cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SCIATIC NERVE AXOTOMY IN AGED RATS: RESPONSE OF MOTONEURONS AND THE EFFECT OF GM1 GANGLIOSIDE TREATMENT

The number, size, and staining intensity of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-immunopositive cells in the retrodorsal lateral nucleus (RDLN) of the spinal cord were studied in young (3-5 months old) and aged (22-24 months old) rats following left sciatic nerve distal transection (axotomy) and treatment with GM1 ganglioside. The cell size and the ChAT immunostaining density were decreased in the RDLN of non-manipulated as well as in the contralateral intact side of axotomized aged rats. Axotomy had no effect on the number of RDLN motoneurons in both aged and young rats. In the young rats, there was a decrease in the size of motoneurons 7 days post-axotomy and a partial spontaneous recovery occurred by 21 days. Axotomy did not reduce further the size of aged motoneurons, however. The ChAT staining intensity of the axotomized RDLN declined in both age groups after 7 days, and there was spontaneous near normal recovery by 21 days. In the aged rats, GM1 administration for 7 days corrected the cell size and ChAT immunoreactivity of the contralateral intact RDLN. With regard to axotomized RDLN neurons, 7 days of GM1 restored the cell size but not the ChAT immunostaining in young animals. The same treatment schedule, however, corrected both cell size and staining in aged rats. Administration of GM1 for 21 days had no further effect on the morphometric parameters of the axotomized motoneurons in aged rats, but slightly enhanced the recovery of ChAT immunostaining in young rats. Thus, it appears that GM1 facilitates the phenotypic recovery of RDLN motoneurons during aging and after axotomy.
“Habituation Devours Things”: Radwa Ashour’s Specters and the E(n)strangement of Life-Writing

In Specters, her multi-genre novel-length work of life-writing, Radwa Ashour engages with the Russian Formalist Viktor Shklovsky’s theory of “enstrangement” or “defamiliarization” to explore how history shapes lives and lives shape history. The double-voiced narration and mise-en-abyme structure of the novel, a mirror-within-a-mirror plot layered with metafictional passages on writing, coheres through the motifs of ghosts, threads, and silences. These motifs bring to the fore, if only momentarily, those individuals whom history has effaced from the nineteenth century onwards. Ashour, who in her words seeks to construct a “geographical space dense with a resonant history, a composite of past and present, overlapping territories constitutive of an emotional and moral space for self-awareness and self-definition”, engages the theory of enstrangement on both counts as she crafts a personal and political history that resists final closure and affirms life.
Enhanced survival and mucosal repair after dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis in transgenic mice that overexpress growth hormone.

Abstract Background & Aims: Growth hormone (GH) is used as therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the specific effects on intestine are unknown. Transgenic mice overexpressing GH (MT1-bGH-TG) were used to test whether increased plasma GH levels alter inflammation or crypt damage during dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. Methods: MT1-bGH-TG and wild-type (WT) littermates were given 3% DSS for 5 days followed by up to 10 days of recovery. Colitis and epithelial cell proliferation were evaluated histologically. Plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and colonic IGF-I, interleukin (IL)-1β, and intestinal trefoil factor (ITF) messenger RNAs (mRNAs) were measured. Results: DSS induced similar disease onset in MT1-bGH-TG and WT. More MT1-bGH-TG survived than WT. By recovery day 7, MT1-bGH-TG had less inflammation and crypt damage, elevated plasma IGF-I, and increased colonic ITF expression relative to WT. Colonic IL-1β was elevated in DSS-treated MT1-bGH-TG and WT, but IL-1β mRNA abundance correlated with disease only in WT. MT1-bGH-TG showed earlier increases in epithelial cell proliferation than WT during recovery but only WT showed atypical repair. Conclusions: GH does not alter susceptibility to acute DSS-induced colitis but enhances survival, remission of inflammation, and mucosal repair during recovery. GH therapy may be beneficial during active IBD by improving mucosal repair. GASTROENTEROLOGY 2001;120:925-937
Clinical characteristics, bone mineral density and non-vertebral osteoporotic fracture outcomes among post-menopausal U.S. South Asian Women.

Abstract Purpose There is limited data pertaining to osteoporotic fractures among North American women of South Asian (SA) descent. This study examines fracture incidence and risk factors among post-menopausal SA, Chinese and White women undergoing mineral density (BMD) testing within a large healthcare organization in Northern California. Methods Using data from a retrospective study of women aged 50–85 years with femoral neck BMD measured between 1997 and 2003, we identified a subset of women of SA race and an age-matched subgroup of Chinese (1:5) and White (1:10) women and examined rates of incident wrist, humerus and hip fractures up to 10 years following BMD. Clinical and demographic risk factors were identified using health plan databases. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were conducted to examine predictors of incident fractures. Results The study cohort included 449 SA, 2245 Chinese and 4490 White women, with an average age of 58.4 ± 6.1 years. The prevalence of femoral neck osteoporosis was higher among SA (8.9%) compared to White (6.5%) women and tended to be lower than Chinese (11.9%) women. More SA (7.1%) and White (9.6%) women had prior fracture compared to Chinese women (4.5%) and racial differences in smoking, rheumatoid arthritis, glucocorticoid use and hormone replacement therapy were seen. During a median of 8.4 years follow-up, wrist fracture incidence was similar among SA and White women (286 and 303 per 100,000 person-years, respectively) but significantly lower among Chinese women (130 per 100,000 person-years). In multivariable analyses, lower BMD, prior fracture and White and SA race (compared to Chinese race), were associated with a higher relative rate of wrist fracture. Lower BMD, prior fracture, older age and White but not SA race were also associated with a higher relative rate of non-vertebral (wrist, humerus or hip) fractures. Conclusions Post-menopausal South Asian women differed from Chinese and White women with respect to prevalence of femoral neck osteoporosis, certain risk factors and site of osteoporotic fracture. These findings support the need for more studies examining fracture risk and outcomes specific to SA women residing in the U.S. to inform clinical decisions relevant to fracture risk.
CMIT study of CR2060 and 2068 comparing L1 and MAS solar wind drivers

Abstract While it is widely known that coronal mass ejections and their related solar wind features are significant drivers of activity with geospace it is less known that corotating interaction regions (CIRs) and the high speed stream (HSS) periods that precede them are also drivers of activity within geospace. The most recent extended and weak solar minimum interval has brought renewed attention to the space weather impacts of CIR+HSS periods since the highly structured and relatively stable coronal hole features on the Sun resulted in numerous CIR+HSS periods. In this paper we examine two Carrington Rotations (CRs) using the Coupled Magnetosphere Ionosphere Thermosphere (CMIT) model. CR2060 lasted from August 14, 2007 to September 11, 2007 and contained three CIR+HSS periods. CR2068, also known as the Whole Heliosphere Interval (WHI), began on March 20, 2008 and lasted until April 16, 2008 and contained two CIR+HSS periods. For each CR simulations driven by both L1 solar wind observations from the OMNI data set and L1 conditions extracted from CORHEL heliospheric simulations were conducted. The heliospheric simulation results capture the velocity and density structures seen in the solar wind well for CR2060 and only get one of the CIR+HSS periods in CR2068. In each CR the heliospheric simulations produce a much weaker IMF and have less temporal variability in all parameters. We compare the results of the CMIT simulations for each CR to observations of the cross polar cap potential (CPCP), hemispheric power (HP), and SYM H index including the computation of RMS and cross correlation error metrics. We examine the response of the thermospheric density during these intervals by utilizing data from the CHAMP satellite. In the magnetosphere we use magnetic field data from the GOES spacecraft to asses the different simulations ability to describe the distribution and intensity the ULF wave power. Our results show that the L1 driven simulations under-estimates the SYM H index and HP and over-estimates the CPCP. We believe that over estimation of the CPCP is directly linked to the low HP highlighting the need for an improved precipitation model within CMIT. The ULF power in the L1 simulations compares well with the observations, especially for the compressional component important in radiation belt energization processes. In all cases, the CMIT simulations driven by the heliospheric simulation results produce dramatically inferior predictions highlighting the importance of having good IMF predictions in heliospheric model results and possibly indicating the importance of having fluctuations in the solar wind.
Molecular overlap of fly circadian rhythms and human pancreatic cancer

Circumstantial evidence demonstrating a role for circadian rhythms in cancer has been presented but there is little direct molecular evidence to support this idea in human cancer. Herein, we report a significant similarity between fly genes with strong circadian rhythms and human genes under expressed in pancreatic cancer. The list of genes includes both circadian regulator genes, such as period 1 and DEC1, and downstream effectors, such as ubiquitin specific protease 30. This observation may indicate that the pancreas peripheral clock is disrupted in pancreatic cancer and are consistent with the recent proposals that circadian genes act as tumor suppressors.
Joint degradation assessment in an extended structure using chaotic attractor property analysis

Recently, a new approach in vibration-based structural health monitoring has been developed utilizing features extracted from concepts in nonlinear dynamics systems theory . The structure is excited with a low-dimensional chaotic input, and the steady-state structural response attractor is reconstructed using a false nearest neighbors algorithm . Certain features have been computed from the attractor such as average local 'neighborhood' variance, and these features have been shown in previous works to exceed the damage resolving capability of traditional modal-based features in several computational and experimental studies. In this work, we adopt a similar attractor approach, but we present a feature based on nonlinear predictive models of evolving attractor geometry. This feature has an advantage, over previous attractor-based features in that the input excitation need not be monitored. We apply this overall approach to a steel frame model of a multi-story building, where damage is incurred by the loosening of bolted connections between model members .
Cloning, sequence analysis, and expression of a mouse cDNA encoding cytochrome c oxidase subunit VIa liver isoform.

Abstract A cDNA encoding cytochrome c oxidase (COX) subunit Vla liver isoform ( COX6aL ) was isolated from a Mus musculus library and sequenced. The protein translated from the nucleotide sequence contains a presequence and is 91% identical to the human cognate sequence over the processed polypeptide region. Northern analysis shows the expression of COX6aL is developmentally regulated in heart, being about equally transcribed with the heart isoform ( COX6aH ) in 18-day embryos but consisting of less than 25% in adult heart.
Current status of topical antithrombotic agents in microvascular surgery.

Several technical advances over the years have allowed microsurgery to be successful. However, thrombosis, particularly at the anastomosis site, remains a complication of microvascular surgery. Various preventive measures, including drugs, have been used to improve microvascular surgical anastomotic patency rates. The purpose of this article is to review the literature and the current status of topical antithrombotic agents. From this review along with laboratory investigations it is concluded that a combination of topical as well as systemic agents offers the best patency rates. However, the “ideal” antithrombotic agent is yet to be discovered and investigations need to be continued in order to improve or eliminate the complication of microvascular thrombosis. But the importance of atraumatic technique cannot be overemphasized. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Tissue Expander Insertion Through a Mini Incision

Tissue expanders are usually placed deep to the subcutaneous layer through large incisions.1-3 Expansion is started 2 weeks after insertion in order to allow the wound to develop sufficient integrity to withstand the expansive forces.13 This method, although effective, has some limitations. The large incision delays expansion, may interfere with the final flap design, and may dehisce to expose the expander or cause its extrusion.
Ribosomal frameshifting in yeast viruses

Proper maintenance of translational reading frame by ribosomes is essential for cell growth and viability. In the last 10 years it has been shown that a number of viruses induce ribosomes to shift reading frame in order to regulate the expression of gene products having enzymatic functions. Studies on ribosomal frameshifting in viruses of yeast have been particularly enlightening. The roles of viral mRNA sequences and secondary structures have been elucidated and a picture of how these interact with host chromosomal gene products is beginning to emerge. The efficiency of ribosomal frameshifting is important for viral particle assembly, and has identified ribosomal frameshifting as a potential target for antiviral agents. The availability of mutants of host chromosomal gene products involved in maintaining the efficiency of ribosomal frameshifting bodes well for the use of yeast in future studies of ribosomal frameshifting.
Caste in the honey bee

The known facts concerning the physiology of the honey bee and of other social Hymenoptera physiologically similar indicate that when the ovulated egg has a reduced amount of yolk it is disposed to become a worker and does so if it is fertilized and the worker character of the resultant larva is not nutritionally counteracted. Queen production from fertilized eggs, therefore, is facultative. According to this concept the system of differential larval feeding which characterizes the life of the honey bee does not initiate the worker caste. It is a system by which the worker bees regulate caste ratios with very few of the worker larvae being transformed into queens. In this transformation of the female, the “primitive” queen status is recovered through Snodgrass' “magic formula,” a formula involving extra qualitative and quantitative nutrition. This recovery appears to be irreversibly established by qualitative feeding during the second and third days of larval life.
Boundary interactions for two-dimensional granular flows. Part 1. Flat boundaries, asymmetric stresses and couple stresses

The behaviour of a granular flow at a boundary cannot be specified independently of what is happening in the rest of the flow field. This paper describes a study of two fictitious, but instructive, flat boundary types using a computer simulation of a two-dimensional granular flow with the goal of trying to understand the possible effects of the boundary on the flow. The two boundary conditions, Type A and Type B, differ largely in the way that they apply torques to the flow particles. During a particle–wall collision, the Type A boundary applies the force at the particle surface, thus applying the largest mechanistically possible torque to the particle, while the Type B boundary applies the force directly to the particle centre, resulting in the application of zero torque. Though a small change on continuum scales (i.e. the point at which the force is applied has only been moved by a particle radius) it makes a huge difference to the macroscopic behaviour of the system. Generally, it was found that, near boundaries, large variations in continuum properties occur over distances of a particle diameter, a non-continuum scale, throwing into doubt whether boundaries may be accurately modelled via continuum mechanics. Finally, the large torques applied to the particles by the Type A boundary induce asymmetries in the stress tensor, which, in these steady flows, are balanced by gradients in a couple stress tensor. Thus, near boundaries, a frictional granular material must be modelled as a polar fluid.
Predictors of clinical outcomes in the laparoscopic management of adnexal masses.

Abstract Objective Laparoscopy has become an accepted approach in the management of adnexal masses. We evaluated clinical outcomes of laparoscopic management of adnexal masses thought to be benign preoperatively. Methods We performed a retrospective study of patients undergoing laparoscopic evaluation of adnexal masses over a 7-year period. Regression models evaluated predictors of blood loss, length of stay, complications, mass rupture, conversion to laparotomy, and operating time. Preoperative predictors of malignant and borderline disease were evaluated using a separate model. Results Complications occurred in 8% of 396 patients undergoing laparoscopic evaluation of adnexal masses and were associated with concurrent hysterectomy ( P = .01) and smaller mass ( P = .01). Conversion to laparotomy occurred in 25% and was associated with larger mass ( P = .001), prior hysterectomy ( P = .002), and younger age ( P = .002). Mass rupture occurred in 25% and was associated with prior ( P P = .003) hysterectomy and younger age ( P = .001). Blood loss greater than 500 mL was associated with concurrent hysterectomy ( P P P P = .01), prior abdominal surgery ( P = .009), and medical comorbidities ( P = .007). Malignancy occurred in 2%, and laparoscopic management was not associated with adverse outcomes. Conclusion Adnexal masses thought to be benign preoperatively were successfully managed laparoscopically in three fourths of cases and clinical outcomes were acceptable. To a great extent, adverse events were attributable to concurrent hysterectomy rather than removal of the adnexal mass.
Gracilis muscle transposition for iatrogenic rectourethral fistula.

Rectourethral fistula poses a difficult surgical challenge. Fistulas between the lower rectum and the urethra may be congenital, with the constellation of pelvic floor malformations, or acquired, due to inflammation, infection, neoplasia, or trauma. Iatrogenic rectourethral fistulas can follow the treatment of prostatic cancer. Although uncommon, these fistulas may occur following radical prostatectomy, 1 radiotherapy, 2 cryosurgery, 3 or seed implantation for the treatment of prostate carcinoma. Although symptoms such as pneumaturia, fecaluria, and the passage of urine through the rectum are often alleviated by fecal and urinary diversion, these fistulas seldom spontaneously heal. 4 Even when diverted, patients may suffer from urinary tract infections, resistant to medical therapy. 5 Thus, most of these patients will eventually require surgical treatment. Numerous surgical procedures have been described for the treatment of rectourethral fistula, 1,4,6–9 none of which has gained wide acceptance as the procedure of choice. The diversity in treatment methods, combined with the limited reported success rates, attest to the complexity of this difficult condition. After gaining significant experience with the harvest and transposition of the gracilis muscle for fecal incontinence, 10,11 we began to favor its use for the treatment of unhealed perineal wounds 12 and rectourethral fistulas. The aim of this study was to review our experience with gracilis muscle transposition for the surgical treatment of iatrogenic rectourethral fistula resulting from treatment for prostatic carcinoma.
Operational Application of Meteorological Doppler Radar

Single Doppler weather radar velocity and reflectivity fields have been obtained with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) 5 cm radars for a wide variety of weather situations. Among those weather features that can be identified by means of color displays are the vertical variation of wind with height in widespread precipitation, frontal boundaries, gust fronts, “downbursts,” tornadoes, hurricane winds, wind shears dangerous to aircraft, and winds in the boundary layer in clear air. It is concluded that, even though a Doppler radar observes only the radial component of the wind, a wide variety of weather features of great importance to weather forecasters can easily be identified with a single radar. For operational applications a national network of Doppler radars seems justified. It is recommended, particularly in regions of the country where severe storms or high rainfall rates are relatively frequent, that these be 10 cm wavelength radars with a beam width of 1° and that automatic proce...
Xenopsylla cheopis: cellular expression of hypersensitivity in guinea pigs.

Abstract Guinea pigs multiply exposed to Xenopsylla cheopis adult fleas exhibited marked blood basophil responses to challenge infestation with only minor changes in blood eosinophil levels. Dermal responses to flea feeding were marked by dominant neutrophil (52% of the infiltrate) and eosinophil (32%) accumulations 24 hr after primary feeding, with a weak basophil response (11%). However, after challenge feeding 14 days later, eosinophils dominated, representing 59% of the infiltrate with basophils comprising 30% of the cellular response; neutrophils were rare (7%). Mast cells did not exhibit any increases in density during either the primary or secondary infestation, representing 4–7% of the infiltrate. These results demonstrate that flea feeding induces systemic and local basophil responses as demonstrated for all hematophagous arthropods examined so far. Flea feeding success was not adversely affected by feeding on homologously hypersensitized guinea pigs or guinea pigs sensitized by Ornithodoros parkeri feeding. However, basophil responses at flea feeding sites in heterologous (tick) sensitized animals were more basophilic (26 ± 4 cells/0.03-mm2 area) than feeding sites in homologous (flea) sensitized hosts (9 ± 6 cells). Furthermore, primary tick feeding sites become erythematous and indurated after flea feeding on the opposite flank, and were marked histologically by strong basophil absccess (276 ± 56 cells/0.03-mm2 area); primary flea feeding sites were not activated by tick challenge feeding. These cross-generic challenge feeding experiments suggest antigen cross-reactivity, resulting in activation of feeding sites of a heterologous arthropod. Furthermore, the inability of tick feeding to activate old flea feeding sites is more likely because ticks (pool feeding) induce a more pronounced cutaneous basophil response than fleas (vessel feeding), a result dependent upon either differences in immunological sensitization or differences in the amount of salivary secretion deposited into the tissue during feeding.
Optimal ensemble control of open quantum systems with a pseudospectral method

In this paper, we extend our previous results concerning the application of the Legendre pseudospectral method to optimal pulse design problems for open quantum systems. We now consider the more realistic case in which systems are characterized by variations in parameter values, such as relaxation rates and coupling constants. Such dispersions in system parameters motivate us to consider an ensemble of systems, each member distinct due to distinct parameter values. We demonstrate the method with systems from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in liquid. In particular, we highlight the flexibility and robustness of the pseudospectral method approach by developing pulses that minimize the energy or total duration of the pulse sequence.
Reconsidering Anthropological Explanations of Ethnic School Failure

This article reviews the anthropological debate on why some ethnic minorities fail more frequently in schools. Although neither side presents overwhelming empirical evidence, John Ogbu's caste theory is clearly a more comprehensive, systematic explanation than the “cultural difference” explanation. In addition, Ogbu's “multilevel” or macro style of school ethnography has important methodological advantages over the less historical, more decontextualized micro ethnographies of classrooms. Nevertheless, as various micro ethnographers have pointed out, caste theory has difficulty accounting for in-group variance and the school success of some oppressed ethnic minorities. Results from a field study in South Texas are used to illustrate that Ogbu's notion of an “oppositional culture” does underestimate both in-group variation and the self-valorizing potential of ethnic oppositional cultures. The school-level description of students' “dramaturgical communicative competence” demonstrates why many middle-class Mexicanos are not held back by their ethnic oppositional culture. The article ends by advocating a model of macro school ethnography that is based on a multiple dominance view of society and a phenomenological notion of ethnic culture rather than caste theory.
Activist Research and Student Agency in Universities and Urban Communities

Unlike school-aged youth attending well-resourced suburban schools, working-class poor students attending inner-city public schools are oftentimes denied the opportunity to develop a sense of agency within their schools and communities. In this article, the author addresses one way that educators and researchers can encourage young people to engage in participatory processes of teaching and learning aimed at developing personal and collective agency. In addition, she describes how a group of university-based students participated in on-the-ground experiences that contributed significantly to their understandings of how individual and collective agency energizes teaching and research processes. The author embeds those discussions within the framework of a participatory action research project she engaged in with a group of middle school adolescents in the northeast region of the United States.
Moving from mixed signal to RF test hardware development

A robust RF board design methodology is critical to containing costs, maintaining schedules and providing RF IC customers' adequate RF test coverage in high volume production for a test development organization. In this paper, a new, robust methodology is described to allow an organization to consistently generate high quality RF test hardware solutions, which will work the first time. This methodology was adopted in the RF IC test development organization in IBM in January of 2000 to address the high demand for unique RF IC test solutions and the complexity involved in the reliable development of high frequency test hardware. The methodology has been demonstrated to allow the test engineer to address the technical issues with RF signals and RF IC's prior to building the hardware. This saves time, money and sets an appropriate level of expectation with the RF IC design team on what is feasible to test. The methodology can also be extended and applied to improve the reliability of the high frequency logic or networking test hardware development process.
Trauma and women

Although our knowledge of the impact of trauma initially relied on research of male war veterans, in the past two decades studies have investigated the prevalence of trauma and its impact on women. This article reviews key findings regarding the prevalence of trauma among women, its effects, and treatment for the sequelae of trauma. Compared with men, women differ in the types of trauma they experience and in their responses to trauma, including the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at a higher rate. This review will emphasize the latest knowledge of interpersonal violence because of its ubiquity and deeply damaging effects on women.
Harmonic tracking of acoustic radiation force-induced displacements

Ultrasound-based elasticity imaging methods rely upon accurate estimates of tissue deformation to characterize the mechanical properties of soft tissues. These methods are corrupted by clutter, which can bias and/or increase variance in displacement estimates. Harmonic imaging methods are routinely used for clutter suppression and improved image quality in conventional B-mode ultrasound, but have not been utilized in ultrasound-based elasticity imaging methods. We introduce a novel, fully-sampled pulse-inversion harmonic method for tracking tissue displacements that corrects the loss in temporal sampling frequency associated with conventional pulse-inversion techniques. The method is implemented with acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging to monitor the displacements induced by an impulsive acoustic radiation force excitation. Custom pulse sequences were implemented on a diagnostic ultrasound scanner to collect spatially-matched fundamental and harmonic information within a single acquisition. B-mode and ARFI images created from fundamental data collected at 4 MHz and 8 MHz are compared with 8-MHz harmonic images created using a band-pass filter approach and the fully sampled pulse-inversion method. In homogeneous, tissue-mimicking phantoms, where no visible clutter was observed, there was little difference in the axial displacements, estimated jitter, and normalized cross-correlation among the fundamental and harmonic tracking methods. The similarity of the lowerand higher-frequency methods suggests that any improvement resulting from the increased frequency of the harmonic components is negligible. The harmonic tracking methods demonstrated a marked improvement in B-mode and ARFI image quality of in vivo carotid arteries. Improved feature detection and decreased variance in estimated displacements were observed in the arterial walls of harmonic ARFI images, especially in the pulse-inversion harmonic ARFI images. Within the lumen, the harmonic tracking methods improved the discrimination of the blood-vessel interface, making it easier to visualize plaque boundaries. Improvements in harmonic ARFI images in vivo were consistent with suppressed clutter supported by improved contrast and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in the matched harmonic B-mode images compared with the fundamental B-mode images. These results suggest that harmonic tracking methods can improve the clinical utility and diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound-based elasticity imaging methods.
A phonological expression for physical movement monitoring in body sensor networks

Monitoring human activities using wearable wireless sensor nodes has the potential to enable many useful applications for everyday situations. The deployment of a compact and computationally efficient grammatical representation of actions reduces the complexities involved in the detection and recognition of human behaviors in a distributed system. In this paper, we introduce a road map to a linguistic framework for the symbolic representation of inertial information for physical movement monitoring. Our method for creating phonetic descriptions consists of constructing primitives across the network and assigning certain primitives to each movement. Our technique exploits the notion of a decision tree to identify atomic actions corresponding to every given movement. We pose an optimization problem for the fast identification of primitives. We then prove that this problem is NP-Complete and provide a fast greedy algorithm to approximate the solution. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our phonetic model on data collected from three subjects.
Mechanism of DNA Transport Through Pores

The transport of electrically charged macromolecules such as DNA through narrow pores is a fundamental process in life. When polymer molecules are forced to navigate through pores, their transport is controlled by entropic barriers that accompany their conformational changes. During the past decade, exciting results have emerged from single-molecule electrophysiology experiments. Specifically, the passage of single-stranded DNA/RNA through alpha-hemolysin pores and double-stranded DNA through solid-state nanopores has been investigated. By a combination of these results with the entropic barrier theory of polymer transport and macromolecular simulations, an understanding of the mechanism of DNA transport through pores has emerged.
The Transformation of Lermontov

With the conclusion of the war, the flood of historical patriotic plays came to an abrupt halt. If in the preceding years, Stalin had wanted to inspire patriotism in the average Russian by showing him heroic deeds of prerevolutionary military leaders, he now felt it necessary to shift the emphasis to glorification of the party—a step which may have been partially designed to prevent the emergence of a Napoleon from the powerful and popular armed forces. Scholars realized that a new line on historiography was in the making when in June, 1945, Istoricheskii zhurnal (Historical Magazine) suspended publication, to be later replaced by Voprosy istorii (Problems of History), with a shift in editors. From articles in the early issues, it became clear that dialectical materialism would again be applied to the past (more or less as in the pre-1934 period).1
Testing the Love Thy Neighbor Hypothesis: Religiosity's Association With Positive Attitudes Toward Ethnic/Racial and Value-Violating Out-Groups

Most religions teach individuals to “love thy neighbor” where “neighbor” extends to out-group members. To date, the love thy neighbor hypothesis, which posits that religiosity is associated with tolerance toward out-group members, has been tested indirectly by examining religiosity’s association with negative (prejudiced) attitudes. The present study directly tested the love thy neighbor hypothesis by examining religiosity’s association with positive attitudes toward out-groups once statistically controlling for right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), a measure of cognitive rigidity and a known mediator of the relationship between religiosity and prejudice. Two hundred forty-nine adult Americans completed measures of religiosity and allophilia, a measure of positive attitudes toward members of an out-group. Mediation path analyses revealed that RWA aggression, a subcomponent of RWA that measures a cognitively rigid ideology, fully mediated the relationship between religiosity and positive attitudes toward ethnic/racial out-groups (Arabs, African Americans, and Hispanics). This positive association between religiosity and positive attitudes toward ethnic/racial out-groups suggests that religiosity is associated with loving some neighbors. Both RWA aggression and RWA conventionalism (a subcomponent of RWA that measures traditional cognitive rigidity) fully mediated the relationship between religiosity and positive attitudes toward value-violating out-groups (lesbians, gay men, and atheists). Religiosity showed no association with attitudes toward value-violating out-groups once controlling for these rigid ideologies, providing partial support for the love thy neighbor hypothesis. Implications of the present results for understanding how religiosity can be associated with and even promote tolerance toward out-groups are discussed.
Relationship of circulating steroid hormones, luteal luteinizing hormone receptor and progesterone concentration, and embryonic mortality during early embryogenesis in the domestic cat.

Serum hormones, corpus luteum (CL) progesterone, and CL LH receptors were characterized and interrelated to ovarian follicle and CL number and preimplantation embryo quality/survival in the cat. Blood samples were collected from queens ovariohysterectomized at 64 (n = 7), 76 (n = 11), 100 (n = 8), 124 (n = 7), 148 n = 6), or 480 (n = 8) h after first copulation (3-times-daily matings on Days 2 and 3 of estrus). Ovarian CL were enucleated, weighed, and bisected; one hemi-CL was assayed for progesterone and the other for LH receptors. Serum was assessed for estradiol-17P and progesterone. Serum estradiol-17P concentrations did not return (p > 0.05) to baseline (-20 pg/ml) until 124 h after first copulation, whereas serum progesterone began to increase (> 1 ng/ml) by 76 h, was elevated (p 0.05) at 64 and 76 h, and both increased (p < 0.05) at subsequent time intervals and were correlated closely (r = 0.65; p < 0.01). Although ovarian CL were distinct and well organized by 64 h, pronounced elevations in serum progesterone and CL LH receptors and progesterone did not occur until at least 36 h later. The rapid increase in serum progesterone concentrations between 100 and 148 h was related to accelerated LH receptor synthesis and CL progesterone production and not entirely to enhanced CL growth. There were few discernible differences in hormonal and luteal traits between queens with viable embryos or high implantation rates and females with degenerate embryos, unfertilized oocytes, or poor implantation, with one consistent exception. Queens with poor fertility in the 64-, 76-, and 100-h groups had higher (p < 0.05) CL progesterone concentrations than cats with viable embryos, suggesting that altered follicular dynamics (perhaps premature luteinization) adversely impacted oocyte/embryo quality. In summary, there is a direct and significant relationship between circulating progesterone, CL mass, and CL progesterone/LH receptors during preimplantation embryogenesis in the domestic cat. The temporal kinetics of these events are remarkably similar among mated females and, with the possible exception of CL progesterone, appear unrelated to embryonic viability.
Effects of coal dust and diesel exhaust on immune competence in rats.

The effects on the immune system of rats that had been exposed to a 2‐mg/m3 dose of either respirable coal dust, diesel exhaust fumes and particulates, or the combination of these were studied. Animals that were housed similarly but exposed only to filtered air served as controls. After 12 and 24 mo of exposure, the rats were tested for immunocompetency by enumerating antibody‐producing cells in the spleen 4 d after immunization with sheep erythrocytes and by monitoring the proliferative response of splenic T‐lymphocytes to the mitogens concanavalin A and phytohemagglutinin. The results of this study indicate that no major alterations occurred in the immunologic functions measured as a result of exposure to either coal dust, diesel exhaust fumes and particulates, or their combination.
Investigating the effect of mechanical discontinuities on joint spacing

In rocks without systematic mechanical discontinuities (e.g., granite), joint spacing follows an approximately log-normal frequency distribution (i.e., the distribution has a kurtosis near zero). Joint spacing in rocks with systematic mechanical boundaries differs from the spacing in isotropic rocks, exhibiting consistently positive values of kurtosis (i.e., the distribution is more clustered around the mode than a perfectly log-normal distribution). We attribute this difference in joint-spacing distribution to mechanical boundaries such as bed partings in sedimentary rocks that constrain joint height and control joint spacing. Existing systematic joints can also act as mechanical boundaries during the development of later ‘cross’ joints. Two parallel mechanical boundaries determine the mechanical-layer thickness that influences joint spacing. In this paper, we investigate the effect of sampling geometry and mechanical discontinuities on joint-spacing statistics. In many situations, neither pavement surfaces nor properly oriented boreholes are available for measuring the spacing of cross joints that develop between existing systematic joints. When joint-spacing data come from scanlines that are oblique to a systematic joint set (e.g., crossing many systematic joints on a sub-vertical outcrop face), we consider whether the median spacing of the systematic joint set is statistically equivalent to the mechanical-layer thickness thought to control cross-joint spacing between individual pairs of systematic joints. The basis of our analysis is the fracture spacing index (FSI), which is the slope of a line fitted to a plot of mechanical-layer thicknesses vs. median joint spacing. We collected joint-spacing data along oblique scanlines from a large outcrop of the Devonian Brallier Formation, a distal turbidite sequence, near Huntingdon, PA. Our analysis indicates that the spacing of cross joints correlates better with a mechanical-layer thickness defined by the median systematic (‘strike’) joint spacing (r 2 D 0:78, FSID 1.02) than with a mechanical-layer thickness defined by the stratigraphic bed thickness (r 2 D 0:69, FSID 0.97). This is consistent with the conclusions of previous workers. We also note that the spacing data from the cross joints exhibit a higher (i.e., more positive) value of kurtosis than the data from the earlier strike joints (1.66 vs. 0.98). This is consistent with the idea that mechanical discontinuities alter joint spacing in a systematic manner. In this case, the cross joints may have been influenced by two sets of mechanical boundaries (bedding and existing joints), whereas the earlier strike joints were constrained by only one set (bedding). © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Semantic Features from Web-Traffic Streams

We describe a method to convert web-traffic textual streams into a set of documents in a corpus to allow use of established linguistic tools for the study of semantics, topic evolution, and token-combination signatures. A novel web-document corpus is also described which represents semantic features from each batch for subsequent analysis. A (American-English) lexicon is used to create a canonical representation of each corpus whereby there is a consistent mapping of each TermID to the corresponding lexicon-word or token. Finally, representation of a corpus member as a ‘document’ is accomplished by combining the (http) request string with the concatenation of all responses to it. This representation thus allows association of the request string tokens with the resulting content, for consumption by document classification and comparison algorithms.
Risk and Protective Factors for Three Major Mental Health Problems Among Latino American Men Nationwide

The present study investigated psychosocial predictors for major depressive disorder (MDD), general anxiety disorder (GAD), and suicidal ideation (SI) of Latino American men identified in the first national mental health epidemiological survey of Latinos. Three separate sets of logistic regression analyses were performed for 1,127 Latinos, following preplanned two steps (Model 1--Known Demographic and Acculturation Predictors as controls, Model 2--Psychosocial Risk and Protective Factors). Results show that Negative Interactions with family members significantly predicted the likelihood of both MDD and SI, while SI was also associated with Discrimination. Acculturation Stress was associated with that of GAD (alongside more Income, Education of 12 years, and Years in the United States for less than 11 years). Other potential protective factors (social support, racial/ethnic identity, religious involvement) were not influential. The differential predictors for mental health issues among Latino men imply that assessment and intervention for them may need certain gender-specific foci in order to improve mental health disparities in this population.
A Durkheimian Analysis of International Crime Rates

Emile Durkheim's theory of the emergence of the division of labor and consequent state of anomie was presented as a model by which the variance in international crime rates could be explained. Durkheim recognized the possibility that a "4chronic" state of anomie occurring concomitant with industrialization would produce an increase in the crime rate. A test of the model delineating the causal relationships suggested by Durkheim found that the variable of anomie was not predictive of crime rates. However, a modified model excluding anomie was examined and found to be useful in explaining property and total crime rates. Alternative interpretations consistent with a Durkheimian perspective were suggested and explored. The works of Emile Durkheim have long formed the basis for many sociological theories. Perhaps nowhere else is Durkheim's influence more apparent than in the sociology of deviance. The social bonding perspective (Hirschi, and the several varieties of anomie theory; Cloward and Ohlin; Cohen; Merton, a, b), need only be mentioned to testify to the pervasive and lasting impact of Durkheim's ideas in this area. Recently, there has been an effort to employ Durkheim's ideas on social change more directly in explaining the variation in rates of deviance which may accompany industrialization (Gibbs and Martin, c; McDonald; Miley and Micklin; Webb). The current effort continues and extends this line of inquiry by employing a Durkheimian model to explain the variation in cross-national crime rates.
The effect of total nephrectomy on hematopoiesis in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis.

Abstract Routine hematologic measurements, erythrokinetic studies, and serum erythropoietic-stimulating factor (ESF) assays were perforMed before and after bilateral nephrectomy in 8 patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. In addition, average hematocrit values and transfusion requirements were determined on these and 19 other patients prior to and after removal of the kidneys. The results indicate that hematocrit values decrease and transfusion requirements increase after the kidneys are removed, even though the patients had severe renal failure requiring regular dialysis prior to surgery, and the level of azotemia did not change. These findings are accompanied by decreased total and erythroid iron utilization. Red cell survival times, while shorter than normal, were not changed significantly. ESF was not detectable in the plasma of any patient prior to nephrectomy, but was detectable in 1 patient after the kidneys were removed when the hematocrit reached a very low level. These findings suggest that bilateral nephrectomy so adversely affects erythropoiesis that the procedure should be recommended only for control of severe hypertension, for other specific indications, or at the time of renal transplantation.
Intracellular signaling: spatial and temporal control.

Cells integrate many inputs through complex networks of interacting signaling pathways. Systems approaches as well as computer-aided reductionist approaches attempt to “untangle the wires” and gain an intimate understanding of cells. But “understanding” any system is just the way that the human mind gains the ability to predict behavior. Computer simulations are an alternative way to achieve this goal—quite possibly the only way for complex systems. We have new tools to probe large sets of unknown interactions, and we have amassed enough detailed information to quantitatively describe many functional modules. Cell physiology has passed the threshold: the time to begin modeling is now.
The end of the Asian myth: why were the experts fooled?

Abstract This article examines the reasons behind the overoptimism of a large segment of the economics profession concerning the performance of East Asian economies, which was shattered by the financial crises of 1997–98. It also shows how the crisis placed into bold relief many institutional characteristics of these economies which negate many past attempts to characterize them as open and market-driven.