perform, display, and narrate ultrasounds. Circuit courts have split over whether these “informed consent” laws should be analyzed according to First Amendment jurisprudence or the undue burden standard of Casey. Although the Supreme Court has refused to provide guidance on this issue, they have not remained similarly silent when abortion opponents challenge mandatory disclosure laws; in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra (NIFLA), the Court upheld a First Amendment challenge to a California law requiring disclosures from crisis pregnancy centers. This article argues that the Court’s holding in NIFLA requires laws compelling speech from abortion providers, which bear little resemblance to traditional informed consent requirements, to be analyzed according to First Amendment standards and subjected to at least intermediate scrutiny. Since these laws fail to survive this heightened scrutiny, as they are not substantially related to an important government interest, they must be held unconstitutional. Unless equivalent First Amendment review applies to so-called “informed consent” provisions compelling speech from abortion providers as to laws compelling disclosures from anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers, the very same pernicious viewpoint discrimination of which Justice Kennedy’s NIFLA concurrence warned will be enshrined within the Constitution by judicial fiat.
Cenozoic structural deformation between the southern Lamprea fold-belt and Salina del Bravo salt province by interacting salt and shale detachments, western Gulf of Mexico

Abstract The Lamprea fold-belt is a 300 km-long, 20-60 km-wide, deep-water, passive margin fold-belt located southeast of the Salina del Bravo salt province and trending parallel to the eastern continental margin of Mexico. The Lamprea fold-belt detaches along Eocene shale layers to form a compressional toe of the gravitationally-driven system that forms a transitional domain between the salt province to the north and the shale-detached Mexican Ridges fold-belt to the south. Area-depth strain measurements performed for ten characteristic folds across two regional seismic profiles through the Lamprea fold-belt provide insight into its timing of deformation, depth to detachment, and controls on the pre-growth and syn-growth sedimentary deposits. Miocene-age deformation across the Lamprea fold-belt coincides with a phase of renewed salt canopy emplacement driven by ongoing up-dip sediment loading and extensional deformation west of the Salina del Bravo salt province. These results are consistent with early Miocene fold growth onset controlled primarily by the advancing salt canopy and only minor influence from underlying autochthonous salt. The timing of trap formation, tectonic interaction of salt bodies with shale structures, and the mechanisms for fold-belt formation all control hydrocarbon migration from deep Mesozoic source intervals into overlying Oligocene fold-belt reservoirs.
Fast Approximations for Job Shop Scheduling: A Lagrangian Dual Deep Learning Method.

The Jobs shop Scheduling Problem (JSP) is a canonical combinatorial optimization problem that is routinely solved for a variety of industrial purposes. It models the optimal scheduling of multiple sequences of tasks, each under a fixed order of operations, in which individual tasks require exclusive access to a predetermined resource for a specified processing time. The problem is NP-hard and computationally challenging even for medium-sized instances. Motivated by the increased stochasticity in production chains, this paper explores a deep learning approach to deliver efficient and accurate approximations to the JSP. In particular, this paper proposes the design of a deep neural network architecture to exploit the problem structure, its integration with Lagrangian duality to capture the problem constraints, and a post-processing optimization to guarantee solution feasibility.The resulting method, called JSP-DNN, is evaluated on hard JSP instances from the JSPLIB benchmark library. Computational results show that JSP-DNN can produce JSP approximations of high quality at negligible computational costs.
Crowdsourcing Beyond Annotation: Case Studies in Benchmark Data Collection

Crowdsourcing from non-experts is one of the most common approaches to collecting data and annotations in NLP. Even though it is such a fundamental tool in NLP, crowdsourcing use is largely guided by common practices and the personal experience of researchers. Developing a theory of crowdsourcing use for practical language problems remains an open challenge. However, there are various principles and practices that have proven effective in generating high quality and diverse data. This tutorial exposes NLP researchers to such data collection crowdsourcing methods and principles through a detailed discussion of a diverse set of case studies. The selection of case studies focuses on challenging settings where crowdworkers are asked to write original text or otherwise perform relatively unconstrained work. Through these case studies, we discuss in detail processes that were carefully designed to achieve data with specific properties, for example to require logical inference, grounded reasoning or conversational understanding. Each case study focuses on data collection crowdsourcing protocol details that often receive limited attention in research presentations, for example in conferences, but are critical for research success.
Structure of hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein E1 antigenic site 314-324 in complex with antibody IGH526

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a positive-strand RNA virus within the Flaviviridae family. The viral "spike" of HCV is formed by two envelope glycoproteins, E1 and E2, which together mediate viral entry by engaging host receptors and undergoing conformational changes to facilitate membrane fusion. While E2 can be readily produced in the absence of E1, E1 cannot be expressed without E2 and few reagents, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), are available for study of this essential HCV glycoprotein. A human mAb to E1, IGH526, was previously reported to cross-neutralize different HCV isolates, and therefore, we sought to further characterize the IGH526 neutralizing epitope to obtain information for vaccine design. We found that mAb IGH526 bound to a discontinuous epitope, but with a major component corresponding to E1 residues 314-324. The crystal structure of IGH526 Fab with this E1 glycopeptide at 1.75A resolution revealed that the antibody binds to one face of an α-helical peptide. Single mutations on the helix substantially lowered IGH526 binding but did not affect neutralization, indicating either that multiple mutations are required or that additional regions are recognized by the antibody in the context of the membrane-associated envelope oligomer. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the free peptide is flexible in solution, suggesting that it requires stabilization for use as a candidate vaccine immunogen.
Reinforcer Variation in a Token Economy

We evaluated whether generalized conditioned reinforcers mitigate the effects of satiation with an individual with intellectual disabilities. Previous research indicates that generalized conditioned reinforcers are not sensitive to satiation effects. However, this effect has not been investigated on varying classes of backup reinforcers. First, we established a highly preferred (HP) edible as a reinforcer. Then, we provided presession access to the HP edible, and, in a multi-element comparison, the participant could either earn tokens for only the HP edible, for edibles that were similar to the HP edible, for edibles that were dissimilar to the HP edible, or earn no tokens. A decreasing trend in responding for the HP edible was observed following presession access. Furthermore, the participant completed the task at a high rate when backup reinforcers were dissimilar to the HP edible. Results suggest that varying the classes of stimuli that are used as backup reinforcers may increase the effectiveness of generalized conditioned reinforcers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Genericity of Minority Governments: The Role of Policy and Office

We develop a general theory for the emergence of minority governments in multiparty parliamentary systems using a bargaining model in the tradition of Baron and Ferejohn, 1989. We show that generically (i.e. except for a set of Lebesgue measure zero in the space of the model’s parameters) minority governments form with strictly positive probability when office utility from cabinet positions is small relative to political disagreement. The result holds for policy spaces of arbitrary finite dimension and a general class of preferences over the government agreements space.
2D motion analysis of long axis cardiac tagged MRI

The tracking and reconstruction of myocardial motion is critical to the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Currently, little has been done for the analysis of motion in long axis (LA) cardiac images. We propose a new fully automated motion reconstruction method for grid- tagged MRI that combines Gabor filters and deformable models. First, we use a Gabor filter bank to generate the corresponding phase map in the myocardium and estimate the location of grid tag intersections. Second, we use a non-rigid registration module driven by thin plate splines (TPS) to generate a transformation function between tag intersections in two consecutive images. Third, deformable spline models are initialized using Fourier domain analysis and tracked during the cardiac cycle using the TPS generated transformation function. The splines will then locally deform under the influence of gradient flow and image phase information. The final motion is decomposed into tangential and normal components corresponding to the local orientation of the heart wall. The new method has been tested on LA phantoms and in vivo heart data, and its performance has been quantitatively validated. The results show that our method can reconstruct the motion field in LA cardiac tagged MR images accurately and efficiently.
Novel H 2 -H 2 O clathrates at high pressures

High-pressure optical and x-ray studies of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$-${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O mixtures have revealed the formation of the first hydrogen clathrate hydrates. A rhombohedral hydrate with a ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O sublattice similar to ice II and a ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$:${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O ratio of 1:6 is stable between 0.75 and 3.1 GPa (295 K). Above 2.3 GPa, a novel hydrate forms with the ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O molecules in a cubic diamond structure and with a very high ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$:${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O stoichiometry of 1:1. The ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ molecules occupy voids in the ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$O framework, thus improving the packing efficiency and stabilizing this hydrate to very high pressures of at least 30 GPa.
Valuing Children's Voices

This paper explores the voices of elementary children in public schools. Three data bases were used including (a) interviews with 25 elementary students, (b) drawings and writings created by 225 third through sixth-grade students about their high stakes testing experiences, and (c) observations in two first-grade classrooms. The data demonstrate that elementary children have much to say about their overall school experiences, including their worries at school, their feelings of disconnect with their teachers, the lack of meaningful learning experiences, and their desire to be heard as unique individuals. These findings challenge educators to make changes in American classrooms in order to best meet the needs of young children.
Command and Control: Technology and Social Impact

Publisher Summary This chapter examines the field of command and control, areas in science and technology that are now contributing directly to matters of command and control, efforts in developing systems such as command and control for application to the civic sector, and assesses whether the combined knowledge gained from such developments contributes to the basis for creation of a new science and profession of information. The underlying implications to the functioning of society at large are also examined. The science and technology related to the command and control functions are primarily directed in achieving one objective—that is, aiding man to make the best use of the data about his environment for decision making. In the attempt to achieve this objective, efforts underlying command and control in four main areas have revealed the importance of the transformations that occur from the initial acquisition of the raw signal from the event world to the time it is received and processed by the human brain. Concepts in communication, computer, behavioral science, and system theory provide the core of present understanding of these processes.
A Reconsideration of Taxi Regulation

In this paper we offer an explanation of how the regulatory enforcement of an average pricing rule for taxi services, which has been frequently observed throughout the history of taxi cabs,1 can reduce exchange costs and promote efficiency. We further argue that in the modern era, the taxi medallion system became a useful and perhaps necessary institutional arrangement for enforcing average pricing rules. We do not claim that markets for taxi services cannot exist in the absence of regulation and medallions, but only that under certain circumstances, average pricing regulation, enforced by a medallion system, may promote efficiency. Finally, we discuss alternative institutional arrangements for enforcing average pricing.
The Tragedy of the Commons and the Myth of a Private Property Solution

The central question of environmental law is "how much?" How much pollution should we emit into the air and water? How much resource exploitation should we engage in? While for other "how much" questions our society tends to rely (at least in theory) on the market, when it comes to environmental harms, the tragedy of the commons frequently causes the market to fail - that is, to get the "how much" question wrong. According to generally accepted wisdom, there are two potential solutions to the tragedy of the commons: 1) government regulation, or 2) privatization. When the U.S. environmental movement began in the 1970s, government regulation seemed the obvious choice. But in recent years, intellectual fashions have changed, and privatization has become the preferred solution. The privatization solution, however, is a myth that exists, if at all, only in a world of theory.Government regulation and privatization can usefully be distinguished from each other based on who answers the "how much" question. Under the former, government answers the "how much" question, and under the latter, the market answers it. The "privatization solution" to the tragedy of the commons really conflates two distinct solutions. The first - "the private property solution" - involves dividing the commons up into private parcels of property in such a way that there are no remaining spillover effects or externalities between parcels. In this scenario, the tragedy is solved because each individual owner bears the full costs and benefits of her individual decisions (externalities are internalized.) The second solution - "the market solution" requires that transaction costs be eliminated or minimized so that spillover effects across property boundaries will be reduced to optimal levels through Coasian bargaining. None of the regimes commonly cited as examples of the privatization solution to the tragedy of the commons actually are. In some instances, the mistake is conceptual. Environmental trading markets and water markets are often mischaracterized as privatization solutions when in fact they rely on government to answer the "how much" question. In other instances, the mistake occurs in the application of the theoretical concept to the circumstances likely to exist in the real world. Thus, proposed privatization regimes involving land, oceans, and wildlife could conceivably meet the conditions for the private property or market solutions in a theoretical world, but the dynamics of ecological degradation are such that it is impossible for those idealized conditions to be met, or even reasonably approximated, in the real world.
A new technique to characterize CT scanner bow-tie filter attenuation and applications in human cadaver dosimetry simulations

Purpose: To present a noninvasive technique for directly measuring the CT bow-tie filter attenuation with a linear array x-ray detector. Methods: A scintillator based x-ray detector of 384 pixels, 307 mm active length, and fast data acquisition (model X-Scan 0.8c4-307, Detection Technology, FI-91100 Ii, Finland) was used to simultaneously detect radiation levels across a scan field-of-view. The sampling time was as short as 0.24 ms. To measure the body bow-tie attenuation on a GE Lightspeed Pro 16 CT scanner, the x-ray tube was parked at the 12 o’clock position, and the detector was centered in the scan field at the isocenter height. Two radiation exposures were made with and without the bow-tie in the beam path. Each readout signal was corrected for the detector background offset and signal-level related nonlinear gain, and the ratio of the two exposures gave the bow-tie attenuation. The results were used in the geant4 based simulations of the point doses measured using six thimble chambers placed in a human cadaver with abdomen/pelvis CT scans at 100 or 120 kV, helical pitch at 1.375, constant or variable tube current, and distinct x-ray tube starting angles. Results: Absolute attenuation was measured with the body bow-tie scanned at 80–140 kV. For 24 doses measured in six organs of the cadaver, the median or maximum difference between the simulation results and the measurements on the CT scanner was 8.9% or 25.9%, respectively. Conclusions: The described method allows fast and accurate bow-tie filter characterization.
Influence of parasitism in controlling the health, reproduction and PAH body burden of petroleum seep mussels

Abstract Petroleum seep mussels are often exposed to high hydrocarbon concentrations in their natural habitat and, thus, offer the opportunity to examine the relationship between parasitism, disease and contaminant exposure under natural conditions. This is the first report on the histopathology of cold-seep mussels. Seep mussels were collected by submersible from four primary sites in the Gulf of Mexico, lease blocks Green Canyon (GC) 184, GC-234, GC-233, and Garden Banks 425 in 550–650 m water depth. Five types of parasites were identified in section: (1) gill “rosettes” of unknown affinity associated with the gill bacteriocytes, (2) gill “inclusions” similar to chlamydia/rickettsia inclusions, (3) extracellular gill ciliates, (4) body “inclusions” that also resemble chlamydial/rickettsial inclusions, and (5) Bucephalus-like trematodes. Comparison to shallow-water mytilids demonstrates that: (1) both have similar parasite faunas; (2) seep mytilids are relatively heavily parasitized; and (3) infection intensities are extremely high in comparison to shallow-water mytilids for Bucephalus and chlamydia/rickettsia. In this study, the lowest prevalence for chlamydia/rickettsia was 67%. Prevalences of 100% were recorded from three populations. Bucephalus prevalence was ⩾70% in three of 10 populations. The parasite fauna was highly variable between populations. Some important parasites were not observed in some primary sites. Even within primary sites, some important parasites were not observed in some populations. Bucephalus may exert a significant influence on seep mussel population dynamics. Forty percent of the populations in this study are severely reproductively compromised by Bucephalus infection. Only a fraction of petroleum seep mussel populations are maintaining the entire beta-level population structure of this species. Variation in two parasites, gill ciliates and Bucephalus, explained most of the variation in PAH body burden between mussel populations. PAHs are known to be sequestered preferentially in gametic tissue. Bucephalus would be expected to reduce overall body burden, at high infection intensities, by replacing gametic tissue. PAH concentrations exceeded 1 ppm in 4 of 9 populations, a ratio significantly higher than the 8 of 30 mussel locales in the NOAA Mussel Watch Program. Only five Mussel Watch locales exceeded the highest value for a petroleum seep population. Digestive gland and gill tissue atrophy were not significantly correlated with PAH body burden, even though some populations were characterized by body burdens exceeding 1 ppm, suggesting that seep mussels may not be as sensitive to PAH exposure as are some shallow-water mytilid populations.
Regional differentiation in the heads of spermatozoa of rabbit, man and bull†

The heads of the spermatozoa of rabbit, man, and bull are flattened in the dorsoventral plane and exhibit three distinct regions in the head coverings. The anterior one-half to two-thirds of the nucleus is covered by the acrosome, the middle of the nucleus by the thinned equatorial segment of the acrosome and the remainder of the head is covered by the postacrosomal segment. Species variation is evident in the head coverings; most prominent are the equatorial bands of the rabbit spermatozoon. The bands are subacrosomal bulges curving around the head; the arms of each band are displaced in the anteroposterior axis and do not cross the midline axis. The equatorial bands are visible in scanning electron micrographs, which also show a serrated junction between the equatorial segment and the postacrosomal region.
Dispositional Cancer Worry: Convergent, Divergent, and Predictive Validity of Existing Scales

Past research has suggested that dispositional cancer worry may be a key predictor of health behavior. The current study examined seven measures of dispositional cancer worry to see if they were significantly related (convergent validity), significantly different from similar but distinct traits (divergent validity), and capable of predicting cancer-relevant outcomes (predictive validity). Four hundred and eighty nine undergraduate students completed a survey measuring dispositional worry, dispositional cancer worry, and perceived cancer risk. Factor analysis identified four underlying dimensions that explained 67.3% of the variance in dispositional cancer worry: severity (42.8%), frequency (12.3%), psychological reactance (6.9%), and worry impact (5.3%). Four existing measures of dispositional cancer worry were found to represent each of these dimensions. In general, dispositional cancer worry measures were highly correlated with one another and only moderately correlated with measures of dispositional worry, supporting strong convergent and divergent validity. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that dispositional cancer worry measures predicted significant variance in cancer-relevant outcomes above and beyond dispositional worry. The results of the current study support the notion that dispositional cancer worry and dispositional worry are distinct constructs. Furthermore, two dimensions of dispositional cancer worry (severity and frequency) seemed to have the strongest convergent, divergent, and predictive validity.
Evidence for the presence of secondary calcium phosphate in bone and its stabilization by acid production.

Calvaria from three 4-day-old chicks were incubated in a variety of buffers to study the parameters controlling the equilibration of bone with its supporting fluid environment. Strong inferential chemical evidence was obtained for the presence in viable bone of some calcium phosphate phase of high solubility apparently governed by the Ksp of CaHPO4·2H2O. In dead bone, this phase underwent spontaneous conversion to a higher Ca/P ratio. In viable bone the soluble phase appeared to be stabilized by the metabolic production of acid (lactate) as revealed by the effects of selective inhibitors.
Pressure- and laser-tuned Raman scattering in II-VI semiconductor nanocrystals: Electron-phonon coupling.

We report pressure- and laser-tuned Raman-scattering studies on ${\mathrm{CdS}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Se}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$ nanocrystals. The electron-phonon coupling strength S, known as the Huang-Rhys parameter, was determined as a function of pressure beyond the bulk-phase-transition pressure point. The coupling strength is not drastically smaller, as might be expected theoretically, and also shows no abrupt changes at the bulk-phase-transition pressure point. These results indicate that deep traps play a critical part in the mechanism of the electron-phonon coupling.
Crop Damage by Air Attack.

SIR JOHN RUSSELL in his article on “Crop Damage by Air Attack”1 says: “The most serious risk is on the stubbles, if very dry weather should set in after the harvest.” For the last nine years I have used a combine harvester, and have made a practice of burning some of the straw on the stubbles after harvest. In only two years have the stubbles been sufficiently dry to burn easily. Usually it has needed several men carrying burning straw about on pitchforks to re–light the straw, which tends to burn for a short time and then go out. I have also used a tractor drawing a chain harrow with a mass of burning straw on it to keep the fire going. A combine leaves a longer stubble than a binder, and with the straw lying on top of this it should burn easily if any stubble will. My experience is that once straw and stubble have been well wetted by rain they very rarely dry out enough for the fire to take easily.
Fiber breakage in polymer-matrix composite during static and fatigue loading, observed by electrical resistance measurement

By measuring the electrical resistance of a continuous unidirectional carbon fiber epoxy-matrix composite along the fiber direction during loading in this direction, fiber breakage was progressively monitored in real time. Fiber breakage occurred in spurts involving 1000 or more fibers. It started at about half of the failure strain during static tensile loading and at about half of the fatigue life during tension–tension fatigue testing. Immediately before static failure, at least 35% of the fibers were broken. Immediately before fatigue failure, at least 18% of the fibers were broken. The fiber breakage was accompanied by decrease in modulus.
Apperception revisited: “Subliminal” monocular perception during the apperception of fused random-dot stereograms

Abstract “Source monitoring” theory is applied to the turn-of-the-century argument that, whenever binocularly fused patterns are self-consciously apperceived, both eyes' monocular sensations are (sub)consciously perceived. According to monitoring theory's refinement of the argument, binocularly apperceived patterns are accompanied by selfconsciousness that one is perceiving patterns (rather than imaging them), whereas monocular sensations are accompanied by no self-consciousness of their source. In the current test of this refined argument, 32 subjects were monocularly presented with 6 letters of the alphabet, while binocularly fusing 6 different letters, and were subsequently required to discriminate these 12 letters from 6 other letters that they had visually imaged. Consistent with monitoring theory, the results of experimental testing suggest that binocularly fused letters are neurally monitored as “peripheral,” self-consciously experienced as “perceived,” and subsequently remembered as not “imaged.” The results further suggest that, during such binocular apperception, monocular data are not totally unconscious-like computer data-but are consciously experienced as “sourceless” sensations that are memorially confused with visually imaged sensations.
Combinations of Orally Administered β-Lactams to Maximize Spectrum and Activity against Drug-resistant Respiratory Tract Pathogens: I. Synergy Studies of Amoxicillin and Cefixime with Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae strains have emerged that are resistant to penicillin (MICs >0.06 microg/mL) and many other beta-lactams. However, some older compounds such as amoxicillin have potency against these pneumococci with altered penicillin-binding proteins, but are labile to beta-lactamases produced by other prevalent respiratory tract pathogens. The interactions of amoxicillin with an enzyme-stable cephalosporin (cefixime) with a long elimination half-life were examined by the checkerboard dilution method versus 39 S. pneumoniae strains (13 resistant, 15 intermediate, and 11 susceptible to penicillin). Among 24 strains with evaluable drug interaction tests, 17 (71%) demonstrated partial or complete synergy. This favorable interaction produces a cefixime susceptibility category change from resistant or intermediate to susceptible for 16 of 28 strains (57%), when combined with < or = 1 microg/mL amoxicillin. Thus, the use of two currently available oral beta-lactams (amoxicillin twice a day + cefixime once a day; three total doses) appears to be a potential alternative treatment with greater spectrum for community-acquired respiratory tract infections pending clinical trial results.
Tuning Low Temperature Physical Properties of CeNiGe3 by Magnetic Field.

We have studied the thermal, magnetic, and electrical properties of the ternary intermetallic system ${\text{CeNiGe}}_{3}$ by means of specific heat, magnetization, and resistivity measurements. The specific heat data, together with the anisotropic magnetic susceptibility, was analyzed on the basis of the point charge model of crystalline electric field. The $J=5/2$ multiplet of the ${\text{Ce}}^{3+}$ is split by the crystalline electric field into three Kramers doublets, where the second and third doublets are separated from the first (ground state) doublet by ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{1}\ensuremath{\sim}100\text{ }\text{K}$ and ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{2}\ensuremath{\sim}170\text{ }\text{K}$, respectively. In zero field ${\text{CeNiGe}}_{3}$ exhibits an antiferromangeic order below ${T}_{N}=5.0\text{ }\text{K}$. For $\mathbf{H}\ensuremath{\parallel}\mathbf{a}$ two metamagnetic transitions are clearly evidenced between $2--4\text{ }\text{K}$ from the magnetization isotherm and extended down to 0.4 K from the magnetoresistance measurements. For $\mathbf{H}\ensuremath{\parallel}\mathbf{a}$, ${T}_{N}$ shifts to lower temperature as magnetic field increases, and ultimately disappears at ${H}_{c}\ensuremath{\sim}32.5\text{ }\text{kOe}$. For $Hg{H}_{c}$, the electrical resistivity shows the quadratic temperature dependence $(\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\rho}=A{T}^{2})$. For $H⪢{H}_{c}$, an unconventional ${T}^{n}$ dependence of $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\rho}$ with $ng2$ emerges, the exponent $n$ becomes larger as magnetic field increases. Although the antiferromagnetic phase transition temperature in ${\text{CeNiGe}}_{3}$ can be continuously suppressed to zero, it provides an example of field tuning that does not match current simple models of quantum criticality.
Exsolved silicate and oxide phases from clinopyroxenes in a single Hawaiian xenolith: Implications for oxidation state of the Hawaiian upper mantle

A single garnet-bearing clinopyroxenite xenolith from the Salt Lake crater on Oahu, Hawaii, contains two distinct types of clinopyroxene; one contains exsolved garnet, ilmenite, and magnetite, and the other contains exsolved hercynite-pleonaste spinel, orthopyroxene, and ilmenite. Application of mineral geothermometers, barometers, and oxygen barometers to this unusual combination of exsolved phases defines the following conditions of last mantle equilibration of this xenolith: P = 19 kbar, T =1153 °C, and log 10 f O 2 = -9.7.
The role of aortic translocation in the management of complex transposition of the great arteries

The surgical management of transposition of the great arteries with a ventricular septal defect and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction still remains a significant challenge despite major advances in pediatric cardiovascular surgery. Almost four decades after its inception, the Rastelli procedure continues to be the standard surgical technique used in the management of these patients, despite less than optimal long-term results. Aortic translocation with biventricular outflow tract reconstruction is an alternative surgical technique that creates anatomically sound connections between the ventricles and their respective great arteries, which could result in better long-term outcomes. This technique is especially useful in patients with transposition of the great arteries/ventricular septal defect/left ventricular outflow tract obstruction who have an inlet or restrictive ventricular septal defect, a small right ventricle, a straddling atrioventricular valve, or an aberrant coronary artery crossing the right ventricular outflow tract.
Supersymmetric nonlinear Maxwell theories and the string effective action

Abstract We find and solve the conditions for a N = 1, D = 4 supersymmetric nonlinear Maxwell theory which guarantee that the field equation of the auxiliary field is algebraic. We show that, under our assumptions, one cannot match the bosonic part of the superstring effective action of Tseytlin unless supersymmetry is spontaneously broken.
Oxygen diffusion in basalt and andesite melts: experimental results and discussion of chemical versus tracer diffusion

Chemical diffusion coefficients for oxygen in melts of Columbia River basalt (Ice Harbor Dam flow) and Mt. Hood andesite have been determined at 1 atm. The diffusion model is that of sorption or desorption of oxygen into a sphere of uniform initial concentration from a constant and semi-infinite atmosphere. The experimental design utilizes a thermogravimetric balance to monitor the rate of weight change arising from the response of the sample redox state to an imposed fO2. Oxygen diffusion coefficients are approximately an order-ofmagnitude greater for basaltic melt than for andesitic melt. At 1260° C, the oxygen diffusion coefficients are: D=1.65×10−6cm2/s and D=1.43×10−7cm2/s for the basalt and andesite melts, respectively. The high oxygen diffusivity in basaltic melt correlates with a high ratio of nonbridging oxygen/tetrahedrally coordinated cations, low melt viscosity, and high contents of network-modifying cations. The dependence of the oxygen diffusion coefficient on temperature is: D=36.4exp(−51,600±3200/RT)cm2/s for the basalt and D=52.5exp(−60,060±4900/RT)cm2/s for the andesite (R in cal/deg-mol; T in Kelvin). Diffusion coefficients are independent of the direction of oxygen diffusion (equilibrium can be approached from extremely oxidizing or reducing conditions) and thus, melt redox state. Characteristic diffusion distances for oxygen at 1260° C vary from 10-2 to 102 m over the time interval of 1 to 106 years. A compensation diagram shows two distinct trends for oxygen chemical diffusion and oxygen tracer diffusion. These different linear relationships are interpreted as supporting distinct oxygen transport mechanisms. Because oxygen chemical diffusivities are generally greater than tracer diffusivities and their Arrhenius activation energies are less, transport mechanisms involving either molecular oxygen or vacancy diffusion are favored.
Synthesis and metal complexes of 2,6-bis(1-triazolo)pyridine: X-ray structure of 2,6-bis(1-triazolo)pyridine dihydrochloride

Abstract 2,6-Bis(1-triazolo)pyridine (1) was synthesized and characterized via IR and NMR. The regiochemistry of the compound was confirmed via single crystal X-ray analysis of the hydrochloride salt. A series of insoluble complexes of the general formulae M(1)2(X)2 or M(1)(X)2 [M=Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II); X=ClO4, BF4, Cl] were prepared and their structures interpreted in light of infrared spectra and composition analysis. The results suggest that first row transition metals are not chelated by 1, but rather form extended coordination polymeric networks. A second family of complexes was prepared using 2,6-bis(1-imidazolo)pyridine to support this interpretation.
Kainic acid‐induced limbic seizures Electrophysiologic studies

Surface and depth electroencephalograms (EEGs) were studied after intravenous injections of kainic acid (KA). High frequency oscillations and spikes appeared in the hippocampus at a dose (1 mg per kilogram) that did not affect other structures. Higher doses (greater than or equal to 4 mg per kilogram) led to electrical seizures in limbic structures, similar to those in temporal lobe epilepsy. In hippocampal slices maintained in vitro, 0.1 to 1.0 microM KA produced spontaneous epileptiform spikes, originating in CA3, and increased evoked potentials. Systemic KA is a potent means of inducing limbic seizures with a primary action in the hippocampus. We propose that this selective activation arises when KA augments excitatory glutamatergic synapses in critical epileptogenic areas, such as the CA3 region of the hippocampus.
Increased limb salvage with intraoperative and postoperative ankle level urokinase infusion in acute lower extremity ischemia.

Abstract Over a 30-month period (May 1988 to November 1990) 143 acutely ischemic lower extremities (126 patients) were treated with an aggressive surgical approach that included ankle level tibial-peroneal artery thromboembolectomy. Twelve lower extremities in 10 patients that remained ischemic were further treated with adjuvant ankle level urokinase infusion. Sixteen ankle level arteries in 12 extremities were infused with an intraoperative bolus (1 to 2) of urokinase (50,000 to 100,000 units). Continuous postoperative urokinase (25,000 to 50,000 units per catheter per hour × 1 to 5 days) was infused through ankle level arteriotomies in 10 extremities (14 arteries) that did not improve with the initial intraoperative bolus. Concomitant bypass grafting was necessary in four extremities. With adequate inflow established, adjuvant ankle level urokinase salvaged all 12 extremities. The mean increase in ankle/brachial pressure index was 0.84. During continuous postoperative urokinase infusion, lower extremity bleeding requiring blood transfusion occurred in four patients (50%). No deaths occurred in the operative period. Although rhabdomyolysis occurred in 90% of patients, no patients had renal insufficiency. The addition of ankle level urokinase delivery increased the potential limb salvage from 90% of the entire 143 extremities treated during this period to an actual limb salvage of 98%. A mean follow up of 13 months (6 to 36 months) identified one late amputation. Despite the demanding postoperative management required in these patients and the frequent need for early reoperation, the limb salvage obtained justifies this aggressive adjuvant technique in the management of the acutely ischemic lower extremity. (J Vasc Surg 1992;15:771–9.)
Fetal ear measurements in the prenatal detection of trisomy 21.

Although prominent fetal nuchal folds, short long bones, echogenic bowel, and renal pelviectasis have been shown to be associated with trisomy 21, none has acceptable diagnostic efficacy. Diminished fetal ear lengths measured by ultrasound have recently been reported as yet another potential morphological marker for the prenatal detection of trisomy 21. To investigate this further, we measured ear lengths and widths of normal (n = 107) and trisomy 21 (n = 25) second-trimester formalin-preserved fetuses. The normal ear growth characteristics are described and compared with those of trisomy 21 fetuses. The normal fetal ear shape, not unlike that of the neonates, manifested a marked variation. When the ear lengths and widths were regressed against gestational age, the slopes of the regression lines for the two groups were found to be different (P < 0·001). However, despite the statistically significant difference between the ear sizes of normal and trisomy 21 fetuses, the wide range of normal variation seen at each gestational age means that the fetal ear measurements are not diagnostically helpful.
Using assistive technologies to improve lives of older adults and people with disabilities

In recent times, the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web has significantly impacted our lives and daily activities. From 2000–2011, the use of the Internet has increased to 151.7% within North America. As infrastructures in all parts of the continent continue to improve and advance the technological capabilities of the Internet and the World Wide Web, more individuals are its communications potential. Unfortunately, many individuals do not realize that aging or a disability can change how they interact with these two technologies. In the technological society of the United States, there is a gap between young people and older individuals, especially when it comes to using the Internet and the World Wide Web. Older individuals are less inclined to use the Internet or the World Wide Web; and young people generally stereotype older individuals as lonely, conservative, and closed-minded to technology. However, younger individuals do not understand the effects of aging, especially when using mobile or computer technologies. One aspect of this research paper will explore, what types of educational tools exist to help younger people understands the effects of aging? For older individuals, the experience of loneliness can lead to mental health conditions including depression. In addition, older adults who do not stimulate their cognitive memories can lead to Alzheimer's Syndrome and other memory loss conditions. Surprisingly, there is an increase of older adults using the Internet for communications. However, there are still some challenges older adults face with technology. Older individuals may have a fixed income or rely on Social Security or Disability support; this creates problems as computers can be expensive to purchase. In addition, older adults may have difficulties with using the computer, as far as using the hardware or software components. Software obstacles include: small text size, complex menus options, and high level of stimulation from animated software components. This can also include the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web. This research will study the interactions between older adults and their use of mainstream technologies. Although older individuals and people with disabilities have increased their use of the Internet they share common difficulties and complications. In addition, their disabilities often expand the aging complications that older adults experience. For people with disabilities, their main struggle is integration within today's society, especially using the computer technologies or Internet. This research will also explore what assistive technology software is available to older individuals and people with disabilities, the emerging field of open source assistive technology, and how assistive technology improves the quality of life of these individuals.
Payload Parameter Real-Time Estimation for Lightweight Vehicles

This paper proposes a payload parameter estimation method for lightweight vehicles (LWVs), whose dynamics and control are substantially affected by their payload variations due to the LWVs’ significantly reduced sizes and weights. Accurate and real-time estimation of payload parameters, including payload mass and its onboard planar location, will be helpful for controller designs and load condition monitoring. The proposed payload parameter estimator (PPE) is divided into two parts: tire nominal normal force estimator (NNFE) based on a recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm using signals measured from LWV constant speed maneuvers, and parameter calculator based on estimated nominal normal forces. The prototype LWV is an electric ground vehicle with separable torque control of the four wheels by in-wheel motors, which allow redundant input injections in the designed maneuvers. Simulation results, based on a CarSim® model, show that the proposed PPE is capable of accurately and quickly estimating payload parameters, and is independent of the road condition as long as the tire forces are kept within their linear ranges.Copyright © 2011 by ASME