cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accurate real-time interpolation of 5-axis tool-paths with local corner smoothing

Abstract 5-axis machining tool-paths, when programmed in workpiece coordinates, translational and rotational tool motion in terms of Cartesian tool center points (TCPs), and unit tool orientation vectors (ORI). This paper presents a computationally efficient real-time trajectory generation algorithm for 5-axis machine tools to interpolate translational and rotational tool motion synchronously for accurate 5-axis machining. Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters are used to generate jerk limited motion trajectories in real-time. Linear translational motion of the tool center point (TCP) is interpolated by FIR filtering of Cartesian velocity pulses in G01 blocks. In order to generate constant speed tool axis rotation, spherical linear interpolation is used, and unit tool orientation vectors (ORI) are filtered directly in the spherical coordinates. Precise tool motion synchronization is realized by matching time-constants of FIR filters utilized for translational and rotational interpolation. Non-stop path interpolation is achieved by locally blending consecutive linear G01 commands. Instead of fitting geometric blending curves and solving feed scheduling problem, smoothing functionality of FIR filtering is used, and a direct 1-step path smoothing algorithm is proposed for real-time implementation. The algorithm considers path blending errors in Cartesian (Euclidian) as well as in spherical (orientation) coordinates due to transient response of the FIR filter. As a result, both tool-tip and the tool-orientation errors are controlled accurately. Effectiveness of the developed algorithms are validated in simulations and also experimentally on an open-NC controlled 5-axis machine tool.
Topological invariants of a filling-enforced quantum band insulator

Traditional ionic and covalent compound insulators arise from a commensuration between electron count and system volume. On the other hand, conventional topological insulators, outside of quantum Hall effect systems, do not typically display such a commensuration. Instead, they can undergo a phase transition to a trivial insulator that preserves the electron filling. Nevertheless, in some crystalline insulators, termed filling-enforced quantum band insulators (feQBIs), electron filling can dictate nontrivial topology in the insulating ground state. Currently, little is known about the relation between feQBIs and conventional topological invariants. In this work, we study such relations for a particularly interesting example of a half-filling feQBI that is realized in space group 106 with spinless electrons. We prove that any four-band feQBI in space group 106 with filling 2 must have a nontrivial topological invariant, namely, the ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ glide invariant, and thus must have a quantized magnetoelectric polarizability $\ensuremath{\theta}=\ensuremath{\pi}$. We thus have found a three-dimensional example where electron filling and band topology are tied. Such a locking raises intriguing questions about the generality of the band-inversion paradigm in describing the transition between trivial and topological phases.
Partitioning of microbial function among taxonomic ranks across the tree of life

Concatenated protein sequence alignments are a reliable tool to determine phylogenetic relationships among microbes1 but do not necessarily imply microbial function. Microbiomes influence their environments via the collective action of microbial metabolisms, so it is important to develop a quantitative understanding of the degree to which taxonomy provides information about the function of microbes. However, the overwhelming majority of microbial lineages are resistant to culturing, leading to difficulties characterizing their metabolisms. Here we quantify the enrichment of clusters of orthologous gene functional categories (COG-FCs), a proxy for metabolic potential, within the genomes of 3207 cultured and uncultured microbe lineages from a custom-curated genome database. Results show that, on average, 36.7% of the variation in COG-FC enrichment is explained by taxonomic rank, with domain, phylum, class, order, family, and genus explaining, on average, 2.3%, 12.9%, 2.6%, 9.4%, 6.1%, and 3.5% of the variance, respectively (p<0.001 for all). Furthermore, taxonomic rank explained 81.5% of the variance when a only 18 of the 23 COG-FC categories were considered for analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first work which quantifies the variance in metabolic potential from individual taxonomic ranks. A qualitative comparison between the COG-FC enrichments and order-level phylogenies, generated from concatenated protein sequence alignments, further supports the idea that metabolic potential is taxonomically coherent at higher taxonomic ranks. The coherence in metabolic potential at higher taxonomic ranks provides support to hypotheses which suggest that microbial lineages may be biased to occupy specific ecological or metabolic niches.
Tetraspanin immunocapture phenotypes extracellular vesicles according to biofluid source but may limit identification of multiplexed cancer biomarkers

Abstract Tetraspanin expression of extracellular vesicles (EVs) is often used as a surrogate for their general detection and classification from background contaminants. This common practice typically assumes a consistent expression of tetraspanins across EV sources, thus obscuring subpopulations of variable or limited tetraspanin expression. While some recent studies indicate differential expression of tetraspanins across bulk isolated EVs, here we present analysis of single EVs isolated using various field-standard methods from a variety of in vitro and in vivo sources to identify distinct patterns in colocalization of tetraspanin expression. We report an optimized method for the use of antibodycapture single particle interferometric reflectance imaging sensing (SP-IRIS) and fluorescence detection to identify subpopulations according to tetraspanin expression and compare our findings with nanoscale flow cytometry. Using SP-IRIS and immunofluorescence, we report that tetraspanin profile is consistent from a given EV source regardless of isolation method, but that tetraspanin profiles are distinct across various sources. Tetraspanin profiles as measured by flow cytometry do not share similar trends, suggesting that limitations in subpopulation detection significantly impact apparent protein expression. We further analyzed tetraspanin expression of single EVs captured non-specifically, revealing that tetraspanin capture can bias the apparent multiplexed tetraspanin profile. Finally, we demonstrate that this bias can have significant impact on diagnostic sensitivity for tumor-associated EV surface markers. Our findings may reveal key insights into the complexities of the EV biogenesis and signaling pathways and better inform EV capture and detection platforms for diagnostic or other downstream use.
Artificial Birefringence with Moving Metasurfaces

We theoretically characterize a compact optical polarizer consisting of two cascaded metasurfaces. The relative movement of the metasurfaces is tailored to create an artificial birefringence effect which is utilized to design optical waveplates.
Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Intravenous Cannulation versus Standard of Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Abstract Peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIV) is a common and necessary procedure in the emergency department (ED). Patients with PIV access encounter significant treatment delay. Ultrasound guidance for PIV (USGPIV) cannulation is a modality to reduce delay of care in such patients, but its efficacy, when compared with cannulation by the standard of care (SOC), the landmark and palpation method, has not been well established. We performed a random effects meta-analysis of available literature that compared USGPIV with SOC cannulation. We searched PubMed, Scopus and EMBASE until October 2020 for eligible studies in adult patients. We excluded non-English language, non-full-text studies. Our primary outcome was rate of first successful cannulation. Other outcomes were number of attempts and patient satisfaction. After identifying 284 studies and screening 74 studies, we included 10 studies. There were 1860 patients, 966 (52%) in the USGPIV group and 894 (48%) who received the SOC. Sixty-six percent of patients were female. USGPIV cannulation was associated with a two-times higher likelihood of first successful cannulation (odds ratio: 2.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.65–2.7, p
Truth in Humor: How Improvisational Comedy Can Help Lawyers Get Some Chops

Lawyers can learn a lot from the theory of improvisational comedy, and it isn't just a matter of thinking on your feet. As we will explain, the key concept in both disciplines is the creation of a new, temporary reality. In improvisation, the cast must draw the audience into sharing the constructed reality of the stage, such that they can actually "see" the objects and characters portrayed, without the use of props or costumes. In trial, the lawyer must draw the jury into sharing the re-constructed reality of past events, such that they "see" what happened, even though they were not present to witness the original actions. Improvisation theorists and teachers have developed principles that guide performers in creating and maintaining a constructed reality in which the audience participates. And these principles of improv - especially the version known as "long form" - can be of great use to lawyers.
Golgi Apparatus in the Postmeiotic Basidium of Coprinus lagopus

Abstract A golgi apparatus believed to be involved in basidiospore formation has been found in Coprinus lagopus following meiosis in the basidium.
Testing theories in particle physics using maximum likelihood and adaptive bin allocation

We describe a methodology to assist scientists in quantifying the degree of evidence in favor of a new proposed theory compared to a standard baseline theory. The figure of merit is the log-likelihood ratio of the data given each theory. The novelty of the proposed mechanism lies in the likelihood estimations; the central idea is to adaptively allocate histogram bins that emphasize regions in the variable space where there is a clear difference in the predictions made by the two theories. We describe a software system that computes this figure of merit in the context of particle physics, and describe two examples conducted at the Tevatron Ring at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Results show how two proposed theories compare to the Standard Model and how the likelihood ratio varies as a function of a physical parameter (e.g., by varying the particle mass).
DEM modeling of wave propagation through jointed rock mass

Numerical study on wave transmission across jointed rock masses is performed with a DEM-based code UDEC. As the first step, the numerical results of wave transmission across rock joints are compared with analytical solutions and in-situ data. Good agreement among them validates the capability of UDEC in modeling wave propagation. Extensive parametric studies on wave transmission across jointed rock masses are subsequently conducted. It is found that joint mechanical and spatial parameters including joint normal and shear stiffnesses, nondimensional joint spacing, joint spacing ratio, joint intersecting angle, incident angle and number of joint sets together determine the wave transmission. However, compared with other parameters, joint normal stiffness, nondimensional joint spacing and joint intersecting angle have more significant effects. The physical reasons lying behind those phenomena are explained in detail.
Factors affecting defective fraction of Biso-coated high-temperature gas-cooled reactor fuel particles during in-block carbonization

It was demonstrated that the in-block carbonization process step of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel element refabrication can produce acceptable HTGR fuel rods with respect to the performance of Biso-coated thoria fuel particles. The rods had the desired pitch--coke yield (30 +- 5%), and the defective fraction of fuel particles was below the desired maximum limit of 1 x 10/sup -4/. The pitch--coke yield was controlled by the heating rate of the carbonization cycle, and the defective fraction of fuel particles was controlled by both the heating rate of the carbonization cycle and the particle crushing strength. The heating rate and the particle crushinng strength can vary considerably, and the process will still produce an acceptable product.
The rise of digital direct-to-consumer advertising?: Comparison of direct-to-consumer advertising expenditure trends from publicly available data sources and global policy implications

Pharmaceutical marketing is undergoing a major shift in the United States, in part due to new transparency regulations under the healthcare reform act. Changes in pharmaceutical marketing practices include a possible shift from more traditional forms of direct-to-consumer advertising towards emerging use of Internet-based DTCA (“eDTCA”) given the growing importance of digital health or “eHealth.” Though legally allowed only in the U.S. and New Zealand, eDTCA poses novel regulatory challenges, as it can cross geopolitical boundaries and impact health systems and populations outside of these countries. We wished to assess whether changes in DTCA and eDTCA expenditure trends was occurring using publicly available pharmaceutical marketing data. DTCA data was analyzed to compare trends in aggregate marketing expenditures and to assess if there were statistically significant differences in trends and magnitudes for data sources and DTCA sub-categories (including eDTCA). This was accomplished using regression lines of DTCA trend data and conducting pairwise comparisons of regression coefficients using t-tests. Means testing was utilized for comparing magnitude of DTCA expenditure. Data from multiple data sources indicate that aggregate DTCA expenditures have slightly declined during the period from 2005–2009 and are consistent with results from other studies. For DTCA sub-categories, television remained the most utilized form of DTCA, though experienced trends of declining expenditures (−13.2 %) similar to other traditional media platforms such as radio (−30.7 %) and outdoor ads (−12.1 %). The only DTCA sub-category that experienced substantial increased expenditures was eDTCA (+109.0 %) and it was the only medium that had statistically significant differences in its marketing expenditure trends compared to other DTCA sub-categories. Our study indicates that traditional DTCA marketing may be on the decline. Conversely, the only DTCA sub-category that experienced significant increases was eDTCA. However, to fully understand this possible shift to “digital” DTCA, improvements in publicly available DTCA data sources are necessary to confirm changing trends and validate existing data. Hence, utilizing the newly implemented U.S. physician-payment expenditure transparency requirements, we advocate for the mandatory disclosure of DTCA/eDTCA in order to inform future domestic and international health policy efforts regarding appropriate regulation of pharmaceutical promotion.
Cosmological Parameters of the Universe

A primary goal of observational cosmology is the measurement of the parameters H0, q0, Ω0, Λ0 and T0 which characterize a Friedmann model of the universe. This article compares and reviews recent work in this field, with emphasis on the Hubble constant H0, that describes the expansion rate at the present epoch. Present data favor H0 ≈ 60–80 km/sec/Mpc and Ω0 ≈ 0.1–0.2. Within observational errors, these values are consistent with T0 ~ 15 Gyr and Λ0 = 0, but the low value of Ω0 appears incompatible with the inflation paradigm of the early Big Bang.
What's In a Condom? – HIV and Sexual Politics in Japan

Utilizing a range of ethnographic data from anAIDS hotline, a women's shelter, a night club,AIDS campaigns, news articles, and interviewswith health bureaucrats, this paper exploresthe history of AIDS in Japan and the ways inwhich official practices reproduce systems ofdomination. This paper examines the officialcategories of ``foreign woman'' and``prostitution'' as discursive strategies ofcontainment, and argues that nationalistdiscourses and representations of sexuality areclosely linked in maintaining relations ofpower.
The importance of aggregation

In this paper, we define aggregation as the ability to summarize information. In the area of sensor networks [16.2] it is also referred to as data fusion. It is the basis for scalability for many, if not all, large networking services. For example, address aggregation allows Internet routing to scale.Without it, routing tables would need a separate entry for each Internet address. Besides a problem of memory size, populating the tables would be all but impossible. DNS also makes extensive use of aggregation, allowing domain name to attribute mappings to be resolved in a small number of steps. Many basic distributed paradigms and consistency mechanisms are based on aggregation. For example, synchronization based on voting requires votes to be counted. Aggregation is a standard service in databases. Using SQL queries, users can explicitly aggregate data in one or more tables in a variety of ways.
Toric ideals of phylogenetic invariants for the general group-based model on claw trees K 1,n

We address the problem of studying the toric ideals of phylogenetic invariants for a general group-based model on an arbitrary claw tree. We focus on the group Z2 and choose a natural recursive approach that extends to other groups. The study of the lattice associated with each phylogenetic ideal produces a list of circuits that generate the corresponding lattice basis ideal. In addition, we describe explicitly a quadratic lexicographic Grobner basis of the toric ideal of invariants for the claw tree on an arbitrary number of leaves. Combined with a result of Sturmfels and Sullivant, this implies that the phylogenetic ideal of every tree for the group Z2 has a quadratic Grobner basis. Hence, the coordinate ring of the toric variety is a Koszul algebra.
Norepinephrine involvement in antidepressant action.

Because of the introduction and popularity of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, much attention was centered on the indolealkylamine 5-hydroxytryptamine, or serotonin. To some extent, this focus on serotonin occurred at the expense of the catecholamine neurotransmitter norepinephrine. Nevertheless, it has been apparent for almost 40 years that selective blockers of norepinephrine reuptake may be antidepressants (e.g., desipramine). This brief review covers the acute pharmacologic effects that may be responsible for the efficacy of currently marketed antidepressants as well as that of reboxetine, a newly developed selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Also discussed is the fact that the acute pharmacologic profile of selective reuptake inhibitors often predicts effects they produce when given long term. For example, the long-term administration of SSRIs produces certain effects on serotonergic systems, but not noradrenergic ones. By contrast, selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, when given long term, modify certain noradrenergic parameters, but not serotonergic indices. Finally, it is speculated how drugs that enhance central noradrenergic transmission might ameliorate the symptoms of depression.
The macroeconomy and the limits to US farm policy

Abstract Since the early 1970s US monetary and fiscal policies have become a major determinant of the financial health of agriculture in the USA. The difficulties currently facing agriculture are largely due to a lack of effective demand. Farm programmes can do little to correct this. The inability of US farm programmes to deal with the fundamental causes of the farm problem means that the outcome of farm policy is largely determined by macroeconomic policies. This imposes severe limitations on what farm programmes can be expected to achieve.
Ocular nanoparticle toxicity and transfection of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium

Chitosan, PCEP (poly{[(cholesteryl oxocarbonylamido ethyl) methyl bis(ethylene) ammonium iodide] ethyl phosphate}), and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were evaluated for the safe delivery of genes in the eye. Rabbits were injected with nanoparticles either intravitreally (IV) or subretinally (SR) and sacrificed 7 days later. Eyes were grossly evaluated for retinal pigment epithelium abnormalities, retinal degeneration, and inflammation. All eyes were cryopreserved and sectioned for analysis of toxicity and expression of either enhanced green or red fluorescent proteins. All of the nanoparticles were able to transfect cells in vitro and in vivo. IV chitosan showed inflammation in 12/13 eyes, whereas IV PCEP and IV MNPs were not inflammatory and did not induce retinal pathology. SR PCEP was nontoxic in the majority of cases but yielded poor transfection, whereas SR MNPs were nontoxic and yielded good transfection. Therefore, we conclude that the best nanoparticle evaluated in vivo was the least toxic nanoparticle tested, the MNP.
Phoenix Landing Radar Heatshield Anomaly

This paper details a specific and unexpected problem faced by the Entry, Descent, and Landing team on the Phoenix Mars Mission that demonstrates two problems in mission architecture: 1) the difficulties inherent in adapting commercial-off-the-shelf technology to a system different from the product’s intended scope; and 2) the design of test environments sufficientlyflightlike as to reveal systemic problems in newarchitectures. Specifically, the interaction of the entry heat shield with the landing radar could not be tested in a flightlike manner; hence, detailed simulation of the landing radarwas conductedwith the expectation that the radar could lock on echoes from the heat shield and report an erroneous altitude, and that phenomenon could be handled with appropriate flight software. Surprisingly, it was discovered that the heat shield spoofed the radar’s internal logic that was designed to prevent locking on ambiguous radar returns. Mitigating the unexpected problem proved to be much more challenging than the anticipated heatshield lock scenario, ultimately requiring last-minute changes to both the radarfirmware and the flight software.
Bat-inspired adaptive design of waveform and trajectory for radar

We propose to design jointly the waveform and trajectory of a radar mounted on a moving platform, in order to improve the system performance for tracking maneuvering targets. Inspired by bats, we develop an adaptive algorithm that chooses the optimal pulse repetition interval (PRI) and path of the radar. Our method automatically schedules a low PRI when it recognizes that the target executes a maneuvering action. Simultaneously, it selects the radar trajectory which provides the best estimation of the target parameters. We derive our approach under a framework of sequential Bayesian filtering and implement it with a particle filter. We consider a library of target state models associated with different PRI values and use multiple model to schedule the optimal PRI. We apply the posterior Cramer-Rao bound to measure the system performance and decide on the optimal radar path.We demonstrate the advantages of the adaptive radar scheme using numerical examples.
Segregation Quantification of Two-Component Particulate Mixtures: Effect of Particle Size, Density, Shape, and Surface Texture

Segregation, which occurs during handling, processing, and storage of particulate material, is highly dependent on properties such as particle size, size distribution (for continuous mixtures) or size ratio (for binary mixtures), particle density, shape, and surface texture. Quantification of the relationship of material properties to segregation becomes an important link in understanding and controlling segregation. Due to lack of well-developed equipment in the market, quantification of segregation of multicomponent particulate mixtures is currently a challenge. In this study, the effects of particle size, density, shape, and surface texture of two-component particulate mixtures (glass beads and mash poultry feed) on segregation were quantified with the use of the second generation of primary segregation shear cell (PSSC-II) developed at Penn State. It was concluded that (1) irregularly shaped (nonspherical) coarse particles or higher porosity of coarse component of a binary mixture lead to higher segre...
Risk of Worsening Renal Function With Nesiritide in Patients With Acutely Decompensated Heart Failure

Background— Renal function is an important prognostic factor for patients with acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF). We investigated the renal effects of nesiritide as treatment for ADHF. Methods and Results— Randomized clinical trials comparing nesiritide with either placebo or active control for ADHF were identified by electronic and manual searches and thorough review of US Food and Drug Administration files available via the website. Worsening renal function was defined as an increase in serum creatinine >0.5 mg/dL. Relative risk across all studies was determined by meta-analysis with Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effects models (RRMH). Risk of dialysis and medical intervention for worsening renal function were compared between therapies. Frequency of worsening renal function was determined from 5 randomized studies that included 1269 patients. Use of Food and Drug Administration–approved doses of nesiritide (≤0.03 μg · kg−1 · min−1) significantly increased the risk of worsening renal function compared ...
The status of bedside ultrasonography training in emergency medicine residency programs.

Bedside ultrasonography (BU) is rapidly being incorporated into emergency medicine (EM) training programs and clinical practice. In the past decade, several organizations in EM have issued position statements on the use of this technology. Program training content is currently driven by the recently published “Model of the Clinical Practice of Emergency Medicine,” which includes BU as a necessary skill. Objective: The authors sought to determine the current status of BU training in EM residency programs. Methods: A survey was mailed in early 2001 to all 122 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited EM residency programs. The survey instrument asked whether BU was currently being taught, how much didactic and hands-on training time was incorporated into the curriculum, and what specialty representation was present in the faculty instructors. In addition, questions concerning the type of tests performed, the number considered necessary for competency, the role of BU in clinical decision making, and the type of quality assurance program were included in the survey. Results: A total of 96 out of 122 surveys were completed (response rate of 79%). Ninety-one EM programs (95% of respondents) reported they teach BU, either clinically and/or didactically, as part of their formal residency curriculum. Eighty-one (89%) respondents reported their residency program or primary hospital emergency department (ED) had a dedicated ultrasound machine. BU was performed most commonly for the following: the FAST scan (focused abdominal sonography for trauma, 79/87%); cardiac examination (for tamponade, pulseless electrical activity, etc., 65/71%); transabdominal (for intrauterine pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, etc., 58/64%); and transvaginal (for intrauterine pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, etc., 45/49%). One to ten hours of lecture on BU was provided in 43%, and one to ten hours of hands-on clinical instruction was provided in 48% of the EM programs. Emergency physicians were identified as the faculty most commonly involved in teaching BU to EM residents (86/95%). Sixty-one (69%) programs reported that EM faculty and/or residents made clinical decisions and patient dispositions based on the ED BU interpretation alone. Fourteen (19%) programs reported that no formal quality assurance program was in place. Conclusions: The majority of ACGME-accredited EM residency programs currently incorporate BU training as part of their curriculum. The majority of BU instruction is done by EM faculty. The most commonly performed BU study is the FAST scan. The didactic component and clinical time devoted to BU instruction are variable between programs. Further standardization of training requirements between programs may promote increasing standardization of BU in future EM practice.
The normal gastric secretion of infants and smallchildren following stimulation with histamine

Summary 1. A review of the literature reveals a lack of normal standards ofgastric secretory volume and acidity in infants and young children. 2. A technique for the collection and analysis of gastric secretionapplicable to infants and young children is presented. 3. The gastric secretory volume, total acidity, free acidity, and pH of 72 children ranging in age from four days to four years following stimulation with histamine are presented. 4. Results of this investigation indicate that gastric secretory volumeand acidity increase rapidly during the first year of life, more slowly thereafter. The increase in volume during the first four years is proportional to growth as measured by body weight. 5. The high degree of dispersion in the basic data indicates a widenormal range of values during the first four years of life. 6. Further studies of the normal gastric secretion of children fromfour to fifteen years of age employing a standard histamine technique are desirable.
Second Chance: Understanding diversity in broadband access network performance

In recognition of the increasing importance of broadband, several governments have embarked on large-scale efforts to measure broadband services from devices within end-user's homes. Participants for these studies were selected based on features that, a priori, were thought to be relevant to service performance such as geographic region, access technology and subscription level. Every new-year deployment since has followed the same model, ensuring that the number of measurement points remains stable despite the natural churn. In this paper, we start to explore the issue of vantage point selection in residential broadband networks by leveraging the publicly available datasets collected as part of the FCC Broadband America study. We present the first analysis of the variation of performance in edge networks and diversity of individual vantage points. We explore the underlying causes of this diversity through a factor analysis of contextual factors within an ISP such as the geographic location of subscribers. The goal of this analysis is to inform additional deployments in ongoing studies, and guide the design and deployment of future investigations into broadband networks.
Diabetic Retinopathy: Unraveling the Paradoxical Effects of Intensive Insulin Treatment

Abstract Background: Several major clinical trials have demonstrated that the tight glycemic control achieved with intensive insulin treatment may lead to an early worsening of diabetic retinopathy but that intensive long-term insulin treatment slows the progression of diabetic retinopathy. Objective: The goal of this article was to review developments in understanding both the pathophysiologic pathways involved in diabetic retinopathy and the biologic effects of insulin to provide a possible explanation why insulin treatment may have deleterious short-term effects yet provide long-term benefits. Methods: The content of this article was based on a search of MEDLINE from 1984 through 2006. English-language articles were chosen using the search terms diabetic retinopathy , insulin effects , and clinical trials . Results: Early worsening of diabetic retinopathy from acute intensive insulin treatment may result from upregulation of retinal vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression through increased binding of hypoxia-inducible factorla to the VEGF promoter. This results in increased gene transcription and VEGF levels. Increased VEGF levels also promote activation of protein kinase C; both events contribute to increased vasopermeability and a breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier. However, long-term insulin treatment reduces inflammatory and oxidative stress components that may contribute to progressive diabetic retinopathy. Both inflammatory effects and oxidative stress may play a role in the etiology of diabetic retinopathy. The beneficial biologic effects of insulin may thus supercede the acute deleterious effects of the VEGF-mediated blood-retinal-barrier breakdown. We speculate that the long-term beneficial effects of intensive insulin therapy on the progression of diabetic retinopathy arise from insulin's recently realized potent anti-inflammatory effects and ability to modulate redox-sensitive signaling pathways. Conclusions: Insulin treatment introduced before irreversible pathologic changes develop in the retina can impart beneficial effects to the vascular cells, may help suppress future deleterious events, and may slow the development or progression of retinal microangiopathic changes.
Reinforcement pre-exposure enhances spatial memory formation in Drosophila

Apparently unpaired exposure to appetitive or aversive stimuli can suppress or enhance later associative learning. While the suppressive effect has been found in both vertebrate and invertebrate animals, it is not clear if the enhancing effect is restricted to the vertebrates. Additionally, whether Drosophila associative learning can be influenced in either direction is open. To address these questions, we examined the effects of pre-exposing flies to a high temperature negative reinforcer in the heat-box place-learning paradigm. We found that pre-exposing flies to an unavoidable high temperature enhanced later associative conditioning that uses mild increases in temperature. This enhancement lasts at least 20 min, does not depend on changes in the straightforward avoidance behavior of a high temperature source, and is independent of the antennal thermosensor. We thus provide an example of enhanced associative learning after unpaired exposure to a typical reinforcer in an invertebrate animal, suggesting the conservation of this component of learning.
High resolution electron beam lithography of PMGI using solvent developers

We report in this paper that typical solvent developers for PMMA can be used to develop PMGI (polydimethyl glutarimide) with a contrast much higher than that reported using base developers. Three developers were studied: methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), 2-ethoxyethanol (cellosolve), and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). MIBK developer results in the highest contrast of 6.7 which is comparable to that of PMMA, followed by MEK (4.0) and then by cellosolve (2.6). The sensitivity is around 1000µC/cm2, roughly four times that of PMMA and almost independent of the developers. Higher resist baking temperature leads to higher contrast for MEK and cellosolve, whereas for MIBK the optimum baking temperature is 200?C. Both MIBK and MEK (but not cellosolve) developers can resolve 50nm pitch grating with slight line distortion which is similar to that achievable by PMMA. Using a single step development, a double layer of PMMA and PMGI could be employed to facilitate the liftoff process or to fabricate a T-shaped gate structure, while a multilayer stack can be used to produce 3D metal structures by electroplating.
Pretherapy Training of Therapeutic Factors for Members of Counseling Groups

Abstract This study investigated the effectiveness of a training video on group process and outcomes. The video taught four therapeutic factors: cohesion, catharsis, universality, and instillation of hope. Participants were 91 students who participated in 12 groups. A repeated measure, two-group design was employed. Members' perceptions of the frequency of the therapeutic factors, the leaders' effectiveness, and members' problem alleviation were measured. The video showed a strong training effect and positively affected the members' perceptions of the leaders' effectiveness. No significant differences were found for frequency of therapeutic factors or problem alleviation between groups.
Model for Three-Dimensional Mineralogical Variation in Granitic Plutons Based on the Glen Alpine Stock, Sierra Nevada, California

Pronounced relief of the exposed surface of the Glen Alpine stock offers an opportunity for study of three-dimensional mineralogical variation in a granitic pluton. Polynomial surfaces fitted by least-squares methods to modal data from this stock indicate that, near the center of the pluton, the vertical rate of mineralogical change is large in comparison to the horizontal rate of change; whereas, near the boundaries the opposite is true. Variation of this type is most pronounced in modal potassium feldspar and color index but is present to a minor extent in modal quartz and plagioclase. These results suggest a three-dimensional model of mineralogical variation which may be appropriate for other plutons. Vertical mineralogical gradients are an important feature of this model; consequently, the model implies that the mineralogical composition of each exposed level of a pluton is unique. Thus, one must be cautious in applying observations of a two-dimensional exposed surface to the determination of the genesis of a three-dimensional pluton.
Metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 mediates melanocyte transformation via transactivation of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor

Our laboratory previously described the oncogenic properties of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) in melanocytes. mGluR1 transformed immortalized mouse melanocytes in vitro and induced vigorous tumor formation in vivo. Subsequently, we observed the activation of PI3K/AKT in mGluR1-mediated melanocytic tumorigenesis in vivo. In particular, we identified AKT2 being the predominant isoform contributing to the activation of AKT. Suppression of Grm1 or AKT2 using an inducible Tet-R siRNA system resulted in a 60 or 30% reduction, respectively, in in vivo tumorigenesis. We show that simultaneous downregulation of Grm1 plus AKT2 results in a reduction of approximately 80% in tumor volumes, suggesting that both mGluR1 and AKT2 contribute to the tumorigenic phenotype in vivo. The discrepancy between the mild in vitro transformation characteristics and the aggressive in vivo tumorigenic phenotypes of these stable mGluR1-melanocytic clones led us to investigate the possible involvement of other growth factors. Here, we highlight a potential crosstalk network between mGluR1 and tyrosine kinase, insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R).
Effect of High Temperatures and Heating Rates on High Strength Concrete for Use as Thermal Energy Storage

In recent years due to rising energy costs as well as an increased interest in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, there is great interest in developing alternative sources of energy. One of the most viable alternative energy resources is solar energy. Concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies have been identified as an option for meeting utility needs in the U.S. Southwest. Areas where CSP technologies can be improved are improved heat transfer fluid (HTF) and improved methods of thermal energy storage (TES). One viable option for TES storage media is concrete. The material costs of concrete can be very inexpensive and the costs/ kWhthermal , which is based on the operating temperature, are reported to be approximately $1. Researchers using concrete as a TES storage media have achieved maximum operating temperatures of 400°C. However, there are concerns for using concrete as the TES medium, and these concerns center on the effects and the limitations that the high temperatures may have on the concrete. As the concrete temperature increases, decomposition of the calcium hydroxide (CH) occurs at 500°C, and there is significant strength loss due to degeneration of the calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H). Additionally concrete exposed to high temperatures has a propensity to spall explosively. This proposed paper examines the effect of heating rates on high performance concrete mixtures. Concrete mixtures with water to cementitious material ratios (w/cm) of 0.15 to 0.30 and compressive strengths of up to 180 MPa (26 ksi) were cast and subjected to heating rates of 3, 5, 7, and 9° C/min. These concrete mixtures are to be used in tests modules where molten salt is used as the heat transfer fluid. Molten salt becomes liquid at temperatures exceeding 220°C and therefore the concrete will be exposed to high initial temperatures and subsequently at controlled heating rates up to desired operating temperatures. Preliminary results consistently show that concrete mixtures without polypropylene fibres (PP) cannot resist temperatures beyond 500° C, regardless of the heating rate employed. These mixtures spall at higher temperatures when heated at a faster rate (7° C/min). Additionally, mixtures which incorporate PP fibres can withstand temperatures up to 600° C without spalling irrespective of the heating rate.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
A refinement of extrinsic criteria for scientific choice

Abstract It is suggested that a functional recipe for extrinsic criteria for scientific choice should require a field to have conceptual or pragmatic influence on some other field of science, integrated over all future times. Such a requirement broadens the criteria given by Weinberg, who demands instantaneous pragmatic influence on a neighboring field. These concepts are discussed and some practical methods are suggested which might convert these general principles into tools of science policy. The discussion is illustrated with a number of historical and contemporary examples.
The Role of Lymphostatin/EHEC Factor for Adherence-1 in the Pathogenesis of Gram Negative Infection

Lymphostatin/EHEC factor for adherence-1 is a novel large toxin represented in various Gram negative bacteria, highly associated with the development of infectious diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome. In vitro and in vivo experiments identified lymphostatin/EFA-1 as a toxin with a central role in the pathogenesis of Gram negative bacteria, responsible for bacterial adhesion, intestinal colonization, immunosuppression, and disruption of gut epithelial barrier function.
Temporal Order-Preserving Dynamic Quantization for Human Action Recognition from Multimodal Sensor Streams

Recent commodity depth cameras have been widely used in the applications of video games, business, surveillance and have dramatically changed the way of human-computer interaction. They provide rich multimodal information that can be used to interpret the human-centric environment. However, it is still of great challenge to model the temporal dynamics of the human actions and great potential can be exploited to further enhance the retrieval accuracy by adequately modeling the patterns of these actions. To address this challenge, we propose a temporal order-preserving dynamic quantization method to extract the most discriminative patterns of the action sequence. We further present a multimodal feature fusion method that can be derived in this dynamic quantization framework to exploit different discriminative capability of features from multiple modalities. Experiments based on three public human action datasets show that the proposed technique has achieved state-of-the-art performance.
Periodic solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equation

Abstract Spatially periodic solutions to the Ginzburg-Landau equation are considered. In particular we obtain: criteria for primary and secondary bifurcation; limit cycle solutions; nonlinear dispersion relations relating spatial and temporal frequencies. Only relatively simple tools appear in the treatment and as a result a wide range of parameter cases are considered. Finally we briefly treat the case of spatial bifurcations.
A review finds that multicenter studies face substantial challenges but strategies exist to achieve Institutional Review Board approval

Abstract Background and Objectives To characterize the impact of multiple Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews on multicenter observational research studies, and identify strategies for overcoming the identified challenges. Materials and Methods Using PubMed, we identified empirical studies, anecdotal reports, and opinion pieces addressing the process of obtaining initial IRB approval for multicenter clinical trials and observational studies. We also reviewed relevant information from federal and other national sources. Results A total of 40 peer-reviewed articles were synthesized, plus six reports from commissions or other key sources. These sources identified numerous challenges that researchers may encounter when multicenter studies undergo review by multiple IRBs, such as added time for initial review and approval and different requirements across IRBs. Strategies to alleviate these challenges include planning to accommodate multiple reviews and determining upfront whether certain variations to study protocols are tolerable across sites. Many researchers and commissions have proposed comprehensive reforms, such as centralized review for multicenter projects. Conclusion Policy-makers, researchers, and IRBs should convene to specifically discuss optimal approaches for multicenter review. However, until structural changes are implemented, observational researchers should develop and implement strategic plans for obtaining IRB approval in multicenter studies, including adopting models successfully employed by clinical trials.
Ab initio SCF study of the geometries of methyl radical in the ground and 2E excited states

Abstract Ab initio SCF calculations using the generalized coupling operator method have been performed on the ground and two excited states of methyl radical. Geometries of the ground and one excited state have been optimized. Vertical transition energies have also been calculated.
Tradition and Reason in the History of Ethics

Students of the history of ethics sometimes find themselves tempted by moderate or extreme versions of an approach that might roughly be called ‘historicist’. This temptation may result from the difficulties of approaching historical texts from a ‘narrowly philosophical’ point of view. We may begin, for instance, by wanting to know what Aristotle has to say about ‘the problems of ethics’, so that we can compare his views with those of (say) Aquinas, Hume, Kant, Sidgwick, and Rawls, and then decide what is true or false in each theorist's position. But this narrowly philosophical attitude soon runs into difficulties, and writers on the history of ethics often warn us against it.
Review of The Power of a Promise: Education and Economic Renewal in Kalamazoo

Max J. Skidmore reviews The Power of a Promise: Education and Economic Renewal in Kalamazoo by Michelle Miller-Adams, who analyzes extraordinary efforts by anonymous donors to combat poverty and enhance economic development—literally to create economic renewal—in that Michigan city.
In vivo three-photon microscopy of subcortical structures within an intact mouse brain

We demonstrate non-invasive, high-resolution, in vivo imaging of subcortical structures (the external capsule (EC) and hippocampus) within an intact mouse brain using three-photon fluorescence microscopy at the new spectral window of 1700 nm.
The Effects of Feedback and Positive Reinforcement on the Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test Scores of Lower-Class Negro and White Children

Twenty-four Negro and 21 white lower-class children, 8 to 9 years old, received the Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test in two forms. The experimental group of 10 whites and 12 Negroes received spe...