12 research outputs found
Visualizing literary narratives with a graph-centered approach.
No full textThe art of storytelling is multifaceted and nonlinear, involving multiple characters, themes, and symbols while often jumping between the present and past. While media forms such as novels can encapsulate these complexities, it is often difficult to visualize a narrative in an easy-to-understand format. Our contribution is a graph-based system to let users organize and visualize those narratives. Events and characters are represented as nodes and their relationships are represented as edges. Neo4J is used as a database management system to store the graph and to run queries on it, and Streamlit and Pyvis are used to represent the database in the user interface
Comparing AI and Human Self-Assessments in Memorization Performance*
No full textMany students in higher education use flashcard applications for learning large amounts of information in limited amounts of time. Many of these applications rely on spaced-repetition algorithms for memorization, which are proven to be more efficient than traditional study methods. We compared the effects of studying with a spaced-repetition application that utilizes a NLU model to calculate a user\u27s understanding of material against the effects of studying with a spaced-repetition model that did not use NLU. We used our results to determine if replacing the self-assessment component of flashcard studying applications with a NLU model led to better memorization and retention
Interaction of wide band gap single crystals with 248 nm excimer laser radiation. IV. Positive ion emission from MgO and NaNO3
No full textThis article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics and may be found at https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.363665.We report quadrupole mass-selected, time-of-flight measurements of Mg1 from polished, single crystal MgO and Na1 from cleaved, single crystal NaNO3 exposed to 248 nm ~5 eV!laser radiation. A large fraction of the ions emitted from these materials have energies well above the energy of the incident photon. As the fluence is raised from low values, the ion intensities show thresholdlike behavior with a high-order fluence dependence ~roughly sixth order!. At still higher fluences, the fluence dependence of Mg1 from MgO decreases to roughly second order. We attribute these emissions to weakly bound ions adsorbed atop surface electron traps; when the underlying vacancy is photoionized, the adsorbed ion is electrostatistically ejected at high energy. We argue that several photons are required to ionize a surface electron trap beneath an adsorbed ion, accounting for the high-order fluence dependence and satisfying conservation of energy. ~Several 5 eV photons are required to produce a 10 eV ion.! We show that a sequence of single-photon absorption events involving photoionization, charge transfer, and retrapping account for this unusual fluence dependence. These emission intensities are strong functions of surface treatments which increase defect densities, e.g., abrasion in the case of MgO and electron bombardment in the case of NaNO3. © 1996 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979~96!07123-X].D. R. Ermer, J.-J. Shin, S. C. Langford, K. W. Hipps, and J. T. Dickinson. (1996). Interaction of wide band gap single crystals with 248 nm excimer laser radiation. IV. Positive ion emission from MgO and NaNO3. Journal of Applied Physics, 80, 6452-6466
Paired MEG data set source localization using recursively applied and projected (RAP) MUSIC
No full textDouble-blind, placebo-controlled, two-period, crossover trial to examine the pharmacokinetics of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate in healthy older adults
No full textJames Ermer,1 Mary B Haffey,1,† Cynthia Richards,1 Kenneth Lasseter,2 Ben Adeyi,1 Mary Corcoran,1 Beverly Stanton,1 Patrick Martin1 1Shire Development LLC, Wayne, PA, 2Clinical Pharmacology of Miami, Inc., Miami, FL, USA†This author is now deceasedBackground: Pharmacokinetic and safety data on stimulants in older adults are limited. The objective of this study was to characterize the pharmacokinetics of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX), a d-amphetamine prodrug, in older adults.Methods: In this two-period crossover trial, healthy adults (n = 47) stratified by age (55–64, 65–74, and ≥ 75 years) and gender received randomized, double-blind, single doses of LDX 50 mg or placebo. Baseline creatinine clearance, d-amphetamine and intact LDX pharmacokinetics, and safety were assessed.Results: Mean (±standard deviation) baseline creatinine clearance in participants aged 55–64, 65–74, and ≥ 75 years was 102.5 ± 26.1, 105.3 ± 23.1, and 94.9 ± 27.3 mL per minute, respectively. In the groups aged 55–64, 65–74, and ≥ 75 years, the mean maximum plasma d-amphetamine concentration in men was 44.2 ± 11.1, 47.7 ± 7.0, and 53.4 ± 19.4 ng/mL, respectively; area under the concentration time curve from time 0 extrapolated to infinity (AUC0–inf) was 915.0 ± 164.9, 1123.0 ± 227.0, and 1325.0 ± 464.4 ng • hour/mL; median time to reach peak plasma concentration was 4.5, 3.5, and 5.5 hours; in women, mean maximum plasma d-amphetamine concentration was 51.0 ± 6.7, 50.2 ± 6.8, and 64.3 ± 12.1 ng/mL, AUC0–inf was 1034.5 ± 154.6, 988.4 ± 80.5, and 1347.8 ± 198.9 ng • hour/mL, and median time to reach peak plasma concentration was 3.5, 4.1, and 5.5 hours, respectively. d-Amphetamine clearance was unrelated to baseline creatinine clearance. Five participants aged 55–64 years reported treatment-emergent adverse events (versus one each aged 65–74 and ≥ 75 years), and as did six women (versus one man). No trends in blood pressure or pulse changes were seen with LDX according to age. In participants aged 55–64, 65–74, and ≥ 75 years, the mean change from time-matched baseline pulse ranged from -5.0 to 14.7, -4.3 to 9.5, and -3.0 to 14.7 beats per minute; for systolic blood pressure, from -3.9 to 18.5 mmHg, -2.1 to 14.5 mmHg, and -5.9 to 16.0 mmHg; for diastolic blood pressure from -2.5 to 8.3 mmHg, from -0.8 to 9.4 mmHg, and -0.6 to 9.5 mmHg. Vital sign changes were similar between men and women.Conclusion: Clearance of d-amphetamine decreased with age and was unrelated to creatinine clearance. No trends in pulse or blood pressure changes with LDX were seen according to age. The safety profile of LDX was consistent with prior observations in younger adult study participants.Keywords: lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, older adults, pharmacokinetics, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, d-amphetamin
Design of a GaInP/GaAs tandem solar cell for maximum daily, monthly, and yearly energy output
No full textSolar concentrator cells are typically designed for maximum efficiency under the AM1.5d standard spectrum. While this methodology does allow for a direct comparison of cells produced by various laboratories, it does not guarantee maximum daily, monthly, or yearly energy production, as the relative distribution of spectral energy changes throughout the day and year. It has been suggested that achieving this goal requires designing under a nonstandard spectrum. In this work, a GaInP/GaAs tandem solar cell is designed for maximum energy production by optimizing for a set of geographically-dependent solar spectra using detailed numerical models. The optimization procedure focuses on finding the best combination of GaInP bandgap and GaInP and GaAs sub-cell absorber layer thicknesses. It is shown that optimizing for the AM1.5d standard spectrum produces nearly maximum yearly energy. This result simplifies the design of a dual-junction device considerably, is independent of the optical concentration up to at least 500 suns, and holds for a wide range of geographic locations. The simulation results are compared to those obtained using a more traditional, ideal-diode model. (C) 2011 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI:10.1117/1.3633244
Hierarchical RNA Processing Is Required for Mitochondrial Ribosome Assembly
No full textSummaryThe regulation of mitochondrial RNA processing and its importance for ribosome biogenesis and energy metabolism are not clear. We generated conditional knockout mice of the endoribonuclease component of the RNase P complex, MRPP3, and report that it is essential for life and that heart and skeletal-muscle-specific knockout leads to severe cardiomyopathy, indicating that its activity is non-redundant. Transcriptome-wide parallel analyses of RNA ends (PARE) and RNA-seq enabled us to identify that in vivo 5′ tRNA cleavage precedes 3′ tRNA processing, and this is required for the correct biogenesis of the mitochondrial ribosomal subunits. We identify that mitoribosomal biogenesis proceeds co-transcriptionally because large mitoribosomal proteins can form a subcomplex on an unprocessed RNA containing the 16S rRNA. Taken together, our data show that RNA processing links transcription to translation via assembly of the mitoribosome
Neuroeconomics, naturalism and language
No full textNeuroeconomics stays in the center of the ongoing naturalistic turn in economics. It portrays the individual as a complex system of decision making mechanisms and modules. This results into a conceptual tension with the standard economic notion of the unity of the actor that is a systemic property of economic coordination. I propose to supplement neuroeconomics with a naturalistic theory of social coordination. Recent neurobiological and psychological research strongly supports claims made by some heterodox economists that the identity of actors emerges from social interaction, especially in the context of the use of language. Therefore, I argue that the completion of the neuroeconomic paradigm requires a naturalistic theory of language. I provide some sketches based on teleosemantics and memetics, and exemplify the argument by a naturalist account of money. --Naturalism,neuroeconomics,individual identity,language and economics,naturalistic theory of social interaction
Meal pattern of male rats maintained on individual branched chain amino acid supplemented diet
No full textThe effect of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs: Isoleucine, Leucine and Valine) on feeding behaviour is not clear, especially that they were implicated in the management of both cachexia and obesity. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of individual BCAAs on meal pattern of rats. Adult male rats were randomly divided into four groups: control diet or isoleucine (5percent)- leucine (5percent)- or valine (5percent)-supplemented diet and meal pattern was monitored for 10 days. Total food intake (nocturnal and diurnal), feeding rate, postprandial plasma insulin and hepatic adenine nucleotides were not significantly different between the groups. However, individual BCAAs were found to alter meal pattern of rats, whereby meal size was increased while meal number was decreased; with valine having the most pronounced effect. The mechanism(s) by which individual BCAAs affect meal pattern may relate to their capacity to compete with tryptophan and phenylalanine-tyrosine for entry into the brain. Copyright © 2009 by New Century Health Publishers, LLC.Bassil MS, 2007, OBESITY, V15, P616, DOI 10.1038-oby.2007.565; Bellinger L, 2003, PHARMACOL BIOCHEM BE, V74, P495, DOI 10.1016-S0091-3057(02)01033-X; Bellisle E, 2003, NUTR METAB CARDIOVAS, V13, P189; Bensaid A, 2002, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V75, P577, DOI 10.1016-S0031-9384(02)00646-7; Berthoud HR, 2006, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V89, P517, DOI 10.1016-j.physbeh.2006.08.018; Blouet C, 2009, J NEUROSCI, V29, P8302, DOI 10.1523-JNEUROSCI.1668-09.2009; Burton-Freeman B, 1997, AM J PHYSIOL-REG I, V273, pR1916; CHAI J, 1999, AM J PHYSIOL-REG I, V276, P1366; Cota D, 2006, SCIENCE, V312, P927, DOI 10.1126-science.1124147; Cynober LA, 2004, METABOLIC THERAPEUTI; Doi M, 2007, AM J PHYSIOL-ENDOC M, V292, pE1683, DOI 10.1152-ajpendo.00609.2006; ERMER PM, 1994, J ANIM SCI, V72, P1548; Fernstrom JD, 2005, J NUTR, V135, p1539S; FRIEDMAN MI, 2005, CHEM SENSES S1, V30, P182; Friedman MI, 2007, DRUG NEWS PERSPECT, V20, P573, DOI 10.1358-dnp.2007.20.9.1162243; Gijsman HJ, 2002, PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, V160, P192, DOI 10.1007-s00213-001-0970-5; Hall WL, 2003, BRIT J NUTR, V89, P239, DOI 10.1079-BJN2002760; Halton TL, 2004, J AM COLL NUTR, V23, P373; HILL A J, 1986, Nutrition and Behavior, V3, P133; Izumi T, 2004, NEUROSCI LETT, V354, P166, DOI 10.1016-j.neulet.2003.09.071; Kasaoka S, 2005, NUTRITION, V21, P855, DOI 10.1016-j.nut.2004.12.009; Kasaoka S, 2004, NUTRITION, V20, P991, DOI 10.1016-j.nut.2004.08.006; Koch JE, 1998, AM J PHYSIOL-REG I, V274, pR610; Kowalski TJ, 2004, EUR J PHARMACOL, V497, P41, DOI 10.1016-j.ejphar.2004.06.027; Laboure H, 2001, AM J PHYSIOL-REG I, V280, pR780; Laviano A, 2005, CURR OPIN CLIN NUTR, V8, P408, DOI 10.1097-01.mco.0000172581.79266.19; Layman DK, 2006, J NUTR, V136, p319S; Lievens S, 2003, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V78, P669, DOI 10.1016-S0031-9384(03)00039-8; Long SJ, 2000, APPETITE, V35, P79, DOI 10.1006-appe.2000.0332; Meguid MM, 2000, NUTRITION, V16, P843, DOI 10.1016-S0899-9007(00)00449-4; Meguid MM, 1998, APPETITE, V31, P404, DOI 10.1006-appe.1998.0209; Morrison CD, 2007, AM J PHYSIOL-ENDOC M, V293, pE165, DOI 10.1152-ajpendo.00675.2006; NAIR SK, 2005, J NUTR, V135, pS1547; Nairizi A, 2009, J NUTR, V139, P715, DOI 10.3945-jn.108.100081; Obeid OA, 2005, NUTRITION, V21, P224, DOI 10.1016-j.nut.2004.03.026; PARDRIDGE WM, 1977, J NEUROCHEM, V28, P103, DOI 10.1111-j.1471-4159.1977.tb07714.x; Potier M, 2009, CURR OPIN CLIN NUTR, V12, P54, DOI 10.1097-MCO.0b013e32831b9e01; Ropelle ER, 2008, DIABETES, V57, P594, DOI 10.2337-db07-0573; SMITH QR, 1987, J NEUROCHEM, V49, P1651, DOI 10.1111-j.1471-4159.1987.tb01039.x; Strubbe JH, 2004, PSYCHOL REV, V111, P128, DOI 10.1037-0033-295X.111.1.128; SVED AF, 1979, P NATL ACAD SCI USA, V76, P3511, DOI 10.1073-pnas.76.7.3511; UHE AM, 1992, J NUTR, V122, P467; Veldhorst M, 2008, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V94, P300, DOI 10.1016-j.physbeh.2008.01.003; Volonte MG, 2004, J PHARMACEUT BIOMED, V35, P647, DOI 10.1016-j.jpba.2004.02.002; Westerterp-Plantenga MS, 2003, CURR OPIN CLIN NUTR, V6, P635, DOI 10.1097-01.mco.0000098087.40916.c4; Wlodek D, 2003, J THEOR BIOL, V225, P33, DOI 10.1016-S0022-5193(03)00218-2; YU Y, 2008, APPETITE, V52, P372; Zhang YY, 2007, DIABETES, V56, P1647, DOI 10.2337-db07-012310
Meal Pattern of Male Rats Maintained on Histidine‐, Leucine‐, or Tyrosine‐Supplemented Diet
No full textObjective: Food intake is known to be affected by macronutrient composition of the diet, and protein manipulation has been reported to alter food intake, but the effect of individual amino acids on eating behavior has not been fully studied. This study investigated the effect of diet supple-mentation with three individual amino acids on meal pattern in male rats. Research Methods and Procedures: Thirty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four equal groups and fed control diet or histidine (5percent)-, leucine (5percent)-, or tyrosine (5percent)-supplemented diet for 2 weeks and were monitored for their meal pattern. Results: Total food intake and feeding rate of the different groups were not affected, although other components of meal pattern were altered. Histidine supplementation reduced diurnal meal size by 42percent (p 0.05), whereas that of leucine increased nocturnal meal size by ∼35percent (p 0.05). Tyrosine supplementation increased food intake of the nocturnal period and decreased that of the diurnal period. Both histidine and tyrosine supplementation elevated fasting plasma insulin levels and suppressed fasting glucose significantly. Discussion: Individual amino acids were found to alter meal pattern differently. Further investigations are required to dissect the involvement of central and peripheral factors in these alterations. Copyright © 2007 NAASO.Al Awar R, 2005, CLIN SCI, V109, P405, DOI 10.1042-CS20050072; Avraham Y, 2001, MED SCI SPORT EXER, V33, P2104, DOI 10.1097-00005768-200112000-00020; BAUMANN U, 2004, J INHERIT METAB DIS, V27, P1; Bellinger LL, 2005, PHARMACOL BIOCHEM BE, V80, P437, DOI 10.1016-j.pbb.2004.12.010; Bellisle E, 2003, NUTR METAB CARDIOVAS, V13, P189; Bensaid A, 2002, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V75, P577, DOI 10.1016-S0031-9384(02)00646-7; Bensaid A, 2003, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V78, P311, DOI 10.1016-S0031-9384(02)00977-0; BERNSTEIN IL, 1978, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V20, P417, DOI 10.1016-0031-9384(78)90322-0; Burton-Freeman B, 1997, AM J PHYSIOL-REG I, V273, pR1916; CASTONGUAY TW, 1987, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V40, P337, DOI 10.1016-0031-9384(87)90056-4; Clifton PG, 2000, NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV R, V24, P213, DOI 10.1016-S0149-7634(99)00074-3; Collier G, 1999, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V67, P339, DOI 10.1016-S0031-9384(99)00086-4; Cynober LA, 2004, METABOLIC THERAPEUTI; CZECH DA, 1990, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V47, P899, DOI 10.1016-0031-9384(90)90016-W; DECASTRO JM, 1989, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V45, P861, DOI 10.1016-0031-9384(89)90207-2; DECASTRO JM, 1987, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V40, P437, DOI 10.1016-0031-9384(87)90028-X; ERMER PM, 1994, J ANIM SCI, V72, P1548; Farley C, 2003, OBES RES, V11, P845, DOI 10.1038-oby.2003.116; FRIEDMAN MI, 2005, CHEM SENSES S1, V30, P182; FRIEDMAN MI, 1995, AM J CLIN NUTR, V62, P1096; Gerstein DE, 2004, J AM DIET ASSOC, V104, P1151, DOI 10.1016-j.jada.2004.04.027; Glendinning J. I., 1991, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V56, P7; Halford JCG, 2006, APPETITE, V46, P6, DOI 10.1016-j.appet.2005.07.010; Halford JCG, 2004, CURR DRUG TARGETS, V5, P221, DOI 10.2174-1389450043490541; Halford JCG, 2005, CURR DRUG TARGETS, V6, P201; Hall WL, 2003, BRIT J NUTR, V89, P239, DOI 10.1079-BJN2002760; HITOMIOHMURA E, 2005, LIPIDS, V27, P755; Izumi T, 2004, NEUROSCI LETT, V354, P166, DOI 10.1016-j.neulet.2003.09.071; JEANNINGROS R, 1982, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V28, P9, DOI 10.1016-0031-9384(82)90094-4; Kasaoka S, 2005, NUTRITION, V21, P855, DOI 10.1016-j.nut.2004.12.009; Kasaoka S, 2004, NUTRITION, V20, P991, DOI 10.1016-j.nut.2004.08.006; KOHASHI M, 1990, J NUTR SCI VITAMINOL, V36, P11; Laboure H, 2001, AM J PHYSIOL-REG I, V280, pR780; LANGHANS W, 1992, WORLD REV NUTR DIET, V40, P1; Latner JD, 1999, APPETITE, V33, P119, DOI 10.1006-appe.1999.0237; Lievens S, 2003, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V78, P669, DOI 10.1016-S0031-9384(03)00039-8; Long SJ, 2000, APPETITE, V35, P79, DOI 10.1006-appe.2000.0332; Meguid MM, 2000, NUTRITION, V16, P843, DOI 10.1016-S0899-9007(00)00449-4; Obeid OA, 2005, NUTRITION, V21, P224, DOI 10.1016-j.nut.2004.03.026; Poppitt SD, 1998, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V64, P279, DOI 10.1016-S0031-9384(98)00061-4; PORRINI M, 1995, APPETITE, V25, P17, DOI 10.1006-appe.1995.0038; Porrini M, 1997, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V62, P563, DOI 10.1016-S0031-9384(97)00162-5; Reid M, 1997, NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV R, V21, P295, DOI 10.1016-S0149-7634(96)00024-3; SCHECHTER PJ, 1979, AM J CLIN NUTR, V32, P1011; Smith GP, 1996, NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV R, V20, P41, DOI 10.1016-0149-7634(95)00038-G; Stubbs RJ, 1996, EUR J CLIN NUTR, V50, P409; Synowski SJ, 2005, APPETITE, V45, P191, DOI 10.1016-j.appet.2005.02.004; UHE AM, 1992, J NUTR, V122, P467; Varma M, 2001, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V74, P29, DOI 10.1016-S0031-9384(01)00569-8; Warwick ZS, 2003, PHYSIOL BEHAV, V80, P253, DOI 10.1016-j.physbeh.2003.07.007; Westerterp-Plantenga MS, 2003, CURR OPIN CLIN NUTR, V6, P635, DOI 10.1097-01.mco.0000098087.40916.c4; WOODS SC, 1991, PSYCHOL REV, V98, P488, DOI 10.1037--0033-295X.98.4.4889121
