cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Environmental correlates of walking and cycling: Findings from the transportation, urban design, and planning literatures

Research in transportation, urban design, and planning has examined associations between physical environment variables and individuals' walking and cycling for transport. Constructs, methods, and findings from these fields can be applied by physical activity and health researchers to improve understanding of environmental influences on physical activity. In this review, neighborhood environment characteristics proposed to be relevant to walking/cycling for transport are defined, including population density, connectivity, and land use mix. Neighborhood comparison and correlational studies with nonmotorized transport outcomes are considered, with evidence suggesting that residents from communities with higher density, greater connectivity, and more land use mix report higher rates of walking/cycling for utilitarian purposes than low-density, poorly connected, and single land use neighborhoods. Environmental variables appear to add to variance accounted for beyond sociodemographic predictors of walking/cycling for transport. Implications of the transportation literature for physical activity and related research are outlined. Future research directions are detailed for physical activity research to further examine the impact of neighborhood and other physical environment factors on physical activity and the potential interactive effects of psychosocial and environmental variables. The transportation, urban design, and planning literatures provide a valuable starting point for multidisciplinary research on environmental contributions to physical activity levels in the population.
The Issue of Control in Jail: The Effects of Professionalism, Detainee Control, and Administrative Support on Job Stress, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment among Jail Staff

Jails are important, yet understudied, components of the American criminal justice system. While most research on correctional personnel has focused on prisons, a growing body of work is beginning to emerge on jails. This is encouraging given the unique circumstances that occur within jail environments (e.g., diversity and mobility of offenders, health issues among detainees, overcrowding, lack of training among staff, etc.). Given these conditions, the staff members who run jails become the glue that holds them together. The following study contributes to this burgeoning area of empirical inquiry by examining a variety of antecedents of job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment among jail personnel. Using survey data collected from a large county correctional system in Orlando, Florida, the findings indicate that staff perceptions of professionalism, detainee control, and administrative support all significantly impact degrees of job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.
A Framework for Analysing the Microbiological Commons

The adaptation of the "commons" to the realm of knowledge and information is a relatively recent phenomenon. Prior to the mid-1990s, the commons referred almost exclusively to shared land to and other types of natural resources (Hess 2000). The commons conveys the notion of shared ownership, participation, and responsibility. Where the term "commons" has recently arisen, as with scientific information and the intellectual public domain, it is a rallying cry to protect and sustain free access.
Salvage radical prostatectomy as management of locally recurrent prostate cancer: outcomes and complications.

Purpose Management of prostate cancer following radiation therapy remains challenging, especially for younger men or those with life expectancy greater than 10 years. We outline the efficacy, safety and adequacy of radical prostatectomy for the treatment of radiorecurrent localized prostate cancer.
Collinsiella (Ulvophyceae, Chlorophyta) and other ulotrichalean taxa with shell-boring sporophytes form a monophyletic clade

Four genera of Ulotrichales, Collinsiella, Eugomontia, Gomontia, and Monostroma, contain species with shell-boring co-diolum phases in their life histories. The codiolum phases of these species are...
Consistency in models for distributed learning under communication constraints

Motivated by sensor networks and other distributed settings, several models for distributed learning are presented. The models differ from classical works in statistical pattern recognition by allocating observations of an independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) sampling process among members of a network of simple learning agents. The agents are limited in their ability to communicate to a central fusion center and thus, the amount of information available for use in classification or regression is constrained. For several basic communication models in both the binary classification and regression frameworks, we question the existence of agent decision rules and fusion rules that result in a universally consistent ensemble; the answers to this question present new issues to consider with regard to universal consistency. This paper addresses the issue of whether or not the guarantees provided by Stone's theorem in centralized environments hold in distributed settings.
Exogenous Hormones and Luteal Function in Hysterectomized and Intact Heifers

Abstract Groups of five Holstein heifers were hysterectomized on Day 10 of the estrous cycle, and beginning 21 days later were given daily injections of either oxytocin, estradiol, equine luteinizing hormone, adrenocorticotropin, or relaxin. Three additional groups were slaughtered at the end of six, 15, and 30-day control periods. A gradual decrease in luteal tissue weight, progesterone concentration, and 20- β -ol concentration occurred as the control period lengthened. Oxytocin injections (0.33 United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) units/kg body wt/day) for either 15 or 30 days had no luteolytic effect. Equine luteinizing hormone (20 mg/day for 15 days) significantly increased progesterone concentration, total progesterone, and total progestins. Estradiol (5 mg/day) administered to one group for six days and to another for 15 days significantly depressed 20- β -ol concentration, total progesterone, and total progestins. Estradiol injected into intact heifers on either Days 5 through 14, or 10 through 14 caused complete luteal regression. Relaxin injections into hysterectomized heifers for 15 days had no effect. Adrenocorticotropin (100 units/day) injected on Days 2 through 8 significantly decreased corpus luteum weight in intact Hereford heifers, but was ineffective when injected into hysterectomized heifers. These results indicate that a uterine luteolytic mechanism is necessary for complete luteal regression, or that the corpora lutea of hysterectomized cows are unresponsive to normal luteolytic mechanism (s).
Cavernous malformations: Results of image‐guided resection

With increased use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diagnosis of cavernous malformations (CMs) has become straightforward. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice for these lesions. These malformations, though, are often small and can be difficult to localize during surgery. In these cases, stereotactic resection with a frame-based system is recommended to aid in localization of the malformation. However, use of these frame-based systems can be time consuming for the surgeon and onerous for the patient. With the advent of frameless stereotactic systems, these problems can be circumvented. Therefore, stereotactic resection of 17 CMs was performed for 15 patients over the course of 2 years at our institution during an investigative trial of a frameless stereotactic device. Eight patients presented with seizures, five patients with hemorrhage, and two patients with progressive headaches. Twelve of fifteen patients had normal neurological examination results on presentation, whereas three patients had deficits resulting from intracranial hemorrhages. All patients underwent diagnostic MRI preoperatively. Fourteen lesions were found to be cortical and subcortical; the other three lesions were in the basal ganglia, lateral ventricle, and pons. Following resection, 11 of 15 patients improved. Two patients developed postoperative deficits shortly after resection. One patient with a preoperative neurological deficit remained unchanged, and one patient had a recurrence of a deficit several months following resection. Image-guided stereotactic resection provides for easy localization of small malformations without requiring the use of a stereotactic frame or retractor and is well suited for resection of cavernous malformations.
A National Perspective: Establishing and Implementing a Characterization Program in the U.S. for Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for waste management from nuclear weapons production and operates the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for permanent disposal of defense-generated transuranic waste (TRU), as authorized by Congress in 1979. Radioactive waste in the U.S. has historically been managed in one of two ways depending on its penetrating radiation dose rate. Waste with surface dose rates above 200 milli-rem/hour (0.002 sievert/hour) and waste that has been managed remotely (remote-handled). In 1992, Congress passed the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, which created the regulatory framework under which DOE was to operate the facility, and authorized disposal of waste up to 1,000 rem/hour (10 Sievert/hour). Subsequently, DOE submitted applications to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at the Federal level, for certification to operate WIPP, and to the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), at the State level, for a hazardous waste permit. Both applications described the characterization methods that DOE proposed to use to ensure only compliant waste was shipped to WIPP. No distinction was employed in these methods concerning the surface dose rate from the waste. During the applications review, both regulatory agencies came to the conclusion in their approval that DOE had not demonstrated thatmore » remote-handled transuranic (RH-TRU) waste could be adequately characterized. Therefore, WIPP was only granted approval to begin waste disposal operations of waste with surface dose rates less than 200 milli-rem/hour (0.002 sievert/hour) - or contact-handled transuranic (CH-TRU) waste. Emplacement of CH-TRU waste in WIPP began March 26, 1999. However, WIPP was designed for disposal of both CH- and RH-TRU waste, with the RH-TRU waste in canisters emplaced in the walls of the underground disposal rooms and CH-TRU waste in containers in the associated open drifts. Therefore, as disposal rooms filled with CH-TRU waste, the space along the walls for RH-TRU waste disposal was lost. This made removal of the regulatory prohibition on RH-TRU waste a very high priority, and DOE immediately began an iterative process to change the two regulatory bases for RHTRU waste disposal. These changes focused on how DOE could rely on CH-TRU characterization methods for adequate characterization of RH-TRU waste. On January 23, 2007, the first shipment of RH-TRU waste was finally received at WIPP. The revised EPA certification and NMED permit now both consider all waste characterization methods to be equally effective when applied to either CH- or RH-TRU waste, as DOE maintained in the original applications over 10 years ago. (authors)« less
Automated registration of 3D-range with 2D-color images: an overview

The automatic creation of photorealistic models of large-scale scenes is an important problem. A new generation of laser range scanners can produce very accurate and dense geometric representations in terms of point clouds of 3D points. One the other hand, images captured by inexpensive regular 2D cameras can populate this geometric representation with a large number of photometric observations. Solutions to the problem of registering these different sources of information thus become crucial. The main difficulty stems from the different acquisition processes: active sensing in 3D and passive sensing in 2D. For example, a normal discontinuity in the 3D world will be captured by both sensors but lighting effects will only be recorded by the 2D camera. This paper provides an overview of the current stat-of-the-art and then summarizes our contributions in the field. There are three categories of solutions to the problem. The first one attacks the problem of registering a single 2D image with the 3D model by matching extracted features from the 2D and 3D space. The second one deals with a textured 3D model and it can thus use 2D-to-2D matching techniques. Finally, the third and more comprehensive approach involves the alignment of a set of 2D images to a 3D model. A number of connections are thus explored (2D-to-2D, 2D-to-3D, and 3D-to-3D) leading to more robust solutions.
Buckling and post-buckling kinetics of compressed thin films on viscous substrates

Abstract Compressively stressed films and islands can buckle provided their substrates can flow or creep. A linear-stability theory, based upon plate theory, is developed which determines the onset, rate of growth and wavelength of the buckling instability for compressively-stressed elastic films on finite-thickness viscous substrates. Although the condition for the onset of the buckling instability of the film on a glass layer is the same as that for a compressively-stressed free-standing film, the instability of the film on the viscous substrate grows slowly, with a typically long characteristic time. The linear stability analysis is extended to include the effects of interfacial shear stresses and shear deformation of the film within a rigorous linear elasticity calculation. The corrections to the original critical unstable wavelength and maximally unstable mode are found to be minimal, especially for small to moderate values of the compressive stress. The role of substrate elasticity is shown to have a higher order effect in modifying the growth rate. An approximate non-linear theory is developed that predicts the saturation of the buckling instability at intermediate times, followed by a long time coarsening of the buckling wavelength and a decrease of the stress within the film. The present analysis provides the tools necessary for designing stress relaxation strategies.
The genetic relationship between thermostability of poliovirus and its in vivo response to cystine.

The relationships among three genetic properties (inhibition by cystine, thermostability, and cystine-requirement) of antigenic type 1 poliovirus were investigated. Partial or complete loss through mutation of the property of being inhibited by cystine was accompanied by changes in the other two properties, indicating that the genetic element(s) which determines inhibition by cystine also determines, at least partially, thermostability and cystine-requirement. Inhibition by cystine and thermostability were found to be closely and positively correlated, suggesting that they are simply different manifestations of a single more basic virus property.
Wavelength conversion of QPSK signals in single-pump FOPA with 20 dB conversion efficiency

We demonstrate wavelength conversion of QPSK signals in a single-pump FOPA with 20 dB conversion efficiency. Phase distortions in the idler arising from pump-phase modulation were compensated after coherent detection using a novel time-domain approach.
Housing and supports for persons with mental illness: emerging approaches to research and practice.

Objective: An approach referred to as "supported housing," based on principles of consumer choice, integrated community housing, and flexible services, is replacing residential treatment facilities for persons with psychiatric disabilities. To improve understanding of the new approach, its evolution, and issues involved in its implementation, this paper reviews studies of the effectiveness of traditional housing programs and early reports of the development of supported housing programs. Methods: A data base of more than 4,000 journal articles and book chapters published over the past 15 years was searched; both research studies and policy analyses were included. Results and conclusions: Because of national and state policy shifts toward supported housing and growing evidence that both consumers and their families favor this new approach, supported housing models appear to be increasingly replicated throughout the U.S. Innovative financing strategies, such as forming coalitions to develop housing or creat...
Design, Development, and Flight Test Experience with Lifting Body Stability Augmentation Systems.

Lifting body stability augmentation systems design, development, ground tests and flight data including frequency response, limit cycle and structural resonance
The role of inertial fusion energy in the energy marketplace of the 21st century and beyond

Abstract The viability of inertial fusion in the 21st century and beyond will be determined by its ultimate cost, complexity, and development path relative to other competing, long term, primary energy sources. We examine this potential marketplace in terms of projections for population growth, energy demands, competing fuel sources and environmental constraints (CO 2 ), and show that the two competitors for inertial fusion energy (IFE) in the medium and long term are methane gas hydrates and advanced, breeder fission; both have potential fuel reserves that will last for thousands of years. Relative to other classes of fusion concepts, we argue that the single largest advantage of the inertial route is the perception by future customers that the IFE fusion power core could achieve credible capacity factors, a result of its relative simplicity, the decoupling of the driver and reactor chamber, and the potential to employ thick liquid walls. In particular, we show that the size, cost and complexity of the IFE reactor chamber is little different to a fission reactor vessel of the same thermal power. Therefore, relative to fission, because of IFE's tangible advantages in safety, environment, waste disposal, fuel supply and proliferation, our research in advanced targets and innovative drivers can lead to a certain, reduced-size driver at which future utility executives will be indifferent to the choice of an advanced fission plant or an advanced IFE power plant; from this point on, we have a competitive commercial product. Finally, given that the major potential customer for energy in the next century is the present developing world, we put the case for future IFE “reservations” which could be viable propositions providing sufficient reliability and redundancy can be realized for each modular reactor unit.
Origin of the transgressive granophyres from the Layered Series of the Skaergaard intrusion, East Greenland

Abstract The Transgressive granophyres are a swarm of silicic dikes and sills in the Layered Series of the Skaergaard intrusion that range in composition from ferrodiorites to granites. Although originally thought to be derived by differentiation of Skaergaard magma, accumulated evidence indicates that the origin of these granophyres is more complex and involves contributions from melted country rocks. In the present study it is shown that field relations are inconsistent with any genetic relationship between the Transgressive granophyres from the Layered Series and differentiated Skaergaard magma. Although new Sr isotope analyses confirm that these granophyres are at least partly derived by fusion of Archean country rock, field relations preclude derivation of this crustal component from partially melted gneissic xenoliths from the Skaergaard magma chamber or from melting along the contact between the gneisses and the Skaergaard pluton. Major- and trace-element compositions, together with Sr isotope ratios indicate that the Transgressive granophyres from the Layered Series represent a cogenetic suite of magmas related to each other primarily by a closed system process such as crystal fractionation, and that the parental magma that gave rise to these granophyres was formed beneath the Skaergaard intrusion by contamination of differentiated post-Skaergaard mafic magmas with partially fused Archean crust.
Generation of ultrasound by repetitively Q-switching a pulsed Nd:YAG laser

Repetitively Q-switching a Nd:YAG laser during a single flashlamp pulse has been used successfully to generate a train of acoustic pulses with a repetition rate as high as 53 kHz. The spectral content of this multiple-pulse ultrasonic signal is significantly narrower in bandwidth than that of a single pulse. A corresponding reduction in the detection system bandwidth results in a marked improvement in detection sensitivity.
Accurate measurements of refractive indices for dielectrics in an undergraduate optics laboratory for science and engineering students

Based on our novel method recently published in the Am. J. Phys. 77 337–43 (2009) for finding precise values of the indices of refraction for dielectrics from measurements of the polarized light reflected by the surface, in this paper we propose an improved technique for finding Brewster angles with a better precision, of 0.001°, using the same relative inexpensive optical equipment provided by the PASCO Scientific company and a simpler setup. The goal is to implement our procedure in a 3 h optics laboratory for undergraduate students using two different laser–dielectric systems. As compared to our previous work, now we eliminate the random fluctuations of the experimental time-dependent reflectance by controlling the irradiation time on the dielectric surface (and thus avoiding the overheating of the surface) and by using lasers which are stable during the data acquisition process. Also, in the present experiment, we use a computer-based filtering procedure of the experimental reflectance during the data acquisition process for increasing the precision of the measurements at any angle of incidence.
A PRIMA FACIE DEFENSE OF HOBBESIAN ABSOLUTISM

Hobbes advocates 'thin absolutism'; a system of authority that merely ensures respect of the core concepts of sovereignty ― hierarchy and normative closure. This new interpretation of Hobbes's absolutism shows that the concerns regarding sovereign tyranny are not fatal to his account of political authority. With thin absolutism, the sovereign is neither necessarily ineffective nor inherently dangerous. This, then, leaves Hobbesian absolutism in the position of being a 'reasonable contender' - a system of political authority that might require our allegiance, but at the very least requires serious attention.
Estimations of bulk geometrically necessary dislocation density using high resolution EBSD

Characterizing the content of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) in crystalline materials is crucial to understanding plasticity. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) effectively recovers local crystal orientation, which is used to estimate the lattice distortion, components of the Nye dislocation density tensor (α), and subsequently the local bulk GND density of a material. This paper presents a complementary estimate of bulk GND density using measurements of local lattice curvature and strain gradients from more recent high resolution EBSD (HR-EBSD) methods. A continuum adaptation of classical equations for the distortion around a dislocation are developed and used to simulate random GND fields to validate the various available approximations of GND content.
Learning and Labeling

Clark and Karmiloff-Smith (CKS) have written an extraordinarily valuable paper, which sympathetically addresses what has all too often been an acrimonious and ideology-ridden "debate" and begins to transform it into a multi-perspective research program. By articulating the submerged hunches on both sides in a single framework, and adding some powerful new ideas of their own, they dispel much of the smoke of battle. What we can now see much more clearly is the need for a model of a brain/mind that, as they say, "enriches itself from within by re-representing the knowledge that it has already represented."
Pathways on the sexual violence continuum: A lifestyles theory of victimization in urban nightlife

While scholars have identified a consistent link between deviant lifestyles and victimization, little research to date has examined how life-course trajectories and lifestyle factors can shape exposure to varied forms of victimization and, in particular, different types of sexual assault. Drawing on interviews with 20 women with active night lives and direct observation of 33 nightlife events, this study employs a feminist pathways conceptual framework to examine how dispositional and lifestyle factors shaped the types of sexual assault reported. Findings indicate that while a number of factors associated with general sexual victimization were shared among those in the sample, the specific types of assault experienced were further conditioned by their individual trajectories in nightlife scenes, substance use histories, cultural taste preferences, as well as distinct aspects of the social contexts where victimization occurred. More broadly, this study suggests that well-established risk factors associated...
Foliar nectar production and ant activity on a neotropical tree, Ochroma pyramidale

In second growth forest in lowland Costa Rica, ants forage at the foliar nectaries of juvenile Ochroma pyramidale. The relationship between leaf development, foliar nectar production and ant visitation indicates that nectar secretion and ant maintenance are greatest following rapid leaf expansion. Nectar measurements in the glasshouse corroborate field measurements showing that nectar production on a sapling is continuous through time and correlated with distribution and abundance of ants within a sapling. The presence of two nectary types, leaf vein and petiolar, on the leaves of O. pyramidale results in the continual maintenance of ants on the leaf undersurface. Nectar production of a sapling increases with increasing leaf area resulting in greater number of ants per sapling. Energetic costs of nectar production and ant maintenance appear low, representing about one per cent of the total energy invested in leaves. Spatial and diurnal patterns of ant activity changed very little over the study period. Removal and exclusion of ants from saplings results in the utilization of foliar nectar by trigonid bees. A significant difference in leaf damage between ant-visited and unvisited saplings, coupled with ant behavioral characteristics, is consistent with the hypothesis that ants act as antiherbivore agents on Ochroma.
Development of SCAR markers and UP-PCR cross-hybridization method for specific detection of four major subgroups of Rhizoctonia from infected turfgrasses

A rapid identification assay for Waitea circinata (anamorph: Rhizoctonia spp.) varieties zeae and circinata causing patch diseases on turfgrasses was developed based on the universally primed PCR (UP- PCR) products cross-blot hybridization. Tester isolates belonging to the two varieties of W. circinata were amplified with a single UP primer L21, which generated multiple DNA fragments for each variety. Probes were prepared with UP-PCR products of each tester isolate by labeling with digoxigenin. Field- collected W. circinata isolates and representative isolates of different R. solani anastomosis groups (AG) and AG subgroups were amplified with L21, immobilized on nylon membrane and cross hybrid- ized with the two probes. Isolates within a W. circinata variety cross-hybridized strongly, while non-homolo- gous isolates did not cross-hybridize or did so weakly. Closely related W. circinata varieties zeae and circinata were clearly distinguished with this assay. Sequence- characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers also were developed from UP-PCR products to identify isolates of Thanatephorus cucumeris (anamorph: R. solani) AG 1-IB and AG 2-2IIIB. These two AGs are commonly isolated from diseased, cool-season turf- grasses. The specific SCAR markers that were devel- oped could differentiate isolates of AG 1-IB or AG 2- 2IIIB groups. These SCAR markers did not amplify a product from genomic DNA of nontarget isolates of Rhizoctonia. The specificities and sensitivities of the SCAR primers were tested on total DNA extracted from several field-grown, cool-season turf species having severe brown-patch symptoms. First, the leaf samples from diseased turf species were tested for the anastomosis groups of the causal pathogen, and thereafter the total DNA was amplified with the specific primers. The specific primers were sensitive and unique enough to produce a band from total DNA of diseased turfgrasses infected with either AG 1-IB or AG 2-2IIIB.
COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF THREE RADIOIMMUNOASSAYS FOR PROSTATIC ACID PHOSPHATASE

Abstract Three commercial radioimmunoassays and one enzymatic assay for prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) have been tested on 122 patients to determine their relative specificity, sensitivity, and diagnostic value. Each of the three radioimmunoassays was found to have special merits. For distinguishing Stage IV prostatic cancer from normal patients without prostatic disease, the Smith Kline (SKF) and New England Nuclear (NEN) assays provide more significant differences. The SKF test also best distinguishes all stages of prostatic cancer from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), but is inferior to the Malinckrodt (MAL) assay for contrasting Stage IV prostatic cancer from BPH. Values obtained with the NEN assay best distinguish the stages of prostatic cancer. Only with the MAL assay are significantly higher PAP values obtained in patients with metastases to bone than those without positive bone scans. Viewed from the point of sensitivity, the SKF assay proves best at all levels of specificity examined in detecting all stages (I -IV), and Stage IV prostatic cancer. By none of the assays can estrogenized Stage III and IV cancer patients be distinguished from those not on estrogen.
Brief mindfulness meditation training alters psychological and neuroendocrine responses to social evaluative stress

Summary Objective: To test whether a brief mindfulness meditation training intervention buffers selfreported psychological and neuroendocrine responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in young adult volunteers. A second objective evaluates whether pre-existing levels of dispositional mindfulness moderate the effects of brief mindfulness meditation training on stress reactivity. Methods: Sixty-six (N = 66) participants were randomly assigned to either a brief 3-day (25-min per day) mindfulness meditation training or an analytic cognitive training control program. All participants completed a standardized laboratory social-evaluative stress challenge task (the TSST) following the third mindfulness meditation or cognitive training session. Measures of psychological (stress perceptions) and biological (salivary cortisol, blood pressure) stress reactivity were collected during the social evaluative stress-challenge session. Results: Brief mindfulness meditation training reduced self-reported psychological stress reactivity but increased salivary cortisol reactivity to the TSST, relative to the cognitive training comparison program. Participants who were low in pre-existing levels of dispositional mindfulness and then received mindfulness meditation training had the greatest cortisol reactivity to the TSST. No significant main or interactive effects were observed for systolic or diastolic blood pressure reactivity to the TSST.
Automatic Generation of Boundary Conditions Using Demons Nonrigid Image Registration for Use in 3-D Modality-Independent Elastography

Modality-independent elastography (MIE) is a method of elastography that reconstructs the elastic properties of tissue using images acquired under different loading conditions and a biomechanical model. Boundary conditions are a critical input to the algorithm and are often determined by time-consuming point correspondence methods requiring manual user input. This study presents a novel method of automatically generating boundary conditions by nonrigidly registering two image sets with a demons diffusion-based registration algorithm. The use of this method was successfully performed in silico using magnetic resonance and X-ray-computed tomography image data with known boundary conditions. These preliminary results produced boundary conditions with an accuracy of up to 80% compared to the known conditions. Demons-based boundary conditions were utilized within a 3-D MIE reconstruction to determine an elasticity contrast ratio between tumor and normal tissue. Two phantom experiments were then conducted to further test the accuracy of the demons boundary conditions and the MIE reconstruction arising from the use of these conditions. Preliminary results show a reasonable characterization of the material properties on this first attempt and a significant improvement in the automation level and viability of the method.
Mechanisms of Physical-Biological-Biogeochemical Interaction at the Oceanic Mesoscale

Mesoscale phenomena are ubiquitous and highly energetic features of ocean circulation. Their influence on biological and biogeochemical processes varies widely, stemming not only from advective transport but also from the generation of variations in the environment that affect biological and chemical rates. The ephemeral nature of mesoscale features in the ocean makes it difficult to elucidate the attendant mechanisms of physical-biological-biogeochemical interaction, necessitating the use of multidisciplinary approaches involving in situ observations, remote sensing, and modeling. All three aspects are woven through this review in an attempt to synthesize current understanding of the topic, with particular emphasis on novel developments in recent years.
Permutation filters: a class of nonlinear filters based on set permutations

Introduces and analyzes a new class of nonlinear filters that have their roots in permutation theory. The authors show that a large body of nonlinear filters proposed to date constitute a proper subset of permutation filters (/spl Pscr/ filters). In particular, rank-order filters, weighted rank-order filters, and stack filters embody limited permutation transformations of a set. Indeed, by using the full potential of a permutation group transformation, one can design very efficient estimation algorithms. Permutation groups inherently utilize both rank-order and temporal-order information; thus, the estimation of nonstationary processes in Gaussian/nonGaussian environments with frequency selection can be effectively addressed. An adaptive design algorithm that minimizes the mean absolute error criterion is described as well as a more flexible adaptive algorithm that attains the optimal permutation filter under a deterministic least normed error criterion. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance of permutation filters in comparison with other widely used filters. >
Curcumin reverses breast tumor exosomes mediated immune suppression of NK cell tumor cytotoxicity

An important characteristic of tumors is that they at some point in their development overcome the surveillance of the immune system. Tumors secrete exosomes, multivesicular bodies containing a distinct set of proteins that can fuse with cells of the circulating immune system. Purified exosomes from TS/A breast cancer cells, but not non-exosomal fractions, inhibit (at concentrations of nanograms per ml protein) IL-2-induced natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity. The dietary polyphenol, curcumin (diferuloylmethane), partially reverses tumor exosome-mediated inhibition of natural killer cell activation, which is mediated through the impairment of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Exposure of mouse breast tumor cells to curcumin causes a dose-dependent increase in ubiquitinated exosomal proteins compared to those in untreated TS/A breast tumor cells. Furthermore, exosomes isolated from tumor cells pretreated with curcumin have a much attenuated inhibition of IL-2 stimulated NK cell activation. Jak3-mediated activation of Stat5 is required for tumor cytotoxicity of IL-2 stimulated NK cells. TS/A tumor exosomes strongly inhibit activation of Stat5, whereas the tumor exosomes isolated from curcumin-pretreated tumor cells have a lowered potency for inhibition of IL-2 stimulated NK cell cytotoxicity. These data suggest that partial reversal of tumor exosome-mediated inhibition of NK cell tumor cytotoxicity may account for the anti-cancer properties of curcumin.
Best traditions patriotism: A commentary on Miller, Wingo and Ben-Porath

Ben-Porath sees patriotism as involving attachment to fellow citizens as part of a shared fate community. Wingo places shared values at the center of patriotism. Miller argues that political ties to fellow nationals stemming from participation in imposing laws and policies on them will also generate obligations to non-nationals (especially the poor of many other nations). But he sees patriotism as involving a deeper love of one's nation that carries with it epistemic and moral distortions of the actual operations of one's nation, and for this reason rejects patriotism. I propose an alternative conception of patriotism (though consistent with Ben-Porath's and Wingo's) whose content is the ‘best traditions’ of one's nation (liberty, equality, appropriate separation of powers, for example).This does not require expecting one's nation actually to live up to those traditions at any given time, thus protecting against wish-induced distortions of the historical and contemporary record. Best traditions patriotism...
Long-Term Modifications in the Strength of Excitatory Associative Inputs in the Piriform Cortex

Afferent olfactory information, in vivo and in vitro, can be rapidly adapted to through a metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)–mediated attenuation of synaptic strength. Specific cellular and synaptic mechanisms underlying olfactory learning and habituation at the cortical level remain unclear. Through whole-cell recording, excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were obtained from piriform cortex (PC) principal cells. Using a coincidental, pre- and postsynaptic stimulation protocol, long-term depression (LTD) in synaptic strength was induced at associative, excitatory synapses onto layer II pyramidal neurons of the mouse (P15-27) PC. LTD was mimicked and occluded by mGluR agonists and blocked by nonselective mGluR antagonist (RS)-a-methyl4-sulfonophenylglycine (MSPG) but not by N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor antagonist 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV). Analysis of the paired-pulse ratio, a-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)/NMDA current ratio, and spontaneous EPSCs indicate that electrically induced LTD was mediated predominantly by postsynaptic mechanisms. Additionally, presynaptic mGluRs were involved in agonist-mediated synaptic depression. Immunohistochemical analysis supports the presence of multiple subclasses of mGluRs throughout the PC, with large concentrations of several receptors present in layer II. These observations provide further evidence of activity-dependent, long-term modification of associative inputs and its underlying mechanisms. Cortical adaptation at associative synapses provides an additional link between cortical olfactory processing and subcortical centers that influence behavior.
From Darkness into Light: Race, Population, and Environmental Advocacy

Environmentalists and environmental organizations in the USA have long identified population growth as a key threat to environmental sustainability at local and global scales. The neo-Malthusian logics they invoke embed racialized images and categories in defining population “problems”, yet increasingly social justice language is invoked in population debates as a “solution” in the context of international development. This article explores the historical and contemporary characterizations of race as a central component of population–environment advocacy. It focuses on locations of race narratives in both the conceptualizations of population growth as an environmental problem, and family planning as a global solution. Through a critical analysis of the “population justice” framework, I argue that new discursive approaches attempt to reposition population work as socially just, while eliding critical analyses of race.
The effects of chronic denervation on spindle discharge patterns and morphology in isolated costocutaneous muscles of garter snakes.

Experiments on spindles in normal and chronically denervated lateral costocutaneous muscles of snakes are described. The discharge patterns in response to stretch of tonic and phasic spindles are compared between normal spindles and those denervated for various periods of time. The main findings are that spindle function is lost after denervation periods of about 150 hours (the animal being kept at 30°C during the denervation period), and that prior to this (130–140 hours) both tonic and phasic spindles lose their ability to discharges; i.e., they become totally adapting. Electronmicrographs, prepared mainly from material used in the physiological experiments, reveal certain structural changes occurring in parallel with the physiological changes. These consist of increase of neurofilaments, swelling and increasing electron density of mitochondria and appearance of electron-dense bodies in the sensory ending; these changes occur at times when the spindles are still functioning, though in a modified way. Later the gap between nerve ending and underlying intrafusal fiber is invaded by satellite cell processes. Eventually the nerve endings totally disappear.
Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia associated with massive chronic intervillositis: a case report and review of the literature.

ABSTRACT Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) presents as isolated thrombocytopenia in a normal neonate as a result of destruction of fetal platelets by maternal antibodies against paternally derived human platelet antigens. Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia affects 0.1% of births, with maternal antibodies crossing the placenta as early as 14 weeks' gestation. Few reports describe placental histopathological changes occurring in NAIT cases. We present a case of NAIT associated with massive chronic intervillositis, a rare entity occurring in 0.06% to 0.8% of reviewed 2nd- and 3rd-trimester placentas; to our knowledge, this is the 1st report of such an association.
Target tracking using infrared measurements and laser illumination

A missile target tracker is designed using a filter/correlator (with adaptive target shape identification) based on forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor measurements to track the center-of-intensity of the hardbody/plume combination, and another filter using Doppler and/or speckle information in the return from a low-power laser illuminator to estimate the offset between the intensity centroid and the hardbody center-of-mass. The Doppler information is shown to yield smaller bias and error variance from the tracker than the speckle information. Performance of trackers based on just Doppler or both Doppler and speckle information from the laser return is portrayed as a function of important parameters in the tracking environment. >
Compression of fluorescence microscopy images based on the signal-to-noise estimation

Modern microscopic techniques like high-content screening (HCS), high-throughput screening, 4D imaging, and multispectral imaging may involve collection of thousands of images per experiment. Efficient image-compression techniques are indispensable to manage these vast amounts of data. This goal is frequently achieved using lossy compression algorithms such as JPEG and JPEG2000. However, these algorithms are optimized to preserve visual quality but not necessarily the integrity of the scientific data, which are often analyzed in an automated manner. Here, we propose three observer-independent compression algorithms, designed to preserve information contained in the images. These algorithms were constructed using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) computed from a single image as a quality measure to establish which image components may be discarded. The compression efficiency was measured as a function of image brightness and SNR. The alterations introduced by compression in biological images were estimated using brightness histograms (earth's mover distance (EMD) algorithm) and textures (Haralick parameters). Furthermore, a microscope test pattern was used to assess the effect of compression on the effective resolution of microscope images.
Large cell acanthoma: a variant of solar lentigo with cellular hypertrophy

Background Large cell acanthoma (LCA) is an epidermal proliferation of enlarged keratinocytes. There is a lack of consensus on whether it represents a unique neoplasm or not. To determine whether it is a variant of solar lentigo, we compared macroscopic, microscopic and immunophenotypic attributes of LCA with conventional solar lentigo, seborrheic keratosis, actinic keratosis and Bowen disease. Methods We constructed tissue microarrays containing multiple cores of LCA, solar lentigo, seborrheic keratosis, actinic keratosis and Bowen disease. Tissue microarray sections were blindly analyzed for microscopic morphologic variables. Corresponding ex vivo dermoscopic images from the original cases were blindly analyzed for macroscopic morphologic variables. Immunostained sections from the tissue microarray were tested for keratin 10, keratin 5/6, Bcl-2 and Ki-67 expression by image analysis. Results There were no significant differences in the studied morphologic attributes between LCA and solar lentigo. All other tumor classes showed at least one significant morphologic difference with LCA. LCA and solar lentigo showed different keratin 10 and Bcl-2 signal intensities. Conclusions LCA is best considered a variant of solar lentigo with cellular hypertrophy. The differences in immunophenotype and cell size could be because of differences in cell kinetics.
The geometrical hierarchy model and N = 1 supergravity☆

We incorporate the geometrical hierarchy model of Dimopoulos and Raby into N = 1 supergravity. Supersymmetry is spontaneously broken at a scale of order 1011 GeV and the cosmological constant is fine tuned to zero. A grand unification mass of order Mplanck is induced at tree level. We discuss the low energy (E ~ gravitino mass) theory and the ramifications of our model for proton decay.