cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diet is associated with ankle-brachial index, inflammation, and ambulation in patients with intermittent claudication.

Abstract Objective The aims of this investigation were to determine whether the daily dietary intake of nutrients by patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and intermittent claudication (IC) met recommended levels for adults older than 50 years and to determine whether meeting recommended levels of nutrients was associated with ankle-brachial index (ABI), inflammation, and ambulation of patients with PAD and IC. Methods A total of 48 patients were assessed on their dietary intake of 20 nutrients during a 3-day period. Patients were further characterized on demographic variables, comorbid conditions, cardiovascular risk factors, ABI, 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) concentration. Results Few patients met the daily recommended intakes for calcium (4%), fiber (6%), vitamin E (6%), trans fatty acids (13%), vitamin A (15%), total sugars (19%), potassium (23%), sodium (29%), saturated fat (29%), and vitamin C (31%), and none of the patients met the daily recommended intake of vitamin D (0%). Overall, patients met few of the 20 dietary recommendations as the median score was seven recommendations. Only 17 of 48 patients met more than seven of the recommendations. For the ABI regression model adjusted for age, sex, race, smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia, body mass index, and percentage body fat, the only significant predictor was total sugars (P Conclusions Patients with PAD and IC consume a low-nutrient-dense diet that is deficient in many vitamins, calcium, fruits, and vegetables and contains too much added sugar, saturated and trans fats, and processed foods. In addition, more severe PAD, greater inflammation, and ambulatory dysfunction are independently associated with aspects of a low-nutrient-dense diet, such as too much intake of added sugars, low intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and folate, and meeting the recommended intakes of only five or fewer nutrients.
The Gauge Principle, Hermann Weyl, and Symbolic Construction from the “Purely Infinitesimal”

The gauge principle is a broad moniker about invariance properties of fundamental physical laws. It stipulates that every global symmetry of a quantum field theory be replaced by a local one; in effect, that every continuous symmetry of a quantum field (the Lie group under which the field Lagrangian transforms invariantly) become a local symmetry, i.e., an invariance of the Lagrangian under which the smooth Lie group actions are allowed to differ from point to point. It has an unusual “context of discovery”: invoked on largely phenomenological grounds by mathematician Hermann Weyl, it emerged in 1918 in the context of classical general relativity and, in Weyl’s hands, led to a purely formal unification of Einstein’s gravitational theory and electromagnetism. This work prompted Weyl’s purely mathematical turn in 1925–6 to Lie theory (on representations of semisimple Lie groups and “Lie algebras”, a term later coined by Weyl for the infinitesimal linear algebraic structure of Lie groups). Both Lie groups and Lie algebras play prominent roles in the subsequent development of the gauge principle leading up to the Standard Model (SM), a compilation of quantum field theories that since 1978 is the regnant theory of matter. I suggest that the gauge principle as well as Weyl’s predominant interest in Lie theory were motivated by two complementary philosophical demands: (i) phenomenological evidential requirements of “eidetic insight” and “eidetic analysis” imposed on differential geometric construction, and (ii) the metaphysical command of “Nahewirkungphysik” Weyl associated with Leibniz, Riemann and Lie: to comprehend the world from its behavior in the infinitely small. The two requirements productively meet in Weyl’s notion of “symbolic construction”: the idea that the sense of a transcendent world portrayed in physical theory can be constitutively understood beginning from a transcendental subjectivity evidentially privileging “radical locality”, i.e., the “given to consciousness” epistemic reach (“horizon”) of linear relations within the tangent space. Radical locality is the basis of Weyl’s constitution of objectivity as an invariance with respect to manifold automorphisms, an intersubjectivity allowing arbitrary coordinates and gauge degrees of freedom of a situated constructing ego. Both concern a necessary redundancy of physical description, a philosophical puzzle that might be elucidated by revisiting the philosophical underpinnings of the gauge principle.
Distributed Optimization of Nonlinear, Non-Gaussian, Communication-Aware Information using Particle Methods

This paper presents a distributed optimization framework and its local utility design for communication-aware information gathering by mobile robotic sensor networks. The main idea of the optimization is that each robot decides based on its local utility that considers the decisions of other neighbor robots higher in a given hierarchy. The local utility is designed as conditional mutual information that captures sensing and communication properties. Sampling procedures using a specific measurement set and particle methods are applied to compute the designed utility, which allows nonlinear, non-Gaussian properties of targets, sensing, and communication. Simulation results describe the presented distributed optimization shows more improved estimates and entropy reduction than another approach that does not consider communication properties. Simulation results also verify the presented distributed optimization using the described approach for information computation has better results than using other approaches that simplify the communication-aware information.
Nonepithelial Tumors of the Larynx: Single-Institution 13-Year Review with Radiologic-Pathologic Correlation.

Nonepithelial tumors of the larynx are rare, and a systematic approach based on clinical history, patient age and gender, lesion location, endoscopic results, and pathologic correlation with imagin...
Overcoming missing data bias in water utility indicators by using nested balanced panels

Abstract This paper demonstrates a methodology for calculating trends in unbalanced panel nonrandom sample datasets, using the International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities (IBNET) dataset on more than 5000 utilities. The methodology can be used for any dataset and calculates the change, or delta, between the same unit of observation (in this case, a utility) over two consecutive years and nests these deltas to calculate an average trend for a given variable over the longest time horizon possible. We use this method to show trends in water utilities’ performance between 2004 and 2015 at a global level and to reveal differences in performance between groups of utilities. For the sake of comprehensiveness, the representativeness of IBNET is also discussed to provide more context to the dataset used. A probit analysis, conducted to shed light on the representativeness of utilities in the IBNET dataset over time, reveals that the utilities that reported their data in earlier years, in general, have a higher number of connections and perform better than the utilities that reported their data in later years. This implies that over the years, as the number of utilities reporting their data increases, more utilities outside of the bigger (more connections) and better performing utilities start reporting. In other words, in the earlier years it is the bigger and better performing utilities that first report data. In the later years, the smaller and not so well performing utilities also start reporting their data.
The Welfarist and the Psychologist: Finding Common Ground in Our Interactions with Therapy Animals

A concentrated and intentional effort to develop more acceptable mechanisms and procedures that assess and support the well-being of therapy animals is needed in the field of AAI. Attention is initially given to discussing the field’s moral and ethical obligations to ensure the welfare of therapy animals. The authors then highlight numerous takeaway points for the readers to consider that recognize how good welfare is critical for successful relationships. It is not only the correct thing to do from a moral standpoint, but it is also the sustainable thing to do to empower a relationship that is so firmly supported on a strong human–animal bond. Numerous topics are integrated including conceptualizing, considering, and implementing a cost-benefit formula, assessing the impact of therapy work on the animal, documenting best practices in the field, bridging science to best practices, as well as training future practitioners to become more aware of animal welfare tenets. An important consideration in this regard, is that the animals’ perspective is the most relevant and it always needs to be taken into consideration and improved. The impact that our interactions have on the animals’ mental and emotional state of mind must be optimized for those interactions to be acceptable. Achieving this will result in a positive development of the animals’ welfare.
Rapid assessment of DCLK1 inhibitors using a peptide substrate mobility shift assay.

Summary Peptide mobility shift assays provide a sensitive measure of kinase enzymatic activity and can be used to evaluate kinase inhibitors. Herein, we describe a protocol adapted for rapid assessment of doublecortin-like kinase inhibitors. Advantages include rapid iterations of therapeutic compound assessment and the ability to characterize kinase mutations, such as drug-resistant mutants for biological rescue experiments, on kinase activity. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Liu et al. (2020) .
Mechanisms underlying activation of retinal bipolar cells through targeted electrical stimulation: a computational study.

OBJECTIVE Retinal implants have been developed to electrically stimulate healthy retinal neurons in the progressively degenerated retina. Several stimulation approaches have been proposed to improve the visual percept induced in patients with retinal prostheses. We introduce a computational model capable of simulating the effects of electrical stimulation on retinal neurons. Leveraging this computational platform, we delve into the underlying mechanisms influencing the sensitivity of retinal neurons' response to various stimulus waveforms. APPROACH We implemented a model of spiking bipolar cells (BCs) in the magnocellular pathway of the primate retina, diffuse BC subtypes (DB4), and utilized our multiscale Admittance Method (AM)-NEURON computational platform to characterize the response of BCs to epiretinal electrical stimulation with monophasic, symmetric, and asymmetric biphasic pulses. MAIN RESULTS Our investigations yielded four notable results: (i) The latency of BCs increases as stimulation pulse duration lengthens; conversely, this latency decreases as the current amplitude increases. (ii) Stimulation with a long anodic-first symmetric biphasic pulse (duration > 8 ms) results in a significant decrease in spiking threshold compared to stimulation with similar cathodic-first pulses (from 98.2 µA to 57.5 µA). (iii) The hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channel was a prominent contributor to the reduced threshold of BCs in response to long anodic-first stimulus pulses. (iv) Finally, extending the study to asymmetric waveforms, our results predict a lower BCs threshold using asymmetric long anodic-first pulses compared to that of asymmetric short cathodic-first stimulation. SIGNIFICANCE This study predicts the effects of several stimulation parameters on spiking BCs response to electrical stimulation. Of importance, our findings shed light on mechanisms underlying the experimental observations from the literature, thus highlighting the capability of the methodology to predict and guide the development of electrical stimulation protocols to generate a desired biological response, thereby constituting an ideal testbed for the development of electroceutical devices.
Partial purification and characterization of a bacteriocin produced by Propionibacterium thoenii

A partially purified bacteriocin produced by Propionibacterium thoenii designated propionicin PLG-1 was found to be active against closely related species and exhibited a broad spectrum of activity against other microorganisms. Propionicin PLG-1 was found to be heat labile, sensitive to several proteolytic enzymes, and stable at pH 3 to 9. Propionicin PLG-1 was isolated from solid medium, partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, and purified further by gel filtration. Gel filtration experiments revealed that bacteriocin PLG-1 was present as two different protein aggregates with apparent molecular weights of more than 150,000 and approximately 10,000. Resolution of these protein aggregates by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed the presence of a protein common to both with an apparent molecular weight of 10,000.
Report on first supplemental type certification for VDL mode 3 digital voice operation

VDL mode 3 is a digital TDMA communications system developed by the FAA and industry partners as a replacement for the existing 25 kHz analog AM systems currently used for VHF aeronautical communications. VDL mode 3 provides increased channel capacity and security for both voice and data link communications. This paper provides a report on the first supplemental type certification (STC) recently issued for production ready and FAA TSO approved VDL mode 3 avionics.
Forecasting High Frequency Financial Time Series Using Parallel FFN with CUDA and ZeroMQ

Feed forward neural networks (FFNs) are powerful data-modelling tools that have been used in many fields of science. Specifically in financial applications, due to the number of factors affecting the market, models with a large quantity of input features, hidden and output neurons can be obtained. In financial problems, the response time is crucial and it is necessary to have faster applications. Most of the current applications have been implemented as non-parallel software running on serial processors. In this paper we present a parallel implementation of a FFN using GPU in order to reduce response time when a new data arrives. The problem can be conveniently represented by matrix operations implemented using the CUBLAS library. It provides highly optimized linear algebra routines that take advantage of the hardware features of the GPU. The algorithm was developed in C++ and CUDA and all the input features were received using the ZeroMQ library, which was also used to publish the output features. ZeroMQ is an abstraction over system sockets that allow chunks of data to be efficiently sent therefore minimizing the overhead and system calls. The algorithm was tested on an NVIDIA M2050 graphics card with a Intel Xeon X5650 2.67 GHz CPU for neural networks of 1000 input features, 2000 hidden neurons and 500 output neurons. Response times of the order of 900 us were obtained.
Contractible n-Manifolds and the Double n-Space Property

We are interested in contractible n-manifolds M which "split" as M = A union B where A,B, and A intersect B are all homeomorphic to Euclidean n-space (such M are called open n-splitters) or A,B, and A intersect B are all homeomorphic to the n-dimensional unit ball (such M are called closed n-splitters). We introduce a closed 4-splitter M from which we construct an infinite collection of distinct closed 4-splitters and an uncountable set of open 4-splitters.
KiNG and kinemages

KiNG and the kinemage interactive three-dimensional graphics it displays are a powerful yet easy to use system for viewing and analysing structures of macromolecules. Kinemages can be used in a variety of ways, from interactive molecular illustrations for teaching or the web, to display of high-dimensional data or detailed structural analysis for research. KiNG also provides a set of crystallographic rebuilding tools, including a novel ‘backrub’ tool for making local, non-disruptive adjustments to protein backbone that couple strongly to side-chain changes, supported by display of electron density, rotamer quality and all-atom contact analysis. KiNG includes a suite of tools for conveniently constructing kinemages from a variety of sources, as well as an extensive set of on-screen editing and drawing functions. Keywords: KiNG; Molikin; Mage; kinemage; molecular graphics; structure validation
Application of escape probability to line transfer in laser-produced plasmas

The escape probability method has been used to treat transfer of optically thick lines in laser-produced plasmas in plane-parallel geometry. The effect of self-absorption on the ionization balance and ion-level populations has been anticipated, and the effect on the laser gains in an exploding foil target heated by an optical laser has been calculated. Due to the large ion streaming motion in laser-produced plasmas, absorption of an emitted photon occurs only over the length in which the Doppler shift is equal to the linewidth. The escape probability calculated with the Doppler shift is larger than for a static plasma. Therefore, the ion streaming motion contributes significantly to the line transfer process in laser-produced plasmas. The method has been applied to both ablating slab and exploding foil targets under irradiation of a high-power optical laser. In both calculations the effect of absorption of the resonance lines on the level populations and gains is relatively large. However, the effect on the temperature and density is negligible because the radiative loss is small compared to the other losses, such as thermal transport and hydrodynamic expansion. >
Stuart Handwerger and Bruce J. Aronow (eds.): Genomics in Endocrinology: DNA Microarray Analysis in Endocrine Health and Disease

‘‘Genomics in Endocrinology’’ edited by Stuart Handwerger, M.D. and Bruce J. Aronow, Ph.D. presents a series of short articles by hormonal researchers who utilized DNA microarray techniques to analyze the expression of diverse genes in different hormone-producing and hormoneresponsive tissues. In addition, gene expression was monitored in diseased tissues using the DNA microarray approach. This monograph represents a state-of-the-art summary of the present use of DNA microarray analyses in hormonal research for readers interested in this topic. The interesting chapters by 40 some authors represent key DNA microarray findings in the field and provide a useful resource for readers to get an overview of this area of research. In addition, the introductory chapter by the editors provides a useful lead-in to the general approach, including data analyses, statistical consideration, data storage and validation, as well as potential pitfalls. The major advantage of the DNA microarray approach is certainly the high-throughput, genome-wide analyses and the identification of candidate genes important for physiological processes of interest. Although many of the chapters deal with a general survey of the expression of multiple genes, few chapters used DNA microarray data to provide molecular classification of different disease states. Of particular interest, several chapters described more advanced use of DNA microarray data, including analyses of promoter regions of co-expressed genes, identification of candidate genes related to a particular disease, advanced chromatin immuno-precipitation microarray for genes regulated by transcriptional factors, and attempts to reveal gene pathways based on expression data. The overall field is progressing from the straightforward description of gene expression patterns to the formulation of new hypotheses based on gene expression to allow a better understanding of role of genes in physiology and pathophysiology. A more appropriate title for the present monograph is probably ‘‘Transcriptomics of hormone-producing and hormone-responsive tissues’’ due to the emphasis on DNA microarray analyses and a lack of information on genomic topics such as single nucleotide polymorphism, gene copy numbers, genome-wide analyses of the phylogenetic relationship of hormone and receptor genes, identification of new hormone and receptor genes, and other genomic issues.
A periodically forced scalar ordinary differential equation

Abstract We use topological and classical methods to study the first order periodically excited differential equation, x = ƒ(x) + μg(t) . Given suitable conditions on ƒ(x) , we prove results on the number, stability and bifurcations of periodic orbits. We give several examples to illustrate both the use of qualitative techniques and errors which may arise from the application of classical methods.
International Consulting Income: An Investigation of the Tax Implications of a U.S. Individual Working in Canada

This case explores the tax consequences that arise when a U.S. individual performs services in a foreign jurisdiction. The dynamic situation allows you to explore the different tax implications for both employees and independent contractors. You must identify not only applicable U.S. law but must also research and apply the U.S.‐Canada tax treaty in determining the tax consequences.
Episodes of Aleutian Ridge explosive volcanism

Earlier workers have overlooked deep-sea bentonite beds when unraveling the Cenozoic volcanic history of an area. In the North Pacific, identification of Miocene and older volcanic episodes is possible only if both altered (bentonite) and unaltered ash beds are recognized. Our study, which includes bentonite beds, shows that volcanism on the Aleutian Ridge and Kamchatka Peninsula has been cyclic. Volcanic activity seems to have increased every 2.5 x 10(6) years for the past 10 x 10(6) years and every 5.0 x 10(6) years for the time span from 10 to 20 x 10(6) years ago. The middle and late Miocene and the Quaternary were times of greatly increased volcanic activity in the North Pacific and elsewhere around the Pacific Basin. The apparent absence of a volcanic record before the late Miocene at Deep Sea Drilling Project site 192 is the result not of plate motion, as suggested by Stewart and by Ninkovich and Donn, but rather of the diagenesis of ash layers. Major, apparently global volcanic episodes occurred at least twice in the last 20 x 10(6) years. Yet, only one major glacial epoch (the Pleistocene) has occurred. Therefore, even though glaciation coincided with an increase in Quaternary volcanism, the increased volcanism itself may not have been the primary cause of global cooling.
Sub-pixel radiometry: a three-part study in generating synthetic imagery that incorporates sub-pixel variation

A pixel represents the limit of spatial knowledge that can be represented in an image. It is represented as a single (perhaps spectral) digital count value that represents the energy propagating from a spatial portion of a scene. In any captured image, that single value is the result of many factors including the composition of scene optical properties within the projected pixel, the characteristic point spread function (or, equivalently, modulation transfer function) of the system, and the sensitivity of the detector element itself. This presentation examines the importance of sub-pixel variability in the context of generating synthetic imagery for remote sensing applications. The study was performed using the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Image Generation (DIRSIG) tool, an established ray-tracing based synthetic modeling system whose approach to sub-pixel computations was updated during this study. The paper examines three aspects of sub-pixel variability of interest to the remote sensing community. The first study simply looks at sampling frequency relative to structural frequency in a scene and the effects of aliasing on an image. The second considers the task of modeling a sub-pixel target whose signature would be mixed with background clutter, such as a small, hot target in a thermal image. The final study looks at capturing the inherent spectral variation in a single class of material, such as grass in hyperspectral imagery. Through each study we demonstrate in a quantitative fashion, the improved capabilities of DIRSIG's sub-pixel rendering algorithms.
Modulation of masseteric and digastric neural activity by stimulation of the dorsolateral cerebral cortex in the squirrel monkey

Abstract The effect of electrical stimulation of the dorsolateral cerebral cortex upon spontaneous and reflex-induced activity of the nerves supplying the masseter (extensor-jaw closing) and digastric (flexor-jaw opening) muscles was examined in the squirrel monkey. Both inhibition of masseteric activity and facilitation of digastric discharge were observed. Inhibition always preceded facilitation and was induced at lower levels of cortical stimulation. From a comparison of these data with findings previously reported, the conclusion was drawn that the cortical areas examined are organized primarily to produce extensor inhibition alone or in conjunction with flexor facilitation of the jaw musculature.
Spline element method for Monge-Ampère equations

We analyze the convergence of an iterative method for solving the nonlinear system resulting from a natural discretization of the Monge–Ampere equation with smooth approximations. We make the assumption, supported by numerical experiments for the two dimensional problem, that the discrete problem has a convex solution. The method we analyze is the discrete version of Newton’s method in the vanishing moment methodology. Numerical experiments are given in the framework of the spline element method.
IDENTIFYING MULTIVARIATE TIME SERIES MODELS

. This paper is concerned with how canonical variate analysis can be used to identify the structure of a linear multivariate time series model. The procedure used is based on that of Akaike and Cooper and Wood. A correction and a refinement are made, however. The correction is on the testing statistic and the refinement on the allowed order (p, q). Appropriate asymptotic distributions for testing zero canonical correlations are also given.
Deuteron Photo-Effect at High Energies

The cross section for the photoelectric disintegration of the deuteron by gamma-rays with energies in the range 20 to 140 Mev is calculated for various assumptions as to the interaction between neutron and proton. This interaction is taken to be central, half-exchange and half-direct, of approximately Yukawa and exponential forms, and with two effective ranges; experimental data thus far obtained on neutron-proton processes do not provide a firm basis for distinguishing between these assumptions. Only the electric dipole and electric quadrupole cross sections are found, since the magnetic dipole cross section cannot be obtained reliably without explicit reference to a meson theory of nuclear forces. Use is made of a method for approximating to "long-tailed" potentials in such a way that the deuteron wave equation can be solved in simple analytic form. The results show relatively little difference between Yukawa and exponential potentials of the same effective range, either as to total cross section or angular distribution, but an appreciable difference from earlier calculations with a square-well potential, and a dependence on effective range. In the Appendix, it is shown that at very high energies, each photoelectric multipole cross section depends primarily on the coefficient of the lowest odd power of $r$ in the expansion of the deuteron potential about the origin.
Culturally Tailored, Family-Centered, Behavioral Obesity Intervention for Latino-American Preschool-aged Children

OBJECTIVE: To test the effect of a culturally tailored, family-centered, short-term behavioral intervention on BMI in Latino-American preschool-aged children. METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, 54 parent–child dyads were allocated to the intervention and 52 dyads were allocated to an alternative school-readiness program as the control condition. Parent–child dyads were eligible if the parent self-defined Latino, was at least 18 years old, had a 2- to 6-year-old child not currently enrolled in another healthy lifestyle program, had a valid telephone number, and planned on remaining in the city for the next 6 months. The Salud Con La Familia (Health with the Family) program consisted of 12 weekly 90-minute skills-building sessions designed to improve family nutritional habits and increase physical activity. Both programs were conducted in a community recreation center serving an urban neighborhood of mostly Spanish-speaking residents. RESULTS: Forty-two percent of participating preschool-aged children were overweight or obese. Controlling for child age, gender, and baseline BMI, the effect of the treatment condition on postintervention absolute BMI was B = –0.59 (P CONCLUSIONS: A skills-building, culturally tailored intervention involving parent–child dyads changed short-term early growth patterns in these Latino-American preschool-aged children. Examining long-term effects would be a prudent next step.
Limnanthes vinculans, a New California Endemic

Limanthes vinculans (Limnanthaceae) is described as a new species belonging to section Reflexae. It is endemic to a small area of Sonoma County, California, and is most closely related toL. douglasii andL. bakeri.
Optimal Contracting with Private Knowledge of Wealth and Ability

We examine the optimal design of contracts when an agent is privately informed about his wealth, his ability, and his effort supply. We find that the agent's wealth and ability act as perfect complements in determining the power of the incentive scheme under which he operates. Only if his ability and his wealth both increase can an agent be assured of operating under a more powerful scheme. Consequently, severe under-utilization of wealth and ability arise in equilibrium. Many authors have examined the relationships among wealth, ability, economic opportunity, and financial success. The labour literature suggests that individuals with higher ability and more pronounced wealth are generally afforded greater economic opportunity and enjoy greater financial success in the marketplace.'
The ventral subiculum modulation of prepulse inhibition is not mediated via dopamine D2 or nucleus accumbens non-NMDA glutamate receptor activity.

Prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex is an operational measure of sensorimotor gating. The neural substrates of prepulse inhibition may be relevant to the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders that are characterized by sensorimotor gating deficits, including schizophrenia. Studies have demonstrated abnormalities within the hippocampal formation of schizophrenia patients, and animal studies have revealed that the hippocampus, and specifically the ventral subiculum, regulates prepulse inhibition. The ventral subiculum sends a dense glutamatergic projection to the nucleus accumbens, and the nucleus accumbens is known to potently regulate prepulse inhibition via dopaminergic and non-N-methyl-d-aspartate (non-NMDA) glutamatergic mechanisms. In the present study, we examined whether the hippocampal regulation of prepulse inhibition is mediated through subiculo-accumbens glutamatergic efferents. Intra-ventral subiculum infusion of NMDA dose dependently reduced prepulse inhibition, and this effect of NMDA was reversed by co-infusion of the NMDA receptor antagonist d,l-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (AP5). The prepulse inhibition-disruptive effect of intra-ventral subiculum NMDA infusion was not prevented by infusion of the non-NMDA receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX) into the nucleus accumbens core or shell subregions. Pretreatment with the D2 receptor antagonist haloperidol also failed to block the prepulse inhibition-disruptive effects of intra-ventral subiculum NMDA infusion. Thus, the present findings suggest that while prepulse inhibition is regulated by NMDA activity in the ventral subiculum, this effect does not appear to be mediated via nucleus accumbens dopamine D2 receptors or via nucleus accumbens non-NMDA glutamatergic substrates.
Different actions of a short-acting barbiturate on sodium and potassium conductances in invertebrate and vertebrate neurons.

Abstract In this study, the effects of methohexital are compared on the voltage-gated sodium (Na+) and potassium ion (K+) conductances of Retzius cells in the leech Macrobdella and of dorsal root cells of the chick in culture. Under current-clamp conditions methohexital prolonged the Na+-dependent action potential of neurons in the leech. This prolongation occurred in the absence of changes in resting membrane potential or the maximum rate of depolarization of the spike. The prolonged action potentials were identical to those recorded in the same neurons in the absence of outward currents [i.e. in Ca2+-free Ringer's solution containing Mn2+, tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA) and 4-aminopyridine (4-AP)]. They consisted of an initial spike, followed by a plateau lasting several hundreds of milliseconds. Both components of the action potential were Na+ -dependent and resistant to tetrodotoxin (TTX), while the plateau was selectively blocked by saxitoxin (STX), suggesting that it originated from the flow of Na+ through a conductance different from that underlying the spike potential (Johansen and Kleinhaus, 1987). Similarly, the plateau of the action potential prolonged by methohexital, described in this study was abolished by 50 μM saxitoxin. These results suggest that the action of the drug resulted from a block of repolarizing K+-conductances. This was confirmed by voltage-clamp experiments which showed that methohexital (100–1000μM) reduced both IK and IA in the Retzius cell, essential mimicking the combined effects of TEA and 4-AP (Johansen and Kleinhaus, 1986b). In contrast, in dorsal root cells, methohexital decreased the amplitude of Na+ and K+ currents equally. This modulation of ionic conductances by methohexital may be important for the sedative and anesthetic actions of the drug.
Rabies: recent advances in pathogenesis and control.

Current knowledge of rabies is reviewed, with emphasis on recent developments in virology, immunology, pathogenesis, treatment, and prophylaxis. Although only a few cases of human rabies occur annually in the United States, the infection is enzootic in wildlife, and an estimated 30,000 possible exposures requiring treatment occur each year. Rabies belongs to the family rhabdovirus, and its molecular anatomy and biochemistry of replication have been described in some detail. There have been advances in measurement of antirabies antibodies, and techniques for measuring cellular immune response have recently been developed. Early stages of infection are more fully understood, with a hypothesis to explain peripheral sequestration of virus during prolonged incubation periods. Rabies was once thought to be uniformly fatal, but a few patients have survived with aggressive supportive measures. A newly developed vaccine (soon to be licensed in the United States) has been shown highly potent for preexposure immunization and promises to be very effective for postexposure prophylaxis. Current Public Health Service recommendations for postexposure treatment are summarized. Recent research has suggested a novel approach to control of wildlife rabies through oral immunization.
Intel Local Network Architecture

Networks using Intel's Local Network Architecture promise significant benefits in resource sharing, communications multiplexing, and distributed computing.
Revisiting the Recordings of Wars Past: Remembering the Documentary Trilogy of John Huston

(1987). Revisiting the Recordings of Wars Past: Remembering the Documentary Trilogy of John Huston. Journal of Popular Film and Television: Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 27-41.
Crystal retro-engineering: structural impact on silver(I) complexes with changing complexity of tris(pyrazolyl)methane ligands.

The preparation and structures of seven new silver(I) complexes involving the parent tris(pyrazolyl)methane unit, [C(pz)3], as the donor set, {[C6H5CH2OCH2C(pz)3]Ag}(BF4), {[C6H5CH2OCH2C(pz)3]2Ag3}(CF3SO3)3, {[HOCH2C(pz)3]Ag}(BF4), {[HOCH2C(pz)3]Ag}(CF3SO3), {[HC(pz)3]2Ag2(CH3CN)}(BF4)2, {[HC(pz)3]Ag}(PF6), and {[HC(pz)3]Ag}(CF3SO3), are reported. This project is based on a retro-design of our multitopic C6H6-n[CH2OCH2C(pz)3]n (pz = pyrazolyl ring, n = 2, 3, 4, and 6) family of ligands in such a way that each new ligand has one fewer organizational feature. The κ2−κ1 bonding mode of the [C(pz)3] units to two silvers, also observed with the multitopic ligands, is the dominant structural feature in all cases. Changing the counterion has important effects on the local structures and on crystal packing. When these structures are compared to similar ones based on the multitopic C6H6-n[CH2OCH2C(pz)3]n ligands, it has been shown that the presence of the rigid parts (central arene core and the [C(pz)3] units) are...
Africa and Its Diasporas: Remembering South America

This paper explores Africa's engagements with the Diaspora in South America. It argues that the linkages have far deeper roots than is generally recognized by focusing on nineteenth-century demographic and cultural flows. The paper begins by offering broad conceptual notes on the complex connections between homelands and host lands in the Diaspora experience. This is followed by a brief survey of physical movements between South America and Africa in the nineteenth century. Finally, it looks at the cultural dimensions of this relationship, specifically focusing on religious developments and exchanges.
ANATOMY, HISTOCHEMISTRY AND FINE STRUCTURE OF THE GERMINATING EMBRYO OF PAULOWNIA TOMENTOSA

The anatomy, morphology and gross histochemistry of the germinating embryo and seedling of Paulownia tomentosa (Scrophulariaceae) is described. Cytohistological changes in the shoot apex are correlated with anatomical and histochemical differences. During the first days of germination and before leaf primordia are formed, there is a gradual increase in staining for cytoplasmic protein and RNA. Once the first leaves are initiated, the staining for these compounds remains constant in the central mother-cell zone, and further increase in protein and RNA is confined to the developing leaf primordia. Starch grains are found in all areas of the very young apex, but with anatomical maturity the grains are restricted to the central mother-cell zone. Some electron micrographs point up special cytological features.
Inadequacies of the current American Joint Committee on cancer staging system for prostate cancer

BACKGROUND Two major objectives of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system are to ensure appropriate treatments for patients and to determine prognosis. AJCC stage for distant prostate cancer includes patients with regional lymph node involvement. In the current study, the authors assessed whether patients with lymph node involvement and patients with distant metastasis, as determined using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) staging system, had similar treatment and survival duration and, thus, were grouped together appropriately in the AJCC system. METHODS In total, 4141 patients were selected from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center's Tumor Registry who initially had registered at the center between January 1, 1982, and December 31, 2001, with a diagnosis of prostate cancer; had received no treatment before presentation; and had received treatment at the center. Patients with unknown stage and patients with any other primary malignancies were excluded. Descriptive analyses of demographic and disease variables were performed. Using SEER stage groups, survival analyses and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed. RESULTS Treatments differed between patients with lymph node involvement and patients with distant metastasis. The median survival was 134 months for patients with lymph node involvement and 42 months for patients with distant metastasis. When these 2 groups were combined, as in the AJCC scheme, the median survival was 86 months. CONCLUSIONS The treatment and median survival of patients with lymph node involvement differed substantially from those of patients with distant metastasis. The current AJCC scheme for prostate cancer appeared to be inappropriate when considering its purpose, and the authors concluded that it should be revised. Cancer 2006. © 2005 American Cancer Society.
Data space mapping for efficient I/O in large multi-dimensional databases

In this paper, we propose data space mapping techniques for storage and retrieval in multi-dimensional databases on multi-disk architectures. We identify the important factors for an efficient multi-disk searching of multi-dimensional data and develop secondary storage organization and retrieval techniques that directly address these factors. We especially focus on high dimensional data, where none of the current approaches are effective. In contrast to the current declustering techniques, storage techniques in this paper consider both inter- and intra-disk organization of the data. The data space is first partitioned into buckets, then the buckets are declustered to multiple disks while they are clustered in each disk. The queries are executed through bucket identification techniques that locate the pages. One of the partitioning techniques we discuss is especially practical for high dimensional data, and our disk and page allocation techniques are optimal with respect to number of I/O accesses and seek times. We provide experimental results that support our claims on two real high dimensional datasets.
General almost automorphy.

We will propose a very general setting for the following proposition. If a linear operator Lf is almost automorphic and all bounded solutions of the homogeneous equation Lg = 0 are almost automorphic then, for almost automorphic phi, all bounded solutions of the inhomogeneous equation Lf = phi are also almost automorphic.The almost automorphy previously introduced by us will be generalized and diversified into a property which we will name "A-invariance"; and we will deal with both strong solutions and weak solutions. We will also compare our A-invariance with minimality, and propose a rather thinned-out almost periodicity that will be associated with our A-invariance.
Petroleum pitch recovery as a means of intensifying oil refining

The recovery of distillate fractions boiling below 360~ from heavy residues is one of the major tasks in enhancing petroleum refining. In standard industrial thermal processes such as delayed coking, however, the fractions recovered contain up to 32-35% of the raw material as heavy gas oil, which boils above 350-360~ In patents covering the refining of heavy petroleum residues, methods are describedfor converting these residues and recovering distillate fractions boiling only up to 360~ gas, and stillage (petroleum pitch).* From the information presented in the patent, however, it is a fairly complicated matter to determine the optimal conditions for the thermal treatment of any given residue to produce the maximum yield of distillate fractions boiling in the range characteristic of white petroleum products. These conditions can be determined only by experiment.
A Process for Assessing and Improving Business Writing at the MBA Level

Assurance of learning continues to be a hot topic in higher education. Both accreditation agencies and employers are asking a key question: Are we graduating students who actually have the knowledg...
Crack bridging in fiber reinforced cementitious composites with slip-hardening interfaces

A new crack bridging model accounting for slip-hardening interfacial shear stress is derived for randomly oriented discontinuous flexible fibers in cement-based composites, based on a micromechanics analysis of single fiber pull-out. The complete composite bridging stress versus crack opening curve (σB − δ relation) and associated fracture energy are theoretically determined. A micromechanics-based criterion which governs the existence of post-debonding rising branch of the σB − δ curve is obtained. Implications of the present model on various composite properties, including uniaxial tensile strength, flexural strength, ductility and critical fiber volume fraction for strain-hardening, are discussed together with an example of a 2% polyethylene fiber reinforced cement composite. It is found that the present model can very well describe the slip-hardening behavior during fiber pull-out which originates from fiber surface abrasion at fiber/matrix interface. In addition, the new model predicts accurately the enhanced toughness in terms of both ultimate tensile strain and fracture energy of the composite and resolves the deficiency of constant interface shear stress model in predicting the crack opening and ultimate strain, which are critical for material design of pseudo strain hardening engineered cementitious composites (ECCs).
Snoek pinning of dislocations in high purity niobium

Abstract The dislocation-interstitial interactions in two purity grades of high purity niobium rod were studied by measuring the dislocation damping as functions of time, temperature, strain amplitude and applied stress. Data were obtained using a composite Marx oscillator with resonant frequency of 50 kHz Both grades of material exhibited a decrease in dislocation damping in the 0–60°C temperature range. The observed damping decrease is attributed to the pinning of dislocations by Snoek ordering of oxygen interstitial atoms in the strain field of the dislocation line segments. An expression was developed of the form δ(t, T) − δ 0 = (δ m − δ 0 ) exp [−( t τ 0 ) 1 3 exp − ( Q 3RT )] which relates the dislocation damping behavior to the time and temperature dependence of the Snoek ordering, where δ(t, T) is the dislocation damping, δ0 and °m are the values of the damping at large and zero times respectively, t is the time, τ0 is a constant, Q is the activation energy for the diffusional process, and RT has its usual meaning. The relation was shown to be consistent with the obtained data.
WE‐D‐BRC‐02: Magnetic Field Effects On Radiation Dose Distribution

The high magnetic field associated with magnetic resonance imaging complicates the design and engineering of combined MRI‐radiation therapy systems due to the potential interactions between the magnetic field and the electron beam of the accelerator, together with the converse problem of perturbation of the MRImagnetic field by ferromagnetic materials in the structure of the accelerator system. Addressing these issues increases the cost and complexity of a combined system. Hence the need for a high magnetic field is generally viewed as a disadvantage by radiation physicists or, at best, as a necessary price to pay for imaging with MRItissue contrast. However, the effects of the magnetic field on the radiation therapy delivery system are not uniformly negative and it has been proposed that the magnetic field may be turned to advantage in reducing the secondary electrondose to the skin. It has also been hypothesized that it may be practical to utilize an appropriately oriented magnetic field to improve the dose distribution within the patient by reducing the penumbra of secondary electrons around the beam and, possibly, to provide a sharper cut‐off of the deposited dose downstream of the treatment region. If this can be done effectively it could furnish a proton‐like Bragg peak from an x‐ray treatment beam If a magnetic field is present in the volume of the lesion during treatment, the trajectories of the secondary electrons and positrons generated by the interaction of the high energy X‐ray beam with tissue, are known to be perturbed. J.J.W. Langendijk and coworkers have modeled this in terms of its effect on treatment planning. This paper reports work carried out using the EGS 5 Monte Carlo code, (which can incorporate both electric and magnetic fields), to model the dose distributions obtained in tissue with various magnetic field orientations and strengths, using typical Clinac X‐ray spectra. The following sub topics are addressed: 1. The magnitude of the effect of the magnetic field in different tissue types is computed. 2. The practicality of this approach for modifying dose distribution is assessed, based upon the magnetic field strength and magnetic field conformations that are required. A portion of the research reported here was funded by Varian Medical Systems.