cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seekers and avoiders: Using health information orientation to explore audience segmentation

Differentiation of health communication strategies can address a new type of health disparity, a communication inequity. This exploratory study collected survey data to identify online health information audience groups based on health information orientation and objective and perceived health literacy. Two groups were identified and compared showing that health information orientation could be used for systematic segmentation of the consumers of online health information. The two distinct information behaviors, health information engagement and health information apprehension, provided a stable foundation for audience segmentation. The paper discusses how the segmentation of audiences based on the reported information behaviors and information orientation can facilitate the development of targeted health communication and information engagement approaches.
Soft Phonon Mode in SnTe

The self-consistent phonon formalism, successful in the description of the quantum crystals ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ and ${\mathrm{He}}^{4}$, is here applied to a discussion of the soft $k=0$ TO mode in SnTe. Straightforward considerations allow us to arrive at a simple expression for $\ensuremath{\omega}_{\mathrm{TO}}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}(k=0)$ in the low-temperature regime. The analysis permits a quantitative fit to the temperature dependence of $\ensuremath{\omega}_{\mathrm{TO}}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}(k=0)$ over a rather wide range of temperature.
Organization of Neonatal Training Program Directors Council responds to the ACGME 2010 Proposed Standards

Organization of Neonatal Training Program Directors Council responds to the ACGME 2010 Proposed Standards
Effects of withdrawal of a serum stimulus on the protein‐synthesizing machinery of cultured fibroblasts

3T6 cells resting in medium containing 0.5% serum were stimulated to prepare for multiplication by the addition of medium containing 10% serum. After a number of hours, when the rate of preribosomal RNA synthesis, total RNA content (mainly ribosomal), and the cytoplasmic content of poly A (a measure of poly A ( + ) mRNA) were considerably elevated, the serum-rich medium was withdrawn, and the original medium replaced. The rate of preribosomal RNA synthesis began to drop within 30 minutes, but required a much longer time to fall to a new resting level. When the serum-rich medium was withdrawn after 12 hours of stimulation, the total RNA content required 12–18 hours to fall to the resting level, whereas cytoplasmic poly A content and the rate of protein synthesis declined more rapidly, reaching a new resting level within eight hours. During the 12 hours following withdrawal of the serum-rich medium an appreciable fraction of the cells initiated DNA synthesis. Presumably, the cellular preparations for DNA synthesis cannot be immediately reversed because of the inertial factors related to the protein-synthesizing machinery.
Continuity and Change: The Use of Black Labor After the Civil War

Recent work on the economic history of the Southern United States has tended to argue that with emancipation, a considerable degree of autonomy and freedom was achieved by the former slaves. Gavin Wright's (1986) views in this regard are representative. Wright denies that Blacks remained in the South because of "heavy-handed legal barriers or debt peonage or the convict labor system" (p. 91). The South, he writes, "was not a prison and there was no smoking gun to keep blacks and poor whites in the region" (p. 85). Efforts to recreate slavery, according to Wright, did not succeed. In this, Wright goes on, sharecropping, the new organizational form widely adopted after the Civil War in Southern agriculture, was not a system of coercion. Instead it represented "a balance between the freedmen's desire for autonomy and the employer's interest in extracting work effort and having labor when it was needed" (p. 86). Wright concludes that "all things considered, blacks made remarkable progress in accumulating wealth in the post bellum South" (p. 101). In contrast, Gerald David Jaynes (1986) is not as sanguine. He details a list of impediments to labor mobility which were present in the region and concludes that
Microscope Objective Based Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging of Cell-Substrate Contacts

Assembly of a high numerical objective platform for surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRI) was used to investigate a high resolution diffraction limited refractive index image of cell-substrate contacts. SPRI is a highly sensitive biochemical surface sensor measurement technique that has only recently been applied to the field of cell-biology. The nature of the refractive index measurement made at the cell-surface interface is investigated. We present SPRI measurements of several different cell types as well as multimode image comparisons with fluorescence and transmission mode microscopies to scrutinize the signal composition of the SPRI refractive index signal. While the primary correlation of the SPRI signal appears to be the cellular membrane distance to substrate, depending on the cell type, cell focal contacts, and cellular organelles can also contribute to subcellular refractive index changes at the cell-substrate interface.
Magnetoelectric coupling, Berry phase, and Landau level dispersion in a biased bilayer graphene

We study the energy spectrum of a graphene bilayer in the presence of transverse electric and magnetic fields. We find that the resulting Landau levels exhibit a nonmonotonic dependence on the electric field, as well as numerous level crossings. This behavior is explained using quasiclassical quantization rules that properly take into account the pseudospin of the quasiparticles. The pseudospin generates the Berry phase, which leads to a shift in energy quantization and results in a pseudo-Zeeman effect. The latter depends on the electric field, alternates in sign among the two valleys, and also reduces the band gap. Analytic formulas for other pseudospin-related quantities, such as the anomalous Hall conductivity, are derived and compared with prior theoretical work.
Evolution of accelerographs, data processing, strong motion arrays and amplitude and spatial resolution in recording strong earthquake motion ☆

Abstract This paper presents a review of the advances in strong motion recording since the early 1930s, based mostly on the experiences in the United States. A particular emphasis is placed on the amplitude and spatial resolution of recording, which both must be ‘adequate’ to capture the nature of strong earthquake ground motion and response of structures. The first strong motion accelerographs had optical recording system, dynamic range of about 50 dB and useful life longer than 30 years. Digital strong motion accelerographs started to become available in the late 1970s. Their dynamic range has been increasing progressively, and at present is about 135 dB. Most models have had useful life shorter than 5–10 years. One benefit from a high dynamic range is early trigger and anticipated ability to compute permanent displacements. Another benefit is higher sensitivity and hence a possibility to record smaller amplitude motions (aftershocks, smaller local earthquakes and distant large earthquakes), which would augment significantly the strong motion databases. The present trend of upgrading existing and adding new stations with high dynamic range accelerographs has lead to deployment of relatively small number of new stations (the new high dynamic range digital instruments are 2–3 times more expensive than the old analog instruments or new digital instruments with dynamic range of 60 dB or less). Consequently, the spatial resolution of recording, both of ground motion and structural response, has increased only slowly during the past 20 years, by at most a factor of two. A major (and necessary) future increase in the spatial resolution of recording will require orders of magnitude larger funding, for purchase of new instruments, their maintenance, and for data retrieval, processing, management and dissemination. This will become possible only with an order of magnitude cheaper and ‘maintenance-free’ strong motion accelerographs. In view of the rapid growth of computer technology this does not seem to be (and should not be) out of our reach.
Precision muon lifetime at PSI

The goal of MuLan, positive muon lifetime measurement, is the measurement of the positive muon lifetime to 1 ppm, which will in turn determine the Fermi coupling constant G F to 0.5 ppm precision. We will describe our experimental efforts and latest achievements.
A revision of the definition of lying as an untruth told with intent to deceive

The traditional and prevailing definition of lying is that lying is some variation or combination of: “an untruth told with intent to deceive.” I establish that this is the case, and that, as a result, contradictions and injustices arise. An alternative definition is proposed which is shown to avoid these difficulties. It is also shown that and how on the new definition the alleged “Liar paradox” is easily dissolved.
Growth and feed efficiency of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) sub-yearlings at different feeding rates

Eight groups of 30 white sturgeon with an average individual weight of 0.25 kg were fed at four different rates in a Latin square experiment for four 2-week periods. The four feeding rates (FR) were 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% of the total body weight per day (BW/day) of fish in a tank, and rations were corrected daily for expected growth. The experiment was conducted with two randomized blocks, and the feeding rates were changed within each block at the beginning of each subsequent period. The mean percent body weight increases (%BWI) for the four periods at the different feeding rates were: 3.6% (FR = 0.5%), 13.6% (FR = 1.0%), 22.3% (FR = 1.5%), and 27.1% (FR = 2.0%); where the corresponding values of feed efficiency (FE) were 0.54, 0.99, 1.04, and 0.92, respectively. The mean %BWI were significantly (P < 0.05) different betwen the four feeding rates, but only the mean FE obtained from sturgeon fed 0.5% BW/day was significantly different from the others. Neither initial body weight nor feeding period had a significant effect on the %BWI or FE, and no significant interactions were seen. The results suggest an optimal feeding rate between 1.5 and 2.0% BW/day for white sturgeon between 0.25 and 0.5 kg at 18° C.
Properties of adenylate cyclase from mouse thymus

Abstract 1. 1. Adenylate cyclase and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase were studied in mouse thymic lymphocytes and thymus epithelial and reticular tissue (stroma) ; specific activities of the enzymes were higher in stroma than in the thymocytes. 2. 2. Enzymatic characteristics of the cyclases of the thymocytes and stroma were identical in every property measured; i.e., localization in paniculate fractions, pH optima and stimulation by fluoride, catecholamines and prostaglandin E1. 3. 3. No stimulation or inhibition of the cyclases was observed in the presence of several concentrations of glucagon, ACTH, growth hormone, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, prostaglandin F2α, histamine, or insulin.
A New Tool Needed for Identifying and Characterizing Obesity

Obesity is a highly prevalent condition across the world with serious medical, psychological, and social consequences. Unfortunately, widely used simple tools to identify obesity or excess adiposity such as body mass index and waist circumference have serious shortcomings including lack of accuracy and accepted standards associated with increased health risk. Furthermore, many people with excess adiposity have little or no metabolic disturbance or increased risk for cardiovascular disease or mortality. A practical tool which incorporates several simple measures to accurately identify obese individuals at increased risk is desperately needed. The characteristics of such a potential tool are described.
Cancer pain education for patients.

Objectives: To review the basic principles of patient education, models of innovative approaches to patient education, and needs for future development in patient education. Data sources: Review articles, research studies, book chapters, personal communication, and standards pertaining to cancer pain education. Conclusions: Patient education based on principles of effective teaching and learning is the cornerstone of effective pain management. Improved methods of patient teaching combined with novel approaches to delivering appropriate pain content can lead to enhanced patient compliance with the prescribed pain medication regimen. Implications for nursing practice: Nurses are essential to improving the care of cancer patients in pain by providing patient education as a core component of professional nursing practice. The challenge remains to overcome significant barriers of limited time and resources to achieve these goals.
Creating tomorrow's intelligent electric power delivery system

The August 2003 blackout in Northeast U.S. and Southeast Canada was a potent wake-up call that electricity is indeed essential to our well being and economy. And it highlights one of the most fundamental of electric functions: getting electricity from the point of generation to the point of use. Power delivery has been part of the utility industry for so long that it is hard to imagine that this process has not already been optimized. However, the power delivery function is changing and growing more complex with the exciting requirements of the digital economy, the onset of competitive power markets, the implementation of modern and self generation, and the saturation of existing transmission and distribution capacity. Without accelerated investment and careful policy analysis, the vulnerabilities already present in today ’s power system will continue to degrade. Simply stated, today ’s electricity infrastructure is inadequate to meet rising consumer needs and expectations.
α-L-fucosidase from bull seminal plasma: Its purification and acrosome reaction promoting property

Abstract α-L-fucosidase was purified from the bull seminal plasma by chromatography on DEAE-disk, octyl sepharose hydrophobic column and HPLC. The enzyme appeared to be pure as judged by the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis both under the nondenaturing and denaturing conditions. The pure enzyme promoted the acrosome reaction of guinea pig spermatozoa in vitro. This is the first report showing that an acrosomal enzyme induces acrosome reaction which is an essential pre-requisite for the gamete interaction and fertilization.
Comparison of parametric and non-parametric feature-aided association

In an effort to improve the probability of correctly associating tracks and observations, features, which are physical properties of the target other than kinematics, are included in the association process. Unlike their kinematic counter parts, the probability distributions of the features are typically not known for all of the objects involved. This precludes the use of the parametric hypothesis tests typically used with the kinematic data to perform association. One possible solution to this problem is to assume a probability distribution for each of the features and use it in the conventional parametric test used for association. The risk is that the wrong probability distributions will be assumed and the association error probability will increase. An alternative approach is to use the feature data in a non-parametric test, a type of test that requires little or no knowledge of the probability distribution of the data. The result of the non-parametric test of the feature data is then combined with the result of the conventional parametric test of the kinematic data. As the title suggests, this paper compares the performance of these two approaches for several sets of conditions. First, since the parametric test of the kinematic data assumes the data to be Gaussian distributed, the features are drawn initially from Gaussian populations. These Gaussian distributed features are used to test both approaches and their performance curves are compared and analyzed. This process is then repeated for three non-Gaussian feature distributions. Two of these distributions belong to the same exponential family of distributions as the Gaussian Distribution however, both have heavier tails and one is a one-sided distribution. The third feature distribution used in the comparison has finite support and the experiment is designed so that perfect performance is possible. Realizing that the association error probability is not zero, the foregoing evaluations are repeated with misassociations present in the data.
Direct involvement of breast tumor fibroblasts in the modulation of tamoxifen sensitivity.

Using contact-dependent three-dimensional coculture systems and serum-free conditions, we compared the ability of estrogen receptor (ER)-α+ tamoxifen-sensitive premalignant (EIII8) or tumorigenic (MCF-7), ER-α+ tamoxifen-resistant (EIII8-TAMR) or ER-α− MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells to interact and undergo epithelial morphogenesis on association with breast tumor-derived fibroblasts. Although all breast cancer cell lines interacted with tumor fibroblasts, EIII8 and its intrinsically tamoxifen-resistant counterpart EIII8-TAMR cells were most receptive and responded with dramatic, albeit, aberrant epithelial morphogenesis. EIII8 cells underwent epithelial morphogenesis when cocultured with fibroblasts from ER-α−/PgR− or ER-α+/PgR+ breast tumors; however, EIII8 cells cocultured with ER-α−/PgR− tumor-derived fibroblasts exhibited decreased tamoxifen sensitivity compared with cells cocultured with ER-α+/PgR+ tumor fibroblasts. Fibroblast-induced tamoxifen resistance was accompanied by mitogen-activated protein kinase and Akt hyperactivation, reduced sensitivity to U0126 or LY294002, and ER-α hyperphosphorylation in the activation function-1 domain. The intrinsic tamoxifen resistance of EIII8-TamR cells correlated with constitutive ER-α hyperphosphorylation that was unaffected by the tumor fibroblasts. Our results suggest that tumor fibroblast-induced tamoxifen resistance of EIII8 cells is not mediated by epidermal growth factor receptor or insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1R axes because no correlation was found between expression levels of IGF-1, IGF-2, phosphorylated IGF-1R, or epidermal growth factor receptor, and tamoxifen sensitivity of EIII8 fibroblast cultures.
The Effect of Different Levels of Vitamin A, B Apo 8′ Carotenal and Alfalfa on Yolk Color

Abstract INTRODUCTION THERE have been many reports on ways to influence the intensity of egg yolk color. This has been reviewed by Peterson et al. (1939) and Olsen (1942) and more recently by Bunnell and Bauern-feind (1958) who also reported on a synthetic compound, B-apo-8′ carotenal, which was effective in pigmenting egg yolks when fed at low levels. This compound is a naturally occurring carotenoid found in oranges, and other fruit and in spinach and grass. Additional interest by egg breakers in more intensely pigmented yolks has been brought about by restriction of the use of certain color additives (Carlson, 1961). Parkhurst (1937) stated “It is sometimes possible to get a higher yearly average price (for eggs) if a uniformly light-yolked egg is marketed.” Information will be presented to indicate that at least in the corn belt it is still possible to produce eggs that have more yolk pigment than is …
Principal leadership and mathematics achievement: an international comparative study

This study investigated the differences and similarities in the impact of school leadership on student mathematics achievement in different global regions using TIMSS international data. Three-level unconditional and conditional hierarchical models were fitted to the data in each country. The findings showed that the variables of teacher professional development and interactions with other teachers at the student level had inconsistent influence on student achievement outcomes across countries. In all but one of the countries in the sample, the proportion of economically disadvantaged students was related to student achievement. In England there were significant differences on several key variables.
Chromia/zirconia catalysts with Cr content exceeding the monolayer. A comparison with chromia/alumina and chromia/silica for isobutane dehydrogenation

Abstract CrO x /ZrO 2 , CrO x /γ-Al 2 O 3 and CrO x /SiO 2 catalysts were prepared by wet impregnation in the loading range 0.05–14 atoms Cr nm −2 , that is below and above the monolayer capacity of support. The samples were characterized by chemical analysis, including carbon monoxide reduction and Cr VI extraction with sodium hydroxide or water, and by XRPD, UV-Vis DRS and ESR. Several Cr species were identified, namely Cr VI , Cr V (ESR γ-signal), Cr III (ESR δ-signal), small Cr III oxide clusters (ESR β-signal) and α-chromia. The relative abundance of these Cr species was found to be mainly controlled by the specific support employed and the Cr concentration. The catalytic activity in the isobutane dehydrogenation was studied at 723 and 773 K in a flow microreactor. It was found that the activity per total Cr atom was markedly higher for the zirconia-based catalysts compared with the other two systems in all the explored Cr concentration range. That is, the CrO x /ZrO 2 interaction maintains its positive effect well beyond the monolayer capacity of this support. Moreover, the catalytic activity correlated with the amount of high-oxidation state chromium (Cr VI and Cr V ), evaluated by the quantity of extractable Cr or by the consumption of carbon monoxide in the catalyst reduction. The larger concentration of mononuclear Cr V species on zirconia, confirmed here, is thought to be responsible for the higher activity of the zirconia-based catalysts, through reduction to active mononuclear Cr III species under reaction conditions.
Shifting identities and locations in Jamaica Kincaid's my garden (book): And a small place

Abstract A Small Place (1988) is an angry and provocative book about Kincaid's island of birth, Antigua, and the globalizing forces of the tourist industry. Her later My Garden (book): (1999) recounts her creation of a garden in Vermont. Both texts, in different ways, grapple with the problematic of a return to ‘origins’, whether personal or communal, in a postcolonial context whilst invoking and unravelling the myths of childhood and island life as paradisal. They can be productively read with reference to Stuart Hall's comment: “There is no going back to some primary, originary, imaginary space which is protected from the disorganizing impact of the forced integration into a global market which we call ‘modernity'” (1997). I argue that Kincaid's work negotiates between a fixed ‘originary’ space and the modem world, addressing Bhabha's views on hybridity where disjunctions of power have to be contested through a “process of cultural cross‐referencing” (1997). Both the creation of a garden in My Garden (b...
New computing systems and their impact on structural and fracture mechanics calculations

Advances made in computer technology and their impact on structural and fracture mechanics calculations are reviewed, and the computational needs for future structural systems are discussed. Special attention is given to the computer hardware, the network technology, the performance of new computing systems, and the supersystems and parallel processing and their impact on structure technology. The differences between different machines are identified.
Network-centric simulation using NCSOS

The Network-Centric Simulation Object System (NCSOS) is a prototype object- oriented, discrete-event simulation environ ment that was designed using a network-centric computing architecture. Developed primarily for use as a manufac turing system simulation environment, simulation models in NCSOS incorporate a mixture of both local and network-based simulation objects. Using NCSOS, a simulationist builds models by selecting a collection of manufacturing workstations. While some of the simulation workstation objects are located on the computer's local file system, the other workstation objects are located on a remote computer connected to the Internet. This distribution of objects is the innovative approach of network-centric simulation modeling using our environ ment. In this article, we present our simulation environment that was developed in Java using a network-centric architecture.
Dynamics of propagating phase boundaries in NiTi

Abstract Propagating boundaries of phase transformation have been generated in polycrystalline NiTi specimens under a tensile impact loading condition. Multiple strain gages were used to monitor the time evolution of the strain at different spatial locations in the specimen. Nucleation and propagation of multiple phase fronts were detected in these experiments; the phase front speed was found to be in the range between 37 and 370 m/s. The strain measurements were interpreted through the one-dimensional analysis of Abeyaratne and Knowles [1997. On the kinetics of an austenite→martensite phase transformation induced by impact in Cu–Al–Ni shape-memory alloy. Acta Mater. 45, 1671–1683] and a model of partial phase transformation in the polycrystalline specimen. The driving force for the motion of the phase front was evaluated from the measurements in order to establish the kinetic relation.
A Systems Biology Approach to Infectious Disease Research: Innovating the Pathogen-Host Research Paradigm

The twentieth century was marked by extraordinary advances in our understanding of microbes and infectious disease, but pandemics remain, food and waterborne illnesses are frequent, multidrug-resistant microbes are on the rise, and the needed drugs and vaccines have not been developed. The scientific approaches of the past-including the intense focus on individual genes and proteins typical of molecular biology-have not been sufficient to address these challenges. The first decade of the twenty-first century has seen remarkable innovations in technology and computational methods. These new tools provide nearly comprehensive views of complex biological systems and can provide a correspondingly deeper understanding of pathogen-host interactions. To take full advantage of these innovations, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases recently initiated the Systems Biology Program for Infectious Disease Research. As participants of the Systems Biology Program, we think that the time is at hand to redefine the pathogen-host research paradigm.
Intercontinental source attribution of ozone pollution at western U.S. sites using an adjoint method

[1] We use the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model and its adjoint to quantify source contributions to ozone pollution at two adjacent sites on the U.S. west coast in spring 2006: Mt. Bachelor Observatory (MBO) at 2.7 km altitude and Trinidad Head (TH) at sea level. The adjoint computes the sensitivity of ozone concentrations at the receptor sites to ozone production rates at 2° x 2.5° resolution over the history of air parcels reaching the site. MBO experiences distinct Asian ozone pollution episodes; most of the ozone production in these episodes takes place over East Asia with maxima over northeast China and southern Japan, adding to a diffuse background production distributed over the extratropical northern hemisphere. TH shows the same Asian origins for ozone as MBO but no distinct Asian pollution episodes. We find that transpacific pollution plumes transported in the free troposphere are diluted by a factor of 3 when entrained into the boundary layer, explaining why these plumes are undetectable in U.S. surface air.
Renal Interstitial ATP Responses to Changes in Arterial Pressure During Alterations in Tubuloglomerular Feedback Activity

We recently demonstrated a direct relationship between autoregulation-related changes in renal vascular resistance (RVR) and renal interstitial ATP concentrations. To assess the possible role for extracellular ATP in the regulation of tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF)-mediated autoregulatory adjustments in RVR, renal interstitial ATP concentrations were measured with microdialysis probes in anesthetized dogs at different renal arterial pressures (RAPs) within the autoregulatory range during augmented and diminished activity of the TGF mechanism. Stepwise reductions in RAP from ambient pressure (129±3 mm Hg) to 102±2 mm Hg (step 1) and 75±1 mm Hg (step 2) resulted in significant decreases in ATP concentrations from 9.0±0.8 to 6.3±0.6 nmol/L in step 1 and to 4.2±0.5 nmol/L in step 2. Changes in RVR were highly correlated with changes in ATP concentrations ( r =0.86, P −1 · min −1 , n=6), which increases solute delivery to the macula densa, thus augmenting TGF activity, significantly decreased renal blood flow (RBF) by −16±2% and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by −22±4% and increased ATP concentrations from 8.4±0.7 to 15.5±1.4 nmol/L. Although basal RBF and GFR levels were reduced by the acetazolamide infusion, autoregulation efficiency was maintained, and interstitial ATP concentrations were significantly decreased in response to reductions in RAP by −36±4% in step 1 and by −54±2% in step 2. The relationship between changes in RVR and interstitial ATP concentrations was preserved during acetazolamide treatment ( r =0.80, P r =0.22, P =0.30). These data support the hypothesis that extracellular ATP contributes to autoregulatory adjustments in RVR that are mediated by changes in activity of the TGF mechanism.
A method to determine the required number of neural-network training repetitions

Conventional neural-network training algorithms often get stuck in local minima. To find the global optimum, training is conventionally repeated with ten, or so, random starting values for the weights. Here we develop an analytical procedure to determine how many times a neural network needs to be trained, with random starting weights, to ensure that the best of those is within a desirable lower percentile of all possible trainings, with a certain level of confidence. The theoretical developments are validated by experimental results. While applied to neural-network training, the method is generally applicable to nonlinear optimization.
Multiplicative multifractal modeling and discrimination of human neuronal activity

Understanding neuronal firing patterns is one of the most important problems in theoretical neuroscience. It is also very important for clinical neurosurgery. In this Letter, we introduce a computational procedure to examine whether neuronal firing recordings could be characterized by cascade multiplicative multifractals. By analyzing raw recording data as well as generated spike train data from 3 patients collected in two brain areas, the globus pallidus externa (GPe) and the globus pallidus interna (GPi), we show that the neural firings are consistent with a multifractal process over certain time scale range (t1 ,t 2) ,w heret1 is argued to be not smaller than the mean inter-spike-interval of neuronal firings, while t2 may be related to the time that neuronal signals propagate in the major neural branching structures pertinent to GPi and GPe. The generalized dimension spectrum Dq effectively differentiates the two brain areas, both intra- and inter-patients. For distinguishing between GPe and GPi, it is further shown that the cascade model is more effective than the methods recently examined by Schiff et al. as well as the Fano factor analysis. Therefore, the methodology may be useful in developing computer aided tools to help clinicians perform precision neurosurgery in the operating room.  2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Review of Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project: Its International Aeronautical Community Role

This paper provides a brief history of the F-16XL-1 aircraft, its role in the High Speed Research (HSR) program and how it was morphed into the Cranked Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project (CAWAP). Various flight, wind-tunnel and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) data sets were generated during the CAWAP. These unique and open flight datasets for surface pressures, boundary-layer profiles and skinfriction distributions, along with surface flow data, are described and sample data comparisons given. This is followed by a description of how the project became internationalized to be known as Cranked Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project International (CAWAPI) and is concluded by an introduction to the results of a 4 year CFD predictive study of data collected at flight conditions by participating researchers.
Adipokines: Leptin and Adiponectin in the Regulation of Inflammatory and Immune Responses

Adipokines are peptides mostly secreted by adipocytes and capable of acting at both the local (autocrine/paracrine) and systemic (endocrine) levels, providing a critical link between obesity, insulin resistance (IR), and inflammatory disorders [1–3]. Although several adipokines have been described, the two that best fit the description and that are best understood are leptin and adiponectin (APN), the first two adipokines to be discovered. Other mediators, including cytokines, chemokines, and others, are also secreted by adipocytes; however, these are not strictly classified as adipokines because adipocytes are not the main source of these mediators [3, 4]. Production of adipokines by adipocytes is one of the most important ways for white adipose tissue (WAT) to influence physiological and pathological processes throughout the body, including appetite, glucose and fat metabolism, vascular health, bone strength, endocrine function, and so on. This chapter discusses leptin and APN, with emphasis on their role in regulating inflammatory and immune responses, a critical mechanism linking nutritional status and adiposity to several pathologies, such as infectious and autoimmune diseases, as well as chronic conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular (CVD) disease, and cancer.
Multi-robot task-allocation through vacancy chains

This paper presents an algorithm for task allocation in groups of homogeneous robots. The algorithm is based on vacancy chains, a resource distribution strategy common in human and animal societies. We define a class of task-allocation problems for which the vacancy chain algorithm is suitable and demonstrate how reinforcement learning can be used to make vacancy chains emerge in a group of behavior-based robots. Experiments in simulation show that the vacancy chain algorithm consistently outperforms random and static task allocation algorithms when individual robots are prone to distractions or breakdowns, or when task priorities change.
Diabetes-induced overexpression of endothelin-1 and endothelin receptors in the rat renal cortex is mediated via poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation.

SPECIFIC AIMSOxidative stress is an important event in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. It affects all three compartments of the renal cortex (glomeruli, tubulo-interstitium, and vasculatu...
A world of cytochrome P450s

The world we live in is a biosphere influenced by all organisms who inhabit it. It is also an ecology of genes, with some having rather startling effects. The premise put forth in this issue is cytochrome P450 is a significant player in the world around us. Life and the Earth itself would be visibly different and diminished without cytochrome P450s. The contributions to this issue range from evolution on the billion year scale to the colour of roses, from Darwin to Rachel Carson; all as seen through the lens of cytochrome P450.
A Closer Look at Sex Offender Character Pathology and Relapse Prevention: An Integrative Approach:

Classical psychoanalysis has been unable to adequately address the underlying narcissistic character pathology in sex offenders and sufficiently reduce relapse. Recent theoretical constructs about the nature of attachments to others and the formation of self-esteem are discussed and applied to sexually exploitative behavior A new dimension of relapse prevention-the interpersonal dimension-is described, along with an enhanced explanation of the cycle of offending behavior and the nature of high-risk situations. Principles of change and recovery to follow in the treatment of the offender character pathology are also described This deeper theoretical understanding of the motivation of sex offenders has formed the basis for treatment developed by the Counseling and Psychotherapy Center (C.P.C.). Two cases serve to illustrate this theoretical approach.
On-Orbit Flight Results from the Reconfigurable Cibola Flight Experiment Satellite (CFESat)

The Cibola Flight Experiment (CFE) is an experimental small satellite developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to demonstrate the feasibility of using FPGA-based reconfigurable computing for sensor processing in a space environment. The CFE satellite was launched on March 8, 2007 in low-earth orbit and has operated extremely well since its deployment. The nine Xilinx Virtex FPGAs used in the payload have been used for several high-throughput sensor processing applications and for single-event upset (SEU) monitoring and mitigation. This paper will describe the CFE system and summarize its operational results. In addition, this paper will describe the results from several SEU detection circuits that were performed on the spacecraft.
Enhanced transdermal delivery of testosterone across nonscrotal skin produces physiological concentrations of testosterone and its metabolites in hypogonadal men

None of the current or experimental androgen treatment modalities for male hypogonadism has been reported to produce physiological concentrations or circadian variations in testosterone (T) and its metabolites, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and estradiol (E2). This investigation describes a novel transdermal dosage form designed to enhance the delivery of native T across nonscrotal skin. The main objective was to determine whether the nightly application of two experimental transdermal patches to different sites on the body (e.g. back, chest, arms, etc.) would result in normal plasma levels of T, DHT, and E2 for men and mimic the normal circadian variation. Six hypogonadal males (aged 24-66 yr) were studied 4 weeks after stopping T ester treatment. After single application of two patches, T levels increased from a pretreatment baseline of 5.8 +/- 0.94 nmol/L (mean +/- SE; 167 +/- 27 ng/dL) to an average peak concentration of 44.1 +/- 4.8 nmol/L (1273 +/- 138 ng/dL) 5.7 +/- 0.6 h after application and reached a 24-h level of 16.9 +/- 2.9 nmol/L (488 +/- 85 ng/dL). DHT and E2 levels exhibited parallel variations within the normal reference ranges. During 4 weeks of daily evening application to various sites on the torso, the mean delivery of T from two patches was 5.2 +/- 0.1 mg/day (approximately 20% of the patch content), and morning T levels were within the normal limits. On day 28 of treatment, the 24-h plasma profiles of T, DHT, and E2 (obtained with two patches on the back) approximately mimicked the normal circadian variations reported in healthy young men. The time-averaged T level was 21.8 +/- 2.9 nmol/L (629 +/- 84 ng/dL), and the plasma concentration ratios of DHT/T (0.07 +/- 0.01) and E2/T (0.005 +/- 0.001) were within the normal range. SHBG concentrations were not significantly altered over the 4 weeks of treatment. The patches were well tolerated, except for one patient who developed a local reaction to an excipient during the third week of treatment. Two of the patients (one with Klinefelter's syndrome) completed several months of continuous therapy. T, DHT, and E2 have remained in the range of normal, and plasma LH levels in the patient with Klinefelter's syndrome became normal. Subjective improvement in symptoms has continued, and tolerability has been good in both patients. These results indicate that the enhanced transdermal delivery of T across nonscrotal skin is a patient-friendly androgen replacement modality and produces physiological concentrations of T and its metabolites, which are unattainable with other treatment modalities.
The neural correlates of gist-based true and false recognition

When information is thematically related to previously studied information, gist-based processes contribute to false recognition. Using functional MRI, we examined the neural correlates of gist-based recognition as a function of increasing numbers of studied exemplars. Sixteen participants incidentally encoded small, medium, and large sets of pictures, and we compared the neural response at recognition using parametric modulation analyses. For hits, regions in middle occipital, middle temporal, and posterior parietal cortex linearly modulated their activity according to the number of related encoded items. For false alarms, visual, parietal, and hippocampal regions were modulated as a function of the encoded set size. The present results are consistent with prior work in that the neural regions supporting veridical memory also contribute to false memory for related information. The results also reveal that these regions respond to the degree of relatedness among similar items, and implicate perceptual and constructive processes in gist-based false memory.
Teachers' Perceptions about Minimal Hearing Loss: A Role for Educational Audiologists.

A 25-item survey was administered to 45 teachers to identify what they knew about Minimal Hearing Loss (MHL) and to verify or refute five possible misperceptions reported earlier by Goldberg and McCormick Richburg (2004). Results support the importance of an educational audiologist on the service delivery team to help teachers understand the ramifications of MHL and assist in meeting the educational and psychosocial needs of students with this type of loss. Results also suggest areas for in-service education for classroom teachers, especially regarding the issue of preferential seating.
The biological effectiveness of intermittent irradiation as a function of overall treatment time: Development of correction factors for linac-based stereotactic radiotherapy

PURPOSE Continuous irradiation of relatively short duration as administered in gamma-ray stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is biologically not equivalent to the more protracted intermittent exposures during accelerator-based radiosurgery with multiple arcs. Accelerator-based SRS and fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is currently performed with a high degree of variability in equipment and techniques resulting in highly variable treatment delivery times. The present work is designed to quantify the effects of radiation delivery times on biological effectiveness. For this, the intermittent radiation delivery schemes, typical for linac-based SRS/SRT, have been simulated in vitro to derive biological correction factors. METHODS AND MATERIALS The experiments were carried out using U-87MG human glioma cells in suspension at 37 degrees C irradiated with 6 MV X-rays to clinically relevant doses ranging from 6 to 18 Gy, delivered over total irradiation times from 16 min to 3 h. The resulting cell survival data was used to calculate dose correction factors to compensate for wide variations in dose delivery times. RESULTS At each total dose level, cell survival increased with increasing total irradiation time. The increase in survival was more pronounced at higher dose levels. At a total dose of 12 Gy, cell survival increased by a factor of 4.7 when irradiation time was increased from 16 to 112 min. Dose correction factors were calculated to allow biologically equivalent irradiations over the range of exposure times. Cells irradiated with corrected total doses of 11.5 Gy delivered incrementally in 16 min up to 13.3 Gy in 112 min were found to exhibit the same survival within the experimental limits of accuracy. CONCLUSIONS For a given total dose, variations in dose delivery time typical of SRS/SRT techniques will result in significant changes in cell survival. In the dose range studied, an isoeffect dose correction factor of 2 to 3 cGy/min was shown to compensate for the change in delivery time for U-87 MG human gloma cells in vitro.
Many Worlds in Tiny Grains

Sand . The Never-Ending Story. By Michael Welland . University of California Press, Berkeley, 2009. 374 pp. $24.95, £17.95. ISBN 9780520254374.
Advances in Remote Sensing of Flooding

With the publication of eight original research articles, four types of advances in the remote sensing of floods are achieved. The uncertainty of modeled outputs using precipitation datasets derived from in situ observations and remote sensors is further understood. With the terrestrial laser scanner and airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) coupled with high resolution optical and radar imagery, researchers improve accuracy levels in estimating the surface water height, extent, and flow of floods. The unmanned aircraft system (UAS) can be the game changer in the acquisition and application of remote sensing data. The UAS may fly everywhere and every time when a flood event occurs. With the development of urban structure maps, the flood risk and possible damage is well assessed. The flood mitigation plans and response activities become effective and efficient using geographic information system (GIS)-based urban flood vulnerability and risk maps.
Distribution of Round Gobies in Coastal Areas of Lake Michigan: Are Wetlands Resistant to Invasion?

ABSTRACT Great Lakes coastal wetlands may be more resistant to invasion by certain nonindigenous species and thus serve as refuge habitats for native species. As a first step in testing this hypothesis, we investigated the distribution of round goby (Apollonia melanostomus, formerly Neogobius melanostomus) in the lower reaches of several Lake Michigan tributary systems that contain both wet-land and lake habitats near their confluences with Lake Michigan. Using fyke nets, we sampled round gobies in lake and adjacent wetland habitats in four systems in 2004 and six systems in 2005. In each macrohabitat (lake or wetland), we sampled three microhabitats (mono-dominant stands of Nuphar, beds of submersed aquatic vegetation, and bare sediment). We found that round goby catch was generally lower in wetland macrohabitats than adjacent lake macrohabitats and that round gobies appeared to prefer beds of submersed aquatic vegetation in lakes among the three microhabitats. The majority of round gobies in all habitat...
Effects of Performance Criteria during Reading Instruction on Generalized Oral Reading Fluency

Although there is some evidence that setting performance criteria may improve oral reading fluency interventions, little is known about the generalized effects of these criteria. The present study trained two third-grade students to three different fluency levels on instructional passages and assessed generalized performance in corresponding high word-overlap passages within an alternating treatments design. Results indicated no discernable differences across experimental conditions. Follow-up analyses revealed that generalized gains per trial were actually larger in lower criterion conditions, suggesting that performance criteria may not be as helpful as previously thought. The results are discussed in terms of the need to empirically investigate the number of instructional trials necessary to maximize instructional efficiency. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Allelic loss of 11q13 as detected by MEN1-FISH is not associated with mutation of the MEN1 gene in lymphoid neoplasms.

Allelic loss of 11q13 as detected by MEN1-FISH is not associated with mutation of the MEN1 gene in lymphoid neoplasms