cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Precise measurements of the density and critical phenomena near the phase transitions in helium using high-Q niobium microwave cavities

The experimental approach of using high-Q niobium microwave resonator (Q≈1010) and high resolution thermometry to achieve precise measurements of the density and critical phenomena in liquid helium near phase transitions is described. The numerical verifications of the experimental feasibility as well as the applications of the precision density measurement techniques are discussed.
Marriage in transition: Implications for social policy

The current marriage crisis in our culture is the result of a major transition from the institutional to the companionship marriage. Our failure to support and guide this transition by providing couples with training in “interpersonal competence” is due to our total lack of a formulated social policy concerning marriage. New understanding of the situation, together with new approaches and new resources, may now enable us to provide more effective services and to develop an appropriate policy.
Seamless user mobility in Virtual Mobility Domains for the Future Internet

This paper presents the Virtual Mobility Domain concept built to provide mobility management in a newly proposed tiered internetworking model. The proposed mobility management scheme is distinct from others by not using IP addressing, the classic IP routing protocols and providing collaborative mobility management mechanism. We investigate the handoff performance of the proposed scheme when it is deployed in varying tiers of an Autonomous System. The comparative OPNET simulation study shows that, in most cases, the proposed scheme manages a handoff in 99%, 98% and 38% less time and with 80%, 32% and 25% less signaling overhead as compared to Mobile IPv6, Hierarchical Mobile IPv6, and Proxy Mobile IPv6, respectively (see Table II).
A simplified correlation for solids friction factor in horizontal conveying systems based on Yang's unified theory

Abstract A new correlation for friction factor in horizontal pneumatic conveying is proposed, based on the unified theory of Yang. Two drawbacks to the original correlation presented by Yang are the implicit nature of the equations and the inability of the correlation to predict saltation. The new correlation is based on an analysis of experimental data for particle velocity recently obtained. Knowing the particle velocity allows an explicit calculation of the friction factor and thus a prediction of the pressure drop. An added benefit to this method is the prediction of the saltation point.
ACCELERATED GRAFT ARTERIOSCLEROSIS IN CARDIAC TRANSPLANTS: Complement Activation Promotes Progression of Lesions from Medium to Large Arteries1

Background, A critical role for the terminal components of complement (C5b-C9) has been demonstrated previously in acute allograft rejection with the use of C6-deficient PVG congenic rat strains. The C6 deficiency prevents the formation of membrane attack complex (MAC) by C5b-C9. Hearts transplanted from PVG.1A (RT1 a ) rats are rejected acutely (7-9 days) by fully MHC-incompatible C6-sufficient PVG.1L (RT1 1 ) recipients, but they survive significantly longer in untreated C6-deficient PVG.1L recipients (19 to >60 days). Methods. To investigate the contribution of MAC to chronic rejection and accelerated graft arteriosclerosis (AGA) in long-term cardiac allografts, hearts were transplanted heterotopically from PVG.1A donors to C6-sufficient and C6-deficient PVG.1L hosts that were treated with cyclosporine 15 mg/kg/day for 14 days after cardiac grafting. Alloantibody responses in hosts were measured by flow cytometry at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after transplantation. Vigorously contracting grafts were removed at 60 days (n=5) and at 90-128 days (n=12) after surgery for morphological evaluation. Computerized planimetry measurements were made in complete cross-sections of grafts on all assessable arteries larger than 16 microns in diameter. Results. The survival of most (six of seven) cardiac allografts in C6-deficient recipients was prolonged by cyclosporine treatment to greater than 90 days. In contrast, 14 of 25 hearts that were transplanted to C6-sufficient recipients were rejected between 21 and 84 days with severe vascular injury. AGA, defined as smooth muscle cells forming a neointima inside the internal elastic lamina and luminal compromise, affected a greater percentage of arteries in C6-sufficient than in C6-deficient recipients. AGA developed earlier and more frequently in arteries of medium (<100 micron) diameter than those of large diameter in both C6-sufficient and C6-deficient recipients. Serial sections demonstrated the lesions in medium arteries to be located adjacent to the smooth muscle sphincters at the junction of arteriolar branches. Conclusions. These results demonstrate that MAC promotes the pathogenesis of AGA in long-term cardiac allografts.
Effect of steric strains upon the hydrogenation of olefins and acetylenes on Pd SiO2and Pt SiO2

Cyclopentene, di-t-butylacetylene, 3-hexyne, cis- and trans-di-t-butylethylene, bicyclo[2,2,1] heptene, and bicyclo[2,2,2]octene were hydrogenated with H2 and with D2 in a liquid-phase, batch reactor at 20 °C on PdSiO2andPtSiO2. The effect of the presence of unsaturated hydrocarbon on the reaction, H2 + D2 → 2HD, was also investigated. In hydrogenation of the acetylenes, trans-ene and alkane were formed via α,α,β-triadsorbed alkane and this path was promoted by relief of intraadsorbate strain in the adsorbed acetylene during hydrogenation of di-t-butylacetylene. Hydrogenations of the cis- and trans-di-t-butylethylene proceeded by different mechanisms because of intraadsorbate strain in the adsorbed cis-ene. The ratio of isomerization to hydrogenation in the reaction of the cis-olefin with H2 was very much larger than usual because of the large adsorbate-surface strain in the adsorbed trans-ene. Adsorbed hydrogen was in preequilibrium on neither catalyst and adsorbed olefin was not in preequilibrium on PtSiO2 and probably not on PdSiO2 except perhaps for trans-di-t-butylethylene. The effect of the two kinds of steric strain on rates of hydrogenation is analyzed.
Scapulothoracic penetration of a Beath pin: An unusual complication of arthroscopic Bankart suture repair

The arthroscopic Bankart suture repair technique is an alternative to open procedures that control anterior shoulder instability. A case is presented in which a Beath pin traveled through the scapula and penetrated the scapulothoracic articulation during arthroscopic Bankart repair. The authors caution that strict adherence to Morgan's technique should minimize complications with this procedure.
Solution of self-consistent field electronic structure equations by a pseudospectral method

Abstract A new method for solving self-consistent electronic structure equations which offers orders of magnitude reductions in computation time and storage space with no obvious loss of accuracy is described and applied to the restricted Hartree-Fock equations for the neon atom. Application to polyatomic molecules is straightforward both conceptually and numerically.
Orbital Decay of the PSR J0045-7319/B Star Binary System: Age of Radio Pulsar and Initial Spin of Neutron Star

Recent timing observations of PSR J0045-7319 reveal that the neutron star/B star binary orbit is decaying on a time scale of $|\Porb/\dot\Porb|=0.5$ Myr, shorter than the characteristic age ($\tau_c=3$ Myr) of the pulsar (Kaspi et al.~1996a). We study mechanisms for the orbital decay. The standard weak friction theory based on static tide requires far too short a viscous time to explain the observed $\dot\Porb$. We show that dynamical tidal excitation of g-modes in the B star can be responsible for the orbital decay. However, to explain the observed short decay timescale, the B star must have some significant retrograde rotation with respect to the orbit --- The retrograde rotation brings lower-order g-modes, which couple much more strongly to the tidal potential, into closer ``resonances'' with the orbital motion, thus significantly enhancing the dynamical tide. A much less likely possibility is that the g-mode damping time is much shorter than the ordinary radiative damping time. The observed orbital decay timescale combined with a generic orbital evolution model based on dynamical tide can be used as a ``timer'', giving an upper limit of $1.4$ Myr for the age of the binary system since the neutron star formation. Thus the characteristic age of the pulsar is not a good age indicator. Assuming standard magnetic dipole braking for the pulsar and no significant magnetic field decay on a timescale $\lo 1$ Myr, the upper limit for the age implies that the initial spin of the neutron star at birth was close to its current value.
Turf wars: The ethics of professional territorialism

A 300-bed general hospital in a mid-sized city has a busy cardiac catheterizationlaboratory, with 12 invasive cardiologists and more than 4000 annual procedures. An invasive radiology suite, the only one in town, is staffed by a single invasive radiologist and two vascular surgeons. They perform about 150 diagnostic angiograms and endovascular procedures each year, about half of which are generated by consultation requests from the cardiologists. The invasive radiology team has worked together for the last 5 years, since an endovascular fellowship-trained vascular surgeon joined the staff. The invasive radiologist helped to develop an endovascular team and mentored the more senior vascular surgeon until he could accumulate the requisite number of procedures to become credentialed. The program's finances and work schedule have been arranged to the satisfaction of all three participants. Until recently, whenever cardiologists found evidence of vascular occlusive disease during catheterizations, they changed host arteries; if symptoms and signs indicated a need for therapy, they referred patients to the invasive radiology clinic. Lately, the cardiologists have begun to perform terminal angiograms on all their patients to detect injuries. They have requested clinical privileges to perform peripheral endovascular procedures as well as traditional cardiac work. The hospital administrator is fearful that the cardiologists may leave the hospital if their request is denied. The invasive radiology staff are concerned that the caseload is insufficient to maintain quality if they must divide it with the cardiologists. You are the hospital Chief of Staff and must decide whether to grant the cardiologists privileges which have thus far been reserved to the endovascular team. What should you do?
Planting date and soybean yield: evaluation of environmental effects with a crop simulation model: SOYGRO☆

Planting date is an important factor influencing soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] yield. The effects of planting date on yield were investigated using SOYGRO V5.41, a dynamic, process-oriented crop growth computer model, developed at the University of Florida. SOYGRO calculates daily growth, development and yield of a soybean community. Simulated yields were computed for nine planting dates from 1 May to 30 June, two cultivars (Williams-maturity group III and Essex-maturity group V) at two row spacings (0.76 and 0.18 m) and with natural rainfall or without water stress. Seventeen years of weather data from Lexington, KY (38°N latitude) were used. The average yield across 17 years was taken as the average response to planting date. The model accurately predicted observed yield responses for a planting date experiment at Lexington (1967–1968) and the combined general responses of other planting date experiments from several locations in Kentucky. The decreases in simulated yields from June plantings of ‘Williams’, but not ‘Essex’, were reduced, but not eliminated, when there was no water stress. Increasing maximum and minimum temperature by 20% during reproductive growth decreased the simulated yield of ‘Williams’ in June planting dates but increased the yield of Essex. Increasing insolation by 20% increased simulated yield of both cultivars. The results indicate that lower insolation during reproductive growth is the primary cause of reduced yields from delayed plantings; low temperature contributed to lower yields only for the late maturing cultivar.
Fas and Fas ligand expression in the salivary glands of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome

Objective. To assess the role of Fas-mediated apoptosis in the salivary glands of patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (SS). Methods. Expression of Fas, Fas ligand (FasL), and bcl-2 in salivary gland biopsy material was detected in situ by immunohistochemical staining and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. DNA fragmentation in apoptotic cells was assessed by the enzymatic incorporation of labeled nucleotides (digoxigenin-dUTP). Results. The acinar epithelial cells in SS were Fas+ and FasL+, and these cells died by apoptosis. The majority of infiltrating lymphocytes in SS were Fas+ and bcl-2+, while few lymphocytes expressed FasL. In situ detection of apoptosis showed minimal cell death of lymphocytes, particularly in dense periductal foci. Lymphocytic cell death was significantly lower (P < 0.0001) in these foci compared with that in the interstitium. Conclusion. Infiltrating lymphocytes in the focal lesions of the salivary glands of patients with SS are blocked in their ability to commit to apoptosis, even though they may express Fas. The presence of bcl-2 in these cells may explain their inability to undergo apoptosis. The acinar epithelial cells, in contrast, may undergo Fas-mediated apoptosis. These results suggest that the Fas death pathway may be an important mechanism leading to the glandular destruction found in SS.
Treatment of vitamin D deficiency in transfusion-dependent thalassemia.

The survival of patients with thalassemia major has progressively improved with advances in therapy; however, osteoporosis remains a frequent, unresolved issue [1]. Adequate circulating levels of vitamin D are essential for optimal skeletal health and reducing fracture risk [2]. Vitamin D insufficiency is reported in the majority of patients with thalassemia in the USA [3] and elsewhere [4–10], despite routine prescription of 400–1,000 IU vitamin D per day. In this study, assessment of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OH D) levels in 96 patients with thalassemia revealed that 70 (73%) were either deficient ( 80 ng/ml was observed over the course of the observation period. There were 18 individuals who attained a 25-OH D level >30 ng/ml at the end of their supplementation period and continued daily supplementation of 400–1,000 IU vitamin D thereafter. When retested at an average of 8 months (1–21 months) later, the serum 25-OH D had dropped significantly and collectively for all but two of them, from a mean of 34.4 ± 3.7 to 26.9 ± 6.8 ng/ml (P < 0.001). The rate of decline was on an average 1.5 ng/ml per month. Hence, patients who had inadequate vitamin D status on screening were likely to require ongoing high-dose supplementation. In contrast, the
Iron oxide and hydroxide precipitation from ferrous solutions and its relevance to Martian surface mineralogy

Experiments were performed to examine if the ubiquitousness of a weak magnetic component in all Martian surface fines tested with the Viking Landers can be attributed to ferric iron precipitation in aqueous solution under oxidizing conditions at neutral pH. Ferrous solutions were mixed in deionized water and various minerals were added to separate liquid samples. The iron-bearing additives included hematite, goethite, magnetite, maghemite, lepidocrocite and potassium bromide blank at varying concentrations. IR spectroscopic scans were made to identify any precipitates resulting from bubbling oxygen throughout the solutions; the magnetic properties of the precipitates were also examined. The data indicated that the lepidocrocite may have been preferentially precipitated, then aged to maghemite. The process would account for the presumed thin residue of maghemite on the present Martian surface, long after abundant liquid water on the Martian surface vanished.
Methanogenesis and sulfate reduction in chemostats—I. Kinetic studies and experiments

Abstract Six anaerobic chemostats containing mixed microbial cultures were used to investigate the interactions between sulfate reduction and methanogenesis for three substrates: acetic acid, methanol and formic acid. Sulfate reducers outcompeted methanogens in acetate-fed chemostats while methanol was not utilized by sulfate reducers. In the formic acid-fed chemostats, competition was observed between methanogens and sulfate reducers with 62 and 24% of the substrate utilized through sulfate reduction and methanogenesis, respectively. Iron was added to the sulfate-reducing chemostats to precipitate the hydrogen sulfide produced, thus eliminating sulfide inhibition and ensuring stable chemostat operation. This study involved the measurement of the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of the chemostats using a novel technique. Batch spike tests were also conducted to evaluate kinetic parameters for the degradation of different substrates. Although both methanol-fed chemostats were exclusively methanogenic, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed the presence of two different strains of methanogens. This difference was also manifested by the ORP values and the kinetic parameters.
Hillslope hydrology and soil morphology for a wetland basin in South-Central Minnesota

Knowledge of soil and landscape hydrology is essential to evaluating the processes and quality of terrestrial ecosystems. Of particular interest in Southern Minnesota is the extensive Clarion-Nicollet-Webster catena, for which little quantitative work has been done in the region. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between soil hydrology and morphology for an undrained catena in south-central Minnesota. Seven points along a 125-m summit-to-wetland transect were instrumented with piezometers (25, 50, 100, and 200 cm), observation wells (300 cm), Pt electrodes (25, 50, 100 cm, footslope only), and thermocouples (10, 25, 50, 100 cm). Mollic epipedons were 77-cm thick at the footslope (Cumulic Endoaquoll), thinning to 39 cm at the summit (Oxyaquic Hapludoll). The lower hillslope positions had low chroma colors below the mollic horizon, indicative of reducing conditions. The water table frequently was located in the mollic horizon for these soils and redox potentials at the footslope were frequently <200 mV. Fe content decreased from summit to footslope, indicating the reduction and removal of Fe in the lower landscape positions. With the exception of the wetland, soils had equal piezometric head with depth, indicating lateral throughflow. The wetland had alternating recharge and discharge hydrology during the study. Profile Darkness Index (PDI) had strong correlation with the duration of saturation (r = 0.88, a = 0.05). Thickness and color of surface horizons in this landscape are strong indicators of landscape hydrology, especially when redoximorphic features associated with normal water table levels are masked by thick mollic epipedons.
Arab Muslim Attitudes Toward the West: Cultural, Social, and Political Explanations

We utilize pooled data from Zogby International's 2002 Arab Values Survey (carried out in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and UAE) in order to test for “cultural,” “social” a...
Language Rights and Political Theory

Language Rights and Political Theory. Edited by Will Kymlicka and Alan Patten. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 368p. $99.00 cloth, $24.95 paper. Language rights and language policy are significant issues in contemporary politics and have become an important subject for political theorists today. Yet until now, there has been no major work or edited volume dealing with language rights from the standpoint of normative political theory. Will Kymlicka and Alan Patten have put together a volume of essays to remedy this situation. According to the editors of this valuable collection, linguistic diversity has emerged as a major source of controversy in a number of distinct political contexts. In their comprehensive introduction to the topic, and the volume, they identify these contexts as including at least five areas: Eastern Europe, regional languages/minority nationalisms, immigrant integration, European Union/transnational democracy, and indigenous languages/biodiversity. As political theorists in recent years have explored ideas of citizenship, nationhood, multiculturalism, and deliberative democracy, it has become increasingly evident, they say, that political theories often rest on presuppositions about people's language repertoires. It is important that these presuppositions, and their implications, be explored and subjected to critical scrutiny. The aim of this collection is to do precisely this. In the end, it is entirely successful in its ambitions. The chapters are of high quality and deal with issues that are important. Anyone presently interested in working on language rights in political theory should begin here.
Plant phenolic acids in soils: Sorption of ferulic acid by soil and soil components sterilized by different techniques

Abstract Ferulic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid) is produced by plants and subsequently released into soils, and appears to be involved in biochemical interactions between plants (allelopathy) and other organisms living in the soil. Knowledge of the processes affecting the concentrations of such potential allelochemicals in soil is essential to understand their roles in the soil environment. There is some information on the long-term physicochemical interactions of exogeneously-applied ferulic acid (FA) with soil materials that have been sterilized by autoclaving. Our aim was to determine the effects that soil sterilization treatments (autoclaving. methyl bromide and gamma irradiation) have on the recovery of exogenously-applied FA from different soil materials and components. Sterilization of soil was used to isolate physicochemical effects from microbial effects on FA. Ferulic acid was added at a rate of 5.15 mmolkg −1 to sterilized Al and Bl horizon material of Cecil (Typic Hapludults, clayey, kaolinitic, thermic), Portsmouth (Typic Umbraquualts, fine loamy, mixed, thermic) and White Store (Vertic Hapludalfs, fine, mixed, thermic) soils and to Georgia kaolin, gibbsite, goethite and Histosol materials. Samples were extracted within 2 min. and on days 1, 2, 4 and 8, with Mehlich III extradant. Immediate extractions were also made for nonsterilized soil materials. Extractable concentrations of Mn 2+ from sterilized soils were higher than concentrations from nonsterilized soils. Recovery of ferulic acid from soil materials sterilized by autoclaving was generally greater than recoveries from soil materials sterilized by methyl bromide or γ-irradiation. Methyl bromide treatment of gibbsite and goethite increased the “sorption” of applied FA. Recoveries of FA from sterilized and nonsterilized A1 soil materials were significantly lower than recoveries from B1 materials, irrespective of soil sterilization treatment. Changes produced by soil sterilization processes that affect the extractability of FA are greatly dependent upon the soil type and the kind of sterilizing treatment employed.
The computational challenge of linkage analysis: what causes diseases?

Finding the genetic causes of disease is a challenging problem for biologists and mathematicians alike. This article describes the difficulties of the problem, two general algorithmic approaches to solving it, and areas of current research where the problem has not yet been adequately solved.
Insights on the Study of Nafion Nanoscale Morphology by Transmission Electron Microscopy

Nafion is one of the most common materials used for polyelectrolyte membranes and is the standard to which novel materials are compared. In spite of great interest in Nafion’s nanostructure, it is still a subject of controversy. While multiple research efforts have addressed Nafion’s morphology with Transmission Electron Microscopy, the results of these efforts have often been inconsistent and cannot satisfactorily describe the membrane structure. One of the reasons for differences in the reported results is the lack of sufficient control over the damage caused by electron beam irradiation. In this work, we describe some aspects of damage in the material that have a strong influence on the results. We show that irradiation causes mass loss and phase separation in the material and that the morphologies that have been observed are, in many cases, artifacts caused by damage. We study the effect of the sample temperature on damage and show that, while working at low temperature does not prevent damage and mass loss, it slows formation of damage-induced artifacts to the point where informative low-dose images of almost undamaged material may be collected. We find that charging of the sample has a substantial effect on the damage, and the importance of charge neutralization under irradiation is also seen by the large reduction of beam induced movement with the use of an objective aperture or a conductive support film. To help interpret the low-dose images, we can apply slightly higher exposures to etch away the hydrophobic phase with the electron beam and reveal the network formed by the hydrophilic phase. Energy loss spectroscopy shows evidence that fluorine removal governs the beam damage process.
Comparison of Yields and Repair Kinetics of Interphase Chromosome Breaks Visualized by Sendai-virus or PEG-mediated Cell Fusion in Irradiated CHO Cells

We examined the initial yields and the kinetics of rejoining of interphase chromosome breaks in irradiated plateau-phase Chinese hamster ovary cells by means of premature chromosome condensation (PCC) using either Sendai virus or polyethylene glycol (PEG) as fusogens. We found a yield of 2·2 chromosome breaks/cell/Gy independently of the method used to induce PCC. Rejoining of interphase chromosome breaks also proceeded with identical kinetics in cells fused using either Sendai virus or PEG. In an additional set of experiments, we compared the kinetics of rejoining of interphase chromosome breaks in cells synchronized in G1 phase by elutriation to that measured in plateau-phase cells, using either Sendai virus or PEG as fusogens. Here again, the rejoining kinetics were not affected by the fusogen used, and were similar in synchronized G1 and plateau-phase cells. These observations suggest that both methods of fusion give equivalent results in terms of yields and rejoining kinetics of interphase chromosome...
An analysis of the dentate gyrus function

In this review article the emphasis will be on the role of the DG (dorsal and ventral) in supporting memory based on the operation of specific processes. Based on the development of computational models of dorsal dentate gyrus (dDG) and behavioral evidence based on dysfunction of dDG, this review will show that the dDG mediates mnemonic processing of spatial information. The processes subserved by dDG include (a) the operation of conjunctive encoding of multiple sensory inputs, implying an integration of sensory inputs to determine a spatial representation, and (b) pattern separation of spatial (especially metric) information, involving the reduction of interference between similar spatial locations (c) pattern separation of context (d) importance of context in object recognition, and (e) temporal integration and remote memory and spatial pattern separation based in part on neurogenesis. In addition the ventral dentate gyrus (vDG) mediates mnemonic processing of odor information as indicated by odor pattern separation.
A Controlled Trial of Outpatient Geriatric Evaluation and Management

Objective: To evaluate the effects of targeted outpatient geriatric evaluation and management (GEM). Design: Controlled clinical trial. Elderly persons were identified as being at high risk for hospital admission on the basis of their responses to a short, mailed, self-administered questionnaire. The high-risk elders who chose to participate in the GEM program were compared to those who continued to receive usual care. Setting: Outpatient GEM clinic at an urban university hospital. Subjects: Elderly Medicaid recipients whose probability of repeated hospital admission (Pra) within 4 years was calculated as 40% or greater (Pra ≥ 0.40). Main Outcome Measures: Mortality, use of institutional services, satisfaction. Results: Of the 1210 persons who were sent questionnaires, 624 responded (response rate = 51.6%), of whom 154 (24.7%) were deemed to be a high risk for hospitalization. Of these, 43 received GEM (experimental subjects); 111 received usual care (controls). At baseline, the experimental and control groups' demographic and health-related characteristics did not differ significantly. The average experimental subject was 76.5 years old, had 9.6 significant medical problems, and took 6.7 significant long-term prescription medications. During the program's first 17 months of follow-up, the experimental subjects had lower annual rates of mortality (2.9% vs 19.2%, P = 0.03) and emergency room use (0.6 vs 1.0 visits, P = 0.01) than did the controls. The experimental subjects also tended to use nursing homes, but not hospitals, at a lower rate than the controls. All of the experimental subjects rated the program as either excellent (81.0%) or good (19.0%); 100% said they would recommend it to others. Their established primary physicians rated the GEM services as appropriate and helpful. Conclusion: Targeted outpatient GEM was associated with reduced mortality, reduced use of emergency rooms, and a trend toward reduced use of nursing homes.
On the failure of the linkage principle with financially constrained bidders

Abstract This paper provides a class of examples of two-bidder common value second price auctions in which bidders may be financially constrained and the seller has access to information about the common value. We show that the seller's expected revenue under a revelation policy may be lower than that under a concealing policy. The intuition for the failure of the linkage principle is as follows. In the presence of financial constraints, the bidders’ upward response in their bids to the seller's good signals is limited by their financial constraints, while their downward response to bad signals is not.
The Writing and Reading of Fan Fiction and Transformation Theory

In her article "The Writing and Reading of Fan Fiction and Transformation Theory" Veerle Van Steenhuyse discusses the experience of immersive reading fan fiction offers to fans based on her analysis of fan fiction about the television series House, M.D. (2004-). Van Steenhuyse postulates that a text is immersive when it evokes a mental construct with the presence of a text-independent reality. In the case of fan fiction, this reality is a "transformed universe" that builds on and deviates from particular primary texts. Following the work of Marie-Laure Ryan and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Van Steenhuyse argues that readers feel immersed when they re-center their consciousness and she clarifies this process with transportation theory. Further, Van Steenhuyse uses schema theory to elaborate on transportation theory in order to specify the temporal dimension of immersive reading of fan fiction.
Economic methods in the century trial-A comprehensive lifestyle modification study for managing coronary artery disease

While most studies assess the cost-effectiveness of treating acute coronary conditions, the Century Health Study for Cardiovascular Medicine (Century Trial) focuses on ameliorating coronary artery disease (CAD) through a comprehensive lifestyle modification program. This 1,300-patient phase III randomized study uses positron emission tomography for risk stratification, complemented with comprehensive educational and motivational therapy for patients with preclinical or established CAD. The Century Trial is in its second year of a five-year follow-up protocol, and it is one of the first to combine imaging technology and lifestyle modification as a way to improve patient behavior and health. In this article, we present the economic study design used in the Century Trial and provide considerable methodological detail to serve as reference for other researchers. We describe the cost and effect estimation methods as well as our analysis and uncertainty modeling plans. The study will incorporate quality-adjusted life years and use a societal perspective to measure both in-trial and lifetime costs through incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. The approach we follow should provide further evidence on the cost-effectiveness of comprehensive lifestyle modification programs in regressing coronary artery disease.
The Complex Systems See-Change in Education

One of the most exciting promises of a complex systems perspective for learning and education, well captured in Jacobson and Wilensky’s target article, is to provide a unifying force to bring together increasingly fragmented scientific communities. The day when scientists have time to read broadly across chemistry, biology, physics, and social sciences is long gone. Journals, conferences, and academic departmental structures are becoming increasingly specialized and myopic. As Peter Csermely (1999), one of the organizers of the International Forum of Young Scientists expresses it,
Blur clarified: A review and synthesis of blur discrimination

Blur is an important attribute of human spatial vision, and sensitivity to blur has been the subject of considerable experimental research and theoretical modeling. Often these models have invoked specialized concepts or mechanisms, such as intrinsic blur, multiple channels, or blur estimation units. In this paper we review the several experimental studies of blur discrimination and find they are in broad empirical agreement. But contrary to previous modeling efforts, we find that the essential features of blur discrimination are fully accounted for by a visible contrast energy model (ViCE), in which two spatial patterns are distinguished when the integrated difference between their masked local contrast energy responses reaches a threshold value.
Histone Methylation Has Dynamics Distinct from Those of Histone Acetylation in Cell Cycle Reentry from Quiescence

Cell growth is attuned to nutrient availability to sustain homeostatic biosynthetic processes. In unfavorable environments, cells enter a nonproliferative state termed quiescence but rapidly return to the cell cycle once conditions support energetic needs. Changing cellular metabolite pools are proposed to directly alter the epigenome via histone acetylation. Here we studied the relationship between histone modification dynamics and the dramatic transcriptional changes that occur during nutrient-induced cell cycle reentry from quiescence in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. SILAC (stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture)-based mass spectrometry showed that histone methylation-in contrast to histone acetylation-is surprisingly static during quiescence exit. Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by massive parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq) revealed genome-wide shifts in histone acetylation at growth and stress genes as cells exit quiescence and transcription dramatically changes. Strikingly, however, the patterns of histone methylation remain intact. We conclude that the functions of histone methylation and acetylation are remarkably distinct during quiescence exit: acetylation rapidly responds to metabolic state, while methylation is independent. Thus, the initial burst of growth gene reactivation emerging from quiescence involves dramatic increases of histone acetylation but not of histone methylation.
Facing the Facelessness of Public Health: What's the Public Got to Do With It?

Abstract Despite compelling statistics that show we could eliminate 80%of all heart disease and strokes, 90%of all diabetes, and 60%of all cancers with basic lifestyle changes, we have failed to motivate the public to make these changes and failed to motivate policy makers to make healthy choices the easiest choice.Dr. Katz suggests we have failed because we have focused toomuch on statistics and too little on passion.He implores all of us to tap intopeople's passion by connecting each of these statistics with a human story.
Resource and connection admission control in real-time transport protocols with deterministic QoS guarantees

Real-time multimedia applications will require guaranteed quality of service (QoS) such as a bound on the maximum message delay and/or on the maximum message loss rate. This poses an exciting challenge to the highspeed transport protocol design and implementations. In this paper, we study the resource and connection admission control algorithms, and give the necessary and sufficient conditions for the schedulability, of n real-time transport connections at a destination host under preemptive and non-preemptive deadline scheduling policy for deterministic QoS guarantees. These necessary and sufficient conditions form the mathematical basis for the deterministic QoS guarantees in real-time transport communication services. On the basis of these necessary and sufficient conditions, we give the connection admission control algorithms for deterministic QoS guarantees. We also calculate the buffer space needed for each real-time transport connection. The results show that real-time transport connections with deterministic QoS guarantees can reserve the buffer space at the establishment phase, and no flow control mechanism is required during the data transport phase. Our results could be applied to other fields as well, such as real-time operating systems.
Identification of novel candidate oncogenes and tumor suppressors in malignant pleural mesothelioma using large-scale transcriptional profiling.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly lethal, poorly understood neoplasm that is typically associated with asbestos exposure. We performed transcriptional profiling using high-density oligonucleotide microarrays containing ∼22,000 genes to elucidate potential molecular and pathobiological pathways in MPM using discarded human MPM tumor specimens (n = 40), normal lung specimens (n = 4), normal pleura specimens (n = 5), and MPM and SV40-immortalized mesothelial cell lines (n = 5). In global expression analysis using unsupervised clustering techniques, we found two potential subclasses of mesothelioma that correlated loosely with tumor histology. We also identified sets of genes with expression levels that distinguish between multiple tumor subclasses, normal and tumor tissues, and tumors with different morphologies. Microarray gene expression data were confirmed using quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and protein analysis for three novel candidate oncogenes (NME2, CRI1, and PDGFC) and one candidate tumor suppressor (GSN). Finally, we used bioinformatics tools (ie, software) to create and explore complex physiological pathways. Combined, all of these data may advance our understanding of mesothelioma tumorigenesis, pathobiology, or both.
Integration host factor of Escherichia coli reverses the inhibition of R6K plasmid replication by pi initiator protein.

Abstract Integration host factor (IHF) protein is the only host-encoded protein known to bind and to affect replication of the gamma origin of Escherichia coli plasmid R6K. We examined the ability of R6K origins to replicate in cells lacking either of the two subunits of IHF. As shown previously, the gamma origin cannot replicate in IHF-deficient cells. However, this inability to replicate was relieved under the following conditions: underproduction of the wild-type pi replication protein of R6K or production of normal levels of mutant pi proteins which exhibit relaxed replication control. The copy number of plasmids containing the primary R6K origins (alpha and beta) is substantially reduced in IHF-deficient bacteria. Furthermore, replication of these plasmids is completely inhibited if the IHF-deficient strains contain a helper plasmid producing additional wild-type pi protein. IHF protein has previously been shown to bind to two sites within the gamma origin. These sites flank a central repeat segment which binds pi protein. We propose a model in which IHF binding to its sites reduces the replication inhibitor activity of pi protein at all three R6K origins.
Changing Number and Distribution of Periodontists: A Continuing Imbalance—1987–1995

A review of the 1995 and past American Dental Association (ADA) studies on the distribution of dentists provides information on the evolving numbers of periodontists. Despite an overall increase in the number of periodontists, major differences continue in practitioner-to-population ratios in different geographic areas. Suggestions include 1) efforts by the ADA and/or The Academy of Periodontology to draw attention to the limited numbers of periodontists in particular locales and states; 2) increased general efforts to educate the public on the need and value of periodontal services; and 3) increase in the profession's awareness of the growing diversity in the population of the nation and the need to modify and adjust its efforts to attract underserved populations with different familial, cultural, and educational backgrounds.
Open Problems and Conjectures. A discrete competitive system with planting.

In this section we present some open problems and conjectures about some interesting types of difference equations. Please submit your problem and conjectures with all relevant information to G.Ladas
Comparison of psychoacoustic principles and genetic algorithms in audio compression

High audio data compression can be achieved by removing irrelevant signal information that is not detectable by even a well-trained or sensitive listener. Contemporary audio coding schemes like MP3, AAC, and Ogg Vorbis identify the irrelevant information during signal analysis by incorporating into the coder several psychoacoustic principles, including absolute hearing thresholds, critical band analysis, simultaneous masking, and temporal masking (Painter and Spanias, 2000). Masking is the process of removing faint but normally audible sound signals that are rendered inaudible as they are very close in frequency to or have much smaller amplitudes than surrounding sounds. Numerous studies have been conducted on genetic algorithms, which solve problems by modeling the Darwinian evolution. The algorithms have been recently applied to audio coding with some success (Galos et al., 2003). To achieve audio compression, genetic algorithms analyze a large number of sound files to determine the chunks that are most likely to contain irrelevant signals. The combination of the irrelevant chunks, form a solution which will be used to compress any sound files. We present in this paper a study of the comparison of applying psychoacoustic principles and genetic algorithms to compress audio signals. We developed a coder to perform the experiment, where like most well-known audio coders, Huffman coding is used to handle lossless compression and modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT) is used to transform the time-domain signals to the frequency domain. The results are compared using signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and subjective testing, where eighteen subjects (who are students in CSUSB) are asked to listen and rate the decompressed files by the two methods.
Transforming Growth Factor Alpha (TGF-a) Induced Angiogenesis: Direct Versus Indirect

The objective of this study was to determine the angiogenic potential of transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-a). Recombinant human TGF-a (0.25 to 5.0 ug) was implanted in the rabbit cornea. The eyes were monitored daily for corneal opacification, dilation of limbal blood vessels, and the growth of new capillaries toward the implanted TGF-a. Two, 3 and 7 days post-implantation, the eyes were harvested for histology, transmission electron microscopy, or examination of vascular corrosion casts with scanning electron microscopy. TGF-a (2.5-5.0 ug) consistently elicited an influx of inflammatory cells followed by capillary formation. To determine if these inflammatory cells were the initiators and mediators of the angiogenic response, they were depleted by local administration of methylprednisolone acetate (MPA). The angiogenesis was reduced, but not completely blocked. These results suggest that TGF-a is capable of directly stimulating neovascularization. However, the direct angiogenesis appears to be augme...
Phenylalanine loading in pediatric patients with dopa-responsive dystonia: revised test protocol and pediatric cutoff values

Objectives The objectives of this study were to determine the value of phenylalanine (Phe) loading for diagnosing dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD) in children. Methods We investigated orally administered Phe loading tests (100 mg/kg) in seven patients with confirmed DRD and 17 pediatric patients with clinically suspected but excluded DRD. Results of Phe, tyrosine (Tyr), and biopterin from plasma and dried blood spot (DBS) analyses were correlated, and pediatric cutoff values established. Results The peak Phe concentration following a Phe load in the pediatric DRD population is lower than reported in adults. By using adult cutoff values and either Phe/Try ratios or biopterin concentrations only, false positive and false negative results are frequent. Only the combined analysis of the Phe/Tyr ratio and biopterin concentration is reliable in children. In children with DRD, dried blood Phe/ Tyr ratio exceeded 4.6 (plasma Phe/Tyr ratio >5.4) after 2 h and biopterin concentration in dried blood remained below 16.2 nmol/L (plasma biopterin <14 nmol/L) 1 h after Phe challenge. Conclusions Phe loading is a useful tool for diagnosing DRD in children. Test duration can be reduced to only 2 h, and specific pediatric cutoff values need to be applied. Simultaneous measurements of the Phe/Tyr ratio and biopterin in plasma or DBS are essential in pediatric patients.
Evaluation of traumatic events as defined by the DSM-IV-TR criteria

Objective. We attempted to better evaluate clinicians’ understanding of Criterion A1 of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Method. Approximately 50 mental health clinicians from the Department of Veterans Affairs evaluated 10 scenarios in which potentially traumatic events were described. Results. The results found psychiatrists and psychologists to be slightly more conservative in claiming an event was traumatic in comparison to social workers. In addition, events were deemed at a somewhat higher level of trauma for individuals who had less years of experience at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Conclusion. These data are presented as the initial step in better understanding the features included in determining whether an event is deemed traumatic according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria.
Aqueous processing of lupin seed

Summary Processing of two species of lupin seed by an aqueous extraction process has been explored and the resulting products have been examined. It has been shown that aqueous processing is an effective method for the separation of oil, protein and alkaloids of lupin seeds.
An Analysis of OSHA Compliance and Selected Risk-Management Practices of NIRSA Fitness Directors:

This article reports and discusses the results of a study designed to assess selected risk-management practices of NIRSA fitness directors. The purpose of this study was to examine: (a) compliance ...