cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Domain engineering of the reductase component of soluble methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).

Soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) is a three-component enzyme system that catalyzes the conversion of methane to methanol. A reductase (MMOR), which contains [2Fe-2S] and FAD cofactors, facilitates electron transfer from NADH to the hydroxylase diiron active sites where dioxygen activation and substrate hydroxylation take place. By separately expressing the ferredoxin (MMORFd, MMOR residues 1-98) and FAD/NADH (MMOR-FAD, MMOR residues 99-348) domains of the reductase, nearly all biochemical properties of full-length MMOR are retained, except for interdomain electron transfer rates. To investigate the extent to which rapid electron transfer between domains might be restored and further to explore the modularity of MMOR, MMOR-Fd and MMOR-FAD were connected in a non-native fashion. Four different linker sequences were employed to create MMOR reversed-domain (MMOR-RD) constructs, MMOR(99-342)-linker-MMOR(2-98), with a domain connectivity observed in other homologous oxidoreductases. The optical, redox, and electron transfer properties of the four MMOR-RD proteins were characterized and compared with those of wild-type MMOR. The linker sequence plays a key role in controlling solvent accessibility to the FAD cofactor, as evidenced by perturbed flavin optical spectra, decreased FADox/FADsq redox potentials, and increased steady-state oxidase activities in three of the constructs. Stopped-flow optical spectroscopy revealed slow interdomain electron transfer (k
Dynamic mechanical properties of polypentenamers with pendant ionic groups and their hydrogenated derivatives

Dynamic mechanical properties of substituted polypentenamers having thioglycolate side groups and their hydrogenated derivatives have been studied. Methyl esters, acids and salts were investigated at two concentrations, 5.5 mole (%) and 9.2 mole (%). In the un-hydrogenated derivatives one principal relaxation, labelled β, exists in the temperature range from-160 to 100°C. This relaxation arises from microbrownian segmental motion accompanying the glass transition. Its temperature is affected by the concentration of substituent but not the chemical nature of the substituent. A ‘rubbery plateau’ region exists in the acid and salt derivatives and in the latter the salt groups act as reinforcing fillers in this plateau region, consistent with the ionic domain model for their structures. In the hydrogenated derivatives, three relaxations occur in the temperature range from −160 to 120°C and these are labelled α, β, and γ in order of decreasing temperature. The α relaxation arises from motions associated with the crystal phase except in the case of the 9.2 mole (%) sodium salt derivatives where it arises from motions occurring within ionic domains. The β relaxation arises from microbrownian segmental motions accompanying the glass transition, and the γ relaxation arises from localised motions which may involve both amorphous and crystalline phase components.
Physiological responses to feeding, fasting and estivation for anurans.

SUMMARY Anuran estivation is characterized by long episodes of aphagia. To investigate whether estivating anurans downregulate intestinal performance as an adaptive mechanism to reduce energy expenditure, I compared the metabolic and intestinal responses to feeding, fasting and estivation among non-estivating and estivating species of the anuran families Bufonidae, Leptodactylidae and Ranidae. Standard metabolic rates of the estivating Bufo alvarius, Ceratophrys ornata and Pyxicephalus adspersus were significantly less than those of the non-estivating Bufo marinus, Leptodactylus pentadactylus and Rana catesbeiana . Whereas the digestion of rodent meals equaling 15% of anuran body mass generated significant metabolic responses for all species, specific dynamic action was significantly greater for the estivating species. For estivating species, feeding triggered more than a doubling of small intestinal mass and significant upregulation of intestinal nutrient transport rates, resulting in six- to tenfold increases in total intestinal nutrient uptake capacity. The postprandial intestinal responses of the non-estivating species were much more modest, averaging a 50% increase in small intestinal mass and 69% increase in uptake capacities. Following 1 month of laboratory-induced estivation, C. ornata and P. adspersus had further depressed metabolic rates by 20%, intestinal masses by 44%, and total intestinal uptake capacities by 60%. In a fashion similar to infrequently feeding, sit-and-wait foraging snakes, estivating anurans possess the capacity to severely downregulate intestinal performance with fasting and estivation, and subsequently upregulate the gut with feeding. The depression in gut performance during estivation aids in reducing energy expenditure, thereby increasing the duration that the animal can remain dormant while relying solely upon stored energy.
Q-switched operation of microchip lasers.

With a novel Q-switching technique, 6-ns output pulses are produced from a single-mode Nd:YAG microchip laser pumped with 120 mW of cw optical power. Rate-equation analysis indicates that with a pump power of 500 mW, Q-switched Nd:YAG microchip lasers having subnanosecond pulses and peak powers of several kilowatts are feasible. Such miniature Q-switched lasers could find applications in range finding and nonlinear optics.
Long‐Term Agroecosystem Research in the Central Mississippi River Basin: Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed Flow Data

Flow monitoring in Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed started in 1971 at three nested watersheds ranging from 12 to 73 km 2 . Since then, runoff or stream flow has been measured at 14 plots, three fields, and 12 additional stream sites ranging from 0.0034 to 6067 km 2 in the Central Mississippi River Basin. Longterm data sets are important to document the changes resulting from anthropogenic and natural drivers. The data set presented here documents discharge across a range of catchment sizes in an area known for its high runoff potential. It constitutes the flow database of the Central Mississippi River Basin site of the Long-Term Agricultural Research network. Like the other sites of this network, data are accessible through the STEWARDS web interface (www.nrrig.mwa.ars.usda.gov/stewards/stewards. html). Here we (i) describe the data collection methods, (ii) document the data available at plot, field, and watershed scales, and (iii) provide the main characteristics of discharge. General characteristics of discharge per unit area for different cropping system management systems show that in this claypan soil setting, management and tillage of row crop systems do not affect surface flow during the growing season (April–October). Data from fields and stream sites show the dampening of peak flow values and lengthening of storm hydrographs caused by mixed land uses and longer times of concentration. Overall, stream flow accounts for a third of the precipitation, of which 80% is from surface runoff and 20% is from groundwater.
Weighting in Life Cycle Assessments in a Global Context

The option of weighting impact categories according to ISO 14042 on Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) is particularly difficult for global organizations, as they have to consider a wide range of values. The motivation for employing weighting is usually based on the desire to simplify LCIA output, especially in circumstances where product system tradeoffs occur. Looking globally at regional variations in legislation, consumer values, monetary valuation, existing weighting sets and expert opinions, no globally agreed upon weighting set is likely to be derived. This is due to both the inherent subjectivity of weighting and local variations in environmental imperatives. Hence, the authors recommend that LCIA quantitative weighting, especially those provided in pre-packaged software instruments, should not be employed. Admittedly, to use a spectrum of LCIA results for internal design decisions, some kind of tradeoff analysis has to be performed, especially if comparing competing design alternatives. However, this trade-off analysis should be done separately from the technical LCA study and should reflect values and visions of the global organization, as well as the circumstances of the targeted market, in a qualitative way. For any external communication, none of the quantitative weighting sets can be used.
On the relation between scattering amplitudes and finite-size mass corrections in QFT

Abstract If a stable particle in a quantum field theory (QFT) is enclosed in a box, its mass changes from its infinite-volume value due to the finite-size depedence of its self-energy (because virtual particles can “travel around a finite-size world”). Generalizing results of Luscher, we show how to express the leading large-volume corrections to the mass of any particle below threshold in terms of the scattering amplitudes of the theory. The mass shift decreases exponentially with the extent of the box, the decay rates depending on the “composite structure” of the particle in question. The proof is given to all orders of perturbation theory for an (almost) arbitrary purely massive QFT in any dimension. We also discuss the size of the error term with which the mass shift can be calculated, showing in particular that the error is substantially smaller in 1 + 1 dimensions. Our results are useful, for instance, in the study of (1 + 1)-dimensional massive QFTs. As a first application we compare our predictions for the finite-size mass shifts in several integrable scattering theories with numerical results, most of which we obtain using the “truncated conformal space approach”.
Mother-Blame in the Prozac Nation Raising Kids with Invisible Disabilities

Based on in-depth interviews and fieldwork, this article examines mothers raising kids with invisible, social/emotional/behavioral disabilities to refine feminist theories of mother-blame. The mother-valor/mother-blame binary holds mothers responsible for families and future citizens, maintaining this “natural” care at the center of normative femininity. The author explores how mothers raising such burdensome children understand their experiences and makes three arguments: (1) Fewer mothers are blamed for causing their child's troubles in an era of “brain-blame,” but more are blamed as proximate causes if they do not make unrelenting efforts, paralleling “concerted cultivation,” to resolve them; (2) such mothers often exceed concerted cultivation, as they seize authority, as vigilantes, within educational and medical systems in the midst of turf wars, cost containment, and a resulting proliferation of medication treatments; and (3) this maternal speedup holds mothers accountable for feminizing ties to son...
Some Characteristics of Wine Innovators

This article reports the findings from a survey on wine use and related consumer characteristics from 271 adult US consumers. A valid and reliable self‐report scale was used to measure wine innovativeness. Multi‐item scales also measured level of wine consumption, wine involvement, opinion leadership for wine, and real and subjective wine knowledge. As hypothesised, wine innovators reported using more wine than non‐innovators. They were also found to score higher on measures of wine involvement, wine opinion leadership, and subjective wine knowledge than those consumers less likely to be wine innovators. This pattern of characteristics is similar to that found for innovative consumers of other product fields and provides insights into the characteristics of wine innovators that marketers can use to develop better strategies for innovative wine products.
Discourses on and Realities of the life of Canines among Arabs and Muslims

This paper is about the power of representation; it takes as specific focus an animal who has been made out to represent all that is impure in Islamic discourses. Not only are dogs regarded as unclean animals, but their entry into a person’s home has been described to be a cause for refusal of angels to enter that home. In other words, good Muslims have to stay away from them. This is odd when the actual history and life of dogs among Arabs is studied, for without dogs Arab merchants trekking over long desert route and peaceful sleeping peasantry all over the Islamic world could not have been protected from attackers, thieves and evil-doers except for vigilant dogs attached to the people involved. Moreover, it is a clear contradiction that the representation of dogs as unclean animals is mostly based on fiqh when in fact the Holy Qur’an has honored the dog in Surat al-Kahf. This paper will discuss these contradictions and discuss the actual place of the dog in Islamic and Arab history and contemporary life to illustrate the contradictions between representation and reality. While this article is not about gender, it is closely related to moral discourses involving women and canines. It is perhaps not coincidental that the last thirty years have seen the anti-dog discourse reach such momentum at the same time as the call for the niqab and the seclusion of women; it is the same voices and groups that seem to espouse both, being conservatively dressed, religiously inclined and observant, and dog-hating seem to go together.
THE RESPONSE OF CHRONICALLY FATIGUED NEUROTIC PATIENTS TO ADRENAL CORTEX THERAPY1

FAILURE IN FUNCTION of the adrenal glands has long been recognised in Addison's disease, although the hormone elaborated by the medullary portion of these glands was earlier considered of the greater importance. The internal secretion of the adrenal cortex, investigated later, has been found to be the one that possesses life-sustainmg qualities for Addisonian patients. What it can accomplish for persons who do not suffer from an irreversible degeneration of the adrenal cortical tissue, but whose symptoms do suggest a hypofunctioning (whether reversible or irreversible) of this endocrine gland, has been the subject of more recent studies. Deficiency symptoms. In cases of Addison's disease in man (deficiency or loss of cortico-adrenal tissue being typical of this disorder), Hartman and coworkers, Britton, Loeb, Zwemer, Hoskins and many other investigators have described the following typical deficiency symptoms: gastrointestinal disturbances, loss of appetite and weight; lowered blood pressure, low heat pro...
Pathological stage T2 subgroups to predict biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy.

Purpose: We evaluated whether the 2002 TNM substages of pathological T2 prostate cancer predict intermediate term biochemical recurrence-free survival.Materials and Methods: The cohort consisted of men who underwent radical prostatectomy between January 2000 and June 2008, and had pT2 disease at final pathological evaluation. We excluded patients with prior treatment, less than 6 months of followup or missing data, leaving 1,370 available for analysis, including 340 with pT2a, 35 with pT2b and 995 with pT2c disease. Clinical and pathological characteristics were compared between groups using univariate analysis. Biochemical recurrence-free survival was compared between substages using Kaplan-Meier analysis. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate tumor substage as a biochemical recurrence-free survival predictor.Results: Median followup was 21 months. No differences were seen in the likelihood of biochemical recurrence-free survival between T2 subclasses (p = 0.174). No patient with T2b dise...
A case study in software adaptation

We attach a feedback-control-loop infrastructure to an existing target system, to continually monitor and dynamically adapt its activities and performance. (This approach could also be applied to "new" systems, as an alternative to "building in" adaptation facilities, but we do not address that here.) Our infrastructure consists of multiple layers, with the objectives of 1. probing, measuring and reporting of activity and state during the execution of the target system among its components and connectors; 2. gauging, analysis and interpretation of the reported events; and 3. whenever necessary, feedback onto the probes and gauges, to focus them (e.g., drill deeper), or onto the running target system, to direct its automatic adjustment and reconfiguration. We report on our successful experience using this approach in the dynamic adaptation of a large-scale commercial application requiring both coarse and fine-grained modifications.
Juvenile Delinquency and Victimization A Theoretical Typology

It is a widely voiced notion that juvenile delinquency and victimization co-occur extensively in the youth population, in particular because delinquent youth engage in risky activities. But theory from the bullying and traumatic stress literatures suggests that there may be additional pathways by which delinquency and victimization are connected. This analysis looks for possible subtypes of delinquents and victims consistent with such pathways. Using the Developmental Victimization Survey, a national sample of 1,000 youth aged 10 to 17 were interviewed over the phone. Support emerges for three distinct types of delinquent-victims, who are termed bully-victims, delinquent sex/maltreatment- victims, and property delinquent-victims. There is also evidence for substantial groups of youth who are primarily delinquent but not seriously victimized, as well as youth who are primarily victimized but not delinquent.
Four Types of Cyclists? Examination of Typology for Better Understanding of Bicycling Behavior and Potential

The labeling and the categorizing of cyclists have been occurring for more than a century for a variety of purposes. This study examined a typology developed by the City of Portland, Oregon, that included four categories of cyclists: "the strong and the fearless," "the enthused and confident," "the interested but concerned," and "no way, no how." Unlike several other typologies, this widely referenced typology was intended to apply to all adults, regardless of their current cycling behavior. An analysis was conducted with data from a random phone survey (n = 908) of adults in the Portland region. Adults were placed into one of the four categories primarily on the basis of their stated comfort level with cycling on a variety of facility types, their interest in cycling as transportation, and their physical ability to bicycle. Nearly all of the sampled population fit clearly into one of the four categories. A majority (56%) of the region's population fit in the interested but concerned category, which was t...
The Photoreceptors and Pigment Epithelium of the Adult Xenopus Retina: Morphology and Outer Segment Renewal

Outer segment renewal and the fine structure of photoreceptors and pigment epithelium (p.e.) were studied in the adult Xenopus retina by light microscopic autoradiography and electron microscopy. Following the injection of [$^{3}$H]leucine, the pattern of labelling observed in receptor outer segments was typical of that reported in other adult retinae: only diffuse labelling was found in cones, but in rods a discrete band of label accumulated at the base of the outer segment and migrated sclerally with time. The rate of band displacement and thus disk addition in Xenopus rods was 1.86 $\mu $m/day (or 78 disks/day), which is more than twice that reported for red rods in Rana under similar experimental conditions, although these species have similar metabolic rates. Average rod outer segment (r.o.s.) length did not change, demonstrating a balance between disk addition and shedding. R.o.s. renewal time was about 24 days, corresponding to the time when labelled phagosomes were first found in the p.e. Ultrastructurally, one kind of (red) rod and one kind of cone were found whose outer segments differed in membrane topology. Although microfilaments were found in the apical processes of the p.e. and its cytoplasm contained both pigment granules and myeloid bodies, pigment granules did not migrate into these processes during light adaptation. In addition to possible morphological evidence for phagosomes of cone origin, both large and small rod phagosomes were observed in the p.e. The latter appear to represent small stacks of partial disks shed from individual r.o.s. scallops.
Atomistic simulation study of brittle failure in nanocrystalline graphene under uniaxial tension

We show that, using molecular dynamic simulations, nanocrystalline (NC) graphene fails by brittle fracture along grain boundaries under uniaxial tension at room temperature. Initiated from either a grain-boundary triple junction or an array of vacancies on a preferential grain boundary, fracture occurs by unzipping atomic bonds along a preferential grain boundary. In sharp contrast to NC metals, no mobile dislocations are generated throughout the entire loading process, and the deformation remains fully elastic (albeit nonlinear) until the breaking of the first atomic bond due to high local stress near the initiation defect sites. Breaking of the first atomic bond triggers a cascade of bond breaking events along a preferential grain boundary that leads to the final brittle fracture failure. For the NC graphene monolayer sheet with an average grain size of ∼25 nm considered here, the predicted uniaxial tensile strength is 96.2 ± 4.2 GPa, which is one of the highest among all polycrystalline materials.
FRACTAL DIMENSIONS OF MYCOSIS FUNGOIDES

Prior to an investigation of early diagnosis of mycosis fungoides (MF) using fractal geometry, we set out to see if MF lesions are fractal in nature. We analyzed three aspects of MF lesions: the dermoepidermal profile of photomicrographs of patch stage lesions and normal skin, the perimeter of patch and plaque stage lesions, and the size distribution of patch and plaque lesions on the skin surface. The perimeter of plaque lesions was measured on close-up photographs by the divider walk method using various step sizes. Based on the perimeter values, the fractal dimension was determined. The dermoepidermal profile of MF patch lesions was analyzed by the divider walk method for self-affine fractals. The size distribution of MF patch and plaque lesions was determined by counting the number of patch and plaque lesions with an area greater than or equal to a specific size A on scaled photographs of a 19.6 cm × 19.6 cm affected region. A plot of number of lesions with area greater than or equal to A vs. lesion area on log-log paper allows the detection of a power-law distribution, indicative of one type of self-similar fractals. The dermoepidermal profile of patch stage lesions and normal skin was found to be self-affine fractals. Global measurements of normal thin skin and of patch stage lesions were distinct. All observed patch and plaque lesion area distributions were a fractal set. The perimeter of non-confluent plaque lesions was not fractal. This work revealed fractal dimensions in two aspects of MF lesions. Further investigation of application of fractal geometry to the diagnosis and staging of MF is planned.
Upscaling ground observations of vegetation water content, canopy height, and leaf area index during SMEX02 using aircraft and Landsat imagery

Abstract Microwave-based remote sensing algorithms for mapping soil moisture are sensitive to water contained in surface vegetation at moderate levels of canopy cover. Correction schemes require spatially distributed estimates of vegetation water content at scales comparable to that of the microwave sensor footprint (10 1 to 10 4 m). This study compares the relative utility of high-resolution (1.5 m) aircraft and coarser-resolution (30 m) Landsat imagery in upscaling an extensive set of ground-based measurements of canopy biophysical properties collected during the Soil Moisture Experiment of 2002 (SMEX02) within the Walnut Creek Watershed. The upscaling was accomplished using expolinear relationships developed between spectral vegetation indices and measurements of leaf area index, canopy height, and vegetation water content. Of the various indices examined, a Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), derived from near- and shortwave-infrared reflectances, was found to be least susceptible to saturation at high levels of leaf area index. With the aircraft data set, which did not include a short-wave infrared water absorption band, the Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (OSAVI) yielded best correlations with observations and highest saturation levels. At the observation scale (10 m), LAI was retrieved from both NDWI and OSAVI imagery with an accuracy of 0.6, vegetation water content at 0.7 kg m −2 , and canopy height to within 0.2 m. Both indices were used to estimate field-scale mean canopy properties and variability for each of the intensive soil-moisture-sampling sites within the watershed study area. Results regarding scale invariance over the SMEX02 study area in transformations from band reflectance and vegetation indices to canopy biophysical properties are also presented.
Trapping cold molecules

An experiment is described in which 10 8 CaH molecules have been confined in a magnetic trap at a temperature of 400 mK. The elastic scattering cross section of CaH on 3 He was measured to be σ el equals(1.5±0.6)×10 -14 cm 2 . A lower bound of Γ rotational g10 -15 cm 3 s -1 was placed on the rotational elastic collision rate coefficient, and an upper bound of Γ ν -15 cm 3 s -1 was placed on the vibrational relaxation rate coefficient. The rate coefficient for spin changing collisions was measured to be, within an order magnitude, Γ Z equals10 -17 cm 3 s -1 .
Crime policy and informal social control

The article by Wilson and Chermak (2011, this issue) addresses an important topic: What policy levers outside of the criminal justice system can help reduce crime and violence in our nation’s most distressed and dangerous urban areas? Wilson and Chermak try to answer that question by evaluating the effects of the One Vision One Life program in Pittsburgh, PA. One Vision involved a collaborative problem-solving process resulting in a multipart intervention that included continuing data analysis to guide program activities; the use of street workers to try to connect high-risk young people to social services such as job training and substance-abuse counseling; and some “violenceinterruption” activity intended to de-escalate situations in which retaliatory and other types of violence were likely. In what follows we first discuss whether these analyses are likely to have isolated the causal effects of the One Vision intervention, which is the key question that determines whether we can use these results to guide crime-policy decisions. Unfortunately we think the answer is “no,” which is mostly a result of the nature of the intervention and how it was implemented rather than from any fault of the investigators themselves. We then offer some thoughts about the underlying logic behind One Vision, including the (usually implicit) theory behind these sorts of “kitchen sink” interventions that risk factors have more-thanadditive effects on criminal behavior, as well as the practical challenges associated with asking real-world organizations to engage in complicated problem-solving and collaborative activities. We close with some discussion about the great value of learning more about how
Confidence Intervals for the PPVT-R

Dunn and Dunn (1981) provided a minimal amount of information about the confidence intervals for the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R). While bands of error are included on the PPVT-R record form, these estimated true score-based intervals (Robwtson & Eisenberg, 1981) are for the 68% level of confidence only. This paper provides confidence intervals for the 80, 85, 90, and 95% levels of confidence for the PPVT-R using the estimated true score and obtained score-based methods. Implications of these results for use of the test are presented.
Error in Temperature Measurements Due to Conduction Along the Sensor Leads

When a sensor is embedded in a solid body to measure its internal temperature, any conduction to or from its sensing element may cause the indicated temperature to be different from the true temperature. This paper describes an analysis of the error caused by conduction when there is an arbitrary temperature distribution in the body along the sensor. The sensor is modeled as a cylindrical fin and the appropriate conduction equation is solved. The solution gives a correction for the error which depends on such parameters as, depth of immersion, thermocouple wire and insulation properties, contact between the sensor and the body, and temperature distribution in the body. The latter may not be known, but the measured temperature distribution can be used as a first approximation. The corrected value can then be used to obtain a better estimate of the error. The results show good agreement with experimental observations.
Household Smoking Behavior: Effects on Indoor Air Quality and Health of Urban Children with Asthma

The goal of the study was to examine the association between biomarkers and environmental measures of second hand smoke (SHS) with caregiver, i.e. parent or legal guardian, report of household smoking behavior and morbidity measures among children with asthma. Baseline data were drawn from a longitudinal intervention for 126 inner city children with asthma, residing with a smoker. Most children met criteria for moderate to severe persistent asthma (63%) versus mild intermittent (20%) or mild persistent (17%). Household smoking behavior and asthma morbidity were compared with child urine cotinine and indoor measures of air quality including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and air nicotine (AN). Kruskal–Wallis, Wilcoxon rank-sum and Spearman rho correlation tests were used to determine the level of association between biomarkers of SHS exposure and household smoking behavior and asthma morbidity. Most children had uncontrolled asthma (62%). The primary household smoker was the child’s caregiver (86/126, 68%) of which 66 (77%) were the child’s mother. Significantly higher mean PM2.5, AN and cotinine concentrations were detected in households where the caregiver was the smoker (caregiver smoker: PM2.5 μg/m3: 44.16, AN: 1.79 μg/m3, cotinine: 27.39 ng/ml; caregiver non-smoker: PM2.5: 28.88 μg/m3, AN: 0.71 μg/m3, cotinine:10.78 ng/ml, all P ≤ 0.01). Urine cotinine concentrations trended higher in children who reported 5 or more symptom days within the past 2 weeks (>5 days/past 2 weeks, cotinine: 28.1 ng/ml vs. <5 days/past 2 weeks, cotinine: 16.2 ng/ml; P = 0.08). However, environmental measures of SHS exposures were not associated with asthma symptoms. Urban children with persistent asthma, residing with a smoker are exposed to high levels of SHS predominantly from their primary caregiver. Because cotinine was more strongly associated with asthma symptoms than environmental measures of SHS exposure and is independent of the site of exposure, it remains the gold standard for SHS exposure assessment in children with asthma.
AVCast: new approaches for implementing generic availability-dependent reliability predicates for multicast receivers

Today's large-scale distributed systems consist of collections of nodes, each of which has its own availability characteristics - a phenomenon sometimes called churn. This availability variation across nodes is often a hindrance to achieving reliability and performance for distributed applications such as multicast. This paper looks into utilizing and leveraging availability information in order to implement arbitrary predicates that specify availability-dependent message reliability for multicast receivers. An application (e.g., a publish-subscribe system) may want to scale the multicast message reliability at each receiver according to that receiver's availability (in terms of the fraction of time that receiver is online) - different options are that the reliability is independent of the availability, proportional to it, or an arbitrary function of it, etc. We propose several gossip- based algorithms to support an arbitrary class of such predicates. These techniques rely on each node's availability being monitored in a distributed manner by a small group of other nodes in such a way that the monitoring load is evenly distributed in the system. Our techniques are light-weight, scalable, and are space- and time- efficient. We analyze our algorithms and evaluate them experimentally by injecting availability traces collected from real peer-to-peer systems.
Targeting Intracellular Signaling Pathways as a Novel Strategy in Melanoma Therapeutics

Melanoma has been one of the fastest rising malignancies in the last four decades with cases increasing from below 3 per 100,000 people to above 13. Despite worldwide efforts in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, cases of melanoma continue to rise at an alarming rate of 2.5% annually in the United States. Although early primary melanomas are curable through surgery, treatment of advanced disease remains difficult and the strategies employed in the last 30 years have not significantly improved cure rates, which are less than 5%. The recent identification of activating mutations in BRAF in over 60% of cases of melanoma has caused much excitement in the melanoma community and may offer the first opportunity for a rational treatment program. Combination therapy using the RAF inhibitor, BAY 43-9006, and chemotherapy has led to impressive responses in some melanoma patients and provides a new paradigm for therapeutic intervention in this intractable disease. Besides activating mutations in BRAF, melanomas have constitutive activity in a number of other signaling pathways implicated in oncogenesis, including PI3 kinase/Akt, NFB, Src, and STAT3. With more and more selective small molecule inhibitors becoming available, there are good prospects for treating advanced melanoma using new combinations of signal transduction inhibitors and chemotherapy. In the current review, we discuss the role for these signaling pathways in melanoma and discuss the rationale for targeting signaling cascades using small molecule inhibitors.
Genetic analysis of the hormonally regulated yolk polypeptide genes in D. melanogaster

To initiate a genetic study of the hormonal regulation of genes coding for the three vitellogenins or yolk polypeptide precursors (YPs) in Drosophila, we have isolated from wild flies genetic variants which alter the mobility in SDS-PAGE of each YP independently. These variants are expressed codominantly and they are sex-linked: Yp1 and Yp2 map to region 8E to 9B1 (locus 30) and Yp3 is in 12A6-7 to 12D3 (locus 44). The amount of each YP synthesized and secreted into the hemolymph is related to the dosage of the above regions, suggesting that the structural genes are in those intervals. These experiments raise the question of the functional role of the proximity of Yp1 and Yp2 and provide a mechanism for a search for mutations altering the hormonally regulated function of these three genes.
Encouraging physical activity in teens Can technology help reduce barriers to physical activity in adolescent girls

Physical activity levels of girls decline dramatically during adolescence and may be a contributor to the increasing number of obese teens in the United States. Research has shown that social support is positively correlated with physical activity levels in adolescents, particularly girls. We present the findings from a three week field study of a mobile phone application designed to create a support group for physical activity within an existing social network of adolescent girls. Our findings suggest design considerations for technologies that encourage physical activity for this user group.
RELATION OF EFFORT RATINGS OF CCVCS BY CONGENITALLY DEAF TO GREENBERG AND JENKINS' S SCALE

List 1 CCVCs. The hypothesis that mean scale values for e' for the 24 CCVCs would correlate significandy with S values of the CCVCs is tenable. The hypothesis that correlations would be lower than those based on ratings by Ss with normal hearing also is tenable. Koutstaal, Smith, and Knops (1971) studied effort, e', ratings of subvocalizations of Greenberg and Jenkins' (1964) List 1 CCVCs by native speakers of English, Swedish, Dutch, and Flemish. Six groups of Ss were involved. Mean scale values for the 24 CCVCs correlated consistently and significantly across groups of Ss and with Greenberg and Jenkins' ( 1964) S values for the CCVCs. The S scale is numerical and is based on the number of phonemic substitutions that can make any set of four phonemes in the order of CCVC conform to the linguistic constraints of the English lexicon. Within this lexicon the S scale for all practical purposes can be considered to be errorless. Correlations of e' values with the S scale ranged from .64 to .84, with a median of .72. Ryan and Smith (1954) assumed the psychological variable, effort, to be a feeling of working hard or easily. Articulation can be considered to be a form of work that can be practiced by deaf as well as those with normal hearing. Assuming a common physiology in the deaf and hearing for articulation, we would expect the deaf to be able to scale the degree of effort involved in the production of sounds. Consequently, our HI is that the mean scale values for e' in subvocalizing Greenberg and Jenkins' (1964) List 1 CCVCs should, for the congenitally deaf, correlate significantly with the S values of the CCVCs. Our Hz was that the above correlations for the deaf with S scale values would be directionally smaller than those of Ss with hearing. The reasoning for the directional prediction is based on the assumption that the correct perception of a sequence of sounds must precede the correct or adequate articulation of the sounds. Speech reading can be far from accurate for some articulations. One factor accounting for the inaccuracy is unfamiliarity with the material. Another factor is the visual similarity of acoustically different sounds. Our speech readers were from the U. S. A. and the Netherlands and for both groups the articulations of the List 1 CCVCs were at least as strange or foreign as for the hearing Ss. Errors of speech reading can result only in errors of percep 'The authors would like to express their gratefulness for the generous cooperation of WBGU-Channel 70 T. V. for making the film, and Mrs. M. Campbell and Mr. J. L. van der Have, Principal and President respectively of the schools for the deaf. Without their help the compleiion of this study wobld have been vety difficult.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a patient with pulmonary embolism

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is an acute cardiac syndrome characterized by transient regional wall motion abnormalities of the left ventricular apex or midventricle. Patients often present with chest pain or dyspnoea, ST-segment elevation, and minor elevations of cardiac enzyme levels. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy has been associated with severe emotional or physical stress such as severe burns, spinal cord injury, subarachnoid haemorrhage, and multiple traumas. We report a case of takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a 79-year-old woman with pulmonary embolism. Although pulmonary embolism has been listed as a potential cause of takotsubo cardiomyopathy, this is the first case reported with this association.
Generalized Wielandt and Cauchy-Schwarz inequalities

The Wielandt inequality is important in many applications. It involves functions of the extreme eigenvalues of a positive definite matrix. We derive a few extensions of the Wielandt inequality and new inequalities involving the two largest and two smallest eigenvalues. The resulting inequalities are shown to be the best possible. A unified approach involving constrained optimization techniques are used to derive these results. The proposed inequalities are then utilized to obtain several bounds for the extremum eigenvalues and eigen spread of real symmetric matrices. Collections of bounds for functions of the eigenvalues of positive definite and general symmetric matrices are then derived in terms of the entries of the matrix. Additionally, lower bounds for the condition number of positive definite matrices as well as lower bounds for the minimum separation of eigenvalues are developed.
Employee Attitudes Toward Benefit Packaging The Job Sector Dilemma

Increasingly, public sector organizations are creating flexible and innovative benefit packages to augment low salaries. While it is commonly perceived that the public sector has had an edge in ben...
A study to quantify the effectiveness of daily endorectal balloon for prostate intrafraction motion management.

Purpose To quantify intrafraction prostate motion between patient groups treated with and without daily endorectal balloon (ERB) employed during prostate radiotherapy and establish the effectiveness of the ERB. Methods Real-time intrafraction prostate motion from 29 non-ERB (1,061 sessions) and 30 ERB (1,008 sessions) patients was evaluated based on three-dimensional (3D), left, right, cranial, caudal, anterior, and posterior displacements. The average percentage of time with 3D and unidirectional prostate displacements >2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 mm in 1-min intervals was calculated for up to 6 min of treatment time. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov method was used to evaluate the intrafraction prostate motion pattern between both groups. Results Large 3D motion (up to 1 cm or more) was only observed in the non-ERB group. The motion increased as a function of elapsed time for displacements >2–8 mm for the non-ERB group and >2–4 mm for the ERB group ( p 5 mm ( p Conclusion The percentage of time that the prostate was displaced in any direction was less in the ERB group for almost all magnitudes of motion considered. The directional analysis shows that the ERB reduced IMs in almost all directions, especially the anterior-posterior direction.
Effects of Horticulture Therapy on Engagement and Affect

Implementing generationally appropriate activities for persons with dementia is a challenging task. Horticulture therapy (HT) addresses this challenge through the use of plants to facilitate holistic outcomes. Utilizing the model of environmental press, the current study sought to analyse adult day service (ADS) participantsO responses to HT as compared to traditional activities. HT activities were conducted once a week for a half an hour at four different ADS programs over the course of 9 weeks. Observational data were collected during HT and traditional ADS activities using a modified dementia care mapping (DCM) technique. Observers coded predominant behavioural and affectual responses for each participant. HT activities facilitated higher levels of productive engagement and positive affect and lower levels of non-engagement than did traditional ADS activities. Therefore, HT offers dementia-care staff a viable activity alternative that is well received by clients and inclusive of all interested persons, despite cognitive limitations. Devoir mettre en oeuvre des activites appropriees pour des personnes âgees atteintes de demence constitue une tâche difficile. La therapie horticole (TH) permet de relever ce defi par lOutilisation de plantes afin de faciliter lOobtention de resultats globaux. A lOaide du modele de lOevaluation du milieu, la presente etude cherche a analyser les reactions des participants des soins de jour pour adultes a lOegard de la TH par comparaison avec des activites traditionnelles. Des activites de TH ont ete menees une fois par semaine pendant une demi-heure dans le cadre de quatre programmes differents de soins de jour pour adultes sur une periode de neuf semaines. Des donnees dOobservation ont ete recueillies pendant la TH ainsi que pendant les activites traditionnelles des soins de jour pour adultes, au moyen dOune version modifiee de la technique DCM (Dementia Care Mapping). Les observateurs ont utilise des codes pour consigner les principales reactions de chaque participant dOun point de vue comportemental et affectif. Les activites de TH ont suscite des niveaux plus eleves de participation productive, des consequences positives ainsi que des niveaux moins eleves de non-engagement que les activites traditionnelles des soins de jour pour adultes. Par consequent, la TH offre au personnel soignant des personnes atteintes de demence une activite de rechange valable qui est bien accueillie par les clients et qui integre toutes les personnes interessees, quelles que soient leurs limitations cognitives.
Oxide solution mechanisms in silicate melts: Systematic variations in the activity coefficient of SiO2

Abstract Phase equilibria and spectroscopic data are used to develop a simple model for the interaction of various oxide components and molten SiO 2 . Network modifying oxides, M x O y produce nonbridging oxygens thereby depolymerizing the SiO 2 network. The energetics of nonbridging oxygen formation are least favorable when the field strength of the metal cation is high. This produces relatively strong M-O and Si-O-Si bridging bonds at the expense of weaker Si-O-M bonds ( De Jong et al. , 1980). This relationship is manifested by an increase in positive deviations from ideality with increasing cation field strength in M x O y -SiO 2 systems; the activity coefficient of SiO 2 is inversely correlated with Si-O-M bond strength. Network forming oxides (aluminates, phosphates, titanates. zirconates, etc.) may copolymerize with the SiO 2 network. Mixing on the same quasi-lattice produces solutions which approach ideality. Deviations from ideality in such solutions can be linked to distortions in the SiO 2 network. Discrete anion formers (phosphates, titanates, chromates, zirconates) complex with metal oxides other than SiO 2 to form discrete structural units which do not copolymerize with SiO 2 . The SiO 2 network is essentially shielded from the high charge density cations in such systems and unmixing is common. As a result, the relative deviations from ideality in such melts are high. It is important to recognize that oxides such as P 2 O 5 , TiO 2 and ZrO 2 may act as either network-formers or discrete anion formers depending upon melt composition, and are probably distributed between these two “sites” in most geologically important liquids. The latter structural role is favored in more basic compositions.
Traditional Medicine in Africa

Traditional medicine is the main, and often the only, source of medical care for a great proportion of the population of the developing world. Systems of traditional medicine are usually rooted in long-standing cultural traditions, take a holistic approach to health, and are community based. The World Health Organization has long recognized the central role traditional systems of care can play in efforts to provide primary health care, especially in rural areas. This article provides an overview of national policies adopted by African governments following World Health Organization recommendations for the incorporation of traditional and allopathic systems of care.