cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Respiratory Sex Differences in Response to Smoke Exposure

Smoke exposure is ubiquitous throughout the world and prevalent in a variety of types including tobacco smoke, wildfire smoke, and biomass and wood smoke. These exposures have all been shown to induce deleterious effects in the respiratory tract and induce lung disease. Additionally, there is considerable epidemiological evidence of smoke exposure-induced sex-biased disease; however, there have been few investigations into mechanisms behind this sex-biased disease manifestation. This chapter will describe what is known about sex differences in smoke exposure, exposure-induced disease, and mechanisms of effects. Additionally, it will enumerate areas of critical need for future investigation to fully understand sex-specific respiratory effects of smoke exposure.
Central Obesity, Cardiometabolic Risk, and Cognitive Change in the Study of Latinos - Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging.

BACKGROUND The relationships between obesity and cognitive decline in aging are mixed and understudied among Hispanics/Latinos. OBJECTIVE To understand associations between central obesity, cognitive aging, and the role of concomitant cardiometabolic abnormalities among Hispanics/Latinos. METHODS Participants included 6,377 diverse Hispanics/Latinos enrolled in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) and SOL-Investigation for Neurocognitive Aging (SOL-INCA). Participants were 45 years and older at the first cognitive testing session (Visit 1). Cognitive outcomes (z-score units) included global composite and domain specific (learning, memory, executive functioning, processing speed) measures at a second visit (SOL-INCA, on average, 7 years later), and 7-year change. We used survey linear regression to examine associations between central obesity (waist circumference≥88 cm and≥102 cm for women and men, respectively) and cognition. We also tested whether the relationships between obesity and cognition differed by cardiometabolic status (indication of/treatment for 2 + of the following: high triglycerides, hypertension, hyperglycemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). RESULTS Central obesity was largely unassociated with cognitive outcomes, adjusting for covariates. However, among individuals with central obesity, cardiometabolic abnormality was linked to poorer cognitive function at SOL-INCA (ΔGlobalCognition =-0.165, p < 0.001) and to more pronounced cognitive declines over the average 7 years (ΔGlobalCognition = -0.109, p < 0.05); this was consistent across cognitive domains. CONCLUSION Central obesity alone was not associated with cognitive function. However, presence of both central obesity and cardiometabolic abnormalities was robustly predictive of cognition and 7-year cognitive declines, suggesting that in combination these factors may alter the cognitive trajectories of middle-aged and older Hispanics/Latinos.
Xylem biomechanics, water storage, and density within roots and shoots of an angiosperm tree species.

Xylem is a complex tissue that forms the bulk of tree bodies and has several functions, including to conduct water, store water and nutrients, and biomechanically support the plant body. We examined how xylem functional traits varied at different positions within Populus balsamifera spp. trichocarpa (Black Cottonwood). Whole trees were excavated, and xylem samples were collected at 1m increments along the main root-to-shoot axis of six trees, from root tip to shoot tip. We examined biomechanical and water storage traits of the xylem, including using a non-invasive imaging technique to examine water content within long, intact branches (high resolution computed tomography; microCT). Xylem density, strength, and stiffness were higher in shoots than roots. Along the main root-to-shoot axis, xylem strength and stiffness were greatest at shoot tips and tissue became linearly weaker and less stiff down the plant and through the root. Roots had greater water storage with reduced biomechanical support, and shoots had biomechanically stronger and stiffer xylem with reduced water storage. These findings support trade-offs among xylem functions between roots and shoots. Understanding how xylem functions differ throughout tree bodies is important in understanding whole-tree function and how terrestrial plants endure numerous environmental challenges over decades of growth.
An Analysis of Strategies for Teaching and Assessing Standards-Based Assessment Design to Preservice Teachers:

Research consistently shows that solid assessment designs lead to better student learning outcomes. The development of well-designed assessments presents a challenge to preservice teachers in their...
Hormones, Brain Oligopeptides

Oligopeptides exist in mammalian brain in a variety of forms, and represent the most numerous of the neurotransmitter and neuromodulator candidates. Most of these peptides are relatively small, ranging from three to approximately 40 amino acids in length. As such, they are relatively simple to synthesize in the laboratory using solid-phase peptide synthesis. Such syntheses have produced large numbers of analogues that are more potent or more stable than the native peptides, or may be specific antagonists at the peptide receptors. All of these neuropeptides are derived from large molecular weight protein precursors, which are cleaved into active products by the action of specific proteases. Many of the native peptides are extraordinarily potent in affecting different aspects of brain function, and have been implicated in central nervous system (CNS) disorders involving areas like Alzheimer's disease, control of appetite, clinical depression, and pain. A brief discussion of the various groups of brain oligopeptides is presented. Keywords: Neuroregulators; Synthesis; Biosynthesis; Tachhykinins; Endorphins; Somatostatin; Corticotropin; Releasing factors; Somatostatin; Hypothalamic-releasing peptides; Neurotensin; Calcitonin gene; Cholecystokinin
Analytic models for computer system performance analysis

This paper is a survey of recent advances in the application of analytic modeling to computer system performance analysis. Emphasis is placed on multiple resource models and queueing network models in particular. A comparative survey of approaches to the analysis of queueing networks is presented. The application of these models to the study of fundamental concepts such as saturation and system balance is discussed. Published empirical studies evaluating the applicability of these models for quantitatively predicting system performance are described.
A specialized island model and its application in multiobjective optimization

This paper discusses a new model of parallel evolutionary algorithms (EAs) called the specialized island model (SIM) that can be used to generate a set of diverse non-dominated solutions to multiobjective optimization problems. This model is derived from the island model, in which an EA is divided into several subEAs that exchange individuals among them. In SIM, each subEA is responsible (i.e., specialized) for optimizing a subset of the objective functions in the original problem. The efficacy of SIM is demonstrated using a three-objective optimization problem. Seven scenarios of the model with a different number of subEAs, communication topology, and specialization are tested, and their results are compared. The results suggest that SIM effectively finds non-dominated solutions to multiobjective optimization problems.
The Feeling That 'I Can Say It in My Head' Predicts Word-by-Word Success in Subsequent Aphasia Treatment. (P2.118)

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether self-assessed “internal naming” predicts treatment outcome on the same words in a person with aphasia BACKGROUND: Anecdotally, people with aphasia frequently report that certain words “sound right in my head”, even when they are incorrect when said out loud. Here, we examine whether the sense of correct vs. incorrect internal naming predicts treatment outcome on those same words in an individual with aphasia. DESIGN/METHODS: YPR is a left-handed, 53-year-old former teacher and pastor who suffered a right hemisphere MCA stroke 3 years ago, and has residual mixed aphasia and anomia. After identifying pictures he was unable to name at 3 consecutive testing sessions, YPR was asked during an fMRI task to name these items “in his head” and to report whether his internal naming was correct or not. He then underwent several weeks of paired associate learning speech therapy that trained him on these same items (95 total). RESULTS: YPR reported correct internal naming on 41/95 items, and different patterns of fMRI brain activity were observed based on his self-reported success of internal naming. During subsequent treatment, even though the items were matched on both length and frequency, he learned 37/41 items he had reported as internally correct (90.2%) but only 38/54 items that he had reported as internally incorrect prior to treatment (70.4%, P = .023). The rate of learning was also faster for items that were reported as internally correct. CONCLUSIONS: In one individual, self-reported internal naming predicted success and rate of learning on a word-by-word basis during speech therapy for anomia. This suggests that claims of inner speech may be more reliable than previously appreciated, and may also be clinically relevant. These self-reports could improve accuracy of prognosis, or potentially be used to guide treatment on a word-by-word basis. Disclosure: Dr. Hayward has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sullivan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Snider has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lacey has nothing to disclose. Dr. Friedman has nothing to disclose. Dr. Turkeltaub has nothing to disclose.
A 164-day period in γ -ray bursts from GBS0526–66?

The γ-ray burst history of GBS0526–66 is unique among observed burst sources1 being that of the brightest burst on record (5 March 1979) and one of only two from which recurrent bursts (at least 15 of similar temporal and spectral pattern) have been observed (though much less intense2 than the first), and the only one whose source direction coincides with that of a previously known object—its 0.1 arc min2 error box lies within the supernova remnant N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud3. We have found evidence for a pattern in the recurrence times of these bursts, showing an apparent period of 164 day, which we suggest reflects periodic accretion to a neutron star from an eccentric (e ∼ 0.9) binary companion. We propose that this system drives two types of bursts: (1) the relatively frequent but weak recurrent bursts produced by either magnetospheric gating, or thermonuclear runaway, of periodically accreting matter around the neutron star, and (2) the much rarer intense bursts, like that of 5 March 1979, produced by tidally-triggered star quakes.
Categorizing the school experience of entering computing students

Freshman engineering students' backgrounds are quite varied. The ages of the students, at points along a common learning sequence: "start the computer, use applications, program", varied. When motivated, students readily found ways to augment their school experience to further their interests in computer science. Teachers helped encourage students to focus on a computing career.
Small antenna positioning system design at Wright State University

To inculcate electromagnetics engineering in the broader undergraduate experience at Wright State University, students of the Sensors and Signals Exploitation Lab designed a 5D antenna positioning system to support applied electromagnetic experiments. The team of students with mixed engineering concentrations designed a 500-dollar antenna positioner and instrumented it to work with a laboratory stepped-frequency radar and signal processing suite. We present the positioning system requirements, completed design. We also demonstrate its application to radar imaging as a way to highlight how electromagnetcs and antenna theory underly radar signal processing.
Epidemiologic evaluation of the outcomes of orthograde endodontic retreatment.

Abstract Introduction Teeth undergoing initial endodontic therapy have a very high survival rate. Some teeth that continue to show signs of pathosis after the initial therapy will require nonsurgical (orthograde) retreatment. Outcome assessment of endodontic retreatment is crucial for appropriate case selection and treatment planning. However, reports on outcomes of orthograde endodontic retreatment performed by endodontists are limited in number, and the reported data vary. In this study, outcomes of orthograde endodontic retreatment performed on 4744 teeth were assessed during a period of 5 years. Methods Data were obtained from retreatments that were performed by endodontists participating in the Delta Dental Insurance plan that insures approximately 15 million individuals in the USA. Results Overall, 89% of teeth were retained in the oral cavity 5 years after the endodontic retreatment. Four percent of all teeth underwent apical surgery that occurred mostly within 2 years from completion of orthograde retreatment. Eleven percent of teeth were extracted at the end of the 5-year observation period. Conclusions It appears that orthograde endodontic retreatment yields high incidence of tooth retention after 5 years.
Novel anthraquinones from stationary cultures of Fusarium oxysporum

Two new anthraquinones are described which were produced by stationary cultures of Fusarium oxysporum isolated from the roots of diseased citrus trees. They are 2-acetyl-3,8-dihydroxy- or 3-acetyl-2,8-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-anthraquinone and 2-(1-hydroxyethyl)-3,8-dihydroxy- or 3-(1-hydroxyethyl)-2,8-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-anthraquinone. These compounds differ from most other microbial anthraquinones in that they lack hydroxyl substituents at the 1,4 positions, and have an acetyl or 1-hydroxyethyl group at the 2 or 3 positions. This is the first report of anthraquinone metabolites produced by F. oxysporum.
Induction of cellular glutathione-linked enzymes and catalase by the unique chemoprotective agent, 3H-1,2-dithiole-3-thione in rat cardiomyocytes affords protection against oxidative cell injury

Abstract Considerable evidence suggests that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are crucially involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury. Consistent with this notion, administration of exogenous antioxidative compounds has been shown to provide protection against oxidative cardiac injury. However, whether induction of endogenous cellular antioxidants by chemicals (drugs) also offers protection against oxidative cardiac injury has not been extensively investigated. In the present study, with rat cardiomyocyte H9C2 cells as an in vitro model, we have investigated the induction of cellular antioxidants by the unique chemoprotective agent, 3 H -1,2-dithiole-3-thione (D3T) and the protective effects of the D3T-induced cellular antioxidants against ROS-mediated injury in cardiac cells. Incubation of H9C2 cells with micromolar concentrations of D3T for 24 h resulted in a significant induction of a battery of cellular antioxidants, including reduced glutathione (GSH), GSH peroxidase, GSSG reductase, GSH S-transferase and catalase. To further examine the protective effects of the induced endogenous antioxidants against oxidative cell injury, H9C2 cells were pre-treated with D3T and then incubated with xanthine oxidase (XO) plus xanthine, a system that generates ROS. We observed that D3T pre-treatment of H9C2 cells led to significant protection against XO/xanthine-induced cytotoxicity as determined by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction and morphological changes. Taken together, this study demonstrates for the first time that a number of endogenous antioxidants in cardiomyocytes can be induced by exposure to D3T, and that this chemical (drug) induction of cellular antioxidants is accompanied by markedly increased resistance to ROS-mediated cardiac cell injury.
Angle-resolved photoemission from cuprates with static stripes

Abstract Twenty five years after discovery of high-temperature superconductivity (HTSC) in La 2− x Ba x CuO 4 (LBCO), the HTSC continues to pose some of the biggest challenges in materials science. Cuprates are fundamentally different from conventional superconductors in that the metallic conductivity and superconductivity are induced by doping carriers into an antiferromagnetically ordered correlated insulator. In such systems, the normal state is expected to be quite different from a Landau-Fermi liquid – the basis for the conventional BCS theory of superconductivity. The situation is additionally complicated by the fact that cuprates are susceptible to charge/spin ordering tendencies, especially in the low-doping regime. The role of such tendencies on the phenomenon of superconductivity is still not completely clear. Here, we present studies of the electronic structure in cuprates where the superconductivity is strongly suppressed as static spin and charge orders or “stripes” develop near the doping level of x = 1/8 and “outside” of the superconducting dome, for x
Increased incidence of hip fractures in dialysis patients with low serum parathyroid hormone

To study the complications of renal osteodystrophy in patients with end-stage renal disease, we reviewed the incidence of hip fractures in our outpatient dialysis population from 1988 to 1998. One thousand two hundred seventy-two patients were treated for a total of 4,039 patient-years; 56 hip fractures were documented during this period. The incidence of hip fractures was many times greater in the dialysis patients than in the general population in each of the age-, race-, and sex-matched subgroups. The 1-year mortality rate from the hip fracture event was nearly two and a half times greater in the dialysis patients compared with the general population. The incidence of hip fractures in the first half of the decade was similar to that observed in the second half. When parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were evaluated, we determined that patients with lower serum PTH levels were more likely to sustain a hip fracture than patients with higher PTH levels (P: < 0.006). In addition, we determined that patients with lower PTH levels had an earlier mortality than patients with higher PTH levels (P: < 0.03). We conclude that despite more aggressive therapy directed toward bone health in our dialysis patients in recent years, the incidence of hip fractures and their devastating morbidity and mortality remained unchanged over the past decade. Lower PTH levels may predispose to earlier mortality.
Are horned particles the end point of Hawking evaporation

We investigate the proposal by Callan, Giddings, Harvey, and Strominger (CGHS) that two-dimensional quantum fluctuations can eliminate the singularities and horizons formed by matter collapsing on the nonsingular extremal black hole of dilaton gravity. We argue that this scenario could in principle resolve all of the paradoxes connected with Hawking evaporation of black holes. However, we show that the generic solution of the model of CGHS is singular. We propose modifications of their model which may allow the scenario to be realized in a consistent manner.
A critical new pathway for toxin secretion

A new secretion system in Vibrio cholerae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and other gram-negative bacteria represents a potential new target for vaccine development.
Visualizing meetings as a graph for more accessible meeting artifacts

This paper focuses on capturing, correlating and visualizing the execution of meetings from the recorded data using a business process management approach. Relevant artifacts that are utilized or generated during a meeting as well as meeting activities are mapped onto a generic meeting data model. The execution of a meeting is then captured as a graph where generated meeting artifacts, participants and meeting tasks are connected. The graph enables faster and structured access to meeting data and gives better insight to the users about the meeting through visualization capability.
The financial impact of ambulance diversion on inpatient hospital revenues and profits.

Objectives: The objective was to study the association between ambulance diversion and weekly inpatient hospital revenues and profits. Methods: This was a retrospective review of administrative data from one academic medical center from July 1, 2003, to December 31, 2006. Given the high amount of daily variability, inpatient hospital revenues and profits were collapsed by week and evaluated in four categories: no diversion, mild diversion (from >0 and 10 and 20 hours). Revenues and profits for two categories of patients admitted to the hospital were calculated: 1) patients admitted from the emergency department (ED; i.e., those arriving by ambulance and by other means) and 2) electively admitted patients. Results: A total of 166,460 ED patients were included in the analysis. Inpatient hospital revenues were included from 85,111 patients, 28,665 of which were admissions from the ED (33.7%). For patients admitted from the ED, the average weekly revenues during periods of high diversion were $265K higher than periods of no diversion. For patients admitted on an elective basis, revenues were significantly higher when comparing periods of mild divert to high diversion (an additional $415K weekly). The overall increase in profitability was significant for periods of severe divert compared to no divert ($119K per week). Conclusions: Periods of greater diversion are associated with higher inpatient revenues and profits for ED, electively admitted patients, and the overall inpatient hospital population. Therefore, no financial disincentive exists from an inpatient perspective for the boarding of admitted patients in the ED and increasing periods of diversion. Efforts to decrease ambulance diversion must therefore be based on other rationales, like patient safety, quality of care, and improving access to care, or new models of reimbursement that reward hospitals for reducing ambulance diversion.
On the inadmissibility of unbiased estimators

Abstract It is observed that unbiased estimators are always inadmissible when the parameter (or function of the parameter) being estimated has either a maximum or a minimum at a parameter value for which the probability distribution is nondegenerate. Examples of problems where this is so include variance components problems, problems with restricted parameter spaces, and estimation of the risk or variance of shrinkage estimators.
Pedigree‐based assignment tests for reversing coyote (Canis latrans) introgression into the wild red wolf (Canis rufus) population

The principal threat to the persistence of the endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) in the wild is hybridization with the coyote (Canis latrans). To facilitate idengification and removal of hybrids, assignment tests are developed which use genotype data to estimate identity as coyote, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 or full red wolf. The tests use genotypes from the red wolves that founded the surviving population and the resulting pedigree, rather than a contemporary red wolf sample. The tests are evaluated by analysing both captive red wolves at 18 microsatellite loci, and data simulated under a highly parameterized, biologically reasonable model. The accuracy of assignment rates are generally high, with over 95% of known red wolves idengified correctly. There are, however, tradeoffs between ambiguous assignments and misassignments, and between misidengifying red wolves as hybrids and hybrids as red wolves. These result in a compromise between limiting introgression and avoiding demographic losses. The management priorities and level of introgression determine the combination of test and removal strategy that best balances these tradeoffs. Ultimately, we conclude that the use of the assignment tests has the capacity to arrest and reverse introgression. To our knowledge, the presented approach is novel in that it accounts for genetic drift when the genotypes under analysis are temporally separated from the reference populations to which they are being assigned. These methods may be valuable in cases where reference databases for small populations have aged substantially, pedigree information is available or data are generated from historical samples.
Machine learning and grammar induction

Despite its complexity, the task of natural language processing can be divided into a number of well-defined subtasks, and one of these centers on syntax. This aspect of language has been studied in detail by linguists, and developmental studies have provided a variety of empirical generalizations about the stages that children traverse in their acquisition of grammar. Because our knowledge of syntax is more complete than that for other components of language, the vast majority of language-related research in machine learning has focused on the task of grammar induction.
Probable Plesiosaur Remains from the Blue Hill Shale (Carlile Formation; Middle Turonian) of North Central Kansas

Fragments of a bone described here as the probable rib of a large plesiosaur were recovered from the lowest septarian concretion zone in the Blue Hill Shale Member (Middle Turonian) of the Carlile Formation in southwestern Mitchell County, Kansas. If this identification is correct, the specimen represents the first documented occurrence of plesiosaur remains in the Blue Hill Shale and adds to the poorly known vertebrate fauna from this member. The rib, however, is non-diagnostic other than its large size, and could represent either a large elasmosaur or a pliosaur such as Brachauchenius lucasi.
Solitons hiding in DNA and their possible significance in RNA transcription

We find that the hydrogen-bond--stretch bands of the double helix appear to be nonlinear enough to support solitary-wave energy concentration. Coupling this fact to predictions of our self-consistent theory of helix melting gives rise to speculations of a mechanism for base pair melting in RNA transcription which is consistent with the known energy needs of that process.
The Effects of Naloxone on Retinal Ischemia in Rats

The efficacy of naloxone (NL), a broad spectrum opioid antagonist, on retinal ischemia, was evaluated in a rat model of retinal ischemia with histopathologic and morphometric criteria. Two intraperitoneal injections of naloxone 3 mg/kg given immediately and 6 hr after reperfusion showed beneficial effects to the retina as evaluated at 2, 7, and 14 days after reperfusion. Morphologically, the naloxone-treated group showed better-preserved ganglion cells, nerve fiber layer, and inner nuclear layer. Morphometrically, in the treated groups, inner retinal thickness at all three time points and ganglion cell counts at 7 days showed higher values than vehicle controls. This beneficial effect of naloxone was dose-dependent with a minimal effective total dose of 6 mg/kg. A possible role of opiate receptors in retinal ischemia is suggested.
The prevalence of behavior problems in deaf children

The appropriateness of the Behavior Problem Checklist for deaf children has been established in various studies. The objective of this study was to use the Behavior Problem Checklist to assess the prevalence of behavior problems in deaf children and to compare these results to earlier studies of behavior problems of hearing and hearing-impaired children. A lesser prevalence of behavior problems was found than in some earlier studies of deaf children. Results were somewhat more consistent with past findings regarding children with no hearing problems. Comparisons by sex found, as in earlier studies, that boys tended to evidence more behavior problems than girls.
Identification and subcellular localization of a sarcoma-associated antigen(s) in a human cell line.

The present investigation was designed to demonstrate and identify the subcellular localization of sarcoma-associated antigen(s) (TAA) in an established human neurogenic sarcoma line (T2 cell line). Indirect immunofluorescence was used to screen sera from patients with sarcoma, nonsarcoma neoplasias, and from presumably normal blood bank donors. The positive sera were submitted to a series of absorptions to remove possible nonspecific cross-reacting antibodies. The target cells were then studied with electron microscopy, utilizing the indirect immunoperoxidase technique to determine the subcellular localization of the sarcoma-associated antigen(s). Findings indicate that sarcoma-bearing patients have circulating antisarcoma antibodies directed to antigen(s) localized at the surface membrane of T2 cells. These antibodies pertain to the IgM or IgG immunoglobulin class. The exact nature of the sarcoma-associated antigen(s) identified in this study is not known at the present time. However, the results obtained strongly suggest that these substances may represent a new type of tumor-associated antigen(s).
A computerized interactive technique for mapping influence diagrams (MIND)

A computerized interactive technique for mapping influence diagrams is presented. The technique can be used to elicit influence diagrams for large, complex business policy and planning problems, to map the diagrams, to encode more information in the diagrams than is possible with traditional techniques, and to do so systematically and efficiently. The technique can reduce the cognitive strain associated with mapping influence diagrams. At the same time it can improve the efficiency of interpretation and use of the diagrams.
End-users publishing structured information on the web: an observational study of what, why, and how

End-users are accustomed to filtering and browsing styled collections of data on professional web sites, but they have few ways to create and publish such information architectures for themselves. This paper presents a full-lifecycle analysis of the Exhibit framework - an end-user tool which provides such functionality - to understand the needs, capabilities, and practices of this class of users. We include interviews, as well as analysis of over 1,800 visualizations and 200,000 web interactions with these visualizations. Our analysis reveals important findings about this user population which generalize to the task of providing better end-user structured content publication tools.
Recollection-Related Increases in Functional Connectivity Predict Individual Differences in Memory Accuracy

Recollection involves retrieving specific contextual details about a prior event. Functional neuroimaging studies have identified several brain regions that are consistently more active during successful versus failed recollection—the “core recollection network.” In the present study, we investigated whether these regions demonstrate recollection-related increases not only in activity but also in functional connectivity in healthy human adults. We used fMRI to compare time-series correlations during successful versus unsuccessful recollection in three separate experiments, each using a different operational definition of recollection. Across experiments, a broadly distributed set of regions consistently exhibited recollection-related increases in connectivity with different members of the core recollection network. Regions that demonstrated this effect included both recollection-sensitive regions and areas where activity did not vary as a function of recollection success. In addition, in all three experiments the magnitude of connectivity increases correlated across individuals with recollection accuracy in areas diffusely distributed throughout the brain. These findings suggest that enhanced functional interactions between distributed brain regions are a signature of successful recollection. In addition, these findings demonstrate that examining dynamic modulations in functional connectivity during episodic retrieval will likely provide valuable insight into neural mechanisms underlying individual differences in memory performance.
Factors Influencing NCQA Accreditation Decisions of HMOs

This paper describes how National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accreditation of a managed care plan can be used as a signal of plan quality. A model is then developed examining the factors affecting the probability that a plan will be accredited. Larger and older plans are more likely to be accredited. For-profit plans are also more likely to be accredited. Competition in the marketplace from other accredited plans increases the probability of a plan being accredited. The results indicate that plans that have lower costs of accrediting as proxied by size and age are more likely to be accredited.
Students of Action? A Comparative Investigation of Secondary Science and Social Studies Students’ Action Repertoires in a Land Use Context

Environmental education (EE) and social studies education share an interest in behavioral outcomes. This study compares behavioral outcomes—including both self-reported knowledge of actions and reported actions taken—in the context of a land use curriculum enacted in secondary science versus social studies classes with 500 students and nine teachers. Data included pre- and posttests for comparison and intervention groups, classroom observations, and student and teacher interviews. Results indicated that students tended to know and undertake individual rather than collective actions toward sustainable land use. The type of actions students identified varied by course type: when the EE curriculum was presented in science class compared to social studies, students showed less diverse knowledge of actions in support of sustainable land use.
The other way around: Effects of causal attributions on estimates of consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency

Abstract It was hypothesized that the attributed cause of a given person's behavior will affect inferences about its generalizability over persons (consensus), stimuli (distinctiveness), and circumstances (consistency). Moreover, these effects were expected to parallel the effects of consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency information on causal attributions. Experiment 1 provided support for these predictions but also showed that attribution affected consensus judgments less than it affected judgments of distinctiveness and consistency, particularly when consensus was not the first characteristic estimated. Using a different set of stimulus materials and a different manipulation of attribution, Experiments 2 and 3 provided further evidence for the effects of attribution on inferences of consensus information. Experiment 3 indicated that the false consensus effect—actors' tendency to assume that the majority of people share their behavior—may be due to actors' tendency to attribute their behavior to situational factors. Implications of the present studies for biased estimates of consensus and the use of consensus and attribution as mediating variables are discussed.
Relative influence of evaluative sign and evaluative dimensions in impression formation

Correlational techniques were used to assess the relative influence of positively and negatively evaluated adjectives representing two different dimensions of evaluation (sociability and responsibility) on evaluations of sets containing those adjectives. Relative influence was determined by comparing zero-order correlations between individual evaluations of adjectives and evaluation of sets; the adjective whose evaluation, across people, was most similar to the evaluation of the set was considered as having the greatest influence. Among consistently positive sets, sociability had the greater influence, and among consistently negative sets, responsibility had the greater influence. Among sets combining both positive and negative attributes, the negatively evaluated traits in general had the greater influence. However, this latter effect could be attributed to the influence of negative descriptions on the responsibility dimension only. These results suggested that evaluative decisions differed in social distance as a function of the evaluative nature of the set.
Structural reengineering of imatinib to decrease cardiac risk in cancer therapy.

Imatinib, a selective, small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has life-saving clinical activity in certain cancers, but questions have been raised about the potential for cardiac toxicity through inhibition of its target, ABL kinase. In this issue of the JCI, Fernandez et al. describe a novel method by which the ABL-inhibitory activity of imatinib was deleted by modifying its chemical structure (see the related article beginning on page 4044). The anticancer activity of the reengineered agent, called WBZ_4, was instead preserved against gastrointestinal stromal tumors in both in vitro and in vivo models via inhibition of KIT tyrosine kinase, and the desired safety was demonstrated with less cardiotoxicity of WBZ_4 compared with imatinib via the inhibition of JNK. The study shows that structural reengineering of a kinase-inhibitory drug to improve tolerability while preserving efficacy is feasible.
Reactions to physically dangerous work: A conceptual and empirical analysis

This study addressed some conceptual issues central to understanding human reactions to dangerous settings and empirically explored the meaning of physically dangerous work in three different occupational groups (street patrol officers, n=96; investigators, n=21; and clerical and support service workers, n=60) practicing in the same organizational setting (city police department). Objective hazards, estimated with occupational risk statistics, explained 56 per cent of the variation in experienced physical danger which, in turn, significantly heightened emotional exhaustion, dissatisfaction with pay, and disaffection from the employing organization, in the street patrol officer group only, perceived physical danger significantly correlated with task variety, task significance and feedback. The data are interpreted to mean that for street patrol officers, experienced physical danger adds a modicum of enrichment and significance to the work itself. One theme of the analysis is that potentially stigmatic features of the work can be transformed into socially meaningful illusions that enhance the personal dignity of the performer (cf. Hughes, 1958). However, the dominant theme is that physically dangerous work produces fear and related affective distress. Further research on this topic is recommended because of the affective and behavioral consequences of perceived physical danger and also because definitions and meanings of dangerous work are socially, politically and morally important.
Transport Dynamics in a Sheltered Estuary and Connecting Tidal Straits: SF6 Tracer Study in New York Harbor

In July 2002, ∼0.9 mol of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) was injected into Newark Bay, NJ, a 14 km2 estuary that forms part of New York Harbor, to investigate circulation, mixing, and the transport and fate of solutes. The SF6 tracer was observed over 11 consecutive days using a high-resolution measurement system. Total tracer mass in the sheltered waters declined quasiexponentially at a rate of 0.29 ± 0.03 d-1. Air−water gas exchange was estimated to account for 56% of tracer mass loss, upon the basis of wind speed/gas exchange parametrizations. Large-scale tidal transfer of solutes through the Kill van Kull strait (7 km long) caused net seaward flushing contrary to the apparent residual circulation. Seaward transport via the Arthur Kill strait (20 km long) appeared to depend on longitudinal dispersion, residual circulation, and freshwater discharge and was ∼1 order of magnitude lower. The loss rate due to flushing alone was 0.13 ± 0.02 d-1, indicating a mean residence time for water and solutes in Newark Bay...
Technical Note: Simulating the Two-Factor Schwartz and Smith Model of Commodity Prices

Commodity price simulation is useful in many engineering economics applications, yet discrete approximations of the continuous stochastic processes used in modeling commodity prices are not always straightforward. This article describes the exact solution for discretely simulating the Schwartz and Smith (2000) two-factor model of commodity prices.
Cell Biology: Watching the First Steps of Podosome Formation

Summary Podosomes and invadopodia are actin-rich structures that have come under intense scrutiny over the past several years due to their critical roles in cell migration and invasion. Examination of the initial stages of podosome formation has revealed an important role for the phosphoinositide PI(3,4)P 2 in anchoring the scaffold protein Tks5 to the plasma membrane.
An Alternative Cosmology to the Big Bang–Dispersive Extinction Theory of Red Shift

A brief review is given to the fundamental difficulties facing the Big Bang Theory, with the emphases on the geocentric nature, the extreme violation of the conservation laws of mass and energy, the violation of Maxwell’s velocity distribution, the horizon problem, the extreme instability and the dark matter problem. The historical alternatives and their problems are reviewed. The DET is then presented as a new alternative interpretation of the cosmic redshift, and therefore, as a new alternative to the Big Bang cosmology. The existing experimental evidences to vindicate or falsity DET versus Big Bang theory are discussed. Experiments for detailed tests of the DET–the redshift is proportional to the square of the linewidth and inversely proportional to the cube of the wavelength–are also proposed.
Residual effects of intranasal methamphetamine on sleep, mood, and performance

Although intranasal methamphetamine abuse has increased, there are no published data investigating the residual effects of the drug under controlled conditions. Thus, the current study examined the residual effects of single-dose intranasal methamphetamine administration on a broad range of behavioral and physiological measures. Non-treatment seeking methamphetamine abusers (n=11) completed this two-week, in patient, within-participant, double-blind study. The study consisted of four two-day blocks of sessions; each block was separated by at least 48 h. At approximately 10:00 h, on the first day of each block, participants received one of four intranasal methamphetamine doses (0, 12, 25, 50mg/70 kg). Lights were turned out at 23:00 h that evening and sleep measures were assessed. On the morning of the second day of each block, methamphetamine plasma levels, cardiovascular measures, mood, subjective reports of the previous evening's sleep, and psychomotor performance were assessed to determine residual drug effects. The larger methamphetamine doses (25 and 50 mg) markedly disrupted subjective measures of that night's sleep and some indices of next-day mood, but only the largest dose (50 mg) dose decreased objective measures of that night's sleep and increased next-day physiological measures. Methamphetamine did not produce any negative residual effects on early next-day performance. Future studies should assess methamphetamine-related residual effects following repeated doses administered over consecutive days.
Hypermnesia in free recall and cued recall

In three experiments, categorized lists and both free recall and cued recall tests were used to examine hypermnesia. In Experiment 1, materials were drawn from obvious and nonobvious categories in an attempt to vary the amount of relational processing at encoding. The study materials in Experiment 2 consisted of a long word list that comprised several exemplars from each of a number of common categories. In Experiment 3, a single exemplar was drawn from each of 45 categories. In each experiment, similar magnitudes of hypermnesia were obtained on free and cued recall tests. Examination of the specific items recalled across tests indicated that similar processes underlie the hypermnesic effect for both test conditions. Implications of the results for extant accounts of the hypermnesic effect are discussed. It is concluded that the dynamics of retrieval processes change in a systematic fashion across repeated tests and the retention interval following study and that an adequate account of the nature of these changes in retrieval dynamics is essential to our understanding of hypermnesia and related phenomena.
Immunological headgear: antiviral immune responses protect against neuroinvasive West Nile virus

With the emergence of epidemic strains of West Nile virus (WNV) in North America, there has been a surge in new research and knowledge regarding the peripheral immune responses that prevent neuroinvasion, the routes of WNV entry into the central nervous system (CNS) and the critical CNS immune responses that promote viral clearance and recovery at this anatomic site. WNV infection induces archetypal antiviral immune responses that, in most cases, lead to elimination of the virus with relatively few immunopathological consequences. Here, we present our current understanding of the innate and adaptive immune responses that limit dissemination to the CNS from WNV infection and the antiviral immune responses within the CNS that intervene when they fail.
24 hours of sleep deprivation in the rat increases sleepiness and decreases vigilance: introduction of the rat-psychomotor vigilance task.

A novel animal-analogue of the human psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) was validated by subjecting rats to 24 h of sleep deprivation (SD) and examining the effect on performance in the rat-PVT (rPVT), and a rat Multiple Sleep latency Test (rMSLT). During a three-phase (separate cohorts) crossover design, vigilance performance in the rPVT was compared to 24 h SD-induced changes in sleepiness assessed by polysomnographic evaluation and the rMSLT. 24 h of SD was produced by brief rotation of activity wheels at regular intervals in which the animals resided throughout the experiment. In the rPVT experiment, exercise controls (EC) experienced the same overall amount of locomotor activity as during SD, but allowed long periods of undisturbed sleep. After 24 h SD response latencies slowed, and lapses increased significantly during rPVT performance when compared to baseline and EC conditions. During the first 3 h of the recovery period following 24 h SD, polysomnographic measures indicated sleepiness. Latency to fall asleep after 24 h SD was assessed six times during the first 3 h after SD. Rats fell asleep significantly faster immediately after SD, than after non-SD baseline sessions. In conclusion, 24 h of SD in rats increased sleepiness, as indicated by polysomnography and the rMSLT, and impaired vigilance as measured by the rPVT. The rPVT closely resembles the human PVT test widely used in human sleep research and will assist investigation of the neurobiological mechanisms that produce vigilance impairments after sleep disruption.
Colonic polyp differentiation using time-resolved autofluorescence spectroscopy.

Background: Steady-state autofluorescence spectroscopy has been examined previously as a technique for distinguishing polyp types during colonoscopy. Although time-resolved methods have shown promise for tissue diagnosis in vitro, they have never been applied endoscopically. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of performing time-resolved autofluorescence spectroscopy in vivo and to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the technique as applied to colonic dysplasia. Methods: A time-resolved spectrometer was used to measure the spectrally resolved transient decay of laser-induced autofluorescence emission from colonic tissue in vivo. Results: Seventeen patients with 24 polyps (13 adenomatous, 11 non-adenomatous) were studied. The autofluorescence decay from adenomas was faster than that from non-adenomas. The measured decay time provided a means of distinguishing adenomas from non-adenomas with a sensitivity of 85%, a specificity of 91%, a positive predictive value of 92%, and a negative predictive value of 83%. Conclusions: Time-resolved autofluorescence spectroscopy is a promising optical diagnostic technique for determining polyp types in vivo.
A Relational Approach to the Human-Animal Bond

ABSTRACTThe human-animal bond is an example of the importance of connections between living beings in general. In a relational model, inner growth throughout the life span takes place in the context of connections. The primary mode of communication between human and animal is attunement, the mutual picking up of, and responding to, the subjective state of another creature. Human-animal relationships provide safe, responsive settings for inner growth.