cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isolation and characterization of a thymidylate synthase-deficient human colon tumor cell line.

Abstract Following mutagenesis of the human colorectal tumor cell line HCT C with ethyl methanesulfonate, clonal sublines were isolated that survived on medium toxic to cells expressing thymidylate synthase (TS). The subline exhibiting the lowest TS activity, designated as C18, was characterized. Extracts from C18 cells were mixed with extracts from parental C cells to determine whether the TS-deficient phenotype is trans-acting. No effect was observed on the activity of TS in parental extracts. The levels of functional TS in C18 cells were analyzed by the binding of the mechanism-based inhibitor 5-fluoro-2′-deoxyuridylate (FdUMP) under conditions that allowed for the detection of 10 fmol of TS. Only a low level of FdUMP–TS complexes was detected in C18 extracts. The level of TS expression in C18 cells was similar to that in parental C cells, as indicated by immunoblot and RNA analyses. DNA sequence analysis of TS cDNA from C18 cells revealed the existence of a point mutation (C→T) at nucleotide 647 that predicts the replacement of Ser216 by a leucine residue. That the C18 cell line was homozygous for this mutation was indicated by restriction fragment-length polymorphism analysis and by primer extension analysis. To provide additional evidence that substitution of Ser216 by a leucine residue created a defective protein, a TS-deficient bacterial strain was transformed with an expression vector containing the mutated human TS cDNA. The transformed strain exhibited thymidine auxotrophy, indicating that the mutant TS (Leu216) is nonfunctional.
Physical, Structural, and Optical Changes in Infrared Glasses as Prepared by Precision Glass Molding (PGM)

The physical, structural, and optical properties of Schott IG5 were quantified and compared prior to and following precision glass molding.
Increasing the Fruit and Vegetable Consumption of Fourth-Graders: Results from the High 5 Project☆☆☆

Background. This study evaluated the effects of a school-based dietary intervention program to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among fourth-graders. Methods. Twenty-eight elementary schools were randomized to an immediate intervention condition or to a delayed intervention control condition. Measures of diet and psychosocial variables were collected at base line and 1 and 2 years post-baseline. The intervention included classroom, parent, and cafeteria components. Results. Mean daily consumption of fruit and vegetables was higher for the intervention children compared with controls at Follow-up 1 (X0t = 3.96, Xc = 2.28) and at Follow-up 2 (Xt = 3.20, Xc = 2.21). Macro- and micronutrient changes favoring the intervention children were also observed at both Follow-up 1 and Follow-up 2. Mean daily consumption of fruit and vegetables was higher for intervention parents compared with controls at Follow-up 1 (Xt = 4.23, Xc = 3.94) but not at Follow-up 2. Conclusions. Strong effects were found for the High 5 intervention on fruit and vegetable consumption, on macro- and micro-nutrients, and on psychosocial variables. Future work is needed to enhance the intervention effects on parents' consumption and to test the effectiveness of the intervention when delivered by classroom teachers.
Unilateral optic neuritis caused by Histoplasma capsulatum in a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Purpose To evaluate the potential of Histoplasma capsulatum to cause optic neuritis in the setting of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Methods We examined a 35-year-old man with a history of AIDS and disseminated histoplasmosis who developed a unilateral progressive optic neuritis of enigmatic origin. An optic nerve sheath biopsy was performed to provide a tissue diagnosis. Results Histoplasma capsulatum was identified in both the optic nerve sheath and fungal culture. Conclusion Histoplasma capsulatum should be considered in the differential diagnosis of optic neuritis in patients with AIDS, even in the absence of chorioretinal findings.
GM-CSFRα: the sex-chromosome link to t(8;21)+ AML?

In this issue of Blood,Matsuura and colleagues provide evidence that loss of GMCSF signaling promotes leukemic progression in association with one of the most frequently observed cytogenetic abnormalities in AML, the t(8;21)(q22;q22) that generates the RUNX1-ETO fusion protein.
Modeling Locational Preferences in Urban Planning

This paper summarizes a study incorporating measures of location preference in the urban planning process. The need and potential techniques for quantification of such preferences are discussed. Two major analytical schemes are tested in the research: namely, iso-disutility curves and joint probability of acceptance contours. Graphic results and analytical interpretations of the study conclusions are offered in conjunction with comments on the relevance of continuing research into preference methodology applied to urban problems.
Migration of methane gas through the hydrate stability zone in a low-flux hydrate province

New high-resolution seismic data show clear evidence for upward injection of methane gas well into the hydrate stability zone at the stable, low-methane-flux Blake Ridge crest. This movement of gaseous methane, through a thermo-dynamic regime where it should be trapped as hydrate, suggests that dynamic migrations of gas play an important role in the interaction of subseafloor methane with the ocean. In the study area, none of the seismic amplitude anomalies that provide evidence for gas migration reaches the seafloor; instead they terminate at the base of a highly reflective, unfaulted capping layer. Seismic inversions of anomalous regions show (1) increased velocities beneath the hydrate stability zone, suggesting less gas, and (2) increased velocities within the hydrate stability zone associated with observed low-amplitude chimneys and bright spots, indicating increased hydrate concentrations. These observations and analyses indicate that methane migrates upward as free gas hundreds of meters into the hydrate stability zone before forming hydrate. The observations strongly imply that given appropriate permeable pathways, free gas can escape into the ocean. Even in a low-flux environment, the hydrate stability zone is not an impermeable barrier to free-gas migration.
96-Well polycarbonate-based microfluidic titer plate for high-throughput purification of DNA and RNA

We report a simple and effective method for the high-throughput purification of a variety of nucleic acids (NAs) from whole cell lysates or whole blood using a photactivated polycarbonate solid-phase reversible immobilization (PPC-SPRI) microfluidic chip. High-throughput operation was achieved by placing 96 purification beds, each containing an array of 3800 20 μm diameter posts, on a single 3” × 5” polycarbonate (PC) wafer fabricated by hot embossing. All beds were interconnected through a common microfluidic network that permitted parallel access through the use of a vacuum and syringe pump for delivery of immobilization buffer (IB) and effluent. The PPC-SPRI purification was accomplished by condensation of NAs onto a UV-modified PC surface in the presence of the IB comprised of polyethylene glycol, NaCl, and ethanol with a composition dependent on the length of the NAs to be isolated and the identity of the sample matrix. The performance of the device was validated by quantification of the recovered ma...
Material Characterization Improvement in High Temperature Rectangular Waveguide Measurements

The scattering parameters of a single-top gap partially filled rectangular waveguide (PFW) are calculated using mode-matching of the transverse fields. This is accomplished by including in the calculations the complex power contained in higher-order TM modes scattered by a material sample in the waveguide. Furthermore, use of the forward and reverse scattering parameters eliminates the dependence of the placement of the sample with respect to a reference or calibration plane. A combination of the higher-order mode-matching and the reference plane independent (RPI) technique provides the best method for overcoming errors associated with high temperature waveguide measurements. Experimental results are presented to validate the analysis.
Pivotal Response Treatment for Children With Autism: Core Principles and Applications for School Psychologists

During the past 2 decades, pivotal response treatment (PRT) has emerged as an evidence-based methodology for intervening with the behavioral, communicative, social, and academic impairments of children with autism. Unlike other highly structured behavioral interventions for autism, PRT emphasizes principles over procedures and focuses on enhancing children's motivation to learn in natural environments. The purpose of the present work is to outline the core principles of PRT and discuss some school-based applications. Information provided herein provides school psychologists with a firm grounding in the basics tenets of this state-of-the-art intervention for children with autism, helping facilitate more effective direct and indirect services for such children at school.
Prochlorperazine induces akathisia in emergency patients.

Study objective : Prochlorperazine (PCZ), a commonly used antiemetic and analgesic agent, is known to cause akathisia. The incidence of akathisia after a single 10-mg dose of intravenous PCZ has not been prospectively evaluated. We determined the incidence and severity of PCZ-induced akathisia at 1 hour and the incidence of delayed akathisic symptoms at 48 hours. Methods : This prospective controlled study evaluated a convenience sample of 140 adult patients at a 400-bed, academic, tertiary-care medical center with an annual emergency department census of 95,000 patient visits. One hundred patients who received intravenous PCZ for the treatment of severe headache or vomiting constituted the PCZ group. Forty patients receiving nonakathisic intravenous therapy (eg, saline solution or antibiotics) served as control subjects. Patients were excluded if they had preexisting motor disorders (eg, restless-leg syndrome or Parkinson's disease) or if they recently had received any medication with extrapyramidal, anticholinergic, sedative, or antiakathisic properties. All patients underwent an akathisia assessment before and 1 hour after receiving their respective intravenous medications. An established scale was used to detect the presence of akathisia and grade its severity as mild, moderate, or severe. The delayed development of akathisic symptoms within 48 hours also was measured in the PCZ group. Results : Akathisia developed in 44 (44%) of the patients receiving PCZ within 1 hour (95% confidence interval, 34% to 54%). The akathisia was graded as mild, moderate, and severe in 14, 22, and 8 subjects, respectively. Delayed symptoms suggestive of akathisia developed in 3 other patients within 48 hours. None of the 40 control subjects developed akathisia. Conclusion : Single-dose intravenous PCZ frequently induced akathisia within 1 hour of administration. Acute akathisia was not observed in patients receiving intravenous saline solution or antibiotics. The delayed development of akathisia symptoms 48 hours after a single dose of intravenous PCZ was uncommon.
The effect of irreversibly adsorbed water on the character of thorium oxide surfaces

Abstract The adsorption of water, nitrogen, and argon on thorium oxide has been studied with a sensitive vacuum microbalance system. Adsorbents used in this study encompassed a wide range of crystlalite sizes and specific surface areas. A most important factor was found to be the amount of irreversibly adsorbed water on the surface at the beginning of an adsorption experiment. this was true regardless of the specific surface area, crystallite size, and porosity of the sample involved. Samples containing a relatively large amount of irreversibly adsorbed water presented a surface which exhibited a considerable amount of hydrophobic and nonpolar character. This was true for all three adsorbates and was reflected in the shape of the isotherm, the energy of adsorption, and a reduction in apparent surface area. These results contrast sharply with the strongly hydrophilic and polar nature of the isotherms obtained for the bare or hydroxyl-covered surface. The results can be attributed to the influence of the substrate lattice on the orientation and hydrogen bonding characteristics of the irreversibly adsorbed water molecules.
Resolving the Argentine Paradox: Politics and Development, 1966-1992

The Crisis of Argentine Political Economy and the Breakdown of Corporatism, 1969-1989 Ogania and the Industrial Alliance, 1966-1973 Juan Peron and the Populist Alliance, 1973-1976 Videla and the Liberal Alliance, 1976-1983 Alfonsin and the End of the Breakdown, 1983-1989 An Overview of the Breakdown of Corporatism The Menem Presidency and the Break with the Past.
American income inequality across economic and geographic space, 1970-2010.

Abstract This analysis examines the spatial clustering of income inequality and its socioeconomic correlates at the meso-scale over the past four decades. Cluster analysis is used to group N = 3078 counties into five inequality clusters; and multinomial logistic regression is used to assess the effects of socioeconomic correlates. High and extreme inequality places are concentrated in large metropolitan centers, high amenity rural areas, and parts of the Great Plains and Mountain West. They tend to have better socioeconomic outcomes, with fewer at-risk populations, higher incomes, lower poverty, and greater economic participation. Unequal places are more specialized in high-skill finance and professional services, and in energy-based mining. By contrast, equality places are associated with low-skill services, education and health services, manufacturing, and stable farm economies.
136 ADMINISTRATION OF INDOMETHACIN TO THE PREGNANT EWE RESULTS IN CONSTRICTION OF THE FETAL DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS

Administration of prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors directly to the fetal sheep has been shown to cause constriction of the ductus arteriosus and pulmonary hypertension. Since these drugs are given to pregnant women we sought to determine if the same effect occurred in the fetus with administration of such an agent to the pregnant ewe. Pregnant ewes were operated upon at 123, 124 and 135 days gestation. Catheters were placed into the fetal pulmonary (PA) and carotid arteries (CA), the superior vena cava and amniotic cavity and the maternal inferior vena cava and aorta. Starting the first postoperative day one ewe was given indomethacin 0.5 mg/kg I.V., another 1.0 mg/kg I.V., and the other 1 mg/kg PO TID for 3 to 4 days. Initially PA and CA pressures were equal however PA pressures rose to 8, 6, and 9 mmHg greater than CA pressures by 1, 2, and 4 days respectively. Fetal blood was analyzed by spectrophotofluorometry for indomethacin and was positive for indomethacin although at very low levels. Administration of indomethacin to the pregnant ewe by either intravenous or oral routes probably crosses the placenta and causes constriction of the fetal ductus arteriosus. Direct vaso-constriction of the pulmonary vascular bed may also occur. This may have profound effects on the fetal systemic and pulmonary circulations which may be detrimental to the fetus and newborn. Supported by AHA Grant-In-Aid 76-878.
Expressing political legitimacy and cultural identity through the use of spolia on the Ambo of Henry II

This paper will explore the significant role appropriated objects played in Ottonian artistic production through a close examination of the Ambo of Henry II. Created by the last Ottonian emperor for the Palace Chapel at Aachen between 1002 and 1014, the Ambo of Henry II abounds with spolia. I will argue that the spolia reused on the Ambo of Henry II presented an innovative statement of Henry II's political, economic, and cultural agenda. The spolia from ancient Rome and contemporary Byzantium portrayed Henry II as the political successor to an illustrious Roman past, and as an equal to the Byzantine emperors in the East. The luxury objects reused on the Ambo also served as commodities whose symbolic value increased dramatically when they were taken out of economic circulation and used on this precious artwork. Finally, the Islamic and Byzantine spolia on the Ambo allowed Henry II to define himself and his Western Roman Empire in terms of an Other, associating his rule with the power, prestige, and sophistication of contemporary and competitive foreign cultures.
A differential approach to input-output analysis☆

Abstract The differential production theory approach is applied to input-output analysis under the assumption that each industrial sector behaves as a homothetic cost-minimizing firm. This yields substitution terms which take a simple form under input independence.
Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Kinetics in PEMFCs at 120°C and Low Relative Humidity Using Silicotungstic Acid

Silicotungstic acid (STA), a heteropolyacid, was added to the electrode of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and evaluated for increased performance at high temperature and low relative humidity (RHs). Activity was shown to increase by as much as 30% for cells dipped in STA compared to cells dipped in deionized water at 120°C/35%RH.
Studies of l-Cysteine Biosynthetic Enzymes in Phaseolus vulgaris L.

In higher plants the biosynthesis of l-cysteine from l-serine, acetylCoA, and sulfide requires serine transacetylase and O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase. The distribution of these enzymes in kidney bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Red Kidney) seedlings was determined. Between one-third and two-thirds of the serine transacetylase activity was associated with mitochondria, whereas all of the O-acetyl-serine sulfhydrylase activity was present in the soluble fraction of cell homogenates. In a 14-day plant approximately two-thirds of the O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase activity and approximately one-half of the serine transacetylase activity was found in the leaves. Sulfur-deficient plants were grown to determine the effect of sulfur status on the levels of cysteine biosynthetic enzymes. Total extractable serine transacetylase activity was not affected by sulfur deficiency; in contrast, there was an increase in O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase activity under these conditions.
Mining the oncoproteome and studying molecular interactions for biomarker development by 2DE, ChIP and SPR technologies

This article provides a comprehensive updated review of three proteomics technologies (2D gel electrophoresis [2DE]; chromatin immunoprecipitation [ChIP] and its related alternates, and surface plasmon resonance [SPR]), and their use in cancer biomarker discovery and studying molecular interactions. 2DE proteomics has an advantage in visualizing changes in the intact molecular weight and isoelectric point (pI) of a protein, which reflect biologically significant processing and charge alterations in addition to post-translation modifications. However, proteins that are hydrophobic, low abundance or with extreme pIs or molecular weight, are poorly represented. Despite these shortfalls, improvements have been made that provide enhanced resolution by use of immobilized pH gradients (IPGs), narrow strip large 2DE gels, and serial and parallel formats. Prefractionation of the sample is essential for studying low-abundance markers, although it subjects the experimental design to additional nonbiologic variations...
An inverse spectral theorem for a Hill's matrix☆

Abstract The purpose of this article is to demonstrate a result regarding a Hill's matrix. Suppose the matrix L has period np and furthermore, the spectrum is such that the only instability intervals that can fail to vanish have index kn. In that case, the period of L is, in fact, p. It is also shown that this condition is necessary.
Apolipoprotein epsilon 3 alleles are associated with indicators of neuronal resilience

Background Epilepsy is associated with precocious development of Alzheimer-type neuropathological changes, including appearance of senile plaques, neuronal loss and glial activation. As inheritance of APOE e4 allele(s) is reported to favor this outcome, we sought to investigate neuronal and glial responses that differ according to APOE genotype. With an eye toward defining ways in which APOE e3 alleles may foster neuronal well-being in epilepsy and/or APOE e4 alleles exacerbate neuronal decline, neuronal and glial characteristics were studied in temporal lobectomy specimens from epilepsy patients of either APOE e4,4 or APOE e3,3 genotype.
Experimental Pathogenicity of Recent North American Isolates of Yersinia enterocolitica

Two isolates of Yersinia enterocolitica recently found in humans in North America and one isolate of flea origin killed mice after sc inoculation. Median lethal doses varied from 1.6 x 104 to 54 x 104 bacteria. Of 11 remaining isolates tested in mice, all but four produced distinct morbidity without extensive mortality. The LD50 after ip inoculation was 1,000-fold less than after sc inoculation into mice. One selected isolate was also tested in gerbils. All gerbils inoculated ip with as few as 250 organisms died within four days. These findings indicate that this bacterial species can no longer be considered to be nonlethal for laboratory animals. Studies of the pathology and immunopathology of Y. enterocolitica disease processes, which were previously impractical because of the lack of suitable susceptible experimental animals, are now possible.
Gases for muon drift chambers at high energy hadron colliders

Abstract In search for realistic gas mixtures for drift chambers in LHC/SSC experiments, we measured the drift parameters in magnetic fields up to 0.83 T. The experimental results of the drift velocity and Lorentz angle for several candidate gases are presented. Ar:CO2 mixtures are shown to be suitable for large area muon chambers, provided small amounts of additives with high UV absorption are added. Drift parameters of CF4 based gases have also been measured in magnetic fields. These gases are useful for straw drift tubes.
Multichannel resonance parametrization of pi N scattering amplitudes.

A new manifestly time-reversal invariant and unitary parametrization of {ital S}-matrix elements is described. The method is simpler than the {ital K}-matrix approach in that resonance parameters are parametrized directly. The technique is used to extract resonance parameters from partial-wave amplitudes for {pi}{ital N}{r arrow}{pi}{ital N} and from isobar-model amplitudes for {pi}{ital N}{r arrow}{pi}{pi}{ital N}. Resonance parameters obtained from this approach are tabulated and compared to predictions of quark-model calculations and to results of previous work.
Noncoherent iterative demodulation and decoding of serially concatenated coded MSK

In this paper, we propose a detection technique for a serially concatenated coded MSK (SC-MSK) modulated signal, based on the noncoherent BCJR (N-BCJR) algorithm, where an exponentially decaying observation window (EDW) in the N-BCJR algorithm is used to get better use of the channel phase memory and reduce the state as well as metric computational complexity. We also derive the decoding metrics of N-BCJR for the Rayleigh fading channel without channel state information (CSI) and incorporate the EDW in the metrics. The BER performance of the proposed noncoherent SC-MSK, using EDW and a rectangular window (RW), are compared via Monte Carlo simulation in both AWGN and slow, flat Rayleigh fading channels.
Ataxin-2 and its Drosophila homolog, ATX2, physically assemble with polyribosomes

Mutations resulting in the expansion of a polyglutamine tract in the protein ataxin-2 give rise to the neurodegenerative disorders spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 and Parkinson's disease. The normal cellular function of ataxin-2 and the mechanism by which polyglutamine expansion of ataxin-2 causes neurodegeneration are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that ataxin-2 and its Drosophila homolog, ATX2, assemble with polyribosomes and poly(A)-binding protein (PABP), a key regulator of mRNA translation. The assembly of ATX2 with polyribosomes is mediated independently by two distinct evolutionarily conserved regions of ATX2: an N-terminal Lsm/Lsm-associated domain (LsmAD), found in proteins that function in nuclear RNA processing and mRNA decay, and a PAM2 motif, found in proteins that interact physically with PABP. We further show that the PAM2 motif mediates a physical interaction of ATX2 with PABP in addition to promoting ATX2 assembly with polyribosomes. Our results suggest a model in which ATX2 binds mRNA directly through its Lsm/LsmAD domain and indirectly via binding PABP that is itself directly bound to mRNA. These findings, coupled with work on other ataxin-2 family members, suggest that ATX2 plays a direct role in translational regulation. Our results raise the possibility that polyglutamine expansions within ataxin-2 cause neurodegeneration by interfering with the translational regulation of particular mRNAs.
Neurochemical, behavioral and physiological effects of pharmacologically enhanced serotonin levels in serotonin transporter (SERT)-deficient mice

Rationale Serotonin transporter (SERT) knockout (−/−) mice have an altered phenotype in adulthood, including high baseline anxiety and depressive-like behaviors, associated with increased baseline extracellular serotonin levels throughout life.
Making the World a Better Place: What the Agricultural Engineering Professional Organizations Can Do in the New Century to Make Good on Their Age-Old Promise

It was Bill Ford, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Ford Motors Company, who made the remark that “A good company delivers excellent products and services, while a great one delivers excellent products and services and strives to make the world a better place.” This statement remains strikingly true when adapted to engineering professional organizations, that is, “A good engineering professional organization delivers excellent products and services, while a great one delivers excellent products and services and strives to make the world a better place.” But have the few national and regional agricultural-engineering professional organizations around the globe striven properly in the last century to make the world a better place? The answer is both yes and no. It is yes as attested by the illustrious list of outstanding accomplishments of the profession in the 20th century published in 2000 by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) (Cuello and Huggins 2000). To wit: agricultural engineering has designed and developed technologies that ushered agricultural machineries into the farm; brought electrical power to the farm; conveyed and conserved soil and water resources on the farm; brought post-harvest operations to the farm; brought information technology to the farm; etc. The result was that the profession contributed appreciably in the significant increase in productivity of human labor on the farm, helping achieve the unprecedented spike in food production in the last century. But the answer is also no since despite – or in some cases even because -- of the foregoing technical accomplishments, millions of people today remain hungry and the degradation of the environment appears to have worsened. Thus, at the dawn of the 21st Century, the agricultural engineering profession faces up to the burden and the challenges of its significant and unfinished work.
A Distribution Power Flow Experiment for Outreach Education

This paper presents a distribution power flow experiment for use in outreach education. The work was adapted from an existing power flow experiment by Yang et al. to target non-engineers with diverse educational backgrounds. Critical educational outcomes were identified. An iterative design process was developed to build the experiment. Subsequently, new laboratory activities and interactive manuals were created. Assessment surveys were designed for evaluation purposes. Feedback results from 26 participants are presented.
Visualization of decision processes using a cognitive architecture

Cognitive architectures are computational theories of reasoning the human mind engages in as it processes facts and experiences. A cognitive architecture uses declarative and procedural knowledge to represent mental constructs that are involved in decision making. Employing a model of behavioral and perceptual constraints derived from a set of one or more scenarios, the architecture reasons about the most likely consequence(s) of a sequence of events. Reasoning of any complexity and depth involving computational processes, however, is often opaque and challenging to comprehend. Arguably, for decision makers who may need to evaluate or question the results of autonomous reasoning, it would be useful to be able to inspect the steps involved in an interactive, graphical format. When a chain of evidence and constraint-based decision points can be visualized, it becomes easier to explore both how and why a scenario of interest will likely unfold in a particular way. In initial work on a scheme for visualizing cognitively-based decision processes, we focus on generating graphical representations of models run in the Polyscheme cognitive architecture. Our visualization algorithm operates on a modified version of Polyscheme's output, which is accomplished by augmenting models with a simple set of tags. We provide example visualizations and discuss properties of our technique that pose challenges for our representation goals. We conclude with a summary of feedback solicited from domain experts and practitioners in the field of cognitive modeling.
Somatosensory Cortical Plasticity in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treated by Acupuncture

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common entrapment neuropathy of the median nerve characterized by paresthesias and pain in the first through fourth digits. We hypothesize that aberrant afferent input from CTS will lead to maladaptive cortical plasticity, which may be corrected by appropriate therapy. Functional MRI (fMRI) scanning and clinical testing was performed on CTS patients at baseline and after 5 weeks of acupuncture treatment. As a control, healthy adults were also tested 5 weeks apart. During fMRI, sensory stimulation was performed for median nerve innervated digit 2 (D2) and digit 3 (D3), and ulnar nerve innervated digit 5 (D5). Surface-based and region of interest (ROI)-based analyses demonstrated that while the extent of fMRI activity in contralateral Brodmann Area 1 (BA 1) and BA 4 was increased in CTS compared to healthy adults, after acupuncture there was a significant decrease in contralateral BA 1 (P < 0.005) and BA 4 (P < 0.05) activity during D3 sensory stimulation. Healthy adults demonstrated no significant test-retest differences for any digit tested. While D3/D2 separation was contracted or blurred in CTS patients compared to healthy adults, the D2 SI representation shifted laterally after acupuncture treatment, leading to increased D3/D2 separation. Increasing D3/D2 separation correlated with decreasing paresthesias in CTS patients (P < 0.05). As CTS-induced paresthesias constitute diffuse, synchronized, multidigit symptomatology, our results for maladaptive change and correction are consistent with Hebbian plasticity mechanisms. Acupuncture, a somatosensory conditioning stimulus, shows promise in inducing beneficial cortical plasticity manifested by more focused digital representations.
The effect of non-differential measurement error on bias, precision and power in Mendelian randomization studies

BACKGROUND Mendelian randomization (MR) studies assess the causality of associations between exposures and disease outcomes using data on genetic determinants of the exposure. In this work, we explore the effect of exposure and outcome measurement error in MR studies. METHODS For continuous traits, we describe measurement error in terms of a theoretical regression of the measured variable on the true variable. We quantify error in terms of the slope (calibration) and the R(2) values (discrimination or classical measurement error). We simulated cohort data sets under realistic parameters and used two-stage least squares regression to assess the effect of measurement error for continuous exposures and outcomes on bias, precision and power. For simulations of binary outcomes, we varied sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS Discrimination error in continuous exposures and outcomes did not bias the MR estimate, and only outcome discrimination error substantially reduced power. Calibration error biased the MR estimate when the exposure and the outcome measures were not calibrated in a similar fashion, but power was not affected. For binary outcomes, exposure calibration error introduced substantial bias (with negligible impact on power), but exposure discrimination error did not. Reduced outcome specificity and, to a lesser degree, reduced sensitivity biased MR estimates towards the null. CONCLUSIONS Understanding the potential effects of measurement error is an important consideration when interpreting estimates from MR analyses. Based on these results, future MR studies should consider methods for accounting for such error and minimizing its impact on inferences derived from MR analyses.
Using game theory for scheduling tasks on multi-core processors for simultaneous optimization of performance and energy

Multi-core processors are beginning to revolutionize the landscape of high-performance computing. In this paper, we address the problem of power-aware scheduling/mapping of tasks onto heterogeneous and homogeneous multi-core processor architectures. The objective of scheduling is to minimize the energy consumption as well as the makespan of computationally intensive problems. The multi- objective optimization problem is not properly handled by conventional approaches that try to maximize a single objective. Our proposed solution is based on game theory. We formulate the problem as a cooperate game. Although we can guarantee the existence of a Bargaining Point in this problem, the classical cooperative game theoretical techniques such as the Nash axiomatic technique cannot be used to identify the Bargaining Point due to low convergence rates and high complexity. Hence, we transform the problem to a max-max-min problem such that it can generate solutions with fast turnaround time.
Perceived Barriers, Resources, and Training Needs of Rural Primary Care Providers Relevant to the Management of Childhood Obesity

Purpose To explore the perceived barriers, resources, and training needs of rural primary care providers in relation to implementing the American Medical Association Expert Committee recommendations for assessment, treatment, and prevention of childhood obesity. Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 rural primary care providers in Oregon. Transcribed interviews were thematically coded. Results Barriers to addressing childhood obesity fell into 5 categories: barriers related to the practice (time constraints, lack of reimbursement, few opportunities to detect obesity), the clinician (limited knowledge), the family/patient (family lifestyle and lack of parent motivation to change, low family income and lack of health insurance, sensitivity of the issue), the community (lack of pediatric subspecialists and multidisciplinary/tertiary care services, few community resources), and the broader sociocultural environment (sociocultural influences, high prevalence of childhood obesity). There were very few clinic and community resources to assist clinicians in addressing weight issues. Clinicians had received little previous training relevant to childhood obesity, and they expressed an interest in several topics. Conclusions Rural primary care providers face extensive barriers in relation to implementing recommended practices for assessment, treatment, and prevention of childhood obesity. Particularly problematic is the lack of local and regional resources. Employing nurses to provide case management and behavior counseling, group visits, and telehealth and other technological communications are strategies that could improve the management of childhood obesity in rural primary care settings.
Maternal nest defense reduces egg cannibalism by conspecific females in the maritime earwig Anisolabis maritima

Nest predation imposes a major cost to reproductive females, who should therefore take measures to avoid encounters with predators. However, when predators are conspecifics, avoidance can be more difficult and may be a consequence of social or aggregative behaviors. In this study, we measured the consequences of conspecific egg cannibalism on hatching success in the maritime earwig (Anisolabis maritima), which occasionally form aggregations. We hypothesized that conspecific egg cannibalism is a byproduct of aggregation, and that cannibalism rates would increase with aggregation density; however, our results do not support this. We combined field data with a lab experiment to test the effectiveness of maternal nest defense in protecting nests from a conspecific. Nests with a guard had higher hatching success and lower rates of cannibalism than unattended nests in the presence of a conspecific. We also measured body and forcep size to see whether the outcome of contests was determined by relative size. Female guards who were larger relative to the invading conspecific maintained their nest and had higher hatching success than females who were relatively smaller, suggesting that the maritime earwig is under directional selection for larger body and/or forcep size.
Logarithmic weak regret of non-Bayesian restless multi-armed bandit

We consider the restless multi-armed bandit (RMAB) problem with unknown dynamics. At each time, a player chooses K out of N (N > K) arms to play. The state of each arm determines the reward when the arm is played and transits according to Markovian rules no matter the arm is engaged or passive. The Markovian dynamics of the arms are unknown to the player. The objective is to maximize the long-term expected reward by designing an optimal arm selection policy. The performance of a policy is measured by regret, defined as the reward loss with respect to the case where the player knows which K arms are the most rewarding and always plays these K best arms. We construct a policy, referred to as Restless Upper Confidence Bound (RUCB), that achieves a regret with logarithmic order of time when an arbitrary nontrivial bound on certain system parameters is known. When no knowledge about the system is available, we extend the RUCB policy to achieve a regret arbitrarily close to the logarithmic order. In both cases, the system achieves the maximum average reward offered by the K best arms. Potential applications of these results include cognitive radio networks, opportunistic communications in unknown fading environments, and financial investment.
Real time self-tuning of industrial controllers using a continuous parameter optimization technique

A digital, parametrically optimized adaptive self-tuning regulator is proposed for the on-line tuning of motor controllers. The proposed adaptive technique consists of an identification scheme which identifies the system with a predictive model and a parameter optimization control technique which uses this model to derive the control law. The control design consists of choosing a suitable regulator structure, then tuning the associated regulator parameters to minimize a chosen minimization criterion. The proposed design technique has flexibility in specifying the order and structure of the regulator which offers advantages in selecting and autotuning well known effective controller structures. The computations involved in the proposed controller are feasible for implementation by an on-line microprocessor. Examples are presented which show that the proposed technique outperforms the fixed parameters controllers by a great deal. >
Paranoid: a global secure file access control system

The Paranoid file system is an encrypted, secure, global file system with user managed access control. The system provides efficient peer-to-peer application transparent file sharing. This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of the Paranoid file system and its access-control architecture. The system lets users grant safe, selective, UNIX-like, file access to peer groups across administrative boundaries. Files are kept encrypted and access control translates into key management. The system uses a novel transformation key scheme to effect access revocation. The file system works seamlessly with existing applications through the use of interposition agents. The interposition agents provide a layer of indirection making it possible to implement transparent remote file access and data encryption/decryption without any kernel modifications. System performance evaluations show that encryption and remote file-access overheads are small, demonstrating that the Paranoid system is practical
The Kerr metric and stationary axisymmetric gravitational fields

A treatment of Einstein's equations governing vacuum gravitational fields which are stationary and axisymmetric is shown to divide itself into three parts: a part essentially concerned with a choice of gauge (which can be chosen to ensure the occurrence of an event horizon exactly as in the Kerr metric); a part concerned with two of the basic metric functions which in two combinations satisfy a complex equation (Ernst's equation) and in one combination satisfies a symmetric pair of real equations; and a third part which completes the solution in terms of a single ordinary differential equation of the first order. The treatment along these lines reveals many of the inner relations which characterize the general solutions, provides a derivation of the Kerr metric which is direct and verifiable at all stages, and opens an avenue towards the generation of explicit classes of exact solutions (an example of which is given).
Smaller infarct after preconditioning does not predict extent of early functional improvement of reperfused heart.

We evaluated the ability of ischemic preconditioning to restore function to salvaged myocardium in rabbits. Although ischemic preconditioning reduces infarct size, few investigators studying recove...
Opening the Loop: A Proposal to Allow the Installation of Distributed Renewable Generation Technology in Downtown Chicago

Buildings consume approximately 75% of all electricity generated in the United States, but American cities are energy deserts. An overwhelming majority of the electricity used by buildings in cities is generated hundreds of miles away and transmitted long distances to reach its end users. The electricity transmission system is notoriously inefficient and is fast approaching its full capacity, leading to bottlenecks and widespread blackouts. As a solution to these issues, cities, individuals and utilities are exploring distributed generation – the use of small modular systems to generate the electricity consumed by a building, and to offset the amount of electricity purchased from the utility. Renewable distributed generation (“DRG”) technologies, such as solar panels and small wind turbines, are receiving particular attention. In light of this increased interest in distributed generation, there is a growing awareness that roofs of commercial buildings are power generation assets. However, especially in urban environments, where the vertical landscape is constantly changing, a building owner’s investment in DRG is constantly at risk, since any newer, taller building could potentially cut off access to the sun or the wind, rendering the generation equipment useless.This article will use the City of Chicago as a case-study to aid in the exploration of the legal avenues available to owners of real property who wish to protect their investments in DRG technologies. First, this article will describe DRG technology and explore the incentives available to landowners, such as state and federal tax incentives and other statutory support for renewable energy, in addition incentives provided by local utilities. Next, it will discuss the challenges that owners of DRG typically face in protecting their investments over the long term, including resistance from utilities and neighboring landowners. The article will then evaluate several potential legal protections that could be made available to landowners who install DRG technology, concluding that these protections are insufficient. Finally, in light of that finding, this article will propose a two-tiered legislative solution comprised of a state-level statute adopting prior appropriation theory from western water law to establish individuals’ ownership rights in access to sunlight and wind, in combination with a City of Chicago ordinance establishing solar and wind energy empowerment zones.
Biodiesel from Microalgae

Microalgae have the almost unique ability among microorganisms to naturally store significant amounts of carbon as neutral lipids that can be converted to biodiesel. Accumulation of neutral lipids has mainly evolved as a response strategy to stress conditions, which on the other hand are detrimental for growth and biomass production. Genetic improvement would be required as part of the effort for algae domestication in order to meet industrial lipid production requirements.
Historical perspective on reactor-associated nuclear data

This paper describes the early efforts to compile nuclear data not only needed for reactor design but also important to nuclear physics. Activities undertaken to gather data on thermal, resonance, and fast neutron cross sections are highlighted. Programs from the 1940s through 1960s are summarized including the appointment if a group of experimental and reactor phyicists from national laboratories to form the Neutron Cross Section Advisory Group to coordinate extensive programs in cross section measurements.
Ionization of Rb Rydberg atoms in the attractive nsnp dipole-dipole potential

We have observed the ionization of a cold gas of Rb Rydberg atoms which occurs when $nsns$ van der Waals pairs of $ns$ atoms of $n\ensuremath{\approx}$ 40 on a weakly repulsive potential are transferred to an attractive dipole-dipole $nsnp$ potential by a microwave transition. Comparing the measurements to a simple model shows that the initial 300-$\ensuremath{\mu}$K thermal velocity of the atoms plays an important role. Excitation to a repulsive dipole-dipole potential does not lead to more ionization on a 15-$\ensuremath{\mu}$s time scale than leaving the atoms in the weakly repulsive $nsns$ state. This observation is slightly surprising since a radiative transition must occur to allow ionization in the latter case. Finally, by power broadening of the microwave transition, to allow transitions from the initial $nsns$ state to the $nsnp$ state over a broad range of internuclear spacings, it is possible to accelerate markedly the evolution to a plasma.
Genetic and Environmental Variation of Pseudo-Self-Compatibility

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the genetic and environmental variation of pseudo-self-compatibility (PSC). Haploid pollen cannot effect fertilization in a diploid pistil bearing the same allele; the inhibition of incompatible pollen tubes is in the style. It is now apparent that species with gametophytic one-locus type of incompatibility vary in the intensity of the incompatibility reaction and that PSC may be caused by many factors. A review of the literature reveals that PSC may be caused by the external environmental factors of temperature, soil moisture, reduced vigor, and the length of light and dark periods and by the internal factors of bud pollination, age of flower or plant, and end-season and seasonal self-compatibilities. Perhaps sufficient variation exists in the behavior of S alleles and associated polygenic systems in red clover to allow to select only those S alleles and plant materials that is found to be satisfactory for a breeding plan.