cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
‘We would be well advised to agree on our own basic principles’: Schreiben as an Agent of Discipline-Building in Writing Studies in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein

Although writing centers in Germany are among the oldest and fastest growing outside of North America, scholarship produced within them remains largely unknown outside national borders due to challenges inherent in translingual research. This article helps remedy this gap by rendering accessible debates in ‘writing studies’ (‘ Schreibwissenschaft ’) in German-speaking countries, where a number of projects are underway to define the field at this moment of its maturation. By focusing on one such initiative in Germany, Stephanie Dreyfurst and Nadja Sennewald’s edited collection Schreiben: Grundlagentexte zur Theorie, Didaktik und Beratung ( Writing: Foundational Texts on Theory, Pedagogy, and Consultations ) (2014), I use the monograph as a case study for investigating larger scholarly conversations about the state of writing studies in the region. In doing so, I propose a new genre for transnational research—the translingual review . More thickly descriptive than the book review, the translingual review situates the edited or authored monograph within local disciplinary and institutional contexts. This particular translingual review adopts a comparative framework, examining how German-language scholarship extends Anglo-American research in innovative ways, particularly in its uses of writing process research.
The Value of MRI in Distinguishing Subtypes of Lipomatous Extremity Tumors Needs Reassessment in the Era of MDM2 and CDK4 Testing

Introduction. Extremity lipomas and well-differentiated liposarcomas (WDLs) are difficult to distinguish on MR imaging. We sought to evaluate the accuracy of MRI interpretation using MDM2 amplification, via fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH), as the gold standard for pathologic diagnosis. Furthermore, we aimed to investigate the utility of a diagnostic formula proposed in the literature. Methods. We retrospectively collected 49 patients with lipomas or WDLs utilizing MDM2 for pathologic diagnosis. Four expert readers interpreted each patient’s MRI independently and provided a diagnosis. Additionally, a formula based on imaging characteristics (i.e. tumor depth, diameter, presence of septa, and internal cystic change) was used to predict the pathologic diagnosis. The accuracy and reliability of imaging-based diagnoses were then analyzed in comparison to the MDM2 pathologic diagnoses. Results. The accuracy of MRI readers was 73.5% (95% CI 61–86%) with substantial interobserver agreement ( ). The formula had an accuracy of 71%, which was not significantly different from the readers ( ). The formula and expert observers had similar sensitivity (83% versus 83%) and specificity (64.5% versus 67.7%; ) for detecting WDLs. Conclusion. The accuracy of both our readers and the formula suggests that MRI remains unreliable for distinguishing between lipoma and WDLs.
Behavioral and spatial responses of captive coyotes to human activity

Abstract Human interactions can alter an animal’s behavior and utilization of its surroundings, and how this impacts the welfare of some captive wild animals is of growing concern. Structural enrichment shelters offer weather protection, reprieve space from other animals or humans, or resting space. Perimeter or open space may be important during periods of activity, such as foraging or play. This study addressed the effects of human activity on coyote behavioral budgeting and enclosure utilization. We predicted that human activity would affect coyote behavior and spatial utilization of enclosure space. Specifically, we hypothesized that human activity would prompt vigilant and other active behavior at enclosure perimeters, thereby reducing inactive behavior at shelter structures. Thirty male-female coyote pairs were observed while experimentally exposed to one hour of human activity and one hour with no human activity for 16 observation days over the course of a 28-day test period. Behavior was categorized (vigilant, not active, active) and enclosure features were identified as three discrete areas (perimeter, open area, enrichment structure). A log-linear model using scan data showed that behavior significantly varied by enclosure feature (P
Accuracy of Targeting and Implications of Rationing in Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: Evidence from West Bengal, India

Taking 66th round data of National Sample Survey (2009-10), this paper examines the implications of type 1 and type 2 rationing of work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in West Bengal for poorer households. Using regression analysis and evidences from field, it attempts to find, if the households, which sought but did not get work, are poorer (by various indicators) than the ones, who got work (type 2) and then explores, if the poor get work for lesser number of days (type 1). The results show that poor households do not have significantly higher probability of getting work compared to non poor. This has left behind a substantial exclusion of poor, without work. It further gives evidence that non poor households get work for more number of days than poor households. The findings also highlight the importance of awareness of its entitlements to realize the desired impact.
AutOMathic blocks usability testing phase one

The AutOMathic Blocks [1] system has been designed to help young blind students learn arithmetic and beginning algebra through the use of tactile [2, 3] blocks that display their work in two-dimensional space. The traditional method of presenting math problem presentation uses special Braille-like codes that present information in a linear form. It is our hypothesis that learning math via a two-dimensional method will expedite and improve the learning experience for young children. Before upgrading our prototype system, we have chosen to first carry out usability testing experiments testing the advantage of using tactile two-dimensional presentation methods.
Supply Functions for Public Transport: Initial Concepts and Models

In this paper, supply functions are developed for describing urban public transit services. These functions relate the level of service as it would be perceived by a traveler to the flow on a route, in a manner conceptually similar to that of the automobile - road supply curves which are widely used in network models. Models are derived for the supply characteristics of conventional scheduled, fixed route, transit services. The models appear very plausible and seem to explain generally observed differences among various transit systems. Data on a few routes in Chicago and Philadelphia permitted limited testing of the models, and the models performed very well.
Study on the Fabrication Process of a MEMS Bistable Energy Harvester Based on Coupled Component Structures

Due to the rapid growth in demand for power for sensing devices located in remote locations, scientists’ attention has been drawn to vibration energy harvesting as an alternative to batteries. As a result of over two decades of micro-scale vibration energy harvester research, the use of mechanical nonlinearity in the dynamic behavior of the piezoelectric power generating structures had been recognized as one of the promising solutions to the challenges presented by chaotic, low-frequency vibration sources found in common application environments. In this study, the design and performance of a unique MEMS-scale nonlinear vibration energy harvester based on coupled component structures and bi-stable states are investigated. The coupled-components within the device consist of a main buckled beam bonded with piezoelectric layers, a torsional rod, and two cantilever arms with tip masses at their ends. These arms are connected to the main beam through the torsional rod and are designed to help the main beam snap between its buckled stable states when subjected to sufficient vibration loading. The fabrication of the device will be discussed, including use of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of silicon nitride under an alternating power field to control compressive stress development within the main buckled beam. After completing the fabrication process, the next step would be testing the device under a variety of vibration loading conditions for its potential use as a vibration energy harvester.
Scavenger: A Black-Box Batch Workload Resource Manager for Improving Utilization in Cloud Environments

Resource under-utilization is common in cloud data centers. Prior works have proposed improving utilization by running provider workloads in the background, colocated with tenant workloads. However, an important challenge that has still not been addressed is considering the tenant workloads as a black-box. We present Scavenger, a batch workload manager that opportunistically runs containerized batch jobs next to black-box tenant VMs to improve utilization. Scavenger is designed to work without requiring any offline profiling or prior information about the tenant workload. To meet the tenant VMs' resource demand at all times, Scavenger dynamically regulates the resource usage of batch jobs, including processor usage, memory capacity, and network bandwidth. We experimentally evaluate Scavenger on two different testbeds using latency-sensitive tenant workloads colocated with Spark jobs in the background and show that Scavenger significantly increases resource usage without compromising the resource demands of tenant VMs.
Using Storytelling to Achieve a Better Sequel to Foster Care than Delinquency

Asserting that California s child welfare system is failing its mandate to serve its most vulnerable children is not overly dramatic. A significant portion of the 60,000 foster children that California cares for are dually involved with the dependency and delinquency systems. Children who have suffered abuse or neglect severe enough to be removed from their homes are more likely than well-treated children to come into contact with the delinquency system and possibly lose their dependency status in favor of delinquency status. For the young person for whom the state has taken on the parenting role under the dependency system, the blow of delinquency status is significant because of the resulting loss of the parent and the concordant services and rights that the parent has afforded. This article advocates that we use applied legal storytelling principles to focus more attention on the foster child s character, voice, and viewpoint to allow formal, earlier intervention at the phase where the child is at risk of delinquent behavior so that delinquency has a better chance at being avoided. By invoking applied legal storytelling concepts to focus child welfare advocates on children s unique narratives, this article suggests that those professionals consider a new framework to help solve the present foster care to delinquency cycle to better serve foster young people and their communities.
Energy-Efficient Target Recognition using ReRAM Crossbars for Enabling On-Device Intelligence

Automatic target recognition (ATR) tasks which typically employ state-of-the-art deep learning inference techniques can be bottlenecked by energy expensive data movement operations in power-constrained edge devices. Consequently, computing paradigms such as in-memory-computing (IMC) are rapidly gaining traction in designing deep neural network (DNN) accelerators. Resistive random access memory (ReRAM), a technology which offers high storage density has emerged as a promising candidate for architecting IMC based DNN accelerators. In this work, we perform DNN inference using an ReRam based IMC architecture for enabling energy efficient ATR applications, on MSTAR dataset. Our proposed methodology outperforms commercial off-the-shelf general-purpose graphics processing units in terms of inference energy and throughput by ∼22× and ∼27× respectively.
When Community Immersion Becomes Distance Learning: Lessons Learned From a Disrupted Semester

Community immersion is an effective way of bringing concepts to life while nursing students are engaged with community members in the real world. Opportunities to apply, observe, and clarify abstra...
Dual Sided High Frequency Measurement of Microelectronic Packages

Traditionally, validation of simulation data of microelectronic packages has been done by high frequency measurement of coplanar transmission line structures. Although this metrology has matured over the years, it is not directly applicable to product packages since they also include vertical interconnects. To address this issue, we developed a dual-sided measurement metrology, by utilizing a special fixture design and employing short-open-load-reciprocal calibration to maintain measurement stability at high frequencies. Metrology capability analysis shows that there is minimal operator and environmental condition dependency and a very good correlation with simulations up to 40 GHz for differential transmission lines.
Immunosuppressive Therapy and Risk of COVID-19 Infection in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Background The effect of immunosuppressive treatment for immune-mediated diseases on risk of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has not been established. We aimed to define the effect of targeted biologic and immunomodulator therapy on risk of COVID-19 in a multi-institutional cohort of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods We identified patients 18 years and older who received care for IBD at Partners Healthcare between January 2019 and April 2020. The primary outcome was development of COVID-19 defined as a positive polymerase chain reaction test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Multivariable regression models were used to examine the effect of immunosuppression on risk of COVID-19 and its outcomes. Results In a cohort of 5302 IBD patients, 39 (0.7%) developed COVID-19. There was no difference in age, sex, or race between IBD patients with and without COVID-19. The rate of COVID-19 was similar between patients treated with immunosuppression (0.8%) compared with those who were not (0.64%; P = 0.55). After adjusting for age, sex, race, and comorbidities, use of immunosuppressive therapy was not associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 (odds ratio, 1.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.82-3.63). The presence of obesity was associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 (odds ratio, 8.29; 95% confidence interval, 3.72-18.47). There were 7 hospitalizations, 3 intensive care unit stays, and 1 death. Older age and obesity but not immunosuppressive treatment were associated with severe COVID-19 infection. Conclusions The use of systemic immunosuppression was not associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 in a multi-institutional cohort of patients with IBD.
The Truth About FIBS (Financial Institution Bonds) in Mississippi: When Express Terms Conflict With Statutory Requirements

Fidelity bonds are common legal instruments designed to assure that the person posting the bond will carry out his or her responsibility. In Mississippi, like many other states, Financial Institution Bonds (FIBs) are statutorily-required financial instruments that cover officers or employees of a bank (or other financial institution) to protect financial institutions against losses caused by matters such as dishonesty; forgery; fraud; kidnapping, ransom, or extortion; and counterfeiting. A problem can arise if the terms on the executed bond form do not coincide with the requirements of the state statute. On the surface, a logical case could be made for enforcing the bond as written. After all, that is the common approach for dealing with written agreements. Such an approach, however, would completely defeat the purpose of the statute. The statutes in question are not enacted solely for the benefit of the two parties to the agreement, but for the benefit of one or more third parties. Moreover, reading the bond so as to conform to the statute is not an inequitable imposition on the obligor. All parties to the bond can fairly be charged with knowledge of statutory requirements, and they have the responsibility to negotiate with those obligations in mind when they form the agreement. As such, courts should treat FIBs as statutory bonds, and if the forms conflict with the statute, courts should enforce them pursuant to the terms of the statute.
Intravascular coronary brachytherapy combined with a drug-coated balloon.

Abstract Background Coronary artery disease leads to stenosis of the major cardiac vessels, resulting in ischemia and infarction. Percutaneous intervention (PCI) with balloon angioplasty can re-open stenosed vessels. Drug eluting stents (DES) and intravascular brachytherapy (IVBT) and drug-coated balloons (DCBs) are proven to decrease the likelihood of another restenosis after PCI, but neither is completely effective. Due to the limited long-term effectiveness of IVBT or DCB used separately for salvage PCI, we combined the two in some poor prognosis patients. Methods Combined IVBT+DCB was intended for a total of 36 patients from 2015-2020. PCI with some combination of ballooning, laser and directional/rotational atherectomy was used to maximally open the stenotic region prior to IVBT+DCB. Beta-radiation brachytherapy for all patients was done with a Novoste Beta-Cath. Lutonix 4.0 x 40 mm paclitaxel-coated balloons (Bard, Murray Hill, NJ) were employed. Results Overall survival at two years was 88%. Nine patients had follow-up angiograms, all for cardiac symptoms. Time from IVBT+DCB to follow-up angiography ranged from 4 to 33 months. The average months PCI-free interval before brachy therapy was 11.1 mos (95% CI 1.03-23.25) versus 23.3 mos after VBT (23.3 95% CI 12.3-32.3). The mean difference was 11.2 mos (95% CI 1.06-21.4, p Conclusions In this uncontrolled series, IVBT plus DCB appeared to lengthen the ISR-free interval relative to what had been achieved prior to the combined intervention. We view these results as mildly encouraging, worthy of further study.
Continual Knowledge Infusion into Pre-trained Biomedical Language Models.

MOTIVATION Biomedical language models produce meaningful concept representations that are useful for a variety of biomedical natural language processing (bioNLP) applications such as named entity recognition, relationship extraction, and question answering. Recent research trends have shown that the contextualized language models (e.g., BioBERT, BioELMo) possess tremendous representational power and are able to achieve impressive accuracy gains. However, these models are still unable to learn high-quality representations for concepts with low context information (i.e., rare words). Infusing the complementary information from knowledge-bases (KBs) is likely to be helpful when the corpus-specific information is insufficient to learn robust representations. Moreover, as the biomedical domain contains numerous KBs, it is imperative to develop approaches that can integrate the KBs in a continual fashion. RESULTS We propose a new representation learning approach that progressively fuses the semantic information from multiple KBs into the pretrained biomedical language models. Since most of the KBs in the biomedical domain are expressed as parent-child hierarchies, we choose to model the hierarchical KBs and propose a new knowledge modeling strategy that encodes their topological properties at a granular level. Moreover, the proposed continual learning technique efficiently updates the concepts representations to accommodate the new knowledge whilst preserving the memory efficiency of contextualized language models. Altogether, the proposed approach generates knowledge-powered embeddings with high fidelity and learning efficiency. Extensive experiments conducted on bioNLP tasks validate the efficacy of the proposed approach and demonstrates its capability in generating robust concept representations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Young Thomas More and the arts of liberty

1. Young Thomas More: why do peace and prosperity require arts of humanitas? 2. Fashioning peace and prosperity: what are the necessary arts? 3. Cicero's and More's 'first citizens': how do they avoid faction and civil war? 4. What were More's earliest views of humanitas, libertas, and respublica, 1500-6? 5. More's Life of Pico della Mirandola: a model of libertas and humanitas? (c.1504-7) 6. More's 1509 coronation ode: artful education of eighteen-year-old Henry VIII? 7. Political poems of 1509-16: proposing self-government by 'sound deliberation' 8. Richard III, c.1513: diagnosing the causes of England's plague of war 9. Utopia, 1516: a model respublica of peace, liberty, and self-government? 10. The un-utopian Thomas More Family Portrait: an icon of Morean humanitas? 11. The arts of liberty: can peace and prosperity be fashioned by 'sound deliberation'?
Temperate Bacteriophage Which Causes the Production of a New Major Outer Membrane Protein by Escherichia coli

Abstract Under most conditions of growth, the most abundant protein in the outer membrane of most strains of Escherichia coli is a protein designated as “protein 1” or “matrix protein”. In E. coli B, this protein has been shown to be a single polypeptide with a molecular mass of 36,500 and it may account for more than 50% of the total outer membrane protein. E. coli K-12 contains a very similar, although probably not identical, species of protein 1. Some pathogenic E. coli strains contain very little protein 1 and, in its place, make a protein designated as protein 2 which migrates faster on alkaline polyacrylamide gels containing sodium dodecyl sulfate and which gives a different spectrum of CNBr peptides. An E. coli K-12 strain which had been mated with a pathogenic strain was found to produce protein 2, and a temperate bacteriophage was isolated from this K-12 strain after induction with UV light. This phage, designated as PA-2, is similar in morphology and several other properties to phage lambda. When strains of E. coli K-12 are lysogenized by phage PA-2, they produce protein 2 and very little protein 1. Adsorption to lysogenic strains grown under conditions where they produce little protein 1 and primarily protein 2 is greatly reduced as compared to non-lysogenic strains which produce only protein 1. However, when cultures are grown under conditions of catabolite repression, protein 2 is reduced and protein 1 is increased, and lysogenic and non-lysogenic cultures grown under these conditions exhibit the same rate of adsorption. Phage PA-2 does not adsorb to E. coli B, which appears to have a slightly different protein 1 from K-12. These results suggest that protein 1 is the receptor for PA-2, and that protein 2 is made to reduce the superinfection of lysogens.
Mobility impaired users respond differently than healthy users in virtual environments

Virtual environments VEs have been shown to be beneficial in physical rehabilitation, increasing motivation and the range of exercises that can be safely performed. However, little is known about how disabilities may impact a user's responses to a VE, which could affect rehabilitation motivation. Thus, the primary objective of this research is to understand how VEs affect users with mobility impairments MI. Specifically, we investigate the influence of full body avatars that have canes. To begin investigating this, we designed a VE that included a range of multimodal feedback to induce a strong sense of presence and was novel to the participants. Using this VE, we conducted a study with two different populations: eight persons with MI and eight healthy persons as a control. The healthy participants were of similar demographics e.g., age, weight, height, and previous VE experience to the participants with MI who walked with a cane i.e., on the basis of strict selection criteria to maintain homogeneity. This is one of the first studies to investigate how a VE can affect the gait of the users with MI, physiological response, presence, behavior, and the influence of avatars. Results of the study suggest generalizable guidelines for the design of VEs for users with MI. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An inexpensive laparoscopy system for female sterilization.

Abstract Laparoscopy has become an established procedure for female sterilization. The cost of the equipment remains excessively high, thereby reducing its availability to all physicians and patients who desire and need it. We have described an inexpensive-but highly effective-female sterilization system utilizing equipment that should cost in the range of $400.00.
Modeling loop entropy.

Abstract Proteins fold from a highly disordered state into a highly ordered one. Traditionally, the folding problem has been stated as one of predicting “the” tertiary structure from sequential information. However, new evidence suggests that the ensemble of unfolded forms may not be as disordered as once believed, and that the native form of many proteins may not be described by a single conformation, but rather an ensemble of its own. Quantifying the relative disorder in the folded and unfolded ensembles as an entropy difference may therefore shed light on the folding process. One issue that clouds discussions of “entropy” is that many different kinds of entropy can be defined: entropy associated with overall translational and rotational Brownian motion, configurational entropy, vibrational entropy, conformational entropy computed in internal or Cartesian coordinates (which can even be different from each other), conformational entropy computed on a lattice, each of the above with different solvation and solvent models, thermodynamic entropy measured experimentally, etc. The focus of this work is the conformational entropy of coil/loop regions in proteins. New mathematical modeling tools for the approximation of changes in conformational entropy during transition from unfolded to folded ensembles are introduced. In particular, models for computing lower and upper bounds on entropy for polymer models of polypeptide coils both with and without end constraints are presented. The methods reviewed here include kinematics (the mathematics of rigid-body motions), classical statistical mechanics, and information theory.
Relationship of elevated blood tyrosine to the ultimate intellectual performance of premature infants.

Blood tyrosine concentrations were followed from birth to nursery discharge in 71 premature infants fed a high protein formula supplemented by 60 mg/day of ascorbic acid. In 89% of infants blood tyrosine concentrations were abnormal, and in 38% of infants the maximum level observed was 15.0 mg/100 ml or higher. Maximum blood tyrosine levels correlated significantly with gestational age (p = In a follow-up study performed at 15 months of age, infants with high tyrosine levels had no increase in the incidence of neurological abnormalities. Between 7 and 8 years of age a second follow-up study was performed on 62 children. This included a WISC, a Wide-Range Achievement Test (WRAT), and tests for psychomotor and language maturity. Two children had died in the interval, and five of the 62 were retarded for full testing. The full scale WISC I.Q. of all children correlated with birth weight at the 10% confidence level (p = High tyrosine infants had a significantly lower performance I.Q. than low tyrosine infants (82.4 and 97.8 respectively; p = We observed no adverse effect of high tyrosine levels on the intellectual performance of smaller premature infants, who on the whole have a greater risk for other complications of prematurity.
Wisdom versus knowledge: an agenda for a more humane medical science

Knowledge is not wisdom. King Solomon knew the difference, and when he had to choose between them, he picked wisdom over knowledge. Two prostitutes came to him with a difficult case. They had both given birth within the past 3 days, and the mothers and newborns were alone together the night one infant died. Each claimed the surviving child was hers. Kings I, Chapter 3, describes Solomon’s strategy for deciding between them:
Clinical note on stuttering and cluttering in young children.

The early clonic iterations of the child between 20 and 40 months are a part of the normal speech patterns of growing children. As a rule reassurance of the parents and withdrawal of attention and concern from speech are all that is necessary. There is a group of children who start speaking late and whose familial background shows evidence of difficulty in the language area and delay in establishing a functional superiority of one side over the other. Many of these children have trouble with the enunciation of specific sounds, with vocabulary and with sentence construction. In spite of at least average intelligence these children handle speech poorly. They often show a great number of clonic iterations at an age when most children have already discarded them. Their handling of speech closely resembles the cluttering of older children and adults. Such children frequently need technical help with sounds, vocabulary and grammatical construction. Smoother production of speech and slowing up of speed will often bring about a reduction in the original iterations. The pediatrician should be aware of the fact that emotional tensions and conflicts tend to become fixed to a speech mechanism which is none too stable in these children. The cluttering child may easily turn into a stutterer. There is a larger group of children who show no familial difficulty in the language area, who talk early and quite well and who abruptly develop stuttering at some time during childhood. Some of these children display other symptoms of emotional disorder; others seem to function effectively in most areas but express their emotional conflicts principally in stuttering. These children should be referred for psychiatric help early. In older children who stutter, a careful differential diagnosis is necessary as to the relative importance of specific language and emotional factors in pathogenesis. If existing emotional difficulties seem to be the result rather than the cause of the stuttering, a more specifically technical therapy is favored; in cases where emotional factors are outstanding a psychiatric approach is to be preferred. Speech is a means of expression of the personality as well as a means of communication; severe dysfunctions in speech then may reflect a personality disorder or a disorder of interpersonal relationships or both. In the child, however, speech is also a tool which he masters as it develops. A speech difficulty in the growing child must be evaluated from both points of view.
Papillary cystadenocarcinoma in the canal of nuck

Abstract A case of papillary cystadenocarcinoma of the canal of Nuck in a white female, 34 years of age, is reported. The possible origin is considered.
Neural network techniques for robust force control of robot manipulators

In this paper a neural network force/position control scheme is proposed to compensate uncertainties in both robot dynamics and unknown environments. The proposed impedance control allows us to regulate force directly by specifying a desired force. Training signals are proposed for a feedforward neural network controller. The robustness analysis of the uncertainties in environment position is presented. Simulation results are presented to show that both the position and force tracking are excellent in the presence of uncertainties in robot dynamics and unknown environments.
Induction and reversal of long-term potentiation by low- and high- intensity theta pattern stimulation

Reversal of long-term potentiation by low-frequency stimulation is often referred to as depotentiation. However, it is not clear whether depotentiation induced by low-frequency stimulation and long-term depression (LTD) induced by similar stimuli are distinct phenomena. We have performed a series of experiments in area CA1 of rat hippocampal slices in which a single pattern of theta-burst (TB) stimulation (Larson, et al., 1986; Staubli and Lynch, 1987) was found to produce either LTP or reversal of LTP depending on the intensity of the stimulation. TB stimulation (10 trains consisting of 4 pulses at 100 Hz, 200 msec apart) delivered at test pulse-intensity induced LTP. However, the same stimulation delivered at a higher intensity (10 times that of the test pulse, evoking a maximal response) did not induce LTP or depression of control responses, but produced lasting depression of previously potentiated responses. This reversal of LTP (TB depotentiation) was observed when the stimulus was delivered between 0.5 and 110 min after induction of LTP. TB depotentiation was reversible, cumulative and saturable when high-intensity TB trains were delivered in succession. TB depotentiation was also blocked by antagonists at NMDA receptors. Low-frequency (1 Hz) stimulation induced LTD, indicating that responses were not already maximally depressed. In addition, high-intensity TB stimulation did not reverse LTD. These results suggest that depotentiation induced by maximal TB stimulation and LTD induced by low-frequency stimulation are distinct phenomena, yet share some characteristics common to forms synaptic plasticity mediated by NMDA receptor activation.
Specific heat of well-characterized Ti Be 2 at 0 and 7 T

The low-temperature specific heat at magnetic fields of 0 and 7 T, dc susceptibility, and resistivity data for two samples of Ti${\mathrm{Be}}_{2.00}$ and one sample of Ti${\mathrm{Be}}_{1.94}$${\mathrm{O}}_{0.05}$ are presented. The temperature dependence of the low-temperature specific heats of all three samples of Ti${\mathrm{Be}}_{2}$ is found to include an important ${T}^{3}\mathrm{ln}T$ term, confirming that spin fluctuations are present in Ti${\mathrm{Be}}_{2}$, the first metal besides ${\mathrm{UAl}}_{2}$ where such a ${T}^{3}\mathrm{ln}T$ term has been found. Evidence for a magnetic impurity present in one of the two pure Ti${\mathrm{Be}}_{2}$ samples is inferred from the measurements and confirmed by the same measurements on the sample with oxygen intentionally added. The impurity is thought to increase the low-temperature susceptibility, shape the resistivity, and cause a 3% decrease of the low-temperature specific heat in a 7-T field at lower temperatures. At higher temperatures in the impure samples, and at all temperatures in the purer sample of Ti${\mathrm{Be}}_{2}$, there is no change from the zero-field values in the specific heat to \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 1% in a 7-T field, in contradiction to the theoretical prediction of B\'eal-Monod. These field results are discussed with respect to the recent measurements of the low-temperature specific heats in a field of Pd and Lu${\mathrm{Co}}_{2}$. Previous low-temperature specific-heat results on Ti${\mathrm{Be}}_{2.06}$ and Ti${\mathrm{Be}}_{1.79}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{0.21}$ are also discussed.
Synthesis of the Mammalian Telomere Lagging Strand in Vitro

Using a synthetic telomere DNA template and whole cell extracts, we have identified proteins capable of synthesizing the telomere complementary strand. Synthesis of the complementary strand required a DNA template consisting of 10 repeats of the human telomeric sequence d(TTAGGG) and deoxy- and ribonucleosidetriphosphates and was inhibited by neutralizing antibodies to DNA polymerase α. No evidence for RNA-independent synthesis of the lagging strand was observed, suggesting that a stable DNA secondary structure capable of priming the lagging strand is unlikely. Purified DNA polymerase α/primase was capable of catalyzing synthesis of the lagging strand with the same requirements as those observed in crude cell extracts. A ladder of products was observed with an interval of six bases, suggesting a unique RNA priming site and site-specific pausing or dissociation of polymerase α on the d(TTAGGG)10 template. Removal of the RNA primers was observed upon the addition of purified RNase HI. By varying the input rNTP, the RNA priming site was determined to be opposite the 3′ thymidine nucleotide generating a five-base RNA primer with the sequence 5′-AACCC. The addition of UTP did not increase the efficiency of priming and extension, suggesting that the five-base RNA primer is sufficient for extension with dNTPs by DNA polymerase α. This represents the first experimental evidence for RNA priming and DNA extension as the mechanism of mammalian telomeric lagging strand replication.
Sleeping Beauty awakens

Comment on Huang et al, page [483][1] In this issue of Blood, Huang and colleagues demonstrate that the gene therapy vector system derived from the transposon system ( Sleeping Beauty ) can mediate stable gene transfer into unactivated primary human T lymphocytes. Gene delivery to peripheral
Abnormalities of Retinal Metabolism in Diabetes or Experimental Galactosemia. IV. Antioxidant Defense System

Activities of enzymes that protect the retina from reactive oxygen species were investigated in experimentally diabetic rats and experimentally galactosemic rats, two animal models known to develop vascular lesions consistent with diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes or experimental galactosemia of 2 months duration significantly decreased the activities of glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase in the retina while having no effect on the glutathione synthesizing enzymes glutathione synthetase and gamma-glutamyl cysteine synthetase. Activities of two other important antioxidant defense enzymes-superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase-also were decreased (by more than 25%) in retinas of diabetic rats and galactosemic rats. Administration of supplemental antioxidants, vitamins C and E, for the 2 months prevented the diabetes-induced impairment of antioxidant defense system in the retina. In experimentally galactosemic rats, the supplemental antioxidants were not as effective: SOD activity was normalized, but the enzymes of the glutathione redox cycle were only partly restored, and the subnormal catalase activity was unaffected. Diabetes or experimental galactosemia results in significant impairment of the antioxidant defense system in the retina, and exogenous antioxidant supplementation can help alleviate the subnormal activities of antioxidant defense enzymes.
Diode laser linewidth reduction using Rayleigh backscattering from a fiber-optic ring resonator

A stable, ultranarrow linewidth diode laser has many uses ranging from precision optical measurements to microwave signal generation and optical communication. A variety of electrical and optical feedback techniques for narrowing laser linewidth have been demonstrated.1 Rayleigh backscattering from a length of optical fiber can dramatically reduce instantaneous linewidth but it also induces rapid frequency hopping.2,3 Frequency selective Rayleigh backscattering emitted from a fiber ring resonator, however, allows for similar linewidth reduction without such frequency hopping.4 We present for the first time, to our knowledge, quantitative experimental evidence indicating subhertz linewidth and frequency stability using this technique.
Uptake and metabolism of cisplatin by rat kidney

Uptake and metabolism of cisplatin by rat kidney. Cisplatin, an effective antineoplastic agent, is toxic to the kidney. Since the kidney's vulnerability to cisplatin may originate in its ability to accumulate and retain platinum to a greater degree than other organs, we studied the characteristics of the renal accumulation of platinum and investigated the nature of intracellular platinum. Cisplatin and ethylenediammine-dichloroplatinum, nephrotoxic and antineoplastic liganded platinum compounds, were concentrated in rat renal cortical slices fivefold above medium concentration. Platinum uptake was energy- and temperature-dependent and could be inhibited by drugs which inhibit base transport. The organic anions para-aminohippurate and pyrazinoate did not reduce renal slice platinum uptake. Unbound platinum in the blood and urine was predominantly cisplatin but unbound platinum in kidney cytosol was not. This latter compound, in contrast to cisplatin, was not active as a mutagen. These studies suggest that the kidney accumulates platinum in part by transport or specific binding to the base transport system in the kidney and biotransforms it intracellularly. Unbound platinum in the cell is not cisplatin and may no longer be toxic. Captation et metabolisme du cisplatine par le rein de rat. Le cisplatine, un agent anti-neoplasique efficace, est toxique pour le rein. Puisque la vulnerabilite du rein au cisplatine pourrait provenir de sa capacite d'accumuler et de conserver le platine a un degre plus eleve que d'autres organes, nous avons etudie les caracteristiques de l'accumulation renale de platine et cherche la nature du platine intra-cellulaire. Le cisplatine et l'ethylenediamminedichloroplatine, des composes nephro-toxiques et anti-neoplasiques lies au platine, etaient concentres dans des tranches corticales renales de rat cinq fois plus que la concentration du milieu. La captation du platine etait dependante de l'energie et de la temperature, et pouvait etre inhibee par des medicaments qui inhibent le transport des bases. Les anions organiques para-aminohippurate et pyrazinoate ne diminuaient pas la captation du platine par les tranches renales. Le platine non lie dans le sang et l'urine etait de facon predominante du cisplatine, mais le platine non lie dans le cytosol de rein n'en etait pas. Ce dernier compose, contrairement au cisplatine, n'etait pas actif en tant que mutagene. Ces etudes suggerent que le rein accumule le platine en partie par un transport ou par une liaison specifique au systeme de transport des bases dans le rein, et le biotransforme dans les cellules. Le platine non lie dans la cellule n'est pas du cisplatine et pourrait ne plus etre toxique.
Spin-dependent synchrotron x-ray excitations studied by scanning tunneling microscopy

The ability to position a sharp probe in close proximity to a sample while the surface is illuminated by synchrotron x-rays opens a path to localized spectroscopy and imaging with chemical and magnetic contrast. We have employed a scanning tunneling microscope for the local study of synchrotron x-ray magnetic circular dichroism of micron-sized NiFe rings. Spectra have been obtained by an insulator-coated tip positioned about 200 nm over the sample surface. A negative sample bias is required in order to enhance the dichroism signal at the tip.
Ca2+/Calmodulin reverses phosphatidylinositol 3,4, 5-trisphosphate-dependent inhibition of regulators of G protein-signaling GTPase-activating protein activity.

Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS proteins) are GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) for Gi and/or Gq class G protein α subunits. RGS GAP activity is inhibited by phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3) but not by other lipid phosphoinositides or diacylglycerol. Both the negatively charged head group and long chain fatty acids (C16) are required for binding and inhibition of GAP activity. Amino acid substitutions in helix 5 within the RGS domain of RGS4 reduce binding affinity and inhibition by PIP3 but do not affect inhibition of GAP activity by palmitoylation. Conversely, the GAP activity of a palmitoylation-resistant mutant RGS4 is inhibited by PIP3. Calmodulin binds all RGS proteins we tested in a Ca2+-dependent manner but does not directly affect GAP activity. Indeed, Ca2+/calmodulin binds a complex of RGS4 and a transition state analog of Gαi1-GDP-AlF4−. Ca2+/calmodulin reverses PIP3-mediated but not palmitoylation-mediated inhibition of GAP activity. Ca2+/calmodulin competition with PIP3 may provide an intracellular mechanism for feedback regulation of Ca2+ signaling evoked by G protein-coupled agonists.
Physical phenomena, hyperspectral bands, and metrics for coastal bathymetry

This investigation explores how hyperspectral distance metrics may be used as indicators of relative water depth in a coastal region. Spectral reflectance characteristics of near-shore waters imaged by an airborne hyperspectral sensor are examined. Commonly used hyperspectral distance metrics are applied to the data with the goal of distinguishing the spectra derived from various water depths. To improve the separability of the spectra, this study also examines, for one distance metric, the effect of processing only a subset of spectral bands recorded by the sensor. The concept of selecting a subset of bands extends to improving the performance of algorithms that process hyperspectral data for detection, classification, or estimation. An additional benefit is reducing the dimensionality of the dat and, thereby, the computational load. The key to reaching both of these objectives is to understand and match physical processes to appropriate mathematical metrics performance measures in a comprehensive framework. The overall process is driven both by empirical analysis of hyperspectral data and by mathematical examination of the spectra.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Space-Division Multiplexing Technologies for High Capacity Transmission

We investigate technologies for SDM transmission using few-mode fibers, including inline erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, and wavelength-selective switches and gain flattening filters based on spatial light modulators.
Skin Pigmentation and Pharmacokinetics of Melanotan-I in Humans

A comparative pharmacokinetic trial was performed with a superpotent synthetic melanotropic peptide, [Nle4-D-Phe7]-alpha-MSHi-13 (melanotan-I or MT-I) given by three routes of administration. Plasma levels were measured by RIA and tanning was quantiated using serial reflectometry. Doses of 0.16 mgkg-1 were administered intravenously (IV) and orally (PO), and doses from 0.08 to 0.21 mg kg-1 subcutaneously (SC), in a randomized crossover fashion to three male volunteers over five consecutive days for 2 weeks (ten doses). The results indicate that the SC dose is completely bioavailable compared to the IV dose. No detectable drug levels were observed following PO dosing. The plasma half-lives following SC dosing ranged from 0.07 to 0.79 h for the absorption phase and from 0.8 to 1.7 h for the beta-phase. Clearance ranged from 0.12 to 0.19 L kg-1 h-1 and 3.9% or less of the dose was recovered in the urine. Side-effects were minimal, consisting of occasional gastrointestinal upset and facial flushing. Significant tanning of the forehead, arms, and neck was noted following IV or SC dosing. This effect peaked at 1 week following drug administration but was still present 3 weeks after completing the ten-dose regimen. It is concluded that SC administration is an efficacious method of delivering melanotan-I.