cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cost-effectiveness of Rotavirus vaccination in Vietnam

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea leading to hospitalization or disease-specific death among young children. New rotavirus vaccines have recently been approved. Some previous studies have provided broad qualitative insights into the health and economic consequences of introducing the vaccines into low-income countries, representing several features of rotavirus infection, such as varying degrees of severity and age-dependency of clinical manifestation, in their model-based analyses. We extend this work to reflect additional features of rotavirus (e.g., the possibility of reinfection and varying degrees of partial immunity conferred by natural infection), and assess the influence of the features on the cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination. We developed a Markov model that reflects key features of rotavirus infection, using the most recent data available. We applied the model to the 2004 Vietnamese birth cohort and re-evaluated the cost-effectiveness (2004 US dollars per disability-adjusted life year [DALY]) of rotavirus vaccination (Rotarix®) compared to no vaccination, from both societal and health care system perspectives. We conducted univariate sensitivity analyses and also performed a probabilistic sensitivity analysis, based on Monte Carlo simulations drawing parameter values from the distributions assigned to key uncertain parameters. Rotavirus vaccination would not completely protect young children against rotavirus infection due to the partial nature of vaccine immunity, but would effectively reduce severe cases of rotavirus gastroenteritis (outpatient visits, hospitalizations, or deaths) by about 67% over the first 5 years of life. Under base-case assumptions (94% coverage and $5 per dose), the incremental cost per DALY averted from vaccination compared to no vaccination would be $540 from the societal perspective and $550 from the health care system perspective. Introducing rotavirus vaccines would be a cost-effective public health intervention in Vietnam. However, given the uncertainty about vaccine efficacy and potential changes in rotavirus epidemiology in local settings, further clinical research and re-evaluation of rotavirus vaccination programs may be necessary as new information emerges.
Parthenon: a parallel theorem prover for non-Horn clauses

We describe a parallel resolution theorem prover, called Parthenon, that handles full first order logic. Although there has been much work on parallel implementations of logic programming languages, Parthenon is the first general purpose theorem prover to be developed for a multiprocessor. The system is based on a modification of Warren's SRI model for or-parallelism and implements a variant of Loveland's model elimination procedure. It has been evaluated on various shared memory multiprocessors including a 16-processor Encore Multimax and IBM's 64-processor RP3. We have found that many theorem proving problems exhibit a great deal of potential parallelism. Parthenon has been able to exploit much of this parallelism, producing both good absolute run times and near-linear speedup curves in many cases.
EFFECTIVENESS OF RINSES IN ALLEVIATING BITTERNESS AND ASTRINGENCY RESIDUALS IN MODEL SOLUTIONS

A two-part study determined the effectiveness of gum-based rinses with or without oil for alleviating residuals of a bitter (0. 8 g/L caffeine solution) and an astringent (1g/L alum solution) stimuli in serial responses using a sip and spit method. In Experiment 1, rinsing with deionized water was compared to rinsing with 0.3% xanthan gum in water alone or with 5% corn oil and 0.55% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) in water alone or with 5% or 10% corn oil. The 0.3% xanthan gum and 5% corn oil mixture resulted in the highest stimulus intensity difference before and after rinsing, whereas 0.55% CMC had a value of nearly zero for residual effect. Results of a two-alternative forced choice test used in Experiment 2 indicated that both were equally effective for reducing bitterness residuals, but 0.55% CMC solution resulted in the lowest (p=0.007) residual effect for astringency. Therefore, the 0.55% CMC rinse was considered an effective interstimulus rinse to use for assessing both bitterness and astringency in model solutions. L'efficacite d'un rincage avec une solution composee de gomme xanthane, avec ou sans huile de mais et de carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) sur la diminution de l'amertume (cafeine) et de l'astringence (alun) residuelle est teste. Le rincage a 0,55% de CMC est le plus actif, puisque l'effet residuel est proche de 0.
EVIDENCE FOR SELECTIVE VOLATILIZATION AND IMPERFECT MIXING IN INDOCHINITES

Sixty-one unbroken, regularly-shaped indochinites were analyzed for potassium, rubidium, and lithium by flame emission spectrophotometry. Mass and an estimate of surface area (calculated from a specimen's dimensions) were also determined. Two compositional sub-groups were identified and designated as type N (normal) and type L (low-alkali) indochinites. For the 56 type N specimens, K, Rb, and Li were all correlated with mass, suggestive that selective volatilization occurred during the formation of indochinites. Correlations were not significantly enhanced by simultaneously considering the effects of both mass and surface area on alkali abundances via multiple regression analysis or the use of a composite independent variable. All possible pairings of K, Rb, and Li were correlated, suggestive that an imperfect mixing process may have occurred during the formation of indochinites. Hotellings t-test indicated that all inter-alkali correlations were significantly higher than any of the mass-alkali correlations. Negative correlations were found for K/Li and Rb/Li vs. Li. These trends may be attributed to 1) the fusion of a parent material that was homogeneous with respect to alkali element ratios that experienced more rapid depletion of the more volatile species of an alkali pair for those tektites with initially higher alkali contents, or 2) the imperfect mixing of a “lithium-rich” and a “lithium-poor” component.
A model for the coanalysis of hardware and software architectures

Successful multiprocessor system design for complex real-time embedded applications requires powerful and comprehensive, yet cost-effective, productive, and maintain able modeling. The multi-disciplinary, VHDL-based modeling library developed by the Honeywell Technology Center places heavy emphasis on multiprocessing and distributed communications. These models focus on detailed hardware performance analysis along with multiple abstraction levels for software representation and evaluation. This paper will detail the processor model which provides the key element for the coanalysis of hardware and software system architectures.
Fight or Acquiesce? Religion and Political Process in Turkey's and Egypt's Neoliberalizations

The Polanyian expectation that disruptive marketization will lead to movements and policies that seek to ‘embed’ the market in society needs to be tempered by closer scrutiny to historical, religious and political contexts. This article studies how movements respond to marketization. The analysis proceeds through a comparison of the Turkish and Egyptian neoliberalizations, religious movements of the last decades, secular opposition, and finally recent processes, which have led to generally different social takes on neoliberalism. The irony of the Turkish case is that with the empowerment of the Islamists, religious opposition to neoliberalism was muted and secular opposition further marginalized and labelled as ‘anti-democratic’. As a result, free market policies were not only sustained, but deepened and intensified, turning Turkey into a neoliberal ‘success story’. The (thus far) sustained mobilization of youth and labour in Egypt makes a direct imitation unlikely. Another major factor that would prevent a ‘Turkish’ solution to Egypt's crisis is the contrasting structure of the religious fields. Moreover, while the passive revolution has further solidified the professional and unified religious field in Turkey, the revolutionary process in Egypt seems to reinforce the fragmentation of the religious field. The article points out that making Islam compatible with neoliberalism would be more difficult in a country with a fragmented religious field, such as Egypt. Although neoliberalism was imposed from above and resisted from below in both nations, in Turkey it came to be embraced in the name of Islam and democracy, whereas in Egypt it remains an imposition and popular struggles against it persist. It is suggested that this process and field-based approach to a Polanyian problem can also shed new light on discussions about ‘actually existing neoliberalisms’.
Disposition development in drama: The role of moral, immoral, and ambiguously moral characters

Understanding what drives narrative appeal is a major focus of entertainment research. Disposition theory proposes that appeal is a function of the dispositions viewers hold towards characters, which are in turn driven by viewer perceptions of character morality and outcomes experienced by characters. However, the manner in which dispositions change overtime has not been extensively researched. In addition, disposition research has overlooked characters that do not provoke consistently strong dispositions in viewers. The current study tracks disposition formation across eight weeks of a serial drama. Results indicate that as predicted, character morality and liking are strongly related, and that depending on the morality of the character, these dispositions can shift overtime in a predictable fashion. Characters who do not engender strong dispositions in viewers do play a role in overall enjoyment, however may be less critical in dispositional processes than clearcut heroes and villains. Therefore, to understand the role these characters play we may need to look beyond dispositional concerns.
THE IDENTITY OF DISCHIDIA MICHOLITZII (APOCYNACEAE, ASCLEPIADOIDEAE)

Dischidia micholitzii N.E.Br. (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae), described from a cultivated plant and erroneously assumed to be from Burma, is native to the Tenimbar and Babar island groups of Maluku, Indonesia. It is closely related to Dischidia ovata Benth. from New Guinea and Australia.
Micro particle size measurements using modulated light scattering spectrum from SDOCT

We report an experimental study based on spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) to get depth resolved high-frequency modulated light scattering spectrum (LSS) for polystyrene micro particles with two different sizes: 7 um and 15 um in diameter. By filtering axial line signal with a Gaussian window, and doing IFFT for the filtered signal, we get the modulated LSS for the two types of particles in a specific depth range. Then by using Hilbert transform, we reconstruct the LSS for the two samples. The reconstructed LSS were then compared to the theoretical LSS results to confirm the sizes of these two different particles. This study demonstrates the potential of using this method to determine 3D distributed particles' size with sub micro resolution. It might also be developed to probe the size of nucleus in cells to help cellular morphology measurements.
Energy levels of light nuclei A = 18-20

Abstract Compilation of energy levels of A = 18, 19 and 20 nuclei, with emphasis on the review of material leading to information about the structure of the A = 18, 19 and 20 systems.
Effect of electrostatic charge and size distributions on respirable aerosol deposition in lung model

Nebulizers, metered dose inhalers (MDIs), and dry powdered inhalers (DPIs) are frequently used to deliver drugs through inhalation drug delivery. These devices generate aerosol in the 0.5-5 /spl mu/m size range that deposits into the various regions of the lung. These inhaled particles may deposit in the various generations of the respiratory system by the complex action of the five deposition mechanisms: interception, impaction, gravitational settling, diffusion, and electrostatic forces. The last deposition mechanism is electrostatic force, which can be significantly important because the deposition of particle fraction in each generation is influenced by the electrostatic charge it carries. Particles of controlled electrostatic charge were generated and deposited in the various stages of the Anderson cascade impactor (ACI) and the effect of particle charge on their deposition in the various stages was studied. It was found that the aerosol with net neutral charge (0 /spl mu/C/g) deposited in the lower stage (fourth stage) of ACI, compared to particles with a net positive or negative charge of 3 /spl mu/C/g that deposited in the upper stage (second stage) of ACI.
A phase II randomized study of the virologic and immunologic effect of zidovudine + stavudine versus stavudine alone and zidovudine + lamivudine in patients with >300 CD4 cells who were antiretroviral naive (ACTG 298)

Before the development of multidrug regimens for treatment of patients with HIV infection single or dual nucleoside therapy was the standard of care. The present study was designed to examine the relative short (12-week) and long-term (48-week) activity of zidovudine (ZDV) vs stavudine (d4T) vs the combination in antiretroviral naive patients. The study was modified so that lamivudine (3TC) was added to ZDV after 12 weeks of monotherapy. A total of 129 subjects entered the study; however, not all were followed for 48 weeks as the study was terminated early due to changing standards of care. The median baseline viral load and CD4 cell count were 10,008 copies/ml and 407 cells/mm3, respectively. There were no significant differences in the initial (12-week) change in viral load across the three arms. The viral load reduction at 48 weeks was greater in the ZDV/ZDV plus 3TC arm, with an average change of -0.91 log10 copies/ml than in the d4T alone (-0.47 log10 copies/ml) or d4T plus ZDV (-0.33 log10 copies/ml...
Expanding The Accounting Education Horizon: Sensitizing Students To The Professions Societal Obligations

This paper presents an alternative teaching pedagogy that goes beyond the learning of complex rules to provide accounting students with a better appreciation for their profession’s societal obligations. The proposed pedagogy presents students with the evolution of accounting standards in a given topical area, and challenges them to evaluate the extent to which the different stages of evolution succeeded in meeting the profession’s obligations to society. These obligations are defined in terms of the financial reporting objectives set forth in the Concepts Statements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The proposed pedagogy is offered as a means of addressing problems with respect to the more conventional “memorize these rules” method of accounting instruction. Our aim is to develop students who take a greater interest in the standard setting process and in fulfilling its promise of meeting the financial reporting needs of society.
Assessment and Treatment of Self-Injury

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is among the most serious behavior disorders affecting children. The disorder consists of a highly heterogeneous set of repetitive behaviors that can produce tissue and sensory damage in a single act, or more often, have cumulative effects that can be debilitating or life threatening in severe cases. These self-injurious responses include, but are not limited to, head banging, face slapping, skin picking and scratching, body punching, ingestion of inedible objects, hair pulling, and eye, ear, and nose poking and gouging. Although SIB is occasionally observed in individuals with normal intellectual development, the disorder is most commonly associated with mental retardation. Prevalence studies indicate that up to 25,000 United States citizens suffer from serious forms of the disorder (National Institutes of Health, 1989), constituting 2.6% of the school age (Griffin et al., 1987) and 10% to 17% of the institutionalized population of persons with mental retardation (Baumeister & Rollings, 1976; Schroeder, Schroeder, Smith, & Dalldorf, 1978). The social and medical consequences of SIB, which can be enormous, include institutionalization, hospitalization, aversive treatment, and chemical or mechanical restraint (Favell et al., 1982).
Physical-chemical influences on vernal zooplankton community structure in small lakes and wetlands of Wisconsin, U.S.A.

We sampled zooplankton communities from 54 small water bodies distributed throughout Wisconsin to evaluate whether a ‘snap-shot’ of zooplankton community structure during early spring could be used for the purpose of differentiating lakes from wetlands. We collected a single set of zooplankton and water chemistry data during a one-month time window (synchronized from south to north across the state) from an open water site in each basin as a means to minimize and standardize sampling effort and to minimize cascading effects arising from predator–prey interactions with resident and immigrant aquatic insect communities. We identified 53 taxa of zooplankton from 54 sites sampled across Wisconsin. There was an average of 6.83 taxa per site. The zooplankton species were distributed with a great deal of independence. We did not detect significant correlations between number of taxa and geographic region or waterbody size. There was a significant inverse correlation between number of taxa and the concentration of calcium ion, alkalinity and conductivity. One pair of taxa, Lynceus brachyurus and Chaoborus americanus, showed a significant difference in average duration of sites of their respective occurrence. All other pairs of taxa had no significant difference in average latitude, waterbody surface area, total phosphorus, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, alkalinity, conductivity, calcium ion, sulfate, nitrate, silicate or chloride. Taxa were distributed at random among the sites – there were no statistically significant pairs of taxa occurring together or avoiding each other. Multivariate analysis of zooplankton associations showed no evidence of distinct associations that could be used to distinguish lakes from wetlands. Zooplankton community structure appears to be a poor tool for distinguishing between lakes and wetlands, especially at the relatively large scale of Wisconsin (dimension of about 500 km). The data suggest that a small body of water in Wisconsin could be classified as a wetland if it persists in the spring and summer for only about 4 months, and if it is inhabited by Lynceus brachyurus, Eubranchipus bundyi, and if Chaoborus americanus and Chydorus brevilabris are absent.
E-Mail Etiquette

This article addresses the growing popularity of electronic communication and proposes rules that will allow you to communicate in a professional manner.
Animal Ethics and the Law

With their edited volume, "Animal Rights: Current Controversies and New Directions," Cass Sunstein and Martha Nussbaum have helped to propel animal rights into the mainstream of legal thought. This review of the book analyzes the various theoretical strains in the growing field of animal law, including utilitarianism, moral rights, and humanism. Discussing the limitations and strengths of each theory, the review then connects these theories to developments in animal law and the program of law reform.
How to measure metallicity from five-band photometry with supervised machine learning algorithms

We demonstrate that it is possible to measure metallicity from the SDSS five-band photometry to better than 0.1 dex using supervised machine learning algorithms. Using spectroscopic estimates of metallicity as ground truth, we build, optimize and train several estimators to predict metallicity. We use the observed photometry, as well as derived quantities such as stellar mass and photometric redshift, as features, and we build two sample data sets at median redshifts of 0.103 and 0.218 and median r-band magnitude of 17.5 and 18.3 respectively. We find that ensemble methods, such as Random Forests of Trees and Extremely Randomized Trees, and Support Vector Machines all perform comparably well and can measure metallicity with a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 0.081 and 0.090 for the two data sets when all objects are included. The fraction of outliers (objects for which |Z_true - Z_pred| > 0.2 dex) is 2.2 and 3.9%, respectively and the RMSE decreases to 0.068 and 0.069 if those objects are excluded. Because of the ability of these algorithms to capture complex relationships between data and target, our technique performs better than previously proposed methods that sought to fit metallicity using an analytic fitting formula, and has 3x more constraining power than SED fitting-based methods. Additionally, this method is extremely forgiving of contamination in the training set, and can be used with very satisfactory results for training sample sizes of just a few hundred objects. We distribute all the routines to reproduce our results and apply them to other data sets.
Mechanisms of Thin Film Ti And Co Silicide Phase Formation on Deep-Sub-Micron Geometries and Their Implications and Applications To 0.18 °m CMOS and Beyond

We studied the kinetics of the high resistivity to low resistivity phase transformation for Ti and Co silicides on deep-sub-micron geometries. Fundamental differences between the growth characteristics for Co and Ti result in different scaling behavior. While the the TiSi 2 C54 phase grows by a random nucleation and growth process from the polymorphic TiSi2 C49 phase, CoSi 2 grows by a diffusion limited process from CoSi. A strong linewidth and C49 grain size dependence for the TiSi 2 C49 to C54 transformation can be related to low nucleation density. A Johnson-Mehl-Avrami analysis was performed for the TiSi 2 C49 to C54 transformation obtaining the distribution of Avrami exponents and transformation times for individual 0.26 μm lines, showing that all lines transformed with similar one-dimensional growth characteristics. We found a strong dependence of the half-transformation times on film thickness and linewidth. While activation energies depend strongly on film thickness, ranging from 4.2 to 5 eV for films 64 to 28 nm thick, they are insensitive to linewidth indicating a different nature for the effect of linewidth and thickness. We also found a reduction of agglomeration temperatures with decreasing linewidth or film thickness resulting on a narrower process window for deep-submicron devices. A small linewidth dependence was measured for CoSi to CoSi 2 transformation rates, with activation energies of 2 to 2.2 eV for 0.27 μm and wider lines. Both Co and Ti selfaligned silicide processes were implemented successfully into a 0.18 μm technology.
An Introduction to Money, Banks and Financial Systems

Put yourself far into the future (or at least in the future of science fiction). You have been sent on a fact-finding mission to another planet in a far-off galaxy, one that is known to have an advanced civilization. Being interested in economics, you want to know if the creatures on this planet use some form of money. How would you know? What would you look for? Little slips of paper that they carry around with them? Plastic rectangles with magnetic strips? What is money, anyway?
Comparison of Measured to Predicted Estimations of Nonpoint Source Contaminants Using Conservation Practices in an Agriculturally-Dominated Watershed in Northeast Arkansas, USA

In efforts to reduce nonpoint source runoff and improve water quality, Best Management Practices (BMPs) were implemented in the Outlet Larkin Creek Watershed. Farmers need to make scientifically informed decisions concerning BMPs addressing contaminants from agricultural fields. The BMP Tool was developed from previous studies to estimate BMP effectiveness at reducing nonpoint source contaminants. The purpose of this study was to compare the measured percent reduction of dissolved phosphorus (DP) and total suspended solids to the reported percent reductions from the BMP Tool for validation. Similarities were measured between the BMP Tool and the measured water quality parameters. Construction of a sedimentation pond resulted in 74 %-76 % reduction in DP as compared to 80 % as predicted with the BMP Tool. However, further research is needed to validate the tool for additional water quality parameters. The BMP Tool is recommended for future BMP implementation as a useful predictor for farmers.
Phototherapy: UVB and PUVA.

The following paper is a review of the benefits of natural and artificial ultraviolet light in psoriasis. Phototherapy has been administered alone or in combination with topical corticosteriods, tars, anthralin, calcipotriene, and tazarotene, and with systemic therapies, such as methotrexate, acitretin, and cyclosporine. The choice of treatment with ultraviolet light B or psoralen plus ultraviolet light A is based on a history of previous response to treatment, skin type, severity of psoriasis, and patient considerations, including compliance and responsibility for observing the precautions to avoid potential side effects.
Single-Molecule Fluorescence Imaging Reveals the Dynamics of Starch Catabolism Proteins in the Human Microbiome Bacterium Bacteroides Thetaiotaomicron

Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron is one of the most abundant inhabitants of the mammalian gut. This obligate anaerobe unlocks nutrients from our diet via the catabolism of host indigestible carbohydrates. This process occurs via substrate-specific polysaccharide utilization systems, of which the best studied is the Starch Utilization System (Sus). Sus consists of eight proteins, five of which are localized to the outer membrane. SusCDEF cooperate to bind large starch molecules, which SusG degrades into smaller oligosaccharides for transport to the periplasm through the SusC porin. Despite extensive biochemical work, we have not yet succeeded in mapping the protein stoichiometry, interactions and responses among the Sus proteins that enable starch catabolism.We have previously examined the dynamics of SusG in live B. thetaiotaomicron cells with single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and tracking (Karunatilaka et al., mBio 2014). Here, we extend our studies to fluorescently labeled SusE and SusF. These proteins are similar in structure and are both important in starch recognition; however, immunoprecipitation experiments suggest a weak interaction between SusE and SusD but not between SusF and SusD. We show that both SusE-PAmCherry and SusF-PAmCherry are essentially stationary in the membrane, suggesting that despite the lack of interaction between SusF and SusD, SusF is still tightly associated with the Sus complex. This research will allow us to better understand the role of the Sus proteins in starch breakdown by symbiotic bacteria during normal human digestion, as well as the process of carbohydrate metabolism by gut bacteria in general.
Effect of sodium nitroprusside on Ca2+ currents in opossum esophageal circular muscle cells.

The effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on ionic currents in single opossum esophageal circular muscle cells were examined. In voltage clamp, Ca2+ currents were studied after K+ currents were blocked with Cs+ in the patch pipette. The threshold for inward Ca2+ currents was -30 mV with peak current between 0 and +10 mV from holding potentials of -90 mV. The Ca2+ currents had both transient and sustained phases. The transient phase was partially resistant to nifedipine (1 microM). SNP (100 microM) reversibly decreased both the transient and sustained phases of the Ca2+ currents by approximately 20%. In cells dialyzed with high-K+ solutions, voltage-clamp recordings demonstrated the presence of an inward current followed by an outward current at potentials positive to -30 mV. SNP under these conditions resulted in a decrease in the Ca2+ current and decreased the outward current during test depolarizations. Action potentials were evoked during current-clamp recordings that consisted of multiple spikes, depe...
Body fat distribution, menopausal hormone therapy and incident type 2 diabetes in postmenopausal women of the MESA study

Abstract Objectives We investigated the association between menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) and incident type 2 diabetes in postmenopausal women, and explored the potential modifying role of body fat distribution on this association. Methods We included 2210 postmenopausal women without prevalent diabetes at recruitment (2000⿿2002) from the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine associations of MHT and MHT types with incident diabetes, testing for variation according to body fat distribution. Results Over a median follow-up of 11.1 years, there were 226 incident cases of diabetes. There were no significant interactions with central or generalized body fatness. In fully adjusted models, current and past MHT use was associated with a greater risk of incident diabetes [HR: 1.66 (1.18⿿2.35) and 1.60 (1.11⿿2.30) respectively]. Estrogen only (ET) and combined progestin and estrogen (PET) formulations were similarly associated with a greater risk of incident diabetes [HR: 1.52 (1.03⿿2.24) and 1.77 (1.15⿿2.72) respectively]. Conclusions In our observational study of middle-aged and older, non-diabetic postmenopausal women, a current or past use of MHT was independently associated with a greater risk of incident diabetes. ET and PET are associated with similar risks of incident diabetes in postmenopausal women. The association of MHT use with incident diabetes is the same irrespective of body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference.
Mst1 Kinase Regulates the Actin-Bundling Protein L-Plastin To Promote T Cell Migration

Exploring the mechanisms controlling lymphocyte trafficking is essential for understanding the function of the immune system and the pathophysiology of immunodeficiencies. The mammalian Ste20–like kinase 1 (Mst1) has been identified as a critical signaling mediator of T cell migration, and loss of Mst1 results in immunodeficiency disease. Although Mst1 is known to support T cell migration through induction of cell polarization and lamellipodial formation, the downstream effectors of Mst1 are incompletely defined. Mice deficient for the actin-bundling protein L-plastin (LPL) have phenotypes similar to mice lacking Mst1, including decreased T cell polarization, lamellipodial formation, and cell migration. We therefore asked whether LPL functions downstream of Mst1. The regulatory N-terminal domain of LPL contains a consensus Mst1 phosphorylation site at Thr 89 . We found that Mst1 can phosphorylate LPL in vitro and that Mst1 can interact with LPL in cells. Removal of the Mst1 phosphorylation site by mutating Thr 89 to Ala impaired localization of LPL to the actin-rich lamellipodia of T cells. Expression of the T89A LPL mutant failed to restore migration of LPL-deficient T cells in vitro. Furthermore, expression of T89A LPL in LPL-deficient hematopoietic cells, using bone marrow chimeras, failed to rescue the phenotype of decreased thymic egress. These results identify LPL as a key effector of Mst1 and establish a novel mechanism linking a signaling intermediate to an actin-binding protein critical to T cell migration.
Cicero hunnicus Miklos Oláh's Eloquent Attila

Abstract The Life of Attila , composed by the Hungarian patriot and churchman Miklos [Nicolaus] Olah (1493-1568), includes several speeches by Attila. His style, the most striking character of these harangues, cannot be described better than as “elevated Ciceronian” whence the title Cicero hunnicus . This article establishes the manner in which the rhetoric of Attila serves as a strategy of rehabilitation through the use of which Olah defends the image of his hero (and that of the Hungarian people). In conclusion, there is outlined a sketch of how, in the XVIth century, an attempt was made to establish the Hungarian national identity on rhetorical foundations.
Acoustic evaluation of loblolly pine tree- and lumber-length logs allows for segregation of lumber modulus of elasticity, not for modulus of rupture

Loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda ) logs can be evaluated using acoustic velocity whereby threshold acoustic velocity values can be set to ensure lumber meets specified mechanical property design values for modulus of elasticity. There is a need to better sort logs according to lumber quality for improved decision making and wood utilization because merchantable logs are being harvested from different stand types including natural forests, conventional plantations, and intensively managed plantations, all with differences in rotation ages, growth rates, and wood quality traits. This study aimed to link tree- and lumber-length log acoustic velocity with the resulting lumber properties as tested in static bending from five intensively managed loblolly pine stands in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of Georgia. Acoustic velocity was measured using the resonance-based approach on 87 tree-length logs and 244 lumber-length logs. The logs were then processed into 797 pieces of 38 mm by 89 mm (2×4), 140 mm (2×6), 184 mm (2×8), and 235 mm (2×10) dimension lumber, dried, and tested in static bending. Mean MOE of the lumber had moderate relationships with acoustic velocity of the logs (R 2 = 0.49) whereas MOR and acoustic velocity did not have a strong relationship (R 2 = 0.20). Accounting for log position increased the performance of the mean lumber MOE model (R 2 = 0.62) which was further increased by adding green density and small-end diameter (R 2 = 0.67). Utilization of acoustics was effective for segregating logs based on lumber modulus of elasticity and did not depend on knowing tree or stand information such as age, site quality, and silviculture history. Acoustic velocity evaluation of tree- and lumber-length logs could be employed to segregate logs within the supply chain to ensure that lumber would meet specified design values.
Continuity and Change in Puebloan Ritual Practice: 3,800 Years of Shrine Use in the North American Southwest

Radiocarbon dates on artifacts from a Puebloan shrine in New Mexico reveal a persistence in ritual practice for some 3,800 years. The dates indicate that the shrine had become an important location for ceremonial observances related to warfare by almost 2000 cal. B.C., coinciding with the time when food production was first practiced in the Southwest. The shrine exhibits continuity of ritual behavior, something that Puebloans may find unsurprising, but also changes in the artifacts deposited that indicate new technology, transformations of belief, and perhaps shifting cultural boundaries. After briefly describing this shrine, we discuss some of the artifacts that were deposited there, in particular atlatl darts and flat curved sticks with longitudinal facial grooves. We argue that both were used in ritual fights and then deposited in the shrine as offerings, establishing a behavioral tradition that set the precedent for ethnographic recognition of the site as an important war shrine. Atlatl darts are analogous with prayer sticks, the latter representing a derived form of this offering with arrows as an intermediary form. Flat curved sticks were used for defense against atlatl darts in duels that enhanced warrior status.
Does It Even Work? A Theoretical and Practical Evaluation of the War Powers Resolution

ABSTRACTThe War Powers Resolution of 1973 represents a policy that attempts to fill a procedural gap in the Constitution, that is, a clear process by which the use of military force is authorized. Based on what is arguably a misinterpretation of the Constitution, it fails to achieve its objective: to constrain the president's discretion in employing military force unilaterally.This article addresses the WPR in four sections. First, it examines the law's theoretical underpinnings. Next, it summarizes the law's provisions, its application, and several direct and indirect approaches that have been applied in studying the use of military force and the WPR. Third, using quantitative analysis, the article seeks to answer three basic questions: 1) Has the WPR had any effect on the U.S. president's decision to employ military force?2) Has the WPR had any effect on the magnitude of force employed in a conflict?3) Has the WPR had any effect on the duration of conflicts in which the president has employed military f...
Nonopioid Analgesics in Pain Management

Since patients rarely present with pure nociceptive pain (i.e., pain caused by activity in the neural pathways in response to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli) or neuropathic pain (i.e., pain initiated by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the nervous system), but rather suffer a mixed pain syndrome (i.e., pain caused by a combination of both the primary injury and secondary effects), a rational polypharmacy approach that targets key peripheral and central pain mechanisms and modulating pathways may yield the best outcomes (Management of Chronic Pain Syndromes 2005).
Composite Gel Polymer Electrolyte for Improved Cyclability in Lithium–Oxygen Batteries

Gel polymer electrolytes (GPE) and composite GPE (cGPE) using one-dimensional glass microfillers have been developed for their use in lithium–oxygen batteries. Using glass microfillers, tetraglyme solvent, UV-curable polymer, and lithium salt at various concentrations, the preparation of cGPE yielded free-standing films. These cGPEs, with 1 wt % of microfillers, demonstrated increased ionic conductivity and lithium transference number over GPEs at various concentrations of lithium salt. Improvements as high as 50% and 28% in lithium transference number were observed for 0.1 and 1.0 mol kg–1 salt concentrations, respectively. Lithium–oxygen batteries containing cGPE similarly showed superior charge/discharge cycling for 500 mAh g–1 cycle capacity with as high as 86% and 400% increase in cycles for cGPE with 1.0 and 0.1 mol kg–1 over GPE. Results using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the source of the improvement was the reduction of...
Structural Transformation of Biochar Black Carbon by C 60 Superstructure: Environmental Implications

Pyrogenic carbon is widespread in soil due to wildfires, soot deposition, and intentional amendment of pyrolyzed waste biomass (biochar). Interactions between engineered carbon nanoparticles and natural pyrogenic carbon (char) are unknown. This study first employed transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to interpret the superstructure composing aqueous fullerene C60 nanoparticles prepared by prolonged stirring of commercial fullerite in water (nC60-stir). The nC60-stir was a superstructure composed of face-centered cubic (fcc) close-packing of near-spherical C60 superatoms. The nC60-stir superstructure (≈100 nm) reproducibly disintegrated pecan shell biochar pellets (2 mm) made at 700 °C into a stable and homogeneous aqueous colloidal (<100 nm) suspension. The amorphous carbon structure of biochar was preserved after the disintegration, which only occurred above the weight ratio of 30,000 biochar to nC60-stir. Favorable hydrophobic surface interactions between nC60-stir and 700 °C biochar likely disrupted van der Waals forces holding together the amorphous carbon units of biochar and C60 packing in the nC60 superstructure.
Modeling input errors to improve uncertainty estimates for one-dimensional sediment transport models

Bayesian methods have recently been applied to one-dimensional sediment transport models to assess the uncertainty in model predictions due to uncertainty in the parameter values. However, these approaches neglect any uncertainties in the model inputs, which might play a substantial role. The objective of this research is to include uncertainties in sediment transport model inputs and evaluate their contributions to the overall uncertainty in the model predictions. To accomplish this goal, simple error models are developed for the input data and integrated into an existing Bayesian method. Five types of input data are considered: input discharges, rating curves, vertical and horizontal distances in cross-sections, and benchmark elevations that define the longitudinal profile of the reach. The input errors are modeled using Gaussian distributions, and the means and standard deviations are treated as uncertain parameters that are estimated within the Bayesian framework. The Bayesian approach is coupled to the Sedimentation and River Hydraulics-One Dimension (SRH-1D) model and used to simulate a 23-km reach of the Tachia River in Taiwan. When input uncertainties are included, the prediction ranges change substantially and cover more of the available observations, which suggests the uncertainty is better represented when input errors are considered. The results also indicate that the errors in the benchmark elevations have the largest impact on the uncertainty of the predictions among those considered.
AML with MDS-related changes and blasts of mixed lineage: time for a new provisional entity?

Acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC) accounts for up to 35% of cases of AML and is regarded as a high-risk subgroup [1]. Myelodysplasia-related changes (MRC) are def...
THEOREMS OF STEIN-ROSENBERG TYPE II. OPTIMAL PATHS OF RELAXATION IN THE COMPLEX PLANE

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the theorems of Stein–Rosenberg type II. It discusses The paths of optimal relaxation, for small complex relaxation factors for the extrapolated Jacobi iterative method and for the successive overrelaxation iterative method. The spectral radii of the optimized extrapolated Jacobi matrix and optimized successive overrelaxation matrix have the same asymptotic expansions through first order terms in r as r → 0. It is observed that because of the crude estimation of perturbation effects, it is not possible to say which of these optimized procedures is faster as r → 0, unlike the classical Stein–Rosenberg theorem. It is found that if the Jordan normal form corresponding to some eigenvalue in the subset is not diagonal and if the perturbation with r > 0 small separates the eigenvalues associated with this Jordan block, then the optimized extrapolated, Jacobi method will be asymptotically faster than the optimized successive overrelaxation method for all r > 0 sufficiently small.
The Effect of Nanoscale Roughness on Long Range Interaction Forces

A model was developed to calculate the long range van der Waals and electrostatic energies between a rough colloidal particle and a smooth solid plate in aqueous solutions. The particle roughness was modeled as hemispherical asperities distributed uniformly over the surface. Because of the assumption of additive potentials used in calculating the electrostatic force, the model is most accurate when the particle/plate separation is larger than several Debye screening lengths, such as near the location of the secondary minimum. The model predicts that such roughness reduces the depth of the secondary minimum and pushes it to larger separation distances. The model also predicts that the height of the primary energy barrier, which controls the dispersion stability, is substantially lowered by the asperities.
Extrahepatic Manifestations of Chronic Hepatitis C Infection

• Extrahepatic manifestations (EHM) of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) affect a variety of organ systems and may present with significant mortality and morbidity. • These EHM are not the direct result of viral infection but are secondary to the host immune response. • Vascular manifestations are due to the presence of cryoglobulinemia, which causes deposition of immune complexes in the small vessels of the skin, presenting with palpable purpura. • An association is noted between HCV and lymphoproliferative disorders, most commonly B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. • Renal disorders, most commonly membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) has the strongest association with HCV associated cryoglobulinemia.
Photometric Investigation of Visual Binaries with a Component above the Main Sequence

Visual binaries containing a component above the main sequence in combination with a main-sequence star provide an excellent opportunity for determining absolute magnitudes of evolved stars. Some aspects of this technique are discussed, and preliminary results are presented.
Reproduction and Cultural Anthropology

Reproduction is central to contemporary anthropological theory, intersecting with studies of kinship, biomedicine, exchange, sex, gender, politics, nature, and capitalism. The production of reproduction as a category and its domaining as feminine, private, and biological was central to the modern Euro-American separation of industrial wage labor from domestic labor and care, that is, between reproduction and production and between nature and culture. Feminist anthropology of the 1970s called for a focus on women's lives, laying the foundation for an explosion of interest in reproductive experience, as well as critique of the category itself, as both natural and naturally private and female.
A comparative study of available water in the major river basins of the world

Numerous large river basins of the world have few and irregular observations of the components of the terrestrial hydrological cycle with the exception of stream gauges at a few locations and at the outlet along with sparsely distributed rain gauges. Using observations from satellite sensors and output from global land surface models, it is possible to study these under-observed river basins. With populations greater than a billion people, some of these rivers (e.g., the Ganga-Brahmaputra, the Yangtze, the Nile and the Mekong) are the economic engines of the countries they transect, yet thorough assessment of their flow dynamics and variability in regard to water resource management is still lacking. In this paper, we use soil moisture (0-2m) and surface runoff from the NASA Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), evapotranspiration, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and rainfall from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and total water storage anomaly from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) to examine variability of individual water balance components. To this end, understanding the inter-annual and intra-seasonal variability and the spatial variability of the water balance components in the major river basins of the world will help to plan for improved management of water resources for the future.