cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of in vivo apparent pA2 analysis in assessment of opioid abuse liability

Abuse liability testing of opioid drugs was originally motivated by attempts to separate the analgesic effects of opioids from their likelihood for abuse. It has become apparent that the human population group likely to abuse opioids has little overlap with the population group requiring opioids to treat pain, therefore there is no longer a need to separate these two properties of opioids. This is fortunate, since, as reviewed here by Jim Woods and colleagues, the results of the plethora of studies that have attempted to distinguish these two properties in known opioids strongly indicate that they are inseparable. Evaluation of the abuse potential of novel opioids remains, however, critically important in deciding on governmental restrictions on their accessibility. In addition, opioid abuse liability testing contributes enormously to our understanding of the behavioral mechanism of action of these drugs, and in surprising and helpful ways has increased our appreciation of the various test systems used to garner information about them.
Thermally‐Activated Pentanol Delivery from Precursor Poly(p‐phenylenevinylene)s for MEMS Lubrication

The synthesis of two new polyphenylene vinylene (PPV) precursor polymers which can be thermally induced to eliminate pentanol is presented. Pentanol has recently been discovered to be a very useful lubricant in MicroElectroMechanical Systems. The utilization of the elimination reaction of precursor polymers to PPV as a small molecule delivery platform has, to the best of our knowledge, not been previously reported. The elimination reactions were examined using thermal gravimetric analysis, gas chromatography, and UV–Vis spectroscopy. Using PPV precursors allows for (1) a high loading of lubricant (one molecule per monomeric unit), (2) a platform that requires relatively high temperatures (>145 °C) to eliminate the lubricant, and (3) a non-volatile, mechanically and chemically stable by-product of the elimination reaction (PPV).
A group decision support system for idea generation and issue analysis in organization planning

The increasing reliance on group decision-making in today's complex business environments and advances in microcomputer, telecommunications and graphic presentation technology have combined to create a growing interest in the design of group decision support systems (GDSS). Planning is an important group decision-making activity within organizations. Effective planning depends on the generation and analysis of innovative ideas. For this reason, the idea generation and management process has been chosen as the domain for the study of the design and implementation of a GDSS to support complex, unstructured group decision processes within organizations.The MIS Planning and Decision Laboratory has been constructed to provide a research facility for the study of the planning and decision process while top executives from a variety of organizations use the laboratory to conduct actual planning sessions for their organization. This paper presents the design of a system to support the idea generation and analysis process in organization planning. Results of research conducted in the MIS Planning and Decision Laboratory on the use of the Electronic Brainstorming system with over 100 planners from a variety of organizations are presented and discussed.The findings of the research indicate that computer brainstorming stimulates task oriented behavior, decreases group interactions and equalizes participation. Information presentation, network speed and typing skills of the upper level managers were identified as possible inhibitors of the idea generation process that must be considered in the design of the system and the methodology for its use. Planners using the GDSS reported high levels of satisfaction with the process and outcome of the planning sessions. They rated the computer as an important tool for idea generation and the computer brainstorming process as "Much Better" than manual brainstorming.
Development and Initial Evaluation of a Web-Based Program to Increase Parental Awareness and Monitoring of Underage Alcohol Use: A Brief Report

The development of a Web-based parent-focused intervention to improve parental awareness and monitoring of adolescent alcohol use was preliminarily evaluated. Upon completion of baseline assessment, 67 parents were randomly assigned to the experimental Web-based parent-focused intervention or an assessment-only control condition. Participants who completed the experimental program, relative to control participants, significantly improved knowledge of problems related to underage drinking (p < .01) while improvements in overall monitoring of their children approached significance (p = .08). Improvements in monitoring by experimental participants, relative to controls, were pronounced in phone monitoring (p < .01) and indirect monitoring (p = .05). Participants in this study improved their communication about alcohol from pre- to post-intervention regardless of intervention. There were no statistical between-group differences found regarding underage drinking attitudes. This pilot evaluation demonstrates th...
Endogenous opiates and behavior: 2004

This paper is the 27th consecutive installment of the annual review of research concerning the endogenous opioid system, now spanning over 30 years of research. It summarizes papers published during 2004 that studied the behavioral effects of molecular, pharmacological and genetic manipulation of opioid peptides, opioid receptors, opioid agonists and opioid antagonists. The particular topics that continue to be covered include the molecular-biochemical effects and neurochemical localization studies of endogenous opioids and their receptors related to behavior, and the roles of these opioid peptides and receptors in pain and analgesia; stress and social status; tolerance and dependence; learning and memory; eating and drinking; alcohol and drugs of abuse; sexual activity and hormones, pregnancy, development and endocrinology; mental illness and mood; seizures and neurologic disorders; electrical-related activity and neurophysiology; general activity and locomotion; gastrointestinal, renal and hepatic functions; cardiovascular responses; respiration and thermoregulation; and immunological responses.
Prime ideals and automatic continuity problems for Banach algebras

Conditions are given for Banach algebras U and commutative Banach algebras B which insure that every homomorphism v from U into B is continuous. Similar results are obtained for derivations which either map the algebra U into itself or map the algebra into a suitable U-module.
Dairy Farm Worker Exposure to Awkward Knee Posture During Milking and Feeding Tasks

Musculoskeletal disorders are common among agricultural workers, particularly among dairy farm workers. Specifically, dairy farm workers have been identified as being at risk for knee osteoarthritis. Physical risk factors that may contribute to knee osteoarthritis include awkward postures of the knee, such as kneeling or squatting. The purpose of this study was to quantify exposure to awkward knee posture among dairy farm workers during milking and feeding tasks in two common types of milking facilities (stanchion and parlor). Twenty-three dairy farm workers performed milking and feeding tasks; 11 worked in a stanchion milking facility, and 12 worked in a parlor milking facility. An electrogoniometer was used to measure knee flexion during 30 min of the milking and feeding tasks. Milking in a stanchion facility results in a greater duration of exposure to awkward posture of the knee compared with milking in a parlor facility. Specifically, the percentage of time in ⩾110° knee flexion was significantly gre...
Internal Versus External Sources of Anti-Americanism Two Comparative Studies

To assess the relative importance of internal and external sources of anti- Americanism, both cross-sectional and longitudinal data were examined. Multiple regression analysis of the cross-sectional data—which cover 68 countries for the period 1956—1965—revealed that both internal stress and U.S. penetration affect anti-Americanism independently, with internal stress being a stronger determinant of anti-Americanism than U.S. penetration. When the countries were grouped together in regional clusters, stress was more important in generating European and Latin American anti-Americanism, while, in the Afro-Asian nations, U.S. presence was more important. Longitudinal data were collected and analyzed for Canada and Mexico, each for the period 1936-1968. Both simultaneous and time-lagged multiple regressions again showed stress and penetration as independent determinants of anti-Americanism. While, in Canada, U.S. presence was a stronger determinant of anti-Americanism than was stress, stress was more influenti...
Designing Continuous Auditing for a Highly Automated Procure-to-Pay Process

ABSTRACT : To provide real-time assurance, auditors must rely on continuous auditing. Although the need for continuous auditing is readily apparent, not many auditors have experience in implementin...
Limits on the Time Variation of the Fermi Constant G_F Based on Type Ia Supernova Observations

The light curve of a type Ia supernova decays at a rate set by the $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decay lifetimes of the $^{56}\mathrm{Ni}$ and $^{56}\mathrm{Co}$ produced in the explosion. This makes such a light curve sensitive to the value of the Fermi constant ${G}_{F}$ at the time of the supernova. Using data from the CfA Supernova Archive, we measure the dependence of the light curve decay rate on redshift and place a bound on the time variation of ${G}_{F}$ of $|\frac{{\stackrel{\ifmmode \dot{}\else \textperiodcentered \fi{}}{G}}_{F}}{{G}_{F}}|l{10}^{\ensuremath{-}9}\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{yr}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$.
Castor in Euripides' Electra ( El. 307–13 and 1292–1307)

This paper presents evidence, in the form of two passages from the Electra , that the editor of Euripides will do well not to resign himself too easily to pointless illogicality or violations of the formal regularities of tragedy or to comfort himself with the idea that illogic and meandering are ‘human’ touches, while formal incongruities are Euripides' incipient verismo .
Adenoviral Gene Transfer of Mutant Phospholamban Rescues Contractile Dysfunction in Failing Rabbit Myocytes With Relatively Preserved SERCA Function

In heart failure (HF) a main factor in reduced contractility is reduced SR Ca 2+ content and reversed force-frequency response (FFR), ie, from positive to negative. Our arrhythmogenic rabbit HF model exhibits decreased contractility mainly due to an increase in Na/Ca exchange (NCX) activity (with only modest decrease in SR Ca 2+ -ATPase (SERCA) function), similar to many end-stage HF patients. Here we test whether phospholamban (PLB) inhibition using a dominant-negative mutant PLB adenovirus (K3E/R14E, AdPLB-dn, with β-galactosidase adenovirus as control) could enhance SERCA function and restore Ca 2+ transients and positive FFR in ventricular myocytes from these HF rabbits. HF myocytes infected with AdPLB-dn (versus control) had enhanced Ca 2+ transient amplitude (2.0±0.1 versus 1.6±0.05 F/F o at 0.5 Hz, P 2+ transients declined faster in AdPLB-dn versus Adβgal myocytes (RT 50% : 317±29 versus 551±90 ms at 0.5 Hz, P 2+ load (3.5±0.3 versus 2.6±0.2 F/F o at 0.5 Hz, P 2+ load. This approach could enhance contractile function in failing hearts of various etiologies, even here where reduced SERCA activity is not the main dysfunction.
Mycophenolate mofetil in the treatment of retroperitoneal fibrosis

The pathogenesis of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (IRPF) has been attributed to an autoimmune response to atherosclerotic lipid material leaking from blood vessels. Corticosteroids and cytotoxic agents have been used for therapy. Based on the immunosuppressive and anti-fibrotic action of mycophenolate, we administered this agent to a patient with biopsy-proven IRPF and achieved a rapid, complete and sustained remission with a 6-year follow-up.
EVOLUTION IN CALIFORNIA POPULATIONS OF DIPLOID AND OCTOPLOID FRAGARIA (ROSACEAE): A COMPARISON

Genetic differentiation, physiological homeostasis, and heterozygosity were contrasted in the closely related octoploid species Fragaria chiloensis and F. virginiana, and in one of their putative diploid progenitors F. vesca. Plants from 27 natural sites supporting strawberry colonies were collected and grown in a common greenhouse. They were analyzed for 18 quantitative traits and three enzyme loci. Intra- and inter-populational variation was measured using analysis of variance techniques. Micro- and macro-environmental measurements were made at each site. Phenotypic stability of octoploid and diploid individuals was contrasted across four environmental regimes. The octoploids displayed more morphological variation, were more heterozygous, had greater physiological homeostasis, and were found across a broader range of environments. Octoploid strawberries may have broader ecological ranges than the diploids, both because they have higher levels of physiological homeostasis, and also because they have undergone more genetic differentiation. The higher levels of physiological homeostasis may be due to the fact that they are more heterozygous than the diploids. IN THIS PAPER we compare genetic differentiation, developmental homeostasis, and heterozygosity in California populations of diploid (2n = 14) and octoploid (2n = 112) Fragaria. In two companion manuscripts, we have de
Managed Care, Attitudes, and Career Choices of Internal Medicine Residents

The influence of managed care on internal medicine residents’ attitudes and career choices has not yet been determined and could be substantial. In a survey of 1,390 third-year internal medicine residents, 21% believed that managed care was the best model of health care for the United States, and 31% stated they would be satisfied working in a managed care system. Those from high managed care communities (>30% penetration) were only slightly more accepting of managed care, but were more likely to choose general internal medicine as a career (54%, p=.0009) than those from communities with lower managed care penetration.
Laser diode acoustic noise reduction

A laser diode assembly and associated heat sink and excitation leads constructed to avoid the electromagnetic or magnetostrictive generation of stress or elastic wave disturbances in the diode, heat sink or associated components so as to maintain spectral purity in the diode laser emission. An improved laser diode assembly avoids the generation of elastic waves or vibrations within the leads, heat sink or associated structure of a laser diode by running excitation leads in a magnetic field cancellation arrangement to prevent magnetostrictively induced elastic waves in structure connected to the laser diode and to avoid vibration induced by coupling between the lead currents and external magnetic fields. The heat sink, electrical input and return leads and associated structure may be fabricated of a nonmagnetostrictive material to avoid magnetostrictively induced acoustic disturbances created by other magnetic field sources in the use environment of the laser diodes.
Building a Tier 2 Intervention: A Glimpse Behind the Data

This article highlights the development process and data-driven decisions that characterized a 5-year iterative process of development and evaluation of a Tier 2 early language curriculum, Story Fr...
807-4 Normal Hemodynamic Responses to Dobutamine Infusion in the Elderly

Elderly patients undergoing conventional exercise stress testing (CST) rely predominantly on an increased preload (Starling mechanism) to augment cardiac output (CO). In contrast, younger patients rely predominantly on an increased heart rate (HR) and decreased systemic vascular resistance (SVR) to augment CO. To determine normal physiologic hemodynamic responses to incremental dobutamine Infusion in young (l65 yo) as compared to elderly (≥65 yo) patients, we analyzed the results of 50 consecutive patients with normal regional wall motion and normal ejection fraction at rest. All patients underwent 2-D echocardiography and continuous wave Doppler evaluation of the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) during each stage of the dobutamine infusion protocol. No patients developed regional wall motion abnormalities during dobutamine infusion. HR, velocity time integral (VTI) across the lVOT and end diastolic dimensions (EDD) were recorded. Stroke volume (SV = VTI × cross sectional area of LVOTL, CO (HR × SV) and SVR (80 × mean arterial pressure ÷ CO) were calculated. The mean % change from baseline of HR, Sv. EDD, SVR and CO are shown: Download : Download high-res image (58KB) Download : Download full-size image Download : Download high-res image (57KB) Download : Download full-size image Conclusion 1) There is no statistical difference in the hemodynamic response to dobutamine in young versus elderly patients. 2) Elderly patients undergoing dobutamine stress testing augment their CO by increasing HR and SV, decreasing SVR and with no change in EDD. 3) This is in contrast to that observed during CST. 4) Adequate heart rate response in the elderly might be more important during dobutamine infusion than during CST.
Adsorption of nonionic surfactants and model HEUR associative thickeners on oligomeric acid-stabilized poly(methyl methacrylate) latices

Abstract The adsorption and competitive adsorption of nonionic oxynonylphenols (average oxyethylene units 12, 40 and 100), and model hydrophobically-modified ethoxylate urethane (HEUR) thickeners onto model poly(methyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid) P(MMA-MAA) latices were studied in terms of hydrophobicity of adsorbates (hydrophobe size and concentration), oxyethylene chain length, pH, and latex surface acid concentration. The adsorption isotherms of the nonionic surfactants on oligomeric acid-stabilized P(MMA-MAA) latices can be described by the Langmuir equation. For nonionic surfactants, the pH value had a significant effect on adsorption behavior. At pH 6, the amount of the surfactants adsorbed increases as the surface-acid concentration increases (e.g. 15–20% higher than that on acid monomer-free latex for NPO(EtO) 12 H). At pH 9.5, the adsorption of NP(EtO) 12 H decreases with increasing surface acid concentration. This reverse in trend, however, was not observed with the surfactants having higher oxyethylene content, and at both neutral and alkaline conditions, greater adsorption on acid-stabilized latices than on acid-monomer-free latices was observed with all HEUR thickeners studied. This was supported by electrokinetic measurements. The competitive adsorption between the nonionic surfactant C 9 H 19 C 6 H 4 O(EtO) 12 H and model HEUR associative thickeners onto model P(MMA-MAA) latices was investigated in relation to the structure of the HEURs. Structural variables include terminal-hydrophobe size and the architecture of the internal connecting unit. The amount of surfactant adsorbed is unaffected by the presence of poly(oxyethyle)e), but is significantly reduced as the effective size of the terminal hydrophobe of the thickener and the concentration of the HEUR hydrophobe are increased.
A Review of: “CAPITAL INVESTMENT DECISION ANALYSIS FOR MANAGEMENT AND ENGINEERING” by John R. Canada and John A. White, Jr., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1980, 528 + xvii pages, list $26.95.

(1980). A Review of: “CAPITAL INVESTMENT DECISION ANALYSIS FOR MANAGEMENT AND ENGINEERING” by John R. Canada and John A. White, Jr., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1980, 528 + xvii pages, list $26.95. The Engineering Economist: Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 328-330.
Field Experiments on Survival Rates of Caged and Released Red Snapper

Abstract Survival of red snapper Lutjanus campechanus captured by hook and line and then released was evaluated by two methodologies: release into cages and surface release, Fish captured at a depth of 50 m off the northeastern Texas coast were placed in cages, lowered to a depth of 35 m, and monitored at irregular intervals by scuba divers for 10–15 d. Sixty-four percent of caged red snapper survived. There was no significant difference in survival due to size (<30 cm versus ≥ 30 cm fork length; P = 0.59, N = 55) or to gas bladder eversion from the oral cavity (P = 0. 13, N = 45). No predation on red snapper released at the surface was observed. Survival rates were 99%, 90%, and 56% for fish captured at depths of 21–24 m, 27–30 m, and 37–40 m, respectively. Survival rates varied significantly with depth (P = 0.00, N = 232), suggesting an inverse relationship between survival and capture depth.
Stochastic, utility accrual real-time scheduling with task-level and system-level timeliness assurances

Heuristic algorithms have enjoyed increasing interests and success in the context of utility accrual (UA) scheduling. However, few analytical results, such as bounds on task-level and system-level accrued utilities are known. In this paper, we propose the S-UA algorithm that can provide probabilistic bounds on task-level accrued utilities. Lower bound on system-level accrued utility ratio (AUR) is also derived and maximized by S-UA.
First tooth-set outside the jaws in a vertebrate

Holocephalans (ratfish, rabbitfish and chimaeras) figure with increasing prominence in studies of gnathostome evolutionary biology. Here, we provide the first complete description of the teeth and toothplates of one of the earliest known holocephalans, Chondrenchelys problematica, including the first unambiguous evidence of a gnathostome with an extra-mandibular dentition. We further demonstrate that holocephalan toothplate ontogeny differs fundamentally from all other extant gnathostome examples, and show how the conjunction of these teeth and toothplates challenges the monophyly of an extinct chondrichthyan clade, the Petalodontiformes. Chondrenchelys provides a novel perspective on the evolution of dentitions in shark-like fishes, expands the known repertoire of gnathostome dental morphologies and offers a glimpse of radically new chondrichthyan ecomorphs, now lost from the modern biota, following the end-Devonian extinctions.
Intelligent control of the running stride of a simulated jointed leg

This paper presents an intelligent controller for a simulated human-like jointed leg during running. A neuro-fuzzy takeoff controller propels the leg off the ground and produces a running stride of a specified size. A neuro-classical ballistic controller moves the airborne leg along a specified trajectory, scaling any obstacles. A similar landing controller returns the leg to the takeoff position. High accuracy is achieved on a wide range of stride sizes.
Theory and applications of convex polygons in optical binary filter design

The authors show that for any set of complex numbers there exists a unique, up to congruent, phase-ordered sequence that contains all the numbers in the set and their sum such that connecting the phasors head to tail will form a convex polygon. The theory developed is applied to the design of optical matched binary amplitude filters (BAFs) and binary phase-only filters (BPOFs).
Detection of shellcodes in drive-by attacks using kernel machines

In this paper, we propose a light-weight framework using kernel machines for the detection of shellcodes used in drive-by download attacks. As the shellcodes are passed in webpages as JavaScript strings, we studied the effectiveness of the proposed approach on about 9850 shellcodes and 10000 JavaScript strings collected from the wild. Our analysis shows that the trained SVMs (Support Vector Machines) classified with an accuracy of over 99 %. Our evaluation of the trained SVM models with different proportions of training datasets proved to perform consistently with an average accuracy of 99.51 % and the proposed static approach proved to be effective against detecting even the polymorphic shellcode variants. The performance of our approach was compared to an emulation based approach and observed that our approach performed with slightly better accuracies by consuming about 33 % of the time consumed by the emulation based approach.
The effect of intermittent preventive treatment on anti-malarial drug resistance spread in areas with population movement

The use of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnant women (IPTp), children (IPTc) and infant (IPTi) is an increasingly popular preventive strategy aimed at reducing malaria risk in these vulnerable groups. Studies to understand how this preventive intervention can affect the spread of anti-malarial drug resistance are important especially when there is human movement between neighbouring low and high transmission areas. Because the same drug is sometimes utilized for IPTi and for symptomatic malaria treatment, distinguishing their individual roles on accelerating the spread of drug resistant malaria, with or without human movement, may be difficult to isolate experimentally or by analysing data. A theoretical framework, as presented here, is thus relevant as the role of IPTi on accelerating the spread of drug resistance can be isolated in individual populations and when the populations are interconnected and interact. A previously published model is expanded to include human movement between neighbouring high and low transmission areas, with focus placed on the malaria parasites. Parasite fitness functions, determined by how many humans the parasites can infect, are used to investigate how fast resistance can spread within the neighbouring communities linked by movement, when the populations are at endemic equilibrium. Model simulations indicate that population movement results in resistance spreading fastest in high transmission areas, and the more complete the anti-malarial resistance the faster the resistant parasite will tend to spread through a population. Moreover, the demography of infection in low transmission areas tends to change to reflect the demography of high transmission areas. Additionally, when regions are strongly connected the rate of spread of partially resistant parasites (R1) relative to drug sensitive parasites (RS), and fully resistant parasites (R2) relative to partially resistant parasites (R1) tend to behave the same in both populations, as should be expected. In fighting anti-malarial drug resistance, different drug resistance monitoring and management policies are needed when the area in question is an isolated high or low transmission area, or when it is close and interacting with a neighbouring high or low transmission area, with human movement between them.
Human Immunodeficieny Virus Pathogenesis and Prospects for Immune Control in Patients with Established Infection

Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) results in inevitable progressive deterioration of the immune system in the majority of untreated patients. Prospects for virus eradication are remote, because HIV establishes long-lived reservoirs during the earliest stages of infection that are impervious to available antiviral therapies. Understanding how the immune system copes with this illness and other chronic viral infections is the key to designing future strategies for long-term control of viremia. Valuable insights have been gained from 2 populations in particular: patients with chronic, long-term, nonprogressing infections, in whom viremia is controllable in the absence of antiviral medications, and acutely infected patients, in whom the initial HIV-specific immune response might be preserved and augmented by timely intervention. These cases of immune control of HIV provide hope for the development of improved vaccine products that may eventually produce vaccine-induced immunity that will enhance durable control of HIV infection.
Effects of STN DBS for Parkinson’s disease on restless legs syndrome and other sleep-related measures

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and other sleep abnormalities are common in Parkinson’s Disease (PD). We prospectively examined sleep measures in PD patients undergoing subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS). An RLS questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and Parkinson’s Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS) were administered through telephone interviews preoperatively and postoperatively. Seventeen patients were included. Mean preoperative and 4 weeks postoperative ESS scores were 11.6 and 6.4 respectively (p < 0.001) and PDSS scores were 94.2 and 122.9 respectively (p < 0.001). The improvement was sustained at 6 months. Six patients were diagnosed with RLS preoperatively. Mean preoperative International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group rating scale score was 23.0. Mean 4 week and 6 month postoperative IRLSSG rating scale scores were 14.8 and 13.8 respectively, significantly improved compared to preoperative scores (p = 0.027 and p = 0.037 respectively). No patients developed new-onset RLS postoperatively. STN DBS improves daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, and RLS.
Structural studies of the interaction of S‐adenosylmethionine with the [4Fe‐4S] clusters in biotin synthase and pyruvate formate‐lyase activating enzyme

The diverse reactions catalyzed by the radical-SAM superfamily of enzymes are thought to proceed via a set of common mechanistic steps, key among which is the reductive cleavage of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) by a reduced [4Fe-4S] cluster to generate an intermediate deoxyadenosyl radical. A number of spectroscopic studies have provided evidence that SAM interacts directly with the [4Fe-4S] clusters in several of the radical-SAM enzymes; however, the molecular mechanism for the reductive cleavage has yet to be elucidated. Selenium X-ray absorption spectroscopy (Se-XAS) was used previously to provide evidence for a close interaction between the Se atom of selenomethionine (a cleavage product of Se-SAM) and an Fe atom of the [4Fe-4S] cluster of lysine-2,3-aminomutase (KAM). Here, we utilize the same approach to investigate the possibility of a similar interaction in pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme (PFL-AE) and biotin synthase (BioB), two additional members of the radical-SAM superfamily. The results show that the latter two enzymes do not exhibit the same Fe-Se interaction as was observed in KAM, indicating that the methionine product of reductive cleavage of SAM does not occupy a well-defined site close to the cluster in PFL-AE and BioB. These results are interpreted in terms of the differences among these enzymes in their use of SAM as either a cofactor or a substrate.
Author Reply: What is a Basic Emotion Theorist?

William James was not a basic emotion theorist in that he did not propose a list of basic emotions or concern himself with the question of which emotions were really basic. He may have believed that some emotions evolved earlier and spread more widely than others; whether this makes him a basic emotion theorist is a matter of taste.
Ground state texture patterns for the second-order Ising model

Ground state (energy-minimizing) texture patterns in Markov random field (MRF) image models, in particular, the second-order Ising model, are addressed. Ground state texture patterns are obtained for arbitrary parameter values. A small number of texture classes can be generated from the binary Ising model if the global minimum field energy criterion is used to terminate the sampler. Implications for texture synthesis are discussed. >
Position estimator for underground mine equipment

A 2-D perception system that exploits the accuracy and resolution of a laser range sensor to determine the position and orientation of a mobile robot in a mine environment is described. The perception system detects features from range sensor data and matches the features to a map of the mine to compute the sensor position. The features used are line segments and corners, which represent the typical geometry of the mine walls and intersections found in room-and-pillar-type mining. The position estimate is refined by minimizing the error between the map and sensed features. This position information can be used for autonomous navigation when a map of the mine is available or to survey the mine in order to build such a map. The technique is applied to robot navigation in a mine mockup. A refinement of this system could guide machines to yield productive, safe mining operations. >
Multimodality medical imaging for radiotherapy treatment planning

Radiation therapy is a treatment modality which seeks to deliver radiation energy to a localized site within a patient in order to destroy a malignant tumor. One of the most important aspects of radiation dose treatment planning is the accurate localization of tumor masses. An improved methodology is proposed for the delineation of tumors. Tumor localization is performed using a regularization approach which incorporates data fusion techniques. The contour information, derived from magnetic resonance and X-ray computed tomography, is used to enhance the delineation of tumor boundaries. Directional controlled continuity stabilizers are utilized to perform the fusion task. >
Predators associated with the hemlock woolly adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) in the Pacific Northwest.

The hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), is causing widespread mortality of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis L. Carriere, in the eastern United States. In western North America, feeding by A. tsugae results in negligible damage to western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sargent. Host tolerance and presence of endemic predators may be contributing to the relatively low levels of injury to T. heterophylla caused by A. tsugae. Field surveys of the predator community associated with A. tsugae infestations on 116 T. heterophylla at 16 sites in Oregon and Washington were conducted every 4-6 wk from March 2005 through November 2006. Fourteen uninfested T. heterophylla were also surveyed across 5 of the 16 sites. Each sample tree was assigned an A. tsugae population score ranging from 0 to 3. Predators collected from A. tsugae-infested T. heterophylla represent 55 species in 14 families, listed in order of abundance: Derodontidae, Chamaemyiidae, Hemerobiidae, Coccinellidae, Cantharidae, Reduviidae, Miridae, Syrphidae, Chrysopidae, Coniopterygidae, Staphylinidae, Anthocoridae, Nabidae, and Raphidiidae. Laricobius nigrinus Fender (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), Leucopis argenticollis Zetterstedt (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), and Leucopis atrifacies (Aldrich) (Chamaemyiidae) were the most abundant predators; together comprising 59% of predator specimens recovered. Relationships among predators and A. tsugae were determined through community structure analysis. The abundances of Laricobius spp. larvae, L. nigrinus adults, Leucopis spp. larvae, and L. argenticollis adults were found to be positively correlated to A. tsugae population score. Predators were most abundant when the two generations of A. tsugae eggs were present. L. argenticollis and L. atrifacies were reared on A. tsugae in the laboratory, and host records show them to feed exclusively on Adelgidae.
An experiment into the use of auditory cues to reduce visual workload

The potential utility of dividing the information flowing from computer to human among several sensory modalities is investigated by means of a rigorous experiment which compares the effectiveness of auditory and visual cues in the performance of a visual search task. The results indicate that a complex auditory cue can be used to replace cues traditionally presented in the visual modality. Implications for the design of multimodal workstations are discussed.
Towards a Theory of Equitable Federated Regionalism in Public Education

School quality and resources vary dramatically across school district boundary lines. Students who live mere miles apart have access to vastly different and disparate educational opportunities based upon which side of a school district boundary line their home is located. Owing in large part to metropolitan fragmentation, most school districts and the larger localities in which they are situated, are segregated by race and class. Further, because of a strong ideological preference for localism in public education, local government law structures in most states do not require or even encourage collaboration between school districts in order to address disparities between neighboring school districts. As a result, the combination of metropolitan fragmentation and localism in public education leads to the exclusion of poor and minority students from access to high quality school districts, which are for the most part clustered in more affluent and predominately white localities.This Article contends that given the race and class based exclusionary effects that metropolitan fragmentation and localism have on public education, the time has come to reconsider the wholesale commitment to localism in public education. It suggests that in some instances, the dissemination of public education should be made on a regional basis rather than a local basis. It examines how enacting regionalism — a theoretical framework, which advocates for the installment of regional governance structures — might occur in public education. Borrowing from two specific theories of regionalism, equitable regionalism and federated regionalism, it proposes a framework entitled "Equitable Federated Regionalism" for disseminating public education on a regional basis.
A simple spontaneously active Hebbian learning model: homeostasis of activity and connectivity, and consequences for learning and epileptogenesis

As suggested by recent experimental evidence, a spontaneously active neural system that is capable of continual learning should also be capable of homeostasis of both activity and connectivity. The connectivity appears to be maintained at a level that is optimal for information transmission and storage. We present a simple stochastic computational Hebbian learning model that incorporates homeostasis of both activity and connectivity, and we explore its stability and connectivity properties. We find that homeostasis of activity and connectivity imposes structural and dynamic constraints on the behavior of the system. For instance, the connectivity pattern is sparse and activation patterns are scale-free. Additionally, homeostasis of connectivity must occur on a timescale faster than homeostasis of activity. We demonstrate the clinical relevance of these constraints by simulating a prolonged seizure and acute deafferentation. Based on our simulations, we predict that in both the post-seizure and post-deafferentation states, the system is over-connected and, hence, epileptogenic. We further predict that interventions that boost spontaneous activity should be protective against epileptogenesis, while interventions that boost stimulated or connectivity-related activity are pro-epileptogenic.
Rethinking Majoritarian Modification: Toward an Explanatory Theory of Electoral System Reform in Canada, the U.K., and New Zealand

Traditional theories of electoral reform have focused on the outcomes of reform as a way of explaining the rational-strategic actions of political elites. Recently, the literature has moved from an ex post to an ex ante approach, analyzing the context and process of reform independent of its expected outcomes. This new conceptualization of electoral reform has produced new analytic frameworks, from which I propose to explore the development of an explanatory theory of electoral reform.
Use of FDG PET-CT for atypical prostate cancers

1343 Learning Objectives 1. FDG-PET can be used for staging of prostate cancers other than conventional acinar adenocarcinoma. 2. Prostate cancers of unusual histology, particularly neuroendocrine and squamous, can be intensely avid, unlike conventional prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma. Prostate cancer most commonly presents as acinar adenocarcinoma, a typically slowly growing malignancy which commonly exhibits low FDG uptake (1). Other well-differentiated, prostate histologies may have high FDG uptake (2). These atypical non-acinar prostate tumor histologies may be highly aggressive, have overall worse prognoses, and may respond poorly to conventional therapies used for acinar adenocarcinomas such as androgen deprivation therapy (3). A review the current FDG PET / CT literature of non-acinar prostate carcinomas revealed only case reports for these rare histologies, however, all reports revealed high FDG avidity of these tumors (4,5,6,7). We report several cases of high FDG uptake in atypical prostate cancer histologies including ductal adenocarcinoma, squamous cell and adenosquamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, sarcomatoid carcinoma, and prostate sarcoma. We also report, for the first time to our knowledge, high FDG uptake in ductal and sarcomatoid histologies. These cases showed SUVmax of 17.9 in the primary lesion and up to 27.1 in pulmonary, 25.9 in hepatic, 22.2 in osseous, and 27.2 in nodal metastases (ductal) and 9.7 in the primary lesion and 9.1, 6.7, and 4.1 in the pulmonary metastases (sarcomatoid). In some cases, the maximum SUV values of tumors were greater than 20. These more aggressive histologies showed very high FDG PET uptake and influenced staging and patient management. Atypical, aggressive, highly glycolytic prostate tumor histologies may show very high FDG PET uptake. These cases support the further investigation of the potential use of FDG PET / CT in imaging aggressive subtypes to evaluate disease extent, determining treatment response, and in disease prognostication.
Phenothiazine inhibition of carbon tetrachloride cytotoxicity in vitro.

SummaryEnzyme leakage from non-hepatic cells, induced by in vitro exposure to CC14 was inhibited by simultaneous exposure to promazine or chlorpromazine. Concentrations of either phenothiazine of 2-5 × 10-3 were more effective than higher or lower ones. It seems likely that this phenomenon is an in vitro equivalent of the “protective effects” of the phenothiazines against hepatotoxicity in vivo.
Differences in Socioeconomic Status and Survival among White and Black Men with Prostate Cancer

After diagnosis with prostate cancer, Black men in the United States have poorer survival than White men, even after controlling for differences in cancer stage. The extent to which these racial survival differences are due to biologic versus non-biologic factors is unclear, and it has been hypothesized that differences associated with socioeconomic status (SES) might account for much of the observed survival difference. The authors examined this hypothesis in a cohort study, using cancer registry and US Census data for White and Black men with incident prostate cancer (n = 23,334) who resided in 1,005 census tracts in the San Francisco Bay Area during 1973-1993. Separate analyses were conducted using two endpoints: death from prostate cancer and death from other causes. For each endpoint, death rate ratios (Blacks vs. Whites) were computed for men diagnosed at ages or =65 years. These data suggest that differences associated with SES do not explain why Black men die from prostate cancer at a higher rate when compared with White men with this condition. However, among men with prostate cancer, SES-associated differences appear to explain almost all of the racial difference in risk of death from other causes.
EMI/EMC: Design and Susceptibility

Up until now, the book has been about getting a design or product to work. More subtly, it has been about how to get a product to work by itself. This chapter explores what it takes to make sure that the design works with other devices and that other devices do not interfere with it.
Attempts at Financial Reconstruction

The political tensions generated by the dissent over the 1922 presidential succession between Brazilian regional groups marked the beginning of recurrent strains on the political stability of the First Republic during the twenties. As early as the beginning of 1921, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais politicians had opened informal talks aimed at placing Arthur Bernardes, then governor of Minas Gerais, at the head of the Brazilian government. Although Bernardes’ candidacy did not find overt opposition from other regional interests, a confrontation over the choice of the vice-president developed between the two leading north-eastern states of Bahia and Pernambuco. When even Pessoa’s direct intervention could not settle the dispute and a third name had to be put forward as the government’s official candidate, ex-President Nilo Pecanha of Rio de Janeiro succeeded in obtaining the support of the now disaffected political cliques of Bahia and Pernambuco plus that of the strong southern state of Rio Grande do Sul in his bid for the presidency, standing as an independent ‘opposition’ candidate.1
Decoding of Quasi-cyclic LDPC Codes Using an On-the-Fly Computation

The implementation complexity of the decoder for low-density parity-check codes (LDPC) is dictated by memory and interconnect requirements. We propose new LDPC decoder architectures that reduce the need of message passing memory by 80% (for standard message passing)-55%(for layered decoding) and the router requirements by more than 50%. These novel architectures are based on scheduling of computation that results in "on the fly computation" of variable node and check node reliability messages. These architectures are targeted for quasi- cyclic LDPC codes such as array LDPC codes (regular QC-LDPC) and block LDPC codes (irregular QC-LDPC). FPGA and ASIC implementation results show substantial gains when compared to the existing work in the literature.
A pixellated detector module for C-SPECT

1521 Objectives To present a pixellated detector module for our proposed C-SPECT, a high-performance cardiac imaging system. Methods The detector system has 11 NaI(Tl) modules assembled transversely to form an open-arc. It aims to achieve: 1) large detection solid-angle for cardiac imaging, 2) high stopping power at 140 keV, 3) high packing fraction, 4) 2D position-sensitivity for the whole detector area, 5) high spatial resolution, 6) high count-rate capability, and 7) cost-effectiveness. Each module is a pixellated NaI(Tl) block sealed in a thin Al housing and a thick glass window. The block, 11 (w) x 16 (l) x 1 (t) cm3, is glued together from a 2D array of 2-3 mm square or rectangular NaI(Tl) elements. The assembled detector-arc has a packing fraction of 95%. Outside the window is a hexagonal array of 13 38mm PMTs. On all sides of each element, reflective, refractive, or absorptive masks are selectively applied, based on simulated and experimental results, to achieve optimal light distribution to the PMT array. Digital maximum-likelihood position estimation will be used in real-time for identifying detector elements and achieving a count-rate of 70 kcps/module. Fabrication of the blocks from small NaI(Tl) slabs (5.5x4x1 cm) will follow the procedure developed and published by Wong’s PET group. Compared with BGO/LSO blocks, the module’s required hermetic housing and glass window pose different challenges for position sensing at the edges of the block. Results Experiments on a 3x3x10 mm element placed at various locations relative to a PMT array yield an average energy resolution Conclusions Due to the practical fabrication technique, and low costs of NaI(Tl) slabs and medium single-anode PMTs, this module could achieve a high performance/cost ratio.