cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Polyethylene glycol-conjugated superoxide dismutase fails to blunt postischemic reactive hyperemia.

We tested the hypothesis that superoxide dismutase (SOD) conjugated with polyethylene glycol (PEG-SOD) would alter hyperemia following complete global cerebral ischemia. Thirty minutes before ischemia pentobarbital-anesthetized piglets were assigned to receive 3 ml of either PEG-SOD (10,000 U/ml; n = 10), an equivalent concentration of PEG (n = 10), or saline (n = 10) in a randomized and blinded manner. Cerebral ischemia was sustained for 10 min by cross-clamping the ascending aorta. Measurements of cerebral blood flow (radiolabeled microspheres) and oxygen consumption were made before ischemia and at 2, 4, 8, 12, and 15 min of reperfusion. Plasma SOD activity was higher in PEG-SOD-treated piglets (134 +/- 8 U/ml) than in PEG or saline-treated piglets (less than 5 U/ml). All groups and all brain regions demonstrated postischemic hyperemia. There were no differences in blood flow between groups at any time point in any region. At 2 min of reperfusion, blood flow to cerebrum rose from 31 +/- 4 to 88 +/- 9 ml.min-1.100 g-1 (saline), 44 +/- 6 to 102 +/- 17 ml.min-1.100 g-1 (PEG), and 31 +/- 3 to 83 +/- 16 ml.min-1.100 g-1 (PEG-SOD). During reperfusion cerebral oxygen consumption was not different from preischemic values in any group. In conclusion, we demonstrated that exogenously administered PEG-SOD raises serum SOD activity but does not alter the patterns of early cerebral blood flow or metabolic recovery after 10 min of complete global cerebral ischemia in piglets.
Infusing aging competencies: Lessons from BSW students following service-learning assignment with older adult

This study examined the extent to which a mandatory service-learning experience impacted Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students’ attitudes and interest in working in gerontological social work and identified factors that influence a student’s desire to work with aging populations. Using a convenience sample of 51 BSW students, participants either conducted a structured life review or a friendly visitor assignment with an older adult. Participants were a diverse group of primarily female students, ranging in age from 20-57 years old. Pre- and post-survey results suggest that intergenerational service-learning in social work can be a valuable instructional technique, helping students to maintain or increase interest in working with elder populations, alleviating concerns of working in gerontological settings, and giving insights into both the challenges and rewards of this field of work. Keywords aging/gerontology; practice learning; service learning; experiential teaching methods; social work education
External loading alters trunk kinematics and lower extremity muscle activity in a distribution-specific manner during sitting and rising from a chair

Abstract Background Excess body mass alters gait biomechanics in a distribution-specific manner. The effects of adding mass centrally or peripherally on biomechanics during sitting and rising from a chair are unknown. Methods Motion analysis and lower extremity EMG were measured for fifteen healthy, normal weight subjects during sit-to-stand (SitTS) and stand-to-sit (StandTS) from a chair under unloaded (UN), centrally loaded (CL), and peripherally loaded (PL) conditions. Results Compared to UN, PL significantly increased support width (SitTS and StandTS), increased peak trunk flexion velocity (SitTS), and trended to increase peak trunk flexion angle (SitTS). During StandTS, CL significantly reduced peak trunk flexion compared to UN and PL. EMG activity of the semitendinosus, vastus lateralis and/or medialis was significantly increased in CL compared to UN during SitTS and StandTS. Conclusions Adding mass centrally or peripherally induces contrasting biomechanical strategies to successfully sit or rise from a chair. CL limits trunk flexion and increases knee extensor muscle activity whereas; PL increases support width and trunk flexion, thus preventing increased EMG activity.
When is a Human Factors Review Appropriate? Development of a Human Factors Screening Tool for Nuclear Regulatory Commission Project Managers

Human factors experts in many industries experience challenges communicating the importance of human performance issues with people from outside the human factors community. Human factors staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are addressing this situation by conducting outreach activities to ensure that NRC project managers understand the scope of human factors activities. Human factors principles were used to create a decision-support tool to help NRC project managers promptly and accurately identify human factors issues in license applications. Since the rollout and implementation of the tool, there has been a noticeable increase in prompt and accurate routing of licensing actions to the human factors experts. A description of the process used to create the desk guide and a summary of outreach activities is included in the hopes that other organizations may achieve similar results.
Boron: Enabling Exciting Metal-Rich Structures and Magnetic Properties.

ConspectusBoron’s unique chemical properties and its reactions with metals have yielded the large class of metal borides with compositions ranging from the most boron-rich YB66 (used as monochromator for synchrotron radiation) up to the most metal-rich Nd2Fe14B (the best permanent magnet to date). The excellent magnetic properties of the latter compound originate from its unique crystal structure to which the presence of boron is essential. In general, knowing the crystal structure of any given extended solid is the prerequisite to understanding its physical properties and eventually predicting new synthetic targets with desirable properties. The ability of boron to form strong chemical bonds with itself and with metallic elements has enabled us to construct new structures with exciting properties. In recent years, we have discovered new boride structures containing some unprecedented boron fragments (trigonal planar B4 units, planar B6 rings) and low-dimensional substructures of magnetically active eleme...
The Two Envelopes

You are given a choice between two indistinguishable envelopes, each containing money, one with twice as much as the other. It can be argued that each envelope has an expected value of 5/4 the value in the other envelope; thus, whichever envelope you have, you should prefer the other. The paradoxical reasoning confuses variables with constants. A correct analysis would assign a coherent probability distribution to each possible way of distributing money across the two envelopes. This leads to both envelopes having the same expected value.
Virtual Machines and Real Implementations

What does it take to implement a computer? Answers to this question have often focused on what it takes for a physical system to implement an abstract machine. As Joslin (Minds Mach 16:29–41, 2006) observes, this approach neglects cases of software implementation—cases where one machine implements another by running a program. These cases, Joslin argues, highlight serious problems for mapping accounts of computer implementation—accounts that require a mapping between elements of a physical system and elements of an abstract machine. The source of these problems is the complexity introduced by common design features of ordinary computers, features that would be relevant to any real-world software implementation (e.g., virtual memory). While Joslin is focused on contemporary views, his discussion also suggests a counterexample to recent mapping accounts which hold that genuine implementation requires simple mappings (Millhouse in Br J Philos Sci, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axx046 ; Wallace in The emergent multiverse, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014). In this paper, I begin by clarifying the nature of software implementation and disentangling it from closely related phenomena like emulation and simulation. Next, I argue that Joslin overstates the degree of complexity involved in his target cases and that these cases may actually give us reasons to favor simplicity-based criteria over relevant alternatives. Finally, I propose a novel problem for simplicity-based criteria and suggest a tentative solution.
Controlling reaction pathways of selective C–O bond cleavage of glycerol

The selective hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) reaction is desirable to convert glycerol into various value-added products by breaking different numbers of C–O bonds while maintaining C–C bonds. Here we combine experimental and density functional theory (DFT) results to reveal that the Cu modifier can significantly reduce the oxophilicity of the molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) surface and change the product distribution. The Mo2C surface is active for breaking all C–O bonds to produce propylene. As the Cu coverage increases to 0.5 monolayer (ML), the Cu/Mo2C surface shows activity towards breaking two C–O bonds and forming ally-alcohol and propanal. As the Cu coverage further increases, the Cu/Mo2C surface cleaves one C–O bond to form acetol. DFT calculations reveal that the Mo2C surface, Cu-Mo interface, and Cu surface are distinct sites for the production of propylene, ally-alcohol, and acetol, respectively. This study explores the feasibility of tuning the glycerol HDO selectivity by modifying the surface oxophilicity. The hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) reaction is an important pathway to upgrade glycerol, but a fundamental explanation for the selectivity toward breaking different number and type of the CO bonds is still lacking. Here, the authors explore the possibility of tuning the HDO selectivity by manipulating the surface oxophilicity.
Determining Bit-Error Rate When Utilizing Series-Connected Inverters as a Communications Channel

Synchronization in the AC-stacked PV-inverter topology has been shown utilizing powerline communication where a low-bandwidth synchronization signal is transmitted from the grid interface to a receiver in each inverter allowing the controls to obtain the necessary phase alignment to the grid voltage that allows for them to operate completely autonomously. The authors have been developing a channel model to describe the transmission and reception of this synchronization signal as it propagates down the powerline and the series connected power-electronic devices. This paper builds upon this model and examines the effects of the noise in the channel as it affects the reliability of the receiver to accurately determine if the synchronization signal is correct. Such reliability is key to the decentralized control of the AC-stacked PV-inverter topology. With the channel model that can determine the amount of transmitted current and the noise in the system, a power optimized transmission can be established that remains in an acceptable operating limit for reliability. Even though the results are for the AC-stacked PV-inverter architecture, the model is generalized enough for applicable for any series-connected power electronics.
Taking Complex Systems into Account When Teaching About Diabetes

The “basic sciences” are clearly important in the training of a physician by providing an understanding of the biologic basis of health and disease, a context for learning and a framework for incorporating new knowledge. The challenge of integrating basic and clinical sciences to promote learning that can be applied in medical practice has been an important driver in curricular reform. Other factors have influenced the process, e.g., the fuzzier borders between traditional laboratory-based basic science disciplines, the recognition of the importance of other disciplines (epidemiology and biostatistics) and perspectives (population health), time and financial pressures on faculty, and the perennial challenge of adding more material to the curriculum, especially without removing anything. Complex systems theory provided that framework that could be applied across a wide range of scales. This was illustrated with a case of a patient with diabetes. In addition to addressing issues at various levels, this framework also provided opportunities to think about other aspects of complex systems. Each level could be conceptualized as a network with interactions among the components that were not necessarily linear; small changes could have large effects on overall system behavior, while large changes might have little overall effect.
Who challenges disparities in capital punishment?: An analysis of state legislative floor debates on death penalty reform

In McCleskey v. Kemp, the Supreme Court tasked legislatures, rather than courts, with redressing racial disparities in capital punishment. Elected officials must then decide to amend disparate deat...
Replacing the Romantic Plantation: Horton Foote’s Dramatic Engagement from Gone with the Wind (The Musical) to Convicts

Harold Rome’s musical version of Gone with the Wind was staged in 1972-3 in London, and, though not financially successful, it had a creditable onstage run. Texas playwright Horton Foote adapted Margaret Mitchell’s very popular novel for this project, bringing with him a solid record of dramatic writing, including the Oscar-winning screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird. This paper describes Foote’s involvement with this musical production and his own personal situation during this time, showing how this experience contributed to his subsequent accomplishments. He was in fact a distant relative of Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose Uncle Tom’s Cabin affected the South much more violently than any other novel has, and his own descent from a wealthy Texas planter gave him a unique perspective on the burst of British enthusiasm for Confederate culture. Foote’s personal under-standing of the lasting impact of slavery upon his home region conflicted with the Gone with the Wind project’s sentimental vision and motivated him to develop his own dramatic description of the plantation and its unromantic reality in his play Convicts, the second drama of his great nine-play Orphans’ Home Cycle. In this play, the most significant music is that of the legendary blues guitarist Leadbelly. This essay describes the sometimes-ludicrous history of the London show and goes on to explain Foote’s subsequent confrontation of negotiations between his great-great-grandfather ‘Governor’ Albert C. Horton (1798-1865) and Louisa Picquet, a former slave, who strove to purchase her still-enslaved mother from Horton. The outcome of this transaction inspired Foote to create Soll Gautier, the half-crazed plantation owner in Convicts, a savage character no one would associate with moonlight and magnolias.
Perturbation amplitude effects of power law errors on refraction autofocus

Recent analyses have yielded non-parametric techniques that perform automatic compensation of defocusing effects in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, which arise from atmospheric refraction of the radar waveforms. The temporal variation of the delay and bending arising from atmospheric refraction can be modeled using power- law spectra. The present study investigates the effects of applying different values of the perturbation amplitude of the refraction-induced fluctuations. This investigation reveals that the subject refraction-based autofocus techniques give sharp scene refocus when applied to measured Ku-band SAR image data for various values of the perturbation amplitude of the modeled power law spectra.
Effectiveness of Aqueous Chlorine Dioxide in Minimizing Food Safety Risk Associated with Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes on Sweet Potatoes.

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is a commonly used sanitizer in the produce industry despite its limited effectiveness against contaminated human pathogens in fresh produce. Aqueous chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is an alternative sanitizer offering a greater oxidizing potency with greater efficacy in reducing a large number of microorganisms. We investigated the effect of aqueous chlorine dioxide treatment against human pathogens, Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes seeded on sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were spot inoculated (4.2 to 5.7 log CFU/cm2) with multi-strain cocktails of Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7, and L. monocytogenes and treated for 10–30 min with 5 ppm aqueous ClO2 or water. Aqueous ClO2 treatment was significantly (p < 0.05) effective in reducing Salmonella with a reduction of 2.14 log CFU/cm2 within 20 min compared to 1.44 log CFU/cm2 for water treatment. Similar results were observed for L. monocytogenes with a 1.98 log CFU/cm2 reduction compared to 0.49 log CFU/cm2 reduction observed after 30 min treatment with aqueous ClO2 the water respectively. The maximum reduction in E. coli O157: H7 reached 2.1 Log CFU/cm2 after 20 min of treatment with aqueous ClO2. The level of the pathogens in ClO2 wash solutions, after the treatment, was below the detectable limit. While in the water wash solutions, the pathogens’ populations ranged from 3.47 to 4.63 log CFU/mL. Our study indicates that aqueous ClO2 is highly effective in controlling cross-contamination during postharvest washing of sweet potatoes.
CatBoost for big data: an interdisciplinary review

Gradient Boosted Decision Trees (GBDT’s) are a powerful tool for classification and regression tasks in Big Data. Researchers should be familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of current implementations of GBDT’s in order to use them effectively and make successful contributions. CatBoost is a member of the family of GBDT machine learning ensemble techniques. Since its debut in late 2018, researchers have successfully used CatBoost for machine learning studies involving Big Data. We take this opportunity to review recent research on CatBoost as it relates to Big Data, and learn best practices from studies that cast CatBoost in a positive light, as well as studies where CatBoost does not outshine other techniques, since we can learn lessons from both types of scenarios. Furthermore, as a Decision Tree based algorithm, CatBoost is well-suited to machine learning tasks involving categorical, heterogeneous data. Recent work across multiple disciplines illustrates CatBoost’s effectiveness and shortcomings in classification and regression tasks. Another important issue we expose in literature on CatBoost is its sensitivity to hyper-parameters and the importance of hyper-parameter tuning. One contribution we make is to take an interdisciplinary approach to cover studies related to CatBoost in a single work. This provides researchers an in-depth understanding to help clarify proper application of CatBoost in solving problems. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first survey that studies all works related to CatBoost in a single publication.
Dynamic schedule management framework for aperiodic soft-real-time jobs on GPU based architectures

The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) was originally designed for the rapid creation and manipulation of images. Since then, it has evolved from being just an application-specific processing unit to supporting more general-purpose computing (GPGPU). GPU based architectures are optimized for throughput and performance per watt, which provides huge computational gains at a fraction of the power when compared to traditional CPU based architectures. As real-time systems begin to integrate more and more functionality, GPU based architectures are becoming an attractive option for them. However, in a real-time system, predictability and temporal requirements are much more important than raw performance. While some real-time jobs may benefit from the performance that all cores of the GPU can provide, most jobs may require only a subset of cores to successfully meet their temporal requirements. In this paper, we present a schedule management framework for aperiodic soft-real-time jobs that may be used by a CPU GPU system designer/integrator to select, conFigure and deploy a suitable architectural platform and to perform concurrent scheduling of these jobs. An open-source implementation of our framework is made available on GitHub. Experimental results demonstrate the utility and robustness of our framework.
The Impact of Key Retail Accounts on Supplier Performance: A Collaborative Perspective of Resource Dependency Theory ☆

Abstract Existing literature suggests that the increasing concentration in the retail industry is allowing powerful retailers to exploit their weaker suppliers, which causes the suppliers’ performance to suffer. This study takes a collaborative perspective of resource dependency theory and suggests that when suppliers engage in supply chain relationships with key retail account (KRA) customers, their performance may improve, depending on the varying levels of the supplier's and KRAs’ market shares. The empirical analysis of data from two large retailers, Wal-Mart and Target, and a broad cross-section of their suppliers provides ample support for most of the hypotheses set forth in this paper: Suppliers that depend on KRAs for a significant share of their total revenues relinquish some of their leverage in the marketplace, but as the KRAs gain market share, their suppliers’ performance tends to increase. Cumulatively, these results provide evidence of collaborative supplier–KRA relationships, such that a supplier's dependency on KRAs may positively affect supplier performance. This finding supports a more positive, symbiotic view of dependency, resulting in important implications for key account management, supply chain management, and retail research and practice.
What is in the Final Stage of Inter-Language? Tone Errors and Phonological Constraints in Spontaneous Speech in Very Advanced Learners of Mandarin

Following the research direction proposed in Zhang (Journal of Chinese Language Teachers Association 45(1):39–65, 2010, The second language acquisition of Mandarin Chinese tones by English, Japanese and Korean speakers. [Doctoral Dissertation], University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 2013, Second language acquisition of Mandarin Chinese tones—Beyond first language transfer, Brill, 2018), this study examines the tone errors and substitution patterns in spontaneous connected speech produced by L2 learners who have progressed further into advanced or superior levels of proficiency. Based on the distinct patterns of errors and substitution patterns in their speech samples, effects of phonological universals in the format of constraints, including tone markedness scales (TMS), tone-position constraints (TPC) and the obligatory contour principle (OCP), are studied. Comparisons are made between the findings about tonal acquisition made in previous studies on lower-level learners and the higher-level learners in this study. With these error data, analyses and comparisons, I argue that some effects of the above-mentioned universals are still visible (TMS and T4-T4 OCP) while others are masked. It is a special configuration of the coarticulation rule applying to T2-T4 and T2-T1 combinations that really distinguishes the tonal system found in these very advanced learners from that of the other learners and that of the native speakers of Mandarin. Pedagogical practices that are designed to re-configure this rule will allow learners at this stage of tone acquisition to proceed into native-like speech production.
Achieving Testing Effects in an Authentic College Classroom

Background:Findings from the testing effect literature suggest several ways to achieve testing effects in an authentic classroom, but few consider instructor workload, equity, and resources that de...
A Systematic Review of Cost-Effectiveness Analyses for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with significant financial burden for patients and payers. The objective of this study was to review economic models to identify, evaluate, and compare cost-effectiveness estimates for HCC treatments. A systematic search of the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases to identify economic evaluations was performed and studies that modeled treatments for HCC reporting costs and cost effectiveness were included. Risk of bias was assessed qualitatively, considering costing approach, reported study perspective, and funding received. Intervention costs were adjusted to 2021 US dollars for comparison. For studies reporting quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), we conducted analyses stratified by comparison type to assess cost effectiveness at the time of the analysis. A total of 27 studies were included. Non-curative versus non-curative therapy comparisons were used in 20 (74.1%) studies, curative versus curative comparisons were used in 5 (18.5%) studies, and curative versus non-curative comparisons were used in 2 (7.4%) studies. Therapy effectiveness was estimated using a QALY measure in 20 (74.1%) studies, while 7 (25.9%) studies only assessed life-years gained (LYG). A health sector perspective was used in 26 (96.3%) of the evaluations, with only 1 study including costs beyond this perspective. Median intervention cost was $53,954 (range $4550–$4,760,835), with a median incremental cost of $6546 (range − $72,441 to $1,279,764). In cost-utility analyses, 11 (55%) studies found the intervention cost effective using a $100,000/QALY threshold at the time of the study, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) ranging from − $1,176,091 to $1,152,440 when inflated to 2021 US dollars. The majority of HCC treatments were found to be cost effective, but with significant variation and with few studies considering indirect costs. Standards for value assessment for HCC treatments may help improve consistency and comparability.
More General and Effective Model Compression via an Additive Combination of Compressions

Model compression is generally performed by using quantization, low-rank approximation or pruning, for which various algorithms have been researched in recent years. One fundamental question is: what types of compression work better for a given model? Or even better: can we improve by combining compressions in a suitable way? We formulate this generally as a problem of optimizing the loss but where the weights are constrained to equal an additive combination of separately compressed parts; and we give an algorithm to learn the corresponding parts’ parameters. Experimentally with deep neural nets, we observe that 1) we can find significantly better models in the error-compression space, indicating that different compression types have complementary benefits, and 2) the best type of combination depends exquisitely on the type of neural net. For example, we can compress ResNets and AlexNet using only 1 bit per weight without error degradation at the cost of adding a few floating point weights. However, VGG nets can be better compressed by combining low-rank with a few floating point weights.
Some Applications of the Bayesian, Maximum-Entropy Concept in Geostatistics

Geostatistics should not be considered merely as a set of mathematical techniques for semivariogram calculation, spatial estimation and simulation, on the basis of a (usually limited) series of observations (“hard” data). It should be also considered as an approach for conducting scientific inferences in real problems; for providing the technical means which will take into account incomplete prior information (“soft” data) and the consistent rules for improving the existing state of knowledge as soon as new data become available. Within this framework, the Bayesian, maximum-entropy (BME) concept represents a significant generalization of the traditional geostatistical approaches. Certain applications of the BME concept in geostatistics are outlined, such as: the incorporation of physical constraints (“soft” data, modelling requirements etc.) into the prior analysis and estimation of random fields; the assignment of correlation functions; and the terminal decision analysis.
Hypoxia- and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-Induced Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-1α/CXCR4 Expression in Glioblastomas: One Plausible Explanation of Scherer's Structures

The morphological patterns of glioma cell invasion are known as the secondary structures of Scherer. In this report, we propose a biologically based mechanism for the nonrandom formation of Scherer's secondary structures based on the differential expression of stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1α and CXCR4 at the invading edge of glioblastomas. The chemokine SDF-1α was highly expressed in neurons, blood vessels, subpial regions, and white matter tracts that form the basis of Scherer's secondary structures. In contrast, the SDF-1α receptor, CXCR4, was highly expressed in invading glioma cells organized around neurons and blood vessels, in subpial regions, and along white matter tracts. Neuronal and endothelial cells exposed to vascular endothelial growth factor up-regulated the expression of SDF-1α. CXCR4-positive tumor cells migrated toward a SDF-1α gradient in vitro, whereas inhibition of CXCR4 expression decreased their migration. Similarly, inhibition of CXCR4 decreased levels of SDF-1α-induced phosphorylation of FAK, AKT, and ERK1/2, suggesting CXCR4 involvement in glioma invasion signaling. These studies offer one plausible molecular basis and explanation of the formation of Scherer's structures in glioma patients.
Public Management in Developing Countries: From downsizing to governance

Abstract Ten years ago public management in developing countries was reaching the end of a period in which the ‘Washington consensus’ model of a small state was dominant, with downsizing and privatization as its key mechanisms. With reform programmes in disarray and NPM an inadequate replacement, the subsequent decade has been one of ‘reculer pour mieux sauter’, with management dislodged from centre stage by a concern with the domestic and political determinants of reform. We have also seen the return of a poverty agenda, featuring education and health in central roles, to which management specialists have yet to respond fully. This review suggests the need for public management specialists to absorb a political analysis before returning to perennial management concerns.
Benefit incidence and the timing of program capture

Survey-based estimates of average program participation conditional on income are often used in assessing the distributional impacts of public spending reforms. But program participation could well be nonhomogeneous, so that marginal impacts of program expansion or contraction differ greatly from average impacts. Using the geographic variation found in sample survey data for rural India for 1993-94, the authors estimate the marginal odds of participating in schooling and antipoverty programs. Their results suggest early capture of these programs by the nonpoor. Thus, conventional methods of assessing benefit incidence underestimate the gains to India's rural poor from higher public outlays, and their loss from program cuts.
Schizophrenia: Biological Mechanisms

Schizophrenia is a chronic and severely debilitating mental disorder that affects approximately 1% of the world's population. Although schizophrenia has been recognized for over 100 years, the causes and pathophysiological mechanisms of this illness remained rather elusive until recently. Evidence obtained during the last 3 decades suggests that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the structure and function of distributed brain regions. Multiple neurotransmitter systems have been implicated, as have both gray and white matter abnormalities. These structural alterations result in synaptic miscommunication at local neuronal circuits and long-distance functional disconnectivity, with both genetic and environmental factors contributing to these deficits. This article will discuss our current understanding of the biological and neurochemical bases of schizophrenia and will describe new pharmacological, genetic, and lesion models used for testing the mechanisms that underlie this devastating disease.
Kinetic basis for the voltage-dependent inhibition of N-type calcium current by somatostatin and norepinephrine in chick sympathetic neurons

Neurotransmitter inhibition of calcium currents (ICa) can be relieved by large depolarizing prepulses. This effect has been postulated to be due either to the voltage-dependent unbinding of an inhibitory molecule from the channel or to a slow voltage-dependent gating step intrinsic to the modulated channel. According to the first hypothesis, the rate of reinhibition (reblock) following a depolarizing prepulse should depend on the concentration of active inhibitory molecules and thus should increase with the extent of inhibition. To distinguish between these models we examined the actions of norepinephrine (NE) and somatostatin (SS) on high-threshold calcium currents in chick sympathetic ganglia, using whole-cell voltage-clamp methods. As previously described in other systems, both NE and SS inhibit omega- conotoxin-sensitive N-type Ca2+ current in a voltage-dependent manner. Pertussis toxin (PTX) pretreatment prevents the inhibition of the current, while replacing GTP in the patch pipette with GTP-gamma-S results in irreversible inhibition, consistent with the involvement of a PTX-sensitive G-protein. The inhibitory responses to NE and SS are not additive, suggesting that they act at a common locus. The inhibitory response to repeated applications of NE or SS desensitizes, with little evidence for cross desensitization. The inhibition of ICa is relieved by a 15 msec prepulse to +100 mV. Following repolarization to -80 mV, ICa slowly reblocks. During prolonged applications of NE or SS the extent of inhibition decreases due to desensitization and reblock kinetics are significantly slowed (time constant increases from 60 msec to > 100 msec for both NE and SS). These results are well fit by a quantitative model in which the kinetics of reblock reflect the binding of an inhibitory molecule to the channel.
Stickstoffschnellanalyse an StÄhlen nach der Methode der Vakuumschmelzextraktion

Die Stickstoffschnellbestimmung an StAhlen nach der Methode der Vakuumschmelzextraktion zeigt oftmals unbefriedigende Ergebnisse. Es wurde gefunden, da\ bei Al-, Ti-, und Zr-haltigen StAhlen zu tiefe Stickstoffwerte erhalten werden, wobei die Minderbefunde mit zunehmendem Gehalt der Extraktionsschmelze an Kohlenstoff zunehmen. Durch die Verwendung einer Ta + Fe-Vorschmelze bei der Vakuumschmelzextraktion im Graphittiegel ist es moglich, die Ausscheidung von PrimArgraphit zu unterdrucken und eine quantitative Extraktion des Stickstoffs aus Stahlproben zu erreichen. Durch Kombination der Saugkokillenprobenahme (nach Feichtinger) mit der Vakuumschmelzextraktion (nach Feichtinger) aus einer Ta + Fe-Vorschmelze ist es moglich, quantitative Stickstoff- und Wasserstoffschnellanalysen an StAhlen in so kurzer Zeit durchzufuhren, da\ fur den Stahlwerker die Moglichkeit der Korrektur der Schmelze im Ofen noch gegeben ist.
Differential effects of chronic lorazepam and alprazolam on benzodiazepine binding and GABAA‐receptor function

1. Chronic benzodiazepine administration has been associated with tolerance and with downregulation of gamma-aminobutyric acidA (GABAA)-receptor binding and function. However, effects of individual benzodiazepines on brain regions have varied. 2. To compare the effects of chronic lorazepam and alprazolam, we have administered these drugs to mice for 1 and 7 days (2 mg kg-1 day-1) and determined benzodiazepine receptor binding in vivo with and without administration of CL 218,872, 25 mg kg-1 i.p., and GABA-dependent chloride uptake in 3 brain regions at these time points. 3. Benzodiazepine binding was decreased in the cortex and hippocampus at day 7 compared to day 1 of lorazepam, with an increase in CL 218,872-resistant (Type 2) sites in both regions. Maximal GABA-dependent chloride uptake was also decreased in the cortex and hippocampus at day 7. 4. Binding was decreased only in the cortex after 7 days of alprazolam, with no significant change in Type 2 binding. Maximal GABA-dependent chloride uptake was also decreased only in the cortex. 5. These data suggest that the effects of chronic benzodiazepine administration on the GABAA-receptor may be both region-specific and receptor subtype-specific.
Emerging knowledge of the organelle outer membranes - research snapshots and an updated list of the chloroplast outer envelope proteins.

Mitochondria and chloroplasts are two distinct organelles essential for plant viability. They evolved from prokaryotic endosymbionts and share a common ancestor with extant Gram-negative bacteria (Gray et al., 1999; Gould et al., 2008). Successful conversion of the free-living prokaryotes to the cytoplasmic organelles via endosymbiosis required conservation and adaptation of the outer membranes to the dramatic change of surroundings. In prokaryotes, the outer membrane serves as a physical barrier that protects cells from the extracellular environment and allows import of necessary nutrients, and also directly participates in interaction with other organisms (Nikaido, 2003). As part of the semi-autonomous organelles, by contrast, the outer membranes of mitochondria and chloroplasts have gained ability to participate in intracellular communication and organelle biogenesis, i.e., import and export of various ions and metabolites, import of nuclear-encoded proteins, various metabolic processes including the biosynthesis of membrane lipids, and division and movement of the organelles that require physical interaction with cytoplasmic components (Breuers et al., 2011; Inoue, 2011; Duncan et al., 2013). Our understanding of the organelle outer membranes have been advanced greatly in the last decade or so, and the last eight years have seen about a three-fold increase in the number of proteins identified or predicted to be in the chloroplast outer envelope of Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) [total 117 proteins listed in Table ​Table1;1; compare 34 proteins in Inoue (2007)]. This Research Topic is intended to provide snapshots of recent research on the organelle outer membranes. It collects seven original research, three review and two method articles, which can be divided into four groups according to the subjects – (1) outer membrane protein targeting, (2) functions, targeting and evolution of protein import components, (3) lipid metabolism, and (4) method development. Table 1 One hundred and seventeen proteins identified or predicted to be in the outer membrane of the Arabidopsis chloroplast envelope.a
A PURIFIED POLYGALACTURONASE FOR CELL WALL ANALYSIS

An endopolygalacturonase has been purified from a crude commercial preparation that is derived from cultures of Aspergillus niger. The polygalacturonase has a pH optimum of 4.5 and is relatively heat labile, losing activity when heated to 45°C. The purified preparation acts on the α-1, 4-galacturonosyl linkages present in polygalacturonic acid. It does not act on linkages present in a variety of substrates which contain virtually all of the glycosidic bond types described for the cell walls of monocots, dicots, and various fruits.
Removal of sulfides from waters and wastewaters by activated carbon

The use of activated carbon treatment for removal of sulfides from wastewaters has been shown to be an effective process. Preliminary results show dissolved sulfide reductions of 36 to 95% were achieved using Darco S51 powdered activated carbon at a dosage of 1000 mg/l to treat a synthetic wastewater containing 1–50 mg/l of dissolved sulfide. Experiments were performed over a pH range of 6.0 to 12.0; the minimum residual sulfide concentration is achieved at pH ∼ 8.5. The removal of sulfides by activated carbon can be adequately described using either a Langmuir or Freundlich isotherm. Various brands and types of activated carbon were investigated, resulting in different adsorption characteristics. The rate of sulfide removal is fast, generally reaching equilibrium in a very short time (t < 30 min). Adsorption capacities in the range of 150 to 900 μmol/g of activated carbon were observed resulting in Ce being in the range of 6.8 to 10.0 mg S/l for large applied sulfide concentrations (in the absence of heavy metals). The presence of several foreign ions (NH4+, CN−, etc.) interfered with the removal of dissolved sulfide by activated carbon adsorption due to a competition for the active sites by the sulfide species and the contaminant ions.
A preliminary investigation into the action of anagrelide: Thrombopoietin–c-Mpl receptor interactions

Objective Many studies have validated the clinical efficacy of anagrelide to reduce platelet counts in thrombocythemic conditions. With the ability to support human megakaryopoiesis in vitro using thrombopoietin (TPO), specific investigation of changes in platelet levels can be carried out in human systems. Using CD34 + stem cells and murine BaF3 cells transfected with the human or murine TPO receptor, c-Mpl (BaF3mpl), the effect of anagrelide on cell differentiation, proliferation, and signaling was examined in the presence of TPO. Methods Inhibition of TPO-mediated cell differentiation by anagrelide was evaluated by fluorescein-activated cell sorting analysis. Cell proliferation was monitored by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assays. Effect of anagrelide on TPO-mediated phosphotyrosine (pTyr) activity was examined by Western analysis of whole cell lysates. Results In the presence of TPO, anagrelide reduced the number of CD41 + cells without a reduction in the total mononuclear cell number in a dose-dependent manner. Growth inhibition was also observed in BaF3 cells transfected with human c-Mpl . Anagrelide also reduced TPO-specific pTyr activity in a species-specific manner. No inhibitory effect could be demonstrated with interleukin-3 stimulation. Conclusion Parallel dose-response effects were found in both CD41 + number and TPO-specific pTyr activity. These results suggest that anagrelide reduces TPO-mediated megakaryocyte proliferation of CD34 + cells through a mechanism that leads to inhibition of intracellular signaling events. Furthermore, data also suggest that it is a species-specific effect, with no inhibitory activity against the murine receptor. Because there is a less than 10% difference in DNA sequence homology between human and murine receptors, the difference in sequence-specific activity must reside in these amino acid differences.
Extracranial Stereotactic Radioablation*: Results of a Phase I Study in Medically Inoperable Stage I Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Introduction Surgical resection is standard therapy for patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), however, many patients are medically inoperable. We set out to investigate a new therapy akin to brain radiosurgery called extracranial stereotactic radioablation (ESR) in a phase I trial. Patients and methods Eligible patients included those with clinically staged T1 or T2 (tumor size, ≤ 7 cm) N0M0 biopsy confirmed NSCLC. All patients had comorbid medical problems that precluded thoracotomy. The median age was 75 years, and the median Karnofsky performance status was 80. ESR was administered in three separate fractions over 2 weeks. Three to five patients were treated within each dose cohort starting at 800 cGy per fraction (total, 2,400 cGy) followed by successive dose escalations of 200 cGy per fraction (total increase per cohort, 600 cGy). Waiting periods occurred between dose cohorts to observe toxicity. Patients with T1 vs T2 tumors underwent separate independent dose escalations. Results A total of 37 patients were enrolled since February 2000. One patient experienced grade 3 pneumonitis, and another patient had grade 3 hypoxia. For the entire population, there was no appreciable decline in cardiopulmonary function as measured by symptoms, physical examination, need for oxygen supplementation, pulmonary function testing, arterial blood gas determinations, or regular chest imaging. Both T-stage groups ultimately reached and tolerated 2,000 cGy per fraction for three fractions (total, 6,000 cGy). The maximum tolerated dose for this therapy in either T-stage group has yet to be reached. Tumors responded to treatment in 87% of patients (complete response, 27%). After a median follow-up period of 15.2 months, six patients experienced local failure, all of whom had received doses of Conclusions Very high radiation dose treatments were tolerated in this population of medically inoperable patients with stage I NSCLC using ESR techniques.
An economics perspective on the usefulness of decision support systems

Abstract Decision making in a decision support system is modeled as a sequential information acquisition process with noisy information sources and costly information assimilation. The net benefit from using a Decision Support Systems approach is compared to that from a Programs approach. DSS provides greater benefits for ad-hoc decisions and this advantage increases as the information sources become noisier. Programs are preferred for recurrent decisions. Increased assimilation costs decrease the number of alternatives examined.
Effects of temperature on rates in poikilotherm nervous systems: Evidence from the calling songs of meadow katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Orchelimum ) and reanalysis of published data

1. Male calling songs of 10 species ofOrchelimum were tape-recorded 9 to 52 times over ranges of ambient temperatures as great as 20 °C. 2. For each species the relation between wingstroke rate and temperature was approximately linear. Calculated regression lines had coefficients of determination (r2) between 0.76 and 0.99 (aver.r2=0.93). The slopes of the regression lines varied from 0.9 to 5.1, but when extrapolated downward toŷ=0, the lines tended to converge at 11 °C (x±SD=10.9±1.9). 3. These results are similar to those published for 27 species of crickets and known for 20 additional species of katydids. 4. In previous studies, by others, the effects of temperature on rates within poikilotherm nervous systems have generally been reported asQ10 values. Such values are appropriate if rates approximate an exponential function of temperature. However, reanalysis of 15 published data sets that were adequate to justify a comparison showed that 13 fit a linear model more closely than an exponential one. Furthermore, if one half a data set was used to predict the other half, the linear model was superior to the exponential model 26 of 30 times. The temperature ranges of the 15 data sets were as small as 12 and great as 26 Celsius degrees. 5. For those 13 data sets with anr2>0.90, the regression lines tended to converge like those of katydids and crickets. For seven species of electric fish the values ofx whenŷ (discharge rate)=0 clustered about 4 °C (x±SD=4.0±1.8 C). 6. Empirically the linear model is superior to the exponential one in (1) goodness of fit, (2) prediction of effects beyond the temperature range studied, and (3) prediction of data sets from a single or no datum. 7. The origin and slope of the linear regression are generally more useful thanQ10 values as short-hand expressions of temperature effects on rates in poikilotherm nervous systems. 8. Rates in poikilotherm nervous systems are more complex in their determinants than are rates ofin vitro chemical reactions. It is therefore not surprising that the former rates fail to show the simple exponential relations to temperature that the latter show. On the other hand, that poikilotherm nervous systems should generally have approximately linear relations to temperature and that the extrapolations of linear regression lines should tend to converge at zero rate are unexpected and reveal a need for more study of underlying causes.