cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Agricultural pesticide residues in oysters and water from two chesapeake bay tributaries

Abstract Little is known of the impact of agricultural activity on oysters in Chesapeake Bay tributaries. As a preliminary assessment of pesticide residues in oyster tissues, this study monitored more than 60 pesticides in oysters and overlying water in two tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Paired water and oyster samples were collected throughout 1997 from the Patuxent and Choptank Rivers which discharge into opposite shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. In water, herbicides such as atrazine, simazine, cyanazine, and metolachlor were present throughout the year with individual water concentrations peaking as high as 430 ng/1 in the late spring and summer and subsiding in the fall. These herbicides were not detected in the oysters even when concentrations were highest in the water. Another herbicide, trifluralin, was detected throughout the year at concentrations of less than 0.6 ng/1 and 0.4 ng/g (wet weight) in water and oyster samples, respectively. Several insecticides, such as endosulfans I and II, endosulfan sulfate, chlorpyrifos, α- and γ-HCH, p,p′-DDE, o,p′-DDT, trans-nonachlor, and trans-chlordane were also measured in both oysters and water at low concentrations.
Index of Variation with Illustration Using Molecular Data

Abstract A new index of variation (I) is developed and demonstrated using molecular data. This index could be a substitute for the coefficient of variation (C) in unclear situations like the cases V and IX in the Table 1. When it exists, the index I attain value in [0, 1] regardless of the underlying distribution for the data is. On the contrary, C might be well outside of (0, 1) again depending on the chosen distribution for the data. This advantage of I over C is demonstrated in this article with the molecular data.
Seedling Growth Comparison of Arrowleaf, Crimson, Rose, and Subterranean Clovers

Cool-season annual clovers are a critical component of profitable pasture systems in the southeastern USA; however, there are little data comparing seedling development of major species. Arrowleaf (Trifolium vesiculosum Savi.), crimson (T. incarnatum L.), rose (T. hirtum All.), and subterranean (subdover) (T. subterraneum L.) clovers were planted in September for 3 yr in northeast Texas. Clovers were sampled biweekly during October and November, and plant density, leaves per seedling, leaf area index (LAI), shoot weight, nodules per seedling, root weight, root length, and root/shoot ratio were determined. Rainfall amounts and distribution caused differences among years (P < 0.05) for plant density, leaves and nodules per seedling, LAI, and root/shoot ratio. Averaged across years, crimson clover had the greatest number of leaves and nodules per seedling, and the greatest shoot weight, root weight, root length, and LAL Subterranean dover was intermediate, and arrowleaf and rose dovers had the lowest values. Sampling date did not affect plant density and root/shoot ratio, but the other seedling parameters increased with succeeding sampling dates. The greater seedling vigor of crimson clover is due in part to its larger and faster-expanding LAI and tolerance of cooler temperatures. Subterranean dover was the largest seeded spedes but is not as well adapted to cooler winter temperatures as the other species. The slower seedling vigor of arrowleaf clover was due to its smaller seed size. Poor nodulation may be responsible for the slow seedling growth of rose dover. Good seedling vigor of cool-season annual dovers was primarily dependent on large seed size, rapid leaf area expansion, and early nodulation.
Central connections of ventral root afferents as demonstrated by the HRP method

To study the central connections of ventral root afferents, horseradish peroxidase was injected into the lumbosacral spinal cord of the cat and the appropriate dorsal ganglia were examined from segments with (1) both dorsal and ventral roots intact, (2) both roots sectioned, and (3) only the dorsal root sectioned. The key finding was that a number of labeled cells (up to 133) were observed in the ganglion after dorsal rhizotomy. We interpret these findings to mean that the central processes of the labeled cells projected to the spinal cord through the ventral root. As expected, when both roots wer cut, almost no cells were labeled and when both roots were intact, there were large numbers of labeled cells. Of the labeled cells observed in ganglia after dorsal rhizotomy, all were found to be within the ganglion itself. No labeled aberrant dorsal root ganglion cells could be found.
Behaviour of Dickey–Fuller F-tests under the trend-break stationary alternative

We examine the asymptotic behaviour of Dickey and Fuller's (Econometrica 49 (1981) 1057) F-statistics under two different characterizations of the trend-break stationary alternative. While both F-statistics reject the unit root null when the break occurs according to the changing growth model, they may fail to reject the unit root null when the mixed model characterizes the alternative.
The Role of Searching in Shaping Reactions to Earthquake Risk Information

We assessed public response to an earthquake prediction for the San Francisco Bay Area on a sample of households from eight Bay Area counties. Descriptive findings suggested that an earthquake culture exists in the study population. We tested criticisms of interactionist theory — its failure to take motives for behavior and social position into account — using multiple regression analysis. We conclude that motives and social position matter little in determining social action, and that more work is needed to determine how variations in new information create ambiguity, which differentially fosters searching, the formation of alternative definitions, and subsequent action.
Densitography: a new method for evaluation of cardiac performance at rest and during exercise.

The validity of the densitographic curves obtained from the pinna of the ear for measuring the systolic intervals has been investigated in 28 subjects. This technique is found to permit the performance of noninvasive physiologic studies during physical activities, exercise tests, flight conditions, and probably long-term monitoring of critically ill patients. Densitographic curves constitute an excellent substitute by which to measure time-base intervals of the cardiac cycle when the carotid pulse tracing is not available.
A novel technique for estimating relative motion

Abstract This paper provides an interesting potential scheme for estimating the relative motion between two vehicles. It represents an application of modern filtering and estimation concepts.
Spin waves in ferromagnetic nickel

Abstract The coefficient of D in the expression E = Dq 2 for the energy of a long wave lenghth spin wave has been computed for ferromagnetic nickel using a tight binding calculation of d bands and a t matrix treatment of the electron interaction.
Inorganic cofactor stabilization and retention: the unique functions of the two PsbO subunits of eukaryotic photosystem II.

Eukaryotic PsbO, the photosystem II (PSII) manganese-stabilizing protein, has two N-terminal sequences that are required for binding of two copies of the protein to PSII [Popelkova, H., et al. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 10038−10045; Popelkova, H., et al. (2003) Biochemistry 42, 6193−6200]. In the work reported here, a set of selected N-terminal truncation mutants of PsbO that affect subunit binding to PSII were used to determine the effects of PsbO stoichiometry on the Mn, Ca2+, and Cl− cofactors and to characterize the roles of each of the PsbO subunits in PSII function. Results of the experiments with the PsbO-depleted PSII membranes reconstituted with the PsbO deletion mutants showed that the presence of PsbO does not affect Ca2+ retention by PSII in steady-state assays of activity, nor is it required for Ca2+ to protect the Mn cluster against reductive inhibition in darkness. In contrast to the results with Ca2+, PsbO increases the affinity of Cl− for the active site of the O2-evolving complex (OEC) as e...
Demand for international telephone services between US and Africa

Abstract This paper uses a two-equation dynamic simultaneous equation model that accounts for call externality and arbitrage, and a dynamic panel estimator to investigate the demand for international telephone calls between the US and African countries. Using panel data from 45 African countries over the 1992–1996 period, we find that the demand for telephone calls from African countries to the US is price elastic while the demand for telephone calls from the US to African countries is price inelastic. We find telephone calls originating from African countries to the US are complementary to calls from the US to African countries while calls originating in the US to African countries are substitutes for calls to the US that originate in African countries, and calls between the two sets of countries exhibit reciprocal and arbitrage effects. We also find that the demand for telephone calls between the US and African countries show strong dynamic effects. Finally, we find that telephone demand between African countries and the US responds positively to income and trade. Our results have interesting research and policy implications.
Free electron lasing in a transverse undulating magnetic field

Abstract It is shown that stimulated bremsstrahlung in a transverse undulating magnetic field (“magnetic wiggler”) is a quantum effect which relativistic electrons cannot exhibit by the correspondence principle. It is suggested that free electron lasing in a magnetic wiggler is due to stimulated bremsstrahlung in the longitudinal space-charge electric field associated with density bunching produced by the magnetic wiggler. The laser gain and wavelength of free electron lasing in the magnetic wiggler by an electron beam in the single-electron interaction regime is formulated.
Reduced IGF signaling prevents muscle cell death in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal degenerative muscle disease, is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. Loss of dystrophin in the muscle cell membrane causes muscle fiber necrosis. Previously, loss-of-function mutations in dys-1, the Caenorhabditis elegans dystrophin ortholog, were shown to cause a contractile defect and mild fiber degeneration in striated body wall muscle. Here, we show that loss of dystrophin function in C. elegans results in a shorter lifespan and stochastic, age-dependent muscle-cell death. Reduction of dystrophin function also accelerated age-dependent protein aggregation in muscle cells, suggesting a defect in proteostasis. Both muscle cell death and protein aggregation showed wide variability among the muscle cells. These observations suggest that muscle cell death in dys-1 mutants is greatly influenced by cellular environments. Thus, the manipulation of the cellular environment may provide an opportunity to thwart the cell death initiated by the loss of dystrophin. We found that reduced insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling, which rejuvenates the cellular environment to protect cells from a variety of age-dependent pathologies, prevented muscle cell death in the dys-1 mutants in a daf-16–dependent manner. Our study suggests that manipulation of the IGF signaling pathways in muscle cells could be a potent intervention for muscular dystrophy.
Light microscopical evaluation of pyrite oxidation of heap leached samples from a Pittsburgh seam coal

Summary The U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted experiments to determine the feasibility of reducing the pyritic sulphur content of a conventionally cleaned Pittsburgh seam coal by heap leaching. Two identical heaps, one indoor and one outdoor, were constructed, and sprayed with recycled rainwater/leachate for approximately 200 days. Lump samples were selected prior to initiation of heap leaching activities and from both heaps after 5- and 11-month intervals for microscopic (petrographic) examination. These examinations revealed no significant differences in the occurrence of pyrite oxidation between the two heaps. These observations were consistent with the results from the chemical analyses that showed no significant differences in pyritic sulphur removal between the indoor and outdoor heaps. Samples from the starting coal were also selected and examined to see how different pyrite morphologies behaved during artificial weathering. Dendritic and framboidal pyrite forms appeared to be the more reactive forms.
Fertility of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) gametes: Gamete viability in artificial media☆

Abstract A series of experiments was performed to test the effect of potassium ions (K + ) on the storage of rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) sperm cells and eggs. Storage of eggs for up to 10 min in saline solutions, extender with K + concentrations of ≤3.4 mM and coelomic fluid did not affect fertility. Fish Extender #6 had a detrimental effect on eggs within 15 s of application and reduced fertility to near zero within 10 min. Variation in the K + concentration indicated that high (≥6.8 mM) concentrations decreased egg fertility while low (≤3.4 mM) concentrations had no effect on fertility. Insemination of eggs before the addition of Fish Extender #6 allowed storage for 14 h. Semen diluted (1:10) in coelomic fluid maintained fertility for 45 s, whereas semen diluted (1:1) in coelomic fluid maintained fertility for 60 min. Fish Extender #6 at K + concentrations between 0 mM and 68 mM had no effect on fertility of semen diluted 1:2.5 after 1 h of storage.
Cardiac L-type Calcium Channel β-Subunits Expressed in Human Heart Have Differential Effects on Single Channel Characteristics

l-Type calcium channels are multiprotein complexes composed of pore-forming (CaV1.2) and modulatory auxiliary alpha2delta- and beta-subunits. We demonstrate expression of two different isoforms for the beta2-subunit (beta2a, beta2b) and the beta3-subunit (beta3a, beta3trunc) in human non-failing and failing ischemic myocardium. Quantitatively, in the left ventricle expression of beta2b transcripts prevails in the order of > beta3 >> beta2a. The expressed cardiac full-length beta3-subunit is identical to the beta3a-isoform, and beta3trunc results from deletion of exon 6 (20 nn) entailing a reading frameshift and translation stop at nucleotide position 495. In failing ischemic myocardium beta3trunc expression increases whereas overall beta3 expression remains unchanged. Heterologous coexpression studies demonstrated that beta2 induced larger currents through rabbit and human cardiac CaV1.2 pore subunits than beta3 isoforms. All beta-subunits increased channel availability at single channel level, but beta2 exerted an additional, marked stimulation of rapid gating (open and closed times, first latency), leading to higher peak current values. We conclude that cardiac beta-subunit isoforms differentially modulate calcium inward currents because of regulatory effects within the channel protein complex. Moreover, differences in the various beta-subunit gene products present in human heart might account for altered single channel behavior found in human heart failure.
Imitative behavior in nonuniformly spatially distributed populations

The theory of imitative behavior, developed previously, is applied to the case of two social groups which are separated spatially. If the information of each group as to the behavior of the other is complete, the case reduces to that of a single group. When any information is lacking at all, the two groups are independent. If we have two mutually exclusive behaviorsA andB, all four combinationsAA, AB, BA, andBB are possible. If the mutual information gradually increases from zero, then for a certain value of it, the group which is more informed about the behavior of the other will change to that behavior if it did not already exhibit it. If for constant information the size of the group increases, then above a certain threshold value, the larger group imposes its behavior on the smaller.
Error statistics of hidden Markov model and hidden Boltzmann model results

Background Hidden Markov models and hidden Boltzmann models are employed in computational biology and a variety of other scientific fields for a variety of analyses of sequential data. Whether the associated algorithms are used to compute an actual probability or, more generally, an odds ratio or some other score, a frequent requirement is that the error statistics of a given score be known. What is the chance that random data would achieve that score or better? What is the chance that a real signal would achieve a given score threshold?
Molecular cloning and expression of a 2-Cys peroxiredoxin gene in the crustacean Eurypanopeus depressus induced by acute hypo-osmotic stress.

Abstract Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are a family of ubiquitous proteins that help minimize the harmful effects of oxidative stress by catalyzing the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and organic hydroperoxides to less harmful forms. A full-length cDNA corresponding to a 2-Cys Prx gene was isolated from the flatback mud crab Eurypanopeus depressus and designated as EdPrx-1 (GenBank accession no.
Unilesional cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: Clinical features, therapy, and follow-up of 10 patients with a treatment-responsive mycosis fungoides variant

Ten patients, mean age 61 years, who presented with unilesional cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) were studied. Lesional structure and distribution were similar to disseminated CTCL. Ablative therapy was successful in all patients. The relatively benign behavior of unilesional CTCL may reflect the prognostic importance of minimal tumor burden. Locally ablative therapy in the management of localized CTCL appears effective.
Forward and Inverse Modeling of Low-Temperature Thermochronometry Data

The thermochronometric systems discussed in this volume broadly share three features: parent isotopes, daughter products, and one or more time-dependent, temperature-sensitive processes by which daughter products are altered or lost. If these processes can be measured in the laboratory, and their behavior confidently extrapolated to geological time scales, it becomes possible to construct a forward model of the system that predicts how a given instance of it will evolve assuming a particular starting arrangement and subsequent time-temperature history. Once a forward model has been created and verified, it then becomes possible to apply it in the inverse sense: given a measured ending condition and an assumed starting one, find the intervening time-temperature history. In general, because of information loss, limited precision of measurements, and lack of system uniqueness, more than one history is consistent with a given ending condition. As a result, an inverse model solution usually consists of a set of thermal histories that are consistent with the measured data, as judged by some statistical criterion. This chapter will concentrate on two low-temperature thermochronometers: fission-track (primarily for apatite) and (U-Th)/He. All of the calculations described here are implemented in a computer program called “HeFTy,” which is available with this volume (see Ehlers et al. 2005). A theme that will be touched upon throughout this chapter is that forward and inverse models are only as good as the data and assumptions behind them. Although this principle of course holds for all scientific investigations, it is often obscured when such details are packaged in user-friendly software that produces publication-ready graphics. Fission tracks form continuously over time at a rate dependent solely upon the concentration of uranium present. Earlier-formed fission tracks tend to be shorter than later-formed tracks, as they will have had more time to anneal, and may have experienced …
Lipolytic activities of intact walker 256 ascites tumor cells

The present studies confirm with Walker carcinosarcoma 256 in ascites form that ascites tumor cells produce and release large quantities of free fatty acid when incubated in vitro under the appropriate conditions. Two distinct lipolytic acitivities were recognized; a cold sensitive acidic lipolytic activity and a heat sensitive neutral-to-weakly-alkaline activity. Agents known to influence lipolysis in adipose tissue did not affect these activities. Glucose did inhibit the free fatty acid production at neutral pH, but this effect was apparently secondary to medium pH changes as a consequence of lactic acid production from glucose. These observations, together with finding a marked similarity between the composition of free fatty acid present in ascites fluid and those produced in vitro at both acid and neutral pH, are taken to support the concept that ascites tumor cells rapidly incorporate exogenous (medium) free fatty acid into a small and rapidly turning-over fatty acid-ester pool, probably a phospholipid pool.
Pith Autolysis in Herbaceous, Dicotyledonous Plants: Experimental Manipulation of Pith Autolysis in Several Cultivated Species

Abstract Pith autolysis, a condition in which dicotyledonous herbaceous plants have a hollow stem, results from the autolysis of a plant's storage pith. Our central hypothesis concerning the aetiology of pith autolysis states that the carbon from the pith is transported to the growth regions of the plant and used at times when the plant cannot meet its carbon needs by photosynthesis alone. According to this hypothesis, accelerated growth should increase pith autolysis. We here provide supporting evidence for the central hypothesis. More pith autolysis was found in faster growing tomato varieties than in dwarf varieties. More pith autolysis was found in both beans and tomatoes treated with GA 3 than in controls. More pith autolysis was found in leggy bean plants grown in low light than in normal plants grown under normal light conditions. Pith autolysis decreased in both beans and tomatoes when mechanically perturbed or sprayed with paclobutrazol, both treatments that reduced growth. The stems of buckwheat plants that were flowering showed greater pith autolysis and therefore were more hollow than plants which were not flowering or which had the incipient flowers pinched off. This indicated that carbon from the storage pith may also be used in the formation of reproductive structures which require extra carbon. Also in support of the central hypothesis is the prevention of pith autolysis by the addition of extra carbon to the plant, in the form of an increased CO 2 concentration of the surrounding air.
Studies on compartmentation and turnover of murine retrovirus envelope proteins

Abstract Several aspects of turnover and degradation of cell membrane proteins were studied in an NIH 3T3 cell clone expressing the env gene of Moloney murine leukemia virus ts 1. Both internalization and shedding of the extracellular domain of the envelope protein gp70 occurred at the cell surface, albeit, in the case of shedding, only a very small fraction of gp70 was shed. The turnover rate of gp70 at the cell surface was similar to that of the same protein in the postendoplasmic reticulum intracellular compartment. In the presence of l -methionine methyl ester, the transmembrane domain of the envelope protein Prpl5E was degraded faster than gp70.
Prompts to disrupt sitting time and increase physical activity at work, 2011-2012.

Introduction The objective of this study was to assess change in sitting and physical activity behavior in response to a workplace intervention to disrupt prolonged sitting time. Methods Sixty office workers were randomized to either a Stand group (n = 29), which received hourly prompts (computer-based and wrist-worn) to stand up, or a Step group (n = 31), which received the same hourly prompts and an additional prompt to walk 100 steps or more upon standing. An ActivPAL monitor was used to assess sitting and physical activity behavior on the same 3 consecutive workdays during baseline and intervention periods. Mixed-effect models with random intercepts and random slopes for time were performed to assess change between groups and across time. Results Both groups significantly reduced duration of average sitting bouts (Stand group, by 16%; Step group, by 19%) and the number of sitting bouts of 60 minutes or more (Step group, by 36%; Stand group, by 54%). The Stand group significantly reduced total sitting time (by 6.6%), duration of the longest sitting bout (by 29%), and number of sitting bouts of 30 minutes or more (by 13%) and increased the number of sit-to-stand transitions (by 15%) and standing time (by 23%). Stepping time significantly increased in the Stand (by 14%) and Step (by 29%) groups, but only the Step group significantly increased (by 35%) the number of steps per workday. Differences in changes from baseline to intervention between groups were not significant for any outcome. Conclusion Interventions that focus on disrupting sitting time only in the workplace may result in less sitting. When sitting time disruptions are paired with a physical activity prompt, people may be more likely to increase their workday physical activity, but the effect on sitting time may be attenuated.
A Peer Education Program: Delivering Highly Reliable Sexual Health Promotion Messages in Schools

Abstract Purpose This article describes preliminary findings from an implementation study of a school-based peer education program on sexual health for high-school youth. The responses of youth participants are described. Methods Qualitative data were collected across one semester in two successive waves of participants (N = 4 schools), including observations of program activities, in-depth interviews of stakeholders, focus groups with youth participants (N = 62 peer educators and 60 ninth graders), and brief surveys of youth participants (N = 678). Grounded theory methodology informed data collection and analysis. Results Teen Prevention Education Program (Teen PEP) was adapted and replicated with fidelity to the model in North Carolina high schools. All program "inputs" and five core model components (outputs) were implemented. The principal accommodation made was to implement the entire curriculum within one half of a school year rather than across the entire school year although still using the same amount of instructional time. Youth participants attributed high value to the experience, noting that the sexual health information they received was both new and important for their lives and that they felt they learned it better from their peers than from instruction in traditional health class. The majority of participants reported that the program helped them across a range of areas related to both social well-being and sexual health. Conclusions Teen PEP developers have been able to successfully adapt and replicate it in North Carolina, in settings that need sexual health education services for youth both because of the paucity of existing services in many areas and because of the evidence of risk in the form of high rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus or AIDS in youth 15–19 years of age. Youth reported benefits across a range of social and sexual health-related areas.
Variations in self-paced behaviors in stutterers and nonstutterers.

Ten stuttering and 10 nonstuttering subjects performed self-paced rhythmic tasks with the finger and jaw and were asked to repeat “ah.” The tasks were performed at three rates: “comfortable” rate; ...
Regional cerebral activation in irritable bowel syndrome and control subjects with painful and nonpainful rectal distention.

Abstract Background & Aims: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is characterized by visceral hypersensitivity, possibly related to abnormal brain-gut communication. Positron emission tomography imaging has suggested specific central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities in visceral pain processing in IBS. This study aimed to determine (1) if functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) detects CNS activity during painful and nonpainful visceral stimulation; and (2) if CNS pain centers in IBS respond abnormally. Methods: fMRI was performed during nonpainful and painful rectal distention in 18 patients with IBS and 16 controls. Results: Rectal stimulation increased the activity of anterior cingulate (33/34), prefrontal (32/34), insular cortices (33/34), and thalamus (32/34) in most subjects. In IBS subjects, but not controls, pain led to greater activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) than did nonpainful stimuli. IBS patients had a greater number of pixels activated in the ACC and reported greater intensity of pain at 55–mm Hg distention than controls. Conclusions: IBS patients activate the ACC, a critical CNS pain center, to a greater extent than controls in response to a painful rectal stimulus. Contrary to previous reports, these data suggest heightened pain sensitivity of the brain-gut axis in IBS, with a normal pattern of activation. GASTROENTEROLOGY 2000;118:842-848
Hydrogen bonding in the active site of ketosteroid isomerase: electronic inductive effects and hydrogen bond coupling.

Computational studies are performed to analyze the physical properties of hydrogen bonds donated by Tyr16 and Asp103 to a series of substituted phenolate inhibitors bound in the active site of ketosteroid isomerase (KSI). As the solution pKa of the phenolate increases, these hydrogen bond distances decrease, the associated nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts increase, and the fraction of protonated inhibitor increases, in agreement with prior experiments. The quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical calculations provide insight into the electronic inductive effects along the hydrogen bonding network that includes Tyr16, Tyr57, and Tyr32, as well as insight into hydrogen bond coupling in the active site. The calculations predict that the most-downfield NMR chemical shift observed experimentally corresponds to the Tyr16−phenolate hydrogen bond and that Tyr16 is the proton donor when a bound naphtholate inhibitor is observed to be protonated in electronic absorption experiments. According to thes...
The Impact of Perceived Frailty on Surgeons' Estimates of Surgical Risk

Background Physicians are only moderately accurate in estimating surgical risk based on clinical vignettes. We assessed the impact of perceived frailty by measuring the influence of a short video of a standardized patient on surgical risk estimates. Methods Thoracic surgeons and cardiothoracic trainees estimated the risk of major complications for lobectomy based on clinical vignettes of varied risk categories (low, average, high). After each vignette, subjects viewed a randomly selected video of a standardized patient exhibiting either vigorous or frail behavior, then reestimated risk. Subjects were asked to rate 5 vignettes paired with 5 different standardized patients. Results Seventy-one physicians participated. Initial risk estimates varied according to the vignette risk category: low 15.2% ± 11.2% risk; average 23.7% ± 16.1%; high 37.3% ± 18.9% ( p p = 0.006; low risk vignette, vigorous video 14.5% ± 45.0% decrease, p = 0.009). Discordant findings influenced risk estimates more substantially (high risk vignette, vigorous video 21.2% ± 23.5% decrease in second risk estimate, p p Conclusions Surgeons differentiated relative risk of lobectomy based on clinical vignettes. The effect of viewing videos was small when vignettes and videos were concordant; the effect was more substantial when vignettes and videos were discordant. The information will be helpful in training future surgeons in frailty recognition and risk estimation.
Experimental Estimation of Saint-Venant's End Effects for Cruciform Fabric Specimens

A method of experimentally estimating the applicability of Saint-Venant's principle to a class of materials and a specific biaxial testing arrangement is proposed. A theory of the method is presented and is then utilized to estimate the true values of stresses at the center of a biaxially-loaded, vinyl-coated, polyester reinforced, cruciform fabric specimen.
High-magnesian andesite from Mount Shasta: A product of magma mixing and contamination, not a primitive melt: COMMENT AND REPLY COMMENT

[Streck et al. (2007)][1] state that primitive andesite lavas (Mg# > 0.6; 53–63 wt% SiO2) from Mt. Shasta are not primary melts, but instead are mixtures of evolved, high-Sr/Y, low-Mg# dacite with primary, low-Sr/Y, high-Mg# basalt. They propose that this mixing forms primitive andesites worldwide
An Analysis of the Economic Impact of Cap-and-Trade Policy on the California Food Processing Industry: A Look at Processed Tomatoes and Dairy Products

California Cap-and-Trade policy, sets a statewide limit on sources responsible for an estimated 85 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. To maintain the cap as per the policy, individual industrial facilities in California must obtain enough allowances to cover their emissions either by purchasing allowances at auction or reducing their emissions by operating more efficiently. This research report analyses the economic impact of the Cap-and-Trade policy on the California food processing industry. The results indicate that the average cost of production in tomato processing industry may ultimately increase by 7 to 21 percent and by about 1.5 to 3 percent in dairy product manufacturing industry.
Improved model reference adaptive control using the Euler operator

Systems discretized using the conventional z-transform and zero-order-hold will lead to sampling zeros lying outside the unit circle upon fast sampling. The Euler operator has been shown to be an alternative to discretizing systems. The resulting discrete-time form approaches its original continuous-time form as the sampling interval approaches zero. A model reference adaptive controller is designed using the Euler operator. Simulations and experiment were performed on an electrohydraulic servo valve. The resulting controller is applied to a Stewart platform for simulating ship motion.
A study of plasma-polymerized aniline films

Summary form only given, as follows. Thin films of electroactive polymers have several important applications in the fields of mechanics, electronics and optics. Among the several methods used to produce these films, plasma enhanced CVD may be an important technique. Others have shown that plasma-polymerized films exhibit electroactive properties. It is well known that plasma polymerized thin films can easily be made pinhole-free. Pulsing the RF field is known to result in a high degree of control of plasma-polymerized film chemistry. We model the plasma polymerization of aniline carried out in a custom-built pulsed PECVD reactor, the details of which have been published elsewhere. Some electrical properties of the plasma-polymerized aniline (PPAni) films are being studied by fabricating parallel plate devices. This structure consists of a PPAni thin film sandwiched between two metallic electrodes with widely differing work functions. Results from AC impedance, transient capacitance, volt-ampere and ellipsometric measurements yield important information regarding the electrical permittivity and conductivity of the PPAni films. Comparison of these films to conventionally polymerized films is made using surface and structural characterization studies such as electron microscopy, IR spectroscopy and NMR spectroscopy. The influence of plasma conditions on device properties is studied. For example, a doping species is introduced into the feed stream. The impact of the dopant on film properties and device characteristics is measured. The study can make important contributions to the development of a new generation of devices based on plasma processing of organic thin films.
Cardiovascular Drug Shortages Predominant Etiologies, Clinical Implications, and Management Strategies

Objective: To review the literature surrounding the incidence, significance, and management of cardiovascular (CV) drug shortages. Data Sources: A literature search was conducted using all available indexing databases from January 1996 to August 2013, coupled with assessments of the ASHP (American Society of Health System Pharmacists) and Food and Drug Administration Web sites designated to drug shortages. Data were also gathered through a review of listservs discussing this topic. Data Synthesis: CV drug shortages are among the top 5 national drug class shortages that are posing a threat to patient care and public health. When a drug shortage occurs, it requires modifications to prescribing and the method medications are processed by the pharmacy. These necessary yet cumbersome changes can potentially result in less-than-desirable prescribing options and increases in personnel time because of administrative and dispensing obstacles. Any one of these has the potential to increase costs and/or lead to wors...
INCREASING AUTISTIC CHILDREN'S DAILY SPONTANEOUS SPEECH

We investigated the effectiveness of teaching parents of 3 autistic boys to use a time delay procedure to increase their children's appropriate spontaneous speech in several naturally occurring daily settings (e.g., saying "good morning" in the morning). Generalization across settings and within settings across persons and locations was assessed. Variation in the children's spontaneous speech was also assessed. In addition procedural errors in the parents' use of time delay were calculated. Results indicated that all children increased their daily spontaneous speech and generalized their speech to other locations and persons.
Designing and implementing an Army capability model

The United States Army is transforming itself from a heavy mechanized force designed for cold war missions to a more mobile objective force tailored to the demands of an asymmetric warfare involving many diverse missions, from peacekeeping to land warfare. The Army Objective Force will be based on rapid mobility, information dominance, and tactical superiority. We developed a decision support tool to assess current Army capabilities and prioritize potential Army programs based on their ability to support future Army capabilities. We used two key documents, The Army Plan (TAP) and the U.S. Army Objective Force White Paper, which identify future Army capabilities and transformation goals. Our decision support tool uses multiple objective decision analysis implemented in Microsoft Access to help our client (the Army staff office responsible for prioritizing Army programs) evaluate Army programs. Each program is evaluated by the future Army capabilities it will provide. The ability to prioritize programs is essential to the Army and, specifically, our client because it helps determine which programs provide the most value for the Army budget. Further, it will give our client the ability to assess the effects of potential changes to both program funding and the transformation goals.
The Hawkes Papers: A Case Study of a Kansas Mortgage Brokerage Business, 1871–1888

Much of the capital to finance economic growth flowed from East to West in numerous trickling streams, having as their source the middle-income professional class and as their destination the small farmer. Uniting such borrowers and lenders were middlemen like Charles M. Hawkes, whose operations — here described in detail — were characterized by direct cognizance, financial mobility, deliberate restriction, and great prudence in the face of a shifting, hazardous market.
The global geodynamic effect of the MacQuarie Ridge Earthquake

The coseismic effect of the Macquarie Ridge earthquake on the earth's length-of-day, polar motion, and low-degree harmonic coefficients of the gravitational field are compared. It is found that this earthquake should have caused the length-of-day to decrease by 0.06, the position of the mean rotation pole to shift 0.11 milliarcsec towards 323 E longitude, and selected degree l = 2-5 gravitational field coefficients to change by about 1 part in 10 to the 13th.
Childhood Chronic Illness as a Family Stressor

Investigated the impact of childhood chronic illness within a family context. We interviewed 30 mothers of 6- to 14-year-old children with asthma or diabetes and 30 mothers of healthy children of the same age and sex. Family functioning, extrafamilial social support available to mothers, and child life stress events were examined in relation to the children's psychological adjustment and illness events. The mothers of asthmatic children reported a greater number of internalizing behavior problems in their children, perceived their own social support as less adequate, and reported a greater number of stressful events. Regression analyses demonstrated that family functioning, maternal social support, and chronic illness were significantly related to the psychological adjustment of the child. The importance of family functioning and resources available to the family, such as social support, are discussed as protective influences in coping with childhood chronic illness.
The Wisconsin roots of ground water hydrology.

During the period 1920 to 1940, Professor Cyrus F. Tolman played an important role in the history of ground water hydrology in the United States by establishing and fostering a program of ground water hydrology at Stanford University (Remson 2002). During this same period, O.E. Meinzer, often called the Father of Ground Water Hydrology in the United States, was assembling and mentoring a team of scientists who would establish ground water hydrology as an important force within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). However, we can trace the roots of ground water
Process/Temperature Variation Tolerant Precision Signal Strength Indicator

A receiving signal strength indicator (RSSI) built with transconductance amplifiers is presented. The RSSI achieves high tolerance to process/temperature variations by utilizing the unique nature of branch currents in a transconductance amplifier. These branch currents are used to implement a current-mode rectifier and amplitude clipping circuit that are tolerant of process variations. An on-chip offset control loop permits the entire RSSI to be realized with only one external component. In 0.18-mum CMOS with a 1.8 V supply, the RSSI draws 2.5 mA and provides 80 dB of offset suppression and more than 75 dB of log-linear range with less than +/ - 2-dB error due to process variation.
ULTRASTRUCTURE OF SOMATIC MUSCLE CELLS IN ASCARIS LUMBRICOIDES : II. Intermuscular Junctions, Neuromuscular Junctions, and Glycogen Stores

Somatic muscle cells of Ascaris lumbricoides consist of three differently specialized components referred to as the fiber, which contains the contractile apparatus (described previously), the belly, and the arm. The belly is shown to be a sac of glycogen, which is depleted during starvation of the animal. The arm extends to a nerve cord where it establishes a myoneural junction characterized by giant mitochondria and clusters of vesicles in the nerve fibers and by a 500 A neuromuscular gap. The arms, which have been shown to be "electrically interconnected" in the vicinity of the nerve cord, form "tight junctions" with one another in just this region. At high magnification, these junctions can be resolved into several types. In some there is fusion of the outer leaflets of the membranes with formation of an intermediate line. Others resemble septate desmosomes in that a residual extracellular space ∼20 A in width remains between the membranes, but the outer leaflets are interconnected across the gap. It is suggested that the term "tight junction" encompasses a variety of structures distinguishable only at high magnification and that the different variations are not necessarily equivalent functionally.
Hypocretin/orexin suppresses corticotroph responsiveness in vitro

The hypocretin/orexins (Hcrts/ORXs) are peptides produced in neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area that project to neuroendocrine centers in the hypothalamus. Hcrt/ORX receptors are present in t...
Observation of Townes soliton formation

Nonlinear wave collapse is an inherent phenomenon to several areas of physics including hydrodynamics, plasma physics, and nonlinear optics. In the latter case, the process responsible for collapse is the self-focusing of light in a medium with an intensity-dependent refractive index. The nature of the collapse has been theoretically analyzed using a variety of techniques including the variational principle [1], modulation theory [2], and numerical simulations [2,3]. Although the technique based on the variational principle is simple to apply, the other techniques have demonstrated that the collapse dynamics are too complicated to be fully captured by the ansatz that the beam maintains a Gaussian profile. In particular, modulation theory and numerical simulations predict that regardless of the shape of the input beam profile a collapsing beam transforms its radial profile into a focused Townes soliton. In this report, we present experimental evidence demonstrating that the spatial profile of a collapsing femtosecond laser pulse does indeed evolve into the cylindrically symmetric profile described by the Townes soliton for the case in which the input beam is either elliptically or irregularly shaped. These results could lend further understanding to recent experiments [4] that have observed extended light filaments in air with femtosecond laser pulses.
Self-assembled two-dimensional nanofluidic proton channels with high thermal stability

Exfoliated two-dimensional (2D) sheets can readily stack to form flexible, free-standing films with lamellar microstructure. The interlayer spaces in such lamellar films form a percolated network of molecularly sized, 2D nanochannels that could be used to regulate molecular transport. Here we report self-assembled clay-based 2D nanofluidic channels with surface charge-governed proton conductivity. Proton conductivity of these 2D channels exceeds that of acid solution for concentrations up to 0.1 M, and remains stable as the reservoir concentration is varied by orders of magnitude. Proton transport occurs through a Grotthuss mechanism, with activation energy and mobility of 0.19 eV and 1.2 × 10(-3) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), respectively. Vermiculite nanochannels exhibit extraordinary thermal stability, maintaining their proton conduction functions even after annealing at 500 °C in air. The ease of constructing massive arrays of stable 2D nanochannels without lithography should prove useful to the study of confined ionic transport, and will enable new ionic device designs.
Glutamine synthetase gene expression in the lungs of endotoxin-treated and adrenalectomized rats.

During sepsis, the lung responds by exporting increased amounts of the amino acid glutamine. This response is accompanied by increased enzymatic activity of glutamine synthetase (GS), which catalyz...
Trade Finance: A Catalyst for Growth in Asia

While large businesses have resumed international trade at levels seen before the financial crisis, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have not fared as well. For these firms — the backbone of economies everywhere — growth is impeded by the limited availability of bank loans to finance trade. The problem is especially acute for SMEs in Asia, the world’s largest trading region and the one most reliant on trade finance.This report points out the major impediments to financing in the region and recommends regulatory and procedural changes. It assesses the state of trade finance in Asia, paying particular attention to the ASEAN countries and the needs of SMEs. It emphasizes that to succeed, regional efforts to integrate trade law and procedures must be combined with the replacement of paper documents with electronic transactions, as well as standardized procedures across countries.For investors, the use of trade receivable assets, through securitization or direct investment, could be an attractive alternative in an environment of low interest rates. They offer appealing alpha yields, consistent returns, low volatility, “real economy” investment, and lower default rates than other interest-based assets. Also, the behavior of these assets can be uncorrelated to the market, offering portfolio risk diversification.
A Problem in Graph Coloring

(1970). A Problem in Graph Coloring. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 77, No. 10, pp. 1088-1092.