cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anesthesia screen use may impact operating room communication practices in otolaryngology.

Abstract Objectives Failures in communication are a leading contributor to medical error. There is increasing attention on cultivating robust communication practices in the Operating Room (OR) to mitigate against patient injury and optimize efficient patient care. Few studies have evaluated how surgical equipment may introduce barriers to team dynamics. Design We conducted a pilot observational study to examine the relationship between anesthesia screen drapes (which are used inconsistently) and the frequency of verbal exchanges between surgical and anesthesia members. 25 procedures spanning various procedures in Otolaryngology were covertly observed, 12 of which employed a screen. Verbal exchanges were recorded across three stages of the surgery: pre-procedure (before the draping), procedure (drapes placed throughout) and post-procedure (after the removal of the draping). Speaker and content of the exchange was noted as well as various features about the procedure. Results Decreases in rates of exchanges were most pronounced during the procedure stage, although they did not reach significance on T-testing (p = 0.0719). After controlling for attending, table orientation and number of professionals, regression analysis did reveal a statistically significant decrease in rates of verbal exchanges during the procedure in the presence of the anesthesia screen (7.17 (± 6.33) versus 2.23 (± 1.00), p = 0.0318). Differences were also significant among surgeon-initiated and patient-care-related exchanges (p = 0.0168 and p = 0.0432, respectively). Decreases in anesthesiologist-initiated and non-clinical exchanges did not reach significance (p = 0.1530 and p = 0.5120, respectively). Conclusion This pilot study suggests that anesthesia screens may negatively impact communication practices in the OR.
Estimation of the thermospheric density using ephemerides of the CYGNSS and Swarm constellations

Abstract Modeling the neutral density in the upper atmosphere is a major challenge as it involves a comprehensive understanding of the complex coupling between the thermosphere and its environment. In addition, this system is strongly driven by solar activity, which is hardly predictable. This complexity limits the ability of thermospheric models to accurately estimate thermospheric characteristics, such as the neutral density. With the rapidly increasing number of satellites in orbit and the recent progress in tracking their trajectories, new techniques are being implemented to derive density estimates based on trajectory perturbations. However, most of these methods require the integration of complex and costly orbit determination algorithms, which greatly limit their applicability at a public level. The approach presented here provides density estimates along a spacecraft trajectory and only requires the implementation of an orbit propagator. More specifically, it corrects density predictions made by the NRLMSIS00e thermosphere model by optimizing the orbit fitting of modeled trajectories with observations under different thermospheric density conditions. The algorithm is applied to the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System and Swarm-B spacecraft trajectories during a period of varying geomagnetic activity. The study puts in evidence a bias in NRLMSIS00e estimates during moderate solar activity, corrected by the algorithm. In addition, the approach provides a better characterization of the rapid density enhancement resulting from a geomagnetic storm. Overall, the correlation with the Level 2 data is improved by 15% and the normalized root mean square error decreased by a factor ~2.3, compared to the estimations with NRLMSIS00e.
IMPROVEMENT OF MECHANISMS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE RESULTS OF PARLIAMENTARY CONTROL

The main objective of the study, the results of which is presented in the article, is an analysis of the content and essence of parliamentary control, which is a prerequisite for improving mechanisms for its implementation. The author has shown that the concept of parliamentarism means the presence of a division of state power to the legislative, executive and judicial, and therefore means independence and simultaneous interconnection of all branches of power. Such interconnectivity makes it possible to restrain branch branches due to mutual influence, pressure and control. The article determines that the state policy develops in a way that makes it possible to synchronously and in this case it is symmetrically involved in various branches of power to its formation, implementation and adjustment, depending on manifestations of legal reality, socio-economic reality and public-political processes in the state. The author revealed that, in democratic countries, the Parliament acts as a state policy that is responsible for state policy: taking on the legislative level of basic principles, the principles and mechanisms for implementing the state policy that rely on all the basis of all without exception social relations with the basis of public relations with the legislative level. its realization. Parliamentary control covers spheres much wider than a purely process of realization by the state executive authorities of their own powers. It is about the possibility of introducing separate forms of parliamentary control as an element of political legal personality, when the appointment of parliament officials that is part of its competence entails direct responsibility of such persons in the form of possible release due to the unsatisfactory results of the implementation of its powers or violations of legislation in the process of their the realization. In general, it can be noted that the unique combination of legislative and control functions in a representative body of state power increases the effectiveness of state regulation as a whole, since the adoption of the law means only the implementation of the establishment function by the state, and already its direct realization and enforcement of state power bodies - will provide the dynamics of the process of regulating public relationship. Instead, such an enforcement requires control not so much by the completion of the state authorities of its powers, but for the correctness of understanding the essence of the norms that are determined by the mechanisms of state regulation in the field of environmental activity. Key words: parliamentary control, execution of parliamentary control, lawmaking, state policy, central executive authorities.
IDDF2021-ABS-0085 Association of healthy and unhealthy plant-based diets with the risk of colorectal cancer overall and by molecular subtypes

Background Several plant foods have been associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, not all plant foods are healthy, and little is known about the association between plant-based diets and specific molecular subtypes of CRC. We aimed to examine the association of healthy and unhealthy plant-based diets and the risk of CRC overall and by molecular subtypes. Methods We followed 76,386 women in the Nurses’ Health Study (1984-2014) and 47,387 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2014) for up to 30 years. Plant-based diets were assessed using two indices derived from the food frequency questionnaires: a healthy plant-based diet index (hPDI) and an unhealthy plant-based diet index (uPDI). Colorectal tumor tissues were collected to measure the status of microsatellite instability (MSI), CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), and BRAF and KRAS mutations. Results During 3,143,205 person-years of follow-up, we documented 3077 incident CRC cases, including 1244 cases with available molecular marker data. A higher hPDI was associated with lower CRC incidence (hazard ratio [HR] comparing extreme quartiles=0.86, 95% CI: 0.77, 0.96; P-trend=0.04), whereas a higher uPDI was associated with higher CRC incidence (HR comparing extreme quartiles=1.16, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.29; P-trend=0.005). The association of hPDI significantly differed by KRAS status (P-heterogeneity=0.003) but not by other tumor markers. The hPDI was associated with lower incidence of KRAS-wildtype CRC (HR comparing extreme quartiles=0.74, 95% CI: 0.57, 0.96; P-trend=0.004) but not KRAS-mutant CRC (P-trend=0.22). Conclusions A plant-based diet rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables was associated with a lower incidence of CRC, especially KRAS-wildtype CRC, whereas a plant-based diet emphasizing unhealthy plant foods such as refined grains might be associated with higher CRC incidence. These data emphasize the importance of differentiating healthy and unhealthy plant foods when promoting plant-based diets for the primary prevention of CRC. The differential association of hPDI by KRAS status suggests the interplay of diet and specific tumor pathways.
Important Research Needs in Wood-As A Structural Material

The better utilization of wood as a structural material depends heavily on increased knowledge of its basic behavior under load and environ mentally-induced stresses. A summary of research needs for improving this knowledge is presented. Needs for increased emphasis on research in wood behavior along with programs of education are considered. Some of the organizational and funding requirements for support of the research are also described. The combination of the proper application of the suggested research and the development of needed educational programs can lead to a full utilization of the timber resource.
Feature-Preserving Image Restoration from Adaptive Triangular Meshes

The triangulation of images has become an active research area in recent years for its compressive representation and ease of image processing and visualization. However, little work has been done on how to faithfully recover image intensities from a triangulated mesh of an image, a process also known as image restoration or decoding from meshes. The existing methods such as linear interpolation, least-square interpolation, or interpolation based on radial basis functions (RBFs) work to some extent, but often yield blurred features (edges, corners, etc.). The main reason for this problem is due to the isotropically-defined Euclidean distance that is taken into consideration in these methods, without considering the anisotropicity of feature intensities in an image. Moreover, most existing methods use intensities defined at mesh nodes whose intensities are often ambiguously defined on or near image edges (or feature boundaries). In the current paper, a new method of restoring an image from its triangulation representation is proposed, by utilizing anisotropic radial basis functions (ARBFs). This method considers not only the geometrical (Euclidean) distances but also the local feature orientations (anisotropic intensities). Additionally, this method is based on the intensities of mesh faces instead of mesh nodes and thus provides a more robust restoration. The two strategies together guarantee excellent feature-preserving restoration of an image with arbitrary super-resolutions from its triangulation representation, as demonstrated by various experiments provided in the paper.
Defining and Teaching Academic Language: Developments in K‐12 ESL

The concept of academic language (also referred to as academic English) has developed substantially in the 30 years since Cummins introduced the distinction between basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). Cummins’ (1979, 1981, 2000a) work explains why English language learners (ELs) may acquire basic conversational fluency in English quickly but require substantially longer to acquire academic language. The BICS/CALP framework has also influenced pedagogy, particularly by promoting highly contextualized teaching of academic content. More recent work drawing on linguistic approaches, including corpus linguistics and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), provides insights into the specific features of language used in school settings. Pedagogical approaches emphasizing explicit language instruction and plentiful opportunities for oral and written language practice show promise for assuring that ELs can develop academic language proficiency. Given the need to address the academic achievement of the growing population of ELs, it is important for teachers to expand their concept of academic language instruction to include these approaches.
Fusion of Quantized and Unquantized Sensor Data for Estimation

This letter investigates the usefulness of quantized data for estimation problems in which unquantized data is already available. A worst case scenario is considered in which a fusion center has access to continuous and binary-valued measurements of the same uniformly distributed parameter observed in Gaussian noise. The difference in mean squared error between a minimum mean squared error estimate using unquantized data and a minimum mean squared error estimate using both quantized and unquantized data is used to quantify the value of fusing the two kinds of data. Discussion of the Cramer-Rao Bound predicts how noise in the quantized data affects the reduction in estimate mean squared error from fusing the data types. It is then determined that the maximum reduction in estimate mean squared error from fusion can be approximated as a rational function of the ratio of the standard deviations of the measurement noise in the two data types. Finally, similarities between the approximation to the reduction in estimate mean squared error for the most favorable uniform prior width and a closed form expression based on the Cramer-Rao Bound are discussed.
Genomic rearrangements of the APC tumor-suppressor gene in familial adenomatous polyposis

Germline mutations of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor-suppressor gene result in the hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Almost all APC mutations that have been identified are single-nucleotide alterations, small insertions, or small deletions that would truncate the protein product of the gene. No well-characterized intragenic rearrangement of APC has been described, and the prevalence of this type of mutation in FAP patients is not clear. We screened 49 potential FAP families and identified 26 different germline APC mutations in 30 families. Four of these mutations were genomic rearrangements resulting from homologous and nonhomologous recombinations mediated by Alu elements. Two of these four rearrangements were complex, involving deletion and insertion of nucleotides. Of these four rearrangements, one resulted in the deletion of exons 11 and 12 and two others resulted in either complete or partial deletion of exon 14. The fourth rearrangement grossly altered the sequence within intron 14. Although this rearrangement did not affect any coding sequence of APC at the genomic DNA level, it caused inappropriate splicing of exon 14. These rearrangements were initially revealed by analyzing cDNAs and could not have been identified by using mutation detection methods that screened each exon individually. The identification of a rearrangement that did not alter any coding exons yet affected the splicing further underscores the importance of using cDNA for mutation analysis. The identification of four genomic rearrangements among 30 mutations suggests that genomic rearrangements are frequent germline APC mutations.
Vaccine Information Pamphlets: More Information than Parents Want?.

Objective. To assess the information needs of parents regarding childhood immunizations, and their satisfaction with the Vaccine Information Pamphlets (VIPs). Research design. Verbally administered, forced-choice survey of a representative sample. Setting. Urban teaching hospital-primary care center (N = 73), neighborhood health center (N = 75), and a suburban private practice (N = 75). Participants. Parents or guardians of children scheduled for routine checkups, aged 1 month to 18 years, presenting for routine health care maintenance visits. Results. Of 227 parents, 223 completed the survey. Almost all (98%) had prior experience with their children9s immunizations, and 7% reported a history of a "bad" experience. Most parents stated that it was "very important" to receive information about immunizations regarding: diseases prevented by the immunizations (89%); common side effects (91%); serious side effects (89%); contraindications (91%). Eighty percent of parents indicated they wanted immunization information discussed with each vaccination. Forty-three percent of the parents were familiar with the VIPs; of these, 88% reported that the amount of information was "just right," and 94% thought the VIPs were helpful. However, 29% thought the VIPs were either too long, or somewhat too long. Conclusions. Parents indicate that they want information about many aspects of immunizations, and those familiar with the VIPs report high levels of satisfaction with the pamphlets.
Sodium butyrate in combination with insulin or dexamethasone can terminally differentiate actively proliferating Swiss 3T3 cells into adipocytes.

Sodium butyrate arrests the growth of actively proliferating Swiss 3T3 cells. A previous report from our laboratory describes the pattern of expression of a representative group of growth-associated genes following treatment of Swiss 3T3 cells with sodium butyrate. The results of this study suggest that sodium butyrate-induced growth arrest involves events which lead to adipocyte differentiation (Toscani, A., Soprano, D.R., and Soprano, K.J. (1988) Oncogene Res. 3, 233-238). However, while sodium butyrate by itself could apparently initiate adipogenesis, it alone was not sufficient to maintain this differentiation state. We now wish to further characterize the role of sodium butyrate in adipocyte differentiation. Subconfluent cultures of Swiss 3T3 cells were treated with sodium butyrate in combination with other agents known to induce Swiss 3T3 cell adipogenesis (e.g. 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine, insulin, and dexamethasone) and then analyzed at various times thereafter for: (a) the presence of high concentrations of intracellular lipid as detected by microscopic examination of treated cells following staining with lipid-specific dyes and (b) the expression of four genes known to be modulated during the differentiation of preadipocytes into mature adipocytes (actin, adipsin, lipoprotein lipase, and adipocyte P2). Our results show that sodium butyrate in combination with either insulin or dexamethasone can fully differentiate Swiss 3T3 cells into adipocytes, at least as determined by accumulation of high levels of intracellular lipid. Moreover, the sodium butyrate-mediated process of differentiation can occur in subconfluent, actively proliferating cells. Thus, these experiments describe a new, previously unidentified activity of sodium butyrate and also suggest that this model system may be a useful one to study the relationship between growth arrest and differentiation.
ADME of Natural Toxins

A common myth among the general public is that any substance derived from nature is inherently safe. To the contrary, some of the most potent and specifically-targeted toxins have been identified and isolated from plants, mushrooms, and microorganisms. With regard to this volume, many of these toxins are of particular relevance in the pharmacokinetic study of xenobiotics, particularly their metabolism. This chapter highlights a select group of primarily small molecule toxins or protoxins of historical (i.e., aflatoxins) or contemporary (i.e., mycotoxins from “toxic mold”) relevance. Marine peptide toxins are intentionally omitted to maintain focus but are an additional class of highly-selective acute and potentially lethal toxins from nature. Keywords: mycotoxins; Amanita; CYP; toxic mold; heavy metals
Preliminary model for high-power-waveguide arcing and arc protection

The arc protection subsystems that are implemented in the DSN high power transmitters are discussed. The status of present knowledge about waveguide arcs is reviewed in terms of a simple engineering model. A fairly general arc detection scheme is also discussed. Areas where further studies are needed are pointed out along with proposed approaches to the solutions of these problems.
Risk and Resilience in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a fairly common psychiatric disorder that is associated with a lifetime prevalence of approximately 9% in the United States. In light of recent war and terrorist activity worldwide, it is likely that increased numbers of individuals will be exposed to severe or life-threatening trauma, and the incidence of PTSD may be even higher than previously indicated in epidemiologic studies. PTSD may develop after exposure to a traumatic event in which the individual experienced, witnessed, or was confronted by either actual or threatened loss of life or serious injury. Patients with PTSD often reexperience intrusive recollections of the event in ways that are highly distressing and may be described as reliving the memory. Not surprisingly, symptoms of avoidance are noted because individuals with PTSD often wish to escape recollections (thoughts, feelings, conversations, places) related to the trauma. Patients also experience symptoms of hyperarousal associated with difficulty concentrating or exaggerated startle response. Notably, individuals who develop PTSD represent only a subset of those exposed to trauma. It is of interest why certain individuals are at risk for development of PTSD after traumatic exposure, whereas others appear to be more resilient to the effects of trauma. Studies suggest that previous exposure to trauma and intensity of the response to acute trauma may affect the development of PTSD. In addition, however, neuroendocrine changes, such as lower cortisol levels, also may influence formation and processing of traumatic memories and may be associated with the underlying pathology of PTSD.
The central drift chamber for the D0 experiment: Design, construction and test

A cylindrical drift chamber has been designed and built at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. This chamber is to be installed in the D0 detector which is being completed at the Fermi National Accelerator. In this dissertation the design, construction and testing of this chamber are described. The characteristic features of this chamber are cells formed by solid walls and a modular structure. Much discussion is given to the performance of and results from a chamber made from three final modules which was installed in the D0 interaction region during the 1988/1989 collider run. Using this chamber proton anti-proton interactions were measured at the D0 interaction point.
Waist–hip ratio and attractiveness: New evidence and a critique of “a critical test”

Abstract An evolutionary model of mate choice predicts that humans should prefer honest signals of health, youth, and fertility in potential mates. Singh and others have amassed substantial evidence that the waist–hip ratio (WHR) in women is an accurate indicator of these attributes, and proposed that men respond to WHR as an attractiveness cue. In response to a recent study by Tassinary and Hansen [Psychol. Sci. 9 (1998) 150.] that purports to disconfirm Singh's hypothesis, we present evidence showing a clear relationship between WHR and evaluations of attractiveness. We evaluated responses to a range of waist, hip, and chest sizes, spanning the 1st through 99th percentiles of anthropometric data. Waist, hip, and chest sizes were altered independently to give WHRs of 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.9, and 1.2. We replaced line drawings with more realistic computer-manipulated photographs. The preferred WHR was 0.7, concordant with the majority of previous results. By asking participants to estimate weight in each stimulus figure, we were able to statistically control for the effects of weight on attractiveness judgments; the effect of WHR remained.
Carboxysome genomics: a status report

Carboxysomes, microcompartments that enhance the fixation of carbon dioxide by Rubisco, are found in several chemoautotrophs and in all cyanobacteria thus far examined. The genes for Rubisco large (cbbL) and small (cbbS) subunits (cbb for Calvin-Benson-Bassham), along with the genes (csoS) for the carboxysome shell peptides, are organized in a putative operon in Halothiobacillus neapolitanus in the following order: cbbL,cbbS, csoS2, csoS3, orfA, orfB, csoS1C, csoS1A, and csoS1B. DNA sequencing has revealed essentially the same operon in three other thiobacilli, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Thiomonas intermedia, and Thiobacillus denitrificans. The carboxysome genes are also clustered inSynechococcus sp. and Synechocystis sp., although in some cases certain genes lie outside the cluster. The genes, labelled ccm for CO2 concentrating mechanism, exist in Synechococcus PCC7942 in the order ccmK, ccmL, ccmM, ccmN, and ccmO, and are located upstream of the Rubisco genes. ccmO is absent, and multiple copies of ccmK exist in some species. The ccmK/ccmO and ccmL genes are homologues of csoS1CAB andorfAB, respectively. The ccmM and ccmN genes have no apparent counterpart in the thiobacilli. More recently, the genome sequence of four additional cyanobacteria has become available. The carboxysome genes in Nostoc punctiforme are clustered like, and are similar to, the genes of the earlier mentioned cyanobacteria. However, the three marine organisms Prochlorococcus marinus MIT9313, P. marinus MED4, and Synechococcus WH8102, possess an operon nearly identical to that found in thiobacilli. Furthermore, the genes exhibit surprising sequence identity to the carboxysome genes of the thiobacilli.
Remote sensing of coastal wetlands and estuaries

To protect and restore coastal ecosystems, scientists and managers need reliable, up-to-date information on how and why these systems are changing. Remote sensors on satellites and aircraft offer cost-effective means for determining the rates and causes of ecosystem changes. The U. D. Center for Remote Sensing has been developing remote sensing techniques for observing changes of landscape-level, coastal environmental indicators, including wetland size, biomass, fragmentation; invasive species; riparian buffers; estuarine suspended sediment and chlorophyll concentrations. One particularly useful result is a method for detecting changes of wetland and upland vegetation using biomass as an indicator. By employing a vegetation index (MSAVI) which is locally normalized, we minimize the effects of atmospheric, weather and seasonal differences between images in a time series. This model is applied to a time-series of medium resolution (30 m) Landsat/TM images in a GIS to identify and “flag” areas where significant change has occurred. Only the “flagged” areas are then examined in more detail with more expensive high-resolution (1–4 m) IKONOS satellite or aerial imagery.
Value of storage for wind power producers in forward power markets

Wind power producers (WPPs) that sell power in forward power markets would like to minimize their operating costs which increase with generation uncertainty. In this work, the value of energy storage for reducing such costs is studied. In particular, profit maximization is considered for a WPP who participates in a two-settlement (forward and real time) market and utilizes energy storage by charging/discharging it strategically. An infinite horizon discounted cost minimization problem for the optimal use of energy storage is formulated as a dynamic programming (DP) problem that includes the past unfulfilled forward contracts in the state space. The optimal storage operation policy is shown to have a structure with two thresholds: after delivering its contracted power, if a WPP's energy falls below a lower threshold, it buys energy and charges its storage up to this threshold; if its energy exceeds a higher threshold, it sells the excess energy and maintains its storage level at this threshold. Several heuristics for solving the DP are derived based on approximating the problem model: a) a discrete policy based on discretizing the state and action space, and b) affine and look ahead policies derived by solving a Linear Quadratic (LQ) controller whose parameters are fit from the DP. The heuristics are tested both with simulated and real world wind and price data. It is observed that while the discrete optimal policy performs better on simulated data than either the look ahead or the affine policies (except with a very high battery capacity), the look ahead policy performs much better with real world data. This suggests that the performance of look ahead approximate optimal policy is more robust to the modeling errors and mismatch between analytic models and real data traces. The appropriate heuristic to use thus depends on modeling fidelity, available computational resources and variability of wind and price forecasts.
His and Hers: Economic Factors and Relationship Quality in Germany

Research has linked economic factors to relationship quality in the United States, primarily using cross-sectional data. In the current study, 2 waves of the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics data (n = 2,937) were used to test the gendered association between economic factors and relationship satisfaction among young German couples. In contrast to U.S.-based studies, the findings showed striking gender differences in the association between economic factors and relationship satisfaction for Germans. In cross-sectional models, women's relationship satisfaction was positively associated with receiving government economic support, and men's satisfaction was positively associated with poverty status and negatively associated with being a breadwinner. Longitudinal models revealed that changes in poverty status are associated with women's satisfaction, but men's satisfaction remains tied to their role as family provider. These unexpected results suggest that men's satisfaction is positively associated with a more equal division of labor market activity between partners.
Genetic Instability in the Mating Type System of Tetrahymena pigmentosa

Selfing clones of Tetrahymena pigmentosa show several interesting genetic features, and provide some insight into the mechanisms of mating type (mt) determination. They differ significantly from those of Tetrahymena thermophila . They are distributed nonrandomly in crosses. Their rates of stabilization are highly variable, but most are much lower than those reported for T. thermophila . A number of subclones derived from nearly all the selfers have maintained stable mts in culture for several years. However, some subclones manifest persistent selfing, long after the calculated completion of allelic assortment for heterozygous loci. This phenomenon along with the perpetual maintenance of dominant mts in heterozygotes shows that phenotypic assortment is not involved in mt expression.—In crosses, many selfers exhibit quantitative and qualitative aberrations in the transmission of alleles to the gametes; some of the micronuclear changes underlying these aberrations occur during vegetative growth. There are rare illegitimate appearances of dominant alleles in sexual progeny, and more common illegitimate appearances of the most recessive phenotype.—Various models to explain mt determination in this species are considered. One which might account for the troubling phenomena of the system consists of an active mat expression site, with "cassettes" at other sites specific for the different dominant alleles and capable of transposition to the expression site.
Evaluating Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration Options for Virginia

Changes in forest and agricultural land management practices have the potential to increase carbon (C) storage by terrestrial systems, thus offsetting C emissions to the atmosphere from energy production. This study assesses that potential for three terrestrial management practices within the state of Virginia, USA: afforestation of marginal agricultural lands; afforestation of riparian agricultural lands; and changing tillage practices for row crops; each was evaluated on a statewide basis and for seven regions within the state. Lands eligible for each practice were identified, and the C storage potential of each practice on those lands was estimated through a modeling procedure that utilized land-resource characteristics represented in Geographic Information System databases. Marginal agricultural lands’ afforestation was found to have the greatest potential (1.4 Tg C yr−1, on average, over the first 20 years) if applied on all eligible lands, followed by riparian afforestation (0.2 Tg C yr−1 over 20 years) and tillage conversion (0.1 Tg C yr−1 over 14 years). The regions with the largest potentials are the Ridge and Valley of western Virginia (due to extensive areas of steep, shallow soils) and in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain in eastern Virginia (wet soils). Although widespread and rapid implementation of the three modeled practices could be expected to offset only about 3.4% of Virginia’s energy-related CO2 emissions over the following 20 years (equivalent to about 8.5% of a Kyoto Treaty–based target), they could contribute to achievement of C-management goals if implemented along with other mitigation measures.
Deconvoluting the impact of intermolecular and intramolecular interactions on the polymerization kinetics of ultrarapid mono(meth)acrylates

Polymerization studies in the presence of extensive amounts of solvent are used here to deconvolute the effects of intermolecular interactions such as bulk medium polarity, π−π stacking, and hydrogen bonding and characterize the contribution of intramolecular conformational effects to monomer reactivity. For that purpose the solution polymerization kinetics of various monomers in the presence of 95 wt % 1, 4-dioxane were measured and compared to bulk polymerization kinetics. The studies revealed that traditional aliphatic acrylates like hexyl acrylate exhibit approximately 2−3-fold reduction upon dilution. Monomers characterized by only hydrogen-bonding features such as hydroxyethyl acrylate exhibit an 8−12-fold reduction upon dilution. Monomers possessing only aromatic ring stacking interactions such as phenyl acrylate exhibit approximately a 5−10-fold reduction upon dilution under similar conditions. Even at a concentration of 5 wt % monomer in 1,4-dioxane, there were approximately 2−5-fold differences ...
Perspectives on barrier material standards for operating rooms

Identification of standard tests for assessing barrier performance of surgical gowns and drapes has been an illusive goal. Although surgical procedures have been described as early as 1653 when the illustrated surgical methodology for craniotomy was published, documentation of the use of surgical gowns has had to be determined by paintings and photographs. One of the first depictions of the use of surgical gowns appears in an 1889 oil painting by Thomas Eakins displaying a surgical theater in the University of Pennsylvania. Most of the early research on barrier materials was performed by Dr William Beck. In 1952, Beck published his classic paper ‘‘False Faith in the Surgeon’s Gown and Surgical Drape,’’ demonstrating that cotton cloth when wet transports bacteria from a nonsterile to a sterile area. In 1963, Beck and Carlson defined an aseptic barrier as a ‘‘material placed between an aseptic area, such as an operative incision, and areas which harbor microorganisms with the purpose of preventing the spread of bacteria into the sterile zone.’’ Beck’s work demonstrated that the wicking action of the cotton drapes was so great that microorganisms traveled almost instantaneously in both directions through these materials. After World War II, Quarpel (Quartermaster Corp, Philadelphia, Pa), an extremely fine, all-pima cotton treated with a water-repellent finish, became available to the health care market. Research published in 1967
High-Anxious Individuals Show Increased Chronic Stress Burden, Decreased Protective Immunity, and Increased Cancer Progression in a Mouse Model of Squamous Cell Carcinoma

In spite of widespread anecdotal and scientific evidence much remains to be understood about the long-suspected connection between psychological factors and susceptibility to cancer. The skin is the most common site of cancer, accounting for nearly half of all cancers in the US, with approximately 2–3 million cases of non-melanoma cancers occurring each year worldwide. We hypothesized that a high-anxious, stress-prone behavioral phenotype would result in a higher chronic stress burden, lower protective-immunity, and increased progression of the immuno-responsive skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma. SKH1 mice were phenotyped as high- or low-anxious at baseline, and subsequently exposed to ultraviolet-B light (1 minimal erythemal dose (MED), 3 times/week, 10-weeks). The significant strengths of this cancer model are that it uses a normal, immunocompetent, outbred strain, without surgery/injection of exogenous tumor cells/cell lines, and produces lesions that resemble human tumors. Tumors were counted weekly (primary outcome), and tissues collected during early and late phases of tumor development. Chemokine/cytokine gene-expression was quantified by PCR, tumor-infiltrating helper (Th), cytolytic (CTL), and regulatory (Treg) T cells by immunohistochemistry, lymph node T and B cells by flow cytometry, adrenal and plasma corticosterone and tissue vascular-endothelial-growth-factor (VEGF) by ELISA. High-anxious mice showed a higher tumor burden during all phases of tumor development. They also showed: higher corticosterone levels (indicating greater chronic stress burden), increased CCL22 expression and Treg infiltration (increased tumor-recruited immuno-suppression), lower CTACK/CCL27, IL-12, and IFN-γ gene-expression and lower numbers of tumor infiltrating Th and CTLs (suppressed protective immunity), and higher VEGF concentrations (increased tumor angiogenesis/invasion/metastasis). These results suggest that the deleterious effects of high trait anxiety could be: exacerbated by life-stressors, accentuated by the stress of cancer diagnosis/treatment, and mediate increased tumor progression and/or metastasis. Therefore, it may be beneficial to investigate the use of chemotherapy-compatible anxiolytic treatments immediately following cancer diagnosis, and during cancer treatment/survivorship.
Cachexia: lessons from melanocortin antagonism

It is well established that disruptions in melanocortin signaling in the CNS result in morbid obesity, but only recently has evidence linked the activation of this system with the production of cachexia, also known as disease-associated wasting. Pro-opiomelanocortin-producing neurons, which express cytokine receptors, show increased activation in the presence of several cytokines that are increased in diseases that are associated with cachexia. Recent experiments show that blockade of melanocortin signaling using antagonists to the melanocortin MC 4 receptor attenuates disease-associated anorexia and wasting in rodent models of cancer and renal failure. This successful inhibition of cachexia is important because loss of appetite and lean body mass worsen the prognosis of many the diseases with which cachexia is associated.
Conserved lipid and peptide presentation functions of nonclassical class I molecules.

Abstract CD1-mediated lipid presentation to natural killer (NK) T cells is highly conserved between rodents and humans. Similarly, HLA-E- or Qa-1-mediated presentation of class-I-derived leader peptides to inhibitory NK receptors is functionally conserved. Here, Mitchell Kronenberg and colleagues discuss these two systems, which provide the first evidence for a conserved ligand-binding or presentation function for nonclassical class I molecules.
Proximal Outcomes Matter: A Multilevel Examination of the Processes by Which Coordinating Councils Produce Change

Communities are engaged in efforts to create a coordinated response to intimate partner violence. Though coordinating councils are commonly employed vehicles for such efforts, research provides only equivocal support regarding their effectiveness. These mixed findings may reflect methodological and conceptual challenges. Specifically, there is an over-reliance on conceptualizing council effectiveness in terms of distal outcomes (e.g., behavior change), rather than the intermediary processes by which councils affect change. A direct assessment of councils' proximal outcomes may highlight change mechanisms. To that end, this study investigates the extent to which councils impact proximal outcomes and examines the processes through which proximal outcomes are interrelated and linked to distal community change. Study findings suggest that perceived proximal outcomes do significantly predict variability in perceived distal community change across councils. Specifically, promotion of social capital and institutionalized change predict achievement of distal community change, and promotion of social capital also predicts achievement of institutionalized change.
INTELLECTUAL ABILITY AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AS PREDICTORS OF PATIENTS' DEFENSIVENESS

The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, a measure of defensiveness, is related to various psychotherapeutic process and outcome variables. The present study tested the hypothesis that lower intellectual ability and educational achievement are associated with defensiveness. In a sample of 50 patients in psychotherapy, defensiveness was not significantly correlated with WAIS—R IQs estimated from Shipley-Hartford scores and only weakly related (−.26) to education. It appears that patients' defensiveness is relatively unassociated with these objective indices of ability and achievement.
Studies of primate protein variation and evolution: microelectrophoretic detection.

Genetic variation at 16 protein and enzyme loci in Cercopithecus aethiops and several other primate species has been surveyed, using cellulose acetate microelectrophoresis. Resolution of several standard variant proteins is comparable to that achieved on starch gel or polyacrylamide gel. Although both intraspecific and interspecific variation was observed for some loci, the data generally support the concept that extracellular proteins are more likely to be polymorphic within a species, while intracellular proteins generally vary between species, if at all. These methodologies are particularly appropriate for screening multiple-locus variation in large numbers of samples; their relevance to studies of molecular evolution and evaluation of theories of kin selection is discussed.
A theoretical analysis of the effects of an electric field on the charging of fine particles

Recent measurements of charge imparted to fine particles by unipolar ions in a strong electric field have shown that this charge is appreciably higher than that predicted by previous theoretical analyses. The charge acquired by fine particles is due primarily to ions which strike the particle by virtue of their random heat motion. Previous analyses have assumed that the only field existing was that due to the charge on the particles, thus neglecting any external field which would be present in a corona discharge. Two effects of an external field which influence charging are critically examined: 1. Ions or electrons which travel in the direction of the external field toward the particle will acquire energy in addition to their heat energy. Their increase in energy will allow these elementary particles to overcome more readily the potential field of the charged particle. This effect is shown to be small for molecular ions at atmospheric pressure except for only the very smallest particles but, for charging by free electrons, which have a much longer mean free path, the effect could cause a large increase in charge. 2. The presence of an external field will alter the density distribution of ions around the charged particle since this field opposes the particle field on one side of the particle and aids it on the other side. The general equation for the ion density distribution was not able to be solved. However, approximate finite difference methods using computing machinery show that this effect is important and may almost completely account for the higher charge found with molecular ion charging.
Catastrophes Are Still Interesting

Erb and Boyce are right to agree with Caughley (1994)that catastrophes can be thought of as extreme stochas-tic events. To do so, however, does not require that weabandon them as worthy of study in their own right.These rare events have the ability to put populations atconsiderable risk, and even small differences betweenthe tails of an expected curve and actual die-off severi-ties may have profound effects on population viability.Erb and Boyce’s analytical critique of my paper(Young 1994) is restricted to a minor result, and the onethat I suggested at the time was most likely to be a sam-pling artifact. I am gratified that they have been able tomanipulate the data to make them look more like the“normal” tail of a distribution. This bypasses the ques-tion of why I found, with my methodology, an abun-dance of 70–80% die-offs, compared to a virtual absenceof die-offs . 90%. This remains suggestive of buffersagainst population extinction.I would like to address briefly their five primary con-cerns. (1) My inclusion of only die-offs greater than 25%is not responsible for the apparent overabundance of re-ported die-offs of 70–90%, as a little reflection will con-firm. (2) My statement about the apparent commonnessof die-offs, like that of Harwood and Hall (1990), fullytakes into account events that affect multiple species.(3) and (4) I am gratified that more than 90% of my casesheld up to their reevaluation (although I wish that both Iand the data available were perfect). (5) I suspect thatfew conservation biologists would agree with Erb andBoyce’s statement that a 90% population “decline over a6-year period . . . hardly constitutes a catastrophe,” espe-cially when applied to large mammals. The new IUCNguidelines reserve their direst category, “critically en-dangered,” for populations with “an observed, estimatedor suspected severe decline of at least 80% during thelast ten years or three generations” (Mace & Stuart1994). By their guidelines, most of the populations re-ported in Young (1994) would be listed as endangeredor vulnerable by virtue of their natural fluctuations.The fact that the distribution of die-off severities maylook more like a tail than a bump in no way implies thatcatastrophic die-offs are “much less common” than I sug-gested. My suggestion of their relative abundance wasnot based on the apparent bump at 70–90%, but on theactual number of cases I found. For all their re-analysis,the vast majority of the die-offs are still there and are vir-tually as common as I originally asserted. The other pat-terns I found were pretty neat, too. Take a look.