cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Imaging [Ca2+]i dynamics during signal transduction

Abstract The elevation of free intracellular Ca 2+ activity ([Ca 2+ ] i ) is widely recognised as a central event in many signal transduction processes in cellular physiology. Recent advances in optical techniques for measuring [Ca 2+ ] i as well as developments in quantitative low light level fluorescence microscopy have led to the application of these methods to the study of subcellular [Ca 2+ ] i in many biological systems. In the following paper we describe some techniques in our laboratory to provide quantitative high spatio-temporal resolution measurements of [Ca 2+ ] i in individual living cells during the signal transduction of cell surface receptor ligand interactions. In particular, we are studying the changes in [Ca 2+ ] i induced by the micro-aggregation of immunoglobulin E (IgE) receptor complexes on the surface of rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cells (a tumor mast cell line) by multivalent antigen [1]. We seek to understand the mechanisms which are involved in the detection of these cell surface events which lead to changes in [Ca 2+ ] i as well as the interactions between the various subcellular components which impart the delicate control of [Ca 2+ ] i during cellular stimulation. The limitations and properties of the technology used for these studies will be discussed, and some illustrative examples of the type of [Ca 2+ ] i changes found in this biological system will be given.
DNA methylation is a guardian of stem cell self-renewal and multipotency

Epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, undergo dynamic changes during cellular differentiation and development. A new study demonstrates that DNA methylation by Dnmt1 protects essential stem cell properties in both hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and leukemia stem cells (LSCs) by silencing differentiation programs that interfere with self-renewal and multipotency.
Latent Classiness and Other Mixtures

The aim of this article is to laud Lindon Eaves’ role in the development of mixture modeling in genetic studies. The specification of models for mixture distributions was very much in its infancy when Professor Eaves implemented it in his own FORTRAN programs, and extended it to data collected from relatives such as twins. It was his collaboration with the author of this article which led to the first implementation of mixture distribution modeling in a general-purpose structural equation modeling program, Mx, resulting in a 1996 article on linkage analysis in Behavior Genetics. Today, the popularity of these methods continues to grow, encompassing methods for genetic association, latent class analysis, growth curve mixture modeling, factor mixture modeling, regime switching, marginal maximum likelihood, genotype by environment interaction, variance component twin modeling in the absence of zygosity information, and many others. This primarily historical article concludes with some consideration of some possible future developments.
Current concepts in the treatment of urinary tract infections and prostatitis

Urinary tract infection is a common medical diagnosis. The decision to treat is based on presenting signs and symptoms, bacterial colony counts in urine, and the nature of the infection. Escherichia coli is the single most frequent cause of urinary tract infections, although, depending on the clinical presentation and presence of risk factors, other pathogens may also be implicated. A variety of antimicrobial agents are available for the treatment of urinary tract infections. Fluoroquinolones are useful because these agents have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, resistance to these agents is minimal, and they achieve high concentrations in the urinary tract, have long elimination half-lives in urine, and are well tolerated.
Percutaneous left ventricular support for high-risk PCI and cardiogenic shock: who gets what?

Abstract Background Temporary use of a percutaneous left ventricular assist device (PLVAD) may be beneficial in patients undergoing high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and those with cardiogenic shock (CS). Methods Seventy-four consecutive patients undergoing high-risk PCI and those with CS receiving intraaortic balloon pump (IABP), TandemHeart (TH), or Impella device (IMP) were enrolled. Patient undergoing high-risk PCI ( n =57) and those treated for CS ( n =17) were analyzed as separate cohorts. Patients undergoing IABP-assisted PCI were compared to those undergoing PLVAD (TH and IMP)-assisted PCI. The primary end point was in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events, and the secondary end point was in-hospital vascular complications. Results For the high-risk PCI cohort ( n =57), 22 received PLVAD and 35 received IABP. Patients receiving IABP were younger and less likely to have a prior myocardial infarction (MI) and less likely to be on dialysis compared to those receiving PLVAD support. Patients receiving PLVAD support had a higher baseline Syntax score, had a higher prevalence of unprotected left main disease, underwent treatment of more coronary lesions, received more coronary stents, and more likely received drug-eluting stents compared to those receiving IABP support. The primary and secondary end points were similar between both groups. For the CS cohort ( n =17), 4 received PLVAD and 13 received IABP. Patients receiving PLVAD support were more likely to have a prior MI, had a lower ejection fraction, underwent treatment of more coronary lesions, and received more coronary stents compared to those receiving IABP support. The primary and secondary end points were similar between both groups. Conclusions IABP compared with PLVAD use for high-risk PCI and CS is associated with significantly different baseline patient, clinical, procedural, and angiographic characteristics. In-hospital clinical outcome was similar between both groups in both the high-risk PCI and the CS cohorts. When physicians have access to each of these devices, short-term clinical outcome appears to be similar.
First defined media for leptomonas spp. from insects.

SYNOPSIS. Defined media for Leptomonas collosoma, L. mirabilis, and L. sp. from Dysdercus are described. In addition to factors required by Crithidia spp., including a source of Crithidia factor, all 3 organisms require glycine. Leptomonas collosoma and L. sp. from Dysdercus require choline. All trypanosomatids thus far studied require calcium pantothenate but L. collosoma has an especially large requirement. Leptomonas mirabilis but not L. sp. from Dysdercus can synthesize methionine from homocysteine thiolactone during growth. Homocysteine thiolactone is toxic to L. sp. from Dysdercus. Methionine plus vitamin B12 partly annul homocysteine thiolactone toxicity but only if glycine is also present.
Retention of PIT and T-Bar Anchor Tags in Blue Catfish

AbstractWe quantified retention of PIT and T-bar anchor tags in Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus. Eighty-one fish (364–1,005 mm TL) were injected with a PIT tag in the dorsal musculature immediately posterior to the dorsal fin and a T-bar anchor tag below the dorsal fin between the pterygiophores. Fish were held in a 0.24-ha earthen pond and retention was evaluated at 2, 4, and 6 months. Retention of PIT tags was 100% over the duration of the study. T-bar anchor tag retention was about 94% at 2 months and 76% at 6 months and was linearly related to time. We estimated that by 25 months, all T-bar tags would be lost. Our results suggest PIT tags can effectively be used in long-term studies (>6 months), whereas T-bar anchor tags are suited for short-term experiments.Received July 29, 2013; accepted October 15, 2013Published online January 24, 2014
Characteristics of men reporting for prostate cancer screening

A survey to determine demographics, prostate cancer screening practices, and prostate cancer-related knowledge and beliefs was administered to over 1,700 participants at five sites during Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (1991) screening events. Findings are presented by site since significant differences in demographics existed. Results suggest that screenings conducted at the major medical centers attract primarily white males, a number of whom already practice adequate secondary prevention. Thus, if optimal benefit is sought through mass prostate cancer screening, innovative strategies to reach populations that are currently underserved and at risk are necessary.
Adaptive non-linear clustering in data streams

Data stream clustering has emerged as a challenging and interesting problem over the past few years. Due to the evolving nature, and one-pass restriction imposed by the data stream model, traditional clustering algorithms are inapplicable for stream clustering. This problem becomes even more challenging when the data is high-dimensional and the clusters are not linearly separable in the input space. In this paper, we propose a nonlinear stream clustering algorithm that adapts to the stream's evolutionary changes. Using the kernel methods for dealing with the non-linearity of data separation, we propose a novel 2-tier stream clustering architecture. Tier-1 captures the temporal locality in the stream, by partitioning it into segments, using a kernel-based novelty detection approach. Tier-2 exploits this segment structure to continuously project the streaming data nonlinearly onto a low-dimensional space (LDS), before assigning them to a cluster. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through extensive experimental evaluation on various real-world datasets.
Prospects for chemiluminescent and bioluminescent immunoassay and nucleic acid assays in food testing and the pharmaceutical industry.

The sensitivity, speed and convenience of chemiluminescent (CL) and bioluminescent (BL) immunoassays and probe assays have led to a diverse range of applications for these technologies, mainly in the clinical laboratory. These methods are now being explored by the food and pharmaceutical industries. Demanding detection limits and the complexity of sample preparation for food and pharmaceutical analyses present daunting challenges for the analyst. Immunoassay and nucleic acid amplification technologies have been applied to food testing, but these have mostly favoured non-luminescent endpoints. Food assays with CL or BL endpoints are now emerging, e.g., Clostridium botulinum type A detection using a CL immunosorbent assay; Salmonella and Zygosaccharomyces detection using a combination of PCR and CL detection. The analytical challenges posed by the pharmaceutical industry include testing for contaminants in raw materials and drug products, and drug discovery. The sensitivity and rapid signal acquisition characteristics of CL and BL are advantageous for the high throughput, massively parallel testing of micro-sized samples demanded in drug discovery. Current progress and the prospects for CL and BL immunoassay and nucleic acid technologies in this and other pharmaceutical and food applications is reviewed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Development of an automated in-line microfiltration system coupled to an HPLC for the determination of solubility.

Abstract An automated in-line microfiltration system coupled to an HPLC was developed for the determination of solubility. Filtrations and subsequent solubility determinations are performed using a standard Gilson dilutor and autosampler and dual Rheodyne® valves equipped with a filtration assembly and configured to an HPLC system. The solubility data obtained using the automated in-line microfiltration system are in good agreement with the results obtained using conventional manual preparation techniques. Automating this labor-intensive and often variable portion of the solubility determination provides a reliable means of improving both the consistency and quality of solubility data.
Degree Completion Among Nontraditional College Students

Objective. With the growing number of older students attending college, one major issue concerning these nontraditional students is their overall low completion rates. We examine factors affecting nontraditional students' degree completion. Methods. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we examine the effects of student characteristics on the probability of finishing college with event history models. Results. Part-time enrollment significantly deters college completion, whereas the number of prior enrollments facilitates it. Being relatively young, having high cognitive ability, and a high-status occupational background also increase the chance of completion, but these effects partly differ by gender. On the other hand, being divorced and having young children, the factors often negatively associated with women's socioeconomic status, suppress degree completion for both genders. Conclusions. Based on these results, we discuss how higher educational institutions and employers might be able to help increase the rate of completion among nontraditional students.
THE ARBITRAGE PRICING THEORY AND COST-OF-CAPITAL ESTIMATION: THE CASE OF ELECTRIC UTILITIES

Capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and alternative arbitrage pricing theory (APT) methodologies are used to estimate the cost of capital for a sample of electric utilities. The statistical factors APT method is found to produce significantly different estimates depending on the number of factors specified and the set of firms factor analyzed. The use of macroeconomic factors is explored, and it is shown that this methodology has advantages over the statistical factors APT and the market model.
Strain aging in α-zirconium and α-zircaloy at 1000 K

Abstract Tensile deformation of fine grain-size zirconium and zircaloy-2 and -4 sheet specimens was investigated near 1000 K at strain rates between 10−4 and 10−2 s−1. Manifestations of dynamic strain aging, e.g., yield-point effect and rate-dependent work-hardening behavior, were evident in the materials. Also, the uniform strain versus temperature curve exhibited a minimum. Yield-point type transients following extension-rate change, serrated stress-strain curves, and flow-stress peaks were recorded for both zircaloys. A microstructure with a smaller volume fraction of second-phase particles is more conducive to the yield-point effect. An analysis of the composition of second-phase particles implies that iron atoms in solution are responsible for strain aging in zirconium and the zircaloys at 1000 K.
On the numerical determination of shrinkage stresses

Abstract : An iterative method is employed to obtain numerical solutions of a two dimensional mixed boundary value problem for rectangular elastic plates. The theory of plane stress is used. This problem is encountered when the edge of a uniformly heated plate is bonded to a rigid body and then allowed to cool. The numerical results are compared with two formal asymptotic expansions of the solution. They correspond to the limiting cases of a thin strip and a long strip. The development of boundary layers near the edges of the plate is observed. The numerically determined stresses achieve their largest values at the corner of the bonded edge. (Author)
Fluorescent measurement of desmin intermediate filament assembly

Abstract Intermediate filaments (IF) are cytoskeletal elements that are believed to play a major role in the specification and maintenance of cell form. Although previously thought to be stable and static because of their relative insolubility in physiological solvents, IF have recently been shown to have dynamic properties not unlike those of other cytoskeletal elements. The methodology for measuring this dynamic behavior, however, has been mostly borrowed from studies of other filament proteins and are poorly suited to IF because of their unusual physicochemical properties. In this report we introduce a fluorescence assay for quantifying in vitro IF assembly. Desmin subunits labeled with iodoacetamidofluorescein (IAF) to approximately 0.4 mol/mol retain the ability to polymerize into filaments indistin-guishable from unlabeled IF in the electron microscope. By spectrophotometry, however, up to 90% of the starting fluorescence is quenched upon maximal IF assembly from IAF-desmin subunits. This quench is proportional to the total concentration of desmin subunits and is a sensitive measure of the assembly process. The critical concentration of assembly, measured at 170 m m NaCl, 1 m m MgCl 2 , 10 m m Tris-HCl, pH 7.0, is 0.2 μ m . This indicates that a significant level of unpolymerized desmin exists in steady-state equilibrium with polymerized filaments under these conditions and suggests that IF subunit-filament equilibria may play a role in cytoskeletal dynamics.
Improvement of Hypothyroidism after Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass for Morbid Obesity

Background: Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGBP) has been very effective in managing a broad range of morbid obesity-related co-morbidities. We report a beneficial effect of LRYGBP that has not been previously observed. Methods: Between December 1999 and September 2002, 224 patients underwent LRYGBP. Preoperative assessment for hypothyroidism and follow-up data were prospectively collected in our database. Improved thyroid function (ITF) or unchanged thyroid function (UTF) was determined by comparison of preoperative and postoperative thyroxine requirements. Results: 23 of 224 patients (10.3%) were treated preoperatively for hypothyroidism. During a median follow-up of 17 months, hypothyroidism was improved in 10/23 patients (43.5%). 2 patients had complete resolution, and the remaining 8 had reduction (14%-50%) of their thyroxine requirements. ITF occurred at a mean follow-up of 8.9 months and at a mean excess weight loss (EWL) of 57%. 6 of the 8 patients (75%) with ITF ≥ 25% had EWL >90% at last follow-up, compared to 1 out of 15 patients (6.6%) with UTF or <25% improvement (P =0.001). Comparison of patients with ITF and UTF over time during a 20-month follow-up, showed no significant difference in mean body mass index (BMI) and mean percentage of EWL. Conclusion: Improvement of hypothyroidism may be an additional benefit of bariatric surgery that has not been previously reported. Reduction of thyroxine requirements is most likely the result of the decrease in the BMI.
Facial expression recognition: a clustering-based approach

This paper describes a new clustering based feature extraction method for facial expression recognition. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this method and compare it with commonly used principal component analysis method and linear discriminant analysis method.
Lightning-2: a high-performance display subsystem for PC clusters

Clusters of PCs are increasingly popular as cost-effective platforms for supercomputer-class applications. Given recent performance improvements in graphics accelerators, clusters are similarly attractive for demanding graphics applications. We describe the design and implementation of Lightning-2, a display subsystem for such a cluster. The system scales in both the number of rendering nodes and the number of displays supported, and allows any pixel data generated from any node to be dynamically mapped to any location on any display. A number of image-compositing functions are supported, including color-keying and depth-compositing. A distinguishing feature of the system is its platform independence: it connects to graphics accelerators via an industry-standard digital video port and requires no modifications to accelerator hardware or device drivers. As a result, rendering clusters that utilize Lightning-2 can be upgraded across multiple generations of graphics accelerators with little effort. We demonstrate a renderer that achieves 106 Mtri/s on an 8-node cluster using Lightning-2 to perform sort-last depth compositing.
Comparability Effects in Probability Judgments

Psychological theories of subjective probability judgments assume that accumulated evidence (support) mediates the relation between the description of a to-be-judged event (hypothesis) and the judgment. To scale a probability from the support for a hypothesis, these psychological theories make a strong independence assumption. This assumption is stated in the form of the product rule, in which the support garnered for a particular hypothesis is independent of the support for the alternative hypothesis. In the study reported here, I asked participants to judge the likelihood of a bicyclist winning a simulated race. Results showed that the independence assumption was systematically violated. Observed judgments suggest that when a probability judgment is made, the comparability or similarity of the hypotheses on one dimension increases the weight that judges allocate to differences on the other dimensions. These results speak against the simple scalability-processing assumption of support theory, and they illustrate the need for a theory of judgment processes that describes how the similarity between hypotheses shapes judgment.
Treatment: special conditions: assessing blood pressure in children and adolescents.

There are a number of comprehensive articles that cover the topic of hypertension in children and adolescents. One of the most important aspects of the issue is that one must be aware that hypertension may occur in children and adolescents. While it is estimated that fewer than 5% of all children will have true hypertension, some populations may be disproportionately affected. With the obesity epidemic underway, there is a higher prevalence of elevated blood pressure among younger patients who are overweight or obese. And yet it is also important to keep in mind that since younger patients with elevated blood pressure may have a secondary cause, a thorough evaluation is necessary. As awareness of the issue grows, it is also important to realize that one must often come back to the basics of patient evaluation to start to figure out what may be happening. The evaluation may provide clues to the underlying reason for hypertension, and it is also important to look for evidence of target organ disease. When assessing the blood pressure value in a child or adolescent, one must step back a bit and determine just exactly how one got to these values in the first place. The method of blood pressure measurement (direct vs. indirect), the equipment used (oscillometric device, aneroid device, or mercury sphygmomanometer), the context and environment when the measurement was taken (regular check– up, sports physical, or acute care visit with symptoms), and the number of readings that were done all must be taken into account.
Zinc(II)-facilitated hydrolysis of 2-hydroxyacid esters. A model for carboxypeptidase A

Zn(II) complexes of naturally-occurring 2-hydroxyacids have been prepared by two separate methods: (1) Reaction between 2-hydroxyacid and Zn(II); and (2) Zn(II)-facilitated hydrolysis of esters of 2-hydroxyacids. For example, reaction of 0-acetyl 2-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid with Zn(II) in warm 95% ethanol led to formation of Zn(2-hydroxyoctadecanoate)2. This general reaction should provide insight into the importance of metal-ion activation of the leaving group in carboxypeptidase-catalyzed hydrolysis of esters.
Fetal heart rate acceleration in labor: Excellent prognostic indicator

This study explores the significance of fetal heart rate acceleration in labor. Fetal heart rate accelerations were studied in 1,677 monitored laboring patients. Fetal outcome was analyzed according to perinatal mortality rate. Apgar scores, and incidence of late deceleration. The presence of accelerations of the fetal heart rate during labor proved to be an excellent indicator of subsequent good fetal outcome.
The European Court, National Judges, and Legal Integration: A Researcher's Guide to the Data Set on Preliminary References in EC Law, 1958--98

We hope to stimulate more systematic research on all areas of legal integration by making available for free and open use a comprehensive data base on preliminary references in EC law. The Data Set, which has been under construction since 1996, is now online at various websites. The data are not publicly accessible elsewhere. In this article, we provide a brief summary of the data base and its potential uses. We begin by introducing the main features of the Data Set. We then discuss some of the dynamics of legal integration in light of our analyses of the data.
Car Seat Screening for Low Birth Weight Term Neonates

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Car seat tolerance screening (CSTS) is a common predischarge assessment of neonates. Almost half of nurseries and NICUs have low birth weight (LBW, METHODS: This was a retrospective medical record review of 220 full-term LBW infants qualifying for CSTS over a 4-year period between January 2010 to December 2013. We described CSTS results and performed bivariate analyses to evaluate for predictors of failure. RESULTS: Overall failure incidence was 4.8%. There were no differences between those who passed and those who failed based on birth weight, birth GA, race, gender, Apgar scores, respiratory support requirements, magnesium exposure, corrected GA, or weight at the time of CSTS. Maternal urine toxicology positive for opiates was found to be a significant predictor of CSTS failure. Of the 9 subjects who failed, 2 had a specific diagnosis identified (Prader–Willi syndrome and long QT syndrome) after a failed CSTS prompted closer examination and workup before discharge. CONCLUSIONS: We found a similar incidence of failure for full-term LBW infants as has been previously reported for preterm infants. The infants who failed were more likely to have mothers who tested positive for opiates before delivery. Epidemiologic data are provided to help guide future CSTS policies and protocol development for this group.
Analytical Correction for Effective Mobility Measurements in MOSFETs

Differences in drain bias used for the capacitance and current measurement steps can lead to inaccuracy in the extraction of mobility at low fields. An analytical correction for a bulk MOSFET can be applied to the capacitance measurement to correct for the effect of drain bias provided doping and oxide capacitance density are known. The proposed correction successfully corrects measured mobility data and is proven by comparison with results obtained from an improved but experimentally more complicated technique.
The system Nb3Sn1−xSbx and the density of states model for Nb3Sn

Abstract The temperature of the cubic-tetragonal transformation in Nb3Sn, and the magnitude of the tetragonal distortion, are found by X-ray measurements to be independent of Sb doping over the range studied, 0 c a ratio greater than unity, while for pure Nb3Sn, a #62; c. These results are discussed in terms of the density of states model of the lattice transformation in β-tungsten superconductors.
The Neuropathology of Schizophrenia

Insofar as schizophrenia is a neuropsychiatric syndrome involving the brain, neuropathology is a promising, if not essential investigative approach. Although traditional neuropathology has yet to yield a pathognomonic lesion in schizophrenia, there have been no shortages of findings. Unfortunately, many of these findings have not only failed to be pathognomonic, but they have not been consistently replicated. Fortunately, newer neuropathological techniques, such as post-mortem neurochemistry, have resulted in findings among the most reproducible in schizophrenia research. Although one of these, increased dopamine receptors in the basal ganglia of schizophrenic patients, has been replicated many times, it suffers from doubts as to its clinical relevance. Are these increases in dopamine receptors primary to the illness or a side effect of the treatment? This article discusses the relevance of this finding, reviews other highlights of post-mortem neurochemistry and traditional neuropathology, and discusses new horizons such as autoradiography, immunocytochemistry, and neuronal morphometrics.
Stochastic hybrid systems for studying biochemical processes

Many protein and mRNA species occur at low molecular counts within cells, and hence are subject to large stochastic fluctuations in copy numbers over time. Development of computationally tractable frameworks for modelling stochastic fluctuations in population counts is essential to understand how noise at the cellular level affects biological function and phenotype. We show that stochastic hybrid systems (SHSs) provide a convenient framework for modelling the time evolution of population counts of different chemical species involved in a set of biochemical reactions. We illustrate recently developed techniques that allow fast computations of the statistical moments of the population count, without having to run computationally expensive Monte Carlo simulations of the biochemical reactions. Finally, we review different examples from the literature that illustrate the benefits of using SHSs for modelling biochemical processes.
High‐precision determination of 13C–18O bonds in CO2 using multicollector peak hopping

RATIONALE Rapid development of the CO2 'clumped-isotope' temperature proxy (Δ47) has involved both resource- and labor-intensive analytical methods. We report strategies for measuring Δ47 on a conventional mass spectrometer, with the usual CO2 set of three Faraday collectors while reducing the time devoted to standardization with temperature-equilibrated CO2. METHODS We measured Δ47 in CO2 on a mass spectrometer using only three Faraday cups by 'multicollector peak hopping', directing 46CO2+ and 47CO2+ ion beams into the Faraday cups normally used for m/z 44 and 45. Δ47 was calculated from the previously measured δ13C and δ18O values and we then measured 47CO2+/46CO2+. We invoke a protocol for correcting ion-beam intensities for secondary electrons to address common problems with compositional non-linearity and both long- and short-term measurement stability. RESULTS Our method eliminates the need for six Faraday cups for measuring Δ47, a possible advantage for many laboratories. In addition, by using a correction based on removing the effects of secondary electrons, we remove the Δ47 dependence on δ47CO2. As a result, our methods are robust against mass spectrometer operating conditions. CONCLUSIONS Δ47 can be precisely measured on mass spectrometers currently employed for measuring δ13C and δ18O values without significant resource investment. Accounting for ion scatter during measurements of CO2 results in improved external precision and long-term stability, while significantly increasing the machine time available for sample analysis. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
PON test systems - From theory to field deployments

This paper presents the first feedback from field experiments of remote fiber testing systems using U band, new High Resolution OTDR and Out-of-band reflective markers installed on the ONT side.
Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis Toxin Cry2Ab in Trichoplusia ni Is Conferred by a Novel Genetic Mechanism

The resistance to the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin Cry2Ab in a greenhouse-originated Trichoplusia ni strain resistant to both Bt toxins Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab was characterized. Biological assays determined that the Cry2Ab resistance in the T. ni strain was a monogenic recessive trait independent of Cry1Ac resistance, and there existed no significant cross-resistance between Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab in T. ni. From the dual-toxin-resistant T. ni strain, a strain resistant to Cry2Ab only was isolated, and the Cry2Ab resistance trait was introgressed into a susceptible laboratory strain to facilitate comparative analysis of the Cry2Ab resistance with the susceptible T. ni strain. Results from biochemical analysis showed no significant difference between the Cry2Ab-resistant and -susceptible T. ni larvae in midgut proteases, including caseinolytic proteolytic activity and zymogram profile and serine protease activities, in midgut aminopeptidase and alkaline phosphatase activity, and in midgut esterases and hemolymph plasma melanization activity. For analysis of genetic linkage of Cry2Ab resistance with potential Cry toxin receptor genes, molecular markers for the midgut cadherin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and aminopeptidase N (APN) genes were identified between the original greenhouse-derived dual-toxin-resistant and the susceptible laboratory T. ni strains. Genetic linkage analysis showed that the Cry2Ab resistance in T. ni was not genetically associated with the midgut genes coding for the cadherin, ALP, and 6 APNs (APN1 to APN6) nor associated with the ABC transporter gene ABCC2. Therefore, the Cry2Ab resistance in T. ni is conferred by a novel but unknown genetic mechanism.
Noninvasive Imaging of Bioimpedance Distribution by Means of Current Reconstruction Magnetic Resonance Electrical Impedance Tomography

We have developed a novel magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) algorithm-current reconstruction MREIT algorithm-for noninvasive imaging of electrical impedance distribution of a biological system using only one component of magnetic flux density. The newly proposed algorithm uses the inverse of Biot-Savart Law to reconstruct the current density distribution, and then, uses a modified J-substitution algorithm to reconstruct the conductivity image. A series of computer simulations has been conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed current reconstruction MREIT algorithm with simulation settings for breast cancer imaging applications, with consideration of measurement noise, current injection strength, size of simulated tumors, spatial resolution, and position dependency. The present simulation results are highly promising, demonstrating the high spatial resolution, high accuracy in conductivity reconstruction, and robustness against noise of the proposed algorithm for imaging electrical impedance of a biological system. The present MREIT method may have potential applications to breast cancer imaging and imaging of other organs.
CEO Compensation: Does Financial Crisis Matter?

The topic of CEO compensation has been highly debatable. The financial crisis of 2008 further prompted public and media to question executive compensation practices in the United States. This study investigates the effect of the financial crisis on CEO compensation and also examines various determinants of CEO compensation. Using a sample of Fortune 500 firms and 2241 observations, we find that financial crisis has a small but significant effect on CEO compensation. Firm performance, firm size, and CEO duality were found to have a significant effect on CEO compensation both pre and post-crisis. One major difference found between pre and post-crisis was in the composition of pay. While cash compensation decreased significantly post-crisis, equity-compensation increased.
The effect of cluster location and dataset size on 2-stage k-means algorithm

Paper introduces the 2-stage k-means algorithm which is faster than the standard 1-stage k-means algorithm. The main idea of the 2-stages is to move, in the first stage (fast), the centers of the clusters closer to their final locations. This will be done by using a small part of the data to achieve faster calculation. The next stage (slow) stage will start from the centers found during the first stage (fast). Different initial locations of the clusters have been used while testing the algorithms here. With bigger datasets, it is shown that the 2-stage clustering method achieves better speed-up.
Automatic Configuration Recognition Methods in Modular Robots

Recognizing useful modular robot configurations composed of hundreds of modules is a significant challenge. Matching a new modular robot configuration to a library of known configurations is essential in identifying and applying control schemes. We present three different algorithms to address the problem of (a) matching and (b) mapping new robot configurations onto a library of known configurations. The first method solves the problem using graph isomorphisms and can identify configurations that share the same underlying graph structure, but have different port connections amongst the modules. The second approach compares graph spectra of configuration matrices to find a permutation matrix that maps a given configuration to a known one. The third algorithm exploits the unique structure of the problem for the particular robots used in our research to achieve impressive gains in performance and speed over existing techniques, especially for larger configurations. With these three algorithms, this paper presents novel solutions to the problem of configuration recognition and sheds light on theoretical and practical issues for long-term advances in this important area of modular robotics. Results and examples are provided to compare the performance of the three algorithms and discuss their relative advantages.
Change in mental status.

Dr. Vicki E. Noble: Today’s case is that of a 32-year-old man who was brought to the Emergency Department (ED) for a change in mental status. His wife had called 911 when she came home from work and found her husband ‘acting strangely.’ She reported that he was calling himself an alien, was threatening to hit her, and was becoming increasingly violent. On arrival in the ED the patient was awake and alert but delusional, again stating that he was an alien and that he had created the world 2 days ago on Maple Street and no one seemed to care. He asked if we knew what the year 2 A.B. was, and when we declined he said, ‘It’s 2 After Bill (patient’s name).’ When the ambulance crew left, the patient announced that he was leaving as well and began to walk out. Given our concerns about his violent behavior toward his wife, we called security. He became quite agitated and violent when confronted by security and he was chemically and mechanically restrained. His past medical history was significant for a seizure disorder since age 3 months. His medications included topiramate and carbamazepine. He had no known allergies. He was married with two sons, and his wife was pregnant with their third child. He worked at a grocery store and denied alcohol and drug abuse. We are fortunate today for our discussion to have the patient’s neurologist here, Dr. Bromfield. Dr. Edward Bromfield (Assistant Professor of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA): How was he chemically restrained? Dr. Noble: He was given 15 mg of haloperidol intramuscularly (IM). Dr. Bromfield: All of the antipsychotic agents have the unfortunate effect of decreasing the seizure threshold of patients, and while haloperidol is better than chlorpromazine in this respect, it still could have precipitated a seizure, especially at high doses. Lorazepam may have been a better choice for sedation and, if given in combination, might have decreased the amount of haloperidol required for sedation. Dr. Eric S. Nadel: Can you briefly review your thought process regarding the use of chemical and physical restraints? Dr. Noble: There were two indications for use of restraints in this patient. The first was that he had exhibited threatening behavior toward his wife at home, and toward the staff in the ED. I also felt that he was at risk of harm to himself if he left without evaluation and treatment, since there were several life-threatening processes on my differential for his acute mental status change. In addition, he did not appear to have the capacity to refuse treatment as he did not exhibit any awareness of the consequences of his leaving without evaluation, and could not demonstrate any knowledge of his treatment options. Therefore, I made the decision to chemically and mechanically restrain the patient. I added the chemical restraints so that the patient would not
Digital Emulation of Pulse Frequency Modulation for Neuroprosthetic Sensory Feedback

Pulse frequency modulation (PFM) is a method of encoding information where the instantaneous frequency of a pulse train carries the signal's information. PFM is of particular interest to those working towards interfacing prosthetic devices directly with the human nervous system. In this paper, we consider the effects of directly implementing PFM with a digital microprocessor. We consider three digital PFM algorithms: two are deterministic, and the third has a probabilistic nature that has desirable time-averaged and ensemble behavior. For each algorithm, we analytically bound the error between the desired pulse frequency and the actual frequency output by the microprocessor. We aim to provide tools for the design and analysis of closed-loop neuroprosthetic systems containing PFM
Authorship Attribution Using Principal Component Analysis and Nearest Neighbor Rule for Neural Networks

Feature extraction is a common problem in statistical pattern recognition. It refers to a process whereby a data space is transformed into a feature space that, in theory, has exactly the same dimension as the original data space. However, the transformation is designed in such a way that the data set may be represented by a reduced number of "effective" features and yet retain most of the intrinsic information content of the data; in other words, the data set undergoes a dimensionality reduction. Principal component analysis is one of these processes. In this paper the data collected by counting selected syntactic characteristics in around a thousand paragraphs of each of the sample books underwent a principal component analysis. To make a comparison, the original data is also processed. Authors of texts identified with higher success by the competitive neural networks, which use principal components. The process repeated on another group of authors, and similar results are obtained.
Copyright Infringement and the Second Generation of Social Media Websites: Why Pinterest Users Should Be Protected from Copyright Infringement by the Fair Use Defense

Early social media platforms have evolved into a new generation of online information-sharing. The focus of social media is shifting from user-created content to user-found content. This trend is shared by new versions of the original social media powerhouses and recent social media start-ups. For example, both Twitter and Facebook have made it easier for users to integrate photos and videos from the internet into their profiles. Additionally, new “second generation” social media platforms have expanded on this trend by focusing almost entirely on found content — especially pictures. The most recent product of this social media evolution is Pinterest. Pinterest debuted in late November 2009 and since then has exploded in its number of unique visitors per month. Pinterest has become an increasingly popular way for people to share interesting things found online. Pinterest focuses on photos, videos, products, and other interesting things found online, rather than original creation. Recently there has been concern that this emphasis on found content could expose users of second generation social media websites to significant legal liability. Ironically, the ease and visual appeal that created the public’s interest in Pinterest and other second generation social media websites, could turn out to be the largest impediment it their continued successes. With Pinterest’s growth and popularity comes a concern about widespread copyright infringement. This paper will evaluate the potential copyright infringement liability for Pinterest users. As this paper will demonstrate and predict, the statutory fair use defense would likely shield most Pinterest users from copyright infringement liability. Part I will introduce Pinterest and explain how it works. Part II will briefly discuss copyright law and how it would likely apply to Pinterest. Part III will analyze the applicability of the fair use defense to copyright infringement on Pinterest. Part IV will conclude by predicting that the fair use defense would protect most Pinterest users from copyright infringement liability.
Failure of methylene blue to produce methemoglobinemia in vivo.

studies of the effects of methylene blue in animals have failed to demonstrate methe­ moglobinemia. 5 ' 26 This paper describes an attempt to accumulate methemoglobin in dogs and rats by means of doses many times greater than those used in previous experi­ ments, in order to determine whether or not large dye concentrations would induce for­ mation of methemoglobin. The absorption characteristics of methyl­ ene blue, especially in high concentrations, interfere with the usual spectrophotometric technic for determinations of methemoglobin in whole blood. Therefore, methemoglobin was determined by a microgasometric method in the studies reported in this paper. Three experiments were performed. The first was a comparison of the microgaso­ metric and spectrophotometric methods for methemoglobin assay in the blood of rats given para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) to induce methemoglobinemia in vivo. The microgasometric technic detected methemo­ globin efficiently and was used to study the blood of clogs given slow intravenous infu­ sions of doses of methylene blue 20 to 35 times greater than those usually adminis­ tered. Rats given intraperitoneal injections of an approximate LD 5o dose of this dye were also studied. Neither species showed any methemoglobinemia; in fact, infusion of methylene blue produced a rise in total circulating hemoglobin.
Multidisciplinary management of cancer of the anus.

Anal margin cancers are treated by local excision, with radical surgery reserved only for invasive cancers or those associated with fistula or condylomata. Squamous cell cancers of the anal canal have been treated by abdominoperineal resection regardless of cell type. Radiation therapy alone has been advocated by some, and we initiated a study using a combination of radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. This study includes 104 patients treated from December, 1971, to July, 1983. Routine abdominoperineal resection was discontinued by us in 1975 because chemoradiation therapy eliminated the primary lesion in 5 of the first 6 patients. In the series, gross tumor disappeared in 97 patients after chemoradiation therapy. Radical operation was done routinely in 24 patients, for residual disease in 7, and for recurrent disease in 7 others. There were 21 deaths of which 13 were due to cancer of the anal canal. Large primary lesions and recurrent local disease account for the majority of deaths due to cancer. The 5-year survival rate is projected to be 83%, with 65 patients followed for at least 5 years. Under our current regimen only 16 of the 38 patients would have had radical surgery. Chemoradiation therapy is advocated for all patients with squamous cell cancer of the anal canal and for invasive cancers of the anal margin. Patients with large (6–8 cm) primary cancers and those with recurrent disease should have additional chemoradiation therapy and/or abdominoperineal resection of the rectum.