cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Women of the Progressive Conservation Movement: 1900–1916

Nowhere has women's self-conscious role as protectors of the environment been better exemplified than during the progressive conservation crusade of the early twentieth century. Although that role has been rendered all but invisible by conservation historians, women transformed the crusade from an elite male enterprise into a widely based movement. In so doing, they not only brought hundreds of local natural areas under legal protection, but also promoted legislation aimed at halting pollution, reforesting watersheds, and preserving endangered species. Yet this enterprise ultimately rested on the self-interested preservation of their own middle-class life styles and was legitimated by the separate male/female spheres ideology of the nineteenth century aimed at conserving "true womanhood," the home, and the child. In his book The Fight for Conservation (1910), Gifford Pinchot praised the women of the progressive era for their substantial contributions to conservation. He cited the conservation committee of the Daughters of the American Revolution (chaired by his mother), the Pennsylvania Forestry Association, "founded by ladies," which carried out some of the earliest work done in that state, the national forests preserved by Minnesota women, and the Calaveras Big Trees set aside by the women of California after a nine year fight.' Writing his definitive history of the progressive conservation campaign in 1959, Samuel Hays also acknowledged the enthusiasm of women's organizations for conservation and their staunch support, until 1913, for Pinchot as leader of the movement. Historians Robert Welker (1955) and Stephen Fox (1981) amplified other female contributions, especially to the Audubon movement and the hiking clubs, while admitting that much remains to be learned regarding women's role in conservation.2 Behind these brief tributes to their substantial contributions lies an untold story of immense energy, achievement, and dedication by thousands of women. Although only the most prominent women appear in recent historical studies, without the input of women in nearly every locale in the country, conservation gains in the early decades of the century would have been fewer and far less spectacular. 57
The Effects of Musical and Linguistic Components in Recognition of Real-World Musical Excerpts by Cochlear Implant Recipients and Normal-Hearing Adults

Background Cochlear implants (CI) are effective in transmitting salient features of speech, especially in quiet, but current CI technology is not well suited in transmission of key musical structures (e.g., melody, timbre). It is possible, however, that sung lyrics, which are commonly heard in real-world music may provide acoustical cues that support better music perception.
The minimal operator and the geometric maximal operator in ℝⁿ

We prove two-weight norm inequalities in R n for the minimal operator mf(x) = inf Q3x 1 jQj Q jfjdy;
Raman spectroscopy of submicron KNO 3 films

We have obtained Raman spectra of phase-I, -II, and -III ${\mathrm{KNO}}_{3}$ films 0.26 \ensuremath{\mu}m thick. The primary aim was to establish the physical mechanism for stabilization of the ferroelectric phase III in thin films. In bulk, phase III exists only as a reentrant phase stable from \ensuremath{\sim}113 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C to 120 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C. However, application of hydrostatic or uniaxial pressure greatly enlarges the temperature range over which phase III is stable. This has led to the conjecture that stress (e.g., from differential thermal expansion of film and substrate) stabilizes phase III in thin films. Our vibrational spectroscopy shows that this is not likely to be the dominant effect. The dominant effect appears to be surface electric fields. This is shown in the shift and splitting of low-energy odd-parity modes from an unresolved broad peak at 120 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ in bulk crystals to resolved TO-LO pairs at 92 and 97 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ and 107 and 113 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$. The Raman data show that the ${\mathrm{KNO}}_{3}$ thin films are more highly ordered than in bulk. This is compatible with spontaneous polarization values, which are 50% or more greater in the films, and with much higher ${T}_{C}$ values in the thinner films. The values of ${T}_{C}$ as a function of thickness d are compatible with the theory of Tilley and Zeks [Solid State Commun. 49, 823 (1984)] as well as with similar experimental results by Hadni and Thomas [Thin Solid Films 81, 247 (1981); Ferroelectrics 59, 221 (1989)] on triglycine sulfate.
BET model for calculating activities of salts and water, molar enthalpies, molar volumes and liquid-solid phase behavior in concentrated electrolyte solutions

Abstract Ally, M.R. and Braunstein, J., 1993. BET model for calculating activities of salts and water, molar enthalpies, molar volumes and liquid-solid phase behavior in concentrated electrolyte solutions. Fluid Phase Equilibria , 87: 213-236. This paper demonstrates the calculation of the activities of salts and water, excess properties and solid phase equilibria in aqueous media by applying the general properties of solutions to extensions of the Stokes-Robinson application of the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption isotherm. Such a comprehensive treatment provides a thermodynamically consistent method of obtaining equilibrium properties of moderately to highly concentrated (up to molten salt regime) aqueous solutions with as few as two parameters, plus a third parameter in the case of molar volumes. The present state of development allows treatment of electrolytes with common anions or common cations, but does not yet include reciprocal salt mixtures. Multicomponent aqueous solutions can be treated as pseudobinary if desired, by invoking the proposed mixing rules. The real advantage of the method lies in the use of a minimal number of parameters to represent a wide variety of thermodynamic properties with reasonable accuracy over relatively wide temperature and concentration ranges. This comprehensive treatment is verified through comparison of predicted results and experimental data on: water vapor pressure-temperature-composition behavior of aqueous LiBr and of (Li, K, Na)NO 3 mixtures; partial excess and molar volume-temperature-composition of aqueous LiBr and of (Li, K, Na)NO 3 mixtures; partial excess and integral molar enthalpy-temperature-composition of aqueous LiBr; phase equilibria of NaOH in aqueous solution.
Incidence of Colletotrichum coccodes in certified potato seed tubers planted in Washington State

Incidence of Colletotrichum coccodes in lots of certified seed tubers planted in Washington state, originating from nine western and midwestern states in the United State and two provinces in Canada, ranged from 0 to 90% in 1994 and 0 to 53% in 1995. In 1994, significant interactions between state/province and cultivar, and between seed grower and cultivar, were evident. In 1995, incidence of C. coccodes in seed lots did not vary significantly among states and cultivars. C. coccodes was not isolated from nuclear seed tubers and incidence of infected tubers was higher with higher seed generations. The fungus was isolated from the tuber periderm and outer medulla tissues and isolation frequency was greater from tuber stem ends than from either bud ends or lateral sections. Significantly greater stem infections developed in plants grown from seed tubers in which C. coccodes had been detected than in plants grown from seed tubers from which C. coccodes had not been isolated. This study confirms that C. coccodes is distributed among potato-production areas within seed tubers, and that seed tuber infection increases the incidence of early-season plant infection.
Psychosocial Risk Factors for Hypertension: an Update of the Literature

A growing body of research demonstrates that psychosocial factors play an important role in the development of hypertension. Previous reviews have identified several key factors (i.e., occupational stress) that contribute to the onset of hypertension; however, they are now outdated. In this review, we provide an updated synthesis of the literature from 2010 to April 2014. We identified 21 articles for inclusion in the review, of which there were six categories of psychosocial stressors: occupational stress, personality, mental health, housing instability, social support/isolation, and sleep quality. Sixteen of the studies reported an association between the psychosocial stressor and blood pressure. While several findings were consistent with previous literature, new findings regarding mediating and moderating factors underlying the psychosocial-hypertension association help to untangle inconsistencies reported in the literature. Moreover, sleep quality is a novel additional factor that should undergo further exploration. Areas for future research based on these findings are discussed.
Managerial Dilemmas: The Political Economy of Hierarchy

List of tables and figures Series editors' preface Acknowledgements Part I. Why Have Hierarchy?: 1. Market failures and hierarchical solutions: the tension between individual and social rationality 2. Bargaining failure: coordination, bargaining, and contracts 3. Voting failure: social choice in a dictatorial hierarchy Part II. Managerial Dilemmas: 4. Horizontal dilemmas: social choice in a decentralised hierarchy 5. Vertical dilemmas: piece-rate incentives and credible commitments 6. Hidden action in hierarchies: principals, agents, and teams 7. Hidden information in hierarchies: the logical limits of mechanism design 8. Hierarchical failures and market solutions: can competition create efficient incentives for managers? Part III. Cooperation and Leadership: 9. The possibilities of cooperation: repeated vertical dilemmas 10. The indeterminacy of cooperation: conventions, culture, and commitments 11. The political economy of hierarchy: commitment, leadership and property rights Epilogue: politics, rationality, and efficiency References Name index Subject index.
Software Defined Elastic Optical Networking

We discuss a new software defined networking paradigm based on elastic optical networking which exploits flexible resource utilization and facilitates virtualization of physical layer. Optical supervisory channel enables adaptive network operation equipped with observe-analyze-act cycle.
Land use changes contribute to climate extremes

Temperature extremes such as severe heat waves and cold spells are likely to occur more frequently in a warming climate as carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations rise. But land use change, such as clearing forests for agriculture, also has a large impact on extreme temperature events. To determine the relative contribution of the two effects,Avila et al. ran simulations using a climate model coupled to a sophisticated land surface model. They found that land use changes can have a significant effect on temperature extreme indices. On regional scales, land use changes in some cases amplified the effects of increased CO2 concentrations, while land use changes in other cases masked their effects. In some regions, the effects of land use changes on temperature extremes were similar in magnitude to those of doubling CO2. The authors conclude that land use changes are a major source of human influence on the climate. (Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, doi:10.1029/2011JD016382, 2012)
Hybridization in Endophyte Symbionts Alters Host Response to Moisture and Nutrient Treatments

When a host organism is infected by a symbiont, the resulting symbiotum has a phenotype distinct from uninfected hosts. Genotypic interactions between the partners may increase phenotypic variation of the host at the population level. Neotyphodium is an asexual, vertically transmitted endophytic symbiont of grasses often existing in hybrid form. Hybridization in Neotyphodium rapidly increases the symbiotum’s genomic content and is likely to increase the phenotypic variation of the host. This phenotypic variation is predicted to enhance host performance, especially in stressful environments. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the growth, survival, and resource allocation of hybrid and nonhybrid infected host plants exposed to controlled variation in soil moisture and nutrients. Infection by a hybrid endophyte did not fit our predictions of comparatively higher root and total biomass production under low moisture/low nutrient treatments. Regardless of whether the host was infected by a hybrid or nonhybrid endophyte, both produced significantly higher root/total biomass when both nutrient and moisture were high compared to limited nutrient/moisture treatments. However, infection by hybrid Neotyphodium did result in significantly higher total biomass and host survival compared to nonhybrid infected hosts, regardless of treatment. Endophyte hybridization alters host strategies in response to stress by increasing survival in depauperate habitats and thus, potentially increasing the relative long-term host fitness.
Using reinforcement learning to improve exploration trajectories for error minimization

The mapping and localization problems have received considerable attention in robotics recently. The exploration problem that drives mapping has started to generate similar attention, as the ease of construction and quality of map is strongly dependent on the strategy used to acquire sensor data for the map. Most exploration strategies concentrate on selecting the next best measurement to take, trading off information gathering for regular relocalization. What has not been studied so far is the effect the robot controller has on the map quality while executing exploration plans. Certain kinds of robot motion (e.g, sharp turns) are hard to estimate correctly, and increase the likelihood of errors in the mapping process. We show how reinforcement learning can be used to generate good motion control while executing a simple information gathering exploration strategy. We show that the learned policy reduces the overall map uncertainty by reducing the amount of uncertainty generated by robot motion
Training in Laser Bronchoscopy and Proposals for Credentialling

S urgical techniques are usually learned during the course ofa formal residency or fellowship program in a particular discipline . However, from time-totime, a new technique is devised which is of significant interest to physicians who have already completed their formal training, and of potential benefit to a number of patients, that the technique “catches on” and is applied in daily practice. Such a phenomenon occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s after the pioneering work of the Japanese to invent fiberoptic bronchoscopes. Before that, rigid bronchoscopy was largely within the domain of thoracic surgeons, otorhinolaryngologists, and a few bronchoesophagologists. Then, after fiheroptic bronchoscopes became available, large numbers ofpulmonary physicians and other specialists expressed a desire to learn how to use this new instrument. The problem arose as to how they might best learn. For physicians who were in their pulmonary fellowships in those years, it was a simple matter of learning from their mentors. As time has passed, fiheroptic bronchoscopy has become an integral part of every training program in pulmonary diseases. In fact, some programs in thoracic surgery and otorhinolaryngology now have difficulty in meeting adequate caseloads of bronchoscopic procedures to train their residents and assure competency. Of special concern is whether enough physicians (regardless of their specialty) will be trained in the use of a rigid bronchoscope for those situations which require its use rather than a flexible bronchoscope. A similar situation exists at the present time as it pertains to training in laser bronchoscopy. The methods of dealing with the demand for training are very much like what was observed for fiberoptic bronchoscopy; physicians have a desire to learn a new technique after they have already completed formal training in a residency or fellowship program. Gradually, this will become a “non-issue,” as laser bronchoscopy becomes an integral part ofmany (but probably not all) approved
The structural modification of DNA nucleosides by nonenzymatic glycation: an in vitro study based on the reactions of glyoxal and methylglyoxal with 2′-deoxyguanosine

Methylglyoxal and glyoxal are generated from the oxidation of carbohydrates and lipids, and like d-glucose have been shown to nonenzymatically react with proteins to form advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs can occur both in vitro and in vivo, and these compounds have been shown to exacerbate many of the long-term complications of diabetes. Earlier studies in our laboratory reported d-glucose, d-galactose, and d/l-glyceraldehyde formed AGEs with nucleosides. The objective of this study was to focus on purines and pyrimidines and to analyze these DNA nucleoside derived AGE adducts with glyoxal or methylglyoxal using a combination of analytical techniques. Studies using UV and fluorescence spectroscopy along with mass spectrometry provided for a thorough analysis of the nucleoside AGEs and demonstrated that methylglyoxal and glyoxal reacted with 2′-deoxyguanosine via the classic Amadori pathway, and did not react appreciably with 2′-deoxyadenosine, 2′-deoxythymidine, and 2′-deoxycytidine. Additional findings revealed that methylglyoxal was more reactive than glyoxal.
An exploration of clinical dementia phenotypes among individuals with and without traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the clinical profiles of individuals with dementia who do and do not report a history of TBI. INTRODUCTION: Some evidence suggests that a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with an increased risk of dementia later in life. The clinical features of dementia associated with TBI have not been well investigated. While there is some evidence that TBI is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), there are also indications that dementia associated with TBI has prominent behavioral, affective, and motor symptoms, making it distinct from AD. METHODS: The current study involves secondary analysis of baseline data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) Uniform Data Set (UDS). RESULTS: Individuals with dementia who reported a history of TBI had higher fluency and verbal memory scores and later onset of decline, but they are on more medications, had worse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, were more likely to have received medical attention for depression, and were more likely to have a gait disorder, falls, and motor slowness. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that dementia among individuals with a history of TBI may represent a unique clinical phenotype that is distinct from known dementia subtypes.
Differential calcium dependence of axonal versus somatodendritic dopamine release, with characteristics of both in the ventral tegmental area

Midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) exhibit somatodendritic release of DA. Previous studies indicate a difference between the Ca2+ dependence of somatodendritic DA release in the SNc and that of axonal DA release in dorsal striatum. Here, we evaluated the Ca2+ dependence of DA release in the VTA and nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell for comparison with that in the SNc and dorsal striatum. Release of DA was elicited by single-pulse stimulation in guinea-pig brain slices and monitored with subsecond resolution using carbon-fiber microelectrodes and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. In dorsal striatum and NAc, DA release was not detectable at extracellular Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]o) below 1 mM; however, a progressive increase in evoked extracellular DA concentration ([DA]o) was seen with [Ca2+]o ≥ 1.5 mM. By contrast, in SNc and VTA, robust increases in [DA]o could be elicited in 0.25 mM [Ca2+]o that were ~60% of those seen in 1.5 mM [Ca2+]o. In SNc, a plateau in single-pulse evoked [DA]o was seen at [Ca2+]o ≥ 1.5 mM, mirroring the release plateau reported previously for pulse-train stimulation in SNc. In VTA, however, evoked [DA]o increased progressively throughout the range of [Ca2+]o tested (up to 3.0 mM). These functional data are consistent with the microanatomy of the VTA, which includes DA axon collaterals as well as DA somata and dendrites. Differences between axonal and somatodendritic release data were quantified using Hill analysis, which showed that the Ca2+ dependence of axonal DA release is low affinity with high Ca2+ cooperativity, whereas somatodendritic release is high affinity with low cooperativity. Moreover, this analysis revealed the dual nature of DA release in the VTA, with both somatodendritic and axonal contributions.
IXe Dating of Silicates from Toluca Iron

A Reynolds type heating experiment on neutron irradiated silicates from Toluca indicates that the high temperatures sites began to retain radiogenic 129Xe when the 129I127I ratio was (1.4±0.4) × 10−3. This ratio suggests that Toluca silicates formed 65−8+6 million years before the chondrites and the Shallowater achondrite.
In vitro interaction of caspofungin and immunosuppressives against agents of mucormycosis

Methods: Twenty-six strains of Glomeromycetes representing seven species (Rhizopus arrhizus, Rhizopus microsporus, Mucor sp., Rhizomucor pusillus, Cunninghamella berthollettiae, Mycocladus corymbifera and Apophysomyces elegans) were studied. Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed according to CLSI M38-A2, modified for chequerboard dilution testing using the minimum effective concentration (MEC) endpoint for caspofungin and calcineurin inhibitors/sirolimus. Synergy was defined as a fractional inhibitory concentration index ≤0.5, indifference .0.5 to ≤4.0 and antagonism .4.0. Results: Caspofungin had no intrinsic activity against Glomeromycetes (MEC .8 mg/L). The combination of caspofungin with calcineurin inhibitors and sirolimus showed synergy in seven isolates. In the presence of calcineurin inhibitors and sirolimus, the MEC of caspofungin was significantly lowered (.4-fold) in 24 and 7 isolates, respectively. All species showed lower MECs of caspofungin with calcineurin inhibitors and only R. arrhizus, Mucor sp. and R. pusillus showed lower MECs with sirolimus. No antagonism was observed. Conclusions: Calcineurin inhibitors and sirolimus significantly lowered MECs of caspofungin for Glomeromycetes, with occasional synergy observed. The clinical significance of this should be further investigated.
The Mystery and Magic of Glia: A Perspective on Their Roles in Health and Disease

In this perspective, I review recent evidence that glial cells are critical participants in every major aspect of brain development, function, and disease. Far more active than once thought, glial cells powerfully control synapse formation, function, and blood flow. They secrete many substances whose roles are not understood, and they are central players in CNS injury and disease. I argue that until the roles of nonneuronal cells are more fully understood and considered, neurobiology as a whole will progress only slowly.
Evidence-based feeding strategies before and after the development of necrotizing enterocolitis

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating disease of premature infants and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. While the pathogenesis of NEC remains incompletely understood, it is well established that the risk of disease is increased by the administration of infant formula and decreased by the administration of breast milk. This review will focus on the mechanisms by which breast milk may serve to protect against NEC, and will review the evidence regarding various feeding strategies that may be utilized before and after an episode of NEC.
Nonlinear tracking controller design for steer-by-wire automotive systems

In this paper, a continuous time-varying tracking controller is designed for a steer-by-wire system in a automotive vehicle to ensure that the vehicles position/orientation follow that of a reference generator. The tracking error is globally and exponentially forced to a neighborhood about zero that can be made arbitrarily small (i.e., globally, uniformly and ultimately boundedness). The result is facilitated by transforming the system into a flat input-state system and then fusing a filtered tracking error transformation with the dynamic oscillator design. We also illustrate that the proposed tracking controller yields a globally, uniformly and ultimately bounded result for the regulation problem.
A feasibility study to identify proteins in the residual Pap test fluid of women with normal cytology by mass spectrometry-based proteomics.

Background The proteomic analysis of body fluids is a growing technology for the identification of protein biomarkers of disease. Given that Papanicolaou tests (Pap tests) are routinely performed on over 30 million women annually in the U.S. to screen for cervical cancer, we examined the residual Pap test fluid as a source of protein for analysis by mass spectrometry (MS). In the liquid-based Pap test, cervical cells are collected from the ectocervix and placed into an alcohol-based fixative prior to staining and pathologic examination. We hypothesized that proteins shed by cells of the female genital tract can be detected in the Pap test fixative by MS-based proteomic techniques. We examined the feasibility of using residual fluid from discarded Pap tests with cytologically “normal” results to optimize sample preparation for MS analysis. The protein composition of the cell-free Pap test fluid was determined by silver staining of sodium dodecyl sulfate -polyacrylamide gels, and the abundance of serum proteins was examined by Western immunoblot using an antibody against human serum albumin. Both pooled and individual samples were trypsin digested and analyzed by two-dimensional MS/MS. Proteins were identified by searching against the Human Uniprot database, and characterized for localization, function and relative abundance.
Nursing home-acquired pneumonia: course and management in the emergency department

Pneumonia is among the foremost causes of hospitalization and mortality in patients residing in extended care facilities. Despite its prevalence, there is currently little literature focusing on the course and management of nursing home-acquired pneumonia (NHAP) in the emergency department (ED). Our objective was to investigate the ED presentation, course, management and outcomes in patients admitted through the ED with NHAP. A retrospective chart review of nursing home patients with a presumptive or final diagnosis of pneumonia admitted through the ED was performed at two large hospitals in Detroit, Michigan. A total of 296 patients were included in the study from 2002 to 2007 with a mean age of 81.1 years (SD ± 10.95) and 55.4% females. Blood cultures were performed on 90.8% of patients in the ED; 17.8% of these revealed growths, but half of these were considered contaminants. Initial chest x-ray in the ED was read as possible pneumonia in 18.2% of patients; 73.9% were started on antibiotics (ABX) in the ED. Mean hospital length of stay (LOS) was 10.75 days (SD ± 9.35) and in-hospital mortality was 16.2%. Time until first ABX in univariate analysis was nearly significant (p = 0.053) for mortality prediction, and the appropriate versus inappropriate ABX (per the Infectious Diseases Society of America and American Thoracic Society guidelines) did not affect mortality. Patients treated with a single ABX had significantly increased LOS (p = 0.0089). There was poor correlation between LOS and time until first ABX as well as LOS and time until appropriate ABX with a correlation coefficient of -0.048 (p = 0.42) and -0.08 (p = 0.43), respectively. In this data set of NHAP patients admitted through the ED, we found a surprisingly low prevalence of true-positive blood cultures, high incidence of antibiotic pre-treatment at nursing homes prior to admission, high hospital mortality and low immunization rates. There was a wide spectrum of pathogens grown in blood culture. Only two thirds of the patients had dyspnea at presentation, and less than half had either cough or fever. On physical examination, about one fourth had no clinical findings consistent with pneumonia. Further, less than one fifth of chest x-rays were interpreted as possible pneumonia.
Stress and matrix-responsive cytoskeletal remodeling in fibroblasts.

In areolar “loose” connective tissue, fibroblasts remodel their cytoskeleton within minutes in response to static stretch resulting in increased cell body cross-sectional area that relaxes the tissue to a lower state of resting tension. It remains unknown whether the loosely arranged collagen matrix, characteristic of areolar connective tissue, is required for this cytoskeletal response to occur. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cytoskeletal remodeling of fibroblasts in, and dissociated from, areolar and dense connective tissue in response to 2 h of static stretch in both native tissue and collagen gels of varying crosslinking. Rheometric testing indicated that the areolar connective tissue had a lower dynamic modulus and was more viscous than the dense connective tissue. In response to stretch, cells within the more compliant areolar connective tissue adopted a large “sheet-like” morphology that was in contrast to the smaller dendritic morphology in the dense connective tissue. By adjusting the in vitro collagen crosslinking, and the resulting dynamic modulus, it was demonstrated that cells dissociated from dense connective tissue are capable of responding when seeded into a compliant matrix, while cells dissociated from areolar connective tissue can lose their ability to respond when their matrix becomes stiffer. This set of experiments indicated stretch-induced fibroblast expansion was dependent on the distinct matrix material properties of areolar connective tissues as opposed to the cells' tissue of origin. These results also suggest that disease and pathological processes with increased crosslinks, such as diabetes and fibrosis, could impair fibroblast responsiveness in connective tissues. J. Cell. Physiol. 228: 50–57, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Uncertainties in Finite-Fault Slip Inversions: To What Extent to Believe? (A Critical Review)

The matrix inversion of seismic data for slip distribution on finite faults is based on the formulation of the representation theorem as a linear inverse problem. The way the problem is posed and parameterized involves substantial, and often subjective, decision making. This introduces several levels of uncertainty, some of them recognized and some not adequately addressed. First, the inverse problem must be numerically stabilized and geologically constrained to obtain meaningful solu- tions. It is known that geologically irrelevant solutions also exist that may even better fit the data. It is also known that obtaining a stabilized, constrained solution com- patible with the data does not guarantee that it is close to the true slip. Second, once the scheme has been set up, there still remains significant uncertainty in seismological parameterization. Synthetic tests have consistently shown that incorrect assumptions about the parameters fixed in the inversions, such as the rupture speed, fault geom- etry, or crustal structure, generate geologic artifacts, which are also dependent on array geometry. Third, solving the inverse problem involves numerical approxima- tion of a continuous integral, with the generally grid-dependent result. Fourth, main- taining a linear inverse problem requires that the final slip on each subfault be the only variable to solve for. The slip functions used in the inversions are typically integrals of triangles or boxcars; they all involve a second parameter, slip duration, which has to be fixed. The effect of chosen duration cannot be disregarded, especially when frequencies higher than 0.1-0.5 Hz in the data are modeled. Fifth, the spectra of triangles and boxcars are sinc functions, whose relevance to realistically observed spectra is problematic. How close then could an inverted slip image be to the true one? There are reasons to believe that the fine structure resolved is often an artifact, dependent on the choice of a particular inversion scheme, variant of seismological parameterization, geometry of the array, or grid spacing. This point is well illustrated by examining the inversions independently obtained for large recent events, for example, the 1999 I zmit, Turkey, earthquake. There is no basis currently available for distinguishing between artificial and real features. One should be cautioned against any dogmatic interpretation of inhomogeneous features on inverted slips, except their very gross characteristics.
Permachor Method To Predict Diffusivity Coefficients of Organics in Aqueous Solutions in Flexible Membrane Liners

The diffusion of organic contaminants through plastic Flexible Membrane Liners (FMLs) used in landfills and surface impoundments is an important criteria for evaluating synthetic liner performance. An experimental method has been developed and used to measure diffusivities of organic contaminants commonly found in landfill leachate from an aqueous solution through High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). These data were utilized to evaluate the applicability of the Permachor Method developed by Salame (1961) to predict the diffusion of other organics through FMLs. The Permachor equation can be used in combination with the relationship between the partition coefficients of organics in aqueous organic solution and the octanol-water partition coefficients to predict permeability factors which in turn can be used to calculate the diffusion coefficients of a range of organic chemicals in a plastic FML. Once the relationship between permeability and Permachor are determined for a given plastic FML for a few organic chemicals, the method can be used to predict the permeability of many other organic chemicals. The properties of the plastics and the additives used in its formulation including carbon black appear to influence the diffusion rates.
Cognitive predictors of symptom return following depression treatment.

This study tested whether poor cognitive change during depression treatment predicted time to return of depressive symptoms. Depressed participants (N = 121) completed assessments of dysfunctional attitudes and extreme thinking (i.e., number of totally agree and totally disagree responses) during hospitalization and again after 6 months of outpatient treatment. Participants then completed monthly depression assessments for 1 year. Survival analyses for time to symptom recurrence during follow-up were conducted among participants who reported 50% improvement in their depressive symptoms and were at least partially asymptomatic at the end of treatment (n = 53). Poor change in dysfunctional attitudes and poor change in extreme thinking both predicted shorter time to return of depressive symptoms.
Vector Autoregression on Nigerian Money and Agricultural Aggregates

This paper employs a sophisticated time series technique, vector autoregression (VAR) to study the effects of domestic credit conditions proxied by money supply (M1 and alternatively, M2), on domestic prices and agricultural trade. For the period Nay 1970 to December 1979, the time series data admit a four-lag specification for the VAR system containing M1, total value of agricultural exports (AGE), total value of agricultural imports (AGI), and consumer price index (CPI) as well as the system containing M2, AGE, AGI and CPI. This study found that both M1 and M2 have statistically significant impacts on the agricultural and price variables. More interesting, this study found that unexpected changes in both M1 and M2 (defined as random monetary shocks) have perceptible influence on agricultural and price variables. By and large, the empirical results of this paper strongly support the contention that money matters for the agricultural sector of Nigeria. Cet article emploie une technique sophistiquee de series de temps, le vecteur d'autoregression (VAR) pour etudier les effets des conditions de credits domestiques dus a la masse monetaire (M1 et alternativement, M2), sur les prix domestiques et le commerce agricole. De la periode de Mai 1970 a Decembre 1979, les donnees des series de temps ont admit un “four-lag specification” au systeme VAR contenant M1, la valeur totale des exportations agricoles (AGE), la valeur totale des importations agricoles (AGI) et l'indice des prix a la consommation (CPI) aussi bien que le systeme contenant M2, AGE, AGI et CPI. Cette etude a trouve que tous les deux M1 et M2 ont des impacts statistiquement significatifs sur les variables agricoles et de prix. Plus interessant encore, cette etude montre que des changements imprevus en M1 et M2 (definis comme chocks monetaires au hazard) ont des influences perceptibles sur les variables agricoles et de prix. En somme, les resultats empiriques de cette etude supportent fortement le contentieux selon lequel l'argent est important au secteur agricole du Nigeria.
Epidemiology of Diabetes and Diabetes-Related Complications

In 2005, it was estimated that more than 20 million people in the United States had diabetes. Approximately 30% of these people had undiagnosed cases. Increased risk for diabetes is primarily associated with age, ethnicity, family history of diabetes, smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. Diabetes-related complications—including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, neuropathy, blindness, and lower-extremity amputation—are a significant cause of increased morbidity and mortality among people with diabetes, and result in a heavy economic burden on the US health care system. With advances in treatment for diabetes and its associated complications, people with diabetes are living longer with their condition. This longer life span will contribute to further increases in the morbidity associated with diabetes, primarily in elderly people and in minority racial or ethnic groups. In 2050, the number of people in the United States with diagnosed diabetes is estimated to grow to 48.3 million. Results from randomized controlled trials provide evidence that intensive lifestyle interventions can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes in high-risk individuals. In addition, adequate and sustained control of blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and blood lipid levels can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes-related complications in people with diabetes. Effective interventions, at both the individual and population levels, are desperately needed to slow the diabetes epidemic and reduce diabetes-related complications in the United States. This report describes the current diabetes epidemic and the health and economic impact of diabetes complications on individuals and on the health care system. The report also provides suggestions by which the epidemic can be curbed.
A rare case of axillobifemoral bypass graft infection caused by Helicobacter cinaedi.

Helicobacter cinaedi infection is rarely encountered in nonimmunocompromised patients. We report the case of an 85-year-old man who presented with axillobifemoral bypass graft infection caused by Helicobacter cinaedi . The patient was not immunocompromised. We successfully treated him by iliac stenting of the native iliac artery, with near-total removal of the infected graft. At present, 48 months later, the patient is doing well at home, with no evidence of infection. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of infection of a prosthetic graft caused by Helicobacter cinaedi .
Separation of actinides at ultra-trace level from urine matrix using extraction chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The determination of trace level actinides in a urine matrix was evaluated on the chromatographic column packed with TRU resin for separation. The chromatographic system was coupled on-line to the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) for pre-concentration and separation of uranium, thorium, plutonium, neptunium, and americium. 3 M nitric acid was employed to remove the matrix ions, which at the same time pre-concentrated the actinides to obtain detection limits in the range of 0.01–2 pg mL−1. Different concentrations of HCl and oxalic acid were used to sequentially elute the five actinides. The separation took ca. 25 minutes, with no sample preparation required. Linear dynamic range, precision of the measurement, and lifetime of the column were studied to evaluate the proposed method. The method of on-line separation and pre-concentration of actinides in urine offers major improvements to routine procedures for bioassay analysis.
Transcriptional Landscape of Cardiomyocyte Maturation

Decades of progress in developmental cardiology has advanced our understanding of the early aspects of heart development, including cardiomyocyte (CM) differentiation. However, control of the CM maturation that is subsequently required to generate adult myocytes remains elusive. Here, we analyzed over 200 microarray datasets from early embryonic to adult hearts and identified a large number of genes whose expression shifts gradually and continuously during maturation. We generated an atlas of integrated gene expression, biological pathways, transcriptional regulators, and gene regulatory networks (GRNs), which show discrete sets of key transcriptional regulators and pathways activated or suppressed during CM maturation. We developed a GRN-based program named MatStat(CM) that indexes CM maturation status. MatStat(CM) reveals that pluripotent-stem-cell-derived CMs mature early in culture but are arrested at the late embryonic stage with aberrant regulation of key transcription factors. Our study provides a foundation for understanding CM maturation.
Poly(Aryl Ether)-Poly(Arylate) Block Copolymers: I Polysulfone-Bis-A Terephthalate Systems

The vast majority of block and segmented copolymers which have been synthesized thus far are composed of “hard” and “soft” segments (1, 2). “Hard” segments include both glassy and crystalline morphologies at the particular temperature of interest, which is usually room temperature. By contrast “soft” segments are largely amorphous structures which display low glass transition temperatures (e.g. < -40°C) and are thus rubbery or elastomeric at ambient temperature. The reason for this emphasis is, no doubt, due to the novelty of the thermoplastic elastomers and their applicability to many commercial products.
GPS tracking of visitor use: factors influencing visitor spatial behavior on a complex trail system.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: There is currently a limited understanding of how visitors travel within and through a destination. Understanding what influences visitor travel patterns is an important aspect of tourism and recreation. Spacetime visitor travel patterns have been examined in a number of tourism studies; however, limited studies have focused on nature-based or trail system settings. Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking has been identified as an effective means of measuring visitor travel patterns. However, most GPS studies within these natural settings have focused on the utility of the method, not exploring the contribution that GPS can make to understanding what influences visitor travel patterns, practically and theoretically. Additionally, the examination of GPS data has rarely extended beyond visual analysis such as point densities and overlays. To better understand what influences visitor travel patterns, more in-depth analysis of these spatial data is needed, including identifying techniques for cleaning GPS data for more detailed level of analyses, operationalizing travel patterns (i.e. defining and measuring travel patterns), and examining variables that might influence travel patterns. The study first examined statistical differences between cleaned and uncleaned GPS data, finding that significant differences were present. Specifically, uncleaned data were found to report a significantly longer total distance traveled. Visitor reported total distance travel was also more similar to cleaned data. Travel patterns were then examined and tested using four different spatio-temporal operations: total distance traveled, number of zones (areas) encountered, distance from starting points, and time spent. The four different measures were found to measure conceptually and statistically different travel pattern aspects. Results generally suggest a more-toless order of mountain bikers, horseback riders, runners, then hikers with respect to total distance traveled, number of zones encountered, and distance from start. Knowledge of destination, visitor personal characteristics, and motivations were also examined for their influence on travel patterns. While each of these variables was found to predict travel patterns, generally each predictor was dependent on activity type with runners and mountain bikers providing the major contributions of these effects. In other words, these variables were good predictors of the spatio-temporal behavior of runners and mountain bikers, but less effective for horseback riders and hikers. The exception was knowledge of destination; higher knowledge results in greater use distribution regardless of activity type. These findings can assist trail managers in directing the spatial distribution of visitors and adapting visitor education and trail management policies to meet management directives.
From home to school and back again: intersecting trajectories of identification in a student's development as a writer

How can students build on their experiences, knowledge, and values from different parts of their lives (i.e., their identities) to develop an "academic identity," or a sense of self as interested in, good at, and having a future in some academic discipline such as science or writing (e.g., Barton, Tan & Rivet, 2008; Carlone & Johnson, 2007)? In this paper I use boundary objects and narrative analysis to unpack how one student developed a trajectory of identification as a writer, particularly as a writer that had a positive influence on other people.