cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Circulating MiR-21 expression is upregulated after 30 days of head-down tilt bed rest

Relative expression of miR-21-5p in serum was upregulated in response to 30 days of bed rest, and miRNA fold changes were positively associated with serum calcium changes. Circulating miRNAs (c-miRNAs) have potential as biomarkers of cellular activity, and they may play a role in cell-to-cell communication. The purpose of this study was to examine c-miRNA and bone marker responses to a 30-day six-degree head-down bed rest protocol at an ambient 0.5% CO2. Eleven participants (6 males/5 females, 25–50 years) had fasting blood draws taken 3 days before and immediately after completing the 30-day bed rest protocol at the Institute for Aerospace Medicine in Germany. Serum relative expression of miRNAs associated with bone function (miR-21-5p, -100-5p, -125b-5p, -126-3p) were analyzed using qPCR, and serum bone markers were quantitated using ELISA. Serum bone markers, sclerostin, and calcium significantly increased (p ≤ 0.036), and total hip aBMD significantly decreased (p = 0.003) post bed rest. Serum miR-21-5p relative expression was significantly upregulated (p = 0.018) post bed rest. Fold changes in miR-126-3p (r = 0.82, p = 0.002) and miR-21-5p (r = 0.62, p = 0.042) were positively correlated with absolute change in serum calcium. There were no sex differences in miRNA responses; women had greater percent increases in TRAP5b (37.3% vs. 16.9% p = 0.021) and greater percent decreases in total hip aBMD (− 2.15% vs. − 0.69%, p = 0.034) than men. c-miR-21-5p has potential as a biomarker of bone resorption and bone loss in an unloading condition. The upregulation of miR-21-5p may reflect an increase in osteoclast activity after bed rest, which is corroborated by the increase in TRAP5b.
Tech Trek: Gauging Residents’ Comfort Levels with Smart Technologies through a “Datawalk”

Using information collected from participants in a 1.5 mile “datawalk” in West Long Beach, this study examines how residents feel about smart technologies that track their movements. Prior to the walk, 32 study participants accessed a custom mobile app that allowed them to map each smart technology observed, photograph it, and respond to several prompts regarding comfort level with each smart technology observed—including surveillance cameras, public WiFi routers and license plate readers. The study found that attitudes toward smart technologies varied depending on context (i.e. to protect property, for targeted ads). Comfort levels also fluctuated based on how transparent officials and businesses were about how they stored and used residents’ data. The study offers policy recommendations based on findings.
Petrophysical analysis and mudstone lithofacies classification of the HRZ shale, North Slope, Alaska

Abstract Mudstone is vertically and laterally heterogeneous in terms of variations in mineral composition, organic carbon content, and petrophysical properties. The purpose of this study is to classify mudstone lithofacies within the High Radioactive Zone (HRZ) Shale on the North Slope, Alaska, based upon mineralogy, total organic carbon (TOC), and petrophysical properties to interpret their distributions and depositional/diagenetic environments. We integrate core data from six wells and well logs from 18 wells to analyze the variations in rock properties in the HRZ Shale. Analysis of cores at multiple scales of resolution by techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), trace element geochemistry, pyrolysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are integrated with conventional and advanced wireline logging suites (including pulsed neutron spectroscopy [PNS]) to map vertical and lateral variation in mudstone lithofacies across the study area. Results show that the HRZ Shale exhibits a high degree of vertical and lateral heterogeneities in mineralogy, TOC, and petrophysical properties. This shale formation is composed of 12 lithofacies: pyritic organic mixed shale, organic mixed shale, pyritic mixed shale, mixed shale, pyritic organic mudstone, organic mudstone, pyritic grey mudstone, grey mudstone, pyritic organic siliceous shale, organic siliceous shale, pyritic siliceous shale, and siliceous shale. Quartz abundance is generally higher in the west, and clay proportions increase from the southwest to the northeast of the study area. The TOC content is variable across the HRZ Shale, ranging from 1.5 to 15 wt%. The lithofacies are influenced by depositional conditions, diagenesis, redox conditions, organic matter productivity, and preservation.
Leveraging Big Data for LOAC Enforcement: Finding the Needle in a Stack of Needles

This chapter will appear in an upcoming book devoted to Big Data and International Humanitarian Law published by the Lieber Institute at West Point. As this volume reveals, big data has the potential to dramatically alter how war is waged, how the international community responds to conflicts, and how artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities can help parties enhance (or evade) compliance with the law of armed conflict (LOAC). Big data and big data analytics are already revolutionizing the practice of law—including processes of litigation discovery, sources of proof, and sentencing—in times of peace. This chapter surveys the opportunities and challenges presented by big data when it comes to the enforcement of LOAC and the prosecution of war crimes. The war in Syria—the first conflict in the modern social media era and the most documented crime base in human history—is illustrative. In prior conflicts, amassing enough evidence to stage a viable war crimes trial was often a principal challenge; today, the problem may be the reverse: there is too much documentation, which can overwhelm legal actors seeking to impose individual criminal responsibility. This article explores this conundrum in several parts. It first discusses the sources and potential utility of the mixed masses of evidence emerging from today’s armed conflicts. It then sketches out several potential methods for identifying, processing, and analyzing big data in war crimes prosecutions, including object recognition and event detection, facial recognition, statistical analysis of targeting patterns, social networking analysis, and 3-D modeling. Notwithstanding these promising opportunities to enhance the criminal enforcement of LOAC, a number of challenges remain to fully exploiting big data in the service of accountability. Even with emerging big data analytics and growing computational power, modern armed conflicts—being complex, cross-domain, dynamic, and unpredictable—simply do not lend themselves to easy analysis.
“Undetected, Unsuspected, and Unknown”: Should We Anticipate Problems for Scientific Innovation Following Schering Corp. v. Geneva Pharmaceuticals?

Once termed the “metaphysics” of patent law, the doctrine of inherent anticipation has befuddled courts and practitioners alike for decades. Inherent anticipation refers to the notion that a previously published reference can disclose each and every limitation of a later-patented invention without expressly delineating those limitations. These (un)disclosed limitations are necessarily present, or inherent, within the previously published reference. When a previously published reference discloses a later-claimed invention expressly or inherently, the patent covering the later-claimed invention is invalid because the invention lacks novelty. Thus, the doctrine of inherent anticipation allows invalidation of a patent in whole or in part upon a showing that a prior reference contained a patentee’s later-disclosed invention, even if the earlier reference did not expressly disclose what the patentee claimed as his invention. Courts, including the Federal Circuit, have grappled with whether a person having ordinary skill in the relevant art must recognize inherent features in the prior art reference for the doctrine of inherent anticipation to apply. The resulting intracircuit split in Federal Circuit case law fostered two competing schools of thought on this issue. The Federal Circuit eventually held that recognition of inherent features is not required. Commentators, however, have called upon the court to revisit the doctrine due to its potential chilling effects on innovation. This Note suggests that the Federal Circuit should reexamine the doctrine, paying particular attention to considerations of whether or not a person having ordinary skill in the art was capable of identifying inherent features in the asserted prior art reference. Clarification, or even outright reformation, of the inherent anticipation doctrine grows more imperative as our technological capabilities quickly outpace our legal rules.
Effect of feed withdrawal and handling intensity on longissimus muscle glycolytic potential and blood measurements in slaughter weight pigs

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of feed withdrawal and handling intensity on blood acid-base responses and muscle glycolytic potential in slaughter-weight pigs. Sixty crossbred pigs (BW = 107.7 +/- 0.56 kg; 44 barrows and 16 gilts) were used in a randomized complete block design with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments: 1) feed withdrawal (0 vs. 24 h), and 2) handling intensity (low vs. high). The high-intensity handling treatment consisted of moving the pigs through a passage (12.2 m long x 0.91 m wide) for eight laps using an electric goad two times per lap. Pigs in the low-intensity handling treatment were moved at their own pace through the passage for eight laps using a livestock panel and paddle. Biopsy samples were collected from the LM at the beginning of feed withdrawal, at the end of the handling procedure, and 4 h after handling. Blood samples were collected 2 h before and immediately after the handling procedure. There were no interactions between feed withdrawal and handling intensity for any of the variables measured. Feed withdrawal decreased (P < 0.05) baseline and posthandling body temperature (38.85 vs. 38.65 degrees C; SEM = 0.060 and 39.70 vs. 39.37 degrees C; SEM = 0.04, respectively) and blood glucose, lowered (P < 0.05) baseline partial pressure of oxygen and partial pressure of carbon dioxide, and increased (P < 0.01) baseline and posthandling plasma free fatty acid concentrations. High-intensity handling produced higher (P < 0.01) posthandling lactate and glucose, and lower (P < 0.01) posthandling blood pH (7.33 vs. 7.18 +/- 0.02, respectively), bicarbonate, base excess, and total carbon dioxide than low-intensity handling. Longissimus muscle glycolytic potential of fasted pigs was lower (P < 0.01) than in fed pigs at the end of the handling procedure (177.2 vs. 137.0 micromol/g of wet tissue; SEM = 10.08, respectively). There was no effect of handling intensity on longissimus muscle glycolytic potential. Feed withdrawal did not attenuate the blood acid-base changes caused by handling; however, the combination of feed withdrawal and handling decreased muscle glycolytic potential.
Hand pose estimation for American sign language recognition

In the foreseeable future, gestured inputs will be widely used in human-computer interfaces. This paper describes our initial attempt at recognizing 2D hand poses for application in video-based human-computer interfaces. Specifically, this research focuses on 2-D image recognition utilizing an evolved wavelet-based feature vector. We have developed a two layer feed-forward neural network that recognizes the 24 static letters in the American sign language (ASL) alphabet using still input images. Thus far, two wavelet-based decomposition methods have been used. The first produces an 8-element real-valued feature vector and the second a 18-element feature vector. Each set of feature vectors is used to train a feed-forward neural network using Levenberg-Marquardt training. The system is capable of recognizing instances of static ASL fingerspelling with 99.9% accuracy with an SNR as low as 2. We conclude by describing issues to be resolved before expanding the corpus of ASL signs to be recognized.
Mission failure: emergency medical services response to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive events.

INTRODUCTION: Only 4% of the United States Homeland Security funding for public safety terrorism preparedness is allotted to emergency medical services (EMS), despite the primary threat from a mass-terrorism chemical weapons attack (MTCWA) being personal injury. This study examines the preparedness of the EMS to respond to, treat, and transport victims of such attacks. HYPOTHESIS: It was hypothesized that US EMS agencies lack the necessary equipment to mitigate large-scale morbidity and mortality from a MTCWA. METHODS: Seventy after-action reports from full-scale, chemical weapons exercises conducted in large cities across the US were examined by the Office of Domestic Preparedness, Chemical Weapons Improved Response Program to ascertain if EMS responders had personal protective equipment sufficient to operate at the scene of a MTCWA. RESULTS: Of the 50 after action reports that mentioned EMS personal protective equipment, only six (12%) EMS agencies equipped their staff with personal protective equipment. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that EMS responders are not prepared to safely respond to MTCWAs, which may result in a significant loss of life of victims and responders. Language: en
Deploying and Scheduling Vision Based Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) on Heterogeneous Multicore Embedded Platform

In-vehicle electronics is the fastest growing area of auto technology. A large part of this growth is in the area of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), which have become a very important part of the modern automobile. These ADAS systems usually run multiple applications simultaneously (e.g., Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Sign Detection, Pedestrian Detection, etc.). Each of these applications consists of multiple tasks and has hard real-time constrains that need to be satisfied. Finding new ways to reduce the cost, size, weight, complexity, and power consumption of the hardware used in these systems, while being able to offer more and more configurable features has always been a challenging problem for automotive suppliers and OEMs. The solution can be found in heterogeneous multicore embedded System on Chip (SoC), but the transition toward multi-core architectures has created more challenges at the software side, where fast deployment, integration and verification of the software is required. In addition to that, the temporal behavior of such safety critical applications must be predicted, with minimal processor reservation and memory usage. In this paper we will present a workflow to easily deploy and schedule multiple vision based ADAS applications on heterogeneous multi-core platform. This will be accomplished by employing Single Rate Data Flow (SRDF) graph as a base model of computation combined with hierarchical scheduling strategy that provides functional isolation and predictable timing between these applications. The results of this work could be used towards the design and implementation of partitioned, real-time operating systems that execute on heterogeneous multicore system on chip environment and a tool-chain to auto-generate such a system.
Head-First versus Feet-First Sliding: A Comparison of Speed from Base to Base:

BackgroundTwo basic baseball sliding techniques, feet-first and head-first, are taught at all levels of play. Because of the risk for injury to the upper extremities and the cervical spine during head-first sliding, it is potentially more dangerous than feet-first sliding. There is an assumption among coaches that head-first sliding is more aggressive and faster, but there has been no scientific study to prove this claim.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine which technique provides a faster slide into the base.Study DesignControlled field study.MethodsA total of 60 players ranging from Little League to college level was analyzed. Each athlete was evaluated three times from a standing start at first base to either a head-first or feet-first touch of second base. Each athlete was also timed in a 40-yard sprint and his or her preferred sliding technique was recorded.ResultsWe found no statistically significant difference in speed between head-first and feet-first sliding at all levels of play in...
Advances in molecular and immunologic targeted therapies for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung

While targeted therapy has revolutionized the treatment of some forms of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) particularly adenocarcinoma of the lung, the standard treatments for advanced stage squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) has remained platinum-doublet chemotherapy, and the prognosis remains poor. There remains a great need for breakthroughs in treatments for this common and deadly disease. Recently, a new understanding of the molecular and genetic makeup of SqCC, thanks to largescale genetic and molecular assays, has resulted in a number of targeted therapies entering clinical investigation for use in SqCC. Treatments targeting common mutations in SqCC have been studied in patient populations not preselected for mutations or overexpression and have had some early success. For example, the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEFGR) inhibitor ramucirumab has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in certain settings for patients not selected for genetic mutations with NSCLC, including SqCC. Other agents are being investigated in selected populations with demonstrated genetic mutations or amplifications in the targeted pathway based on preclinical and early clinical data suggesting enhanced benefit in those groups. Early results in targeted immunotherapy have been particularly successful in SqCC compared to other histologic subtypes of NSCLC, and the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab has now been approved for second-line therapy in SqCC by the FDA. In this review, several oncogenic signaling pathways will be examined. The recent preclinical and clinical literature establishing those pathways as potential treatment targets, as well as ongoing clinical studies focused on those pathways, will be discussed. Recent and ongoing studies in targeted immune checkpoint inhibition and vaccine immunotherapy will also be reviewed.
Auditory Processing Theories of Language Disorders: Past, Present, and Future

Purpose The purpose of this article is to provide information that will assist readers in understanding and interpreting research literature on the role of auditory processing in communication disorders. Method A narrative review was used to summarize and synthesize the literature on auditory processing deficits in children with auditory processing disorder (APD), specific language impairment (SLI), and dyslexia. The history of auditory processing theories of these 3 disorders is described, points of convergence and controversy within and among the different branches of research literature are considered, and the influence of research on practice is discussed. The theoretical and clinical contributions of neurophysiological methods are also reviewed, and suggested approaches for critical reading of the research literature are provided. Conclusion Research on the role of auditory processing in communication disorders springs from a variety of theoretical perspectives and assumptions, and this variety, comb...
Saying the Phenomena

This book' has been an unconscionable time arriving. I first heard tell of it a decade ago as an Oxford undergraduate; rumours of its imminence (in that geological sense of imminence peculiar to academic publishing) reached me while a student in Cambridge a couple of years on; and I saw samizdat pages from some of its parts a little later still (when, I was reliably informed, it was virtually in the press). And, so I discovered, the saga of the Great Work on Herophilus had been going on for a good deal longer than that. All that was at least five years ago for a while it seemed as though the rest was going to be silence (although by this time, naturally, the book was turning up in various bibliographies as 'forthcoming'; usually, infuriatingly, with titles different from that under which it finally forthcame). So, when Heinrich von Staden himself assured me a couple of years ago, while sipping a beer on a Madrid pavement at an unofficial and hence particularly pleasant session of a conference on Galen, that the book's debut was indeed only a matter of months away, it is perhaps understandable that I viewed this assurance with a certain scepticism. But it has come out at last: and the wait has been worthwhile. This is, quite simply, a magnificent piece of work; ground-breaking and painstaking scholarship combined with judicious interpretation and an enviable knowledge of the vast corpus of ancient medicine to create something which is in the best sense of the word definitive. We will not need another edition of Herophilus for a long time to come.
Single-Point Mutations in Ankyrin Repeat Six Make Mouse TRPA1 Sensitive to Hot Temperatures

A subset of Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) ion channels is expressed in sensory neurons and enables thermosensation in mammals. These TRP channels are activated with high sensitivity either by hot or cold temperatures. The molecular mechanism of this temperature-directionality (heat vs. cold) is not understood. TRPA1 is special in this respect, because several TRPA1 orthologues are activated by either heat or cold or are temperature-insensitive. We hypothesized that specific amino-acid residues in TRP channels determine temperature-directionality and that mutation of these residues might shift the thermal-activation profile. To test this hypothesis, we generated a library of cold-activated mouse TRPA1 containing ∼12,000 random mutant clones and stimulated it with hot temperatures, while measuring channel activity in a FLIPR calcium assay.We discovered three single-point mutations in mouse TRPA1 that each cause strong heat-sensitivity in TRPA1. All three mutations are located in ankyrin repeat six. The sensitivity to chemical agonists remained unaffected in all three mutants. Electrophysiological characterization of one point-mutant revealed a strong temperature-dependence of voltage-sensitivity, the rate of channel activation but not deactivation, and the open-probability but not unitary conductance. Taken together, our data demonstrate that single-point mutations are sufficient to make mouse TRPA1 strongly heat-sensitive and that chemical activation can be uncoupled from temperature activation. We propose that a change in the coupling between temperature-sensing and channel-gating causes this change in temperature-directionality.
Computational Phenotype Discovery Using Unsupervised Feature Learning over Noisy, Sparse, and Irregular Clinical Data

Inferring precise phenotypic patterns from population-scale clinical data is a core computational task in the development of precision, personalized medicine. The traditional approach uses supervised learning, in which an expert designates which patterns to look for (by specifying the learning task and the class labels), and where to look for them (by specifying the input variables). While appropriate for individual tasks, this approach scales poorly and misses the patterns that we don’t think to look for. Unsupervised feature learning overcomes these limitations by identifying patterns (or features) that collectively form a compact and expressive representation of the source data, with no need for expert input or labeled examples. Its rising popularity is driven by new deep learning methods, which have produced high-profile successes on difficult standardized problems of object recognition in images. Here we introduce its use for phenotype discovery in clinical data. This use is challenging because the largest source of clinical data – Electronic Medical Records – typically contains noisy, sparse, and irregularly timed observations, rendering them poor substrates for deep learning methods. Our approach couples dirty clinical data to deep learning architecture via longitudinal probability densities inferred using Gaussian process regression. From episodic, longitudinal sequences of serum uric acid measurements in 4368 individuals we produced continuous phenotypic features that suggest multiple population subtypes, and that accurately distinguished (0.97 AUC) the uric-acid signatures of gout vs. acute leukemia despite not being optimized for the task. The unsupervised features were as accurate as gold-standard features engineered by an expert with complete knowledge of the domain, the classification task, and the class labels. Our findings demonstrate the potential for achieving computational phenotype discovery at population scale. We expect such data-driven phenotypes to expose unknown disease variants and subtypes and to provide rich targets for genetic association studies.
A laser Raman spectroscopic study of anodic corrosion films on silver and copper

Raman spectroscopy has been applied to the study of anodic corrosion processes of silver and copper films in sulfate solutions. The in-situ bands at 450, 608, and 960 cm/sup -1/ observed in the Raman spectra of Ag anodized in 0.05 M H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ correlate well with the bands observed for standard Ag/sub 2/SO/sub 4/, although the bands are somewhat broader. This is interpreted as an indication of some structural difference between the electrochemically produced Ag/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ and the standard. X-ray diffraction studies of the film further substantiated the presence of Ag/sub 2/SO/sub 4/. In-situ and ex-situ Raman spectra and x-ray diffraction of the film material formed by the anodic oxidation of Cu in H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ and Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ solutions indicated that the film material was Cu/sub 2/O. 15 references, 5 figures, 1 table.
Teaching in the foreign language classroom: How being a native or non-native speaker of German influences culture teaching

The study explores the complexities associated with graduate language instructors’ NS/NNS identities and teaching of culture. Researchers, who work mainly in the English as a Second/Foreign Languag...
On the variational determination of Glm kernels

It is shown how the Marcenko (M) equation for full line scattering arises as a ninimizing criterion (Euler equation) for a certain quadratic functional and thus the M kernel is determined via minimization
Pharmacologic strategies for the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Stroke is a dreaded complication of atrial fibrillation. In the past, preventive therapy included aspirin and oral anticoagulation. Selected patients who are not suitable for oral anticoagulation may benefit from the addition of clopidogrel with aspirin. This combination, when compared with aspirin, offers a reduced risk of stroke at a cost of more major bleeding. We use this therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation who have unstable coronary syndromes or in patients who receive coronary artery stents who are not good candidates for “triple therapy” with aspirin, clopidogrel, and warfarin. The duration of therapy is tempered by many variables. In the case of coronary stents, we ask the interventionalist to consider a bare metal stent to shorten the duration of need for clopidogrel plus aspirin. After several months of combination therapy, we stop this therapy and begin warfarin therapy. Dabigatran is commercially available in the United States. In patients who have difficult to control International Normalized Ratio (INR) values or who do not wish to have regular coagulation monitoring, dabigatran offers a huge advantage. The benefit seems less if the INR is consistently within range. We are impressed with the superior reduction in stroke and systemic embolism with 150 mg of dabigatran twice daily compared to warfarin and also its low risk of intracranial hemorrhage. The results of clinical trials involving factor Xa agents are now being presented. How these agents fit into the marketplace remains to be seen but they will offer clinicians additional therapy for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation.
Advanced computer simulation of polycrystalline microstructure

Abstract This paper proposes an advanced two-dimensional method to simulate the microstructure of metallic dual-phase polycrystalline materials to enable accurate micro-mechanics computation. This is done by combining geometric and metallurgical principles to simulate microstructures that are closer to experimental observations than currently used methods. The method accounts for difference in grain growth velocities in different phases during solidification. If the ratio of grain growth velocities equals 1, the proposed method reduces to the currently used Voronoi tessellation method. If the ratio of grain growth velocities tends to ∞, the method matches the physical situation of one grain type becoming embedded in the other grain type. The simulation results show that although the original grain core points are the same, the microstructure of the material will change with the ratio of grain growth velocities, including the lengths of the grain boundaries, the radii of curvature of the grain boundaries, and the triple point locations. Statistical analyses are conducted on the number of grain edges, grain diameter, grain area, and proportion of two phases of grains. Statistical analysis shows that the simulation results of the proposed method agree well with the experimental observation.
The equivalence and approximation of optimal control problems

Discontinuities occurring in closed loop optimal control problems when using maximum principle
Cancer Associated Retinopathy (CAR): An Autoimmune-Mediated Paraneoplastic Syndrome

Cancer associated retinopathy (CAR) is an uncommon paraneoplastic retinopathy in which antibodies are directed against retinal antigens. Vision loss is associated with abnormal ERG findings. Few case reports and lack of controlled clinical trials make management of this syndrome especially challenging for the clinician. Herein, we describe the clinical, histopathologic and electrophysiologic features of CAR, along with a summary of previously employed management options. Cancer associated retinopathy syndrome has been recognized as a paraneoplastic disorder, most commonly associated with small cell lung cancer, in which cross-reacting autoantibodies against retinal antigen cause retinal dysfunction. Bilateral vision loss as a result of both rod and cone dysfunction in CAR may occur over a period of months, and visual symptoms may precede diagnosis of the systemic malignancy. The heterogeneity in antigens that have been identified as targets of antibody-mediated retinal damage perhaps help to explain the complexity of symptoms and the treatment challenges posed by patients with CAR.
Lipid Characteristics in Fresh and Broiled Loin and Round Steaks from Concentrate Fed and Pasture Grazed Steers

Broiling of loin and round steaks from concentrate-fed and pasture-grazed steers had no significant effects upon levels of intramuscular triglycerides or cholesterol when expressed on a freeze-dry basis. Broiling did cause increases in phospholipids and free fatty acids. Broiling did not influence fatty acid compositions of triglycerides, polar lipids and free fatty acids. Loin steaks contained more triglycerides and free fatty acids and less phospholipids and cholesterol than round steaks. Increases in intramuscular triglycerides were not accompanied by increases in cholesterol or phospholipids. Polyunsaturated/ saturated acid ratios and levels of linolenic acid, an n-3 acid, were highest in steaks from steers that had grazed pastures.
The Rediscovery of the Human Mind: The Discursive Approach

The demise of behaviorism was followed by a period of cognitive model building, on Cartesian lines, invoking unobservable cognitive processes, then “mind behind the mind”. This has been followed by a second cognitive revolution which emphasizes the idea that mind is a flow of private and public symbolic patterns, created according to local norms. Basing psychology on this insight requires the preservation of the psychological concepts of ordinary languages as part of the basis for scientific psychology. The concept of ''skill'' can be used to link individuals with the matrix of interpersonal symbolic and practical interactions. The second revolution can be illustrated by recent work on emotion displays as discursive acts, and by studies on the role of pronouns in the expression of a sense of personal identity.
ASCORBIC ACID AND DRY MATTER ACCUMULATION IN TURNIP AND BROCCOLI LEAF DISCS AFTER INFILTRATION WITH INORGANIC SALTS, ORGANIC ACIDS, AND SOME ENZYME INHIBITORS.

Material and methods Turnip and broccoli plants, varieties Shogoin and Italian Green Sprouting, respectively, were grown in sand culture in the greenhouse. The growing and sampling of the plants, and the methods of measuring the ascorbic acid accumulation in leaf discs, have been described in detail in a previous paper (20). Briefly, the technique consists of cutting discs from mature leaves and floating them on the appropriate solutions under the desired conditions. In the present experiments most of the discs were infiltrated prior to being floated. Infiltration was carried out by immersing the sample (about 50 discs, each 1.6 cm. diameter) in the appropriate solution in a 100-ml. beaker. A plug of absorbent cotton was used to hold the discs in place; then the beaker was placed in a desiccator at room temperature and evacuated until the solution boiled vigorously. When air was admitted subsequently to the desiccator the intercellular spaces of the discs were filled with the solution in which they were immersed. Each sample was evacuated three times to give essentially complete infiltration. The discs were 90
Growth and field emission properties of small diameter carbon nanotube films

Abstract Vertically aligned carbon nanotube films with diameters smaller than 5 nm, high densities up to 10 12 /cm 2 , and lengths of ∼ 5–8 μm were deposited by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Experiments show that, by continuous reduction in the thickness of the iron film (i.e., ∼0.3–0.5 nm), small diameter carbon nanotubes can be achieved with diameters that ranged from 1–5 nm, and the films are comprised of both single- and double-wall nanotubes. The electron field emission properties of the films were investigated by variable distance field emission and temperature-dependent field electron emission microscopy (T-FEEM). The films showed an emission site density of ∼10 4 /cm 2 and a threshold field of 2.8 V/μm similar to multiwalled nanotubes (1.9 V/μm). In addition, they also exhibited a temperature dependence of the emission site intensity.
Branched-linear and agglomerate protein polymers as vaccine platforms

Many viral structural proteins and their truncated domains share a common feature of homotypic interaction forming dimers, trimers, and/or oligomers with various valences. We reported previously a simple strategy for construction of linear and network polymers through the dimerization feature of viral proteins for vaccine development. In this study, technologies were developed to produce more sophisticated polyvalent complexes through both the dimerization and oligomerization natures of viral antigens. As proof of concept, branched-linear and agglomerate polymers were made via fusions of the dimeric glutathione-s-transferase (GST) with either a tetrameric hepatitis E virus (HEV) protruding protein or a 24-meric norovirus (NoV) protruding protein. Furthermore, a monomeric antigen, either the M2e epitope of influenza A virus or the VP8* antigen of rotavirus, was inserted and displayed by the polymer platform. All resulting polymers were easily produced in Escherichia coli at high yields. Immunization of mice showed that the polymer vaccines induced significantly higher specific humoral and T cell responses than those induced by the dimeric antigens. Additional evidence in supporting use of polymer vaccines included the significantly higher neutralization activity and protective immunity of the polymer vaccines against the corresponding viruses than those of the dimer vaccines. Thus, our technology for production of polymers containing different viral antigens offers a strategy for vaccine development against infectious pathogens and their associated diseases.
An Animal Model for Simultaneous Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Investigations: Application to Cocaine

An animal model suitable for pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic investigations is described. This model allows drug administration via different routes, serial blood sampling, serial brain ECF sampling, and monitoring the cardiovascular functions without touching the animal. This rat model was utilized to study the relationship between cocaine pharmacokinetics and the neurochemical and cardiovascular responses to cocaine administration via different routes. The pharmacokinetic results showed that the average cocaine bioavailability after i.p. administration was 71% and after oral administration was only 19.2%. Cocaine was rapidly distributed into the brain, and the brain ECF/plasma distribution ratio measured as the ratio of the brain ECF AUC to the plasma AUC was 2.02 +/- 0.59. The relationship between cocaine brain ECF concentration and the change in dopamine brain ECF concentration was described by the sigmoid Emax pharmacodynamic model. When the relationship between cocaine plasma concentration and the change in the cardiovascular functions was examined, hysteresis loops were observed. These hysteresis loops may suggest the existence of an effect compartment for the cardiovascular effects of cocaine or that cocaine metabolites are contributing to cocaine cardiovascular effects. These results indicate that the described animal model is useful in simultaneous pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic investigations specifically for studies that involve centrally acting drugs.
Regenerative Flow Pumps and Compressors (RFP/RFC) Applications for Water as Refrigerant

This paper presents some preliminary design consideration of Regenerative Flow Pumps and Compressors (RFP/RFC) and their application in chillers that use water (R718) as the sole refrigerant. A brief overview of the fundamentals and hypothesis of the operation of RFP/RFC is presented. A one-dimensional (1-D) performance prediction code of an RFP/RFC model is developed using geometric parameters as input. Results of a sensitivity analysis are briefly discussed as they are validated using CFD analysis and suggest design changes for performance enhancement. Finally the RFC may be considered as an interesting alternative solution for R718-chiller application especially for smaller capacities and operation with lower speed.© 2006 ASME
Cohomological nonvanishing for modules over discrete groups

Abstract Let Γ be a discrete group of finite virtual cohomological dimension, and let V be a f.g. Z -torsion free Γ module. In this situation, the Farrell cohomology of Γ with coefficients in V is defined and we prove in this paper cohomological non-vanishing results for these groups similar to those existing for finite groups and Tate cohomology, i.e. that we either have that these groups vanish for all dimensions or there are infinitely many nontrivial. The proof is based on a geometric approach to these groups, the study of Euler characteristics, minimal resolutions, and the notion of exponent.
Retrieval boosted computer-aided diagnosis of clustered microcalcifications for breast cancer

Purpose: The authors propose an image-retrieval based approach for case-adaptive classifier design in computer-aided diagnosis(CADx). The conventional approach in CADx is to first train a pattern-classifier based on a set of existing training samples and then apply this classifier to subsequent new cases. The purpose of this work is to improve the classification accuracy of a CADx classifier by making use of a set of known cases retrieved from a reference library that are similar to the case under consideration. Methods: In the proposed approach, the authors will first apply image-retrieval to obtain a set of lesion images from a library of known cases that have similar image features to a case being diagnosed (i.e., query). These retrieved cases are then used to optimize a pattern-classifier toward boosting its classification accuracy on the query case. The basic idea is to put more emphasis on those cases that are similar to the query. The proposed approach is demonstrated first using a linear classifier and then extended to a nonlinear classifier induced by kernel principal component analysis. Results: The proposed retrieval-driven approach was tested on a library of mammogramimages from 1006 cases (646 benign and 360 malignant) obtained from multiple institutions and was demonstrated to yield significant improvement in classification performance. Measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), the case-adaptive approach could boost the classification performance of a linear classifier from AUC = 0.7415 to AUC = 0.7807; similar improvement was also obtained for a nonlinear classifier, with AUC boosted from 0.7527 to 0.7838. Conclusions: Use of additional cases from a reference library that have similar image features can improve the classification accuracy of a CADx classifier on a query case. It can even outperform retraining the classifier with all the cases from the entire reference library. This implies that cases with similar image features are more relevant in defining the local decision boundary of the CADx classifier around the query.
Quantitative experimental study of intrachannel nonlinear timing jitter in a 10-Gb/s terrestrial WDM return-to-zero system

Using a recirculating loop, we measured nonlinearly induced timing jitter in a terrestrial wavelength-division-multiplexed system at different transmission distances with different amounts of precompensation. Within each 600-GHz subband, we achieved error-free transmission using the same amount of precompensation for all channels at all distances up to 5000 km.
Letter Polarization dynamics of stable vector solitons in a birefringent single-mode optical fibre

Polarization dynamics of the vector solitons in a birefringent single-mode optical fibre in the framework of a system of coupled nonlinear Schrodinger equations with oscillating terms has been studied, and a condition for their stability has been deduced. This study should evoke considerable interest because of its potential applications in optical logic devices.
Police Sexual Misconduct: Female Police Officers' Views Regarding Its Nature and Extent

Sexual misconduct among on-duty police officers has received little scholarly attention. Existing research that has attempted to provide police officers' views on this matter has been dominated by the male perspective. The present study focuses on female officers' perspectives and provides insight into the nature and extent of such behavior. The findings show that female officers report that police sexual misconduct is common. Differences in perceptions about such behavior between female and male officers are identified. Theoretical explanations for police sexual misconduct are explored. Policy implications of how police sexual misconduct might be better controlled are discussed.
Quantifying the effects of mixed venous PO2 on regional pulmonary perfusion with positron emission tomography during lobar hypoxic ventilation in dogs

The mixed venous PO2 (PvO2) can affect vascular tone during hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. Therefore, a decrease in intrapulmonary shunt would be expected if PvO2 decreases during regional alveolar hypoxia. We tested this possibility by first ventilating the left lower lobe (LLL) with 0% oxygen and the rest of the lung (RU with 100% oxygen. As a result, regional pulmonary blood flow (rPBF) to the LLL, measured by positron emission tomography, decreased to 49% of its baseline value. When the FiO2 of the RL was then lowered to room air (but the LLL was still ventilated with 0% oxygen), PvO2 fell from 51 ± 8 to 38 ± 5 mm Hg (P < .05). However, rPBF to the LLL actually increased by 33%, mean pulmonary perfusion pressure increased by 63%, and cardiac output did not change. In contrast, after ventilating the LLL with 10% oxygen, no change in rPBF occurred after altering the FiO2 in the RL in the same fashion, despite a comparable decrease in PvO2, as mean pulmonary perfusion pressure only increased by 29%. Thus, the effect of physiologic changes in PvO2 (about 13 mm Hg) on vascular tone is modest (resulting in an approximate 30% change). However, the effect on intrapulmonary shunt will depend on the balance of effects in parallel compartments caused by the maneuver which changes the PvO2.
Analytical guidance in the neighborhood of optimal multi-impulse trajectories

A first-order minimum propellant guidance law is developed for multi-impulse trajectories in an inverse-square gravitational field. A second-order variational analysis is used to formulate the guidance problem as an accessory minimum problem, i.e. minimize a quadratic form (second-variation in propellant consumption) subject to linear constraints (variational equations of motion and deterministic boundary conditions). Solution of the accessory minimum problem provides the optimal guidance law in feedback form. It is emphasized that this analysis takes into account the nominal impulse programme when calculating the optimal guidance corrections. It is shown that for multi-impulse transfers it is in general, non-optimal to add impulses. All corrections to the trajectory should be made by a combination of small changes in timing, magnitude and direction of the nominal impulses.
Rate of Dislodgment of Ureteral Stents When Using an Extraction String after Endoscopic Urological Surgery

Purpose: Ureteral stents are manufactured with an extraction string tethered to the distal end, which facilitates removal after urological surgery. However, the string may allow for stent dislodgment. We report the stent dislodgment rate in a multi-institutional series.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of ureteroscopy cases at 3 academic endourology practices. Demographic and operative data were obtained as well as string use and stent dislodgment data. Categorical variables were assessed with the Fisher exact test and the Student t-test was used to assess continuous variables.Results: Of the 512 cases a string was used in 98 (19.1%) comprising 41 females (41.8%) and 57 males (58.2%). The stent was dislodged in 10 women and 3 men. No dislodgment occurred when a string was not used. When stratified by gender, 5.3% of men and 24.4% of women with a string experienced stent dislodgment (p = 0.013). Women were more than fourfold more likely to experience stent dislodgment than men ...
A morphologic criterion to distinguish bird tracks

Few anatomical criteria have been proposed to distinguish bird tracks from dinosaur tracks. The most commonly used criterion is the angle of divarication between toes II and IV, which is usually greater in birds than dinosaurs. The angle of divarication as related to some skeletal feature in modern birds may provide additional information about the trackmaker and its evolutionary relationships. A total of 186 bird tarsometatarsi (11 orders, 21 families, 39 genera, 41 species) from 8 morphotypes—shorebirds, wading birds, perching birds, zygodactyl birds, birds of prey, ground foragers, webbed-footed birds, and syndactyl birds—were sampled to test the hypothesis that the morphology of the distal end of the tarsometatarsus is the primary influence on the angle of divarication of the toes. Skeletal limb anatomy was also studied for correlations with stride length in an effort to predict pivot point height in birds from their trackways. Analysis shows a pronounced correlation between a large trochlea arc angle, and a small angle of divarication. Distinct differences in the trochlear arc angle and the angle of divarication could be correlated to such avian morphotypes as shorebirds, waders, ground foragers, and perching birds. No correlations between limb length and stride length could be established, and the equations commonly used for most vertebrate trackways did not hold for birds, most likely due to their unique hindlimb anatomy.